Latest news with #CourageandTitles
Glasgow Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Ex-Rangers owner accuses Celtic chief of 'revelling in demise'
In his autobiography, 'Mettle: Tragedy, Courage and Titles,' Murray discusses his relationship with the former Celtic chief executive during his tenure as owner of the Ibrox club. Both men had previous connections through the steel and mining industries before Lawwell became Celtic's chief executive in 2003. Murray claims that Lawwell, now Celtic chairman, had "completely changed trajectory" when he took on the role. He wrote: "Peter was someone I knew previously. "One of my companies, GM Mining, did business with Scottish Coal where Peter worked. "I once invited him and his wife to Ibrox for a game. "He was delighted to accept and back then was good company. "But by the time he rose to become chief executive of Celtic, he was on a completely different trajectory." Murray further claimed that Lawwell had "far too much influence" in Scottish football and that after he sold Rangers, "it seemed he was positively revelling in the demise of the club." He added: "With very few influential or credible figures working to Rangers' benefit, he was a pivotal figure."
Scottish Sun
16 hours ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
‘I can't do this' – Sir David Murray reveals how he almost sold Rangers for £40million in 2005
Things could have been very different COSTLY MISTAKE 'I can't do this' – Sir David Murray reveals how he almost sold Rangers for £40million in 2005 Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ONE flourish of his expensive Mont Blanc pen and the history of Rangers would have been rewritten. Sir David Murray sat in an exclusive London hotel with his club's destiny on the line. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 2 Former Rangers owner Sir David Murray Credit: PA:Press Association 2 The famous gates at Ibrox Stadium Credit: PA:Empics Sport On the opposite side of the polished table was Sir Jack Petchey, the English entrepreneur who had once bought Watford from Elton John and sat on West Ham's board. Petchey had agreed the £40million purchase of Rangers to end Murray's then 17-year reign as owner and chairman. All that was needed to conclude the deal was Murray's signature. But he stalled. Now the former Gers supremo has broken his silence on the hush-hush sale which fell through at the 11th hour back in 2005. In his new autobiography — 'Mettle: Tragedy, Courage and Titles' — he reveals: 'A deal had been agreed six years before the actual sale. 'I walked out on a room full of lawyers and accountants in a suite at a London hotel when only my final signature was required to complete the transaction. 'I look back now and think, 'Did I really do that?'. 'I had been introduced to someone telling me that a gentleman called Jack Petchey, later to become Sir Jack and who recently passed away, was seriously interested in buying Rangers. "Jack's credentials were quite impeccable. Papers were drawn up. 'We had agreed a deal. Jack would become the new owner of Rangers and the price was to be £40million. New Rangers chiefs Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe's first interview 'With a layer of paperwork on the desk I was handed a fine black Mont Blanc pen to make the final signature — something I do so many times every day — but I hesitated. 'Something stopped me. 'I endeavoured to renegotiate an additional sum and then realised that I just couldn't sign it. In his new autobiography 'Mettle: Tragedy, Courage and Titles', Murray discusses his relationship with Lawwell and Parkhead powerbrokers including Fergus McCann and Dermot Desmond. Football's scoop of the century By Roger Hannah IT'S The Sun Wot Broke It. But Sir David Murray didn't mind that his historic swoop for Maurice Johnston was first revealed on the front page of this newspaper in 1989. He was just relieved he'd managed to help Graeme Souness pull off a transfer swoop which rocked Scottish football. Even now, 36 years on, landing the Scotland striker from Celtic's grasp — and making him the first high- profile Catholic to play for Gers — is regarded as the most audacious swoop of all time. And Murray recalls: 'All the talk was of Johnston joining Celtic. But Graeme came to me and said, 'Apparently he's not signed, the paperwork's not done, we can get him'. 'I asked for a day to think about it, phoned him and said, 'Yes, I think we should do it for numerous reasons — for football reasons and to remove an area where we can be criticised for not signing Catholic players. And why not make it the best one, who can come in and contribute?' 'Even though at that time Mark Hateley and Ally McCoist were the strikers and had an excellent partnership. 'Finally, just 24 hours before we were due to unveil the player, we took a call from a young journalist at The Sun in Scotland ahead of a story being published. 'On July 10, 1989, The Sun ran half of its front page with the simple headline MO JOINS GERS. 'It certainly didn't spoil the unveiling. If anything, it ramped up the tension!' Johnston, who had played with Celts before a spell at Nantes in France, was pictured with Hoops boss Billy McNeill in 1989 but hadn't signed his contract to return. Gers boss Souness, who had played with Johnston for Scotland, realised the move hadn't been concluded and kickstarted the monumental move. 'I looked up then told everyone in the room, 'I can't do this. The deal's off'.' Sir Jack, who passed away 12 months ago, was a highly-respected businessman in London. He set up the Jack Petchey Foundation in 1999 which was created to provide opportunities for young people across London and Essex through sport, science and art. He also lifts the lid on Gers' battles with their Old Firm rivals over his 23 years at Ibrox — and the shift in the balance of power in Glasgow. SIR DAVID MURRAY: A TIMELINE 1951 - Born in Ayr 1974 - Founds Murray International Metals aged 23 1976 - Loses both legs in a car crash 1984 - Awarded Young Scottish Businessman of the Year 1988 - Buys Rangers FC for £6million 1989 - Rangers win the first of a record-equalling nine successive league titles and buy first high profile Catholic, Maurice Johnston, for £1.5m from under the noses of Celtic. 1991: Walter Smith succeeds Graeme Souness as manager. 1992 - Wife Louise - mum of their two sons - dies after a cancer battle. 1993: Rangers sign Duncan Ferguson for a record transfer fee between British clubs of £4million. 1995: Paul Gascoigne signs for a club record £4.3m. 1998: Dick Advocaat is appointed manager and club break their transfer record three times that summer by signing Arthur Numan (£4.5m), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (£5m) and Andrei Kanchelskis (£5.5m). Murray declares that for 'every £5 Celtic spend, we will spend £10.' 2000: Rangers smash transfer record by signing Tore Andre Flo from Chelsea for £12m. 2001: Murray Park is opened at a cost of £14m. 2007 - Knighted for services to business 2009 - Sir David steps down as Rangers chairman and as a member of the board, with the club having won 15 titles and 21 cups during his tenure May 2011 - He sells his controlling interest in Rangers for £1 to Wavetower Limited, owned by businessman Craig Whyte. The foundation has invested more than £170m into youth projects and he received his knighthood in the 2016 New Year Honours for his work with the foundation. Sir Jack was also involved in football for almost 50 years. He was appointed director of West Ham in 1978 before purchasing Watford from Sir Elton in 1990. - Mettle: Tragedy, Courage & Titles by Sir David Murray, is on sale Thursday July 3 from Amazon and all good bookshops. Preorder on Amazon here. Sir David is donating his royalties to Erskine Hospital.
Scottish Sun
20 hours ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Ex-Rangers owner Sir David Murray APOLOGISES for selling club to Craig Whyte 14 years after deal which led to collapse
He's lifted the lid on the most talked about deal in history SORRY END Ex-Rangers owner Sir David Murray APOLOGISES for selling club to Craig Whyte 14 years after deal which led to collapse Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SIR DAVID MURRAY has apologised for selling Rangers to Craig Whyte — 14 years after the £1 deal which triggered the club's collapse. The former Gers owner admits the sale was a 'huge mistake' in his new autobiography 'Mettle: Tragedy, Courage and Titles'. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 4 David Murray (right) signs over the rights of Rangers to Craig Whyte (left) 4 Craig Whyte leaving the high court in Glasgow. Credit: John Gunion - The Sun Glasgow 4 Sir David Murray leaves the High Court in Glasgow after giving evidence against Craig Whyte Credit: PA:Press Association Whyte took control in May 2011, but presided over the financial crash at Ibrox which resulted in administration nine months later and ultimately liquidation. Murray, now 73, claimed at the time he was 'duped' by Whyte. But he has now said sorry for flogging the club at a time he was battling health issues. He said: 'I apologise. 'It was a huge error of judgment in the middle of a financial crisis. 'Looking back, I had made a huge mistake. 'I deeply regretted and still regret selling the club to Whyte. 'And I freely admit that if the information had been available to me at the time I would not have gone through with it.' Whyte bought the club from Murray just days before Gers won the league title with a 5-1 triumph over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. But the financial crisis soon unravelled, with Whyte wrestling with £18m debts he inherited and HMRC battles. New Rangers chiefs Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe's first interview It emerged the new owner had used money projected to come from future season tickets to allow him to complete his purchase. And under Whyte's stewardship, the Gers went into administration and then liquidation in 2012 — and were plunged to the fourth tier of Scottish football. SIR DAVID MURRAY: A TIMELINE 1951 - Born in Ayr 1974 - Founds Murray International Metals aged 23 1976 - Loses both legs in a car crash 1984 - Awarded Young Scottish Businessman of the Year 1988 - Buys Rangers FC for £6million 1989 - Rangers win the first of a record-equalling nine successive league titles and buy first high profile Catholic, Maurice Johnston, for £1.5m from under the noses of Celtic. 1991: Walter Smith succeeds Graeme Souness as manager. 1992 - Wife Louise - mum of their two sons - dies after a cancer battle. 1993: Rangers sign Duncan Ferguson for a record transfer fee between British clubs of £4million. 1995: Paul Gascoigne signs for a club record £4.3m. 1998: Dick Advocaat is appointed manager and club break their transfer record three times that summer by signing Arthur Numan (£4.5m), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (£5m) and Andrei Kanchelskis (£5.5m). Murray declares that for 'every £5 Celtic spend, we will spend £10.' 2000: Rangers smash transfer record by signing Tore Andre Flo from Chelsea for £12m. 2001: Murray Park is opened at a cost of £14m. 2007 - Knighted for services to business 2009 - Sir David steps down as Rangers chairman and as a member of the board, with the club having won 15 titles and 21 cups during his tenure May 2011 - He sells his controlling interest in Rangers for £1 to Wavetower Limited, owned by businessman Craig Whyte. Murray added: 'Do I regret the sale to Craig Whyte? Absolutely. 'I know others had doubts. 'Paul Murray was keen to buy the club and I had nothing but respect for him. 'He is a Rangers fan and wanted what was best for the club. But at that time he was not able to make a satisfactory offer. 4 Front page of the Scottish Sun dated 10 July 1989 Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 'There have always been suggestions that I was under ferocious pressure from the bank to do the deal but that was not the case at all. 'The bank wanted their money, of course, and I had made it clear that I wanted out of Rangers.' Ayr-born steel magnate Murray — who was knighted in 2007 for services to business in Scotland — bought Rangers for £6m from Lawrence Marlborough in 1988. Under his guidance, Gers enjoyed their greatest domestic era, including Nine in a Row championship success from 1989-97. They competed in the first Champions League in 1992/93 and made the 2008 Uefa Cup final in Manchester. Football's scoop of the century By Roger Hannah IT'S The Sun Wot Broke It. But Sir David Murray didn't mind that his historic swoop for Maurice Johnston was first revealed on the front page of this newspaper in 1989. He was just relieved he'd managed to help Graeme Souness pull off a transfer swoop which rocked Scottish football. Even now, 36 years on, landing the Scotland striker from Celtic's grasp — and making him the first high- profile Catholic to play for Gers — is regarded as the most audacious swoop of all time. And Murray recalls: 'All the talk was of Johnston joining Celtic. But Graeme came to me and said, 'Apparently he's not signed, the paperwork's not done, we can get him'. 'I asked for a day to think about it, phoned him and said, 'Yes, I think we should do it for numerous reasons — for football reasons and to remove an area where we can be criticised for not signing Catholic players. And why not make it the best one, who can come in and contribute?' 'Even though at that time Mark Hateley and Ally McCoist were the strikers and had an excellent partnership. 'Finally, just 24 hours before we were due to unveil the player, we took a call from a young journalist at The Sun in Scotland ahead of a story being published. 'On July 10, 1989, The Sun ran half of its front page with the simple headline MO JOINS GERS. 'It certainly didn't spoil the unveiling. If anything, it ramped up the tension!' Johnston, who had played with Celts before a spell at Nantes in France, was pictured with Hoops boss Billy McNeill in 1989 but hadn't signed his contract to return. Gers boss Souness, who had played with Johnston for Scotland, realised the move hadn't been concluded and kickstarted the monumental move. In his autobiography — published this week — he offers a deeply personal insight into his extraordinary life and work. He lifts the lid on his relationship with bosses Graeme Souness — still a close friend — Walter Smith, Dick Advocaat, Alex McLeish and Paul le Guen. Murray also reveals details of his relationship with superstar players including Paul Gascoigne and record scorer Ally McCoist, who would be appointed manager by Whyte after his buy-out - Mettle: Tragedy, Courage & Titles by Sir David Murray, is on sale Thursday July 3 from Amazon and all good bookshops. Preorder on Amazon here. Sir David is donating his royalties to Erskine Hospital.
