A number of folk on this forum are, quite rightly, critical at the way Mr Brewster sometimes handles (or appears to handle) players and have spoken negatively about his man management skills. However, in the interests of even-handedness, I just though I'd share a wee story I heard recently that, in my mind, shows are more positive side that we don't always hear about.

One of the youth teams (I think the under 14's) recently competed quite succesfully in "The Dublin Cup", a youth competition held, strangely enough, in Dublin. After competing in a number of games on the Friday and Saturday, the team made it into the final on Sunday afternoon. Brew made the effort to text the coaching staff prior to the game and asked them to pass on his best wishes to the players and told them to go out and give it all they had and enjoy it.

The team actually went on to win the Cup after penalties (1-1 after ET) and, upon return to the stadium late on Monday night, were delighted to be met by Brewster who shook each players hand as they came off the bus and gave them his congratulations. The young boys, having had a great weekend in dublin culiminating in a cup victory, were delighted by Brewsters actions and it was the icing on the cake as far as they were concerned.

It just shows that, despite what we may sometimes perceive from the media reports and possible poor ICT PR, there are positives to be had!

Unlike some on here, having met Brewster, I am of the opinion that he is a genuinely good guy.

But Callum Elliot

well done CB....and well done to the youth team

Aye well done to Mr Brew - that is the kind of touch and action that will always be appreciated. My criticism, as with the Mercenary, were never directed from a personal angle. From what I can tell MR B comes across as a very affable gentleman. I would say that he is one of the best players that I have seen at the TCS - I also think that he initially turned us into a far better outfit in regard to his fitness, diet manifesto.

I do however have concerns about his overall man management skills and the fact that he appears to bring personal feelings into the professional arena. I also have grave concerns in regard to his tactical awareness and astuteness.

Was the U12's who won their age group.

The U13's were beaten semi-finalists in their age group.

The event has been running for 5 years and we seem to do well there. I recall seeing a snippet about it somewhere in the press a couple of weeks back where it said that ICT were considered as being among the strongest participants.

Think we won the U13 and U15 events at this tournament last year.

So, to give Credit where it's due, well done to the lads involved and the Youth Coaches etc who are doing great things with the ICT players of the future.

Was the U12's who won their age group.

So, to give Credit where it's due, well done to the lads involved and the Youth Coaches etc who are doing great things with the ICT players of the future.

Thanks for clarifying which youth team it was.

You are quite right to give credit to the team and their coaches for their outstanding performances at this tournament over the past few years. :thumb04: It was remiss of me not to mention it.

However, the point I was making was not so much about the youth team themselves, but giving a bit of credit to CB. It's only right to give praise, as well as criticism, when it is merited.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on whether or not Brewster deserves praise for sending a text and shaking a few hands....personally I don't see it as having gone above and beyond his remit as the 1st Team Manager and it has to be a slow news week if people are getting excited about it.

I certainly don't think it should be something which steals the limelight from the performance of the lads in Dublin last week and I'll not even get started on the fact that this is the first we've heard of the news...nothing on the official website and nothing in the press (that I've seen) is a pretty pure show on the part of the club PR department....again.

Aye ya have a fair point there Don - We are congratulating him for doing what he is being paid fer _ I suppose that it just feels good to hear that the **** has a human side after all - or maybe he is a Tony Bullock - I should add that it is cockney rhyming slang fer Bonnv Good Luck.

I think he's being praised for the fact he made the point of being at the stadium late in the night to welcome them back after a long bus ride and to congratulate them personally.

Its a nice touch.

Its a nice touch.

Its common courtesy. So well done brew for doing what anyone of us would probably have done, proves you're not the antichrist after all :thumb04: :018:

No credit is due. Its his job.

It was a nice thing to do but I would have been very disappointed if he hadn't. Billy Reid knows every youth player at Hamilton by name. That deserves credit not a txt and some handshakes.

Would milk shakes not be better.

Some people seem to have missed the point of my intial post on this thread. I wasn't suggesting that Brewster had done anything exceptionally good or beyond the call of duty. However, this forum can, at times, be quick to criticise when he does something wrong or that we don't agree with, and all I was trying to do was be consistent in the approach - hence my use of the word "even-handedness".

If we're quick to criticise when he get's something wrong, then we should also give acknoweldgement when he gets things right!

To say that he doesn't deserve some credit because he's just doing his job, is like saying that Barrowman shouldn't get any credit for scoring on Saturday because that's his job!

A little bit of positivity and encouragement can go a long way.

A little bit of positivity and encouragement can go a long way.

I agree ... we all need some encouragement now and again !!

Brew may not be the best manager out there ... but he's our manager and we should all give him our support - he's still learning his trade ... I'm sure we all made mistakes when we were learning our trades - I certainly did and still do (but don't tell my boss)!!!

Some people seem to have missed the point of my intial post on this thread. I wasn't suggesting that Brewster had done anything exceptionally good or beyond the call of duty. However, this forum can, at times, be quick to criticise when he does something wrong or that we don't agree with, and all I was trying to do was be consistent in the approach - hence my use of the word "even-handedness".

If we're quick to criticise when he get's something wrong, then we should also give acknoweldgement when he gets things right!

To say that he doesn't deserve some credit because he's just doing his job, is like saying that Barrowman shouldn't get any credit for scoring on Saturday because that's his job!

A little bit of positivity and encouragement can go a long way.

Well said that man - even I can relate to that. Give praise where/when praise is due. And the same to JinkyStan as well.

We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.?

Nice to see CB get some praise even if I sense some of it is pretty grudged!

Slightly off topic but me thinks the vast majority his signings in his career have been pretty decent in both his spells with us at at Grocers Utd. Dargo, Imrie and the promising Barrowman when he had time in the market and even with a tight deadline he managed to get Maguire and a second goalie (okay I know!) in to bolster the squad.

At Utd Kalvenes and Hunt were big successes with Wilkie (torture last night!) being decent for free. Robb, Conway and Proctor didn't set the heater on fire but didn't cost a fortune either. The Grocer hasn't mentioned the profit he made on Hunt thanks to CB nor the fact that he wasn't willing to part with ?100k for a keeper who now hold the first team jersey at Ibrox and is being tracked by a few English teams with big money being mentioned. It will be interesting to see how the media's darling Mr Levein gets on without Kalvenes and Hunt.

Still think CB has a lot to learn but I have faith and will back him, his decisions and the team at all times.

I wouldnt deny that he has an eye for a player. Those mentioned plus the likes of Imrie and Barrowman tend to show that but there are still questions over his tactics and his man management. If he can improve those then who knows, he may well go on to get the plaudits he will deserve by then.

Fair play to him for bothering to do the right thing with regards to praising the youngsters. It should be part of his job, and the youngsters will appreciate it but lets face it, not all managers would actually do it.

Also, fair play to him for appearing to get it right on saturday. By all accounts we were not brilliant but we got three points, away from home, in the season opener, and against a team we had never beaten before .... there's a few parts of that equation we dont normally do well in so credit where it is due.