Scarlet Pimple

As a fan living in Western Canada. I would love it if you would consider requesting that the club bring back the Saturday Home matches videos for all of us overseas guys. The charge to us was 5 pounds which was dirt cheap and obviously uneconomic and I think that they could easily double that charge and still find that the O. F's would be very happy. The video was fine and the commentator , Don Johnstone, was well-schooled in all the stats, etc., re players and did a very fine job overall. Great value for money IMHO.

Yes, the way the team played against D.U in the first half certainly unsettled the opponents big time. But all credit to them. They changed their tactics and you know the rest. We went downhill fast and they passed us at speed as they built up a big head of steam. Was ICT out of gas or what? John must fathom this out.....now.

What I am saying is ... if you leave the washer on and just give it time it will eventually all come out in the wash so why not at thjis early stage just give Blair the benefit of the doubt that he is the genuine article and just needs some assistance.

Charlie, I am truly gobsmacked by your overpowering gobbledegook, gubbing up the thread from Gallipoli to Geronimo's farm in Saskatchewan , Canada. Please, let the poor man alone. He seems to be the genuine article but he may be the world's most clever manipulator as well; being able to generate waves of humour in some or even irritation and/or boredom in others . Take it all with a pinch of salt and await developments with bated breath. Haud yer wheesht , man, and listen and learn. Aye! That's the ticket. So Blair doesn't have your highly expressive, voluminous and voluptuously validating superiority on all things related to the spoken English word but he has as much right as anyone else on this forum to express himself in any reasonable way he chooses. Surely it's what he is trying to enunciate, rather then the form or context in which he does this, that matters. If your sky-high.er education allows you to sift the wheat from the chaff with such ease then WHY do you need an interpreter to get it when he speaks? So you are bored and we are s-o-o-o upset about that. If so, then the answer is simple......just b--gger off to Buffalo. No need to read the thread at all. Or even to put the new poster down by dumping a ton of bricks on his head. After all, you do NOT own this site. What if a wee birdie landed on your shoulder and, in a sepulchral whisper told you that Mr. Blair was ...er...autistic? For how long would you wear your sackcloth and ashes before rueing the day you eschewed diplomacy for impetuous pomposity. I view Blair with mixed emotions and I might be persuaded in due course to assume that some of his statements maybe should be viewed with some scepticism and a wee little pinch of salt. Except that it's early days and what IF he has a lot of MONEY or has contacts who do have a lot of money? And he really does want to spend it on CaleyThistle? .OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! Scary, what? Who cares if it's him who saves the club financially and from desperate obscurity, or Valdimir Put-the-Butin who does it, so long as someone does. Aye.

Sounds interesting Blair. Just so long as your last name is at least Gowrie but not Witch. Why not just go down to the park , walk in the door and ask politely if the Chairman is in? And if your business is as successful as you state why not ask for an interview in person and show him your Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account. Then listen and learn , followed by a polite exit to further examine what information has been supplied to you by him. THEN:- Much better still, speak to your Chartered Accountant , discuss the issue fully with him/her and allow him to make the first contact, with certain preconditions attached of course. I feel sure that if your Accountant is well known and well favoured for his prowess with figures in Inverness then the ICT Directors will at least give his/ her comments a close scrutiny and he may well be able to at least get their close, and maybe urgent, attention. The C.A. should also advise you at the same time of the potential pitfalls of such a course and then you can reconsider what impact these things may well have on your existing business and current personal interests. This is vital for you since his first duty is to you, the client, and not to any outside personal interests that he may have. As a C.A. with high integrity it certainly should be. But don't expect to get a barrowload of shares in return though, 'cos I get the strange feeling that almost full control by the current Board of Directors may be the order of the day at Caley Thistle at this time. Not to mention the mere fact that if your money is swallowed up and quickly dissipated then how can you change the security offered from just being a piece of paper into hard cash upon your demand. And whether the Board can , or will, offer you a form of Security in exchange for a cash input is a subject which needs to be very carefully sought after and discussed in depth by a professional money man such as your Chartered Accountant. Finally. if you have a means of checking the Financial background record of the Accountant that you have in mind to hire, this should as a first step be examined and for this I can only suggest that, first and foremost, you have a deep chat with your Bank Manager since he can initiate what we call here in Canada as a "CREDIT CHECK". Which, simply put, is a check on the financial handling and pay- back record of anyone who borrows, or ever has borrowed, money from any financial Institution and it will also show you how "creditworthy" they are ---- or the alternative, his being a past bankruptee. To summarise: there's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip and your duty to yourself and your family is to do the necessary and vital checks prior to throwing your money around. And that's all I can suggest at this time. as an Ex-Bank Inspector and Bank Manager. Cheers and best of luck. S.P.

D.U's pitch seemed to dry out remarkably well from the time of the last pre-game report I saw on here. And it looked very good indeed. Although perhaps it may have been a bit heavy for the players over the full 90 minutes. What a lovely day to be playing football and the stuff on display was very passable indeed and often exciting to watch, IMHO. Mostly from Caley Thistle (in the first half at least) and how they were not up 3 or 4 in the first half was something to ponder over. The players obviously tried hard but coming through on goal and hitting the ball directly from a wee distance out directly at the goalie is hardly the way to score. The corners of the goal exist too .... I think John needs to work hard with the forwards on placing the ball netwise , avoiding the goalie's position, and keeping the ball down and not "out and over the bar". Teaching the players to be clinical and ruthlessly effective in front of the goal is imperative for John R. to stress and to practice constantly. . Remember our boyhood and girlhood phrase..."practice makes perfect". EXACTLY! See..old-timers occasionally know a thing or two. Goalies are not always dynamic diving down to stop goalbound shots but both goaliees demonstrated how much easier it is for then to jump up and make contact with a high ball which is netbound for sure. I saw only the highlights of course but Dundee United came back surprisingly well in the second half whilst ICT seemed to just just fade. I enjoyed this match as much as anything because of the lovely sunny day and freshness of the park which allowed for quick and accurate passing and slick footie from Caley in the first half and then joined by D.U. In the second. A very good crowd also helped with the atmosphere. So, bring on Summer football as soon as possible ? Yes?

Wow! Hasn't Ridgers come on a ton? Such a change in his performances happening since day one. Very heartening for any player to be able to prove that he has real talent and determination.

In past history, disputes, fighting and severe mayhem have rarely solely ever been about religion but always about money and power.

Belfast Brigade, I admire your spunk and dedication to the cause. Lang may yer lum reek, laddie. You are an inspiration to all the others who are either lukewarm or flatter to deceive in terms of their affiliation or affection for our wonderful team. I take it you were born in Scotland though were you not? https://www.pinterest.ca/HelloBC/winter-in-bc/i Kind regards from a currently beautiful sunny day in British Columbia, Canada.

With global warming increasing rapidly there is little chance of this new and dangerous weather situation changing for the better. It's apparently about to get much worse. That's really ominous. Translating this into the reality of Scottish football it is imperative, IMHO, that the Scottish football authorities immediately set up plans for next season to try out Summer football. If not, they will be held accountable.

At the very least it's worth a try.

Someone has given me a "SAD" emoticom rating. Ha! Ha! Ha! Man, that boat has sailed a long time ago. That sounds awfully like the Donald, maybe Version 2.

Caman-ach!

This thread is absolutely hilarious. here I am wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes and neither of the two well read protagonists are willing to yield.How long can it go on?Anybody interested in setting up a bet? Mr. Tenacious versus Mr. Steady-wins- the- Race. are up and at 'em for the last round in this exciting bout of verbal and verbiose fisticuffs. On the one hand there is chippy Charles with a vocabulary so deep that he feels the need to divest himself of most of it at every post and turn. And Caley D whose measured tones belie a rapidly developing skill in speech delivery which is designed to polish and enhance his excellent past commentaries of the matches that the color cameras had used to enlighten my days on a Saturday when ICT were playing on home soil. Two dauntless dragons of dickering - with knobs on. Alas, alack, such days have goneth with the wind and yond Scarlet now hath a mean and hungry look. Such men are (not THAT) dangerous. Beware the Tides of March though 'cos they may sweep youse aff yer feet....especially when the much vaunted Chas is insisting on going down to the park in his Wellie bates to examine conditions prior to making a decision on whether to buy a new Caley scarf or not. O.K. Back to the Canucks game and the pipe and slippers.

Anyways, IBM, forgetting what these guys are on about 'cos we are not claiming to be as bright and intellectual as others, I do appreciate your birthday wishes and I will do the same to you when you get to 80 as well. So, please hang around a wee bittie longer..eh? i.e.If we are both still on this mortal coil that is. Otherwise I may be lucky enough to spot you in the Spirit World. In which case we perhaps can enjoy a wee glass of ectoplasm together.

Er....As I have aged I have become more and more convinced that the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Sam) is by far the best way to communicate. After all, Charlie, least said, soonest mended...eh? Canadians always say "eh"? after each short utterance just to make sure that the party to whom the remark is addressed is still on the same page and has not yet succumbed to boredom and gone into a deep sleep. Please remember to say it a lot to me in future Charles. Greatly appreciated. Thank you. very much. And, with the best intentions, but mostly for my personal understanding of your speeches out of Hamlet or summat, , please do try the KISS principle. Just give it a whirl. I know, I really know you are an intellectual person, well-read and daily converse with the Oracle, but I'm 80 years old today and co-operating would be the nicest present you could give me via this Forum. Get it, eh?

Oh My, Jock Mackay! Charlie what is an oxymoron? Sorry but I don't have my Oxford English Dictionary with me today. Is that an ox with big horns being ridden by a somewhat doltish figure.?Better not wear your Viking cap to the next meeting old chap lest you create a wrong impression to the influential high heid yins and the lesser lights like Pimples, Pinochio and Paupers. As to the figures , without any Club, or even Scottish, documents readily to hand here in the Canadian wilderness what I was referring to (as you well know) was the large loss for last year being in excess of what the European cash injected into the club a few months ago turned out to be . There was a shortfall by comparison of some 50,000 pounds wasn't there?. My question was simple; where did that windfall money go to exactly. But, as always, you had to nit-pick it to death. Please have a look at how Caley D sets out his thoughts. Always concise, non- critical of others, and generally very factual and balanced. And he doesn't wear Viking hat so maybe the Lord hath blessed his cranium.. Cheers Charlie. Off you go, back to chat and chirping.

Was the European injection of over 400.000 pounds used to pay off the then current debt? If so, how deep is the boat still sunk into the financial mud? If the underlying assets of the club cannot be used or converted into money how would a future bank loan be paid off? And, more to the point , why should the Bank continue to generously support the club? If there is no good security either by way of Shareholder personal Guarantees or some form of specifically firm collateral security-. eg. stocks and shares or buildings or other tangible security? Would the wealthy supporters that we already have heavily invested in the future of ICT continue to provide cash into a continuously -struggling and even dying business? I think not! I pity John Robertson and we should go easy on the gent since his heart and mind are definitely well invested in this club and that's a price that you cannot assess but it may just be too much for him to continue to support emotionally. So the fans must give John the benefit of the doubt and support him to the hilt if this club wants to stay in business.

What is the current value of each share though? This could be a long term investment for the purchasers. I feel that ICT will have to be on a continual upward pathway for these share to increase in value. Common sense, but what happens if the shareholders decide that support cannot be sustained without at least some kind of generous dividend accruing to them. In the absence of that, or gradual repayment, are these generous supporters willing to finance the club way into the future based on current circumstances? If so, then, BOY, that's a labour of love for sure. ???

If mayhem and misery attends football during the Winter in all kinds of ways, what reason would one give for not considering Summer football? Knock off a month for holidays in the middle of the season and enjoy the other months in comfortable and less dangerous conditions. Not to mention the players who would relish it and the game would surely be played with greater verve and most probably with more exciting and fulfilling outcomes. Some might utter a negative "same old, same old." but how about a positive smart and sensible ":same old, same old." by way of contrast? Then the "stick- in- the- mud -won't - try anything-new" folks pipe up again and says, "But it's always been like that so it must be the right way, etc." If so, why have times changed, why have cars got more comfortable and more powerful, immobile and clunky telephones have turned into cell phones and women have become smarter and no longer wear long skirts and the boys are now happier as a result? And change is inevitable also so why not join in the progressive-thought-in- action brigade? Global warming is getting worse and worse and WORSE and the obvious effects of it are seen all over the world. Once the iceberg melting accelerates (since a started motion adds to itself and envelops and accelerates the process) the game will be well nigh over. Meanwhile, we still bury our heads in the sand on top of the rising waves and nobody wants to make the sacrifices to change it . So we are doomed and by the time we do wake up and can't smell the roses anymore, because they are all drownded in the coming floods, it will just be TOO LATE. Start the anti-rot now and back Summer fitba so that older guys like Scarlet can enjoy an uninterrupted dotage. Yep, Festus , it's time to take in the cotton crops earlier this year, sell at a handsome profit and scarper off to our future colony on Mars, methinks.

Gentlemen, gentlemen. O.K. So youse all went tae the Academy. Big deal. So did auld Scarlet but he prefers proletariat lingo to that of the Literati so that we all have a chance to get it, like. But Faust never did wear our blue blazer so, Charlie, what on earth has his ancient utterings got to do with our plain speaking punters who express valid concerns at this stage of the "rebuild" but also understand that J R has tried very hard to get his ducks all in a row and, not only that, but things were going along rather nicely only a month or so ago were they not? Then the winds suddenly changed without his permission and our Quinquereme started to severely list to port Therefore, IMHO, he deserves a second season as Manager. As for the Board, they do have the rest of the season to attempt to get more moneybags into Tulloch stadium. One swallow in one season does not a summer make. But, next season the same kind of consequences may sink our ship. And that 's why there just may be the outside chance that J.R. will decide to jump to starboard.

So summer football is not the answer then? Nahhh! Why bother even thinking abo? BUT... may I say just one thing, please? No need for Under Soil Heating. No capital cost of emplacement and of doing repairs. No severe damage from flooding at great cost to the club. No postponed games. More folks in the stands and all quoting Shakespeare .. "It's a far , far better thing I do than I have ever done before" . More goals 'cos it's easier to control the ball and score at will. No frostbitten toes and clacking teeth , no dropping of false teeth on a frozen area of the park and breaking of same, leading to an empty wallet and an inability to eat for a short week or two..NO need to pay for a cuppa at half-time no doubt at great cost 'cos you've brought your own flask and own brand of favorite tea that you could not do in the winter 'cos the frost was always sure to cool it unreasonably quickly. NO Parking problems 'cos no frosty ground , No snow to make everyone miserable , including the players. A really good chance that rain showers would fail to appear on match day even if the Weather-man on the BBC News says otherwise. More money in the pocke6ts of the club 'cos there are more folks in the stand and many more standing on the terracing(s). Less risk of serious injury to players. leading to greater financial cost to the club and much less risk that they will not try their best to get the ball 'cos they know the risk of injury if they fall is much less in July than it is in December. Each player maintaining a greater reserve of energy 'cos they don't use it all up attempting to stop their whole body freezing up and broken false teeth from chattering unreasonably. Goalies loving the sun 'cos it stops them worrying about making impossible saves since they know they will not suffer grievous injuries when they hit the ground in a brilliant dive to allow Caley thistle to win another cup. "Yeah, Festus, Winter footie has to beat all that hands down eh" Yep, Scarlet, As usual yer out to lunch, Buddy. Wanna Joint?

Oh Dear! Not really the nicest thing to say about an unsuccessful past Manager who earlier in his career brought great football from his boots into the club's domain and was a good servant of the club to boot. Management should have taken the blame for appointing a rookie manager like Mr. Foran, not blaming him for doing his unseasoned and inexperienced best against increasingly heavy odds. Let sleeping dogs lie methinks because that boat has sailed and has already sunk. A helping and empathetic hand for Richie would sure be a nice gesture at this point in his life. Remember..."There but for the Grace of God go I." Frank Kelly speaking, I'm more concerned as to what John Robertson will be able to do next season. to motivate players and pull this club up by it's bootstraps. He seems to be a genuine and well-intentioned man but whether he is tough enough for the job is, IMHO, a definite moot point....and a half. I am far from sure that I detect the hard-enough edge to John's personality which may be required to bring this club together as a highly-motivated group willing to put-it-all-out for the club. You might also suggest to me that where can one find that in football these days without a bundle of money to dangle in front of players as the direct incentive.? Sigh...I know, I know! Some of the indiscipline can be fixed by strong measures but when you have the situation where you don't have the money to replace deviant types playing on the field then his hands can be tied I suppose. Where headstrong and/or big-headed players act in a way that can undermine your manager's strategies you can deal with it by giving one warning and then, the next time, he gets his jotters. OR you can give him 100 more warnings and he laughs like a drain behind your back with the latter way not being an example of strong management, eh..? In his present circumstance perhaps he should have discussed all this in depth and made it clear to the apparently-inexperienced Board before he took the job that tough measures may have to come before babysitting ones. Drastic?...Well, let's just call it "salutary". But If you allow the current set of players to continue ignoring your instructions then your long-term goals may be totally compromised. I would not like to be in his shoes because he has to have the Board behind him strongly or his own future may be compromised as well. Finally, fine motivational techniques must be in the lexicon of John's attributes as Manager of this club right now. And each fan knows how difficult it is to attract that kind of strong and knowledgeable overseer... .like it has to seem like he is '"all things to all men". Yet, I.m afraid that's exactly what he needs to be in his role at ICT right now. Good luck, John.

Are you actually saying that the players are not putting in the effort like true professionals should? Or, to put it another equally horrendous way, .is there no leadership now at all? Or--is the team completely mismatched? Or - are you saying or thinking that J. R. is a poor Manager or just that he is not being supported by upper management because there is little or no money available for buying realty decent, reliable players other than what is already in the squad? Or--that he is a good manager but the players are not heeding his advice and supporting him in his efforts? On the assumption that no. 3 is not what you feel, then are the nerves as the season end approaches with the team of ICT in dire straights, the reason that it seems that the team may now be a complete write off and the rebuild a complete failure?

With global warming getting worse, and the predicted outcome getting very realistic, then continuing to play during the wettest and most difficult months of the year, weather wise at least, is unlikely to allow for any positive change in the circumstances that prevailed before and during this match. Winter matches are , IMHO, no longer a viable scenario. Unless they are played completely under cover. Nothing is going to change in the near future weather wise and the predictions are for it to get wetter and wetter. Northern Arctic ice, just to quote one deteriorating situation, is melting at a phenomenal rate (with the Antarctic ice platforms also receding faster than ever expected 20 years ago) that will lead to flooding and mayhem in the not too distant future that you have never ever seen before. The question is.... what, if any, changes will be made by the beaks in Glasgow to counter this global phenomenon? My feelings are that they will react as they have always done, with no supportive plan for contingencies that they might reasonably have anticipated would happen eventually and have a profound and negative impact on our national game and the venues these games are played at. What is left then? Just wringing hands and clubs simply going out of business--if the pitches are completely saturated and, in addition, the fans don't want to stand outside in the freezing rain or cold etc., then what? It's often a razor-thin line between solvency and bankruptcy. As Mr. McCawber once said in one of Mr. Dicken's novels..." Income one pound, expenditure nineteen shillings and sixpence.....solvency." " Income one pound, expenditure one pound and sixpence......bankruptcy." Income