Scarlet Pimple

The Rangers and Celtic are odd-balls in the Scottish Leagues because they are so much more wealthy than any other team. They simply no longer fit into Scottish Football I am afraid. They should be in the English Divisions and everybody here in the Scottish Divisions might eventually heave a sigh of relief. Referring to the extra customers passing through the turnstiles of Scottish teams when these two teams do visit this only leads to a bad and unfair comparison of the resultant receipts compared to games with the regular Scottish team coming to visit. It appears to evidence the fact that some people claim that without these two teams bringing their larger fanbase all other teams would be much worse off financially. Well that's sad reflection on Scottish Football at best, isn't it ? How often do they grace our portals with their teams? Would it really make that much difference to the annual revenue? And most likely any extra largesse is/or will soon be spent by teams anyway in paying off debt or buying absolutely essential stuff that will help to shore up the team pro-tem -- all of which would otherwise be unavailable for that spending anyway. And it would offer up competition to bring in other Scottish teams from districts other than Glasgow which would surely be welcomed all over Scotland and provide a fresh experience to our grounds. Unless you love watching Rangers, for example, who in any event don't have a great team , what is the advantage and use of having them in the Premier Scottish League to us, the wee-er teams? Opinions please?

It's a valid and valued attempt to get to the bottom of what is valuable and what is not. And to just learn what supporters want, or think they need, to make the matchday experience more worthwhile....and to justify attending games. I THINK! ?

Good for you IHE. Isn't that exactly what I said should be done in a recent post. There is no point in complaining unless you are prepared to act and do something about it. After that, assuming the individual Board members have seen and read your stuff, that's the time to really start shouting.

Mantis --you continue to surprise me as to the diversity of the interests you appear to have. However I'm not quite sure you could fill the Jersey as well as she does. Very nice material though. Perhaps IHE could look really good in that too.

Understood Scotty. Easy come, easy go so not a problem. Thanks for replying and explaining things.

Very curt statement. However, the club is very unlikely to tell the public what has transpired in a climate where "same old, same old" carries the day. What we think that we do know , however, is that the Manger almost always carries the can regardless. So just another casualty on the Scottish route to Greatness.

As I scroll through the site, "Boardroom Banter" seems to be, maybe, a tad out of date? Modern life is fact- paced and seems to have little connection to a past that was much slower and , often suggested, is no longer of great appeal to the modern poster in a hurry to get up-to-date quickies and little else? It's taking up a lot of site space that could, perhaps, be better spent? For example, past videos could be inserted there and enjoyed by selfish , long-distance guys like S.P. Or the background of members could be posted there and explored which may allow each of us to consider our posting comments from a somewhat more respectful or explorative and more controlled position of respect or just plain old -fashioned courtesy. Or to gently make fun of to bring all posters into a position of equality with another. e.g. 'Heh, Scarlet, you used to have legs that look like spurtles. Did you invent porridge perhaps." Whereupon Scarlet replies. "Heh, Buddie, my legs look great now because I have been running round mountains in British Columbia for donkey's years. Wanna photo honey?" If posters think that it does, however , present a very highly-touted and valued inclusion then let's exchange viewpoints. Then , later, a poll can be taken in which all regular posters are urged to participate in order to keep and update, or change the format of that portion of the otherwise excellent and well-run site? Just a thought or two for all?

But, Caleyboy, doesn't that depend entirely on the financial circumstances of the person(donor) identified . If the club is relying on Board Members to regularly put in large sums of money each season to keep the club from folding then how is that sustainable in the long run? ONLY bottoms on seats and legs standing on the terracing can achieve financial stability within the club. Any other expectation is flirting with bankruptcy. So, to exclude well-intentioned fans from joining the board, even if they are usually far from being rich monetarily speaking, is a self-destructive policy. It usually just happens though that persons who desperately want to join the Board are rich and if they put money into the club we have to thank them but lower our expectations that they , and they alone, are responsible for the rise and fall of the club's fortunes. IMHO, that is the main reason why we have to encourage Management to communicate well with fans. That way issues can be spotted early on before they become a crisis and appropriate action(s) can be initiated to contain these issues and to formulate a definitive plan to set about rectifying the dangers that could develop fairly quickly therefrom. I.e. pull down the portcullis and strengthen the defences along the city walls....like.Then it's all hands to the deck since the Board has already warned us that they need our help in advance of the crisis .i.e. excellent communication that does not include isolation of the board from the fans-- as appears to be the suggested case at the moment. Eh?

I live a very long way away but it appears that this Board has, and is, saying virtually nothing regardless of whether or not it's about the pies or the training of the boys on the park. Now THAT is not good and it's certainly not communication. As for me I could not care less whether my conversation is with a guy who is black, white, pink or khaki but whether or not he/she is attempting to put his/her point of view, answer questions or express his/her emotions.' And for me the last issue is the most important because without conveying emotions you cannot inspire the great-unwashed and/or the desperate proletariat to support you. Why? Because we all live and die for emotional feelings and expressions and we all go to the matches to satisfy these cravings don't we? If the Board are not doing that in any meaningful way then they will attract sharp criticism because their emotions, feelings and desires and future plans are being withheld from the paying customers. And that is definitely NOT good also. So, as I opined in another recent post, either contact them and tell them what you feel from YOUR emotional standpoint and ask them to respond regularly or stop criticizing them. I think THEN you will see a resurgence of support from the fans. And if you can't seem to rouse the emotions of your buddies tell them you are personally going to seek a meeting with the top brass and EMOTE At least that's a really positive move on your part!!! Because...."Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings comes forth words of wisdom". Yep ! Or, to put it more succinctly. either get off your ..rse and do something positive instead of moaning about it all. Meantime, back at the ranch...……….

"Yep, Festus! Them's the breaks, partner."

Clinical and direct Caley Thistle' whilst Dunfermline fiddle-faddled. Our team looks fit and sharp.You can't win if the defence is not solid. And the chances are very much in favour of NOT losing if the defence is great .Ergo--today's win. Ridgers has always been a good goalkeeper IMHO and I hope he continues to impress. Winning will do that for a player and boost his confidence. Top of the table, huh? Wow, son of a gun, bejabbers! Pleased that Rooney came on a bit after that dismal last game. Hope he works hard to control his emotions though and doesn't get sent off any time soon. Maybe he was just reacting emotionally to his inner disappointment that he wasn't the best player on the park last week And it does take time to fit-in and be a real contributor. White struggled at first, you say ? Well, maybe he just might need to see the up-tempo Caley team in full flight and he will join in. Barrow in Furness's pace may not be quite up to the pace of the team who won the Scottish Cup in 2015, eh? After all it is a bit of a working man's backwater, although one of our former supporters on this site went to that area as a nuclear scientist but what befell him afterwards I no longer know because I lost touch with him. The reports sure are very encouraging and if the team spirit continues to rise and the team quickly gels, one with the other , then who knows what the outcome may be at the end of the season? Great win and phew, about time.

Aloof and arrogant? Why do you think that? I am not suggesting that you are totally wrong but, e.g. : 1. Is a failure of Management to make constant contact with the fan base as much to do with the fact that they are new to the game of upper management at a Football club in your view or is it that they lack any real sense of the need to continually be addressing fans?..... Or 2. The fact that living in an Ivory tower does tend to keep you apart from the main body of the Kirk and it's hard for them to see the wood for the trees?....or 3. Has a delegation from the fan base ever asked for a direct meeting with the upper crust of management not to put them down but to open up a discussion of the facts affecting the club's advancement? Or started a petition outlining concerns and then presenting the Board with this when at least a specified number of fans have agreed to sign it-- I dunno, maybe at least 1,000 fans? …..or 4. When the team appears to be on a turn-around from "inexplicably poor" to "vastly improving" has any proper fan base representative ever thought of approaching upper Management to congratulate them and asking for more time to discuss how to explore ways in which this improvement can be assisted or added to? or..... 5. Asked for a fan delegation to be allowed to meet with them to ensure that that Board listen carefully to the general viewpoints put forward from, say, members of this site or to present written views to them that have been sent in from fans in a pre-arranged form:- such as a carefully worded petition requesting input from fans to specific questions on the form? And these questions can be answered , if necessary, only by "yes" or "no" responses. This is diplomatic and professional and evidences to the Board that the general fan-base want to really help, by assisting and supporting rational trial modes for improvement and not to simply negatively criticize that Board during this process. It's also designed to draw them out and not back them up against a wall. It must be made inescapably obvious from the "get-go" that the this approach is specifically designed to improve communication with the Board in a very co-operative way and conscientiously address common challenges with the support of all parties moving forward together in the same direction. Since an adversarial method or approach can be seen to be undesirable from a common-sense point of view, the implied suggestion underlying this approach is that full discussion of ideas and viewpoints openly, without bias and reflectively, is the main goal and not to judge who is right and who is wrong. These are only a few suggestions but, unless there is an attempt to meet with the board in a professional manner, the sense of rookie aloofness, right or wrong, that is implied here about them or their decisions will remain and continue to be unproductive for the general good and advancement of the club. It may be a departure from the norm but it's intended to break down barriers that exist between Upper Management and the well-intentioned fan base within which there are very many astute and experienced people whose only desire is to advance the club upward and onward. And it's a start to closing what appears to me to be a gaping communication-hole between Upper Management and well-intentioned fans , with the latter appearing to NOT have a productive outlet for their feelings. or suggestions. Which, frankly, is unlikely to sell more needed tickets. Thanks for listening, S.P.

And younger players can be less susceptible to, and more likely to recover from, injuries faster

If we are as close to the top of the table as seems to be implied here, what does this say about the competence and danger presented to us by the other teams in this League??

Remind me.....is a goalie allowed to move whilst the penalty kick taker is running at the ball?

Thanks, Glover.!

IHE-what would you call a football import from Canada-? Johnny Can-Do Canuck?

Can someone please tell me the first name of the young lad Mackinnon in our team? Thank you.

Brick-built houses. Well you will rarely see that in Western Canada. Virtually all houses , except those that belong to the wealthy and are situated on the hill overlooking the Pacific ocean Inlet, or like situation, are built of wood. The sides of the homes are just wooden frames built with press board (basically sawdust) and then covered with left to right strips of siding , one built on top of the other sloping downwards at a slight angle to promote water flow downwards. And wooden roofing covered in blue tar-like paper then covered in (mostly black) plastic tiles. with sand sprayed onto to them.. Looks good when finished but a puff of wind will blow these homes over . Ours included. We are currently expecting the "Big one" (earthquake) any day now and one 5.8 has been recorded yesterday off the coast of Oregon only a few hundred miles south of Vancouver,. The Pacific plate is subducting under the plate on which the Western coast is sitting and we know that Vancouver island is compressing itself by moving due East because surveyors have placed poles in the ground and later measured the Eastward movement from the sea inwards. We are sitting within the earthquake zone so our house and every other one in sight is a gonner if the quake exceed 5 or 6. We are being encouraged to prepare an earthquake kit with blankets, food, etc. etc enough to cope for at least 3 days on the run but the sad truth is that most of us have no preparation done at all. We have talked about it but no real action. Our houses are, for the most part, insured but the losses on every front will be massive. Are we scared? Yes but a sense of helplessness akin to stupidity seems to be very prevalent and we rarely talk about it amongst ourselves. When you view what happened in Japan not so log ago (cars sitting 30 feet up on the roofs of buildings) you get the picture. That's from the accompanying Tsunami, dearies, not to mention the shaking. Oh well, life goes on I suppose. If it is not one thing it is the other. Currently British Columbia is ablaze --some 580 fires raging throughout the Province. Something like 7000 fire fighters from all over doing their best together with water bombers flying all day but no rain for months has made the Province a tinder box and the sight is awesome. The smoke from these fires has now percolated down to our area, way South of the main fire- lines, and right now we can't see the sky or the backdrop of Mountains around the city for smoke. Warnings are being issued not to inhale or suffer the consequences long term !. etc. It's truly a bad deal. Worst fire season on record, apparently. Global warming is here with a vengeance, whether you believe in it or not. Antarctica is melting and the huge ice shelves are breaking up So are the icebergs off the northern coast of Canada coming south down the East coast past Newfoundland. Scientists are diving under the ice to take measurements of the deterioration to see how long it takes to fully break up and their reports are not amusing at all. Have a great day tomorrow and I mean that because our future in Western North America is uncertain. But still a very beautiful place for a short holiday if you can afford it.

Charlie...welcome back old fruit. That cop you mention of very diminutive size was a black belt in Karate. You don't know that? Smile. The smaller the better because he can get under you rea,l pronto quick.

A Highland welcome will do the trick.

Fly-boy

This Internationalisation is cute and inspiring -- IF he succeeds. Let's see what transpires before stifling any more grins, eh? Alan, you are quite an expressive guy. Smile. You are growing on me. Just like mini Scarlet except that he has been told to quit whilst he is ahead. Has just recovered from his 2nd heart operation ( sorry …"second procedure" for the purists) and is doing well but unlikely to reach a very old situation. After 6-7 months off work plus rehabilitation, etc., he is back in the driving seat of a Vancouver city bus. Now deemed a veteran and gets to choose his own routes and has received a public citation for 25 years good work before the mast and will shortly retire on a decent pension with no further worries about bashes and smashes. RIGHT-ON, Mate. Like the Easter Bunny over here ...can take a licking but keeps on ticking. A bit off topic Scotty but it's a slow day so please forgive me.

With a ":T": on the end of it... Just to make sure all changes are "to a T" and that the poster's sense of humour is specifically to Tickle your Tonsils, Tightens your braces and Tends to be a Talking point. Ta BuckeTTs. You are back my good friend...….Sorely missed and glad to see you are still in fine fettle after your hibernation and up for Tackling anything. Onyhoo. Ta Ta for now ScarleT