Thoroughly enjoying yesterday’s coordinated effort by Newco fans who have rushed to the coattails of Dave King. To be fair to the fans, the time for them to act was years ago, before Sir David Murray set Oldco on a path to destruction, there is little positive that can be done now. Still, that’s no reason to dive headlong into destruction.
After the debacle of 2012, when Oldco were liquidated, the assets were scooped up by people who wanted to make a lot of money. The moment Charles Green and his consortium owned the assets, this reality should have been acknowledged. No amount of 13th hour Blue Knight revisionism was going to change things.
Green made off with his money a year ago, but as a consequence of that, there are newer investors, with exactly the same objectives. There are also local investors in the form of the Easdale brothers. Neither of these groups will be bullied into submission.
King’s escrow plan, which hopes to gain security of the stadium and Murray Park, cannot be accommodated by the club. How many fans do you think they will convince to hand their season ticket money over, 1000? As many as 3000? Whatever your guess figure, this does not have the look of a high participation endeavour.
With many more fans likely to renew, and more still likely to be completely turned off by the nonsense, the The Rangers Football Club Ltd have a legal duty to their shareholders (Rangers International PLC) and creditors (coincidentally, also Rangers International PLC) to retain security of company assets. Placing them beyond the reach of creditors would be a remarkably brave and self-defeating act.
It now suits the club for King’s plan to appear to be effective, or at the very least, reduce season ticket renewals to a trickle. They can cite this as the action which tips The Rangers Football Club Ltd into administration. As the overwhelmingly major creditor, Rangers International would control this administration and their agents will set about reducing costs.
I would expect to see Newco to continue trading as a youth team for the foreseeable future, with Rangers International taking security of Ibrox and Murray Park, to satisfy their unresolved debt. This will be sold to the masses as ‘securing the stadium’, but it would be the key separation of club and stadium which King as sought to prevent.
Going forward, The Rangers Football Club Ltd will have no significant assets, no playing assets to speak of, and a substantial rental to pay to Rangers International, whose shareholders will still require their financial return. Don’t lose sight of this, the Piper Always Needs to be Paid. Always.
I haven’t revisited the RIPLC accounts which drew comment last week (might be worth an update later), but the important information to glean from them is the cost of running a football operation at a stadium which can occasionally host >40,000 people. You’re looking at circa £19m annually, before you employ a footballer.
I don’t see a way forward. This is a dead multi-club football franchise, killed by 1,000 reckless acts. Even the youth team scenario is unaffordable.
The hedge funds will know this already. Remember what John Brown claims Charles Green told him he would do to Ibrox if he was messed with? Raze it to the ground, apparently. After Newco Youth Team has spent a year-or-so bouncing around, we’ll hear that Ibrox is unsustainable as a football stadium (which I could believe). It will be razed and re-designated as an industrial area.
Celtic better have their plans in place now, as should the rest of Scottish football. There was a notion that there would be a three year hiatus before it was business as usual. This will not be the case.
We need to stand together, as a club, and with other clubs, wherever possible. We need to support the game, primarily through season ticket purchases, but we must find common ground with other clubs and fans.
Leppings Lane
Everything was wrong about football back then. Stadiums were not so much designed, they were built to fit the space and available materials. The lower Leppings Lane end of Hillsborough will be remembered as the worst terracing in football but, in truth, it was just where the next big disaster happened. It could have been anywhere.
After a decade or so of football hooliganism in England, fans were penned in, 8’ fences blocked entrance to the field, some topped with barbed wire. If you were at the fence, you were staying there until the thousands behind you headed home. Hampden Park had these fences, a legacy of the 1980 Cup Final, but they were absent from other grounds in Scotland. The Jungle had some high fencing but with regular breaks. If you wanted to get onto the field, you could do so.
Leppings Lane had further chronic safety violations. As well as a fence at the front the terrace was divided into four pens with fences running back to front. Once through the turnstile, fans were free to choose which pens to join; most would choose the central two. Of course they would.
The central two pens were accessed via a tunnel running under the upper stand. On That Day, fans entering at the rear of the tunnel had no inclination of the crush ahead. By the time they were part of the crush, others had gathered behind them. Space to retreat was quickly lost.
The outer pens were empty, the central two, death-traps. Fans piling into the tunnel knew nothing of the crisis ahead.
For some minutes it was possible for the police to burst open the pens and allow fans to flood free onto the pitch but they were still in crowd control mode. By the time they realised there was a disaster underway, it was too late.
There were lies and cover-ups. Fans were blamed, and accused of atrocious acts, all untrue. The government were complicit. The Sun were the worst media offenders but by no means the only one.
Two weeks ago a fresh inquiry into the events of that day opened in Warrington. At long last, the truth, which we’ve all known for years, will out. Too late for many campaigners and bereaved, who died fighting the combined weight of the establishment, but welcome nonetheless.
Tomorrow, CQN’er, Iain McGovern, sets off on a 232 mile walk from Celtic Park to Anfield, where he hopes to arrive 11 days later, in aid of the Lola Commons Fund for SiMBA. It’s his way of commemorating Hillsborough. Supporting him could be yours.
I’m delighted (actually excited) to confirm John Hughes will be on the blog on Thursday morning. John is Celtic’s seventh highest goal scorer in our 126 year history. He has remarkable insights into some of the great times and characters of our history. Tune in and ask him questions online.
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‘GG
Just watched the same programme and have very similar feelings about it.
Thanks for your tip about the show earlier today – my son passed it on to me.
For non USA CQNers, the programme was directed by Daniel Gordon and was an ESPN co-production with the BBC and other channels.
Just called HILLSBOROUGH if you try to youtube/google it.
Well worth it.
SFTB
Forgot to say to you how much I liked your contribution to the Seville book.
Still reading it but appreciate your work in it.
HH
‘gg
Think I saw part of that on ESPN in Argentina this morning, was in Spanish though but sounded like they had the right angle on where blame lay. Was also good to see ESPN highlights of Liverpool v Man C show Peter Lawwell hand over before game.
EN
Morrissey the 23rd said:
A Ceiler Gonof Rust @ 01:48
I cringed reading Tom’s post.
I don’t believe you, but you certainly should have.
neganon2 03:24
Not seen GCT’s post. Where has this came from? The official sites glasgow cup under 17s thing?
Seems like a bit of PLC thinking rather than what we all know.
EN
EN it was a post back
I think many of us are ignoring the reality racing us…..
neganon2 –
It is nothing more than semantics.
They can call themselves what they want. We all know the truth.
It’s childish beyond belief to make such a big issue out of it. You are just letting the Huns get to you.
It’s like a boy in the playgorund: “Stop saying you’re Mary’s boyfriend cos you’re not!”
Who givies a shit?
I used to take a lot of satisfaction from beating the huns. Their fans did the same when they beat us.
They are dead to me now,of absolutely no interest other than hilarity and,if I’m honest,a frustration that they are still going in the form that they are.
But nevertheless,they died.
The only satisfaction any Rangers fan can get now is if their demise somehow damages us. And the best way for that to happen is for Celtic fans to walk away from the club.
Now I happen to agree that Celtic should have been more vocal in pointing out that they died,the current mob are imposters,etc,but that’s no reason,IMO,to damage Celtic.
Stick with it,folks. Celtic till we die.
GCT
Stop saying you’re Mary’s boyfriend cos you’re not!”
I’m married to her.
Is there something I should know after 50 years?
GOLD COAST TOM
You canny leave it at that,bud. Out with it. Who was Mary?
neganon2 03:51
Cheers, I’ll go back have a look.
Heard on a podcast a while ago the SPFL board voted on a new rule where it’s them that decide on where a liquidised club play their football if a new version of that club apply the next season. Not like last time where it was offered up to all clubs. Not in Scotland so can’t get a grasp of how that was reported but there’s not been much on the Celtic media and twitter I follow. I think it’s huge.
Apparently we had a member on that board (wouldn’t name him as I’m not sure who) who went along with it and voted in favour of it. I’m a bit out the loop but that’s a concern and maybe also key to what we have been talking about regards official club recognition of this daft wee new division three club.
EN
There’s Something About Mary
http://youtu.be/eGjXwDYpOLE
Kevtic @22.42 hrs.
Totally agree.
Reading back it is clearly evident that the obsession with a lower league new team called “Rangers” for some outweighs their love of Celtic.
Couldn’t care less who wins the SC, but was slightly surprised by the amount of posts about the semi on Saturday. Why so many posts if they are irrelevant ? It was a running commentary.
Yes I wish their demise but not at the expense of harming our club.
A supporter is one who supports.
An ex supporter is one who used to support.
Think about it, a reality check seems in order.
HH.
The Celtic plc would never say it’s a new club, bad for business and future Thomas Cook/who ever it is package deals if we ever play this daft wee new club.
Can see their point from a totally business point of view, but it would be good to not be in the whole plc way of thinking, but we are.
Been in Argentina the past few weeks, anybody we have spoke to asked about the rivalry we had and most said first without prompting after we mentioned being Scottish and Celtic ‘rangers died?’ Great conforming the good news to these people. Fella that rented out a place we stayed in said he enjoyed an ESPN show documenting their demise. I offered that man a beer. A river plate fan who knew his stuff. Taxi drivers have been similar, they know rfc died. That’s wonderful that news has got out and people know a club only famous for hating Scotland’s most successfully club died. Like in work in Qatar I met a Steua Bucharest fan, had great talk about European Cup wins, he asked me for conformation rangers were dead, I gladly updated him, he was happy, I asked why so happy? ‘We played them once, I hate them’
The world knows they are no more.
Celtic FC should recognise they are a new club, Celtic PLC and their ‘vote no’ directors can’t.
That’s a shame.
Apart from the Huns claiming that they still have a 140-year history, have they actually gained anything from making that claim? . . . apart from upsetting a lot of Tims?
If the answer is YES. What have they gained?
If the answer is NO. Get over it !!!
Celtic likely seeds for Euro qualifiers
Wednesday 16 April 2014
CELTIC will almost certainly be seeded in all three Champions League qualifying rounds next season as the dust begins to settle on European title races.
The Scottish champions will have to negotiate the second and third qualifying rounds as well as the play-off round if they want to reach the group stage again.
Celtic currently have six teams with a higher co-efficient than them that could be seeded in the qualifiers, but it would take a bizarre set of circumstances for Celtic to be displaced by enough of them.
Out of the six teams, the likely Swiss champions Basle are almost certain to go directly into the Group Stage and the five other teams would have to win their title for Celtic not to be seeded.
Although Salzburg have already won their league and Steaua Bucharest are well clear in the Romanian League, three other teams are struggling in their respective divisions.
FC Copenhagen are third in the Danish league, Viktoria Plzen are second in the Czech league and 10 points behind Sparta Prague with six games to play. And APOEL are second in the Cypriot league, three points behind AEL Limassol with six games left.
It means Celtic will almost certainly have a less daunting path to reach the group stage again.
Exclusive: Lennon aims Loe with Cameroon star
CELTIC are weighing up a £2million swoop for Cameroon star Raoul Loe before the World Cup – in case his price soars during the tournament.
By: Iain MacfarlanePublished: Wed, April 16, 2014
Loe hopes to sign for Celtic this summer
The defensive midfielder, 25, has appeared on Neil Lennon’s radar after establishing himself in an Osasuna side battling to stay in Spain’s top flight.
The imposing 6ft 4in player is tipped to make his nation’s squad for the Brazil finals after earning his first cap last summer. Loe would relish a move to Glasgow. He said: “If a club like Celtic wants me to play for them then I would be very honoured to do so and wear that special jersey.
It’s always been my dream to play in the Champions League
Raoul Loe
“The club has such a great history with one of the best group of football fans in the footballing world.
“It’s always been my dream to play in the Champions League.”
Loe had been on the verge of moving to West Ham United during the January transfer window and travelled to London for a medical.
But the Hammers pulled the plug on the £2m move at the 11th hour after sealing a loan deal for AC Milan’s Antonio Nocerino.
Osasuna know that even if they win their fight to stave off relegation, Loe is destined for a transfer and Celtic could nip in first with a bid.
The Premiership champions would be tempted to make their move sooner rather than later, knowing that Loe could attract new admirers if he shines during the World Cup.
Celtic manager Lennon is desperate to beef up his squad ahead of a Champions League qualifying campaign which kicks off in mid-July. He wants at least four new players – a figure which could rise if the likes of Fraser Forster, Virgil van Dijk or Kris Commons are prised away from Parkhead this summer.
Lennon is committed to adhering to Celtic’s policy of signing unsung players on budget fees in the hope they can blossom at the club and then be sold on for a big profit.
Thems are irrelevant ; get over it and on with life!!
Yes, countless thousands of us feel the hurt and endured the cheating years but we’re above what they (SMSM etc) want to drag us into……
Celtic will always prevail, we are more than a club.
HH
Btw…. Very, very hot in the desert!!
Commons is a prize guy for Celtic striker Stokes on the PFA player of year shortlist
By STEPHEN MCGOWAN
PUBLISHED: 00:25, 16 April 2014 | UPDATED: 00:26, 16 April 2014
Twelve months ago Neil Lennon branded the absence of a Celtic player from the PFA Scotland player of the year awards shortlist ‘abysmal’.
Anthony Stokes, however, would be hugely surprised if the Parkhead manager had grounds for complaint this season.
PFA Scotland announce their lower leagues shortlist on Tuesday. It’s the turn of the Premiership on Wednesday and the Irishman believes there are two stand-out candidates for the crown.
+6
Leading light: Kris Commons should win the PFA Scotland player of the year award, according to team-mate Anthony Stokes
One is regarded by Dutch coaching master Co Adriaanse as a must-pick for Holland’s World Cup squad. The other is a midfielder with 27 goals to his name after the best season of his career.
‘Virgil van Dijk has been outstanding this year,’ said the Celtic forward. ‘But I’d probably give it to Kris Commons, just for his goals and influence in games.
‘He’s been massive for us this season and has had the biggest impact of any player I can see in the league. He’s a great player to play beside. I’m up alongside him and he sees a pass, while his goals have taken his game to a new level.’
With PFA Scotland votes no one can be sure. Notoriously unpredictable, Scotland’s players are often out of kilter with other player of the year verdicts.
Last year Neil Lennon’s comments triggered a row which ran for weeks.
Stokes believes it would be a major surprise if Van Dijk, Commons – or goalkeeper Fraser Forster – were overlooked this time, however.
‘The votes can be erratic but I think it’s hard to look past those two,’ he said. ‘But you never know and it will be interesting to see.
+6
Having his say: Stokes believes Commons should win the PFA player of the year award in Scotland
‘Big Virgil has been outstanding this season. The boys at the back went on that run without conceding any goals and Virgil was a big part of that.
‘With his composure on the ball, he’s the all-round centre half. He’s been exceptional this season.
‘But as a striker, playing alongside Kris, I think he probably deserves it for his goals and assists.
‘He’s virtually been playing up front with me. I think he’s been pushed a bit further up the pitch and it’s suited him.
‘He’s been on the end of everything. Any ball that broke there for three or four months just fell nicely for him.
‘We were short of strikers before we brought the boys in and started the campaign myself and Kris up front.
+6
Outstanding season: Celtic’s Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk has been a major part of the success the Hoops have enjoyed
‘He was in a deeper role but any chance he got he took. He can strike a ball from anywhere on the pitch and has scored some incredible goals.
‘Kris has added a different dimension to his game this season – pushing on that bit further and getting on the end of bits and pieces.’
As Sportsmail first reported, newly promoted Leicester City are keen to take Commons back to his native midlands.
With Celtic holding a one-year option and Commons openly admitting he wants to end his career at Parkhead, however, that looks highly unlikely.
‘He’s very settled up here with his partner and kids,’ added Stokes. ‘He’s enjoying his football at the moment.
‘He’s one of the senior boys, one of the oldest in the group and has plenty of experience under his belt.
+6
Dynamic duo: Commons, right, and Stokes, centre, have combined well for Celtic this season
‘There’s no doubt the younger boys look up to him. He’s not the type to shout and roar, but he will pull someone aside and if he has something to say he will say it.
‘I think that’s respected throughout the dressing room.’
At 22, Van Dijk lacks the seniority or experience of Commons but has swiftly earned a level of respect beyond his years with mature and composed performances.
Gauging the exact level of the £2.6million signing from FC Groningen is an inexact science but Stokes believes the centre-half has the capabilities to go to the top of the footballing tree.
‘Virgil is one of the best young defenders I have seen in a long time,’ he told Sportsmail. ‘He’s got the physique, he’s strong, he’s quick and his composure on the ball.
‘He has a bit of everything and has been exceptional this year and a reason why we went so long this season undefeated.
‘It can be difficult for people coming here, but he settled in right away. I think Virgil can go right to the very top. I genuinely do.
‘Playing Champions League, he looked comfortable and composed and the world is his oyster.
‘I think he could play at a high level. I came through the ranks with quite a few of the young boys down at Arsenal – and he’d be right up the top of any of the boys I saw down south.
+6
Safe hands: Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster has enjoyed a fine season
‘Hopefully, he stays here a long time.’
Players are unable to vote for teammates. If they were Stokes would go for Commons first, van Dijk second and goalkeeper Forster third.
‘Fraser is one of the best goalkeepers I have ever played with,’ he insisted. ‘People say he doesn’t get tested enough but during that period of our clean-sheets, he came up with vital saves at crucial times. That was massive.’
Vague on who he actually did vote for – if anyone – the Irishman has admired others in the Premiership this season.
‘The likes of Stevie May and other strikers, but it’s hard to tell how other midfielders and defenders are doing,’ he said. ‘Watching highlights, it’s just attacking moves and it can be hard to see the bigger picture.
High-flying talent: St Johnstone’s Stevie May has caught the eye of Stokes this season
‘But given who we have played against, every time we have played against Barry Robson, he’s been a thorn in our sides.
‘He’s been exceptional and Niall McGinn is coming back into a bit of form.
‘Players work hard through a season and it is nice to get the recognition from your peers in the league.
‘It’s not vital. At the end of the day, it’s about us winning trophies but it’s a nice touch and something a lot of players would hope to be involved in.’
The club remains.
The ” culture ” remains.
The mentality remains.
What`s in a name?
Reminds me a little of “Fyrom.”
The GAA and Celtic FC have announced that their joint Youth Leadership Programme has been extended to Scotland.
Sport has the potential to make a special connection with young people and we believe the other holistic elements of the camps can make a real difference to the young people participating
Paraic Duffy
In June of last year, the GAA and Celtic came together to launch the ‘Let’s Go; Lead Through Sport’ initiative, with camps for 13-16 year-olds taking place in Dublin, Ballymote (Sligo) and Lurgan (Armagh).
The camps aim to bring together young people from different sporting and cultural backgrounds using coaching sessions in both Gaelic Games and soccer.
These on-field activities, led by top coaches from both codes, are complemented by an innovative off-field programme that is intended to enhance the life-skills of the participants in a number of targeted areas.
Following the success of the Irish initiative last summer, it was announced on Monday that the training camps will be rolled out across Scotland, in North Lanarkshire, Inverclyde and Glasgow. There is also a further camp planned for Limerick this summer.
Páraic Duffy, Ard Stiúrthóir Chumann Lúthchleas Gael, said: “The GAA is delighted to be involved in this partnership and we are particularly looking forward to the roll out of the programme in Scotland after its success in Ireland last year.
“Sport has the potential to make a special connection with young people and we believe the other holistic elements of the camps can make a real difference to the young people participating.”
The first of the Scottish camps takes place in Coatbridge near Glasgow, where many of the children involved are from the Coatbridge Davitts GAA Club and are already competing in GAA competitions under the guidance of Joe Bradley. The area has the highest proportion of ethnic Irish people anywhere in Britain.
Tony Hamilton, Chief Executive of Celtic FC Foundation, said: “Celtic FC Foundation is delighted to be partnering once more with GAA.
“Our three Irish events were hugely successful last year so in 2014 we hope to build on that across three venues in Scotland, starting in North Lanarkshire.
“GAA are a fantastic partner for us and our work in equality – one of our four core values – will be strengthened through this joint venture.”
macjay1 for neil lennon 04:55
The culture remains, the mentality remains, that is nothing we can do anything about.
Though the facts are those people support a new club, that’s now part of our continued giggles at them.
Hope you and family are well and you were on that Sydney boat trip…..
EN
Estadio Nacional
05:41 on
16 April, 2014
Hello,pal.
All well and thank you for asking.
Didn`t go on the recent boat trip.Eddie was busy getting a lumber.:-)
Apparently.
I don`t like to enquire too closely.
New club? New name? Academic to me.
If it looks ,walks, talks and sings like a hun……etc.
Now,if they ever stop playing at Ibrox,then I`ll start to believe that they are a new club.
Like many of us,I am thoroughly enjoying the long drawn out protracted saga of the hun in decline.
Keep well,pal,and let us know when you`re back in godzone.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS ………Praying for our WEE HERO!
04:03 on
16 April, 2014
GOLD COAST TOM
You canny leave it at that,bud. Out with it. Who was Mary?
………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mary IS my long suffering better half!!
Morning everyone.
Need to get myself off to work but just wanted to ask if anyone else thinks that the players, board and any other member of staff at Celtic have been briefed about what to say when asked the do you miss Rangers question.
I believe that Celtic will have thought this through and know that if a player came out and told it like it is, he would probably be subjected to similar abuse to which Neil Lennon, Nial McGinn and Paddy McCourt and perhaps more got.
They are not stupid and i believe we have a party line to deal with that question, because it will be safer for the staff involved.
Anyway, have a great day everyone.
Gold Coast Tom
03:56 on 16 April, 2014
If the roles had been reversed, and it was Celtic that was liquidated rather than the huns, do you think for one moment that we would have been allowed to get away with claiming that a new Celtic was the same Club, to retain our history?
This isn’t about people obsessing with dead huns, Sevco or whatever.
It’s about fair play, honesty and sporting integrity.
It’s ridiculous that someone has to point that out to you.
Thunder Road
07:05 on
16 April, 2014
That`s what I think.
It`s a matter of the personal safety of all Celtic employees.
Tow the party line and risk the wrath of Celtic supporters who would prefer us to have ” Jelly and Ice cream ” over the tannoy.
Good morning friends from East Kilbride where, yet again it’s another dry, bright and sunny (broken clouded variety) start to the day. Lovely.
Hail, hail from the Holy Land, where it’s shaping up to be a lovely day: c.16C already and not a cloud in the Jerusalem sky and 26C forecast …
FF
Geppetto PLC/FC
Auldheid
Whatnextary
desertbhoy
04:53 on
16 April, 2014
Btw…. Very, very hot in the desert!!
—————————-
is there also lots of sand there?? :-)
Top of the morning to you all from sunnyish Fife.
Anyone who thinks that concern about the club calling The Rangers by their old name is simply semantics is missing the point big time I think.
The latest semantics debate is but another part of the big disconnect between those who thought supporting Celtic was something special and a board who seem to think we are just another part of the Scottish football equivalent of the WWE wrestling franchise.
IMHO of course.
Email sent to jp.
And done with a heavy I am afraid!.
Big sean.
From the evening times web site commenting on last years U17s game –
“…which was the first meeting of the Old Firm since Rangers were relegated to the lowest tier of Scottish football…”
If they want to call ‘The Rangers’ just ‘Rangers’ then that’s one thing, but the above comment is just a blatant lie.
And these journos wonder why they hold zero respect among the vast majority of football fans
When we have our foot on their throat we always look for ways to shoot that foot and relieve the pressure.
If Sevco call themselves Rangers then that’s ok with me, they can call themselves whatever the hell they like and in line with how they are registered
As long as we don’t describe them in official outlets as the team with 140 year history etc. etc.
“The club formed from the assets of the old club” is fine and dandy.
On Shortbread sport this morning……Rangers THRASH Forfar 3-0. Thrash? Forfar? At Ibrokes too. My God, had it been 9 or 10 nil maybe, but 3, and according to reports it was a pretty dire affair, all 3 thrashers coming late.
ernie –
Nowhere did I use ghe word “obssessing”.
You’re confusing me with someone else.
You don’t need to point that out to me. I know it. It’s just that I don’t see it as a big deal if they want to call themselves the same club. It doesn’t change the truth.
What do you guys want? Do you want to put them in stocks and torture them until they say ” we are a new club”?
I keep asking, what does it matter?
Nobody has given me an answer why it matters.
But then again, maybe I just have bigger priorities in life. Shame on me.