I had a conversation some weeks ago with a guy I know in England who was largely oblivious to the reasons why this blog and others spend so much time focused on things other than our own club. I told him that Scottish football has suffered a trauma; that trauma was because of the events of 2012.
For many people, it was like ripping aside the curtains and letting in the light.
Many had lived in ignorance at how corrupt our game was … that year changed a lot of minds.
I filled him in on some of the details of that trauma, but what I realised was that there had to be more to it than that.
And the idea dawned on me; how about a simple guide for everyone who wants to truly understand what has gone on here over the years?
Over on Fields, I once put together two parts of what was intended to be a three-part piece on how the SFA almost destroyed Scottish football. I never wrote the third piece because Dave King is still at Ibrox and the story is not yet complete.
I considered re-hashing that piece with some additions … I rejected the idea outright.
They are long pieces, and I didn’t want this one to be.
I thought the idea of doing an A-Z was a nice, neat one, with a pre-defined road-map.
The concept pleased me.
Working out what fell into all the letters was tougher.
I don’t consider this a Final Word on the scandals of Scottish football, but it’s a nice overview of them.
Obviously this is too long an article to publish in one go; I decided to split it into four.
Part two will be up tomorrow.
For now, let’s focus on A-G … and there are some gruesome tales to be told here.