Throughout Lockdown he was a one trick pony. Every Saturday afternoon on Radio Scotland and at any other opportunity Tom English was banging on about accountability and transparency.
Getting some Whatsapp messages from Scot Gardiner of Inverness Caley Thistle set the ball in motion. From that moment on everything relating to the SPFL was trashed. Recently the man from the state broadcaster has been going on about marketing and sponsorship. As his monthly bank transfer from the BBC comes through it seems that irony is lost on the author of some great books on egg chasing.
On air on a Saturday afternoon he would interupt the show to let the audience know that he had been sent a text message by someone important. To be fair to English he did break his first ever exclusive when he revealed details of a plan from Ibrox to introduce Colt teams and save Hearts from relegation. It was booted out by SPFL member clubs.
I do consider it, yeah. Hours of brand exposure on radio every week, hours of brand exposure on television every week, hundreds of newspaper pages of brand exposure every week. That’s what is available to a potential sponsor if only somebody could sell it
— Tom English (@TEnglishSport) August 4, 2020
It’s almost as if 5 months of a BBC journalists making spurious accusations of illicit activity might frighten off business… https://t.co/7kd4nwCth3
— Harry Brady ????????? (@HarryBradyCU) August 4, 2020
? Very good, Brian
— Tom English (@TEnglishSport) August 4, 2020
Tom blowing the PR dogwhistle again!
Read this email. Note the choreography in fabricating their filthy little narrative.“Tom English has said he’ll have a pop at Paul Murray..Scotsman used his comments on back page with our responses..irrelevant.”
He’s paid PR. Nothing less? https://t.co/UQt4KIzYvE pic.twitter.com/5XYU4CQUd8
— The Black Star Line (@DannyUNIAharlem) April 19, 2020
Independent enquiries and investigations were pushed at every turn, Hearts chased for votes with their every action championed by English and his cronies within the state broadcaster.
Hearts took the matter to the Court of Session, after three expensive days it was confirmed that the SFA would judge the actions of the SPFL. All documentation from the Summer of Rage was to be submitted, every email, text, whatsapp message going back to the Good Friday was to be presented to three top legal minds.
When the appeal panel threw out the claims of Hearts and Partick Thistle it confirmed that everything was done above board, legally sound.
In a bid to draw a line under the episode the SPFL requested publication of all correspondence relating to the matter, surely something that any transparency champions would welcome.
Not Tom, oh no. Not a word of follow up. When Hearts and Partick Thistle blocked publication, putting the issue into the public domain English took a vow of silence. His campaign for accountability appears to have ended with a text message from a trusted source.
EXCLUSIVE! Hearts and Partick Thistle hammer SPFL for granting arbitration panel permission to publish judgment #HMFC #PTFC | @rosspilcherhttps://t.co/TtSn7V8T3X pic.twitter.com/ArbRO0chai
— Daily Record Sport (@Record_Sport) August 3, 2020
EXCLUSIVE! SPFL blast back at Hearts and Partick Thistle and accuse M8 Alliance of keeping fans in the dark #HMFC #PTFC | @tedermeatballs & @rosspilcher https://t.co/yY3tr5gF1k
— Daily Record Sport (@Record_Sport) August 4, 2020
