Traynor again critical of Scottish media

DAILY Record sports executive, Jim Traynor, who recently berated a fellow football writer in print, has again had a sideswipe at Scottish sports journalists.

In his ‘Scotland’s Voice of Authority’ weekly column in the paper, he this time accuses the media of being in the ranks of those who “live to revel in the demise and misery of others”.

The media are included in a trenchant attack on those whom he alleges have been lacking in compassion in the downfall of Gretna FC, which is in severe financial problems and has only been rescued from possible oblivion by a crisis loan from the Scottish Premier League.

In his column, Traynor, who is also a presenter and pundit for BBC Radio Scotland, wrote: “This is a terrific little country, it really is. But you know something, it would be 100 times better if there weren’t so many depressing Holy Willies in the place. Scotland is overrun by people who live to revel in the demise and misery of others.

“Everywhere you look, there’s someone delighting in the trauma of another, and, of course, a media pack, huddled like fishwifes, nodding to one another and saying, ‘told you so’.

“It is pathetic the way we can’t wait to see people fall on their backsides.

“Even better if it’s flat on their faces.

“The lack of compassion for the people who run Gretna is shameful but not surprising. The emergence of this tiny club has never been welcomed by the establishment and particularly those horrible two-bob clubs that have been hanging around the game for donkeys years accepting handouts without giving anything in return.”

Last month, Traynor was critical of The Herald’s chief football writer, Darryl Broadfoot, after a spat over a Daily Record story involving Scottish Football Association chief executive, Gordon Smith.