Oh man. You know it’s a bad day for an SFA official when he is being well and truly trashed in one of the media mouthpieces of the right. That’s the situation that the dire linesman and arrogant eejit Douglas Ross finds himself in today though.
Ross is not just a crap official with an overt bias towards Ibrox.
He is also the leader of the Scottish Tories, and that’s clearly something that should disqualify him when at least one ground carries adverts for the SNP and when he’s made public pronouncements which directly relate to our club.
Quite how the conflict of interest smell isn’t wafting up the Hampden stairs would be a mystery if it wasn’t so obvious. If he was a pro-Celtic public figure his feet wouldn’t touch the ground.
Ross is terrible as an official, but as bad as he is he is even worse at politics and his “leadership” of the Scottish Tories taken a terrible toll on their poll ratings.
I was never a fan of Ruth Davidson in spite of her liberal leanings – it’s hard to stomach someone who plays the sectarian card for electoral purposes as she did – but as an observer of the game and a former participant, I have to admit that she was damned good at politics.
He is truly awful, and the tanking his party will take at the next elections will ably demonstrate that fact if he even lasts that long.
It is for this lamentable lack of skills in that arena that he’s the subject of an excoriating article in The Spectator, the magazine which is required reading for anyone who wants to understand the intellectual grounding for the policies of the right. (I say that with no sense of irony; they have a fine writing staff including a few genius wordsmiths.)
Stephen Daisley – who also writes for the despicable Scottish Daily Mail – is not one of them, but he writes coherently and when I say he’s unimpressed by Ross that’s an understatement
. In the piece entitled “The preventable death of the Scottish Tories” he does not miss the target.
“Douglas Ross has had a rotten run of luck … but he has also been guilty of a number of unforced errors. He is acutely unpopular with the party’s grassroots, not least for demanding Johnson’s resignation over Downing Street parties then U-turning when the Ukraine war began and it seemed the PM was staying put. For the former, they regard him as a traitor (their word, not mine) and, for the latter, a shitebag (ditto) …”
Ouch. I burst out laughing reading that.
Things hardly improve in the next section.
“(If) taking a stand on his Prime Minister misleading parliament showed a bit of backbone, Ross’s political spine swiftly turned to jelly and the Ukraine U-turn, although at least partly sincere, marked him out as a flip-flopper. There have been rumblings about his leadership for a while now and these polls will only pump up the volume. Showing the part-time referee a red card would salve the frustrations of many a rank-and-file Scottish Tory but the uncomfortable truth is that the talent pool for replacing him is shallow.”
That’s hardly the stuff of which political legacies are made; they would get rid of him, but for fear that they might actually do worse. That’s no excuse though for the SFA leaving him in place as a referee.
The game would be better without his taint on it.
Why mention him James, just because “ibrox” fly the union flag doesn’t mean they are tories ,Labour was what we grew up with so I find your article a bit off tangent .
Are you having a laugh or something? When Thatcher was anathema up here (I mean when she was in power, I do realise that she is still anathema up here but thankfully she is also dead), which club invited her for a centre stage spread in the Evening Times? It sure as fuck wasn’t Celtic, I can tell you that.
Doesn’t mean they are Tories???? If anyone is off tangent mate, it’s you! They are 100% right wing Tory loving, Unioninst cuntholes. Fuck sake. Almost choked on my Jack Daniels reading that.
Nicely put Roonsa.
Thomas, in all sincerity, I think it would help to get an understanding of the weird concept of Working-Class people voting Tory, if you read ‘ Traitors Sneer’ Working-Class Tories by Pat Anderson, available on Amazon (Kindle or Paperback).
It gives a serious but often humorous insight into the seeming contradiction. It is written from a West of Scotland perspective. So plenty of material there.
They replaced Johnson with Truss!
couldn’t happen to a nicer fella….
I am and always have been a Labour supporter maybe my point was “lost in translation ,D Ross is insignificant both as a linesman and both as a linesman ,James,s article should have just slated him as the former ,it is a football blog after all ..
You are living in the 80s pal. There is no point in any Scotsman voting Labour. Whatever England decides always wins the day. It’s simple arithmetic. The people of Scotland who hate the Tories ALL must wake up. Think about this logically, dispassionately.
Step 1) Scotland removes itself from the Union.
Step 2) Vote for whoever the fuck you want, I don’t care.
I don’t get Labour voters up here at all. Oh we’ll win the next UK election. So what? The Tories will be back in power again at some point. Just get us the fuck out this union and then we can talk.
Thing is though roonsa didn’t nippy Nicky not state that she would keep the king as a monarch for Scotland,how is that independence?
I am and always have been a Labour supporter maybe my point was “lost in translation ,D Ross is insignificant both as a linesman and both as a politician,James,s article should have just slated him as the former ,it is a football blog after all ..
Being a Celtic fan always has been and always should be more than “just” following a football team. There is more than just football that connects me to my fellow fans I would love to think. You are proof that it isn’t always the case but that’s fine. Do what you need to do.
Red Card Red Card Ross is a DESPICABLE WEE SCHNIVELLING HUN TORY BASTARD!! The ODIOUS LITTLE WANKSTAIN is only an MSP thru the List vote that the Hun Bastard Knuckodraggaz manipulate tae put Vermin like this wee Cunt in!! Couldny form an argument wae a 5 Yr auld re a Curly Fukin Wurly BAWAHAHAHAHAHA!!
You need psychiatric help.
Why don’t u Fuk off ya Fukin BINT!! Do u really think I give wan Fukin Fuk about what u think or say!! Told yi before away & dae sum Fukin dishes or an ironing ya STUPID COW!!
David Bowie has lost the plot.
Aye nae bother FUD or is it SCUD Lol! Ur as Thick as SHITE pal wae ur constant reference tae Crossroads!! Try Take the High Road & Educate yirsel ya Fukin CLOWN BAWAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Ah wee BENNY Toss he is a greedy bastard for money an MP for Westminster another job in the Scottish Parliament and a part-time referee,and this guy tells everyone he knows and understands how people are struggling.
Get him to f**k out at the next election for both political jobs.
My first encounter with mr DRoss was the infamous game at ipox where we beat the ‘Hens’ in the cup and his call of “Red Cart, Red card” when poor little ‘More or Less’ got a tap on the chin and flip flopped all over the place while DRoss was running the line. We went on to win the game with 10 men at ipox , much to his disgust l presume.