Rangers: how come nobody saw this coming?
After the markets crashed and RBS imploded, the Queen found herself on a tour of the City of London quite recently. Surrounded by suits and flunkeys she suddenly paused and asked:
“How come nobody saw this coming?”
She’s not been to Ibrox recently, but the same question hangs heavy. How come nobody saw Sir David Murray’s Rangers empire was crumbling?
How come nobody at the club , the SFA , the SPL questioned whether Craig Whyte really was the man to buy RFC?
Read more: SPL boss says rules applied without fear nor favour
Because – like the bankers – everyone was having too much fun living the dream? Partly yes, but partly a crucial check and balance to all the Ibrox hype had all but gone.
For years too much football ‘journalism’ in Glasgow had been too lazy, sycophantic and incapable of asking awkward questions.
Some notable exceptions of course – but the dismal rule stands out thereby. And it’s not clear things are getting all that much better even when faced with the massive corporate car-crash which is Rangers today.
(Click on the picture above for more reports on the crisis at Rangers)
The culture of taking wild stories at face value and pumping them out appears alive and well in Glasgow – the record will show the MSM in that city have been left standing time and time again by bloggers getting the facts in their spare time often many miles from Glasgow.
Media studies PhD anyone? Tis fertile ground.
But don’t take my word, here’s Graham Spiers, Glasgow football writer for many years and prepared to stand up and tell the world about where it went awry, about succulent lamb and about fine wine: