Niculae

[The Mantis]

He turned down more lucrative offers to come here?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Well IHE, you haven't posted for a while... and let me just say I've not missed your Marius-bashing one bit.

He turned down more lucrative offers to come here. He has said to the press he is happy to stay here, hardly the thing you would say if you were chasing a transfer. He was our top scorer last season, one of the highest on the list of assists also, and earned us ?3000 a day at the Euros, imo certainly not a waste of money.

The fact that you are calling our top scorer from last season, and the only ICT player ever to appear at the Euros crap, suggests you know "feck" all about football.

Maybe its that you have been watching football for a lot longer than me. But imo signing Marius was a great decision. Marius covered more ground than anyone on the pitch against Holland this summer, hardly sounds like a "lazy, greedy *******".

The club are using Marius, not the other way around. Not only is he putting up with this, he's getting slagged off on here.  :33: :33:

Regardless of where he is next season, Marius is a legend.

:rotflmao: Legend - two goals against Arbroath and two against Gretna in midweek home League cup ties and six for the rest of the season.  :crazy07: :crazy07:

Like Mantis says - he was PATHETIC away from home - a total dud luxury.

Absolute numpty away from home and brought anxt to the dressing room - a feckin Orion political signing from the offset - Get rid of the waster, grab the spondoolachs from any ersehole that will take him and watch him go in to obscurity.

And what a feckin performance he put in at the Euros.

Obssessed and feckin hysterical - thank feck that wont happen this season.

[TomCaleyJag]

We'll agree to totally disagree then?

And Mantis, he claimed on his website to have turned down more lucrative offers last summer.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

He claimed on his webite that he was pacy and would score at least 20 goals. He wouldnt have passed a medical or got a game for months anywhere else.

[RiG]

I thought East 17s comeback was pretty cringeworthy but looks like I was wrong  :004:

[Guest WynessLegend]

He claimed on his webite that he was pacy and would score at least 20 goals. He wouldnt have passed a medical or got a game for months anywhere else.

you truly are an arse.

[FortressICT]

He was poor last season and shocking away from home, he only has 1 year left on his contract, if he stays this season I think its very unlikely that he would sign a new deal.  So this summer, whilst all the speculation of him leaving and clubs interested because of the Euro's probably having not seen him play away from home for us.  Cash in and make a very nice profit and then the other lads moral will go up aswell.

9/10 goals last year, 2 v Arbroath and 2 v Gretna.  Not good at all.

I am very critical of Brew, but I agree with everyone else, he has no say in this at all so he can't be in the wrong and is probably being made to play Niculae.

Marius has been a boost to the club in the fact we are getting recognised around Europe and the World from the Euro's and now teams like Kaiserslautern.

But negative, on team moral (wages), the saga with Orion and now with his transfer.

Adam Rooney would be an excellent signing!

[Caley Mad In Berks]

He claimed on his webite that he was pacy and would score at least 20 goals. He wouldnt have passed a medical or got a game for months anywhere else.

Welcome back IHE.  Where have you been all these weeks?  Sharpening your anti Marius claws I bet!  I noticed that when Marius was picked by Romania for the Euros, much to your surprise, you were almost supportive of him for a week or two.  But its good to see you back flying your true colours again.  That way we all know what to expect from you.  No doubt you'd like to see ICT spend Marius's wages, or even exceed them, on two or three numptee has-beens from SPL!

[Scotty]

you truly are an arse.

WL, although I disagree with IHE in terms of Niculae, I think it is possible to do this without resorting to abuse.

There are a wide range of opinions relating to Niculae, possibly the broadest range of opinions on any subject (with the exception of the merger) in ICT history. There are those who like him, those who dont, those who think he brought something to the side and those who think he was a waste of time and money. At the end of the day, no-one is totally right or wrong because all opinions are valid and we are each entitled to them.

He chose to come to ICT in no small part because of the Orion and Steve Cairns connection and although I cannot say whether other offers were more lucrative or not, I believe they may have been given ICT's reputation as one of the lowest payers in one of the lowest paid leagues in Europe (excluding OF). 

In my opinion, he did bring something to the team, and his signing showed people that those in charge of the club were looking to break the mould a little and try to progress to the next level. I have long been a fan of not breaking the wage structure, and still am for the most part, but sometimes you have to take a chance, and I feel the club did this then failed to capitalise on the opportunities this brought.

Here we are, little ICT, "a club of our size" to quote club officials, with a former international from one of the top 10 nations in Europe (Romania have been at 13 or higher in world rankings since 07 and 10 or better in Europe). The international player then succeeds in getting back to the full squad for Euro 2008, gets ICT mentioned rather a lot during the tournament, makes good noises about the club while he is there and generally raises the profile of the club to a level not seen before. I accept we have Richard Hastings and have had Davide Xausa in the past but with all due respect, Canada went from 103 to 51 in the rankings and now back down to 77 in the same period that Romania have hovered at 12 or 13. (For reference - Scotland went from 19 to 23 to 14 and now back to 16 in the same period)

The club should have used Niculae's involvement in Euro 2008 to raise awareness of the side, to make the point to potential signings that it is possible to get into international squads without being at one of the OF, to use Niculae's positive comments about the club and area to show that Inverness is a great place to play your football. What did they do ? They did nothing. They did mention in a brief article that he was selected for the Euros but that was the sum total until this website changed its entire global board header to support the player and Romania at the tournament and setup a way for the player to personally respond to emails that were being sent to him. It took us less than an hour to setup an email address for him and to change the headers and because of this we also got coverage in various places in the UK and abroad ... I had people at TFC games mention it to me telling me it was great how we were doing this and how they didnt realise that ICT actually had any international players, I had international publications asking for quotes, I had a FIFA endorsed website asking why we were doing it. The club could and should have been doing this instead and reaping the positive PR and raised profile it would have brought them but unfortunately, it would seem like the decision to offload the player had already been made and no-one could even see the other side of the coin in that supporting the player in such a way that they might actually increase interest in him if they did want to sell him.

Marius is/was not a world beater and I agree with those who say he shouldnt have been anywhere near the first team for at least the first couple of months of his ICT career as he was not fit. However, although he must shoulder some of it, he cannot be blamed solely for his ineffectiveness in certain matches as a lot of that is down to tactics or the lack thereof. I only saw him play live on one occasion and that was at home in the 3-0 victory over Kilmarnock. He was very effective that day but I accept the comments of those who watched him away from home regularly. I have a feeling he might have been better this season as he would be more settled - just married, back in the international fold, knows his colleagues a bit better etc etc etc. but we will never know now !

Regardless of whether you agree with the ramblings above or not - and to be honest, I really dont care as this is my opinion and I am as entitled to it as you are to your differing ones - the one area where I feel we should all be united is in our outrage at how he has been treated since the end of the season. I am sure the full story will come out eventually from one source or another but from what I have heard so far there should be several heads hanging in shame.

[Scotty]

He was poor last season and shocking away from home, he only has 1 year left on his contract, if he stays this season I think its very unlikely that he would sign a new deal.  So this summer, whilst all the speculation of him leaving and clubs interested because of the Euro's probably having not seen him play away from home for us.  Cash in and make a very nice profit and then the other lads moral will go up aswell.

As I understand it, he offered to extend his contract but the offer was declined.

9/10 goals last year, 2 v Arbroath and 2 v Gretna.  Not good at all.

Agreed. But as I said above ...... "I have a feeling he might have been better this season as he would be more settled - just married, back in the international fold, knows his colleagues a bit better etc etc etc. but we will never know now !"

Marius has been a boost to the club in the fact we are getting recognised around Europe and the World from the Euro's and now teams like Kaiserslautern.

A boost that the club did not capitalise on [see above].

But negative, on team moral (wages), the saga with Orion and now with his transfer.

The truth will come out soon.

Adam Rooney would be an excellent signing!

People seem to think so, I have never seen or heard of the player so will defer to others superior knowledge.

[absent friend]

[

]

  he was PATHETIC away from home - a total dud luxury.

Absolute numpty away from home - Get rid of the waster, grab the spondoolachs from any ersehole that will take him and watch him go in to obscurity.

And what a feckin performance he put in at the Euros.

Spot or NOT, the Romanian international selector above.  Some have the ability to recognise talent, even hidden in an average team, some can't see the ability for the amateur politics.

[Joonya]

very very well put scotty. Agree 100%

The treatment of any player, let alone one of marius stature, is apauling  :33:

The club tried to move forward but did not capitalise. Some people are still living in the dark ages when it comes to wage structues etc etc. We have been in the SPL for long enough to seriously push for a top 6 or euro spot. we will not get there if we keep fleecing ross county of their star div 2 assets year in year out!

[strathyjags]

you truly are an arse.

most true comment ever written on here,a gold medal to that man :021:

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Yhank you Scotty for agreeing with me. Easier to say he was a feckin dissapointment and we are better of rid of him and cashing in. He will flop wherever he goes.

[FortressICT]

Sky Sports News saying we have rejected another bid from Kaiser + Dinamo Bucherest.

[+jagster]

On Itv - we have accepted a bid from Kaiserlautern and now up to the player whether he wants to accept or not

bye bye niculae

[RossP]

Just seen that. Glad we didn't take their first offer, hopefully we've also built in some sort of future transfer %.

Would love to know what the transfer fee is. Considering Noel Hunt went to Reading for only ?600k, if we got anything above ?500k then we've done really well.

Use this money to extend Cowie and Fraser's contracts I say!

[Libero]

Just seen that. Glad we didn't take their first offer, hopefully we've also built in some sort of future transfer %.

Would love to know what the transfer fee is. Considering Noel Hunt went to Reading for only ?600k, if we got anything above ?500k then we've done really well.

Use this money to extend Cowie and Fraser's contracts I say!

and buy a replacement striker!!

[SMEE]

Even if Nic does go....i think it will be for much less than we have been lead to belive, and the club will try and dress it up as a good bit of business

[CaleyD]

I think your a lot closer to the mark than some might give you credit for SMEE.

I certainly don't see the club giving Brewster the funds to bring in the 3 or 4 players that's being mentioned as part of the reason for selling him and we'll be lucky if we replace him with someone even remotely comparable in terms of experience.

[caley100]

Just seen that. Glad we didn't take their first offer, hopefully we've also built in some sort of future transfer %.

Would love to know what the transfer fee is. Considering Noel Hunt went to Reading for only ?600k, if we got anything above ?500k then we've done really well.

Use this money to extend Cowie and Fraser's contracts I say!

and buy a replacement striker!!

And while we're flush.... BUY A BETTER DEFENDER!!!

[Slip1970]

teletext on ITV is quoting Graham Bennet as stating that the club have accepted an offer from Kaiserslaurten which was also quoted in the sun so its a done deal. Just not heard exactly how much the club will receive yet. Its been apparent for some time that he has been looking for another club so take the money I say. You want players that are committed to the shirt. If he was then he would have made that clear which he never has in the last few months. I'm Just glad we had Stevie Crawford snatched from us by East Fife!!!! Shokkin!! No much ambition there.....

[CaleyD]

teletext on ITV is quoting Graham Bennet as stating that the club have accepted an offer from Kaiserslaurten which was also quoted in the sun so its a done deal. Just not heard exactly how much the club will receive yet. Its been apparent for some time that he has been looking for another club so take the money I say. You want players that are committed to the shirt. If he was then he would have made that clear which he never has in the last few months. I'm Just glad we had Stevie Crawford snatched from us by East Fife!!!! Shokkin!! No much ambition there.....

With all due respect the part of your post I have highlighted is BS.  I've not seen anything in the press or elsewhere which suggests that Marius Niculae has been looking for another club, quite the opposite in fact.

[Joonya]

I have to agree with CD here.

Marius has stated his desire to stay in scotland on a few occasions, and has thanked everyone involved with the club (especially his fans) for the welcome he recieved and the enjoyment he had playing with our squad. He even (according to Ian Black in the press) has full respect of the playersat the club and some were even at his stag doo and wedding.

Had he been so anti-ICT, he would have jumped ship prior to the euro's IMO.

[kencar]

Interesting take on the story Slip1970 and one I'm not sure I can agree with especially as the club probably sent someone round to pack up his house & bags the moment last season ended  :023:

I'm sorry to see the player go and it makes me even more apprehensive for the forthcoming season than I already was. Let's hope Brewster can sign a couple of decent players of a somewhat higher pedigree than Crawford & Elliot!

The one good thing to come out of it will (hopefully) be the end of one of our regular contributors incessant & tedious postings on Niculae  :tic01: