He appears to have been practically sainted in the last few weeks - well not by IHE.

He is an established professional - He must have known that he was being played too early - He must have felt the atmosphere in the dressing room - He must have known that he was way out of form - At the end of the day Marius Niculae was always - and still is - looking after Number One.

Some may say that isnt anything strange these days - TRUE - but it is at ICT.

Marius is a mercenary who has got what he wanted and now will move on - and I predict that he will fall.

Lets not forget that if it wasnt fer Gretna the signing of Niculae and the standard of his play for the majority of the season would possibly have taken us into the SFL.

The fact is....most of you are making huge assumptions about what Niculae is getting paid and none of you have a clue.  The ?4000/?5000 per week is nothing but press speculation and has been since day one.

The fact is....most of you are making huge assumptions about what Niculae is getting paid and none of you have a clue.  The ?4000/?5000 per week is nothing but press speculation and has been since day one.

:004:

The fact is....most of you are making huge assumptions about what Niculae is getting paid and none of you have a clue.  The ?4000/?5000 per week is nothing but press speculation and has been since day one.

:004:

Ah ha.....  maybe one day we will learn the facts.  :symbol_question:

IHE give the man a break!  Have you met him? Don't judge a book by it's cover, what evidence have you that Marius is a "mercenary"?

Ignore them all Marius, I still love you  :021:

I have watched him - the large majority of my comments have been about his performances and I have been totally honest in my comments - positive and negative.

If he stays to fight on - I will remove the mercenary tag - If he goes to a "bigger" club - then he proves that he is a true mercenary.

Fair enough, but Marius might leave for a bigger club because we can't afford to keep him... Does that still make him a mercenary?

If he stays to fight on - I will remove the mercenary tag - If he goes to a "bigger" club - then he proves that he is a true mercenary.

What utter garbage

"Marius is a mercenary who has got what he wanted and now will move on - and I predict that he will fall.

Lets not forget that if it wasnt fer Gretna the signing of Niculae and the standard of his play for the majority of the season would possibly have taken us into the SFL."

Utter p1sh, as usual. 

Spare me a seat in earshot of the self proclaimed voice of the fans at Tynecastle tomorrow.

Fair enough, but Marius might leave for a bigger club because we can't afford to keep him... Does that still make him a mercenary?

A bigger club - YES - We have resurrected his career - he owes us - he can only go higher fer more money - he could get what he wants with us - if he reclaims his place in the Romanian squad - which I pray he does - if he deserts us - HE IS A MERCENARY.

If he stays - He COULD become a LEGEND - Spondoolachs or Career satisfaction and/or feckin respect to a club that took him out of the feckin mire ?

If he stays to fight on - I will remove the mercenary tag - If he goes to a "bigger" club - then he proves that he is a true mercenary.

What utter garbage

:012: Well why not just admit tht you have no sensible retort.  :020:

"Marius is a mercenary who has got what he wanted and now will move on - and I predict that he will fall.

Lets not forget that if it wasnt fer Gretna the signing of Niculae and the standard of his play for the majority of the season would possibly have taken us into the SFL."

Utter p1sh, as usual. 

Spare me a seat in earshot of the self proclaimed voice of the fans at Tynecastle tomorrow.

Spare me a seat from a no mark who hardly ever watches a game but thinks that he can pass comment - I am my own voice but I have clearly been proved rite this season  :023:

If Marius performs tomorrow - I will be the first out of my seat applauding and singing his song - and if he scores I will go on the pitch and hug the *******  :crazy07:

I just hope the feckin mercenary does perform AWAY from home - fer feckin once.

The fact is....most of you are making huge assumptions about what Niculae is getting paid and none of you have a clue.  The ?4000/?5000 per week is nothing but press speculation and has been since day one.

The fact is....most of you are making huge assumptions about what Niculae is getting paid and none of you have a clue.  The ?4000/?5000 per week is nothing but press speculation and has been since day one.

:004:

The fact is....most of you are making huge assumptions about what Niculae is getting paid and none of you have a clue.  The ?4000/?5000 per week is nothing but press speculation and has been since day one.

:004:

Ah ha..... maybe one day we will learn the facts.  :symbol_question:

So if Marius was only getting 2-2.5 K a week and no sponsorship or extra deal - WHY wasnt that simply announced at the beginning of the season and used to squash all the rumours of large wage bills - or when the fans and the press started creating a fuss - and why did Sutherland use it as an opening "missile" ?  :023:

Why NOW when the shittt has hit the fan ?

Lets not forget that if it wasnt fer Gretna the signing of Niculae and the standard of his play for the majority of the season would possibly have taken us into the SFL.

That comment would only make sense if we were currently, and then finish, 11th. We are not and will not.

Without the nine points gained against Gretna??

Even if you took away the 9 points angainst Gretna, st mirren and killie have both played them as well so you'd have to discount their points as well wouldnt you?  We'd still not be 11th.

As for the posters calling Marius a mercenary  :029: :029: get a grip, you go where the money is, the days of a player staying at one club for his whole career are pretty much over, yes you will have some exceptions to that rule but bye and large players move on to maximise their money.  It is little different in any other walk of life, you go where the money is or you go for an oppertunity to get noticed, then you get a move to get more money.

Especially when you are heading for the scrap heap, low in confidence, carrying injuries, shunned by most clubs and leagues - It is "pay back" time and Marius has the opportunity to become a gentleman who shows appreciation to a club that has dragged him up from the edge of the football gutter and brought him back his reputation and self respect. If he leaves the ranks just as the real "battle" begins - then he is a mercenary - and may well fall back down into the gutter gain.

By the way - for all you illiterate cnuts:

"A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national or a party to the conflict and "is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party"

A bigger club - YES - We have resurrected his career - he owes us - he can only go higher fer more money - he could get what he wants with us - if he reclaims his place in the Romanian squad - which I pray he does - if he deserts us - HE IS A MERCENARY.

Marius owes us nothing  :018: he is a player who is trying to the best of his current ability to play well for this club. what he's being paid is not his fault, he's obviously deserved higher wages in the past at the clubs he's been at who can pay them and has taken a decrease in his wages to come here when he could probably have gone somewhere else for higher wages but may not have got the chances he has here.

Admittedly he's not playing to the standard he was hyped up to be when he arrived and most of us myself included probably expected him to score more goals, but its a new league he has to adapt to, he has talentless feckers compared to him around him that in another team if he had better service may have scored more and he tracks back far too much (being a weakness in his game as he's too slow to get back into position).

At no point is he a mercenary, if he doesn't drop his wages next season that's not his fault, he signed a 2yr contract with a paystructure, that's the clubs fault not his for not adding a reduce wage clause or anything into it. if he leaves for a big transfer fee that's not his fault either that's the club that will have accepted it.

If he refused to go to a bigger club, then it shows a lack of ambition.

if he goes to another club for higher wages than he gets here then he's considered a money grabbing ****.

Anyone would be foolish to turn down a job where the pay is a couple of thousand pounds higher.

He's in a no win situation, players come and go, some will set the heather on fire, some will be nothing more than a journeyman. lets just enjoy having him at the club for however long he has left here.

A bigger club - YES - We have resurrected his career - he owes us - he can only go higher fer more money - he could get what he wants with us - if he reclaims his place in the Romanian squad - which I pray he does - if he deserts us - HE IS A MERCENARY.

Marius owes us nothing

Have to agree with that. I am desperate for Marius to stay but I certainly wouldn't blame him for leaving for a bigger foreign club.

As sad as it is IHE, football is no longer a game but a business. I believe Marius does care about the club, but if a club like Werder Bremen (who have been linked to him) comes in I wouldn't blame him for leaving. Especially if we can't afford to pay his wages.

Put yourself in his shoes, if you were playing for the 9th top club in Romania, Farul Constanta, and you were offered a move to a big club like Werder Bremen, offering to double/triple your wages, live in a big city with all your needs catered for etc. etc. would you say "No get lost I'm committed to Farul??"

Incidentally I was informed the other day that there was two pages of a Romanian magazine devoted to Marius last week, and he stated categorically, "I want to stay at ICT".

Which is promising, as obviously thats not the thing to say if you're open to a move. And George Fraser has said Marius has been planned into the budget for next season.

But then again with all the shi1te coming from the men in charge at ICT this season you don't know what to believe!

WEyness is God--excellent post--sums it all up perfectly.

IHE --good wind up. Hope you are enjoying your wee drinkie and pipe with your quavering belly with that  look of utter glee on your face? :003:

Mercenary? Yer all having a laff--in thi9s day and age it seems that we are all mercenaries of a sort.  :012:

Hmmmm-why did the "post" buton not send the reply when I pressed it  the last time? Hung up for at least 5 minutes and never sent the message  at all. Glitch hollow?

This is not a wind up and anyone with a football brain at Tynecastle could see that Marius simply did not deliver away from home AGAIN.

As fer wyness is dog - read the meaning of mercenary  :029:

We are hyping him up to be much better than he is - Tynecastle today proved it.  :018:

You can't have it both ways Johndo....your on another thread slating Brewster for playing Niculae in the wrong position and then you come on here and slate Niculae for not being up to scratch!!!

Which is it?

its not a case of marius not delivering away from home  :029: the whole team cant deliver away from home, only gretna's record is worse :sillywave:

keeps the marius threads going though 

"Spare me a seat from a no mark who hardly ever watches a game but thinks that he can pass comment - I am my own voice but I have clearly been proved rite this season "

:rotflmao:

Do keep up Johndo.  I was there this afternoon as I've been much of this season.

In fact I was ready to ask for my twelve quid back wen I spotted you on the same row as us...... :019:

You can't have it both ways Johndo....your on another thread slating Brewster for playing Niculae in the wrong position and then you come on here and slate Niculae for not being up to scratch!!!

Which is it?

Where have I slated him in regard to his performance - I am talking here about "payback" to ICT - I may be wrong but I am old fashioned and I think some loyalty is a quality sadly lacking in football these days - If ya read what I have said I am wanting / asking Marius to stay and to play on the last man.

He proved again yesterday how little he gives to us away. Brew should have been bawling at him - or hooking him for lack of movementn and dropping back so much. Sure he had a poor supply and sure he looks class - but he was literally strolling - and sure he had some nice touches. But a good player makes things out of nothing - Marius failed again. And he had little if any movement - He nmust be a joy to play against - no breaking sweat and keep him away from goals facing the wrong way and let him do all his nice touches.

He should be blasted fer that but I still want him to stay.

Where have I slated him in regard to his performance

In your very next paragraph in your above post for a start....

He proved again yesterday how little he gives to us away. Brew should have been bawling at him - or hooking him for lack of movementn and dropping back so much. Sure he had a poor supply and sure he looks class - but he was literally strolling - and sure he had some nice touches. But a good player makes things out of nothing - Marius failed again. And he had little if any movement - He nmust be a joy to play against - no breaking sweat and keep him away from goals facing the wrong way and let him do all his nice touches.

He should be blasted fer that but I still want him to stay.

If he's not being "blasted" then it's probably safe to assume that he's playing the roll he's been sent out to perform.  Is it his fault that the Manager isn't playing him in a system that suits his strengths???  We know Niculae can make a hige contribution to the team, he's proved that already, so when he's played in a system which has been failing away from home for some time now it's hardly down to his lack of ability and ENTIRELY down to the tactics being employed by the manager.

Maybe he shouldn't be played away from home when we are playing him in the wrong place, but again, it's not his fault and I don't know of any player who would say..."you know what boss...that's not my strongest position and I think you should play someone else".  As the saying goes....."a person can only p*ss with the c*ck they are given".

You have a lot of valid points to make regarding the carry on at the club this season but, IMO, you are losing/have lost the respect of a lot of people on this site through your insatiable desire to try and use Niculae as some kind of route to express your disappointment and have a go at the club.  You seem to think that he has something to "prove" aside from his performances on the park.  I don't disagree that it's nice to see a bit of loyalty, but you seem to want Niculae to do something which has never been expected of ANY ICT player in the last 14 years.  Many good players have left ICT with the best wishes of the fans because we knew that, when push came to shove, we just couldn't afford to keep them....why should it be any different in this case if Niculae moves on?

I've agreed with you on many things this season when others have laughed at the prospect of your being anywhere near the truth, far less bang on the money.  But your fascination with knocking Niculae is turning into victimisation, especially as many of the problems which (may) have arisen as a result of his signing are nothing to do with him as an individual or his ability on the pitch.

I dont actually call that "slating" - it is fair criticism - I always am blunt in my positive and negative comments about everyone / everything - that was my observationfrom Saturday and one that was, after the game, widely supported. It has alot to do with how to play him but Marius often drifts - and shouldnt be allowed to. He has little movement and pace but has elements of pure class. I have said as much about a few others but tht has gone unnoticed - Unfortunately the members of this forum have become obsessed with Marius - from very different angles and very diverse opinions. Whether Marius likes it - he is hot news. I chuckle that I post and criticise others far more bluntly than Marius but everybody hones in any negative opinion / statement about Marius - fortunately a lot of people on here do not have dark glasses and can debate on the playing front rather than getting personal or "attacking" me. 

I have my opinions about loyalty - If Wyness was playing well and looking to go - I would be saying the same thing about him. I certainly aint going to curb my views cos I upset a few people who hve another perspective.

And as per usual a thread ends up "slating" me personally - Perhaps Marius will relate to me. Victimisation is an absolute way over the top accusation - It would appear that even the Admin are now failing to understand the point of an independent fans forum.

I dont actually call that "slating" - it is fair criticism - I always am blunt in my positive and negative comments about everyone / everything - that was my observationfrom Saturday and one that was, after the game, widely supported. It has alot to do with how to play him but Marius often drifts - and shouldnt be allowed to. He has little movement and pace but has elements of pure class. I have said as much about a few others but tht has gone unnoticed - Unfortunately the members of this forum have become obsessed with Marius - from very different angles and very diverse opinions. Whether Marius likes it - he is hot news. I chuckle that I post and criticise others far more bluntly than Marius but everybody hones in any negative opinion / statement about Marius - fortunately a lot of people on here do not have dark glasses and can debate on the playing front rather than getting personal or "attacking" me.

 

Slating/Fair criticism...it's all semantics at the end of the day and I would still disagree that it is wholly justified.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Niculae is 100% effective every game, but what I am saying is that the only time he gets criticised is when he's having to play the role of dropping back to collect balls in midfield.  I wouldn't call that drifting, I'd call it getting involved in the game and I'd far rather see a player do that than stand up front with his finger up his butt doing nothing for 90 minutes because he's getting no/poor service.

Again, I fail to see how Niculae can be criticised for that.  If it was Bayne having to do the chasing back then he'd be getting hailed for his 110% work rate and commitment, but hey, that doesn't suit the lack of loyalty/commitment argument you've been playing out all season so you like to put another slant on it.

As you say, Niculae is "hot news", but regardless of which side of the fence you sit on he's hot news for all the wrong reasons.  His performances have been judged all season through glasses which have been tinted by over hyped expectation and the belief that he should be doing more to earn a level of wage he isn't even receiving.  That's poor management/naivety on the part of the club and some shocking reporting by the press who latched on the the figure of ?4000/?5000 per week which originated on this forums Rumour Mill.  So to suggest that Niculae has EVER been subject to fair criticism is, IMO, bollocks.

I have my opinions about loyalty - If Wyness was playing well and looking to go - I would be saying the same thing about him. I certainly aint going to curb my views cos I upset a few people who hve another perspective.

And as per usual a thread ends up "slating" me personally - Perhaps Marius will relate to me. Victimisation is an absolute way over the top accusation - It would appear that even the Admin are now failing to understand the point of an independent fans forum.

I never asked you to "curb your views", I was merely pointing out that your views appear to have a lot more to them than judging a man for his performance on the pitch.  There appears to be a very strong hidden agenda underlying your "fair criticism" of the player, not just recently, but from day one....and it looks like your obsessed with criticising/commenting on the guy.  Nearly every single topic you start or post you make involves the guy.  That's not me being blind to the other things you've said, that's fact...and it's there for everyone to see.

Your not upsetting people who have another perspective on things, your driving them away from the forum because, this season, you yourself have been unable to grasp the concept of reasoned footballing debate.  When someone disagrees with you then you think it's perfectly acceptable to tell them to feck aff or call them names, but the moment someone does the same thing in your direction you play the victim card - "Nobody understands IHE and they are just out to slate him personally"....boo feckin hoo.  Your not doing it because you can't take the craic, you've never done it on here before, and it only arises when people bring up your obsession with the whole Niculae thing....your the psychology expert, what kind of condition does that behaviour represent?

Neither this post or the last one have anything to do with my being a site admin or site admin telling you what you can and can't say, it's not about curbing your views or slating you personally.  Your a very clever man Johndo, you know how to play the game and stack the deck in your favour when it comes to discussion and disagreement.  I spot it because I have been known to do the very same thing myself and I can quickly see through the BS.  And you know what, under all this Niculae BS you have some very valid points to make and things to say about what's been happening and is still happening at the club, but it's being lost on the vast majority, and I think that's what's p!ssing you off more than anything else.