Blatter has just nine days' campaigning left - he was heading for the Oceania congress in Tonga yesterday - before he must face the delegates of more than 200 associations at FIFA's congress in Seoul.

They will decide whether foot-ball's world governing body can afford another four years of the failure, cronyism, vote-rigging and corruption that have marked Blatter's single term in office.

Blatter had promised to give answers this weekend to a detailed dossier, produced earlier this month by Zen-Ruffinen, of his mistakes and mismanagement. He pledged to 'deal thoroughly with each individual accusation' - and then dodged most of them.

Instead, he insulted his general secretary, who the Football Association noted last week 'should receive the full support of the worldwide footballing community'. And Blatter fell back on the oldest diversion in the handbook of sports leaders who have out-stayed their welcome. He blamed the media.

In the three years when the International Olympic Committee was under fire for endemic corruption, its president Juan Antonio Samaranch claimed it was the target of 'an unprecedented world- wide media campaign'.

Yesterday Blatter asserted he was the victim of 'a campaign waged against me in the media'. Warming up, he went on: 'This smear campaign is bizarre, incomprehensible - it is questionable whether the general secretary is capable of making competent judgment - his leadership qualities are called into question.'

Blatter's 14,000-word, 30-page statement sidesteps the central criticism of his regime at FIFA: that he has turned the presidency into a dictatorship controlled by his own unaccountable cabinet of highly paid advisers.

The response left capable staff dissatisfied and frustrated. They chafe because, in their view, Blatter has set up a parallel FIFA government with little or no accountability for how it spends football's money.

The charges against his dictatorship include providing financial favours for cronies and supporters.

The reply is a naked plea for reelection. Blatter avoids the facts that damn his reign and plays instead to the gallery of national members who can never hope to enjoy professional football in their homelands or escape from the basement of FIFA's world rankings.

He boast that 117 nations have benefited from the GOAL project - grants of $400,000 and more - frequently used to build new offices for administrators. This is the vote-winner for Blatter in the tiny specks of rock in the Caribbean and Pacific islands. He wrung the theme dry.

Blatter alleges that Zen-Ruffinen 'pitifully neglected these important development projects. He never took an interest in them although they are in place solely to serve football's best interests.'

Fortunately, Blatter says, only after the project was placed in his care 'was it possible to ensure the implementation of these important football development projects'.

Despite this astonishing self-praise, Blatter attacks his critics for electioneering. And while continuing to maintain that FIFA is 'transparent', he complains about 'confidential information being leaked to the media' as if the truth about FIFA is his private property.

Blatter makes no apologies for his dubious relations with Caribbean soccer supremo Jack Warner and fails to explain why millions of dollars of FIFA payments have made their way to Warner and his family.  And this twerp is the leader of CONCACAF, which the CSA leaders are following like the proverbial sheep: Ed

He evades any mention of his approval of a $60,000 sweetheart deal that a Warner son gained with a FIFA contractor, or that Warner personally lobbied him to make sure the contract was agreed.

Zen-Ruffinen disclosed that nearly $4m had been loaned to a Warner project in his home country of Trinidad - and then written off. Blatter could describe this only as 'part of a wider budget adjustment'.

Blatter continues to refuse to reveal his huge salary and guaranteed expenses or the secret 'pension' paid to his predecessor Joao Havelange. Nonetheless he had to admit that in September 2001 he gave Havelange a cheque for $25,000, an advance on his payment for 2002.

There's a heart-rending tale of how Blatter dug deep in his pocket and gave $25,000 to an African referee who brought him horrendous tales of corruption in refereeing which seemed to be the responsibility of Farah Addo - the official who revealed vote-buying by Blatter's agents in January this year.

Many weeks have passed since Blatter 'looked after' this witness - but there is no sign of his evidence being produced. Perhaps he will give it to the public prosecutor in Zurich who is now examining Zen-Ruffinen's dossier.

Last night FIFA's general secretary said he would 'not withdraw a single one of my accusations'.

Blatter's personal press officer Markus Siegler claimed on the BBC yesterday that the Football Association had changed its mind on voting for Cameroon's presidential candidate Issa Hayatou rather than Blatter.

Siegler told BBC Radio Five Live that, at the International Board meeting held in March in Zermatt, Switzerland, FA chairman Geoff Thompson had given a clear indication he wanted to vote for the tarnished president.

Instead the FA not only announced its support for Hayatou but also went on to denounce the Blatter reign.