Sir, For several generations Dundee FC have suffered from a series of owner/directors whose policies have resulted in the position they now occupy.
From Messrs Cook, Drummond and Dixon, culminating in the first administration brought on by the Marr Brothers/Di Stefano reign they have gradually slid down a slippery slope.
Following that first administration it appeared for a while that realism had finally dawned, but the ill fated liaison with Calum Melville resulted in a second administration. I very much doubt if Dundee could survive a third administration.
Again it appeared that realism had taken over with the formation of a fan-owned community club and they have recently been advertising season ticket sales claiming to be such a community-based club. Now it appears that the chief executive has been negotiating with a consortium, behind the scenes, for some time to once more take the club into external ownership!
Press reports that the consortium tried to take over St Mirren recently but were rebuffed suggest that they do not in fact have much interest in Dundee FC but rather see it as an investment opportunity.
Lastly, current director Steve Martin claims he would never do anything to harm Dundee FC. No doubt all the above mentioned directors from Messrs Cook through to Melville would have made the same claim.
Bill Watson. 17 Seaview Avenue, Seaton Estate, Arbroath.
Democracy has suffered
Sir, Imagine the following scenario. First minister Alex Salmond is asked to put the case for Scottish independence to a university union somewhere in the south of England. Before the debate he is accosted by a group of foul-mouthed, intolerant individuals from the university and elsewhere. They behave in a physically threatening manner, suggest he get back north of the border, and accuse him of trying to break up the country they love.
Eventually he gets police protection in the interests of his own and the public’s safety. The scenes are given international publicity. I think most of us would be outraged.
The worrying thing about the controversy surrounding UKIP leader Nigel Farage’s recent trip to Edinburgh is this; Mr Salmond and other political leaders here must condemn Radical Independence and its behaviour.
If they do not there is a danger that the entire independence debate could be marred from time to time by thuggery and intimidation. Certainly the UKIP leader has not helped himself by provocative use of language. But he is entitled to put his case even though many find it distasteful.
Democracy has suffered because of the Canongate feud. Its reputation must be revived by strong leadership on all sides of the argument.
Bob Taylor. 24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.
Glad to see the end of Empire
Sir, In reply to Captain McRae’s letter (May 18), I bow to the captain’s superior knowledge,but being one of those “ordinary working people” the captain knows so well, I never had the opportunity or finances to visit many of our “old colonies” who apparently were treated so well under the rule of the Empire they felt the need for people like Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, etc, or to take up arms to free themselves.
To suggest once proud independent nations were happy to see their countries stripped of everything they held sacred and were beaten, bullied, or worse, for protesting is a blatant re-writing of history. Everyone knows exactly what the British Empire was capable of. I was glad to see the end of it.
T Tolland. East Park Cottage, Braidestone, Meigle.
Pro-Scottish not anti-English
Sir, After reading James Davie’s reply (Letters, Tuesday) to my letter on education, I was compelled to re-read my original in order to confirm it was indeed mine he was replying to. Mr Davie accuses me of an “anti-English diatribe” and of “intolerance”. Perhaps he could point out the passages that brought him to this conclusion?
My letter was pro-Scottish. I realise in some fevered unionists’ brows such opinions are automatically tarred with an anti-English brush, but his conclusions are purely a construct of his own imaginings. As someone who is half-English I resent the accusation and this glib response is becoming far too widespread. His use of the terms “tartan-hued” and “haggis-flavoured” are illuminating in the extreme. Positive it is not.
And his words, “legally work towards the reinstatement of British nationality” raises worrying questions too. My letter simply challenged Jenny Hjul’s “concerns” about a Scottish curriculum, including Scottish subjects, being used as an SNP tool, while decades of English/British topics are deemed acceptable.
Do we have to justify teaching our history? Is there another country in the world where its children are educated about another, to the detriment of its own? There was no suggestion in my letter that other subjects should be neglected, only a wish young Scots should fully understand their own place in the world.
If I am a “zealot” for wishing this nation’s children be taught their own history then every citizen of every country in the world would stand accused of the same charge.
Ken Clark. 335 King Street, Broughty Ferry, Dundee.