Scarlet Pimple

off-course?

The very fact that Robbo went to east Fife appears to indicate how much he loves the gemme. Methil is a basic one-street town which, at the time I watched East Fife every week, was more or less there to service the coal ships. Wellesley colliery was a big ticket item in the books of the National Coal Board at that time and the Royal Bank of Scotland in Leven supplied a massive amount of paper money once per week for the workers' wages --we had to work overtime in the evening once per week without extra pay to service this entity. The manager of this colliery lived directly opposite to us in Methil and a nicer couple you could not meet. but, truly, there was very little of beauty in the district. The team that I saw, however, was quite well supported and I did see some very exciting games there which did whet my appetite for more in the future. . So footie must be in Robbo's blood and he must have yearned for it to take that job. It also shows how diversified and non-critical a gentleman he was and probably is to this day. i.e. He's a mature man now and deserves the nod. Let's give him a big cheer and get on with the game as someone else said on here. I think that you are going to be surprised at what happens this season on the park.....Stay the course dearies and cheer him on. Yep, life can get non-tejious don' it?

If it is John Robertson then all I can opine to the Board is "What took you so long?" J, Robertson has been in my mind for quite a long time although his name was rarely mentioned.in despatches. Experienced, enthusiastic with a bit of a temper as I recall -- at least the latter quality shows that he CARES. . Good luck John if you get the job.

-mel them up.

Red

Re this, it's important to learn what the club paid Richie as a parting gift and whether or not any term in that Agreement relating to his dismissal was fulfilled? There wasn't much time to engage in long, back and fore monetary negotiations. Therefore whatever he received has to be taken into account in deciding what the club can now afford by way of a salary to the new manager....unless, of course, the directors have deep pockets .....? Not a heckuva lot I would think. Leaving the option of hiring someone with Sheerin's background, which apparently is very good but without the benefit of his having any top level management experience, not only a fair shot but a necessary one. The added advantage is that he played for Caley in the past and did well plus acquiring friends in the club etc. and this should allow him to settle easily and more quickly than perhaps another name might. Then you sweeten the pie by restricting the initial term of the contract to one year with a proviso that if the club comes back up within the first year in the Championship he gets an attractive cash bonus (say 12 per cent of his salary) plus a renewal of his contract for a further two years at an increased salary level of some 15% to 20%. Now that emphasises the positive and includes nothing negative that might be construed as a threat which could be viewed as counter productive to good relations. In my mind that's a very attractive incentive for him to work really hard at his game-plan whilst allowing him to gain knowledge and tactics enhancements as he goes forward - both for his benefit and for that of the club. Not to mention the mere fact that if it all goes West then neither party can say they were hard done by and nobody really loses their shirt as they mutter under their breath (Jings, life gets tejious, don' it".) Let's face it, it's a long shot with any new Manager since nobody comes with any hard and fast guarantee of success.And there's many a slip twixt cup and lip....

Jelly.......... Roll Martin ...........(the Jazz Great)

(for) babies

And if we did appoint a well-known name we couldn't possibly afford his wages. Look at David Moyes, for example. Apparently it's unlikely that he will get a managership in England again--at least definitely not one of moment in the short term. Not to even think of mentioning the strong possibility that he might not be at all successful up here for a variety of reasons.

Joeys.

Except that you probably will eventually O.C.G.? Mmmm?

"Just gifted I guess" ? Cute humility there. Brilliant! Another Canuck I presume with great presence of mind and a desire to please and get along without recrimiinations. Now that's why we are liked all over the world. In short, a right down regular Canajin, in frae the sticks and a wee bit exhausted by the efforts he put out in his canoe escaping frae they pesky Injuns hollering in the woods "Come back, come back, we need you." O.K. I might just be a twisted sister but at least the lad is trying to leaven up the scene which sooooo badly needs it the noo, Renegade, old chap, go easy on the boy --you never know, he might be a 6'.4" inch lumberjack with muscles like Arnold used to have, who has come up here from Washington State in the U.S.to Vancouver, Canada looking for more logging work. These guys wrestle bears-- and I don't mean black bears who are always bigger than he is and weigh a heckuva lot more, but the real, ornery, grizzly type. Them critters can run as fast as a racehorse! !That's right--you never knew that did you? And the type you never ever turn your back on and attempt to run away from. Just try to look inconspicuous, walk steadily backwards and hope and pray you don't fall over a tree which has previously fallen over the forest pathway. Going into the woods with a suit of 13th century best armour adorning your wee body does help to postpone the inevitable of course-for a few minutes perhaps. His claws are so big and strong that, for him, it's like ripping paper. Oh well, it's back to the grindstone and our grief........next?

Kenny Cameron was also a very polite man and welcomed approaches and ideas from really genuinely interested parties who wanted to express their opinion politely and with well thought out views. And if you were lucky enough to be a guest of the club this visit would inevitably turn out to be a super experience where you would leave that club at the end of the day glowing with happiness and satisfaction. Now that takes real caring and a genuine interest from his heart to generate those kinds of feelings in any fan. And he was more than willing to share his time in advancing solid ideas in practical form alongside the person who wanted to actually do something positive. I know that to be a joyous fact from personal experience. There is no need for me to elaborate further but those who now denigrate him simply don't know him, his generosity of spirit, his sacrifices on behalf of, and his love for, the club and his willingness to give positive support to any suggestion that had any chance of success both for the club and for the enjoyment and emotional fulfilment of the person/fan who approached him for his support. Not to mention the glowing cheeks and heart of a little, disabled boy who once had a whale of a day on a matchday prior to leaving Inverness for another place. Good luck, Kenny, and God Bless You for all your hard work and loyalty to our Caley Thistle football club. .

Wynthank --I feel you may well have it spot on.!

Procedures

But I didn't say, BDU, that only authoritarianism was required. It's also about setting an example and imbuing the players with a passion and desire to always do their best and to try very hard to win well. In short, treating them with respect but getting forceful ( in private perhaps) if their performance rarely shows greater effort or a high edge to it, in an attempt to inspire them to put out a greater effort which the manager thinks they have in them. I am sure you know that not every player has the mind, personality, or self respect to always mentally take a manager's thoughts on board. If they resist then they may have to be let go because you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. Maybe it's his past upbringing or he feels that all he has to do is put in what HE thinks is always a good, average shift to get by. This attitude can be disruptive to the team, so punt him. That action alone might smarten the player up sufficiently to change his ways. Who knows? What I am really saying is that where there is little enthusiasm in the player for always putting out his very best effort and it's not in his current make-up to normally do that, then the Manager should seek out and sign players who have been watched consistently and display character and personality as least as much as skill. All the skill in the world is of little value to the team if the player continually fails to put out effort and deliver. In the modern times you mention of having to handle players with kid gloves, it doesn't necessarily mean that the manager has no authority. Just drop them and then have a very firm chat with them stressing that if he wants to stay in football he will have to change or else. And, of course, it's crucial too that the Manager has a good, consistently fair, personality which the players can look up to, respect and play for.

Aye, och aye!.........

Players nowadays appear to be paid the "going rate" which effectively has little (nowadays) to do with ability . Whether that is to the liking of fans such as Chas. Bannerman is another story. But if buying houses is anything to go by in comparison I'm afraid that nowadays you either pay the huge amounts asked for on the listings or live in a tent. The housing market here in Canada and, from what I've reviewed in Scotland, has gone completely mad. So much so that a young couple hoping to be proud owners can only have fond hopes to sustain them over countless years of hard work and attempts to save enough to put a downpayment on the wee hoosie they like most out of a cheaper, bad bunch. My new house, which we entered in January 2013, has already gone up 59% in value. It's meaningless though because where do you live if you sell? You will die before you cash in unless your son or daughter loses their mate in a car crash and asks you to come and stay with her or him. So, for the currently-unmarried get on with it, sire many children and live with the most successful and ebullient of them 'cos they are probably the winners. Football is no different. And to be honest it's even like the cost of food, new cars, foreign holidays etc., etc. The world has gone cuckoo, dearies, so praise your players so that they at least try to give you some real value for money but the days they are a changing so don't hold your breath. Once the gloss is off their transfer- in- fee and they have cashed in their first few cheques the possibility is that they will relax, feel they are financially safe as houses, have reached the stage in their careers where they are finally getting the recognition they think they deserve but rarely got in their past clubs and play to the level at which they really feel that they either like their manager -- or not. As for the coming season if we don't bring in a highly motivated, restless, new manager, then don't hold your breath about realising a quick return to the Premier League. Even the very best of thoroughbred horses needs to be shown the whip occasionally as a reminder of who is the boss. Not as a threat but as a reminder that he, the jockey,is a human being who also has ability, passion, grit and determination to win and he won't accept anything less than the best that that horse can produce. Also known as leadership without which failure also looms. And remember that the really top jockeys rarely use the whip but convey to the horse in some wondrous communication of psychic energy that they are a team and the team has to win.

And, of course, we don't appear to have been informed whether or not Richie resigned or was politely shoved out the door. In the case of the first event there may still be a penny or two in the kitty since they maybe did not have to cough up ALL of that money that he might have claimed he was entitled to? In the second case he would, almost certainly, for all the reasons oft repeated for weeks on here, have insisted on getting his contractually-specified pound of flesh. Good for you, Mr. Foran because that was probably the contract term to which , at law, you are entitled. And we almost all,, to a man or woman, agree that in all conscience you did try your best but just failed to inspire so you are in a similar position to the likes of David Moyes and many others left in a similar failed position who all walked out the door with their briefcase bulging with dough.. Why you were given a 4-year Agreement, however, is the moot question of the ICT day.........

face-p.....

Zeppelin

I think Peter Houston indeed is a solid performer. He certainly had Falkirk jildied up to face ICT in the Scottish cup final. Could be worth a chit chat. Butcher was a traitor who was definitely, in my humble opinion, in close contact with the Hibs Board BEFORE we even knew about it. Then he sat in the stand with their Directors before the plug was even pulled out fully. No thank you. John Hughes ...well he walked out in a huff it seems and his exit was far from non-controversial and did no particular good to ICT. Any future contract would have to include terms for repayment of the extra money he got for non-managing ICT immediately after his departure. ANd a stronger contract put in place between the parties to ensure that that situation did not happen again. Problem is that , generally speaking , a leopard does not change his spots .....eh?

Er....? Why?

Could still be a dual citizen gentlemen and ladies of the jury. When he hears the Pimple is a Canajin + dual citizen he will be impressed then? And I should contact him for a free stand ticket the next time I am over on holiday.....eh?

pencil