Huisdean

And often the chance of balanced debate as well.

Agree with the first paragraph but not your second. Jake did not show consistency, and he had plenty chances to do this so he is culpable as well in the club letting him go. Had he played, as he showed he can on a very few occasions, more frequently, he would have proved to be irreplaceable to the club but the plain fact is he did not. Your second sentence seems to allude to the fact that he was treated badly by the club, care to elaborate further?

But what you are trying to do is give previous boards credit for the good stuff while ignoring the bad and, it seems, trying to indicate the current board are much poorer than previous boards. The current board have had to deal with a lot of issues arising from mistakes/decisions from previous boards who have now long gone but have significant impacts on the club as it currently stands. While they perhaps should have been more aware of some of these issues, they didn't cause the majority of these (stand rentals, player/manager contracts etc.). We have all enjoyed the good times at the club but a more reasoned view of previous boards, and this board ultimately is required by some.

There is no room for sentimentality on this. Would Warren be a first choice pick for me next season, no he would not. If he is happy to be a squad player then fine as the club is not forcing him out as he will still be paid and used if he does not find another club. The ball is therefore in Warren's court as to what he wants to do. I agree with Doofers Dad that he has not been the same since his leg break and he has not been the same player since then. I also think the loss of Josh Meekings has highlighted how good a partnership they were as separately, they have not been as good players. I would also dispute that Warren is a good captain, I don't think he is and that shows on the field. Vigurs was a better captain in my opinion and with him gone, I would make Tremarco captain.

And, it could be argued left the club in an appalling position both financially and on the field through their mismanagement in our relegation season. To suggest that the board were as hugely influential in this as you suggest is nonsense. The board, over several seasons, did not show they were capable of building on the good times and moving the club forward.

True but if the league is as competitive as everyone hopes, then if we get off to a good start, hopefully this will lead to increased attendances negating some of the financial pressures. Not holding my breath on that though as it is quite likely Utd, County, Falkirk, Dunfermline and Partick will all have bigger attendances than us which is really sad. If Inverness truly wants a team at this or a higher level then they need to start showing support.

No he wasn't and that goal against Hibs was the only thing of note from him in his time here. He would not survive 10 minutes in the Championship. Why do some people want us to keep looking backwards to sign players?

While I knew of this relationship several weeks ago, your comment on nepotism seems a bit harsh at the moment. Give the lady a chance to see how she does, if she fails to perform then your criticism may be justified.

Nor a "dedicated follower of fashion"

Why is this scaremongering when both statements have already been made?. Everybody knows finances will be tighter next season not helped by poor crowd numbers this season especially if they continue into next.

Don't agree entirely with this. Sure the board does have to have a plan, financially, for the club but given the huge variable that is the fans who turn up week to week, that is difficult. We all know we need more fans to attend each week but nobody has worked out how to do this. The board cannot make people attend, and it is unrealistic to expect them to continue using their own money to subsidise the club unlike over the bridge. Where however the board need to do some work is improving fan engagement/involvement as only by doing that can we have any attempt to grow our fan base. Fans need to play their part too as do we, as fans, need to look at a community owned club in future as the way forward?

The reality is that 2 more wins, over the course of the season and we would be in the play offs, such is the slim margins in this league. Agree that no stand out team in the league, including St. Mirren, but this is a difficult league to get out of, just ask Hibs, Rangers and Dundee Utd. Some fans would have us believe we would either challenge strongly for the title or make the play offs easily but that was never going to happen with all the pre season turmoil. Even when we won the league before with Butcher, we had a slow start but our winning run then started, earlier than this season, which got us promotion. Maybe we have found our true level at the moment until we can regroup both on and off the field as the consequences of spending money we didn't have over the last few seasons have come home to roost. The other thing that works against us hugely is our attendances which have been truly awful this season. Falkirk, St Mirren, Dunfermline and Dundee Utd all have greater attendances than us and until we can solve that issue, if it can be solved at all, then we will continue to struggle financially. An extra 500 fans a week next season could make a huge difference to the club's finances.

Very harsh and not accurate, in my opinion anyway. We hardly had a board to start with at the beginning of the season, late managerial appointment left little time to get squad in place. Most of the recruitment, given the time constraints, has been okay and no football manager will get it correct 100% of the time. An increase in season ticket prices, as long as not excessive, cannot surely be seen as a negative or exploiting fans if it keeps the club solvent and helps recruit players. Obviously not everything in the garden is rosy at the moment but the constant negativity, dare I say cynicism of some of your posts doesn't help. Cue happy clapper insults.

Probably Doofers Dad's post sums things up best for yesterday. Dunfermline were there for the taking and had Daniel McKay taken his chance, which nine times out of 10 he will, we would all be much happier today. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Some posters are alluding to rumours about players leaving and not being able to maintain the squad which would be hugely unfortunate if that were to happen. However, we found players who, while taking a while to settle, came on in leaps and bounds so who is to say JR cannot do the same next season with more time to do so. The worry is the financial situation, again, I have no insight into this, but this is where we, as fans, can help by renewing our season tickets, turning up to games in increased numbers to try and mitigate the financial impact. Finally, I have to comment on the refereeing yet again. Finnie was astonishingly poor yesterday along with the stand side linesman. The inconsistency of Finnie, where he would give some fouls and ignore similar ones was really poor. The fact that both he and the linesman missed clear shirt pulls on Oakley and Polworth on numerous occasions, shouldn't say missed as they must have been seen but just not given, was just pure incompetence. As the game wore on , the number of soft or non fouls given to Dunfermline increased leading to the possibility of them scoring and that was what happened. Ref didn't score the goal but certainly gave Dunfermline a helping hand as if the foul that led to their goal was given, why weren't the shirt pulls on Oakley and Polworth?. That isn't paranoia, just fact. Even our bookings today were incredibly soft compared to other incidents in the game. I am not saying Finnie was biased, just totally incompetent and not for the first time. I have also read today that Hamilton were denied a stonewall penalty against Partick and the referee stated that he hadn't given a penalty as the Hamilton players didn't seem to appeal enough. If that is true, it just sums up the dreadful state of refereeing in Scotland.

Maybe as a 96th minute sub

Having just watched the highlights, they have confirmed what I thought at the time. Second St Mirren penalty was not a penalty and referee, in my opinion, saw the St Mirren player fall and guessed he was pushed. There seems to be a trend of referees guessing decisions these days, and not just at this level. I find that incredible as they cannot give a decision unless 100% sure. What would help is if refs would come out and say this after games but by not speaking, they just compound the poor decisions they have made. The foul that led to the second St Mirren goal was certainly never a foul as the player clearly dived ( I was right in line with this in the main stand and thought this at the time). Why a foul can be given for this, and a booking, when the tackle on Doran went unpunished is beyond me. No doubt refs will complain that they cannot win but they need to understand that a lack of consistency in decision making harms their cause more than anything else.

Enjoyable response from the team after going 2 goals down, where was this spirit and desire earlier in the season?. St. Mirren were a yard sharper and had greater movement than us in the first half but we made them look good at times with poor distribution giving the ball away and poor organisation at the back leaving us vulnerable on the break. Midfield was poor giving our forwards no service. First penalty was a clear penalty but not so sure about the second. Thought the players looked a bit leg weary as well. Second half we started better and were growing into the game when the referee intervened again. Both the chap sitting next to me, Bobby Wilson (Barry's father) and I thought the ref was booking the St. Mirren player for diving but astonished when he booked Trafford and gave a free kick against him. To compound things, it looked like the free kick also took a slight deflection before going in off the post. Didn't see us coming back but getting the first goal seemed to lift the team and their sense of grievance against the referee probably helped. Now to the referee. No excuses for the first penalty as Donaldson was culpable. Second, to me looked like a push on our player so doubtful one for me. Clear penalty when Doran tripped, Vigurs clearly held in or just outside the box with nothing given and Daniel McKay looked like he could have been quite easily fouled for another penalty. The St Mirren no 11 constantly fouled throughout the game, often cynical fouls but no booking. Trafford booked for his alleged foul which led to the second goal but when Donaldson cynically fouled when bursting forward, no booking for the St Mirren player just highlighted how poor the referee was at times. In fairness to him, St Mirren players were looking for fouls all the time and going down with minimal contact and he didn't but it most of the time. Maybe if he booked these players, then this might have stopped but referees are so inconsistent with booking players for simulation. Would have been good to win seeing how other results went today but as others have said, there is the nucleus of a team there and we need to build on it.

I think Charles hits the nail on the proverbial head on this. If CJT ever gets functioning properly again, then they could play a huge role in getting better communication between club and fans and it is much easier for the club to communicate on the bigger issues with one supporters body. I have no issues with the club pursuing any other avenues of communication such as Facebook etc but for major issues, having a representative supporters body is a must. Was not at Perth and have no knowledge of any incident but we do have an element of fans who are, frankly, a disgrace and who appear to want to become our version of casuals. I have no issues with the club statement what so ever and some of the criticism of the board on here is embarrassing. If people think they can do better, then try to get on the board and change things which brings me back to CJT.........

Couldn't attend yesterday due to ill health so had to suffer coverage on BBC Alba. Obviously not a great game but we won FFS. The continuing negativity from some posters is just incredible. Sure it has not been a great season but we now have to finish as high up in the league as possible and properly prepare for next season. In hindsight, the relegation may have been just what we needed to get boardroom changes and a fresh start to trying to move the club onwards.

It does seem the club is damned if it does and damned if it doesn't on this. Some fans okay with what is happening and others obviously displeased. There does seem to be an air of constant negativity over many posts these days, much of it stemming from, in my opinion, unrealistic expectations of some fans. We are where we are this season, need to avoid relegation, which I am confident we will, and put in place a team and plan for next season. The current board has to be given a bit of time to sort this out as they are picking up the pieces from poor management at every level within the club including promoting occasions like this. A bit off topic in places I know so apologies.

While not a direct answer to your question Charles, I do think we need to start rearing more of our own players and give them a chance. This is something we have never truly done, maybe the players haven't been good enough although I personally think not all of them got the chances they deserved. Rearing our own players and then, hopefully selling them on for a profit, has to be part of the way forward for us.

Large but not necessarily good enough

Agree with your first sentence as Kilmarnock fans and team being forced to travel to Aberdeen in worse conditions. With regard to your second sentence, this is totally uncalled for in my opinion but isn't hindsight a wonderful thing.

There are probably many supporters who would consider joining or assisting CJT but are simply being put off by the actions of the CJT board. While a family bereavement is hugely upsetting, the reason you have a board is that others can step in when required. CJT seem bereft of any understanding of why their role is so important. There is certainly also some blame to be attached to fans not getting involved previously, myself included, but there does appear to be a genuine upsurge in interest which CJT should be encouraging, not ignoring.

Looking at how easy it is to get booked by referees these days, and the inconsistency shown by them (persistent fouling by Harkins yesterday but no booking, blatant dive by a Morton player, acknowledged by the ref but no booking when we have had at least two players booked in recent games for allegedly diving, albeit in the penalty area), much more difficult to keep 11 players on the pitch these days. We certainly haven't helped ourselves this season though.