The Mantis

After we beat sellic in 2000 we were on against Aberdeen at TCS - score 1-1.

Aye, granted, but how do you quantify loads, do you mean busloads or telephone box loads. I'm afraid I'm with Charlie Bannerman on this one. One or two guys I used to stand with who are middle aged now, some of whom are still on banter terms and some who would cross the road if they saw you. Not enough to put a significant dent in the attendance at TCS though IMO. I'm middle aged myself now and I wonder what I was getting het up about - it's only a game of fitba.

Plenty pre-merger photos on show inside the stadium, i.e. celebrating the club's roots. It might have been a touchy subject in 1994 (myself included as one of the touchies) but only a handful of hard cases still actually care. The club is 17 years old so half the support weren't even born in 1993/4. Either one or two people have been pulling your pi55er Dougal, or you need to get out more.

A tim at work says both matches were ?40 ticket price, so a ball park figure is 110 000 X ?40 = ?4.4m shared between them.

I'm speaking as somebody who was muttering on the way out of Easter Road (for the first time ever) about not coming back. However: The only point where I can agree with Laurence is the punting. I think TB sometimes gives opponents too much respect and doesn't allow ICT to play football. This is backed up anecdotally by players' dads etc when you meet them at the games. As for the rest, Laurence I think you have posted some bizarre stuff since you came to live amongst us. Your attitude seems to be that you are doing us a favour. You admit that you had never seen a Scottish match in your life so your criticisms of ICT are strange as you cannot compare it with anything else in Scotland. As said before ICT is really a div 1 club and punches above its weight. Let me admit, as someone in my mid fifties, that Scottish football is going down the swanny. Older people always say this, my teachers used to say it back in the seventies, but it's true. It's true because of globalisation. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In the seventies a Scottish club could give an English club a decent game and they always sent their strongest squads up to play us. Same goes for the national team. We actually had a winning record against England in internationals till quite recently. When I was at school people who came in with Old Firm scarves on got stick. Then in the 80s you got the odd Liverpool scarf. Now you ask people who they support and they say Barca or ManU. Only today I was asked in the classroom 'who do you think will win tonight?' I thought they meant ICT but they meant Chelsea v ManU. In the long run globalisation is death on a stick for wee nations like ours. At least in England the wealth trickles down. In Scotland it used to trickle down from the Old Filth. In 1968 Rangers paid Hibs a record £100 000 for Colin Stein. Now they buy foreigners. Carlisle United have far greater resources than most SPL clubs. Was it Crawley who were paying £150 000 for a player recently? ICT's record signing is about £65 000 and the players get about £1k per week. Fleetwood Town are now playing Keigan Parker and they're only in the Conference. If you think we're bad, try watching that lot over the bridge. Thank Christ there's more to living in Scotland than just football, which presumably, Laurence, is why you relocated to Boat of Garten.

?22 to watch that pish. Note to TB - text me on Sat. morning to say if you're going to play the long ball and I'll go and do the garden or something.

Ryan: "feck's sake Granty, I've saved your win bonus for you again this week". Jonny: "is it 20 mins gone yet? I feel a limp coming on" I heard it called TwitFace the other day, which I thought was quite appropriate.

Outstanding at cellic park on 8/2/00 but a player who never really achieved the potential he showed as a 17 year old with us. Best of luck Dick.

that was a bad one too but my worst quarter final experiences are.... at Number 2 - Scottish Cup replay with Partick thistle in the wettest day the world has ever seen sitting in the end of the north stand with no roof!, Eventually losing to a Scott Paterson freekick 1-0. Number 1 - 2005 against Livingston in the league cup quarter final. We scored first only for them to equalise JUST before half time. The game went to extra time and we were almost going to penalties and hampden when Paul Dalglish scored with 2 mins to go in extra time! Aye these were hard to take too. I was at both of them.

I wish people hadn't mentioned that QF, I had to get counselling and still get flashbacks to this day.

?90m? I think ICT's total turnover is around ?3-4m

I wonder if the Hackies fans are having this debate. Did you see how many home fans they had this weekend while the away stand was packed full of DUFC fans? Dougie's oot the cup

We got decent coverage this week but mainly because the Saintees was off. They diverted the resources north to us.

What sort of money do Blackpool get for playing in the Premierleague? 4 of us were going down for a weekend to see a game this season but we discovered the tickets were sold in blocks of 3. We could only have got the Wolves game but we dithered and it was sold out. Fleetwood Town though, that's another story..... ETA- MOTD was absolutely superb this week. Hardly a duff game on it.

Fat John, Skinny John's Barmy Army :bouncyblue: :bouncyblue:

Plus ICT is Johndo's big team despite what you may have heard. ICT are not your big team so you would find a home over the bridge- they seem to encourage that sort of thing there. P.S. Happy birthday you auld phart. Lang may yer bum reek.

Couldn't see any handball but Hogg had his arms up complaining about something. He was also moaning away at the ref at full time.

Blackie? More like Bruce Lee....

Down here in darkest Edinburghshire there's been plenty of talk about Roo all season. More likely that anybody watching him leading up to the window just decided he was gash.

Well done Davie, excellent.

It started with St Mirren didn't it? That's why there are so many of the Paisley Soapdodgers on it. Lurk occasionally but don't get involved much. There's a long Caledonian thread.

If it had been in play it would still be a foul would it not? I actually saw it happen once at Muirton Park. The Saints keeper Ally Donaldson took a kick at Rangers' Willie Johnston while the ball was up the other end and a penalty was given. Mind you I suppose that involved the OF so it's a bad example.

Only if your name is Brian Clough

:laugh:

Not this again. Even Barrowloads scored plenty for some wee div 2 team and what a hit he turned out to be.