Scarlet Pimple

Noticed there was a fair crowd over 6,000 at the Stadium today. Long may it continue. The Dons were supposed to have been bringing 1500 so that puts a damper on the total figure of ICT supporters attending wouldn't it? Fantastic progress now under way aided and abetted I hope by another big crowd soon.

Wow! This reporting is somewhat different to the one on the SPL site. The final words (condescending?) were "....." an entertaining game." Meaning what exactly.......?

Did not read that Kenny Shiels is in the frame again. He left his last club with acrimony tainting the air. Yet he seemed to be a hard- nosed, successful Manager. He could be hired--these are desperate times at D.U. Comments please?

"The best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley" -- Robbie Burns.

Brilliant humour and not a word was spoken.

Quite a guy, for sure! Ultimately became a a team Manager but was sacked.(I suspect due to a disagreement with management rather than stupidity or incompetence). Much later the owner of the team who sacked him and Y. B. came to emotional terms and an apology was made to him in public and graciously acknowledged with the words ..."It's Over". His quoted words.."When you come to a fork in the road, take it ." is so succinct and filled with either promise or dread that it resonates with me. What springs to mind for me at such a time would also be the ode..." The tide, if taken at the flood leads on(or can lead on) to greatness.". For me I have taken many a fork and had many a challenge, both good and bad, and many a great moment but not greatness itself--depending upon what you use as the yardstick of the latter element, of course. Truly, my overall sense is that one's road is under the guidance of the spirit world and is already mapped out for you before you are born. Otherwise how can a good medium foretell your future and you subsequently find that it all comes out as stated in the wash as you move right along?

Very insightful ,12th Man.

Looking good !. Thank goodness for the ICT videos so that we world wanderers can keep up to date. Such a blessing. Storey can play and he is gritty and spirited and determined to do well.. Once he gets used to the rougher Scottish game he should be just fine.! He could do very well in the team with the right encouragement if he keeps up this enthusiastic attitude--and what a cracker his goal was. His reactions are very fast and the Hearts players had a hard time containing him I think. Their answer was the rough stuff and general tripping. It's no wonder their coach told them off after the game. Apparently he was reminding them that this is the SPL not the Championship and that they will have to work a lot harder and better to stay up. From the video it did seem as if we played at a higher tempo and had their measure for long spells. Encouraging performance.

I suppose he could try rolling around on the grass crying out strongly that the ref was the best thing since sliced bread and he, John, had never seen such a magnificent performance etc, Then they couldn't nail him for being too critical or nasty and they couldn't prove "sarcasm" could they because that would attract criticism about their two-faces approach. All in the tone of voice that John Cleese used to use in his Monty Python sketches which actually was hilarious as he ramped up the anti with heavily emphasised sarcastic remarks in louder and louder voice tones . Of course, some folk would be out to get him no matter what and would exhaust themselves by proclaiming that he was a nutter. Heh! Who cares?..sticks and stones will break your bones but names can never hurt you --the results on the park are what we care about and we could all then jump to his defence with more sarcastic remarks about the ref and have a field day in the papers. .....just a thought.

And, frankly, I have a strange feeling that right now Iain Vigurs is living a bit in his past and is a bit cowed by his history and is somewhat afraid to put his foot in it and fail perhaps again. Apart from anything else if he doesn't make it in Inverness what would his future turn out to be at this juncture? In other words, he is perhaps currently feeling his position and his play does indicate a bit of hesitation as to making it more robust e.g. he appears to be avoiding tackles. Anybody else have the same feelings as I do I wonder? Is the flair there, like?

Good video. A black eye....eh/ Don't worry about young Silva. Our man of the moment, JH., who is indeed rather tall, will take him aside with an arm around his shoulder, tell him that he is his Northern dad and when the young player asks him "yeah right, what's yer name then?" Mr Hughes will reply .."Why , Long John Silva, young 'un. And don't give me sauce, Jim Lad, or I will put salt on yer tail. AAR!

My. My, "go down, even if you are unhurt etc." What a cynical way of looking at things. So cheating is fine so long as you can get away with nit eh? Now. Now! Wynthank 15. By that token wait until the boot is on the other foot and then say nothing, just grin and bear it --stiff upper lip and all that eh?

That's a hard post to follow because , yes, Vigurs is more experienced and when he sets his mind to it he is a rough ride for any opposing player to handle. Christie has youth and verve on his side but what I have seen of Vigurs suggests that he could be a stalwart for ICT if he listens to JH , works hard on the training pitch and plays up to his potential. He's a determined fella and strong physically. Let's hope his sojourn at ICT again proves to be a cracker for both himself and team. Whether he could ever be more than just a player woul depend on his mental capacity to listen, learn and apply what he learns from John the One. IMHO.

So Sho-Silva was sho-boating eh? It all goes to show that showing off works. Shoot! Them shocking shenanigans are not suitable for ICT. Hope you agree but suits me if you beg to differ. Meantime, back at the ranch. ......"Slainthe!"

Maybe the rough and tumble is not quite what Richie's injury needs to strengthen the leg at this time. A few more weeks' rest would do him no harm.

Bughtmaster--

Yes IHE, she does have nice teeth.... agreed?

Mantis--how do you know what you know about these teams------your post of 11 July?

He is just a kid. To the Naysayers and the negative criticisers of him. Give him and all of us a break, please. Best thing is to be kind to him, wish him well and he will remember that in the future. Let's hope he does very well at Parkhead. Then Celtic will be back for more good players as time progresses and that will help us to stay in existence and allow us to continue to produce great and skilful players. We could never afford his salary ever. Frankly-speaking I would rather criticise the huge salary than the young man Because , as I said, he is just a kid..........

So what's your view of West Ham these days. Pretty sprightly and spirited team these days eh? Went up north a week ago and handily whooped ...?

i.e. "Photos and Videos" ...then " Wonder Reels"....then select the picture with the words "the Dopamine Rush" printed on it. Go to bottom left of picture when it opens and select the white arrow link in the bottom left corner to start the video.

The MLS refs are a wee bit too hasty to blow for, and award, fouls . The players are equally far too quick to make these fouls , especially when it is a spot where danger near the goal is apparent. The cynicism and lack of demonstrating that they know the difference between right and wrong is significant in this league. It's all about money and little about ..."let the best man win". So refs blow for every small or big infraction. A shoulder charge is usually milked for everything as if his heart has been attacked with a machete.The lack of rectitude and correctness in the attitudes of both teams bothers me so much that I just get fed up watching it. The best ref I saw at a Whitecaps game in Vancouver was a South American who was big and brawny, but very cool, quiet and decisive. He brooked no arguments and made it very clear right from the start that the infraction was real and the guy who made the challenge needed to stop whining like a wee *****, accept it and get in with it. So what happened was that you rarely saw the ref after that and the game progressed with little chirps of the whistle to a satisfying conclusion. Talking to the players extensively is useless but in this case his steady, quiet and completely unruffled demeanour sent a clear message that he was in charge and they had better understand it. Willie seems to be a bit of a histrionic nut but he did a good job of the Final for both teams and he may get very much better as time progresses. Like my South American laddie he kept his whistle tone down and did what a ref is supposed to do, interfere as little as possible and maybe keep the heid a lot more. I think the players respond to that since they know that he really wants a fair game for both sides.

Seems as if perhaps someone with influence has it in for Young storey. Maybe , as a result , his confidence is shot Could need.N a motivator - - like J.H. ?

If you don't end up with sweaty palms and a higher heart rate and teeth clenched then check your pulse because you may be dead: Warning --this is not for the faint-hearted. Like me..... http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/pwdr-stash?tags=Wonder+Reels&media=Videos&page=2 Then click on "Photos and Videos" on the right. Then scroll down through the picture video links until you find this one on the right side. The titles are on each picture link.