J'Accuse

[Juancornetto 1]

â??Jâ??Accuse!â? cried the writer Emile Zola in print in 1898, in an attempt to unearth the lies and cover up of the French army in 1894 in its persecution of Captain Alfred Dreyfuss.

 

Dreyfuss, a young officer of Jewish descent, had been convicted of selling military secrets to the Germans. The sentence for his â??treasonâ? was to be dismissed from the Army and be sent to Devilâ??s Island.

 

Two years later, new evidence came to light showing the real culprit as Major Ferdinand Esterhazy. Rather than back down, the authorities created new â??evidenceâ? against Dreyfuss.

 

â??Jâ??Accuse!â? cries this writer today. Not to unearth lies. Not to expose a cover up. The lies are well known. The cover up is open to all now. Rather, I accuse men with a supposed love of our beloved game. The game that is, in my opinion, in a critical condition and one heartbeat from being on life support.

 

Men such as Peter Lawwell of Celtic. Dare I say he is a vain man? You can judge for yourself when I tell you that the job title for his position at the Parkhead club was changed from Chief Executive to Executive Director, Head of Operations. He has attracted criticism since 2008, however, as Rangers had won three championships in a row. In particular, Celtic fans cite the club's refusal to increase their offer for Steven Fletcher in January 2009, after which Rangers overhauled Celtic to win the 2008â??09 Scottish Premier League championship. In 2010 it was reported that Lawwell earned a wage of more than £700,000 a year, after receiving a 25% rise from his previous contract for the 2008-09 season. After Celtic failed to win a trophy in the 2009â??10, season Lawwellâ??s lowest point came when he apologised to the Celtic fans.

 

A normal man would have been humiliated by that apology. A normal man would have made himself a promise never to be placed in such a position again. But what lengths would a man, normal or not, go to in an effort to ensure that did not happen?

 

What plots were hatched from Lawwellâ??s £1.5 million, 12 room Springhill mansion?

 

Was he so determined to overtake Rangers success that he was willing to destroy Scottish football in the process? Not content with being in control of the second most successful club in Scotland, Lawwell held meetings with Chairmen of other clubs over the last couple of years. Meetings that resulted in punitive action taken against the most successful club, Rangers.

 

Lawwell, who denies engineering the appointment of Stewart Regan as Chief Executive of the SFA, has firmly backed his man ... Iâ??m sorry ... the man since his appointment despite a calamitous and controversial reign.

 

Lawwell, despite his lofty position, I mean the one at Celtic, not the one in July, 2011, where he accepted a place on the Scottish Football Association's new professional game board, said nothing when the game seemed fated to die when clubs rejected â??the only way to save the gameâ?. I would have thought he might have been vocal. Instead, like a puppet master, he watched as SPL Chairman after SPL Chairman urged reform. Thankfully, the SFL Chairmen didnâ??t like the plan. Whatever it was and whoever created it.

 

Now, the â??new only way to save the gameâ? has been voted in as the way to go. Despite due diligence only being disclosed at the last minute, despite uncertainty about how the set up will be funded, despite the lack of a TV deal, despite sponsorship. And, alarmingly, despite the Annan Athletic Chairman Henry McClelland denouncing the plan before the vote with these words: â??The SPL are asking us to take a leap of faith â?? and itâ??s too much of a leap in too many areas.

 

â??The SPL have stated there would be a central pot of £17.95million to distribute in prize money among the 42 clubs. However, credible sources have indicated to us that figure might be as low as £14m.

 

â??Due diligence would give us comfort on the financial state of the SPL but they have refused to entertain us. The SFL even offered to incur the £30,000 it would cost to hire an independent company.

 

â??The SPL have refused. We have not even been privy to details of their existing broadcast deal. This only throws up suspicions.

â??I wouldnâ??t put it past the SPL to produce figures on the eve of the meeting aimed at giving SFL clubs the comfort they require but they wouldnâ??t be independent and there would be no time to study them in depth.

 

â??I would have difficulty taking them on their word, knowing what theyâ??ve fed us in the past. Iâ??d prefer a cautious approach.

â??Iâ??d hate for SFL clubs to walk into this blindfolded and go pear-shaped in two years.â?

 

and Scottish Football League president Jim Ballantyne, who is chairman of Airdrie, utter the scathing "It is a takeover. We are joining their company, their organisation.

 

"They have swallowed us up. We could use nice words about it, but it is a takeover.

 

"The original plan and discussion going back many months was for a new merged body but as things went on it became clear that that wasn't going to happen.

 

"There was a positive vote today regarding yes and no but a lot of people left the room with a heavy heart.�

 

Now all during the run up to the first and second â??only ways to save the gameâ?, I read with horror the propaganda from Rod Petrie, Stephen Thompson and the deranged Stewart Milne. Well, he was deranged the time I saw him rush down the Hampden steps the day the first plan was thrown out. But not a whisper from the man at Celtic Park. Strange that. Or was he trying to be the nice guy and let the rest of the SPL Chairmen do the talking?

 

Did the Chairmen really fall for a line that crowds would flock back to a new set up? Crowds were dramatically down in the season just gone. Their clubs are on the brink of oblivion. Hearts are, as I write, attempting to raise money to pay staff wages and something else which will save them from dying. What is it, now? Oh aye, thatâ??s it. A £25 million debt.

 

The rest are in trouble too, indeed only St. Mirren and Ross County seem to be living within their means. The former, by having sold their ground and moving home. But they canâ??t do that again.

 

So are they gullible, stupid or greedy? Because they must be one of them or they would, at least, have questioned the Executive Director, Head of Operations, Peter Lawwell about his motives. They might also ask why his club released attendance figures from every home game which were, frankly, laughable. 40,000? 50,000? Try 25,000.

 

Eventually, all the accusations against Alfred Dreyfus were demonstrated to be baseless. In 1906, Dreyfus was exonerated and reinstated as a major in the French Army. He served during the whole of World War I, ending his service with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

 

The accusations against Peter Lawwell will remain.

 

 

 

 

http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/article.php?i=74&a=j'-accuse

[the gunslinger 3,366]

someone watching the chase tonight?

[Frankie 8,148]

Good article that...

[the gunslinger 3,366]

indeed. excellent infact.

[Juancornetto 1]

I only whacked it on here because it's a particularly good piece and more people should get the chance to read this kind of stuff. I'm not really a VB type but they have some cracking writers.

[ian1964 10,410]

I only whacked it on here because it's a particularly good piece and more people should get the chance to read this kind of stuff. I'm not really a VB type but they have some cracking writers.

 

I put it up on FF.............................................it's now disappeared!