Scarlet Pimple

And what are the main reasons that the crowds have not increased in your view?

Desperation?

The last two posts highlight the real issue--what money is available? If you agree, then without this knowledge really we are all whistling in the wind and probably some of the wind is just hot air. But, are we at a crossroads? .........Maybe! What then? Well, ask the question..." should we take the new road?" and the answer comes back "take the new road " .....because what really is there to lose? You take the new road and new opportunities arise, new challenges, new interests, new development and growth in your life. Nothing is forever and life is short so we have to savour the moment and seize opportunities that are presented to us. If you feel that your task has not yet been completed and that you should stay with it regardless of the severity of the current challenge then do so and go with your heart without spending too much time looking back. And you always come out ahead, regardlesss of which road you choose. Why? Because if you fail then you have been challenged to do better and you need to dig deeper into your past experiences and psyche to find the correct road. And, if you don't fail, then you have the satisfaction of knowing that your choices and personal growth at this stage have won the day which in itself will lead to even more challenging opportunities for growth which you can now approach without fear of the risk and with greater confidence Stagnation is the alternative. So we look forward to hearing from Mr. Hughes' as to his decision on his future pathway. The slight complication in all this, however, is the fact that he appears to still be contracted to ICT until the end of his agreement. And maybe he has to consider not only what is right for his current circumstances but what the right thing is that he should do?

Well, now you can do it yourself, Charlie. Get your little plastic bottle, put in a small dose of baking powder and salt (I mean SMALL otherwise you will be coughing and in pain for a day) screw on the plastic tube and rubber squirter, place into nostrils and squeeze. Clears yer head and sinuses very quickly--and any infections if you do it regularly every day. Then you can think clearly and continue to impress us with your eclectic, energising, electrifying, and high -faluting excellent elocution.. Just kidding , teach.

Would you sign Gardyne if available. Seems to be a dynamic player as a front runner?

And they, the Board, are all we've really got to keep the club stable, afloat and ticking over. They are the fulcrum upon which all activities spin. Managers come and managers go and if Mr. So and So can't stay for two years without upsetting the apple cart and not necessarily feeling that the best course of action is to meet his or her obligations, do his best for the club and then see what develops towards the end of his contracted tenure, then what security does the club have, never mind the manager and his future? It's a two-way street and our loyalty as fans is to the club, not to the manager. If he is on board with all that the management (i.e the Board) is trying to achieve and maintain then he should have our full support in his decisions until it is plain as a pikestaff that his way is not working. I repeat, he was basically an out of work coach when we intervened to hire him and give him his chance but what is being suggested seems to indicate that maybe some folks think that the coach is in charge of the club, not the Upper level Management. --which is a very dangerous precedent to even think about let alone consider implementing. Did we hire the Manager just to allow him to fail or not? ..Meaning, if he succeeds is that NOT what we hired him to do? Last season was a very good club performance but it must be stated that he also had a settled team with good players. Now we find the other side of the coin is showing and what has he achieved to date in this season? This season is the real challenge for the new manager to prove how good he really is because one swallow does not make a summer. If he feels that the player resources are not to his liking and the season may therefore be a failure, thus ruining his chances of future glory elsewhere, then the options for him are :- 1.Play on MacDuff and do your best .....or..... 2.Resign and again enter the relative obscurity from whence you came.

Looking at the SPL online site and the distribution of play between the teams where we had, allegedly, far more possession.What is happening? Has the departure of all the leading players drained the teams' emotional banks? Not criticising, just querying?

Zipper

+the fact that it doesn't do much good for anyone to stand in the way of a good player who wants to continue to be upwardly mobile.

Trout

Of-a-Bhoy

Me too Oh Great One. Jest joking jolly japer.

cook

Oh IHE--how could you.....? Lovely lad who runs defences ragged. Can also score a nifty goal and a half and I for one hope and pray that he is the answer to the loss of Billy Mackay and an example to other players what hard work and solid endeavour can achieve. Sign him now. Has a neat mod haircut as well -- If only I had half of what is left on his heid I would be back to my youthful endeavors again which will forever remain unmentionable on here.--to do so would risk IHE's mocking tones accompanied by several references to that fine animal the Canajin Moose...1500 lbs of muscle and might.

The Scarf--oh yeah, well remembered. Lad with divided loyalties I fear although there always were dubieties about that........"Surely Caley and Rangers fan." ?

I was addressing Medieval Mickey, but thanks for responding ICT Paisley. You are correct--it was Obree, played by Miller. My memory banks tend to play tricks on me these days and have become rough around the edges.That was a down to earth and very good film which I enjoyed......especially the alleged corruption amongst the Cycling officials of the time. These people in charge at that time hated to see a newcomer interfere with their devious plans and put every obstacle in the way of Obree to stymie his winning efforts. The more recent Lance Armstrong fiasco seems to indicate that dirty tricks and so on in the cycling world are still a feature of this sport.

-Leroy

O.K Sorted then? Since you are interested in cycling do you know about or remember Willie Miller of Scotland. Sure I've got his name right . Came from humble background to World Champion (in the velodrome,) in the latter half of the last century. They made a lovely film about him which is was on the T V here in Vancouve,r Canada recently. Cheers mun. ?

Vancouver don't seem to have the full measure of the NY team. They just win against the Whitecaps in the last minute or in some other bizarre way. But they are normally a team to be reckoned with. Play-offs looming up.

type

The club gave Mr J H.ughes Yogi) a chance to rehabilitate a career in a downward dog (Yoga) position. However, in fairness, as the parents of Ernie frae Wigan once intoned...."oooh didn't he do well.? So all's fair that ends well so to speak. Yogi stuck to his guns when he encountered resistance as to his methods and that showed belief in his own precepts and his individualistic spirit, so all praise to him for that. The club also reaped the benefits of his single minded, dogged approach to training and inspiring of the team and therefore so finger pointing in either direction is a complete waste of time. Let's get on with it and all parties can work together for the good of the club. Which, ultimately is the only positive way forward for Mr Hughes and his future career. Another 3rd place finish and another Scottish cup win will have managers all over Britain knocking on ICT's door and Johnny the One will have no need to worry about his future career. IMHO.

Kingsmills is right. Steady the buffs .

Personally speaking, I think that both parties should take a step back and think carefully about the outcomes left behind, salvage all the good parts and move on in the right and positive frame of mind. The club were within their rights to ask for compensation based on past results and the club's development under Mr J.H.and the chairman was in the right to stand firm on this point. The Dundee United boss must be out of his mind to approach John Hughes and/or the club and expect NOT to have to pay a goodly sum for his services. When you think that good players go for much higher sums of money how can you underrate a Manager (who is the guy in charge of the whole development issue, for goodness sake) who has performed admirably and with courage heart and soul and over the past 1.5 years done so well. Not knowing what was discussed at Board level or what has transpired between the parties within the club, I have no further comment but one thing I do know is that Mr Cameron acted firmly and correctly and no one at the club deserves negative criticism.

Eh?