We're on this programme tonight, BBC Scotland, 10.35 or now on Iplayer. This gives us a flavour of what to expect:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20px74pk73o?at_bbc_team=editorial&at_format=link&at_link_type=web_link&at_campaign_type=owned&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_medium=social&at_ptr_name=facebook_page&at_link_origin=BBC_Scotland_News&at_link_id=5962418A-7CBF-11EF-8FB0-E817ADFF6A2C&fbclid=IwY2xjawFjdjJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHfKXJdlxB8GaR6ukIf0f5vfFk86YnTWOiTVcY4RfZY-rU1hnTUBiZyM0-g_aem_TIQT3UiWwW3pxG0A61Hp9A

Edited September 27, 20241 yr by Caleyjag
Spelling error

Hopefully many of us who have expressed frustration and criticism of DF and others will shortly bury the hatchet and join the rescue boat by accepting difficulties in the re-float. It is easy to criticise and boy were there good reasons as more information on the management of the club emerged.  But life is and if we do sign a good attacker we saw last week how four good chances went begging. Take pressure off Billy and some good results could follow. DF and supporters would then get a sense of relief.  I now feel more optimistic that results will improve. By definition we are all grateful for those behind the scenes trying to make this work against adversity.

I gather the filming was a few weeks ago. 

I get that Ferguson is trying, and there is likely more going on behind the scenes than we know, and that brings added pressure all around. I also get it that we cannot afford to sack him as his buddy likely gave him a contract that made it too costly to do so. I do also appreciate the fact that he took a pay cut after relegation, so his wages are not necessarily the millstone around our neck that they used to be.

I want to like him, I want him to succeed. I don't care if he was associated with Rangers, Queens Park Rangers or the Texas Rangers, it is good for our club to have a known name at the helm. With apologies to our other managers, most of whom have been far more successful, he is second only to Terry Butcher when it comes to name recognition outside of the small bubble we operate in. When I am trying to explain ICTFC to someone over here who only knows the names of the big two and never watches SPFL football, the bullet points tend to be Scottish Cup Finals in 2015 and 2023 as well as SuperCaleyGoBallistic and then Butcher as our manager and more latterly (despite performance in the job) DF. By the end of that part of the conversation, there is usually some recognition, and then the sad story starts about how things have gone in the last 5 years. 

In my opinion, DF has to start listening to people and adapt things. He has a hard task, with scant resources, but maybe he needs to quietly chat to a few folk around the game who have been in the lower leagues, who have navigated clubs out of those leagues, and learn from them. Doesn't Pele still come to our games? Perhaps he can be humble and pick his brain? Doesn't have to be a media event, just do it on the QT and try to see results improve. If not, then surely there are those around the game who he trusts and looks up to and whose advice he would take? If he can do that, and turn things around, then he can turn the support around too. If he can't, then he will never win the fans over. 

The other thing DF has to do in my opinion is to both acknowledge, and apologise for the treatment given out to Doran, Ridgers, Esson, and others who were treated shabbily by the club in more recent times. It doesn't need to be effusive, or again a media event, but some sort of acknowledgement that mistakes were made, communication was p1sh, and they apologise and will learn from it. It may ultimately not have been (entirely) his fault, but as the manager and leader of the footballing side it is his responsibility to both make hard decisions about the squad (and to communicate those decisions), and also to stick up for them if an errant executive tries to shaft them. Sounds like he did neither this summer.  

We can get behind the club with AS at the helm on the business side, and we would like to get behind Dunc on the footballing side, but things have to improve.   

33 minutes ago, CELTIC1CALEY3 said:

Hopefully many of us who have expressed frustration and criticism of DF and others will shortly bury the hatchet and join the rescue boat by accepting difficulties in the re-float. It is easy to criticise and boy were there good reasons as more information on the management of the club emerged.  But life is and if we do sign a good attacker we saw last week how four good chances went begging. Take pressure off Billy and some good results could follow. DF and supporters would then get a sense of relief.  I now feel more optimistic that results will improve. By definition we are all grateful for those behind the scenes trying to make this work against adversity.

This idea that if we can get a striker then everything will suddenly be great is a bit delusional. It was similar thinking that got the club into the trouble it is now.

Once we get the battery farm we'll be good.

Once the carpark deal kicks in we'll be good.

Once the Makwana deal is done we'll be good.

Once we move everything to Kelty we'll be good.

Hoping for things changes nothing especially when they don't transpire and just gets in the way of taking action now and stopping the slide.

Recent revelations about Ferguson considering not coming back are also alarming. He's essentially told us that he was off sulking and not dealing with the player issues we had over the summer. The phrase for that is dereliction of duty and most of us would be fired for such behaviour.

I think most of us would agree we have a squad capable of achieving more than it has been.

It's not the tools and materials that are faulty it's the person using them.

1 hour ago, CELTIC1CALEY3 said:

Hopefully many of us who have expressed frustration and criticism of DF and others will shortly bury the hatchet and join the rescue boat by accepting difficulties in the re-float. It is easy to criticise and boy were there good reasons as more information on the management of the club emerged.  But life is and if we do sign a good attacker we saw last week how four good chances went begging. Take pressure off Billy and some good results could follow. DF and supporters would then get a sense of relief.  I now feel more optimistic that results will improve. By definition we are all grateful for those behind the scenes trying to make this work against adversity.

I’m on board with you C1C3 in getting fully behind the club and supporting the team and AS et’al going forward. It’s a tacit acceptance of DF as part of that journey whilst he’s with us. 
IMO if there was ANY club ‘out there’ that would have remotely considered taking DF on as a manager (or coach, youth trainer or gopher) at any mid England club during the summer break we wouldn’t have seen DF again. His complete absence, comment or simple courtesy of interest in the players position at this time was telling for me. This latter ‘fighting spirit’ rhetoric is shallow and artificial for me. If he could have found a way ‘out’, he would have jumped at it! 
So in closing, ‘yes’ to the club support from me and that includes DF. But don’t take us as mugs. The jury is still out for me!! 
bc

Edited September 27, 20241 yr by big cherly

4 hours ago, Scotty said:

I don't care if he was associated with Rangers, Queens Park Rangers or the Texas Rangers, it is good for our club to have a known name at the helm.

Jees,  It’s a low bar to set out as ‘our star name’ manager is an Ex-Con with a perchant for battering people he takes exception to. Cant image is an easy selling point to make when punting the club to prospective business interests!  

8 minutes ago, big cherly said:

Jees,  It’s a low bar to set out as ‘our star name’ manager is an Ex-Con with a perchant for battering people he takes exception to. Cant image is an easy selling point to make when punting the club to prospective business interests!  

Regardless of the circumstances, and yours or my opinion about his criminal record, its a simple fact that he is known further afield than Scotland based on his footballing record at Rangers and more especially his playing record with Everton. His on-field hardman reputation (and it has to be said his off-field 'detention' of burglars more so than the assault victims) mean people know who he is.

Heading slightly off topic here but .... I prefer to focus on the Scottish Cup exploits, rather than current situation when talking up the club to people here, and if it is TFC supporters, then I talk about being proud to have been present at the birth of two football clubs, not just one. (ICT in 1994 and TFC in 2006 where I committed to season tickets before we had a team, a manager, or a stadium) and the parallels between the two clubs despite the massive gulf in financial stability. The thing that resonated with someone over here that I spoke with to try and help the club back in 2019 was our youth development, with me citing Ryan Christie as a shining example, and later on, mentioning his dad's commitment to the youth setup and as someone who told me once how he fondly remembers a youth trip to Toronto which I think would either have been street league or Caley (many years ago). This got the guy interested, but of course it came to nothing in the end as it wasn't followed up.