snorbens_caleyman

1 hour ago, Robert said:

Full backs, possibly a centre half and wide players are the priority for me.

I would add a reliable goalscorer - a proper striker.  So basically we need people everywhere except in goal

Even stranger, given that Caroline is the feminine form of Carolus, from which "Charles" is derived.

Mrs snorbens and I will mark the occasion as we have done before ... by getting out of the country!   Unfortunately, this time we will only be getting out of Engerland, because all of the places we looked at abroad were booked up.  It is also - presumably coincidentally - a holiday weekend in Ireland. 

Last Jubilee, the one where it rained all the time, we had a great weekend in Bruges.  Even though it rained all the time there, too.

So we are heading up to Sneck on Monday for a few days, principally to see my Mum.  Then across to Arisaig, for four days over the holiday weekend.  I have never been beyond Fort William, but my wife spent a summer, about 46 years ago ,  staying and working in the youth hostel in Morar (long since closed).  She is expecting to find a few changes!

Then it's off to Falkirk to see my sister-in-law, provided she has recovered from the covid that she has just now.  And finally to York, to catch the last date of a twice-postponed tour by the guitarist's guitarist, Jeff Beck.  He is just short of 78, so there can't be many more chances to see him.

I stay in a cul-de-sac of 17 houses, and they are having a street party on the Saturday of the Joobly weekend.  Normally we would be pleased to join in - most of them are a great bunch of people - but not with all the Royal flummery attached.  We had booked our travels before the party was suggested.

10 minutes ago, Scotty said:

A statement that streaming is ending tin the UK sounds like the SFA and FA may be requesting the blackout periods again, which i am assuming were dropped during COVID to allow streaming. In that instance, the club can do very little unless they want to face off with not just the SPFL or SFA but also UEFA ! 

It's not UEFA.  Their rules allow national football associations to "request" (ie "enforce") blackout periods, but UEFA themselves don't mandate them.

Last time we discussed this, there was only one European country outside of the UK which had a blackout period.  Without checking, I think it may have been Montenegro.  Somewhere like that, anyway.

I had a quick look just now, and came across a recent article which said that the UK is the only place where a blackout is enforced.  Not sure if that is accurate, or if the other country has dropped it.

Some of the streaming sites have displayed the number of people logged in. Even in small games - not top of the table clashes - I think that numbers were comfortably above 200.   If ICT had that, then that would be £3,000 coming in per game, which I would have thought would be enough to keep things going.

At the start of this season, when it wasn't clear if livestreaming would be available to anyone other than season ticket holders, I was perfectly prepared to buy a season ticket for a back corner of the North Stand, which I would never use.

I shall be gutted if it goes.  The last two seasons have had their ups and downs - and ultimately ended in failure, if promotion is the aim - but it's been a great journey.

1 hour ago, hislopsoffsideagain said:

The situation with Sutherland is tricky; we really should be looking after him but on our budget can we afford to pay a player who may not play at all, especially since we will probably be light on numbers as it is?

I would be horrified if the club just walked away, and I can't imagine that it will.  They did what they could to help Robbo last year, and indeed he mentioned that last night.

Regardless of the contract situation, I would expect them to make their medical and physio resources available to Shane, to complement whatever he may receive from the NHS or privately.

I would also expect the club's legal team to ensure that he receives any benefits that he may be entitled to.  

There must be an option of paying him a reduced wage - not a full first-team salary - for a few months, to keep the wolf from his door.  Then, if he regains fitness, he can decide if he wants to play again and the club can decide whether to re-sign him as a player.

Finally, I know absolutely nothing about football insurance.  As an employer, the club must carry insurance against its employees being injured, but whether that extends to players in matches - which would surely drive the premium sky-high - I have no idea.

14 minutes ago, RiG said:

We simply have to sign left and right backs in the summer together with wide midfielders. Whilst we seem to have decent numbers in the middle our wide areas are sorely lacking and have been for some time. 

And we need a reliable goalscorer.  But then again who doesn't?

Despite our apparent inability to score whilst creating lots of pressure, we ended up with the second highest goals-for figure, one behind Arbroath.  Third-best goals-against, significantly better than the seven below us.

We basically need more strength in depth throughout the team!

26 minutes ago, forresjags said:

If nothing else comes from the efforts of the last six games at least we will have made some decent extra cash

Didn't someone say that the SPFL takes 50% of the gate money from these matches?

3 minutes ago, hislopsoffsideagain said:

Out of contract:

Shane Sutherland

I hope that the club offers some sort of contract to Shane, or, at the very least, makes all its resources available to him for his rehabilitation.  There's a moral obligation to do so.

8 hours ago, KirkieRobRoy said:

Not sour grapes but we should just have promotion playoffs as in England, not a second chance for sides who deserve to be relegated.

Or possibly just one match in each round, at a neutral venue, not home and away.  Ridiculous to expect a team to come through six extra games at the end of the season.  Look at the injuries and suspensions that we picked up in them.

2 hours ago, Naelifts said:

With the events since New Year and in particular the last 2 games there must be a movie in the offing.

Mel Gibson is.... Billy Dodds.   See Caley Thistle mooning St Johnstone before the battle....  

15 minutes ago, old caley girl said:

Can't bring myself to vocalise that we will win. We have a chance and that's all I'm saying  ..

Exactly how I feel, too.  St J must be favourites, but hope springs eternal ...

I think our most important game ever was the Scottish Cup Final.  Followed by the League Cup Final.  Two national finals of competitions open to all league clubs (and more, of course, for the Scottish Cup).

I, too, was thinking of the Celtic game. Not because of the financial aspect, of which I wasn't really aware, but because it really put the club, and Inverness, on the map.  Even down in SE England.  My mates knew that I supported some obscure team from beyond the Arctic Circle - all of a sudden they knew where Inverness was, and they followed the team's results after that.

But tomorrow's match is obviously one of the most important ever - top ten, possibly top five.

As the Cup Final looms, I am sure that you will all join me in sending the thespians' traditional wish to the most theatrical of referees.

Break a leg, Willie! 

32 minutes ago, Kingsmills said:

The Perth Saints are clearly rattled whilst we have gained some confidence and composure.

Agreed.  I am sure that Dodds will be emphasising this to our players.  I would also emphasise this in every broadcast or print interview before Monday, in the hope that it gets through to the St J players.  "They are more used to losing than we are.  They are fighting to keep their place, while we can only go upwards."  And so on.

Mind games didn't end with Ferguson and Wenger 

25 minutes ago, MacOne said:

Cruciate ligament 'the other knee'.

Thanks.  I see he did his left knee in May 2017.  6 to 9 months is the usual estimate, but I don't know when he actually came back after that.  He's five years older now, though.

Has there been any news on the nature of Shane's knee injury? 

Haven't seen anything, and an online search gives me nothing - apart from several knee injuries that he has had in the past.

2 hours ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

I'd have Chalmers and/or Samuels on the field before Hardy, but maybe Dodds is thinking that it's two legs.   As long as he doesn't wait too long to change things if they are going badly.

Whatever happened to that other guy who reckoned he was a seer?

I actually said at half-time that Dodds should take off Doran and Hardy and put on Samuels and Chalmers, on either side of McKay.

Play them from the start on Monday, score an early goal, and then we'll see if St Johnstone have any spirit in them.

Strachan?  Sorry, doesn't ring any bells with me.

I'd have Chalmers and/or Samuels on the field before Hardy, but maybe Dodds is thinking that it's two legs.   As long as he doesn't wait too long to change things if they are going badly.

Best of luck, lads! 

16 minutes ago, TheMantis said:

Got the covid atm so watching it this way. No sign of any £5.99 offer though

It's still there, at the link above.   You may have to clear cookies from NOW TV and Sky TV to see it, though.   Because I had registered earlier, they weren't showing it to me just now until I cleared the appropriate cookies.

Hope you get through the covid OK!

Scotty, if you can find a VPN which makes it appear as though you are in the UK, you could use the NOW TV one-day pass mentioned earlier.  (The free version of ProtonVPN only gives you US, Japan and Netherlands.)

I have just registered and paid - using PayPal, not a credit card - and it works a treat.  Now trying NOT to spend the rest of the day watching the US PGA golf!

8 minutes ago, Scotty said:

or not

 

https://protonvpn.com/

The free version includes a connection via the US.

17 minutes ago, Mr Eager said:

Thanks. Don’t have Sky so will resort to refreshing the BBC latest scores page. That’s entertainment!

Me neither, but I am going to give this a go later today - https://www.nowtv.com/watch-sky-sports-online#ib-section-section-2 

£5.99 for 24 hours of Sky Sports.  That offer ends today, and the usual price is £11.99, so Monday's game could be more expensive.

Obviously you need reasonable broadband.   Your TV may have the NOW TV app - if not, you can download their player for Windows PC or for Mac - https://help.nowtv.com/article/what-devices-can-i-use-to-watch-now and look under "Laptops and computers".

2 hours ago, RiG said:

The end of the statement is utterly embarrassing. I appreciate emotions are running high but the final few lines are absolute drivel.

Disagree.  It is the perfect follow-up to what I had said without having read the club's statement: "Every player, manager, coach and everyone else associated with a club tries their hardest and does their best.  But some self-important clown with a whistle ruins everything, safe in the knowledge that his chums will back him up.  That's when everyone must ask "What's the point?".

To which a very appropriate response is: "The Management, the Players, the Staff and just as importantly, the Caley Jag support will now need to pull together over the next two crucial games ....".

15 minutes ago, MrCaleyjag said:

I'm honestly not shocked or surprised, I expected nothing less. It's almost as if the panel feel they are there to vindicate the referee, given he's the cup final ref they were never going to overturn it and therefore potentially cause ridicule for Collum.

At one point on Friday, probably when Duffy was sent off, I was saying "What's the point?".  Well, OK, there might have been a sweary word or two in there as well.

Every player, manager, coach and everyone else associated with a club tries their hardest and does their best.  But some self-important clown with a whistle ruins everything, safe in the knowledge that his chums will back him up.  That's when everyone must ask "What's the point?".

I would say that surely a majority of clubs would support major reform of the SFA? But then again I've been hearing that since I was a kid