Blatter Ad hominem, Hampden, Thompson

Rumours circulated last week that is was Sepp Blatter who leaked the million or so emails to The Sunday Times, allowing them to uncover previously hidden payments between Fifa delegates at the time of the Qatar 2022 vote.  That looks fanciful in the face of Blatters tub-thumping, that criticism of the voting process is motivated by racism.

The motivation behind The Sunday Times is irrelevant, Fifa is either corrupt or not.  Blatter is indulging in the ancient art of Ad hominem, rejecting a claim not on its own merits, but on an irrelevant facet of the person making the claim.  Sony, Adidas and others have led the way is asking for proper oversight of Fifa to protect their brands being damaged by association.  This is all very well but by postponing any disclosure until after the forthcoming World Cup, Fifa have years to allow sponsor angst to dissipate.  Expect nothing to change.

What a fascinating wee story that the SFA are considering leaving Hampden to Queens Park to maintain and ‘fill’ with a few hundred spectators each game.  If this is a bargaining position to force Queens into cutting a generous deal, fair enough.

In the event the SFA decide to move away from Hampden, it’s worth keeping an eye on the stadium.  Those who appear intent on driving Newco Rangers into liquidation could do with a spare stadium in Glasgow, just in case the current owners of Ibrox do not succumb to manipulation.

On the subject of that lot, Dundee United’s Stephen Thompson’s playing a blinder. Not only is he cherry-picking their youth talent but he’s also raised the inconvenient fact – Newco Rangers is a two year old football club. Follow the money on this one.

Well done to BBC Alba and Alex O’Henley for the outstanding Jock Stein documentary last night.  It’s difficult to add much to the Stein story after all these years but they managed to do so. The level of detail contained therein was remarkable, and it was nothing short of astonishing that we heard first-hand testimony on Jock playing for Blantyre Vics.

If you’re short of a Father’s Day gift, Tommy Gemmell, Bertie Auld and John Hughes will be signing copies of their books at the Celtic Store in Argyle St from 1pm until 4pm on Saturday.  Three Lions, one venue, bring your camera.

It’s also an enormous privilege to announce that after we hosted a live chat session with Willie Wallace last year and Tommy Gemmell last month, Bertie Auld will be live on CQN from 1pm this Friday.  Bertie is the strong silent type, so you’ll need to prepare a few questions to bring him out of his shell.

Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his tome, All the Best, freshly signed by the man himself this morning.

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