Gerwelly 115 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I copied this from elsewhere and put it in the other thread but felt it would get lost. It was never a job. More of an absolute joy, if truth be told.But all good things come to an end and when they do, it’s important to end with some good things.When writing this, my final newspaper column, the memories come flooding in. When the time comes to change direction and move on, let the best of those memories rush from every corner of your mind and keep the worst of them locked away.If people who have abused you because of their own bigoted and narrow-minded ways, or events that might have saddened you deeply, are allowed light and oxygen you let them tarnish and blacken what you’ve done and achieved.For instance, this column – the final one after 37 years in newspapers – could bang on about supporters who have spat on my coats and jackets, thrown all sorts of insults and occasionally bricks and bottles. But that would demean everything.I could name managers, players, club directors and administrators who, because the truth can hurt, have wished me all kinds of harm and misfortune. But neither they nor their words mattered. They damaged and shamed only themselves.So from Andre Agassi (tennis is such a wonderful sport) to Zinedine Zidane (football really is a beautiful game despite the money grabbers and crooks), it has been amazing. It’s been a blast. Uplifting but also a deeply humbling and, at times, disturbing journey.When Scotland were in Bucharest to play a European Championship qualifying tie against Romania, a couple of years after that madman Nicolae Ceausescu had been overthrown by revolution, players broke down. So too did supporters.It was 1991 and the horrors of the Romanian orphan crisis were becoming clearer to the outside world.It was heartbreaking. Even the most hardened cynical hacks cried at the sight of swarms of hungry, distraught children wandering the streets begging for morsels.I know I said the bad memories should be locked away but those kids, who snatched all the money we could muster as though we were making them instant millionaires, can never be forgotten.Strangely, another memory also concerns tears. But this time they came from a Brazilian great sitting right in the middle of Avenue Foch in Paris at the start of the 1998 World Cup finals.Nilton Santos was there with Pele, Carlos Alberto and another great, Alfredo di Stefano, who was claimed by both Argentina and Spain.I was there because I’d had a say in selecting the team of the 20th century – just for the Record that team was: Lev Yashin, Carlos, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Moore, Santos; Johan Cruyff, Di Stefano, Michel Platini; Garrincha, Pele and Diego Maradona. Then I sat with Pele, Santos and Di Stefano listening to their tales.It was fascinating, even when Santos, who had been a father figure to the deeply troubled Garrincha, wept as he spoke of the tormented genius and his final tragic years.But there were loads of laughs with the greats of the people’s game to giants of other sports. Heroic characters such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver, Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe (did I mention tennis is a wonderful sport?), Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Mark McGwire (baseball is such an hypnotic and simply beautiful sport, maybe even the best) and the 49ers’ Jerry Rice.There are just too many to list. But it’s been a privilege to have seen them in the flesh and even under the threat of extreme torture, such as being forced to listen to recordings of SFA/SPL meetings, I could never say my job has been anything like work. It’s been a pleasure.Until recently.Unfortunately, there has been the last twisted and bitter year during which Scottish football, unable to deal with the Rangers crisis in a civilised manner, has tried to tear itself apart. All in the name of sporting integrity, of course.Actually, for the last couple of years some of the most bilious types have been allowed to emerge from the shadows and spew invective that sadly became regarded as fact, even though what they were saying and writing wasn’t even close to being definitive. Or honest. Overnight all sorts of anonymous bloggers became experts. These champions of decency had all the answers. They knew better than anyone else. They said over and over Rangers would be done for cheating the tax man.They were wrong, the Rangers Tax Case blog in particular. Yet he/her/they stated: “This blog has been accurate on all of the major points of the case except the one that matters most to date – the FTT (First-tier Tax Tribunal) outcome”.Excuse me? Accurate on all the major points except the bit that matters most. And that’s all right is it?That’s a bit like a team manager saying after a defeat: “Hold on, I picked the right team and I believe my tactics were correct. So the result doesn’t really matter.”Dolts. The result is everything. If any of the Rangers Tax Case bloggers are trained lawyers, would you want them to defend you in a court of law?Even now so many – and I include some fellow journalists – still cannot bring themselves to accept Rangers did not cheat the tax man by using EBTs.One journalist declared it to be “a government conspiracy” when he heard the ruling in Rangers’ favour.Perhaps in time more will be written about this kind of hack and the rabid desire to help bring down Rangers, a fierce desire that, sadly, was widespread. Actually, I’m sure more will be written about them.Just when did they become consumed by such eye-popping rage? Was it always there, a dormant fury against Rangers and their fans, who deserve enormous credit for having saved their club, just waiting for the catalyst?Now they can’t help themselves. They can’t stop foaming at the mouth and we can be sure their determination to have titles stripped will go into overdrive.They need some kind of victory or they might explode and that would be terribly messy. All that bile all over the walls and streets.Unfortunately reason was never allowed to be a player in this grotesque game, which quickly became dominated mostly byincoherent imbeciles fuelled by all that hatred.And let’s not forget how some with telly platforms were prompted bythose bloggers and ill-informed commentators. Stupidly they allowed themselves to be duped by supporters with dangerous agendas hidden under the banner of integrity.And the result? Some of the most shallow and infantile drivel ever written. These egotists are so into themselves they’ve no regard for the safety or wellbeing of those about whom they have written some awful and completely inaccurate pieces.Despicable, pathetic little creatures craving some kind of recognition but lacking in conscience and morality.I’m so sorry they’ve had to be thrown up into the same piece as some of the true greats and gentlemen of world sport.However, that’s it. My work here is done and I’m glad – but just for the record, I’ve not been sacked or made redundant. I was asked to remain but my conscience won’t allow me to stay in our profession.The journalism needed by the country, never mind sport, no longer exists in enough of the other media outlets.But as I’ve said, the good memories of all those sporting greats will always outweigh the negatives, especially those that bubbled to the surface throughout this last year.Thanks to sport’s real heroes I’ve had a ball and thank you for reading while I was with The Herald, the Daily Express and the Daily Record.Good luck to you – and be careful about what and who you read in the future.There are people out there calling themselves by different names.But that’s not the bit that should worry you. They are calling themselves journalists. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlegKuznetsov 10,816 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 As I said in the other thread, it's a very strong piece. He has been a beacon of truth and rationality amidst a sea of liars and bigots. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstamomusa 3,812 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Now that was worth reading, a very courageous piece indeed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoodster 162 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Unfortunately when a sensible journo leaves our daily press, he or she will no doubt be replaced by a bitter & twisted moron that Traynor describes above. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry handsome 629 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Very subtle dig, this guy could write a book that would make him a small fortune, thats if he had the wish to spill the beans. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WATP-FOREVER 5,231 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 There's only one decent journalist in Scotland - & that is JT - the rest are driven by the fenian agenda. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BawdeepLoyal 94 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Quite an emotional piece for him. Enjoyed his career, but recently sickened by it. I can only hope he does something now which he enjoys much more and helps him forget all the clowns he refers to. Good luck JT. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Carpintero 546 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 No doubt some Rangers hating bigot will take his place. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Artagnan 13,319 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Perhaps in time more will be written about this kind of hack and the rabid desire to help bring down Rangers, a fierce desire that, sadly, was widespread. Actually, I’m sure more will be written about them.Do it JIm. It will be a best seller. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEFTONG 61,152 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Superb piece.. Good luck to you JT.. Get the BOOK OF TRUTH WRITTEN NOW... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creampuff 22,630 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 A fantastic final piece. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick1271 533 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Sad to see him go ,one of the best articles I have read for a while ,pity its his last .I sense a book in the offing and he is just the man to write it . Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Bear 285 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Has to do a book, good luck for the future JT. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlBear. 8,499 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 One of the best articles I've read. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WadeWilson 4,670 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Just read this myself.... Oof! He doesn't miss them, does he...?Now THAT is the ONLY article I have read which tells it like it is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozblue 4,332 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I never thought I'd see the day that Traynor would write an article like that,but fair play to the man for not fucking about with the truth.I would love to see him write a book and name names of the people who tried their best to bring us down and be able to prove it with watertight evidence.I wonder if any of the ones in the firing line will come out with a retort over this, or will they shut up in case they "out" themselves.That would be fun to watch Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaffbear 4,173 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 No doubt some Rangers hating bigot will take his place.Well he'll be in good company in that profession.Well done Mr Traynor for being the only teller of truths .. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WadeWilson 4,670 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I notice a helluva lot of long-term 'members' with incredibly suspect post-counts reading this... along with the usual plethora of guests.Enjoy your read boys! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon 1,768 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Great article. Never one to sit on the fence. It's a shame he's hanging up his pen? Laptop? Quill? Best of luck to the man. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SectionRedHMS 190 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I copied this from elsewhere and put it in the other thread but felt it would get lost. It was never a job. More of an absolute joy, if truth be told.But all good things come to an end and when they do, it’s important to end with some good things.When writing this, my final newspaper column, the memories come flooding in. When the time comes to change direction and move on, let the best of those memories rush from every corner of your mind and keep the worst of them locked away.If people who have abused you because of their own bigoted and narrow-minded ways, or events that might have saddened you deeply, are allowed light and oxygen you let them tarnish and blacken what you’ve done and achieved.For instance, this column – the final one after 37 years in newspapers – could bang on about supporters who have spat on my coats and jackets, thrown all sorts of insults and occasionally bricks and bottles. But that would demean everything.I could name managers, players, club directors and administrators who, because the truth can hurt, have wished me all kinds of harm and misfortune. But neither they nor their words mattered. They damaged and shamed only themselves.So from Andre Agassi (tennis is such a wonderful sport) to Zinedine Zidane (football really is a beautiful game despite the money grabbers and crooks), it has been amazing. It’s been a blast. Uplifting but also a deeply humbling and, at times, disturbing journey.When Scotland were in Bucharest to play a European Championship qualifying tie against Romania, a couple of years after that madman Nicolae Ceausescu had been overthrown by revolution, players broke down. So too did supporters.It was 1991 and the horrors of the Romanian orphan crisis were becoming clearer to the outside world.It was heartbreaking. Even the most hardened cynical hacks cried at the sight of swarms of hungry, distraught children wandering the streets begging for morsels.I know I said the bad memories should be locked away but those kids, who snatched all the money we could muster as though we were making them instant millionaires, can never be forgotten.Strangely, another memory also concerns tears. But this time they came from a Brazilian great sitting right in the middle of Avenue Foch in Paris at the start of the 1998 World Cup finals.Nilton Santos was there with Pele, Carlos Alberto and another great, Alfredo di Stefano, who was claimed by both Argentina and Spain.I was there because I’d had a say in selecting the team of the 20th century – just for the Record that team was: Lev Yashin, Carlos, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Moore, Santos; Johan Cruyff, Di Stefano, Michel Platini; Garrincha, Pele and Diego Maradona. Then I sat with Pele, Santos and Di Stefano listening to their tales.It was fascinating, even when Santos, who had been a father figure to the deeply troubled Garrincha, wept as he spoke of the tormented genius and his final tragic years.But there were loads of laughs with the greats of the people’s game to giants of other sports. Heroic characters such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver, Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe (did I mention tennis is a wonderful sport?), Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Mark McGwire (baseball is such an hypnotic and simply beautiful sport, maybe even the best) and the 49ers’ Jerry Rice.There are just too many to list. But it’s been a privilege to have seen them in the flesh and even under the threat of extreme torture, such as being forced to listen to recordings of SFA/SPL meetings, I could never say my job has been anything like work. It’s been a pleasure.Until recently.Unfortunately, there has been the last twisted and bitter year during which Scottish football, unable to deal with the Rangers crisis in a civilised manner, has tried to tear itself apart. All in the name of sporting integrity, of course.Actually, for the last couple of years some of the most bilious types have been allowed to emerge from the shadows and spew invective that sadly became regarded as fact, even though what they were saying and writing wasn’t even close to being definitive. Or honest. Overnight all sorts of anonymous bloggers became experts. These champions of decency had all the answers. They knew better than anyone else. They said over and over Rangers would be done for cheating the tax man.They were wrong, the Rangers Tax Case blog in particular. Yet he/her/they stated: “This blog has been accurate on all of the major points of the case except the one that matters most to date – the FTT (First-tier Tax Tribunal) outcome”.Excuse me? Accurate on all the major points except the bit that matters most. And that’s all right is it?That’s a bit like a team manager saying after a defeat: “Hold on, I picked the right team and I believe my tactics were correct. So the result doesn’t really matter.”Dolts. The result is everything. If any of the Rangers Tax Case bloggers are trained lawyers, would you want them to defend you in a court of law?Even now so many – and I include some fellow journalists – still cannot bring themselves to accept Rangers did not cheat the tax man by using EBTs.One journalist declared it to be “a government conspiracy” when he heard the ruling in Rangers’ favour.Perhaps in time more will be written about this kind of hack and the rabid desire to help bring down Rangers, a fierce desire that, sadly, was widespread. Actually, I’m sure more will be written about them.Just when did they become consumed by such eye-popping rage? Was it always there, a dormant fury against Rangers and their fans, who deserve enormous credit for having saved their club, just waiting for the catalyst?Now they can’t help themselves. They can’t stop foaming at the mouth and we can be sure their determination to have titles stripped will go into overdrive.They need some kind of victory or they might explode and that would be terribly messy. All that bile all over the walls and streets.Unfortunately reason was never allowed to be a player in this grotesque game, which quickly became dominated mostly byincoherent imbeciles fuelled by all that hatred.And let’s not forget how some with telly platforms were prompted bythose bloggers and ill-informed commentators. Stupidly they allowed themselves to be duped by supporters with dangerous agendas hidden under the banner of integrity.And the result? Some of the most shallow and infantile drivel ever written. These egotists are so into themselves they’ve no regard for the safety or wellbeing of those about whom they have written some awful and completely inaccurate pieces.Despicable, pathetic little creatures craving some kind of recognition but lacking in conscience and morality.I’m so sorry they’ve had to be thrown up into the same piece as some of the true greats and gentlemen of world sport.However, that’s it. My work here is done and I’m glad – but just for the record, I’ve not been sacked or made redundant. I was asked to remain but my conscience won’t allow me to stay in our profession.The journalism needed by the country, never mind sport, no longer exists in enough of the other media outlets.But as I’ve said, the good memories of all those sporting greats will always outweigh the negatives, especially those that bubbled to the surface throughout this last year.Thanks to sport’s real heroes I’ve had a ball and thank you for reading while I was with The Herald, the Daily Express and the Daily Record.Good luck to you – and be careful about what and who you read in the future.There are people out there calling themselves by different names.But that’s not the bit that should worry you. They are calling themselves journalists.I honestly think that is the best piece of honest journalism I've had the privilege to read.Written by a man whom I personally don't like.It shays an awful lot about the mans character and show the vermin what integrity is.Mr Traynor,thank you for your courage. 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Shuggy 1,308 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Wow, he really puts the boot into his profession. Good luck to him, I have always respected his opinions above other journalists. I presume he will remain on the Sportsound team at the BBC? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMB 14,167 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 FAO Timmy lurkers: 54 & Counting! 140 years of unbroken history! GIRFUY! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SectionRedHMS 190 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 No doubt some Rangers hating bigot will take his place.Lets hope editors realise that even handed ness might revive their dying publications.That's not a lot to ask for is it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barmy 0 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Richard Wilson and James Traynor from these two gents you get the truth. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senna 735 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Great piece. Hope the stuff about him joining us is true. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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