Article: James Traynor: Great Guy - Football, Aberdeen FC

My fellow sheep, The Daily Record’s James Traynor says that non-Rangers fans should stop kicking the club whilst they’re down. Should we? He could be right, I don’t know. James Traynor is not a stupid man, right enough, but he’s certainly not a clever man, either – not in the classical “I can think quickly and (more importantly) honestly and have no fear whatsoever of being wrong” kind of way, in any event.

In many ways, he might be seen as the epitome of all that is wrong in Scottish football journalism: smug, self-satisfied, disappointingly inarticulate, intellectually lazy, maybe struggles with pure logic, tribal, prickly, fixated on all things Glasgow, prone to viewing himself in quite magnificent terms. He’s a paid-up member of the grubby, thick-fingered, poorly educated boys' club that has a hold over Scottish football journalism. Without integrity, he recently said, journalists are as nothing. By his own terms, then, he is very probably nothing. And not only is he nothing, he’s unremittingly bad at being nothing. To steal a quote: the louder he talked of his honour, the faster we counted our spoons.

Anyway…...

Wild ravers like David Leggat, a disintegrating shambles of a man around whom only the most socially inadequate may usefully gather and cohere, finding a useful idiot to breathe life into their least impressive thoughts and prejudices; threatened boycotts and marches; lashing out at everyone but themselves, widely oblivious, it would seem, to the urgent moral necessity of the anger and punishments heading their way.

There is a petulance and self-pity to this type of defiance that reeks of a knee-jerk (intellectual) immaturity. These are not good minds and we are all made that little bit more stupid by listening to such gruesomely self-indulgent outbursts.

But should we keep on hitting them as they fall? It’s tempting, of course, and would be very richly deserved, but it may also be rather inelegant. I mean, this is a meltdown, an implosion, a shatteringly unstylish descent and it seems inevitable that Rangers will fall limp to the canvas, quite broken. We can maybe allow ourselves to simply stand back and watch, satisfied that a knockout blow has already been delivered.

It’s like the punch Ali never gave Foreman as he was heading south towards the floor in their epic Rumble in the Jungle. Pure class. Battered and concussed, Rangers are flailing and drunkenly lashing out and the only way from here may be down. And all of it, every last cutting wound is entirely self-inflicted. Why bother trying to hurt them when they’re doing a fine job of it all by themselves? Why muddy our boots in their blood?

The harder you gloat, the sweeter you make it for your victims when they eventually pick themselves off the floor and punch your lights out. As they will. Eventually. Given time.

And so, for possibly the first time in my life, I’m probably more or less with James Traynor on this one, although not for any reasons he would particularly like and I’ve never once laid the boot in to Rangers, anyway - Craig Whyte doesn't count. I’d like Rangers to be thoroughly brutalised for their misdemeanours and I’d like them to survive and then come back stronger (and with a greater sense of social and sporting responsibilities).* These feelings are mutually compatible and release me from the tiring obligation to mock, gloat or torment.

Besides, I have no real idea if Aberdeen have always played strictly by the rules. Do you?

*Although my first (dream sequence) preference is for all the other clubs to derogate from any and all articles binding them to the SPL, SFL, SFA etc and start again without Celtic and Rangers. This is the best chance we’ll ever get and it ought to at least be tried. Barring oblivion, what’s the worst that could happen?

 

Traynor is a fud, full stop.

Will not listen or read anything he says.

I grew up with the likes of Ian Archer, Bob Crampsey and Arthur Montford articulate and intellectual giants compared to the shabby, lazy and moronic ramblings of Traynor and his ilk.

 

Hello ER, how are you doing? Did you ever get to the bottom of why an excitingly angry posse came round here looking for you a wee while back? They were accusing you of all sorts, you know. It was terrific. I had half a mind to shop you into the police myself, as it happens, just to keep the blissful drama going.

You see, if I wasn’t so in love with the sound of my own clacking fingers then that’s what I should probably just have said – saving everyone a lot of heartache in the process. Plus, with only the merest modification - Traynor was a fud, full-stop - it would make a lovely inscription for his tombstone, although maybe his family would prefer the rather cosier sounding Jim was a fud, full-stop.

I don’t normally read or listen to these people either, Mr Road, and haven’t done so for many, many years. It’s only in these past few months, in which I’ve forced myself to find material about the chaos at Rangers - because the story, for whatever reason, has me properly interested – that I’ve been reminded of just how bad they all are (with the very occasional exception of Graham Speirs, perhaps). Scotland is abysmally served by these people.

I think I maybe learned the word “stramash” from Arthur Montford. I don’t even know if Scotsport is still going in any form? And Ian Archer had a lovely habit of saying the kind of things that you can be sure a lot of people were thinking but never got round to articulating. He also seemed pleasingly unfazed by the doubly corrupt notion that you can’t say anything against Rangers or Celtic because their fans would go mental and the game needs them. The first part may be true, their fans do go mental and may make responsible journalism difficult (for the weak-willed) as a result, but the second part has never struck me as being true – or anywhere near being true. I think the majority of people probably believe it because that’s what they’ve been told for year after very long year. But there we are.

Sunny today, the birds are singing and everything feels suspiciously hopeful.

 

Rangers have the biggest travelling support in Scotland, so their imminent demise would starve clubs from much needed revenue. Without Rangers coming to visit your smaller clubs, then they'd be starved of 2 of their big pay days and would of course struggle to make ends meet in this economic climate.

This re-admittance as a Newco into the SPL purely based on greed. Not one Rangers fan I know has any qualms about dropping down to Div 3, and a few of them, myself included, would actually welcome the change from the monotomy of the SPL borefest. The only people who want Rangers to stay in the SPL and the chairmen of the clubs who would suffer from losing Rangers fans money.

 

I think it was a case of mistaken identity. Never had more than one account at any time and I think I managed to convince them.

It was funny though all the bile being directed at me. You have to take everything with a mugful of slat on here.

 

I agree with you 100% Edge.

Greed as always is the factor.

Sensible people agree with the drop down to Division 3. Any Rangers fan I have spoken to have said the same.

It will also give you a chance to have a clean sweep of all titles in Scotland, maybe

 

ffs

 

Hello Edge. Are you the real/original Edge, the one who got banned? I hope so, because he was good and I liked him, but I have limited patience and time for fannying around with impostors. (No offence, nothing personal, I just can’t be bothered.)

Then again, you could just lie and say “yes, it’s me, in all my magnificence” and I’ll be none the wiser. I see a flaw in my plan.

Jesus.

I’ll take a chance and imagine you’re the original Edge and take some time to respond accordingly.....

Yes.

Yes.

Yes. I have a dreadful feeling that the rest of Scottish football may be about to disgrace themselves.

Interesting. When Aberdeen were at their very ****test I used to long for us to get relegated and be done with it. We’re not meant to say these things, I know, but I would have welcomed the chance for a clear-out, an honest re-evaluation, the thought of playing different teams (and actually being able to compete with them) and a permanent and ruthless slashing of the wage bill. I think these things would have helped in the long run. Likewise, I imagine Rangers would eventually fare pretty well if they started at the bottom of the tree and, although it may seem slightly strange, I would be excited by the prospect of the journey upwards.

Yes. And I can’t remember the last time I felt so utterly powerless as a fan. How dare these people act in such a morally corrupt way and do so in the name of my club? Makes me seethe (impotently).


ER - Well done for convincing the mob. You’d have made a fine politician or diplomat, for sure, although you may choose to take these words with a very large pinch of slat.

 

Slat

I wished we were relegated when we should have been. I know they could not allow Falkirk up because instead of getting their stadium in order they spent on players which won them the league. However they could have promoted the second placed team or third or whatever that met the requirements.

 

Nicely said and I couldn’t agree more. (Well, I could agree more, if I really, really tried, but that would become both unseemly and unmanly.) I felt we were saved that year by a form of offically sanctioned cheating and it still makes me queasy when I think on it. Someone – anyone – should have replaced Aberdeen in the league. It was and remains utterly disgraceful.

Truly, I am noble.

 

This saves me starting another pointless thread.

Kick-off is at 7.45 (less than a minute to go) and I'm not sure if anyone in the world cares about this match.

Aberdeen manager Craig Brown: "We've watched the game against Dunfermline again and the tape clearly indicates it was an even game, if not a game in our favour."

Good. The game finished 3-0 to Dunfermline. Is Craig Brown losing the plot?

Anyway, Rory Fallon, Rob Milsom, Clark Robertson, Stephen Hughes and Yoann Folly are all out and Isaac Osbourne and Peter Pawlett are likely to miss the game, as well, lacking match fitness as they do.

Here's a quick chance for revenge against Hibs for knocking us out of the Scottish Cup, however, although as revenge goes, this would be pretty weak.

Wish list: Dunfermline to beat Inverness (just to make it tense at the bottom), St Mirren to beat Kilmarnock (we need to at least claim 7th place), Dundee Utd to beat Rangers (to give Motherwell a glimmer of hope of finishing 2nd).

Let's see.....


Edit: I don't think Motherwell can finish second after all. Their goal difference is vastly inferior to that of Rangers. If Dundee Utd can knock thirty or so goals past the struggling Ibrox outfit, however, we're maybe back in business.

 

Aberdeen 0 Hibs 1 (Andrew Considine own-goal)

Excellent.

 

From the BBC: "Pat Fenlon's men are giving Aberdeen a bit of a thumping and easing their relegation fears in the process. Sean O'Hanlon flicks a header past Jamie Langfield to double Hibs' advantage."

2-0 Hibs.

I don't know why I bother.

 

par for the course really.

Considine is always blowing his mouth off in the local rags and then making a **** of himself.

**** him.

 

jesus wept, it gets worse!!

 

"Rangers double their lead as Sone Aluko slaloms past a few Dundee Utd challenges and shows great composure to fire the ball beyond Dusan Pernis. That's Aluko's eighth goal of the season."

Thank God he's not playing for us anymore. The very last thing we need is someone capable of slaloming past a few defenders and slamming the ball in the net.

So, to recap:

Aberdeen 0 Hibs 2
Kilmarnock 0 St Mirren 1 (St Mirren are only allowed to win if Aberdeen win, that was the deal.)
Rangers 3 Dundee Utd 0 (Aluko just scored another one - his second of the night - as I was writing. What a clown.)
Inverness 0 Dunfermiline 0

 

It's very nearly unbearable, ER. I'm no longer embarrassed or surprised, merely numbed.

 

Is he? I didn’t know that. How depressing. General rule to be followed by all players: never speak publicly about anything. Ever. Especially, although by no means exclusively, if you're ****e

The world would be a better place.

 

my thoughts exactly.

a club i grew up loving in 1970 now just makes me feel sick to the stomach with successive boards since 1995 who have devastated this club.

 

Well, yes, no arguments there. I feel beyond bored of it all, exhausted and too indifferent to complain. To anyone. Anywhere. The rot has come down from the top, spreading and contaminating everything, and like leeching woodworms they’ve steadily wrecked the infrastructure and made it a club I’m barely proud to call my own.

Exhume Chris Anderson. Exhume Richard Donald. It’s the only way forward.

I’m craving a bit of outright decency at Pittodrie. Absolutely ****ing craving it.

Half-time. I’ll walk the dogs and make some (divine) pasta. I salute my own endeavours. Well done me.