Saints chief won’t cry for Gretna

Jun 3 2008 by Gordon Bannerman

GEOFF Brown isn’t shedding any tears over the demise of Gretna.

The St Johnstone chairman was castigated last summer for stating SPL chairmen were privately dismayed the Raydale Park club had clawed their way to the First Division title on a dramatic final day.

He stood accused of sour grapes and was pilloried by sections of the national media.

But with the final whistle finally sounding for a £4 million financial basket case, Brown admitted it had been a sorry episode for Scottish football.

He might sympathise with Brooks Mileson’s health problems but Brown blasted: “They talked about Living the Dream and some people bought into it while Gretna were promoted, reached the cup final and qualified for Europe. The media lapped it up.

“But there was always going to be a day of reckoning.

“When Gretna beat us to the title last year I was painted as the bad guy for saying in public what SPL chairmen were saying in private. But why pull the wool over fans’ eyes?

“I was seen as the baddie and critics said it was down to envy. But no one in my time at St Johnstone has gone unpaid if we owe money.

“As far as I’m concerned, people were misled by an ego-tripper who was only looking after number one.

“The debts have stacked up and some very good people could be facing financial ruin. How many of Gretna’s creditors are ordinary folk who have been taken to the cleaners?

“That really infuriates me. They have been taken for ride. And it seems to happen time after time in football.

“There’s a credibility issue for Scottish football and I remember Fergus McCann in his time at Celtic saying clubs should have a business plan and financial statements in place to see them through the following season.

“We have had to wait for Gretna rescue plans to run their course but they were never going to stack up. How could a place no bigger than Brechin operate a full-time football club with a £40,000 a week wage bill?

“Now we have Ross County and Airdrie United coming into the First Division. They might not bring many fans to away games but they’ve got to be better than Gretna.”