Perhaps the most respected of Scotlands current crop of sports journalists, -okay, its a fairly limited field- Graeme Spiers, kind of let us know how things work, or at least have been working, in Scottish football .
In his column in the London times, Spiers cast doubt on the integrity of Murdoch MacLennan, and astonishingly, compared him unfavourably to men like Campbell Ogilvie and Gordon Smith, largely on the grounds that he hasn’t met him.
If he was in kings shoes, that would make him a convicted fraudster, which even for the most imaginative writer would make empathy a little difficult. But not our Graeme, as he explained when Barcabhoy on twitter asked him..
Did you really mean this ? @GrahamSpiers It’s INCONCEIVABLE that Murdoch MacLennan was impartial,but you have no idea whether Ogilvie & Gordon Smith were not impartial Really ? How do you come to that differentiation, especially given track record suggests the opposite
I don’t live on Twitter 24/7 but I very happily answer Qs when I can. C Ogilivie is a very decent guy who got dragged into a mess at RFC. It can happen to good people. I’ve got no RFC or CFC dog in this dispute, though I know some of you guys pour over all this.
Because of conversations I’ve had with both CO and GS, I can assure you, it absolutely is answering your question. Though clearly not in the way you wish. I base my opinions firmly on what I see and hear. I’m sorry if you really want a different answer.
I can’t argue with him basing his opinions on what he sees and hears, thats how it should be, but when it comes to defending Ogilvie and smith, perhaps he should have looked a little harder and listened a little more carefully.
It also begs the question, if Spiers was convinced that Ogilvie and Smith, and by extension possibly a few others involved in industrial scale cheating, were good guys dragged into a bad situation, other , less professional and competent hacks are probably still fighting amongst themselves for the right to have their babies.
Other hacks will pick up on the story, and again a cynic might conclude that they are out to get MacLennan, who must have upset some of them somehow.
It’s quite sad. The evidence is there that Ogilvie especially, and a few others, need to be asked a few questions about their actions while at the SFA.
However, and I’m an old cynic, I’m quite certain that Spiers wouldn’t have taken any evidence offered to him suggesting malpractice and taken it straight to his pals at the SFA to allow them to get their stories straight.
I’m sure we all are.
When one of our most respected and experienced reporters is happy that a couple of at best compromised and at worst corrupt officials are good guys, then lamb, perhaps once out of favour, is firmly back on the menu again, with its own delicate aroma masking anything else that is permeating the air.
With EBT recipients in several positions not only in the media, but throughout the game, one gets the feeling that wagons are being circled, and the new sheriff is being told which bars he can drink in…
As for MacLennan, who is new to the job, I couldnt care less if he was a sash wearing drum bashing marching lodge Grandmaster as long as he does his job without fear or favour.
As with Ian Maxwell, I’ll reserve judgement until we see if the media distrust is down to the fact that they are going to clean the place up, which i’m beginning to suspect it might be.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the tradesmen are in and getting on with tarting the old place up a bit..
Gerry McCulloch of Celtic TV gives us a wee tour..
It all looks very nice, and it never does any harm to spruce things up a bit.
We hear the next phase of the improvements involve electrifying the underground rail link to the Vatican, new hospitality suites for the council and most importantly , a new waiting area for the SMSM
Richard Wilson-not that one-has written a piece for the Football Life looking at the TV viewing figures for last season, and its very interesting..
Can someone make sure whoever negotiates for the next set of TV rights reads it ?
Or, if its Doncaster again, has it read and explained to him ?
Over at Ibrox, the summer of stars continues..
Ovie Ejaria could seal Rangers loan in next 48 hours as Steven Gerrard steps up swoop for Liverpool youngster
Liverpool kid Ovie Ejaria has been lined up as Steven Gerrard’s fourth signing for Rangers.
The 20-year-old midfielder is edging towards a loan deal at Ibrox and a switch could be completed within the next 48 hours.
And Gerrard is also keen to bring in his Anfield team-mate Dominic Solanke to complete a double swoop for the Reds’ promising youngsters.
Ejaria, who spent last season on a short-term contract at Sunderland and made 11 appearances for the Wearsiders, is to be sent out again by Jurgen Klopp, with a switch to Glasgow looking likely.
This is from the Record, and the desparation to find something, anything , about this kid to feed to the hordes is embarrassing.
And then there’s Oli MacBurnie, who is out of contract at Swansea, who would love to play for Rangers, but has clearly not been following the news since around 2011.
Its all becoming somewhat tiresome and somewhat predictable, despite introducing new characters to the long running pantomime, the storylines remain the same.
A little bit more effort if you will. Though I’m sure the producers won’t let us down…
Yesterday, this image was yours to consider..
Caption
The fenian lampost fever hits new levels, it’s declared as the most visited tourist attraction on trip advisor.
today, we celebrate the medium of street art…