Scarlet Pimple

Bad decision. A possibly very high fine but it could also be one that was such at this level so that ICT could not complain and say that D.U. got off lightly. ICT should sue them. The chairman has a very good lawyer friend in the West and they should undoubtedly push for points and money. If the rules are such that they are deffo the rules in this scenario how could they get away with It. ICT would be vindicated and have more points and it would be a signal lesson to these twits in the West. PLUS, a great end to an otherwise slightly disappointing season. Go for it Kenny.

By the way, do you live in or near Eaglesham .....?

Palace strip--rather busy is it not Eagle? And, it lacks the EAGLE ? Smile.

Just a thought......but why not be managerial assistant to the ICT manager , whether it be for JH or A.N.Other.For at least one or two more seasons. Invaluable assistant but he would still be young enough , perhaps, to play a game for another club thereafter? And why not play a game or two if needed for ICT? His experience and leadership could hardly go amiss now could it ?

Er...please remember the old saying..."Be careful , you might get what you wish for ."

I was in my Western cave eating my Pacific salmon soup with the Maple spirtle that I had just whittled from the nearby forest when I read the alleged offer to Devine. The spirtle dropped frae mah lips in horror and disbelief and shattered on the pre-Cambrian rocks far below. But, when Caley Girl appeared on the scene to lighten mah load, I bounded doonhill in mah grass skirt and, retrieving it, I finished off the salmon-colored soup and feel much better now, thank you. Thonder Moose is still looking at me kinda askance, like, but I mouthed at him across the divide, "Go Back tae yer patch, Moosey." and he duly obliged., confirming that I am still the top dog around them thar pairts..... Oh, but wait, I see Tonto coming on the horizon wi a mountain sheep slung across his shouthers and struggling and screaming blue murder at being constricted---er, sorry, constrained is it (?). He's been busy these last few weeks trying to start up a herd, like. Good Lad, Tonto. Dinna ken whit ah'd dae wi'oot him in thae wildernesses. Have to replace him wi IHE if it came to a head, like. Right! Back to the flint stone, I guess.. Geez! Life gets tejious, don' it?

Och, Mantis ...there is nothing average about you. You are my hero since you are the gentleman responsible for telling me about Caley Thistle Online these many years ago. Never shall we forget that hallowed day when I woke up to the reality of life and on your advice joined this august club of fellow travellers. Remember the (wartime?) song--"You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine. You Make me Happy When Skys Are Grey...." Yes!

If so we can then approach MacKinnon of Raith?

Exactly Bughtie.!

Wasn't Leicester the team that came to the Caley park at Telford Street about the year(s)1951 to 1954?

Well, Mantis, who would have thunk it? I am also interested as to why you have such knowledge about the club and are so interested in it. I mean if you passed down Main Street in Methil these days I am sure your first thought would be how quickly can we get through this forgotten, dilapidated town...is that true ? I would love to see whatever items and stories you have and if you are into touch with Gary , the Manager, please send him my best wishes for more success and you can also mention that I will be looking forward to seeing them climb the ladder into the Premier league just like our own club. Then, if the two teams were to meet , I would really be ...TORN. ARGH!

Mantis. You know my personal interest in East Fife so could you please advise me on the difference between old Bayview and the New one (didn't someone say it was now down at the old docks area?) . How much better is the new one--if anything? This has always been a team, as far as I can assess anyway, that had more heart than money. Cheers.

Dalgety Bay, wow.! Ten years ago represents a very long time since Scarlet was wee and always needed a p...lace in the world. The Beeb did very well to have stayed in the same location for almost a hundred years as it appears . But are they as good now as they were in them thar days so long ago. Frankly, I don't even know if they still have a radio service, let alone the Third Programme and the Home Service with Alvar Laddel? Does anyone reading this remember the latter gentleman?

There you Go! Scarlet's memory has not deteriorated as much as he thought.....unless I just remember the nicer things in my past life....like rolling Easter eggs down a farmers field up the Leachkin , close to where IHE used to work or play at a later date, on a very nice sunny afternoon. I must have been under school age at that time. Perhaps IHE wasn't even born then but was looking down at us from the spirit world and decided that that was the area he wanted to be in at some future time in his life after the big event did happen.---of course the reason was obvious...that Scarlet had already blessed it with his presence and he needed to bask in it until he was bigger. Now he basks in his own bright, shining aura of good humour and excellence. Oh My! What have I done..there must be a comeback now from himself.

Queen Margaret Drive--isn't that the address of the BBC ...when I was a youngster I mean, listening to Children's hour and Dick Barton, Special Agent? C'mon Bughtie and IBM - you surely remember these programmes? With Kathleen Garscadden as the always present co--ordinator on the Children's hour.

What has happened to Partick these? As rightly stated above, they were always our bogey team and able to contain us. Two Thistles vying for dominance. Now you see 'em, now you don't. As the world turns,eh?

Well thought out and informative. advisement. Just the ticket to settle the team as they enter the unknown of another season. I wonder where, and whether, Ferguson could slot in here? From what I have witnessed he does seem to be an ambitious and hard working ICT man with more than a bit of skill. ?

Oh My! IBM . Not sure of your shape? Smile. So your dreams of rivalling J. Fangio have by now evaporated, have they? Believe it or not, on T. V. I was watching the circuit car racing in the Southern U.S. today and ,boy, do these high powered machines really fly round these loops. And so close together.....really great control from outstanding (young for the most part) drivers . There is a big controversy between the drivers from the different teams and the Body that controls the racing there, over the cheating of some teams who remove one of the 5 wheel nuts to increase their cars' speed. In many minds, this apparently renders the car less safe since the pressure on the wheel nuts is very high and a considerable body of opinion has built up that this practice should be stamped out. But the argument goes that to date such an accident has never happened to a car where one wheel comes off when driving with only four wheel nuts on their rims. At the speeds and torques engendered by these Daytona 500 type cars (correct me if I am wrong, IBM) there can only be a first time IMHO. Any comment IBM?

It also does seem a very late stage in the endgame for this season NOT to have already discussed, at least a couple of months ago, and decided upon which players the club wants to let go or re-sign. Why leave it until virtually the very last minute? Thus leaving the impression, surely, that indecision reigns. Perhaps there is not really very substantive animosity between the Manager and Dave Raven after all, merely the Manager's wavering thoughts on what money to spend and who to retain etc., contributing to the dissatisfaction of some players as to what exactly their future is now at the club. Silence on such issues may be golden but uncertainty is more destructive than the possession of knowledge as far as players are concerned. Not to mention trust. But if David has been openly critical of the Manager's tactics in the dressing room in front of him then JH may well feel that this cannot be tolerated and that any such comments should be made to him in private face-to-face. If he is right, then the player has made his own bed to lie on and cannot complain too loudly if he attracts negativity to himself from the Manager as a result. Truth is that we , on the outside, don't know all the facts and the subtleties of the various interactions within the dressing room. But it looks like a lack of communication, possibly including a lack of upfront honesty perhaps on both sides of the coin, could be eating away at the inner fabric of the club at the dressing room level which involves most, if not all, of the real movers and shakers at the club--i.e. both the players and the Manager. For those who call for the head of the manager as the solution to all problems, will a change of boss make any difference now? Think about it. If the issue is not allowed to continue to fester then no. Somebody with a strong character and a cool head needs to step in as a mediator. And this process should include putting all the cards, including the financial ones, on the table - which may backfire but at least everybody involved should know where they stand thereafter. In any business the employees want to know what management is thinking about the preservation of the business, the reasons for plans and what effect all this thinking will have on their future. Uncertainty about the future of their employer and fear for their livelihoods contributes little to the sense of stability and confidence in the minds of players and staff ; not to mention their capacity to commit 100% to their role in the club and putting in their very best efforts out FOR that club. IMHO.

I don't see JH being in the frame. His record would hardly support that. Despite the fact that he has matured with the years this is a very big job and he has not been successful at a very high level so why would the Celtic board consider him? Better to stay the course at Tulloch. Which is good for us at our stage.

Mantis--thanks for that info about the Bayview Bachles move. No wonder I couldn't recognise the view of the Firth I was seeing on the video of one of East Fife's games which I watched recently for one of their matches.--they won. Looks like they are on something of a bender again--onwards and upwards, I say. We need more minnows success stories .....

OMG .Me sides are splitting. Methinks thon lad was on too much in the way of spirits?Ha! i.e. Methyl-ated Spirits no less. Youse yins just kill me. Thank you all for your potent information about he town I once lived in, wee Methil. On Bowling Green Street. Then , as I looked out my kitchen window looking at the old codgers bowling away, never did I think that one day I would be amongst the old 'uns as well, including IHE , Bannerman and many others too exciting and numerous to mention.

Bughtie I like to stimulate then emulate and then watch as things go well In fact ,if all is good, then what happens next often rings my bell.

Just a wee word again about Eat Fife. Not only were they top of the Scottish football scene in their heyday but they have now won the Division they are in at this time and so will move upwards again next season. Whether Bayview Park will be sufficient to house the hordes of away fans that hopefully will flock to Methil is a moot point. It's not the most inspiring place on earth I have to admit but, to be quite frank, I enjoyed some of the matches there in my younger days immensely. These were the days when they played with five forwards all in a row across the park and watching the play flow from man to man was both idyllic stuff and reminded me of a top rugby team in full flight. As I have previously opined,East Fife were once so in demand for matches, even in England, that they just wore the team out and then the demise and downward momentum started . C'mon the Fifers, even if the huge coal pits are a faint memory now. Did you guys know that Methil was once the premier coal-exporting port in Great Britain. Yep, them were the days.