For the past few weeks the media has been united in writing a single story; Derek McInnes was on his way to Ibrox. The near-unanimity in the coverage means one of two things; either they were spreading a false story inspired by those inside Ibrox, to unsettle the dynamic at Aberdeen in advance of a crucial period of games or they were acting on something they knew for a fact, and that was effectively a done-deal.
They were, then, involved in a scam. They would have had to assume that contact had already been made on some low-level or that it was being invited. They would have known they were, by definition, involved in tapping up.
That’s bad enough, and one Aberdeen fan, writing in The Scotsman (you can read the link here, and you should) has already slammed the BBC for their role in it. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth to even contemplate it. But it’s not the worst thing here.
The worst thing here is that everyone in our press corps has ignored the elephant in the room, the most obvious problem with all this; if Derek McInnes knew he was going to Ibrox (as the media seems to think he did) should he even have been in the dugout for these games? How much did the press know about what was going on behind the scenes? Was sporting integrity compromised here? Frankly, it’s hard to see how it wasn’t.
Had Aberdeen won these game there would be a twelve point gap between them and Sevco for the second spot in the table. Sevco might be in serious peril of not even getting third place. How long has this deal been “done”? Aberdeen has dropped points in four games since Caixinha was sacked. In six weeks. How common is that over McInnes’ tenure?
Has Scottish football been nobbled here? The media has been touting McInnes right from the start; how many times have the papers said this was all over? Right from day one they had him as the favourite, but there’s been a hardening of certainty and it’s happened in spite of Milne and McInnes doing their joint press conference.
On the day after it happened, I was amazed to hear Chris McLaughlin of the BBC on the radio telling the listeners that Sevco sources had told him McInnes was still their first choice; why in God’s name would they have the national broadcaster spread such a story if there was even the remotest possibility of McInnes turning them down? Did they have an agreement from him that in the event of an approach to the club that he would be willing to talk?
Has nobody in the media even asked that question? Does nobody actually care? If he gave Sevco a heads-up that he was amendable to talks, would the Aberdeen board have known that? Of course not, because then they would have been absolute mugs to let him take control of these games, games which might have put them out of sight in the race for second.
None of this will matter if McInnes turns Sevco down, or they fail to make the approach they’ve been trailing for the last month and a half … that just makes it a disreputable scam in which the media played a part … but if he goes there serious questions will need to be asked.
Can our media, who paved the way for the move, really be trusted to ask those questions?
Am I suggesting that McInnes threw the matches?
If McInnes moves to Ibrox it’s legitimate to ask when he knew that he would.
If he knew before these games took place, and one of his job targets is to secure second spot – we know from the Ibrox AGM that is exactly what’s going to be in the contract – then as far as I’m concerned it’s a question that demands an answer.
There are rumours – but I’ve been told that’s not all they are – that Aberdeen players were baffled at the team instructions on Wednesday night. Today he couldn’t even remember which team he had selected; that’s a manager who’s already unplugged himself from the club, from even giving a damn.
Read Graeme Murty this past week; that was a guy who not only knew he wouldn’t be in the dugout for the next game, but knew exactly who’s replacing him; the guy he’s beat twice in that spell. That, alone, is a flashing neon sign that we’ve watched a fix here, something where the joke is on the audience, where nothing we’ve seen is real.
Does the media care about any of this? Of course not. They helped Sevco to do it. The Aberdeen board must be furious, seeing the writing on the wall, perhaps for a while … but they get no sympathy because they allowed it to get out of control until these games were right on top of them. After the abject display at Ibrox, I knew they wouldn’t take a point from the match today so when the first goal was scored I wasn’t remotely surprised.
At which point did Milne realise it?
Then or before?
When the call comes from Ibrox tomorrow or the day after, what exactly will the Aberdeen chairman say to his manager if he tells him he wants to go?
Will they cry foul then? Or will they roll over?
If they do, Milne might as well chuck it. He’s got to sell season tickets and flog the idea of a new stadium and a brave new dawn to fans who will have every right to view all his talk of ambition with total scorn. Aberdeen are begging to be relegated to their recent position – third, at best, behind two clubs from Glasgow.
It is pathetic what they’ve allowed here.
But the media has been shamed again, fitting seamlessly into its own historic role as the PR arm of Ibrox. The BBC in particular has behaved disgracefully. We’ve watched a sham here, and everyone involved knew that’s exactly what it was.
The SFA did nothing and said nothing, but the media were willing participants.
Because who cares what it does to the integrity of our sport, if the South African fraudster gets his man?
Ladies and gentlemen, Scottish football, 2017.
A brave new world we’re living in, right?