Spare us the notion United chief is some kind of victim
STEPHEN THOMPSON pitched up at Dundee United’s training ground yesterday morning with the weary look of the condemned. The club’s chairman is under siege — there are reasons for that. The supporters are at the doors of Tannadice with pitchforks and barely a day passes by without some fresh whiff of crisis emanating from the stadium. It’s a bloody mess and it seems only right the chairman should shoulder the responsibility. In a statement the other week, Thompson offered a public apology to fans. Whether he really meant it is the question. Because there are some signs the United chief might now regard himself as the wronged party. That self pity has become his default position. When a club fields one ineligible player, it’s dangerous. Name two in your squad for the same game as United did against Inverness last weekend and the penalties are liable to be severe. But when the SPFL hit United with a £30,000 fine and docked three points this week, he complained of being harshly treated and resigned from the league board. No one deserves a miserable existence because of a game of football. But whatever Thompson may be, spare us the notion he’s some kind of victim.