As Bill Shankly once said to me:

'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.'

At this time, and in the case of Charlie Christie, I would beg to differ with the great man. I understand that CC did not give any after match interviews yesterday and he has alluded to the fact that he found last season very stressful and it had an effect on his family and friends as well.

The pressure is as much as it ever has been and I am very reliably informed that there is bad feeling in the dressing room. We may only be three games into the season but the hounds are baying and the next three fixtures are against the in form Arabs and very difficult trips to Easter Road and Parkhead. That is a tall order indeed.

In regard to the Cometh the Hour thread I sincerely thought that we would beat St Mirren which would allow the breathing space desperately required and I was planning to extol CC. Sadly it has just increased the pressure cooker.

So I would say - personally and professionally to CC - You will always be a legend in my eyes and many others. You have helped ICT out in their hour of need but it is time to put yourself and your family first. Gracefully throw in the towel before things get any worse.

And this time I am being totally feckin serious.

I think the "revealing" interview he gave during the summer was more a cry for help than anything else.

i think it was beyond that stage and was a cry of 'i cant be bothered anymore'

If there are problems in the dressing room over the signing of a quakity international player, then the players want to take a long hard look at themselves.

In effect they're saying.....we don't want anyone here better than us. That's an appalling attitude. The only way our club is ever going to progress is by continually signing players as good, or better, than what we have.

This attitude in the dressing room is effectivly saying we don't want any big names at our club.......which is bollox.

Completely agree. There is a reason some players get paid more than others. That's because they are better than you and more valuable. It's the same with every job.

Yes but no matter what job you are in your salary is 99.999% confidential!

I think the "revealing" interview he gave during the summer was more a cry for help than anything else.

Exactly. The health issues have been constant since January at least. There were cries for help in January and March - according to Grasser.

Perhaps what they are saying is, "why should I work my balls of to get a start on the pitch when someone can walk in on 4 times my salary and then expect me to perform 110% in order that he can shine and move on".

In which case, it shows their interests are themselves, not the clubs.

I'll try a ***** analogy, but it's the best I can do.

A hypothetical situation....

A mate of mine works in a local bakery. It's small scale, employs six people, but has grown from a cottage industry from 5 years ago, to a well respected, medium size concern thesedays. The owner realises though that, as it stands, he can't really progress any further. So he has an idea...

One day he goes into see the staff, calls them together, and says..." I've been giving this a lot of thought folks. We've got where we are today because of all your hard work, and I appreciate that so much. I feel though we've reached our limit, and without something extra I'm not sure we can progress any further/ I'd like to progress, and I want you all to be part of that".

" It's cost me a load of money, but I've secured the services of ace cake maker, Jane Asher. She's not cheap, but I feel it's worth the investment. She'll bring fresh ideas, a wealth of experience at the top level, new recipes, and will increase our profile hugely. I think that she'll give us the edge over our competitors. I also hope we'll all learn from her, and as a result become even better bakers than we are now. We'll all benefit by that....more business means better pay for everyone in the long run, better bonuses. Her value to us, while costly initially, will pay in the long run"

"You with me or not?"

"Yeaaaaaaaah" reply the bakers, knowing that they'll all benefit from her employment.

Why should a football club be any different?

Told you it was pish :001:

But then Jane walks in and the other cake makers feel that she is not that special and she is lazy and expects that her reputation should be enough for the others to respect her. And then the shop floor manager has doubts and Jane's initial attempts to put some icing on the cake fail miserably becos she has been out of practice for a while. The shop floor manager leaves, the head manager insists that her cake recipes will be followed and the business gets bad reviews and Jane herself is targetted.

Lets give Jane a few weeks to perfect her Victoria sponge but if it is still sinking in the middle perhaps the dough should be spread around more equally. As my old friend, Fanny once said The proof is in the pudding  " :001:

Or.... As an old baker friend of mine once said  :  I hope you're doughnuts turn out just like fannys.....  :symbol_exclaim01: :symbol_exclaim01:

I'm with you on all that oh great immortal extruder of knowledge and wisdom. Contrary to what was said on another thread, I dont wear tinted specs and my lug is forever trailling the ground :023:

And the moral of the bakery story is that Jane is getting too much dough and is taking the biscuit.