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Bad day at the office ... we know it happens from time to time. Move on to the next game.

Have to say I'm quite surprised and disappointed by some of the negativity on here. Were we poor yesterday? Absolutely. However, since some people want facts let me give a couple. In our first 10 games this season under Ferguson, we won just 2 games. In the 8 games since Kell has taken over, we've won 4. It's inarguable that we have improved under Kell and Billy, and all this with fewer players available, whether that be due to player releases or injuries. I'm confident that we will win more games than we will lose, and with half the season left to play, I'm confident that we can avoid relegation.

This may sound rich coming from me so feel free to call me out as long as it's respectful but anyone questioning the management really need their heads examined because Kells has been our best manager in a very long time so really should be backed by us even after results like yesterday and I for one am going to give him the benefit of the doubt too . I think he knows as well as we do that yes we are probably in desperate need of reinforcements but, unless Alan Savage backs him then these signings will be few and far between so we have to accept that! Anyway, it's good to see youngsters such as Robbie Thompson and Ben Gardiner (to name only 2) get more opportunities than they got under the previous manager . 2025 is a new year so let's hope it's a successful one for us . Happy New Year to fellow fans for Wednesday morning, it's a privilege being part of this forum even when we disagree with each others opinions etc , I wouldn't want to be a member of any other forum and tbh that's compliments to the mods etc .

This forum site is full of facts detailing the inept performance of senior management over the years which is undoubtedly the primary reason for the state the club is in. You say you will stick to publishing and facing the facts, so where are these facts we shouldn't ignore? Of course Scott Kellacher has had an influence over the years, but where is your evidence that his influence is partly responsible for our relegation last season? How do you know whether or not we might actually have done worse had it not been for his influence. Same goes for the players. Where is your evidence that the performances of the few players remaining from last year's line ups are in any way responsible for the state of the club? If you want facts, here are some. It is a fact that the quality of player we can attract and keep is dependent on the money available for the player budget. And how much money is available is dependent on sound financial management. It is a fact that financial management is not the remit of players and coaches. It is a fact that senior management decide who the coaches will be. It is a fact that within the last couple of years, our inept senior management gave a new contract to our head coach and then proceeded to sack him a few games later. It is a fact that Dodds therefore received a lot of money to do nothing for the club. Instead, they signed Ferguson for a significant sum of money which they hadn't actually got. It is a fact that Ferguson was tactically inept opting for possession based football which was boring to watch and which failed to deliver results. It is a fact that the majority of this season's first team squad made no appearances for the first team last year and therefore can take no responsibility for last season's relegation. So please, let's see your facts on how the past actions of Scott, Billy and Luis have landed us in this sorry state of affairs.

The current management team had no or virtually no influence over the dire situation that prevailed across the club when the administrators took over in October. On the football side, the buck stopped with Duncan Ferguson as manager, and since his departure there has been a marked overall improvement in performance, despite the loss of a number of players. Then in turn, Ferguson’s very probably wrong appointment was the responsibility of the Board and specifically of Scot Gardiner who went out of his way publicly to claim “credit” for that appointment. However, in the grander scheme of things, I don’t believe that more technical football factors are most responsible for the mess this club got into. Results were simply the end product of a chain of incompetence. From a point years ago, not all that long after winning the Scottish Cup, this club was seriously corporately mismanaged, and in a manner that got progressively worse under the Morrison-Gardiner partnership. I’m not again going into stuff like the unbelievable manner in which the directors and CEO sat for years and watched debt accumulate as the club descended into administrative torpor, but that’s the root cause of this entire disaster. However now that Gardiner, Morrison and, less fundamentally, Ferguson have gone, new club management and governance from top to tail needs to be given every chance to try to rescue a situation that, we hope, is not beyond salvation. A mercifully small rump of idiots in the stand booing a group of people who are doing their best to play their part in sorting this - simply because said “fans” haven’t received their necessary dose of self-gratification - isn’t part of this worthy effort.

Sharpie it is then ...

I don't think anyone is saying you can't criticise the manager or the players. What I am saying is don't criticise people for something that is not their fault. The other very important aspect is that players are often criticised because people have completely unrealistic expectations of them. Yes, we are a full time club, but the players we can afford are being paid peanuts in a very insecure employment situation. They are players who are either at their level or who are just starting out in their careers and are learning the harsh reality of life in the Scottish League. Many wouldn't be in the first team at all if others hadn't created the financial crisis at the club in the first place. From our lofty viewpoints in the stands, we can see when the penetrating through ball is on and get frustrated when it isn't played, or if it is, it goes straight to a defender or runs out of play. It is easier to see those balls from the stands than out on the pitch. If a player could spot these opportunities and play the pass with the required accuracy and weight with any degree of regularity, they wouldn't be playing for us and it is unreasonable to criticise players for not performing at an unrealistically high level. Many of our lads will earn less in their footballing careers than the likes of Marcus Rashford earn in a week! Now Rashford and some of his Man Utd colleagues fully deserve all the criticism they get for the attitudes they display on the pitch. But we should expect players at our level to make mistakes and fail to take opportunities. Some people need to get real and be a bit more supportive of our young lads who, I believe, are doing their job to the best of their ability. That is not to say that we should never be critical of the players. Clearly we may have different ideas about what represents reasonable expectations and therefore about when criticism is valid or not, but if people feel criticism is due, then please try to offer constructive criticism. Prior to Saturday's game, the lads had done really well to win 4 of the previous 5 league games. Then we lose to a team who produced an outstanding performance on the day whilst we had a bit of a bad day at the office. On recent form, there should still be a pretty positive vibe about what is happening on the park. The booing and abuse directed at the lads on Saturday was totally unjustified and will do nothing to boost the confidence of the lads. A vital game now against Dumbarton at the weekend. If the boo boys can actually support the team this time, we might get an important morale boosting win.

Regardless of views on ability of players coaches and management we are where we are and don't have the means or resources to change it. People are entitled to express their displeasure at poor performances but they need to check their expectations and appreciate that negativity may not help. As a side note I didn't hear anything which I would have said was abusive. I also didn't see any players not trying but a few did seem to go into their shells a bit. Not saying we should be heaping false praise on them but perhaps a positive and understanding crowd would be more encouraging to get them out of it again.

Rant incoming! I am totally appalled at the complete boneheads in the stand who were booing the team off the park today. And no… I don’t buy into the entitled “we’ve paid our money so we can do what we want” nonsense. Sorry, if you have a self esteem problem or similar, creating some fundamental need for the regular gratification of witnessing sporting success that prompts the need to boo when you don’t get what you want… then please go and watch American Wrestling or something else where booing is considered to make a contribution. This is a football club that is fighting for its life and the team and management have been doing a damned good job of helping to rescue it from a situation that isn’t of their making and was created by persons now mercifully no longer here. Sure, today’s performance was very poor and that was willingly acknowledged during post match interviews - where one interviewee, without being prompted, volunteered that the squad had found this idiocy very unsettling. If these clowns claim to be genuine supporters of this club, as opposed to entitled glory hunters, then they need to get a grip and realise that the only thing behaviour like this is going to do is to demoralise and undermine this young, progressing side - to the detriment of the club. OK… that’s my say on this appalling nonsense which is putting this club in danger of slipping back in its gallant fight against oblivion, and if anyone is offended at what I’ve said or would seek to justify what happened, I would reply “Tough… and maybe take a damned good look at yourself.” (And please desist from spouting cliches about Happy Clappers.) These players and coaches need all the constructive support they can get.

Ross Morrison bought in to it using his money and he, as a private individual, holds the interest there. The fact he was also a club director has no legal baring on that, and gives the club no rights to have had any say/representation in the transaction. The club gave up the master lease/s as part of the various moves that were taken around 2001 to remove almost £2.5 million of debt from the club.

Do you think maybe one could play up front - cant be worse than what we have!!! Billy & Scott should get criticism, nobody at the club should be immune from it. 23/24 - 36 games - 8 goals (6 games under Dodds - Zero goals) 24/25 - 18 games - 1 goal (8 games as AM with Kells - Zero goals) Too many stating Billy never scored because Duncball, well clearly there has been opportunity to change that and what are we seeing? The return is awful and now its jointly sits as responsibility towards Billy & Scott. So either Kells is too scared to drop his AM or Billy too egotistical to see he's not performing - or both . If they wish to persist then the team tactics & formations need to develop to provide Billy a role which after the performances (even in games we win) its clearly not happening. And to anticipate the inevitable 'but there's more to his game' - the hold up play is poor, through balls are non-existant and I'm not sure where the on-field leadership & organisation is as our set pieces are too often honking and we look devoid of ideas. So yes, criticism is fair.

What makes a fact a fact? A fact is a statement that can be verified. It can be proven to be true or false through objective evidence. An opinion is a statement that expresses a feeling, an attitude, a value judgment, or a belief. It is a statement that is neither true nor false. are some getting facts and opinions mixed up??

Cannot criticise Kells or Billy, must know that by now, just the same as for years nothing negative was to be said about Robbo or the board. Last year we know the big bad man came in and made it all go wrong, cant expect any of the professionals doing the job on the park to be held accountable too!!! Slowly the tide of opinions will turn, just takes longer in some quarters than others.

Sharpie

Wishing all the moderators, posters, and visitors to CTO a very Merry Christmas and especially a Happy New Year, filled with joy, happiness, a lack of administration, and loads of points won by Scott K and the team to keep us free from playoffs or relegation.

Me too

And I didn’t read the original post and missed the festive booking choice!