Scarlet Pimple

Then cast your mind back to earlier days when fans were saying .." It's so refreshing now that Richie's style of attacking play is so different from that of J Hughes." What has happened to change these feelings I wonder? I've seen some great football on some of the highlights so why is all lost in the minds of the moaners and groaners? Truly, is it really ALL Mr. Foran's fault? Or are the players, perhaps, not buying into his instructions because they are not taking him seriously or don't fear or respect him as much as they should because they think he is still a rookie manager? Isn't this as much of a major change for them as it is for Richie Foran? Going from Hughes to Foran is like going from the ridiculous to the ...? Or is it forgotten that the team has suffered some major, devastating and team upsetting injuries this season which have thrown them right off track? Which, in turn, has now sadly affected their confidence and the fluidity of the team? And the team has suffered some bad luck also, e.g. penalties not given by refs when they should have been, etc., this season. So the team as a whole is probably down and disjointed at this point and not liking it any more than the fans. Thus is it not the time to really get behind the team and be fair to Richie by at least allowing him one full season at the helm before calling for his head on a platter? Without the backing of the fans he's like the players brought in who don't get a chance to play and remain on the sidelines or on the bench etc., so never get the chance to develop and boost their confidence levels. So his head is going down ( post match interviews) and you can't blame him for that in my mind? All of which seems to me to be counterproductive in terms of training the employees to be ready for the inevitable injuries and bad breaks that come with the territory and leads to the undermining of the team's solidarity and so on. And who is to say that any other Manager would be able to make that much of a difference, better than what we are encountering in the present situation, than the man in charge right now? The Board is NOT going to sack Richie just because the team gets relegated so any chance of having him dumped before the end of the season is fantasy. Financially alone that would not be a wise decision and we all did previously realise that he was not a fully experienced Manager so we had to expect the possibility that this might not be the most successful season ever? Do you think it is possible that the Management did not understand the possible negative consequences of the appointment as well? Of course they did but I feel sure that they also did understand the possibility of future success with Richie once he DID have experience and that was reason enough to award him a four year contract because they knew that Rome wasn't built in a day, funds were dangerously low in the club and he was committed to living and working in Inverness over a long term---not like previous Managers whose loyalties lay in self promotion, self advantage and self aggrandisement.

Oh, and I have always liked Polworth . He has heart and a desire to succeed which I wonder has possibly been drained out of him for lack of recognition. If the present crop of current consistently selected players are not cutting it then Mr Foram has to be ruthless and try some others and give some of the former group a rest.

I agree with giving Fisher a real run out to allow him to fit in and develop. He's pacy and has a cracking shot on him. And giving Monsieur Doumboya a rest may well be a realistic and timely decision. He has offered the odd neat move but he is no Jimmy Johnstone and is not consistently dangerous is he?

Doumbaya lacks support which you feel is why he appears to be no longer effective? Perhaps as the front man he might be expected to turn and make a bee line for the goal and or direct the ball goalwards very hard and attempt to score more often? Is that reasonable? Otherwise what's he going to do with it if some other player actually passes it to him as you appear to suggest is presently not happening? Pass it to another player to the side of him?

If you refuse to play him then you don't allow him the chance to fit in and develop. So why the heck did you get him in the first place? You can't judge a book by it's cover and you have to read it through before making judgements. Maybe the boy just needs ENCOURAGEMENT. A great book is... www.destiniesinmotion.com ........ and, yes, you have to read the reviews first on the website and then read this large book through to the end to savour the flavour .And, no, it's not just about animals....

Well, you may be right, Lionel DZ was at least entertainment!! And when his moves came off we reacted with delight. He was different, not sterile and not boring and he at least tried his best.

Several posts have highlighted the role of the referees in past games and commented that we have not been given the benefit of the doubt in many instances. Is this a valid criticism and what about the added comments (one from Richie himself) that we are not getting the whistles because we are a "diddy" team at the bottom the league implying that refs think we are not worth helping-or something! ? If there are handballs in the penalty boxes which are never called by the ref is there not a way to complain to the League for video evidence to be provided. e.g. In ice hockey in North America one complaint made by a team manager against a referee's decision (usually immediately after a goal is scored) will be immediately reviewed on the video reels of the match AND, if necessary to get rid of further disputing, a call is made to Toronto for the beaks of the league to review the game video in real time to decide the issue. Usually this is a fairly quick process and finishes the matter fairly and quickly. Maybe what I am asking is why is there not a similar goal line video camera and similar technology employed in this way to immediately settle the possibility that refs may genuinely miss stuff and then make unfair calls and decisions.? MONEY?

ER.....? I was paying attention to the Development League IHE and please, be nice to me,...just don't say it's the same thing ..

S.P 2 Donview? -- Still in creation.....maybe. Don't worry; if it ever happens he's bound to be a chip off the Old Block for sure. Talking about absentee posters where have you been these past many months? Do you ever attend the Aberdeeen matches these days I wonder?

And the Donald is there too on the lower left of the picture. The Guy just gets on every front page doesn't he?

And Yngwie calls for commentary from JM Barry Wilson but needs reminding about including J Barrington Dalby as the Interval Summary reporter.

Pulsating match from start to finish. Two very well matched teams. A real chess game of football. Toronto was very prominent in the attacking role and Seattle did an absolutely fantastic skilled an obviously highly coached job of defending. Their Manager had his team set-up to a "T" expecting wave after wave of attacks and preventing any real super shots directly on goal. Seattle's goalie made a fantastic, desperate, finger tip save to thwart a great header by Toronto which seemed sure to be going in the net. Had Toronto scored atb this point in the game then it seems inevitable that they would have been able to go on to win this match. And that more or less finished their push to win. The crowd were stunned by this save but I'm sure they were all as awe struck by the keeper's ability to recover from a near fall and his abllity to even get his fingers near the ball, as were myself and the T.V commentator. The shoot out with penalty kicks was a heart-in -the mouth affair and the agony of the Toronto player when he hit the underside of the bar and therefore missed the opportunity of winning the game was heartfelt all over the stadium. The pitch was in tip top condition despite the freezing temperatures and also looked great. Under the carpet heating etc. did its job and the pitch did look in superb shape. Kudos to the ground staff who clearly had worked their butts off to get it suitable for this match in well below freezing temperatures. Suffice it to say that nobody left before the final whistle but the stadium emptied very quickly of Toronto fans at that point. I also enjoyed the cup-hand-over ceremony and the obvious delirium of the 1500 or so Seattle fans who braved the elements to fly over 2000 miles for this match. Somebody had to win and the Americans had their tactics spot on to turn back wave after wave of red shirts. All together a fine, absorbing match. And all the fans seemed to be very well behaved.

DD-well we do actually have a poster on here named Buckett. It's just that we haven't heard from him in a good while.......... ? Pity.

Not to mention the facts that other teams' managers may have sussed out our weaknesses and style etc.

How can we think that the Dons will continue to be interested in a player who can so easily be depressed, or gone off the boil through disappointment or feel aggrieved at what he may feel is his divine right to a transfer on demand to better his career, or even just plain boredom or such, just baffles me. The owners of Aberdeen F.C. are ambitious (because they have invested tons of money in their new stadium for one thing) and need players who will constantly have a forward-looking and positive attitude to their game and who will give their all for the club. Otherwise, Jimmy, it's....TTFN...... Ta Ta For Now. And perhaps it would not be a good thing for Miles Storey to return to ICT, deflated in his ambitions. It might overwhelm him and lead to him turning into another player with a definite lack of interest. Frank Kelly speaking, methinks it's not good to go back, only forward into the unknown. If it fails and it hurts then that's fine since you will have learned another of life's lessons one of which is either to put more effort into your place in the scheme of things or quit and move on until you do find your niche. Been there, done that, like.

IHE, I assume your question about the once semi-great GG is addressed to S.P.? That being so you must know that the Pimpernell organisation has spies in every quarter of the Globe and yes, I know about him. But what is now known is not worth repeating so onward and upward, eh?

One assumes that Tulloch will continue to pay the City property taxes? Or will ICT need to pay them?

So you are saying that Gary is no longer Gary Glitter,.eh ?

Surely much ado about little. Children should be encouraged to sample as many different experiences as they can get otherwise they will eventually become stereotyped, narrow thinking clones of their parents. The more thoughtful of them will grow up with an ability to make correct choices regardlesss so let's encourage them to do whatever turns their crank. And Old Caley Girl I admire your spirit and never think that you should feel that you may be a mere woman compared to the male characters on this site who may just be mere male chauvinists who were deprived or broad and varied experiences in their early days and may not be able to see the other side of the coin or the advantage of weighing up things by making comparisons. Your reports and common sense are a joy to read about.

Except that nobody is saying that he is a bad person. Just that his form is claimed by some fans on this site to be off this season. If so then it's up to Richie to offer a word of encouragement and to remind him that unless his form (i.e. at least his effort) improves then the chances of his getting a move to the Dons or elsewhere could be be severely restricted OR to simply let him know honestly that he may be dropped if he doesn't put in more effort. If it's about complacency or a lack of motivation, or getting to the root of the problem(s) of a player gone stale, then that's the Manager's responsibility and he has to take action one way or the other if he feels that the player is not playing to his potential. Mr. Foran has a good eye and a shrewd grasp of these matters and so it's fair to expect that he should take action. If after these options have been used to get to him the player does not respond then complacency could be the root of the issue. Yep.

Nothing like a little yeast in the mix to liven things up, eh?

Except...would Storey relish what he might view as a backward step to ICT and could we possibly afford the wages that he has become accustomed to now? And is Aberdeen still interested in Tansey if he is not still consistently showing the best that he can offer to the team who is currently paying his wages? I also like the comment about the possibility of his not now being able to rely on players being in the right spot for his passes? If so what's to stop him doing the surging forward himself on occasion to show how keen he is? If he wants a move he may achieve that only if he adopts the aggressive attitudes and dynamism of his boss ,Richie Foran, in the latter's former days as a player which wasn't that long ago? Just a thought or two...

If you have been reading up on the J. Barton fiasco at Ibrox you will see how much money terminating his contract is going to cost the Rangers F.C.to allow them to be able to unceremoniously kick him out. Literally hundreds of thousands of pounds. The word is that he could not stand the heat of his comments being ignored on the training ground, general big-headedness and the shock of finding out that his skills were not quite up to dealing with some of the more audacious and younger players in the Scottish Premier League who promptly showed him up by beating him handily on more than one occasion. Coming from the glories of the English League to the lesser lights in Scotland doesn't seem to have quite worked out for Joey. (Isn't a Joey a Kangaroo in Australia?)