Scarlet Pimple

I agree with IHE's summing up of the young man's first post--you put a lot of work into this excellent effort and this is appreciated. Just for the record, Stevie May runs only on his front toes so I wouldn't offer him a full wage until he lands on all his toes. Like "coming down to earth" so Stevie May focus, like? Then he can give us the full Monty. That's fair, what? Meantime we could go after Gardyne of Ross County who can wriggle and roll with the best and can make a mean pass to boot. As for the beans issue, are you aware that Heinz has now devalued their beans by half-filling the can with colored water--my wife knows food alright and she attests to this duplicitous crime. The Pimpernell organisation has been on the case for half a year and the results are now in. They still haven't learnt that doing this puts clients off the product and thus Heinz has now put hundreds of Canadian workers out of a job by closing their very large plant in Scotty's eastern territory in Canada --only a hop, skip and a jump from my place in the West, i.e. about 2000 miles away. There was no pension for the fallen, and no prospects of another immediate job being offered. Sign of the business times, eh? So, why would you buy a loser's beans? I don't because I've already bean there, done that and instead I buy the "No Name" brand which we all know, though, is sold by the already horribly wealthy Canadian owners of large Superstores ,like the fabled Jimmy Pattison whom IBM would love to learn about since Jimmy made his original fortune selling cars. Now he hob nobs with the Queen . But at least we get a full tin and a rather naughty taste which heats up the blood and even might be described as rather saucy. I could go on but I fear the wrath of the beaks so it's goodnight from me and it's goodnight from him --er, was that Ronnie Corbett perhaps?

The fate of Caley Thistle from now on will be like the attraction of love-making --- it's an up-and-down process. And that's s why we unconditionally support the team through thick and thin 'cos we love 'em? eh?

Thanks for putting up the footage Manfer. You're a brick. I have viewed these highlights and ICT could have scored a few more if lady luck had been in attendance. But then, again, a miss is as good as a mile, isn't it? Bad luck in not scoring is matched only by the fact that you do have to accept the bad with the good and, frankly, just get on with it. It is, and ever will continue to be, quite impossible for every new year's team to meet all our expectations and we will just have to face the fact that sometimes our team will merely engender our expectorations. Last remark by approval of IHE. I do feel that the somewhat beleaguered Bughtie is merely trying to dwell on the positive aspect of support, as he has done consistently from the very inception of his membership, rather than the brutally frank, but often seen to be negative, criticisms of the team. He conveys the impression that he firmly understands that attempting to emphasize the positive is preferable to the negative since it is more inspiring, uplifting and motivational to everyone around the club , especially when times are tough as they are now. I agree with that philosophy because who wants to be around moaners all the time and we can't get out of the doldrums by putting people to the sword for every slip-up, be it players, managers or Board members all of whom must, anyway, by now be keenly aware that their livelihoods are at stake one way or another. When we hark on about simulation I have to smile as I dwell on an action which is once again negative when we could just as easily place a letter "t" after the letter S and start a thread on how we can uplift and motivate . I am very far from suggesting the restriction of anything anyone wants to opine about ICT except that I simply prefer the tempered route at this juncture because I sincerely feel that it will bear more fruit in both the short and long run. As one of my more poorly-motivated ex employees once intoned directly to me when I fired him for ignoring my specific instructions on how to do a job ,and nearly lost my company an important contract as a result,.."You will get more with honey than with vinegar, S.P."

IF you mean Augusta., that is. Smile. You know the song,"Georgia, sweet Georgia. Ah've gat Georgia on mah mind, ....etc"

Georgia, USA , Scotty i.e in the sunny south of that large land.

Caley Jags sums it up for me. It's remarkable that we even came so close to top 6, let alone be alive and kicking despite so many setbacks. Injurie galore and the devastating loss of a significant portion of our best players before our new uniforms had even got dirt on them--what some folks expect from the very experienced John Hughes is unrealistic to say the least. He's not a magician with a magic wand, just a good coach doing what he humanly can with an obviously very restricted budget. He only won us the Scottish cup and finished very high last season which, let's be honest came as a very satisfying surprise to all of us. What we need at this stage is a steady, very experienced hand on the tiller by a man who has already proven his worth when he had the opportunity and playing personnel to do so. To suggest we remove or replace him with another, probably unknown, quantity before he has hardly even had his feet under the table is ridiculous, inexperienced knee-jerkism and fanciful thinking at best. His signings and development of players should be lauded, not easily forgotten. And, when R Christie took off for the bright lights of Glasgow, his loss was not Hughes' fault but surely as much as anything because of his training and guidance for the young man- which shows he still has it up top, football wise. To appoint a person to the Manager's position who has great football talent and energy but without, apparently, any - on - the - job experience in that role would, at this point in the club's development, probably be reckless both for the club and for that person's own onward progression in his chosen career. Assistant manager, possibly, but not to be sent into the lion's den in full charge of the team--all the book learning and reading in the world is no substitute for the real time, on the job experiences of life. To be frank, one needs a few losses and crushing experiences in life to grow, develop and mature and in this particular situation the potential devastation of same could simply not be worth it.

Just one thought...is he , in his opinion, trying to be truthful? Or just stating facts as he sees them because he thinks he needs to say something?

Some interesting takes . Agreed that continual passing back to the goalie is a sign of weakness or of lack of confidence , or both. Either way it is an abdication of responsibility and, in a sense, a passing of the buck. Which has been a source of frustration to my little overseas soul several times ; maybe 'cos I feel that winning games depends directly and absolutely by aggressive play in the opposing team's 's half of the field, not ours. In the games I've seen, albeit on video, it is very frustrating to watch because there is no way a lovely blooter from the goalie into the opposition's half of the field is going to guarantee forward progress into a dangerous area for us at all. Without possession, and without a definite idea in the minds of the players what they can do with the ball ,IF they get it, where do we end up? Generally speaking, Yogi should forbid pass backs to the goalie which are unlikely ever to even have half a chance to win games unless it's a last desperate act to save the opposite team from scoring, like. And heavily fine full backs who get rid of the ball by passing across the field to the other full back in an "After you Claude" pose . What does the left back think the right back is going to do with the ball anyway ? Deliver it forward,? Surely not -- that might actually contribute to the possibility of scoring for goodness sake? And, if so, why did he not think of such a stirring move, himself eh? Plus discourage sideways passing in a tight circle because the goal is at the North end not the east or west end and if the ball reaches that goal area it's a heck of a ways away from our goalie. So what's to lose? Meaning that forwards and wingers must be up the field ready for some sort of a pass and ready to contest for the ball if need be. Looks like maybe SP should take a break, put a wet compress on his forehead and take a pill. O.K I will, so there!

A hearty thank you to Manfer and his elfin helpers who set up the HIGHLIGHTS reel on the ICT video channel . When Daddy P told me it was on the ICT channel I fell over a chair to get to the computer. Now I've got bruised shins, a bruised ego but a great day out in sunny Dingwall under my belt. And more to follow for the future Highlights on the Reports as promised by that man of all seasons, tm4tj . What more could an ex-pat want? What a lovely day, a lovely crowd turn-out and a heartening victory over a somewhat bemused County team. SSSH! but truth to tell they didn't seem to have a clue how to cope in that second half. Now, if only we had been able to play like that against the Hibees, well.....that's another story for another day eh?

Can someone please post an url for these highlights on the forum? Just asking nicely....."Brother, can you spare a dime?" or "Will you please help a lame dog over a style ?" If not I will have to go to Scarlet and watch him blubber like a small, discarded child and that's a sight you never want to see or listen to. He's just such a baby. Kindest regards from a doting father . Daddy Pimpernell

Some good posts today. From a lot of folks. Aging IHE put in a "steady the ship," restrained (for him) and thoughtful post and Always Blue responded with an equally restrained and non-belligerent, careful, "feeling the waters" smart reply. Goodness Gracious, our posters might turn out to be alright and that's only after one great game too. Amazing how the footie gets under your skin and keeps you on the path of righteousness...eh? Jeez! I'm just feeling so warm and fuzzy all of a sudden that I might just let Charlie Bannerman give me a hug when he next sees me in the flesh, 'cos I still can't quite understand all of his high-fallutin wordies, I'm afraid. Chas ,do you eat Oxford English Dictionaries for supper perchance? The last time I said something similar to my wife's son's wife's father (he's a teacher too) and told him to come down to earth a bit he didn't cuddle me at all and now won't speak to me either. But I know Charles is of sterner stuff and I can get away with it--can't I Charlie?

Ronaldo---. Excellent recovery from a tricky situation. That's the kind of error you expect Mr Pimple to make. He's good too --always has an escape plan to hand.

The Emperor, dear visitor, is extremely frugal and has no clothes on because he feels that his original dress when born suffices.

Some truth to what you say, CIF Still, it's not over 'til the fat lady sings and even if she croaks, there's always next year.

This season has been a circumstance of team dislocation, discombobulation, disappointment, deflation, doldrums and denials. All we can hope for is that we can at least avoid relegation and a win at County would be a great lifter of the spirit. I think that losing all these better players at the beginning of the season just caused tremendous disruption within the team, physically and psychologically and it threw JH for a loop. Imagine his feelings after he had achieved so much....?. \ I'm a bit deflated I must admit but at least Richie has recovered from that awful injury and next season he will be back, one way or the other, in full force and in fine fettle. Maybe big J was right when he opined that last season we had was the season we will not have again but ,...time will tell.

Mantis--That comment TRUMPS anything I can think up. Just wanted to see what would come of it. And you came up Trumps --showoff.

3 yards? -that's only 15 feet.? OVER!??? Sorry, I'm just in disbelief. Same old, same old.

It's 12.35 past noon here in beautiful B.C, and I am about to enter into a hectic search for info on the progress of the game. Like you, Scotty, with fingers crossed and heart a few beats higher than usual.

Rig is RIGHT! Right Rig? Most past Managers have stumbled badly one way or another. It's human frailty that all of us have suffered from at one time or another, I guess. Scarlet excluded of course. Why, I even see David Moyes , who stumbled after going to Manchester United , is now in the frame to take over ....wait for it.....Celtic , or some other high profile Scottish team. I read that this morning on the SPL site. Perchance is it D for David and D for Diddums. After all, there must be several teams that would love to have him in Englandterre ---at a reduced salary? J H has had rotten luck with the loss of many valuable players AND constant and debilitating injuries restricting his choice of players and the flow of, and the positioning of, the team. What a challenge he has had this season. As I opined in another thread, to consider letting him go now is both astonishing and mindless. It would worsen the final placing of the team, depress morale and create a shambolic situation with very unpredictable results. Of course, winning another Scottish Cup would immediately turn the negative critics into happy clappers who would claim that they always knew that Big John would walk out a winner, etc. and all must therefore be forgiven. I wish life was as simple as that .....eh? Cmon the Caley Thistle.

YES!

What struck me when I viewed the highlights (a big thank you to Manfer for getting them set up ) was the number of balls that were booted way over the bar. Surely JH has noticed this flaw and has been working on it at training? If not, he must be mad since some of the efforts , frankly , were rather ridiculous and a complete waste of energy altogether. Even a wee lob into the goalmouth is far superior to a blooter a mile over the bar - every time. Of course, I appreciate that playing against a packed defence like that was a difficult task but even if every ball hit the bar and rebounded then that's another chance to for the boys to score. Also, it's easy to be critical when you are desperate to win but if you don't accent the positive then how are you going to motivate the team? Emotionally, it can't be easy for them to try as hard as they appear to have done and get beaten by one goal. Nervousness and tension must have played a part and it sucks confidence out of any player when relegation is even whispered let alone discussed openly. And talk of sacking John Hughes at this juncture is knee jerking at it's very worst. Bloody madness, no less.This is the worst time to even consider it. The team has already been greatly disrupted by the loss of players, injuries and newbies trying to find their feet so all that could result by taking such an unwise step would be to generate utter chaos and probably relegation. Get behind the team, I say, and let's stop dwelling on so much irritating negativity--please.

IHE , did you find any evidence of manic depression during your assessment of T B?

Somebody said somewhere.."Bring back Butcher" ..... Unfair and counter productive. No chance anyway and , after the way in which he left for Hibs, if he did ever grace the seats at this stadium half the remaining fans would quit.

Lost many of our excellent players early on, seemingly constant injuries, our captain out and possibly will be lucky to ever return permanently now and chopping working out for us. So, to blame J H entirely is not an accurate assessment of where to place blame. Because we can easily forget that the money available in the kitty is not overflowing the edges of the barrows that some folks easily forget are not there. How can we hire great players at a time when the season is coming to an end - they are all committed to their present clubs at this time and may be on big bonuses to win crucial games . I agree wholeheartedly with the posters who prefer attacking football rather then defensive football but with positions chopping and changing is there much room for manoeuvre to completely commit to the former ? Fear of relegation and so on will also be putting both the Manager and the team under pressure which creates tension, the bugbear of the ability to play flowing and/or attractive football . My fear is that at this stage of the season it could be too late to be sure of fixing the situation and it's at times like this that I feel that we have to support the Manager and back the team to the hilt .

Most importantly,. although it may be a wee cup, it add more spondoolacks to the coffers of the clubs involved.