Apparently, time for Rangers fans to step forward to save their club has passed. For the want of £500k any one or collection of them could have bought an exclusive period as preferred bidder and worked on a rescue but no one stepped forward.
It is perhaps worthwhile reflecting on our hour of need 18 years ago. Celtic had exceeded their agreed overdraft limit and the Bank of Scotland informed the club that unless the account was brought back into agreed limits that day, it would go to court to appoint an administrator.
Back then there were no transfer windows, so players could, and would, have been sold by the administrator the next day. Celtic would have been left with an unwanted shell of a squad.
Word of the impending doom spread around the Celtic business community and John Keane decided to act. He withdrew £1m from his account and paid it straight into Celtic’s account at the Bank of Scotland.
John did this in the hope that he could buy time for the Celtic Movement to pull a rescue together. The bank could still have withdrawn the overdraft the same day, which would have made him an unsecured creditor with no chance of a return. There was also no agreement signed to secure the transfer of the club from the old board, each member of whom would later be dealt with on an individual basis, as shares were sold, or in the case of Kevin Kelly, pledged behind Fergus McCann’s consortium.
John kept his money in Celtic and received a seat on the new board, which he retains. He declined to appear in the publicity photos on the steps of Celtic Park when the club was rescued and although he attends the AGM every year, he remains a quiet and largely unknown figure. He has since invested more in Celtic, money he will never see back, but which has ensured his family can block a Glazier-style takeover of Celtic.
I have spoken to him once or twice, although he doesn’t know who I am, but I have often thought he deserves a standing ovation at the AGM for what he did all those years ago. Maybe this year.
We can only wonder why there was not a John Keane across the city.
Very well done to the Daily Record for their excellent story about CQN’er Tony Conway today. Tony, who now lives in the United States, suffers from motor neuron disease and made the trip back to Celtic Park last year with his Dad, John, and brother, Martin. They spent time with Jinky’s son James and met a host of people at the club, including Neil Lennon and Billy McNeill.
Read it, it’s a great story.
Remember to keep an eye on the signed Celtic shirt being auctioned for Wellburn Care Home, it ends Monday.
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South Of Tunis on 2 May, 2012 at 14:06 said:
Recently accompanied the woman from Padova as she endured the horrors of root canal treatment .
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I think you are being a tad harsh there. Dentistry, unlike the huns has moved on leaps and bounds in the last 40 years.
Hail! Hail! PMTYH
Philvis
Sir David should be Sircumcised.
My fav away top of recent times the hooped Ivory coast 2010 / 2011strip. I liked it so much i bought one
http://www.footballshirtculture.com/images/stories/ivory-coast-2010-puma-african-cup-of-nations-football-shirt.jpg
In Stirling tomorrow night.Where is the best pub to watch the match?I’ll be going to the Wallace after it for the quiz and to bait the Bears.Always good fun,since I’I’ll have my two sons with me.I’d love to introduce the eldest lad to Lee McCullough. I’m proud of him because he hates bullies and can spot them a mile off. The match will be on in the Wallace,but I’d like a pint with Celtic men.There used to bee a young Italian lad in for the Celtic games and he’d bless himself when the Celts scored.Some of the coupons were hilarious to look at.He’s away back to Italy and supporting Roma.Meanwhile here comes Dusty Millar sing that ol’ favourite “Happy Trails to You).—Or shoukld it be Happy Trials??
philvisreturns on 2 May, 2012 at 14:19 said:
Should Sir David be stripped of his knighthood, or ennobled? (thumbsup)
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Thought he had been nobbled already by our hero ?
HH
Fair points re. barca’s telepathy, but I believe Madrid also had a black away kit. What say ye?
Onlooker,
Colours smolours. ;-)))))))
South Of Tunis – :-) (thumbsup)
G’day Celts, just logged on and enjoying another cracking Paul67 article.
Not seen any new strip, not that keen on anything other than green and white hoops, it’s who we are.
just had a massive plateful of cake, fruit, jelly n ice cream…… Anything to get out of this bliddy sun—>
V
i bet even if we played in harry potter cloaks of invisibility… linesmen would still call us offside 30 times a game.
do rangers play in cloaks of risibility?
Mibbes the club has gone for a black strip in hounour of the Green Brigades ‘The 4 horsemen are gonnae get yies’ smashing display. :o)
TheGreenManalishi – How could he have known that some guy he had never heard of, whose business plan and sources of funds were sketchy at best, would turn out not to be one of Scotland’s richest men? (thumbsup)
I would hate it if the bears invaded the pitch tonight. Such a show of strength would force everyone to recognise that hybrid incubators are the way forward and that they should be welcomed into the SPL with no penalties.
Please huns, don’t invade the brier patch, er I mean the pitch.
Look at this belter from a year ago today
RANGERS TAKEOVER DEAL FINALLY SEALED
Craig Whyte will become the new owner in time to hand manager in waiting Ally McCoist a war-chest
Monday May 2,2011
By Andy McInnes
RANGERS £53m takeover will finally be concluded this week with Craig Whyte becoming the new owner in time to hand manager in waiting Ally McCoist a summer transfer war-chest.
Documents relating to “working capital ” which have delayed the sale have now been presented to David Murray and the Independent Board allowing the sale to be ratified to the Stock Exchange within the next 48 hours.
Despite reports that the Motherwell millionaire was ready to walk away from the deal because of so called “stalling tactics” Whyte has agreed all the terms with Murray and Lloyds bank and, as exclusively revealed by express/star sport two weeks ago, will now provide £10m to McCoist to strengthen the squad.
“All the working capital and investment required is in place and has been ratified. All the assurances needed by those that matter have been given so we expect the takeover at long last to proceed this week ” said a source close to the deal.
“At a stroke Rangers football club will be completely debt free, will have money to invest in new players as well as keep key personnel and cash to make stadium and training ground improvements.
“Not many clubs in Britain can say that which is the legacy David Murray wanted to leave to the club and the supporters.”
The deal will mark an end to Murray’s 22 year association with Rangers during which time they have won 36 trophies and 15 out of 22 League Titles as well as a UEFA Cup Final appearance
South of Tunis – Sircumcised . . . ouch, ouch, ouch. Brilliant.
Raymac on 2 May, 2012 at 14:23 said:
if you can bud get along to Celtic Park itself.
25 mins down that new road, easy peasy.
surely your bhoys would rather see the Thai Tims than stirling
DeniaBhoy on 2 May, 2012 at 14:23 said:
Fair points re. barca’s telepathy, but I believe Madrid also had a black away kit. What say ye?
Guys we are not at that level ….. yet.
All teams are in the hands of the marketing guys…
Barcelona ,Real Madrid
Who you think your trying to kid?
Keep it Green and White
The Onlooker
Harry Potter is just propaganda for private schools. (thumbsup)
The Tri-Colour or anything resembling it is like cat nip to them.
A very very dodgy liquidator is about to buy their club and gut it and the biggest thread on Follow Follow is regarding a trim on our away strip.
for Raymac……..the game isn’t live tomorrow but is on alba at 10pm….vinnys bar on the drip road in the raploch if you like a celtic minded pub!!! tell him mick sent you!!!!
Raymac on 2 May, 2012 at 14:23 said:
I don’t think it’s on live telly tomorrow :-(
Probably the sexiest ( in a very manly Italian macho style) away football kit. Juve 1990 –Kappa – “pure class by the way”. I actually had one of these, long sleeved, and was the envy of my friends. Helps having a girlfriend who was a purchaser for a well know sports chain store .
http://media.classicfootballshirts.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/0dc2d03fe217f8c83829496872af24a0/j/u/juventus-90-away-ls-use2.jpg
The Onlooker & fanandpatriot
Does that not mean the opposition will struggle to spot our players runs or is it just Celtic players you seem to think have eye deficiencies…?
Sh*te – Sorry broke the blog — doooh – sorry!!!!
German brothers do that all the time
Aldi and Lidl are German brothers
does this mean, as predicted some time ago… we’ll be emerging next season to ac/dc’s “back in black?”
Ten Men Won The League
Lol!!!
Seem to remember David Hasselhoff having an evil identical twin brother with a moustache. (thumbsup)
A day or two ago somebody posted the Tims version of Wullie Bluenose. Any chance of a re-post?
Fanapatriot
re the Black away kits.
A few years ago, Celtic beat Hibs at Easteroad. They were wearing the black strip. The Hibs players complained that the strips were too similar to the referees and that it was offputting.
In the post match interview with Jackie MacNamara, the interviewer brought this up in an attempt to ‘taint’ the victory. Jackie responded, “Strange, I kicked the ball loads of times today and never passed the ball to the referee once!”
Keeping a mental image of where everyone is is issential in football.
Below is an extract of Barca philosphy.
That they can do all this whilst wearing ‘dull’ strips is pretty impressive.
When we can play like this ,we can wear any colour we like( except blue)
The Onlooker
When Barcelona win the ball, they do something unusual. Most leading teams treat the moment the ball changes hands – “turnover”, as it’s called in basketball – as decisive. At that moment, the opponents are usually out of position, and so if you can counterattack quickly, you have an excellent chance of scoring. Teams like Manchester United and Arsenal often try to score in the first three seconds after winning possession. So their player who wins the ball often tries to hit an instant splitting pass. Holland – Barcelona’s historic role models – do this too.
But when a Barcelona player wins the ball, he doesn’t try for a splitting pass. The club’s attitude is: he has won the ball, that’s a wonderful achievement, and he doesn’t need to do anything else special. All he should do is slot the ball simply to the nearest teammate. Barcelona’s logic is that in winning the ball, the guy has typically forfeited his vision of the field. So he is the worst-placed player to hit a telling ball.
This means that Barcelona don’t rely on the element of surprise. They take a few moments to get into formation, and then pretty much tell their opponents, “OK, here we come.” The opposition knows exactly what Barça are going to do. The difficulty is stopping it.
Nike kits are better than adidas imo. Have had a few adidas footie tops and comparing them to all my celtic kits the nike is a better fit. I like this black strip, so which one of this current seasons tops is getting the boot? Wasp or the white/green one?
Sir Paul
Didnae Know, aboot Mr.Keane’s Gutsy .”.Pitting his Money where…naebuddy else .Wid~”
Which wuz…
In the Celtic Checkin’ Accoont!
They should Erect a Statue tae Him.. oot side Celtic Park.
Great Story,Kiddo..
Glad , ye Mentioned it.
Meanwhile, in another part o’ the Hoose…
Ah jist Luv the Noo Away Kit.
Black, it is.. and … Wearing an All Black Strip.. can be very Intimidating tae the Opposition.. Pschologically, Speaking,of course.
Which, canny Hoit!
Also.. Ah wid hazard a Thought that ….
Because .. a Black Clad Player,would be Very easy to pick oot in a Crowd ..it can only enhance oor inter-passing .
Yep.. Ah jist Luv the New Strips.
Kojo
Still, Laughin’.
Regards new strip, I like it, minus the Tennents logo so will only buy the sponsor free version.
I work in Berlin a lot and many of my colleagues wont buy Adidas gear due to the brothers affiliation with the Nazi party. Have to say I like their casual training stuff looks great, but still buy Nike instead.
RobinBhoy
philvisreturns on 2 May, 2012 at 14:28 said:
TheGreenManalishi – How could he have known that some guy he had never heard of, whose business plan and sources of funds were sketchy at best, would turn out not to be one of Scotland’s richest men? (thumbsup)
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Then why did he provide the following statement to the stock exchange….hmmmmmmmmmmm
Further disclosure pursuant to The Takeover Code
Craig Whyte, aged 40, is a Scottish entrepreneur and investor born in Motherwell. He built his career
on his expertise as a turnaround specialist financing and managing established businesses
experiencing cashflow difficulties. He is founder and chief executive of Liberty Capital Limited, which
currently has investments across several market sectors including technology, financial services,
ticketing and commodities trading, with operations in the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland and
France. He also holds interests in a large number of other companies specialising in areas such as
finance, corporate recovery, investment and stockbroking.
Salmond getting his a@$£ on a plate from Scottish Labour Leader wumman live on BBC 24
The worst Celtic away strip ever?
The onlooker
Agreed. Foreplay should not be rushed.