Tree

CC felt that there were a number of players who were not supportive and were undermining him behind his back. I know that this was brought up at a number of team meetings. Interestingly enough some of the players thought that CC did not receive the same level of support from Parkie in these situations as Robo did. In spite of what some people would like us to believe, there has been some dressing room issues which stretch before Niculae was ever on the scene (although his presence has not improved the situation). Some of the players who have been implicated in this have been moved on (or are moving on).

The main priority still is a centre half with physical presence. CC's misplaced desire to give McCaffrey a chance has impacted badly on us all season :029:

With all these conspiracy theories we will shortly be getting confused as Old Firm fans :029:

'no one replied' is surely extremely different to everyone saying that they were not offended? :018:

ICT then nurtured him and turned him into a star - Just like all the other misfits which we have taken from Dingwall over the past years :crazy07:

The number of penalties and free kicks won would also be increased massively :015:

I think that it may be too late to register even as an amateur. Still worth having a look in any event

The whole issue a minority of players sniping in the background has been ongoing for a while and stretches beyond Brewster's reign. CC had some issues with this and felt that he was being undermined by a couple of players. Black seems to be falling into this category at the moment. I suppose my reading of the situation is that we do not appear to know exactly what was said. If all that was said my Blackie is as quoted he does not want to play for Brewster then this does not explain why he has to make an apology to the team and not just the Manager. This battle appears to be of the player's making and, irrespective of views on Brewster's current performance and ability to turn things around, now that he has effectively thrown down a challenge to Brewster's authority (players cannot be allowed to pick and choose when they wish to play) then there can only be one winner whilst we have Brewster in charge. It is interesting that the team's best performance in weeks came on the back of this situation (I may be reading too much into this??)

That's certainly what we're all suppose to believe :023: Do tell. If I had solid proof to back up what I know then I would say more. For now you'll just have to treat it as another one of those "people who think they are in the know" type comments. Without knowing to what you refer it is difficult to say how accurate your understanding of the situation is. However from what I know your general sentiment is not too far away from the truth.

I think that's spelt pathetic :016:

I would agree that Vigurs is worth a game at some point. When I have seen him he has always impressed and seems to have a bit of added quality when in possession. I still think that without Duncan we will be the poorer.

You are entitled to your opinion Sir C, however Duncan has been one of our best players all season (only behind Cowie out of the midfielders). Yesterday he was far better than Black, who for some reason seems to get plaudits for the mediocre performances he has given in most games this season (whilst at the same time bragging to anyone who can listen that he is going to win a 'big' move to Hibs). At least Russell does not take a hissy fit every time somethings happens which he does not like. He is entitled to seek the highest wage he can (like all employees), however I agree with the club holding to its wage structure. He does no do a glamorous taks in the holding role, and I agree that his passing could be better sometimes, however we will be the poorer for him moving on in terms of our current players and we will need to replace him with someone who can read the game (in a defensive midfield sense) as well as he can.

He has been able to pass the ball more than 5 yards. Unfortunately it may not necessarily be to one of his own team mates :tic01:

The general difference between most employers and the club is that any profit achieved by the club is re-invested and do not form part of the return for shareholders/directors. At the start of the year a budget is established for the playing staff to cover wages, bonuses and to a degree transfers (lets ignore additional payments by Chairman to certain players). This is established on the basis on perceived guaranteed income plus allowances/mechanisms for additional bonuses based on non-guaranteed income (e.g. cup runs, top six, etc). To increase the wages to players as some are suggesting one of the following must happen 1. Reduction in playing staff 2. Increase in income from higher paying gates - Nice concept but difficult to achieve 3. Increase in income from increased prices at the gate 4. Increase in other commercial activities I would suggest that whilst everyone is saying that we should be paying more, there will be little support for increasing the gate prices by any significant amount. It is difficult to budget on the basis of a forecast increase from higher gates and commercial activities (as these are not guaranteed). This leaves reducing the playing squad and using the wages for other players. I will not presume to suggest the best way forward other than saying that the club has to work within its means. We are one of the bottom three supported clubs in the league (both in terms of gates and also commercial activities) and this has to create a realism in terms of what we can offer. I would also have to add that in terms of increasing the profile of the club with the local kids we are not helping ourselves and greater effort should be made both in schools and general (we can walk past shops with old firm tops but have to look carefully in a dingy back corner of a well known department store to find any trace of the club - great advertising!).

Additional height in the centre of defence is a must. Whilst I agree with the signing of McGuire, againt teams with height we are not able to dominate (game against Motherwell was a good example).

Will be there (though will probably wish I stayed inside and wathched the champions league thans to the pitch)

Sorry CaleyD, have to disagree with you on this one. Black jumped in with two feet and to be honest some refs may have given red. Having just had his shirt pulled (which our wonderful man in control :024: managed to miss) he lost it a wee bit.

Are these puddles caused by the mythical aquifer :024:

Why does it matter where they came from? It is their ability that matters.

We should not fear the losing of players. This does not mark a good or bad team. Over time all teams will lose some players, particularly clubs like ourselves. The key part is in the replacements which are taken in or indeed promoted from the youth ranks. This will be the factor on which both the club and Brew should be judged, not whether players choose to move on. I rate RD highly and would be sorry to see him move. What is not acceptable is paying wages which are unsustainable - ask Livi, Dunfermline or Dundee fans! The situation with Marius has not helped, however given his international pedigree (in the past or otherwise) the argument is clear for a higher wage to be paid - whether as an individual we agree with this or not. I expect an improved offer to be made - we can wait and see whether this is acceptable. I expect that Dennis will sign. With regard to Tokely I am not keen to see him move on, however after his performances on the field this year and issues behind the scenes during CC's reign (which I'll not go into), to be honest I find it hard to get too excited about him moving on.

McSwegan left a couple of weeks ago to go nearer to his family down south

I am more concerned that the Stewards (and some police) allowed the Rangers fans to enter the field of play yet again to celebrate the winning goal. How many times will this happen before they stop this happening. Did they take the offenders away - No! They simply popped them back over the wall. I am sure that everyone will recall the action taken earlier this season when this happened (on a much lower scale!) at the North stand end. Double standards! As an aside, it would be much more accurate for the announcer to state prior to games that seating for home fans is mandatory and away fans can do whatever they like.

A good number of friends and work acquaintances took their families to the game specifically due to the lower costs. I would agree with the estimates that perhaps 500 or so extra people came through the gates.

It's questionable whether he is on Celtic's radar this year :023:

To be fair whilst enquiries have been made Marius is still our player and he may chose to stick around for a while longer. We all knew that if he performed then an early move was likely. I don't think that we can knock him for wanting to play at a bigger club. His ability also means that he could earn a lot more elsewhere than we can offer. I suspect that if he moves it will not be to a scottish team (I don't see him interested in anyone other than the old firm and I would be surprised if he is on their radar at the moment).