Scarlet Pimple

As a happy man he may be at ICT until he retires . He does appear to love the Highlands and his family is also settled here. Since this is now about a local lad whose feet and future are firmly planted in Inverness, we should support him 100% , through thick and thin IMHO. End of story.

Oh IHE how I wish we could return to the balmy days of HMS Sneck and the blue submarine as escort. What have you up your sleeve for this season under our new Manager, Foran and our new forward, Doran?

The time is 7 p.m in Western Canada on 15th June 2016 and I am watching the Euro Soccer Finals in Marseille. The first half has just finished at 0-0 and I am convinced the the referee is known to me and is a Scottish referee who is, well, controversial. So I'm on the computer now to find out who the referee is and I am right . it'sssssssssss .......... WILLIE COLLUM. So far this has been a good game with Albania not only holding off the French but outplaying them.....excellent defence, great passing and cool play from Albania. Not only that, they have had more chances to score than France and could very well win this game as the French players are now falling back. As for Willie C. -- well, he has had a very good game. Non-controversial and quiet. No histrionics, crisp decisions and kept things very much under control. Looks like his performance ratings by International standards are adequately earned. Are we giving Mr Collum a bum rap perhaps -- at least instead of encouragement?

Barrow in the Furness , North West of England, district eh? One of our former members named Clydie the Horse, who entertained us oldies in days gone by was owned by a gentleman who ended up there as a nuclear development team staffer/scientist. Anyone still around who remembers him..? Not a terribly prepossessing place I am afraid (industrialised) but the surrounding Lake District area is the very opposite. But you know what they say in England.. " where there's muck there's money, lad."

I saw some videos a few nights ago of the "Caps playing against a couple of U S teams and wondered where all the spectators were .Then I noted that they were not playing in any kind of a park that might be classified as a stadium so started to think they were simply playing a training match or a friendly and I was so puzzled that I was wondering if I was hallucinating. It was then I noted the number 2 after the names of the teams and the penny dropped. Then I had a good laugh at myself for being so naïve. Apparently the word "Reserve" doesn't feature over here in this context. Onyhoo, I will be looking out for these games in the near future. That new, tall 15-year old lad placed on the roster by the Whitecaps does have considerable potential and is not afraid to take on more mature players and have a go. We can onlwish him well. His background has a bit of a "Rags to riches" tone to it so we shall see what we shall see....

Caleyboy, maybe that remark directed at the auld Pimple might have been fairly accurate but go easy on the Kingsmills loon. His heart is deffo in the right place and he is a staunch ICT supporter. Yes ! Er ....you are awful but I do hope you like me, though.

If we are hoping the new lad will score a few for us we will need to give him plenty of encouragement because if he comes up here with preconceived ideas that the pace is slower and the quality of the of footie is less than what he has been used to he may go into shock, may not even be as fit as possible and take his time to fit in. I mean some of the games are torrid and the pace can be upped too so I've noticed. Just a thought.

http://www.whitecapsfc.com/post/2016/06/09/highlights-vancouver-whitecaps-fc-vs-ottawa-fury?autoplay=true The Canadian Cup I suppose you would call it? As far as I recall ,they were also defending their cup win last year. Here are the Highlights of the 2nd leg in Vancouver today after being soundly beaten by Ottawa at their home a few days ago. The Ottawa performance was far below par for the 'Caps, mostly because they were not fielding many of their first team players and could not even score one goal so inept were they. I was also surprised by the tactics, the effort and the determination displayed by Ottawa. Vancouver also fielded a 15 year old young man stated to be brilliant. but he was not really in the game. Today, however, appears to have been a different story and the Manager of the 'Caps knew very well that a loss today, or a failure to score enough goals to overcome the deficit against them, would not sit well with the very supportive fans etc. Hope you enjoy these highlights. Note the massive crowd--very difficult to assess but I would put it at over twenty thousand fans who are really into North American soccer these days and having a great time as well. What a lovely day for a soccer game it was too. A couple of days ago here in Maple Ridge (on the West coast) the indoor temperature was 89 degrees. Last year was the hottest year on record here in Canada and already this year the signs are ominous.

Old Caley Girl -- och, lass, ye dinna hae tae walk Miles fer a guid storey. Just doonload a tale for all ages like www.destiniesinmotion.com and then your day wull be purrfect. Ah hope, onyhoo. It's like, a very smart and up-tempo cat can show you a thing or two in how to survive against the odds. 5-star Review from "Readers' Favorite ", the largest review company in the US, can't be bad ah suppose. Oh No! There's a Teach hovering in the wings -- I think he is going to belt me for going off topic . Sorry guys, gotta go. Back to the grindstone and continue carving my statue of KC shaking hands with RF for display at Tulloch when we next win the Scottish Cup and ah need mah lovely hands fer that gig fer sure.

OH IHE= = you just slay me! Totally brilliant caricatures. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! In my young day there was no such thing , however, as sex education. That was still a mystery wrapped in a conundrum. And if my parents knew I was thinking about it they would have given me a good wrapping and told me to stop day-dreaming and get on with my homework. And as soon as they left me alone I reached down into my schoolbag to draw out a copy of ...........?

Anybody have the update on Chris Hogg.? Has he fully recovered?

Yes ! Did Riordan not have a troubled past --I seem to recall something......?

Scotty That's a really nice picture of S.P. in his prime. I will be disappointed if IHE doesn't come back with a better one......?

Delighted actuellement. It's a harbinger or things to come, :- Fresh start with a down-to- earth grafter who does not appear to be obsessed with his own brilliance.Fans onside as well'. To sum up: Just wait until the team walks out onto the pitch in the first game here at Tulloch and you will then know the extent of the encouragement that the home fans are willing to give to Richie and the team. It'll be a blast..

Oh! Kingsmills, now I am depressed again. But I love having the last word so...... "Word."

If the excitement at Richie's appointment continues unabated then perhaps the turnstiles will click a great deal more and the extra revenue coming in from the additional fans could offset the payment demanded by Mr J .H. That is, equilibrium and a clean sheet for Richie.

Methinks other Premier league clubs' upper Management are not daft and will think long and hard before offering him a long-term managerial job. His girning in public must have made Mr. K. C. and his associates squirm and other clubs will surely have noted and reflected upon the goings-on at our place. Mr. J H has probably over-reached himself this time. He must always remember that it is the paymaster who pays the piper and therefore calls the tune. it looks awfully like this time he may have measured once and cut twice instead of the other way around.

Charles--well done! Feeling gooooooood now? When will your Mars visit be over old chap, you've been up there a whiley now haven't you? ? Can't compete with an ex-teacher though that's for sure. And so I am going to give Scarlet a real wigging (I didn't misspell that did I?) just so it never happens again. Poor old S.P. he just repeats what he has read elsewhere on Scottish sites or a newspaper but really he has no excuse for such higgorance. He definitely needs to be teached by someone who really knows what he talking about, that I do grant you. Next time he will do all he can to read up on Wikipedia or he will answer to me . And here he was thinking it was all about Richie. Just shows you how wrong you can be , eh, Charlie? Aye. Luv yah, Daddy Pimpernell

We must move on now. If we get behind Richie Foran and the Board then the fans will get behind the team as well. Richie seems to be a different personality to Mr. Hughes. More self-contained, he understands the challenges facing the club with finances and a limited ability to sign new players and is a hard worker who understands that money alone is not the answer to the challenges that will face Caley Thistle from now on. Further, he is on good terms with upper-level management and consequently he must have learned to speak thoughtfully and is unlikely to get petulant about things and spit it all out in public. He has done his badges (according to reports on here) and obviously has worked hard to befit himself for management. People grow into their positions and so will he. Along with his growing experience will surely come a growing confidence and his character has already been demonstrated by his tenacity and determination to come back from what is a devastating injury and this alone should be highly motivational to all the players. Not only that, this also represents a terrific opportunity for Richie to further his career knowing, as he appears to, that it is not always about skill but the three "E's" -- energy, effort and execution. Ally these to determination, an indomitable will to win, together with hard work both on the training pitch and on match day, and we are home and dry. i.e. Let's remember what the Scotsman, Stevenson, said about the invention of his steam engine, the ROCKET.:- "There is no limit to the speed we can achieve if the engine can be made to stand it".

OMG David-, -you are awful, but I like you!

I just love coming on here. It's my daily uplift and I always know that I will, more frequently than not, continue to experience the humour that some people have on this site. Sometimes I roll around in my chair when I read some of the posts as they keep me chuckling for a few minutes. ....as in the previous thread. I see we are attracting more younger posters and want to welcome you-all warmly. You can't find a better footie site anywhere so slide in with your comments and enjoy every word you read as you learn the ins and outs. Bye, and good luck to all of us for the upcoming season -- the fans, the club, the players, the staff ; AND the management who are changing as well. The statements made by KC on the main website do appear to show how much they now realise the importance of our very engaged fans and supporters to the operation and the fact that we do feel a need to support their efforts. And the fact that they are reporting to us expansively also shows a new camaraderie of spirit and the need to support every positive move the club makes. Frankly, I've got a healthy and upbeat feeling about season 2016-2017 ...how about you?

If Richie gets the job I think you can be sure that there will art least be attacking football--just the ticket to get the fans back through the turnstyles.

There is no use in trying to sum up all the different posts that have been made on here since all aspects of his tenure here, including his unique personality, seem to have been covered. And it's up to each of us to separate the wheat from the chaff and decide for ourselves what is factual, rational and accurate. As much as anything, I suggest that his public statements, and actions (such as ignoring the fans at the cup final venue when even a casual wave would have been an obvious gesture of both recognition, delight and a SHARING of emotions) often made in a negative-sounding manner, increasingly led to the inevitable decision to terminate the connection by the Board. And not just by the Chairman. IMHO this was a decision made in unison by the whole board. Despite all his achievements he felt that he was entitled to greater recognition perhaps and therefore just had to speak up without due consideration to what the outcomes could be from such bold frankness. Yet he was the Coach/Manager, not the spokesman for the club! The Dundee United affair highlighted his deep frustrations and keen ambitions but whether they coincided with that club's needs, or just were representative of his feelings about his own greatness and capabilities, will always be open to debate. Constantly hammering away at management for more funds to be provided to allow him to implement his grander plans, when he appears to have been advised repeatedly that the limits within this club were finite and had already reached, was one of the stubborn attributes of his personality that did not allow him to contain his emotions and deal with it. Had he been able to present a more diplomatic and gracious outward attitude to the public and the press he would have continued to endear himself to both fans and club management alike, all without washing the dirty linen in public. If he felt that opining negatively in public, however obliquely, he was going to get the fans on his side or sway the Board's decisions on the financial issue then he was mistaken. This Board is not weak as has been previously suggested, but very practical and clear in their goals .... there must be a limit to expenditures in order to secure the future of the club as the first priority, unless some wealthy entrepreneurs come along with money to risk and burn. John really did not appear to be a deep thinking diplomat and relied on outspoken public remarks to attempt to get what he wanted. They may even have been accurate or correct but could hardly have either influenced the Board to meet his terms or disposed them to see him in an ongoing kindly light. He was a rough diamond with talent but IMHO he forgot his place........and humility may not have been one of his strong points. As some other poster put it -- a rift between the Chairman and the Manager as catastrophic as a probable "not speaking" relationship indicates a very serious problem which could not have been allowed to continue, and wasn't. Perhaps future contracts could also be re-written to make certain things more clear to future prospective managers. That is....if they didn't run a mile when they first reviewed it? Meaning, we may need to search for a younger person who has a lot to gain from coming on board on any terms that are clear and rational and make it quite clear to these prospects that the bosses are the bosses who, within reason, need to be accommodated to ensure the survival of the club as the first priority. And that prospects with a future and are ambitious understand that they have to prove themselves before being in a position to dictate anything to the Board of Directors .

It's inevitable that somewhat negative comments are now the order of the day in view of the way in which this season has finished. But ,in every case where one door closes, another one opens. This presents a fantastic opportunity for the Board to experiment ---well, just a little bit-- and appoint Richie Foran to the position despite his evident lack of managerial credentials/experience in this top flight. However he has some great strong points which I may, deferentially, suggest would be: a. Great player with skill and drive--the younger players would look up to him , seek his advice and be well instructed. And Richie is LEADER. b. Relative youth on his side --which allows him room to experiment and implement strong plans with knowledge and enthusiasm as the backdrop, whilst gaining every day in experience and confidence. The players would not necessarily look up to him as a God but, being closer to him in age, there might actually be a greater rapport and understanding between them of what he had in mind to achieve success. AND, if they liked working with him ,they would soon realise that this would be a golden opportunity to listen and learn and further their own careers as well. c. I don't think, despite all his affection for the players, that if they tried to NOT take him seriously then they might very well get a shock since I don't think he would be the person who would suffer fools gladly. Players would follow his instructions or he would find those who would be willing to toe the line and work hard accordingly. Add to this his indefatigable drive and determination and who knows what an upbeat, confident team could achieve. d. Being a younger man there is also a strong possibility that Richie may favour the younger player because such players are more quick on the uptake, more ready to seek out and accept good advice and are generally stronger and fitter. All of which opens up vast prairies-full of ambitious lads all ready to accept a challenge. Good youth like challenges. Period. e. So, rather than sit in my rocking chair with my proverbial Indian pipe and moccasins to hand, may I respectfully suggest that getting Mr. Richie Foran into a managerial chair as quickly as possible would hardly be a big mistake but more likely to be a golden opportunity to raise the bar in this, yes, experienced, League but at the same time realise that his team would easily run the legs off the other guys in short order. There would be no slackers on board and who the heck has a better plan anyway? Summary: Golden opportunity 5 ...the other ancients 2.

I think I was trying to make the point that they shouldn't be allowed to get away with it otherwise it could become a tit for tat free for all. 'Well they got away with it, sniff, so why can't we?" As for the Banks, IBM,all I can say is "many a word spoken in jest.....". Look at the RBS for a classic example of a decent outfit having gone on the downward slide. I saw a piece on the local telly about the banks and Freddie the Fearless Fly Goodwin, the former Board Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland., whose 3 year law suit has just ended NOT with a conviction against him for his part in the financial disaster created under his watch, but a not-guilty verdict--all this despite the fact that he got a few millions in a settlement after he had resigned from the Board, bought another house after selling his last one for millions and is now a very wealthy individual. Meanwhile, back at the ranch ,we note that the shares fell from great heights to a smaller 25 cents or something and then the British Government had to rescue this once stable and highly-thought of bank to save it from the knackers''s yard. Not that the Scottish or English Banks have proved to be unique since we can also remind ourselves of the Wall Street ponzie schemes that bankrupted half of American in the last decade. You know, what the "Donald" is on about as well as Bernie Sanders, the latter seeming to at least have his head screwed on a bit tighter than the competition. OCH! Scarbaby , it's the end of the season ease off and awa an get a wee snooze. Help my Smilies won't work. Cheers guys and thanks for the memories.