When Kieran Tierney made it two-nil today at Pittodrie it certainly knocked the fight out of Aberdeen who had a man advantage.
It also probably deflated those among the Stenography Corps who have been cuddling up to the thought that there is a title race.
Today was the day when Celtic could have dropped points after the journey back from Russia.
The trip to Aberdeen is an arduous fixture at the best of times.
Therefore, the screaming headlines that had already been made up had to be binned.
Now, in the spirit of being helpful to the Fitba Fourth Estate perhaps I can help them with a couple of leads.
This week coming they can contact their high-Level sources at Ibrox and put the following questions to them:
Is it true that certain suppliers who have outstanding invoices contacted the club on Thursday of last week?
Is it true that these creditors wanted to know when they were going to be paid?
Is it true that some of these creditors had been alarmed by the secured loan from Close Brothers?
Is it true that said loan has been interpreted by these creditors as a sign of the financial trouble at the club?
Look, lads, I know you wanted to gush about a title race and use the term “Old Firm” over and over in your copy this week.
However, it really is over.
There is no “Old Firm”.
Rangers died.
Moreover, there is no title race.
Deal with it.
Now there IS a story at Ibrox about cash flow.
In case you were wondering, Sevco Scotland Limited (trading as The Rangers Football Club) is a loss-making business with a loan from Close Brothers.
Follow the money at Ibrox and you will have a story.
You might even win an award.
A real one.
Now, if you want to know how this stuff is done then go and read Downfall.
I’m sure that you will find it helpful.
This incoming season ticket money is covering a hell of a lot already,is it not?
Oh, what a tangled basket of assets
Let’s play the Guess The Rhyming Slang game!
Current Buns?
Lillian Gish
Barry White
Sir Anthony Blounts
Donald Ducked
Lambeg Drums
A gathering of Badgers
An extremely impoverished shower of lying , cheating,deid entity of a club, consuming oxygen from our game and getting away it.
If I had belief in any ethereal being, the prayer would be for a quick and extremely painful demise.
Am no a bigot ye know some of my best friends are ( fill in your own preference).
I’ve had so called colleagues say this to me .Sad,Eh!
Great post Phil . Many thanks.
Maybe the creditors should look into Close Brothers for invoice financing…
Can you picture it…?
Chasing after even more ST cash….
They would then be holding all the short and curlies…….
Larkhall Thistle kicked out of Scottish Amateur Cup for cheating the apple doesn’t,t fall far from the tree. lol , maybe further investigation required or does that make a mockery again.
They had this argument on the radio last week, The Sevco lovers were shouting about ” rangers” closing the gap. However only Micheal Stewart stood up to them, and stated they can’t boast about closing the gap on the week Celtic increased their lead. Now with the win against the Sheep the gap is bigger still. How will the Sevco lovers spin this? Micheal Stewart should be asking them this, next time they are on air.
Here’s a question. If all the talk of the post split fixtures with sevco going to be handed extra home games, unfairly, will their board try to charge their fans for these extra matches as it is outwith their ‘season ticket’ quota? It must be tempting for them to try but with renewals around the corner (if they survive any longer) it would be a majorly bad (high level) PR disaster for them. Then again, the gullabillies fall for everything, don’t they?
Keep up the great work.
sevco wont be handed extra home games post the split michael.
they will play 38 league games in total.
19 at home and 19 away from home same as all the other clubs.
Correct, Frank. I was reading something into a situation that won’t happen. It will be one or two clubs losing out on home games against them.
Have you seen sevco’s fixtures so far and up to the split? They will have played 17 at home and 16 away at the split so in fairness should have 2 home games and 3 aways to complete the season. Come split time, they will have played each of the other (current) top six sides (Celtic, Aberdeen, Hibs, Hearts and Kilmarnock) twice at home and once away. Only Motherwell hovering behind Kilmarnock are in a position to change this, having played sevco twice at Fir park so a sevco game post split would be at ibrox. Unfortunately, one other team is going to lose out on a home fixture in this scenario to balance up home and away fixtures. If Kilmarnock maintain their top six place, which 2 teams will be bent over and told to take it?
Celtic have gained from this scenario in years gone by. The first time it ever happened Dundee played Celtic three times at Parkhead. We also had it more recently against someone else. We have also been on the receiving end. Helicopter Sunday was one such day. In fact over three seasons against Motherwell, my second team incidentally, with that particular season in the middle, we played we played seven out of ten league fixtures at Fir Park.
Well done again Phil, won’t hold my breath for a reply to your questions.
However, dare I say it, if sevco were to win on March 11th, then the stenographers would em, well I think I’ll leave it to your imagination
Fkn majik inat phil keep up the gr8 wurk
The basket of assets can do as they please (just like the dead Rangers did) and nobody will say a word to them. They have no business plan. No forward thinking. No nothing. They just every month or two get the begging bowl out.
What will be next, side letters and dual contracts?
I wonder if they even had such phrases as ‘business plan’ or ‘forward thinking’ in the seventeenth century? Let’s face it, it’s where the mindset is stuck.
Phil,
I love your new line ‘ a loss making….with a loan from close brothers!’??
Hits the spot!!! ?????
Here we go again Chris itchy sack jack ftom the shark jump shouting for Murphy to get a call up to the Scotland squad .A couple of games against the nickel n dime teams and he is a world beater. Watch the Scotland squad full up now with the bennys now that mcleish is there and itchy sack is shouting them on from his fanzine.
Why didn’t Madden stop the game for Ajer’s head injury? There’s a story needs investigating.
He actually ran straight past him.
Didn’t stop play until Aberdeen lost the ball
it’s a secret pat.
Apparently, it was down to the colour of the jersey Ajer was wearing….
As it stands……or as I understand it.
It’s akin to the paperboy keekin’ through the letterbox sayin’ …………two weeks missus.
All day long I see folk with more stupidity than money. That sentence makes more sense than it should do………..given it’s inherent…..um …….em.
10 league games and 3 possible cup games to go to achieve back to back trebles.
The league will look after itself and should be in the bag before the split.
We should be seeing off Morton which then leaves a semi and final to negotiate in the cup.
We know from previous experience what difference one or two honest mistakes can make in a cup game.
However if Dembele continues to get back to his best and we get some of the injured players back then a glut of goals will do the job.
Discipline will be crucial and in the forthcoming cup games we can’t afford to be down to 10 men or worse.
Wasn’t Broonie’s reaction today to being assaulted then having the ball belted against him just terrific.
Got up, laughing and flexing his muscles clearly asking the Dons is that all you have.
We need more of the same and history will be made.
As long as they are paying their tax bills, well are they?
The very idea of a title race is ludicrous.
The odds available from UK bookmakers for Celtic to lift the league trophy currently range from 1/66 on (most generous) to 1/250 on (most realistic). It would be their seventh consecutive national title.
Sevco Scotland’s only meaningful contribution to the league’s record books this season will be to (possibly) record the highest ever league finish for their own club – 2nd behind Celtic.
And given their current financial situation, it’s a fair bet this particular record may never be eclipsed.
Well done.
So, it’s Close (but not close, and definitely no cigar or champagne).
Phil, surely with Robertson claiming that Ibrox is awash with money what better time for creditors to be knocking on the door.
Distinct lack of mention in the media re King’s couple of days in court wrt his wee COS issue.
It’s as if nothings happening when in reality the consequences for the club could be very serious.
It’s really hard to see Rangers ever getting to the end of 2018/2019 season – the finances are just so dire – so if they are to stop 10IAR it really has to be this season. Oh dear.
Or maybe 10IAR won’t count if a double liquidated club is not there. Oh double dear.
A Celtic defeat today would have led to a media blitz of negative stories about the team and manager.
You just know the media can’t wait to get the long knives out. In fact even before the game you could read that the Aberdeen goalie actually shunned Celtic when they came calling.
Really, really, what a load of bollocks.
The financial position is dire as confirmed by the Close Bros deal yet not one of our disgraceful media has the guts to swim against the tide and tell the truth.
February, March and April payroll will drain whatever’s left of the Close Bros facility, what then with the kitchen sink already pawned?
Lets assume a best case scenario with 50,000 ST sold at £400 average.
That’s £20m less Vat, approx £16.5m net.
£4m immediately flies out the door to satisfy the Close Bros facility.
If Goss, Murphy, Cummings and Martin are all offered permanent contracts and transfer fees are agreed then thats another £4m gone.
That leaves £8.5m plus merchandising, sponsorship etc to see them through the season.
Bear in mind the ST revenue is a best case scenario and the actual income will be sonewhat less.
On a £30m turnover the last accounts showed a loss of £6m so we know the operating costs were running at about £3m per month which again will be best case as the payroll has been ramped up.
The numbers don’t lie. The payroll will have to be gutted and some
serious transfer fee income will be required to keep the lights on.
Looks very much like the current season, only a lot worse.
It’s worse than that. Remember ST sales are subject to 20% VAT so they actually have to sell £5m of tickets to earn enough to repay Close.
And remember they will need to fund a “warchest” to keep the fans on side and buying those season books
Hence the desperation to sell Morelas
Thats why an Ex Ger is the new Scotland boss. He will be selecting sevco players for the first team and squad. That, Sevco hope, will increase the value of the said players in the coming transfer saga.
You see folks SFA/Rangers had no intention of naming O’Neill as Scotland manager. It was always their intention of getting an ex ger in the job.
Phil,it has all the ingredients of a Downfall 2
Can’t remember who the author was on previous one …….but they were on the money
?
On the money. Something Sevco are not. 😉
???? Splendid Phil, yer back rocking the boat at yer best!
Standing on my bunnet saluting ye!
?
Rumour has it Phil that the “Newco” are waiting for the league split before entering into a Pre-Pack Administration. That way any points deduction (whatever the amount), does not take effect. Remember “Cheats” don’t play by the system, they “Work the system.” Developing story possibly?
In that case the points deduction would carry over till next season and they would start with minus 12……of course the reduced points deduction would be based on a new club claim, not the old one, just as they do when the Oldco debt is mentioned.
You sure about that one?
Jim
I may be wrong, but any administration event would render them ineligible for Europe for 3 years in any case?
Could the current company working from Ibrox bail on their loan repayment when the stadium fails to get a safety certificate? Would the Sfa who are currently discussing buying hampden alow them to relocate to the national stadium?
You need to laugh at the bennys on ibrox noise the guy that writes for them is a total clown we will call him coco when talking about him. He has written today about the bennys taking 6 off the highest goal scorers in British football that’s Ayr United a couple of weeks ago and that’s what kickstarted their season to where they are now . And that’s why coco has put it out there that 55 is on its way he really is the only clown in town .
I hope it’s close(d) for good brothers. ??
Thankfully the sheep never tested our pish goalkeeper today.
We need a new GK (Gordon as reserve)
A Right Back. One centre half and to sign Roberts perminantly
HH
Can remember our pish goalkeeper making at least one great save
Errrrr…. except of course the three times they “tested” him and he did his job admirably & kept a clean sheet
What game were you watching??
I agree absolutely and entirely with both your replies Nick and David.
What game were you watching Mr Fred Williams? Oh and pedantic though it may seem, the correct spelling is ‘permanently’ NOT “perminantly”.
Normally, I would not comment on this, but it is not seemly to criticise others when you may be open to criticism yourself.
Dreaming about the title race deflects the gullibillies from the real issues of cash flow problems, pawning the infrastructure and legal matters still outstanding. Of course they’ll be fed this pish if it stops them asking questions, so we will be hearing about the race to the title for weeks until it becomes mathematically impossible.
Broonie and KT were in a different class today and as tough as f***. They are both Celtic to their cores and if the whole team had the same attitude the league would have been won already. HH
Hear hear mate.
Broony’s strut.
Madden’s coupon after the 2nd goal (physical of course).
KT’s rocket.
Big Ajer’s heroics.
So many good things in one match.
And why didn’t he stop play with the head clash Mason
Back to back Treble on the way. It pays to ‘Keep Calm and Back Brendan’.
A great result today, after the disappointing performance in Russia. I still feel we could have secured progress if we had only turned up on the night. Perhaps our elimination at this stage isn’t such a bad thing considering the amount of injuries we have. Anyway it’s gone now so let’s get another title wrapped up asap and ensure back to back trebles – hopefully battering the mighty sevco on the way. Brendan needs 2 x central defenders, a goalkeeper and a right back for next season. Keep at them Phil.
Think we have more to worry about than sevco the wee rankers ie killie boys and the other mob scumbos HH
Don’t cha wish your left back was Kieran Tierney
Don’t cha wish your left back was Kieran Tierney
Don’t cha
Don’t cha
The fat bird is warming up.
Terrific performance from the Celts today, Special mention for Brown & Tierney, absolute Warriors.HH
Getting your ducks in a row with a compliant lender who will be onside for the pre-pack when the TOP prevail. Smart thinking.
Absolutely spot on as usual Phil- on all points! The headlines, as you say, were all written ready to hit the print button for the Monday morning dailies- shame that, they’ll have to put in a Sunday shift looking to see what negative spin they can put on this story!! Good luck with that one!!
The mention of creditors getting antsy about monies owed to them from Ibrokes has been a long time coming. Has anyone in debt ever encountered such patient creditors, I think not?! The lender of last resort is very much a screaming red flag to anyone with even a smidgen of financial know-how and so the most accommodating creditors in Scotland have finally started to ask when they might expect their dosh! Short answer is probably never given their form in this area and their lying criminal chairman will not even bat an eyelid at these demands. He knows he can do as he pleases but he has a tiger by the tail with Close finance, they will savage him and his whole corrupt set-up if he tries to mess with them.
This story will never be written by SMSM – maybe an English journalist will get a whiff of it, hope he comes to you for background!!!
Credit management is not a science . The figures you work with can be 18 month old . You rely on these figure and “soft” Intel when making credit decisions . This comes from newspaper, Internet, credit circless, your sales team etc . I can 100% guarentee you that a credit manager who came up against a prospective customers with financial history,”going concern”, the overdraft lie, the continued soft loans, lack of credit from bank , not to mention current Takeover panel position : would not under any circumstances use anything other than “Proforma” . “CoD” would be out of the question unless your goods are easily sold elsewhere . Throw Close Brothers in and they would just smile knowingle.
I guess creditors would be reassured by seeing a business have a normal overdraft facility in place to help iron out cash flow and help pay bills.
Of course a last ditch, highly secured over assets, and almost pawnbroking style loan at eye watering rates would spark concern rather than reassurance.
You make it sound simple Phil why do the smsm make it so hard…think we know the answer to that
And still not a credit line from a proper bank i.e overdraft facility :0)
Will UEFA react when the liquidators put oldco in the filing cabinet GOING FOR ONE
Sums it all up Phil.
This club is going to bring Scottish Football down! A disgrace of a business that everyone can see but the powers that be will not take any notice.
After all, “we” need a strong Sevco for the sake of the game! What a joke!
Great article phil but you are not going to get any scottish journalists stop laughing at the back to dig the dirt on the bennys .All to busy trying to keep in there with mad Dave the rave and his pals at ibrox .Even daviesleftpeg tried to tell the bennys about the shenanigans going on at club 1872 and James Blair conflict of interests working for the ibrox board at the same time but he was shot down in flames by people on follow follow I wonder who they could be eh lol. Still on we go now with winning the league and giving the bennys a wave goodbye.
Boom ?
????????????????????????????????
“… a loss making business with a loan from Close Brothers.”
Nice of turn of phrase from your standard. 😉
Could that not read “a loss making business without a credit line from a bank but a punitive loan from distressed lenders Close Brothers”
In other words, they’re ……