snorbens_caleyman

Ukraine play-off in Scotland could be delayed to allow team World Cup chance

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/mar/01/ukraine-play-off-in-scotland-could-be-delayed-to-allow-team-world-cup-chance

"The Scottish Football Association wrote to its Ukrainian counterpart this week offering support and is willing to accommodate any arrangement that would allow the match to take place."

Pleased to see that from the SFA.

Are there any Ukrainian folk in Inverness?  Maybe tell the Polish shops in town that you're looking for a flag, in case they know anyone who might lend you one or more.

11 hours ago, Scotty said:

perhaps a blue and yellow saltire

Plenty of them where I live!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Alban's_Cross

1 hour ago, jed5697 said:

I feel we are just about to go on a run....

Must have been the takeaway curry on the way home last night.

2 hours ago, Kingsmills said:

I would rather Scotland sctratched from the competition rather than taking advantage of Ukraine's terrible plight by seeking a forfeit.

Yes, I had thought of that, but it wouldn't be fair on the Scotland team.

My choice would be a postponement, in the hope that a genuine Ukraine team could play some time.  Obviously there would have to be a time limit on that.

For once, the decision to hold the World Cup finals in November/December might be useful.  The obvious thing to do would be to postpone the Path A playoffs until after the end-dates of the countries' scheduled domestic seasons - though it's unlikely that Ukraine will complete theirs.  Accommodation and training facilities in Qatar is presumably already reserved for whoever gets through - since those who have already qualified will have booked theirs.

I do hope to God that there isn't some Neanderthal numpty in the SFA who is going to come out next week and insist that either the matches go ahead in March or Ukraine gets disqualified.  Knowing the SFA, I would put money on there being some eejits there who are actually thinking that.

I see that we are also down to play Ukraine in June and September in the UEFA Nations League, so it could be a busy summer!

53 minutes ago, tm4tj said:

Yes

You've been on the club's communications training course!

12 hours ago, IBM said:

Just to add Austin Samuels is showing potential and I hope he will improve as he gets more game time.  I don't understand why he took off Pearson early!

Looking back on iPlayer, it's not quite as good as I had thought, but the goal was still an example of the directness of play from the new guys that I have mentioned once or twice.

Samuels cut inside, then passed towards three of our players in fairly central positions on the edge of the box.  (Three?  How did that happen? )  In that type of situation, either one of your own players receives it, in a dangerous position, or you may well get lucky with a mistake by a defender.  The latter is what happened in this case.

Play the percentages, make direct moves and passes into dangerous areas, and you will make your own luck.

I agree about Pearson.  I thought he did well.  Of all the new guys, Hardy is the one who has impressed me least - though to be fair, I don't think he has had as much game-time as the others.

Don't worry, we're not going to fall out - you are as entitled to your views as I am to mine.

But I am always amazed that people think that football clubs are run using a limitless supply of Monopoly money.  Clubs do go into administration and liquidation.  All it needs is for a bank to say "You've gone beyond the bounds of our agreement.  We are calling in your debt.".

As for Dodds being loaded - what was he at the BBC?  A part-time pundit for BBC Scotland?  (I'm in England, so I don't know.)  Would have paid peanuts - did he do other media work as well?

24 minutes ago, CaleyTennis said:

 why the hell sign so many attacking players that aren't needed when it was clear that it was the defence that needed strengthening.

Have to disagree.  I pointed out on several occasions that we had one of the lowest "goals against" totals in the table, whereas our "goals for" was not good.  Strengthening the defence would basically be hoping for 1-0 wins, since our attack was toothless. Since then, of course, injuries and loss of form have changed the picture.  Some of the new guys looked as though they had much-needed energy and directness, but sadly that hasn't resulted in goals.

As for getting rid of BD and his assistants before the end of their contracts: where do you think the money is going to come from to pay them off and attract new people?  And who are you going to attract when you sack people for being third in the table?

You may be using the wrong word when you say "investor".  Certainly if you mean investing to obtain a financial return.  Owning - or putting money into - a football club is one of the quickest and more surefire ways of losing money that exists.

Given that we are just emerging from a global pandemic which has hit many businesses hard, and are also coming to terms with the problems of Brexit, which are especially hitting those who exported to the EU, then the number of "wealthy investors" who would currently be interested in losing shedloads of money must be very small.  And they have probably just had their assets frozen by the government

Geography comes into it, too, as has been discussed here before.  Inverness is over 100 miles away from the next nearest large towns, more than that from the Central Belt, and may as well be on the moon as far as many English are concerned.  So you are basically looking for a local wealthy businessperson who is happy to lose a lot of money, just for the kudos.

They do exist, of course - we just have to look to Dingwall - but there can't be many of them.  Those of you who live in the area could probably name those who might have the resources.

Don't get me wrong.  I'd love to see someone pump money into the club, provided they also hired decent management and coaches.  But, at this particular time, I can't see where they are coming from. 

2 hours ago, Roly said:

What is everyone else's thought?

I'm only allowed one thought? 

OK, it's "Who on Earth would want to take over?".

If you know how to remove individual cookies from your browser, then just remove the one for inverness-courier.co.uk , and they'll think that you're a new reader again.

There isn't any more detail in the story, anyway.

10 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

The silence from the club is deafening. The way the ICT support is dwindling must be of concern to any serious business. They say talk is cheap, it can just roll of the tongue and not mean much, so when the club said that the relationship and communication with the supporters was very important, and along with the match day experience would be improved, I think by the continued silence from those in the higher echelon at the club, you can take that with a pinch of salt. I can honestly say that in all the years that I have followed ICT, I have never heard or seen the hard-core supporter so disillusioned by the current disconnect. 

I assume that the Supporters' Trust is trying to take this up with the club's management?

8 minutes ago, forresjags said:

No idea where you thought I was having a go at the goalkeeper. Maybe go back and re read what was said.

Sorry, my bad.  I quoted your "only positive of the day" because I was trying to say that there was another one - Cammy's performance.  That's all.

I can see why you thought what you did.  Apologies again.

9 minutes ago, Satan said:

Not much rolling it out today.

Or did I miss something?

Hoof!!

You did.  I was watching for it and he was doing it quite a lot.  Even his kicks were usually aimed and well-placed.

Started hoofing it more, unsurprisingly, when we were 0-2 down, and needed to step up several gears.

11 minutes ago, forresjags said:

Only positive from today

You can't blame Cammy MacKay for the goals, and I thought he had a decent game today. Score would have been at least 4 if it wasn't for his saves. 

I never worry when I hear that he's in the team.  And I still think his ball distribution is better than Ridgers' - he very often rolls it out to ensure we retain possession, rather than launch a 50-50 ball down the park.  It's not his fault that the 10 in front of him don't know what to do with it....

14 minutes ago, CaleyTennis said:

I'd take a rookie looking to get into management

You've forgotten how that went last time? 

24 minutes ago, WYNESS101 said:

No Ridgers

Gives me a chance to test out my theory that MacKay's ball distribution is better than Ridgers'.

(That's probably given him the commentator's curse )

Spot the automatic spilling chucker

2 hours ago, WYNESS101 said:

Attendance: 1781 

 

Do they include PPV spectators in that?

It was the "freezing midweek night in February" that I mentioned at the start of the season, when wondering how long they would continue with PPV - and what effect it would have on actual attendance.

54 minutes ago, forresjags said:

Looks to be a player, direct and willing to put in a challenge.

Exactly what I said when I first saw Pearson, Chalmers and Samuels.  All with a bit of energy, and direct.  Give the defenders a problem - give them something to stop.

Look at how often we come up against someone like Tiffany last night, causing all sorts of problems simply by running with the ball at or across the defence.

I was thinking - half-seriously - last night that Dodds should introduce fines for passing sideways or backwards when it's not necessary.  How often do we start in possession halfway into the opposition's half, and end up passing it back to Ridgers or to our last defender?

11 minutes ago, RiG said:

Where the f'ck is everyone!?

Hiding behind the sofa now.

Just noticed that according to the countdown clock at ICTFC.com, there are 6 minutes to kickoff 

Now, as a techie, I could understand a computer system running on GMT (UTC) all year round.   But not one running on BST during the winter

Edit, 6 minutes later.  It went to 0, and nothing happened.  I refreshed the screen, and it now says our next fixture is at home to Ayr on the 19th.

2 hours ago, Gringo said:

Thank you for this. I'd not heard the name either. I have a copy of Caley All The Way and I never thought to look. As you say, may be another Inverness team like, say, Citadel. Not to worry. 

Citadel went under in 1937.  If he had played regularly at Clach or Thistle, I am sure I would have heard of him.

Maybe he played only a few games - maybe as a triallist.