David Sutherland has stated on teletext that he is sick of our players being linked with DU. He has issued a warning to Brew not to come hunting and has said he will move heaven and earth to get our players on extended contracts.

As all our squad are contracted till at least summer 07 I think the key players will be in talks just now and I also think the price will be set too high for Brew and the grocer to afford.

nice one! read earlier that charlie stated there was money available but that he wanted to reward the current squad before bringing new faces in - the futures looking bright! 8)

anyone else like to see an MTV celebrity deathmatch betweeen sutherland and the grocer? :thumbsup:

The fact is still there that people still see United as a 'bigger' club and they can still offer more money. They are not going to be the only club that have noticed our players, but they seem to be where the noise is coming from just now. Hope we can keep hold of the team but if players do want to go elsewhere, and we get a good offer then so be it.

This club is a great place for players to thrive and we'll keep on going no matter what happens. So many times people have left and fell flat so let them try.

Absolutely, on paper United looks more attractive than ICT. However, the pressures will be less up there in Inverness I feel and it will be a better opportunity to enjoy your football.

Although, do ICT's ambitions match Uniteds? Plus players want to earn as much as they can before they retire.

Yeah, well done DS, he's the man!

He also said on the radio that there were no plans for a fourth stand, because its was'nt financially viable, however he did mention putting covers over the main stand wings and making it the family section.

Good work sir.... get the grocer and scum bag Brew told :twisted:

I think you might find all this (and more) in a Highland News article with Charles Bannerman.

The club havent supplied me with the article, nor asked me to put it on this site or on the 'temporary official site' nor have they added it to the site themselves (yet) .... but I am sure it is full of good stuff .... DS doesnt usually miss his mark with these types of interview and he certainly aint scared to tell it like he sees it.

Good response to keep to team together. too much pressure at the "bigger" club.

we have been consistently successful

Hope he'll tell Arkwright and Brew face to face on Saturday.

The interview I did for the HN with David Sutherland will be on the Official part of the site tomorrow (Fri).

Welcome over to the new site CB :)

A decent article and nice to get an insight into at least some of the Chairman's thoughts.

We all know DS and I think I would be right in saying that the majority of us trust him to deliver when it comes to taking care of the bottom line on the accounts.

However, I think that the articles fails to address some of what I see as the "Real" issues which have occurred this season. Not a single mention of developing or strengthening the relationship with the fans which have slowly been eroded in the last 18 months or so. He makes mention and criticises the views of the fans who think the club have failed on the park in any way this season, no mention of the views of the fans who think the club are failing off the park. In particular the actions of certain stewards, the poor management of the turnstiles, lack of information, lack of fan consultation etc.

The article seems to be a chest beating exercise - "Look at Me, Look what I am Doing" - that's great Mr Sutherland, but it's not what your doing that concerns me, it's what your not doing.

Have to give the man Respect 8) but until the **** buys the dubble voddy and coke he is still a feckin maybe.

A decent article and nice to get an insight into at least some of the Chairman's thoughts.

We all know DS and I think I would be right in saying that the majority of us trust him to deliver when it comes to taking care of the bottom line on the accounts.

However, I think that the articles fails to address some of what I see as the "Real" issues which have occurred this season. Not a single mention of developing or strengthening the relationship with the fans which have slowly been eroded in the last 18 months or so. He makes mention and criticises the views of the fans who think the club have failed on the park in any way this season, no mention of the views of the fans who think the club are failing off the park. In particular the actions of certain stewards, the poor management of the turnstiles, lack of information, lack of fan consultation etc.

The article seems to be a chest beating exercise - "Look at Me, Look what I am Doing" - that's great Mr Sutherland, but it's not what your doing that concerns me, it's what your not doing.

What do you expect???

He is obviously going to try and promote the achievements that the club has made over the last 2 seasons rather than point out the negatives. Seems more important to me that the club focuses on the things we are doing right for the time being until we have established ourselves as an SPL club,....

Caley D, David Sutherland is not quoted as criticising the fans for their views on the "failure" to obtain top 6. He does in fact say "whilst I do appreciate some fans' angst at not reaching the top six, we did try very hard to do it on limited resources." I think your confusing Charlie Bannerman's editorial comment - "but despite all that, there is still a minority view that missing out on the top six amounts to failure" with the views of the Chairman.

For my money I think we've got the best Chairman in the SPL. HE'S more than delivered on every big issue that has arisen in the last few years.

If only he would pay fer his feckin round.

Well said DS!!!

What do you expect???

He is obviously going to try and promote the achievements that the club has made over the last 2 seasons rather than point out the negatives. Seems more important to me that the club focuses on the things we are doing right for the time being until we have established ourselves as an SPL club,....

Thats why I said that I have no concern over what he IS doing.

I also don't see any of the things I mentioned as negatives, or they wouldn't be if they had been dealt with in the same professional manner with which the club deals with the "bigger" issues.

Getting established as an SPL club also includes the fans. No point in having an established SPL team, an established SPL stadium and an established SPL set-up if you don't take the time or make the effort to establish an SPL level fanbase. The truth of the matter is that in the last 18 months the club have done more to alientate your average fan than they have done to encourage them.

Caley D, David Sutherland is not quoted as criticising the fans for their views on the "failure" to obtain top 6. He does in fact say "whilst I do appreciate some fans' angst at not reaching the top six, we did try very hard to do it on limited resources." I think your confusing Charlie Bannerman's editorial comment - "but despite all that, there is still a minority view that missing out on the top six amounts to failure" with the views of the Chairman.

For my money I think we've got the best Chairman in the SPL. HE'S more than delivered on every big issue that has arisen in the last few years.

Perhaps my use of the word criticise was wrong, what he does do though is highlight the minority negative element of the fanbase without praising the largely supportive majority. It's al ME ME ME, look what I've done, look at all the great things that are hapenning, and although I agree that the club have achieved a lot, credit also has to be given to the fans who turn out each and every week.

I AM a fan of David Sutherland and what he has done and how he has achieved it, but it doesn't mean their is not room for improvement in certain areas, areas which have been highlighted and raised with the club on several occasions but are rarely ever met with a response, never mind any kind of action.

When the club needed a voice to support their efforts they were falling over themselves to listen to the fans, and to get the fans onboard with their views - The groundshare issue, the promotion issues, issues arising between Sutherland and Macgillvray. Now a fan can't even get so much as a response to a letter of complaint or query.

So in short, although I agree with the content of his article and the successes he has highlighted, there are many other issues which are just as important that are not being addressed. An article such as the one in todays Highland News would have been an ideal opportunity to address these things, if not at the very least acknowledge them.

Do you think it is any coincidence that this article was run at a time when the club were facing criticism on several things? And do you think it is a coincidence that it highlights all the positives and fails to address directly the criticisms that have been made of late?

As I said before, it's a chest beating exercise, one designed to bring people "back in line" and deflect attention from issues that are not being dealt with for whatever reason.

Will I be the next person to find myself banned from the stadium until I learn to tow the part line?

I havent seen or read the article in full but I would agree with many on here who have differing viewpoints ....

What the article does say (according to you guys) sounds good. However, perhaps the positives have been emphasised and the negatives glossed over or largely ignored ? .... This is no criticism of the Chairman, nor of the reporter, just 'standard operating procedure' when this kind of article appears.

I have no issue with the chairman. I have very vocally supported him in the past both in private, and also very publicly on CaleyThistleOnline.com (before and after official status and I will continue to do so when the official status is removed at the end of the season). I think he did an absolutely tremendous job in his first stint in control and without him we quite probably would not have had a club today let alone one that is in the SPL. I am also sure he will do a sterling job again.

I have always thought that he tends to shoot from the hip (remember Kilmarnock comments, and such like ?) so I have no doubt that what he says is both genuine and honest. I am delighted he has very publicly told other teams to stay away from our players and confirmed that he will do whatever he can to retain and improve our squad. That has got to be heartening for Charlie to hear and also for us as supporters.

I am also quite pleased that he has been honest enough to potentially generate some flak by admitting that a 4th stand is not likely on the west side of the ground. Perhaps a small enclosure, but not a full stand. I am sure we would all like a mini San Siro at the Longman but that is neither possible nor necessary so fair play to him for saying a big stand wont happen .... and for saying that covering the uncovered wings would be a bigger priority.

However, I hoped there might have been some additional honesty by acknowledging some of the problems that have occured over the season regarding things brought up earlier in this thread and not necessarily addressing them in the article but at least acknowledging their existence and giving the fans an undertaking to resolve them (or at least try)....

I will reserve further comment on the article until I have actually read it in full, but my opinion so far is that it is fine in what it says, but perhaps could have said more ...

David Sutherland's comments have got to be generally welcome.

From the article, which is now on official site,:

............ and there will be stronger supportive links with the recently formed Supporters' Trust.

That, to me, does not say DS is ignoring the fans.

The Supporters Trust membership is less than 5% of Season Ticket Holders and probably less than 3% of the overall fan-base, that's hardly recognition of the fans as a whole.

Are the fans who choose not to join the Trust any less worthy of a response from the club than those who are members? Are the Trust expected to act as the clubs complaints department?

Where were these "supportive links" when people had trouble with stewarding, or with other matters where the club have proved difficult to deal with in regards to the Trust?

Am not interested in the club paying lip service to these things as they have done for the last season and a half. There's only so long they can play the "give us time" card before they have to start taking action. For too long I spoke out in defence of the club when promises of action were given which have never materialised.

Surely everyone is not so blind that they have failed to see how much the relationship between the club and fans has deteriorated since we got in to the SPL?

david sutherland is my messiah!

I think you can all relax regarding Mark Brown, United are being linked with another goalie for now!

dundee united are a much bigger club than us, they must have at least 6 or 7 times the number of fans we do

Where are they then, hiding?!