Having met the man in person I would not have thought it remotely possible that there were two Turnbull Huttons, but apparently there are.
In 2004 a Sunday Mail hack thought he was onto a story about match fixing involving Raith Rovers so he phoned Turnbull Hutton.
However THAT Turnbull Hutton is a retired joiner in his nineties happily living in Burntisland.
That gentleman has never been inside a football ground and probably will never see the need to.
The hack asked him about match fixing and Mr Hutton said he wasn’t interested, which he certainly wasn’t.
The Sunday Mail ran with the story that THE Turnbull Hutton had been approached about a match fixing scam, but had declined the offer to make some readies.
Actually they had spoken to the uncle of the Raith Rovers’ chairman.
The man from Stark’s Park took the Sunday Mail to the Press Complaints Commission and won.
The home crowd in Kirkcaldy chanted “there’s only two Turnbull Huttons”.
Actually Scottish football could do with a busload of Turnbull Huttons heading for Hampden to sort the place out.
Everyone on planet fitba knows that the preferred option of the people who run the national game was for Sevco NewCo to be put into the SPL as if nothing had happened.
The “No To NewCo” campaign viralled across social media and the SPL chairmen, one by one, buckled.
The guys on the 6th floor at Hampden needed a Plan “B”.
When a cynical deal was choreographed in the summer to parachute in a NewCo Rangers into SFL1 someone had to step forward.
On the steps of the national stadium the man from Fife spoke for the ordinary Scottish football fan.
His point of view was that what was being proposed simply wasn’t fair. If Sevco NewCo went into the SFL1 it would rewarding more than a decade of cheating and saying the game in Scotland was essentially bent.
Or as Turnbull himself said “corrupt”!
The footie fourth estate simply couldn’t handle his straight talking honesty.
He told me today that his gardener is a staunch Rangers man.
During the summer he had said to Turnbull that he didn’t understand all this administrations stuff.
Turnbull decided to educate him.
The gardener was owed £180 for his horticultural services.
The Vice chairman of Raith Rovers wrote him a cheque for £10.80.
“There you are that’s six pence in the pound. That’s administration!”
The gardener wilted slightly.
Hutton tore up the cheque and then he paid him in full from an offshore Hedge Fund.
Turnbull doesn’t owe his gardener a penny, but the whole of Scottish football owes this man a huge debt of gratitude.
He is currently the reluctant Vice Chairman of his beloved Rovers. He has already suffered a stroke and he isn’t getting any younger and with no Chairman in place a lot falls on his shoulders. Attending those meetings and handling that pressure during the summer would not have been easy.
The Celtic family have an opportunity to say a genuine tangible thank you to Turnbull on the 25th of this month.
I smiled when I saw the ticket pricing.
£12 for a season ticket holder and £5 for a concession.
Non season ticket holders get in for £15.
This is a midweek game after the first Champions league match.
The Parkhead PA won’t be blasting out Handel’s Zadok the priest as the teams come out to contest the Scottish Communities League cup tie, but this is important business.
I hope there is a healthy crowd in Celtic Park on the 25th.
Scottish football, we were told, would suffer “Armageddon” and a “slow lingering death” if the game wasn’t bent out of shape to accommodate Sevco.
I hope the men from Fife go back over the Forth with a healthy cheque.
A large home crowd would send a strong message about the solidarity that exists within Scottish football.
Only one club cheated Scottish football and created the organisational carnage that we witnessed during the summer and it wasn’t the Rovers.
It could be a decent game as their lads will certainly have a go and you never know in the cup.
Lenny might well rest a few big players after the Benfica match, especially as Celtic have a tough match against Motherwell and an away trip to Moscow looming.
This just might be an opportunity to see some of the emerging talent in the hoops.
I always want Celtic to win every game, but if they’re dancing in the streets of Raith on the 25th then I’ll still have a spring in my step.
Tom McAdam
Wold it not be nice if the Green Brigade led a wee “One Turnbull Hutton ” Chant
September 10, 2012 at 2:32 pm
smcc1967
Good shout Phil! My two wee bhoys and I are going along to say thanks
September 6, 2012 at 9:29 pm
Mammymabawsburst
Liked the article, Phil. Turnbull Hutton’s quotes and comments struck me as nothing short of enlightening at a time when I felt that the dark forces would have a trick or two up their festering sleeves.
I’m really sorry to hear that the great man’s health is not as it could be. He has my best wishes and prayers for a hale and hearty dotage. Here’s hoping RR have a great payday and narrow defeat!
A brief mention of Mr Romanov might also be warranted. His statement made for compelling reading. At first glance and with his dodgy financial record I was inclined to be dismissive but he stuck the boot right in the necessaries.
September 6, 2012 at 9:20 pm
P J Fox
Great idea! i’ll be there.
September 6, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Ben mcginlay
Just got my ticket for the Raith game. Let’s celebrate football on the 25th. I am Turnbull Hutton.
September 6, 2012 at 4:52 pm
Phil Mac Giolla Bhain
Good man Ben
September 6, 2012 at 5:57 pm
jimCB
In total agreement Phil, The best thing about Turnbull as well as telling it like it is was that he was really funny – the dead parrot alusion was a defining moment. To use humour as he did was statesmanlike and couldnt be answered easily without ridicule by the hacks.I hope too that the supporters turn out for this game. The big teams need the wee teams and vice versa. Remember also the the Rovers were founded in 1883 and are still there ….unlike some!
September 6, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Pensionerbhoy
My sentiments, Phil, from the moment I heard this man. I do not know much about him, but if the words that come from his mouth are a reflection of the character of the man, he is among the very few administrators in the game of football worldwide that I would pin my footballing hopes on. If it were possible, every fan in Scottish football should be there to simply say ‘thank you’ for preventing an administrative sham at Hampden and a potentially mortal blow from numerous destructive forces both within and without Scottish football. I know I such an accolade, though due, would be impractical to implement but I want everybody (and that should include the supporters of the Sevco club, if they have the will to see) to recognise and appreciate exactly what Mr. Hutton has done for the game. Since the actual organising of and attendance at such a ‘thanksgiving celebration’will not be feasible, I have to agree with your call to the largest and most committed fans in the world to turn out in numbers on the 25th to express on behalf of all Scottish football supporters, our gratitude for his unparalleled stance for truth, justice and integrity in the game. I hail him in advance and I am only saddened by the knowledge that he probably does not have the health to perhaps play a more dominant role, as I had once hoped and requested of him, in cleaning up Scottish football.
September 6, 2012 at 1:34 pm
jinky44
Don’t think Turnbull will be getting any Christmas cards from the pure as the driven slush mob.
September 6, 2012 at 12:52 pm
Mouldy67
OSCAR KNOX APPEAL
Hello , just to let you know that I am planning to take part in a 50 mile cycle from Glasgow to Edinburgh, 09/09/2012
With just three days to go, I will continue to train very hard in order to be able to take part in this cycle where I would hope to be able raise some funds for “Wee Oscar Knox” who is 3 year old kid and is not keeping very well just now.
You can read Oscar’s story on web link below….
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all donations are welcome and appreciated
please pass on oscar’s story
September 6, 2012 at 10:19 am
Mouldy67
Nice touch Phil
September 6, 2012 at 10:18 am
gerard f reilly
good piece of honest journalism , and good on TH for taking a stand v the kgb /sfa/olde 1872mob, i also like the post that says celtic must be known as the “FIRM” as the 1872 olde regime are defunct since may this year , it,s logical without the shame mob we don,t require the word OLD anymore ? and once again phil well done with your work over the past few years to expose scotland,s dodgers and back it up with ” F.A.C.T.S.” yes facts that subject the shame club don,t like ??????
September 6, 2012 at 9:10 am
tallybhoy
When I heard that Celtic had drawn Raith Rovers in the League cup I was delighted for auld Turnbull, the man of dignity with 2 surnames! Hope there is a decent turnout and that the Rovers bank a healthy cheque.
Will Gordon Brown be at the game I wonder?
HH!!
September 6, 2012 at 7:11 am
john
here here
September 6, 2012 at 6:04 am
tokyo joe
Am I drunk?Thought I read the Sun and credibility in one sentence.Shome mishtake shurely?
September 6, 2012 at 5:59 am
lltfoa67
Back to your best Phil. Great article.
September 5, 2012 at 11:25 pm
Conorbrien
Yes a good article on Turnbull and the Raith.
I’ll be there in my usual seat in the Jock Stein stand to see 2 players whose fathers went to the same School as Joe McBride, Jim Craig & Brian Quinn viz. St Gerard’s in Govan.
The players are David McGurn, ‘keeper & Pat Clarke, striker.
Only one thing. ‘Mon the Hoops!
September 5, 2012 at 11:22 pm
The Wallace
I’ve got a question, since Rangers are DEAD that means there IS NO Old Firm and will never be again, does that make Celtic ‘The Firm’? Maybe P McC could give me a definitive answer,
Hail, Hail.
September 5, 2012 at 10:53 pm
Hurricane67
Simple! T.W. The New Firm!
September 6, 2012 at 1:34 am
Pensionerbhoy
Celtic? SOLID! Belong to no firm, past, present or future.
September 6, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Stevie Reid
Fair play to auld turnbull for speaking up and for saying how it was. I hope there is a good turnout and Mr. Huttons team do indeed bank a healthy cheque. But, i wouldn’t want rovers to beat the hoops..never, ha ! Dancing in the streets of raith, while i’m scunnered on the streets of glasgow..i wouldn’t go that far, ha !
September 5, 2012 at 10:46 pm
The Wallace
Turnbull Hutton, I must admit I do not know much about the man, but because of his no nonsense bravery in standing up to the pressures, verging on intimidation and bullying in my opinion, from the powers that be, over where The Sevco were to end up, has elevated him into my own football hall of admiration. This includes Jock Stein, Matt Busby, Bill Shankly and Brian Clough (I know they were managers not directors) since they all stood for football as the ‘beautiful game’, not the commodity to be shoved around to satisfy the parasites of the game who take everything they can from the it and give little or nothing back.
And after the events of this summer my admiration also goes to the majority of the SPL and SFL clubs who were also part of the efforts to play our game with a straight bat ( couldn’t resist that) and were kind enough to allow that brand New team, The Sevco, to play in SFL 3 who were without the proper documentation to qualify for entry into the senior leagues ( of which The Sevco fans for some reason do not seem at all grateful for this unprecedented act of kindness. They have already forgotten where they should be if the rules had been correctly enforced).
I hope the Green Brigade give Mr Hutton and his team the warmest of welcomes, and good luck from me too,
Hail, Hail.
September 5, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Lenny Bhoy
Turnull Hutton has made himself just as famous as the late great Darts World champion Jocky Wilson in Kirkcaldy.
September 5, 2012 at 9:55 pm
paddybhoy
Turnbull Hutton like yourself Phil stood up and told the truth knowing full well it wouldn’t go down well with the establishment, and that there would be repercussions for them.
In history men of courage will always be remembered for standing up for what’s right and honest.
I really hope us Celtic fans turn up in great numbers and at those price’s there is no excuse, although I can’t agree with you about the spring in my step if we get beaten
September 5, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Joseph
Yip. You’ve done it again young man. Well written and well sourced. And I liked that Turbull Hutton too when he spoke out. Takes a brave man . . . just like your good self. Have been reading about you on the VanguardBears blog. What a shower. They really are below-the-belt people. As far as the Sun is concerned . . . well, they’ve lost all credibility. It has been suggested that the decision to drop the serialisation was made in London. If that is the case the person who would have made it is the new md David Dinsmore, former editor of the Sun in Scotland. I worked with David as a raw reporter many moons ago and have watched him progress through the ranks. I always found him to be a good operator and a fair an opened-minded person. I would be very surprised if he was involved in this saga. Anyway, they have done you a favour by giving you all that free publicity. Great to see the book is on its way to becoming a best seller. Look forward Downfall part 2.
September 5, 2012 at 9:17 pm
Slugger O'Toole
One Turnbull Hutton good , two Turnbull Huttons better .
September 5, 2012 at 9:13 pm
jjbhoy
unfortunately turnbull hutton is not 20-30 years younger as he would be the prime candidate to be voted in by the honest people in our game and not the dross we have had running our game for time immemorial.after we were all fed on the scaremongering diet until they realised we were not going to accept this nonsense of total bias to benefit one club and one club only.says it all really when other members of the sfa and chairmen of other clubs admit to having shares in rangers(i.a.)and the argument put forward is that it would amount to less than one per cent of the whole sum,sorry but its not the amount its the fact you own them,conflict of interest and all that! btw phil if you dont mind me asking what is the cost of your new book please! hh!jjbhoy.
September 5, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Ed Dunne
Mr Hutton should be held up as a role model for all the charlatans,liars and cheats within within our game and the administartion thereof.More than happy to hand over my hard earned to watch the game even if it is a struggle taking into account CL matches. Raith Rovers the team and the club deserve nothing less than a huge gate on the night but I hope they are not in the next round.
September 5, 2012 at 8:41 pm
keighley bhoy
Raith Rovers for the cup, would rather we lose tae them and give them a payday and a nxt round tie with sevco zombies at poundland, another nice wee earner for the Rovers and a pumping for SCOTLANDS SHAME, mean time we crack on winning games and earning BIG BUCKS in the big bhoys League, hail hail, GOD BLESS IE CELTIC+
September 5, 2012 at 8:16 pm
Marching on Together
I was at Ross County 1-4 Raith Rovers in the previous round, and if Celtic don’t watch, there could be another shock, as Raith well deserved their victory – could even have been 6 or 7. Pace, intelligence, and up for the battle, and that was just in the boardroom
.
September 5, 2012 at 8:07 pm
Ben mcginlay
Good article Phil, I took a liking to our man Turnbull during he summer of discontent. His forthright talking and dignity gave me confidence that justice would prevail. I have no doubt in my mind there will be a more than decent crowd against Raith. They put us out the cup before. I hope the fans sing a tribute to the man who showed courage against the Klan. I am sure the GB will certainly have a wee ditty in their repertoire for him. Good honest football and a decent purse for a club who deserves it. Playing by the rules is what holds it together.
September 5, 2012 at 8:03 pm
Kenny McCaffrey
Excellent Phil – wish I could attend said match, and good on Celtic with the pricing.
Good luck to Raith Rovers – they were always my third favourite Subutteo team (after Celtic and Brazil of course) – and they always beat Inter Milan too!
Great story about the two Turnbulls. You probably remember the one involving Andy Goram, when fans sang their version of the same song after the latest story to appear in the Sunday Mail was that the so-called ‘Curse of Tommy Burns’ was suffering from (seemingly self-diagnosed) schizophrenia.
September 5, 2012 at 7:56 pm
Savage Henri
Well done for not letting up Phil. they really did get what was coming to them cos of you and others, that raged against the stuttering rusting levithan that used to be Glasgow Rangers 1872. all that remains is a thick black chocking smoke that will slowly kill off the last of the manky mob. question when dot the BDO go in and really kill them off? and how do you spell levithan? lol
September 5, 2012 at 7:55 pm
Southside Tarrier
I hope the faithful acknowledge his presence.
Brave but more importantly honest man.
September 5, 2012 at 7:49 pm
beeegajay
We are all Turnbull Hutton!
Must admit a wee wry smile when I saw the draw.
September 5, 2012 at 7:48 pm
Beeegajay
http://t.co/6KD4caM7
From last July…
September 6, 2012 at 12:07 am
JC
TH is a legend, a real hero. I only wish there were more like him.
September 5, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Paulsatim
Nice one, Phil. Seconded!!
September 5, 2012 at 7:29 pm