Tree

Even with an average legal firm preparing a contract there is little a player can do to break an Unconditional Unilateral Option for extension

Clearly focused on retaining ball and working opposition out of position. Score does not mean much but I don't see Hooper as offering as much goal threat as Ofere though has much better touch and awareness. Lopez lacks pace to play at this level though clearly has some technical ability. St Midden looked a league below

Highland News - "Hughes confirmed that Latapy is ready to take a job elsewhere and said, while Rice was only visiting to “cast an eye over things”, he may talk to him about taking on the role should Latapy indeed move on."

To everyone involved in the card display a big thanks and well done.

Having now seen it on TV (as opposed from behind a card) it looked stunning and made Falkirk's look like an amateur afterthought!

 

Do we have allocation for the South Stand as well? Looking to buy a few extra tickets but only east stand available on the internet which I'm told you don't get a very good view from.

You get an uninterrupted view from all seats in Hampden (no pillars or obstacles) but being behind the goal in the East Stand, especially lower down, it is difficult to see how close to the goal line the action is when it's at the far end (like any other stadium). I definitely wouldn't be put off by that - the atmosphere in the East Stand will be much better!   

 

There are seats in both east and west which have views restricted by the area provided for wheelchairs at the top/back of the stands (south end)

It's a bit worrying that, if you exclude Tansey who was a known entity, none of the signings made by Hughes appear to have become first team regulars.

 

Just realised that we've won all 3 of our league games v St Mirren this season, AND knocked them out of the cup.  They must hate playing us!

 

They are also the team that ICT has racked up the most wins against in our history.  How things have changed since St Mirrren were the glamour opposition who were the new club's first opponents in 1994.

I remember when Caledonian were drawn away to St Mirren in the Scottish Cup (lost 3-0) and considered it such a big game. I couldn't 'get my head round' the likes of Wilson Robertson sharing a pitch with Campbell Money!

That concept must seem alien to younger fans! But, It's what makes the whole ICT journey so rewarding!

Oh god, I used the cliché, 'journey'!

 

The game was played from recollection on a frozen pitch with the player using 'pimpled' sole trainers. Can you imagine that today?

Wilson Robertson had a one on one at 0-0 but, just for a change!, missed

You seem to be taking it so personally. I haven't seen anyone casting slurs.

Contingency or no contingency we do not have a recognised senior striker at the club at the moment. How can that be a good thing.

Is Foran not a striker?

For the second home game I have left baffled by the fact that we have waited so long to make any changes?? Circa 70 minutes played before we try a change of shape and then a sub a few minutes from the end.

We only played with 10 men for most of the game with Doran offering nothing other than a few air shots. Watkins drifted in and out of the game but we need some physical presence up from.

A good number of the players actually had reasonable games but for most of the match we were toothless and lacked a killer touch. Aberdeen get one chance and punish us. I suppose it shows the difference in quality?

After the last few weeks it looks as though Hughes either does not know what to change or simply can't be bothered, Possibly harsh but there is ample evidence to support this.

Also, what was with the Stewards showing Aberdeen Fans to their seats in the home section of the main stand. When challenged by a fan all they seemed to offer back was "its what their ticket says"??

Kilda, those you refer to above as being the very high earners are mostly employed by companies who already pay those at the bottom in excess of living wage. The majority of those on low wages tend to be employed by small business people who dont pay themselves high wages. By that I mean folk like small time hoteliers and pub owners, small time builders, joiners etc. People who need to keep costs down, due to competition, just to keep the business solvent. For those people the minimum wage is set into their budget and an increase to living wage would hit them hard.

 

It is a very difficult area. Those who are prepared to work can find themselves having to give up on the luxuries of life like car or Sky TV etc because it takes all their hard earned just to feed the family and keep a roof over their head and clothes on their back yet there are very many who sit back claiming state benefits and enjoy their nine million Sky channels whilst beating the world on their games consoles. There are people who cannot work for whatever reason and need the help of the state but there are many more who wont work and will do all in their power to avoid work. Should they also qualify for living wage equivalent in their benefits?

 

Government could help employers and employees by adopting a fairer taxation system. Increase the tax free allowance such that the living wage can be earned before tax eligibility. Around £15,500. Offset this by increasing to 50% earnings over £150,000. At present its 45%. Though it sounds a big figure the high earner will also be eligible to earn £15,500 tax free. Yes they'll pay more tax but they'll benefit the low paid. Government wont do this though because it doesnt buy voters.

Except at the moment anyone earning over £100k loses tax free allowances.

 

 

 there is more to the North of Scotland/Highlands than Inverness City.....which already has a bypass. 

Not as such we don't. A distributor road has been built from Inshes to Holm Mains and we have been waiting for years to get the final but vital link from Holm Mains to Torvean. In fact part of the agreement whereby Tesco got their Holm Mains site was that Tesco would pay Highland Council £340,000 - provided the link road was completed by 2011. Three odd years later they still seem to be wrangling about the route and the project, in effect, hasn't even started.

.

 

 

You never know Charles, one day some journalist may ask what the HC ever did with the few £m received for the Inverness Common Good land for Morrison's store site and knockdown £10m for Eastgate for Inverness Common Good land (earmarked from the cross-link road at the time)!

The alleged answer does not have many digits!

 

Today I am going to vote for the Nationalists !  

 

 

But in the New Zealand elections - and hopefully John Key and his team will return.

 

Is that the New Zealand, the country with a population of less than five million who decided they no longer wanted to be governed from Westminster, who became independent, continued to use the pound sterling for many years after, have a policy of no nuclear weapons on their soil but don't seem to be at greater threat to their security   and who have largely prospered ever since ? Or is there a different New Zealand you speak of ?

 

Having lived in NZ, I think that you will find that as wondeful a place as it is it has suffered heavily during the recession (which barely impacted on its larger neighbour) and is struggling to deal with the cost of the post earthquake rebuild of Christchurch which is going to sink 8% of its GDP for the next 20 years or so. They also have issues with all the talent leaving for the bright lights of Oz where prospects are viewed to be much better

It was a psychological test...throw out a nondescript statement and see which people latch on to it, thinking it's about them.

Que comments regarding Narcissism from IHE

Doran is a bit heavy at the start of every season he has been with us. He then tends to slim down by the middle of the season and puts a bit more weight back on by the end.

It is the case however that he is our player feared by most opposition fans because he can provide something out of nothing. Baffled by the suggestion that we should get shot of him based on the scales rather than what he does or does not produce on the park. He is however a mere amatuer in terms of carrying some beef when compared with Bobby Mann

The above picture was the design at the very early stages. Its a bit hard to make out against the back ground.

Not sure if I like the collar......

Malpas in the Scotsman on 13th Nov 13 -

“I want to be at a club that’s got a chance to win trophies. Caley Thistle have got a great chance this season, but I just felt the potential here is far greater.

“I’m a football guy who likes being on the training field and the facilities here are unbelievable. And it’s not anything to do with money. It’s about the things here that Caley couldn’t give me. That’s why, as soon as Terry asked me, I said yes."

Potential to win Championship Trophy and the things Caley couldn't give....................lower league football

Paul Hefernan for me. I've also heard a few Hibees say Kevin Thomson is still their best player despite Butcher rarely playing him.

Thomson is not better than the players we have and is also injury prone

I see the cover for the new seaons tickets is a photo of fans at the Cup Final.

Some dubious sights and a less tolerant person would take issue with some of the 'offensive' faces on display

It is not just midweek that cheaper tickets have been made available for. In all occasions there has been an insignificant increase in attendances and on the evidence it is a convenient excuse.

All clubs are broadly suffering from a reduction in crowds and apathy seems to be part of the problem.

The main issue I would suggest however is the preceived lack of entertainment and from speaking with people who used to attend this related to the wider experience and not just what is happening on the park. I suppose it is easier for many to get a higher quality offering via TV.

The stadium design (even internally) is not great and the club had to spend money very soon after completion to make changes to the architects layout.

That said, many of the issues with the main stand are created by having to cut construction costs to meet the budget (not helped by a significant six figure claim being submitted by one of the Contractors a day after they signed the contract). This led to the uncovered sections and even the roof being curtailed.

The above not withstanding, a number of features of the ground were dictated by the need to mitigate daft fears of stakeholder. For example, ships were to get blinded and confused by the floodlights and one of the reasons the main stand was positioned was to mask this being a problem.

I am sure however if the ground did not have to be conceptually designed with a 10,000 capacity in mind something more compact may well have resulted.

The team was obviously missing a few players and this affected the team choice however we looked unbalanced until Vincent was taken off when at least we seemed to have a natural shape.

Have yet to be convinced by Vincent though he started the pre-season very well but one thing for sure is that he is not a wide midfielder and his instincts take him to the wrong places continuously (can't fault his willingness to keep going though).

Baffled why we did not just start Doran wide right (where he eventually finished the game) and Nick wide left (where he started the season).

Best players were Tremarco and Devine followed by Shinnie and Raven. Ryan was a bit patchy (which is what you get with young players) and Doran huffed and puffed (may just be too many pies though ;)) however his shot showed why fans of other teams fear him as he has the ability to change the game even when he is not on a good day.

Strangely given how much I rate Warren I am now starting to think that a Devine/Meekings central partnership may be our strongest. Great place to be in to have three solid guys in this area.

Finally, Billy needs to make up with whoever has put a bad luck curse on him. On another day he would have had a couple of goals but deflections went against him.

The stands are and always were permanent but the seating is of modular form.

Lovely weather and looking like a poor crowd

It is clear that there are two distinct camps forming on this subject, however there needs to be a realisation by many that a) everyone is entitled to a different opinion and without this being the case a forum such as this becomes nothing more that a love in and b) there is a significant issue facing the club in that many (and not just a small few) appear to be resigned to next season being a disaster and are not intending renewing season tickets.

Whilst it may well be a justifiable statement to say, as a few have, that fans should support their team irrespective of results and performances this is not going to influence the many I have spoken to who have taken the decision to not renew next year. Home crowds are continuing to appear to fall and though this started prior to Yohi arriving our performances at home are not helping.

There are a number of factors which support either opinion however it may be of interest for people to know that Richie was on the interview panel and Yogi (at the time) was the players preference also.

Will removing Yogi solve this. Again possibly not, however it has to be justifiable (given the number of thrashings and tactical issues) for people to ask the question.

 

 

There is another point being missed but one that was mentioned by the players being interviewed on Alba after the game. They both mentioned the difference with using width at Dingwall but stressed that the pitch there allowed them to play that style whilst the state of our own pitch is a hindrence. Its sad to admit but the Dingwall pitch was in far better condition on friday night than ours was last saturday.

 

You sure you were listening to the right players as our game was on BT Sport, not Alba!

 

Not sure what will happen with the pitch over the summer, but the club are painfully aware that it's not in the condition they would like it to be.

 

 

I heard a while back that the groundsman wants to go to plastic.  It might suit the game that Hughes wants to play, but it wouldn't be my preference to be honest.

 

Why's the pitch taking such a battering this year by the way?  I don't remember seeing it look so poor in a long time as it did at that Stranraer game (looking a bit better recently mind).

 

The pitch has been poor the past few seasons with the grass becoming very tufted and bobbly as a result.