I have never really liked the Daily Record newspaper, but now I hate it, and so do all other Queen's Park fans. Why? It's all Jim Traynor's fault. Not even the temptation of a saucy sex story will now tempt Queen's fans to pass over 35 pence at the counter in exchange for the biggest selling trash-oid in Scotland. In Wednesday's Record, Jim Traynor thought, "Hmmph, nothing for me to really write about, so I'll tell Queen's Park to get out of Hampden.". Way to go, Jim. That'll get the support of the public. I'm not being sarcastic here though; Traynor really did get the public on his side with his cliched, dated, ill-informed rant. One example of this was from a call on Radio Clyde. A man phoned in to say that Queen's should leave for some daft reason, and shockingly, or perhaps not so shockingly, Derek Johnstone, ever the pillar of Scottish football journalism agreed, saying, "They only play in front of 150-200 people anyway."
This is typical of the shoddy coverage that lower division teams get in the national media. Traynor accused Queen's of being a burden to the game, one which should evacuate Hampden and get out for good. You would probably laugh if Joe Bloggs from Carstairs said this, but Traynor, who writes columns and has his own radio slot, and is earning in the high five-figures, has no excuse. Money obviously doesn't mean intelligence in his case.
Now you'll have to excuse my crap memory because I don't have the "article" in front of me, but going by memory, I remember Traynor saying that Queen's Park are sapping money from the game and the SFA are being too lenient towards them with regards to them playing at Hampden Park. This has all been brought up, of course, by the complaints regarding the Hampden pitch. I'll admit that the pitch is in poor shape at the moment, but pointing the finger at Queen's Park is as low as it gets. After all, it was Queen's Park who got down on their knees, rolled up their shirts and dug and laid bricks until the finest venue in Europe was built. Traynor, however, seeing only through his Old Firm sponsored glasses, jumps on the public opinion bandwagon and blames Queen's for the state of the pitch. He isn't doing this out of the kindness of his heart, though. He is only bringing this up because there are some "big" matches coming up. Those matches being the now "twice annual" Old Scum cup-final and some International games. If the pitch was a muddy mess and no other matches were being played, Traynor would leave well alone. But it is only now that Traynor feels the need to mention this issue. He is doing this, of course, for support and so that everyone can pat him on the back and praise him for highlighting such an important matter. Traynor has very little to lose with an issue like this and a lot to gain. I'll admit that Queen's are not the best supported team in the country and that losing readers from their side wouldn't make much of a difference. On the other hand, you have other readers, nodding their heads, agreeing with Traynor and having their simple minds violated by Scotland's most ignorant journalist. Believe me, folks, there are people who will agree with whatever the press tells them, and Traynor seems to have the public behind his fat arse on this one.
On Wednesday night, half of Glasgow pretended they were Irish and the other half stayed at home. I am talking about the Ireland versus Scotland match. Berti Vogts, the clueless Scotland manager, also commented on the fact that Queen's Park are a nuisance and that they should leave Hampden for the benefit of other events. I respect Berti for his playing achievements, but he should have kept his mouth shut on this occasion. I have no doubt that the SFA, which now stands for "Scummy Football Association", will listen to him and warmly agree that Queen's should be asked/forced to move.
Back to Traynor. He shows an amazing ignorance when it comes to explaining the financial implications of the matter. Queen's contribute a lot of money towards the up-keep of Hampden and so his pop at Queen's being kept alive by the SFA goes straight in the bin. There is the illusion that Queen's are a team that are a novelty and that can be brushed aside, but what fails to be realised is that Queen's Park play at Hampden because they built it, because they own it, and because they help pay for it's running.
As mentioned, the pitch isn't great, but why do Queen's get looked at in this instance? They have every right to play there. For other teams, playing there is a privilege that does not need to be abused by the likes of Traynor and other pundits. Hampden is a neutral venue, a fine and appropriate one at that. Cup-ties are played there and so are Internationals. It is inevitable that the pitch is going to suffer some wear and tear, but these fixtures have always occurred, and only now Queen's are being blamed simply for playing there and ruining the pitch. If anything it should be Queen's turning round and telling the guests to leave because they are wrecking the field. Or maybe the SFA should be blamed for making such an arse of the surface. It's QP's home and it will be forever, no matter who plays there in the future.
I would like to mention the fact that several other events take place at Hampden. Music concerts, five second boxing fiascos and the Scottish Claymores regularly inherit the Hampden turf for irrelevant purposes. I don't know if Jim Traynor gets complimentary tickets for Rod Stewart or Robbie Williams, but even so, these factors should also be blamed over Queen's for the state of the pitch.
Jim Traynor is an ignorant little man, with no knowledge of the game. He sits on his creaking chair and rhymes off articles that will appeal to the majority of readers. I don't remember Traynor ever writing equally scathing columns of the state of bigotry in the country or the exploitation of religious hatred by Rangers Football Club. He is merely out to get your vote, steal your soul and have you agreeing with every word that comes out of his ample mouth. He was an Airdrie fan, but now he has left because the SFA "killed" them. Wow, that's commitment for you. He now goes to Albion Rovers to see "football". Cut the crap, Jim, you're a brown-noser and you know you are. Your views and knowledge reflect this fact. He says that Scotland should move elsewhere for their matches. For example, Celtic or Ibrox Park. Good. Do you think anyone cares? The Scottish game is going down the shitty anyway, regardless of playing surface and venues. Take Scotland out of Hampden, but don't touch Queen's. If it wasn't for Queen's, Traynor wouldn't be in a job. Queen's brought the game to the people, and invented the international match. Because I'm proud of my club, and because I like to get it right up these vermin, I will name the first Scotland line-up: Gardner, Taylor, Ker, Thomson, Smith, McKinnon, Weir, Leckie, Wotherspoon, Smith, Rhind. All of these men played for Queen's and they took on the mighty England in 1872. Any reporter worth their salt will know this fact. Traynor obviously pushed this fact to the back of his small mind when penning his embarrassing rant.
Scotland owes Queen's Park, and Queen's Park damn sure don't owe Scotland anything.