Scotty

<table width="80%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#003300"> <tr> <td width="55" scope="col"><div align="left"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png"'>http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png" alt="ball" longdesc="ball icon"></div></td> <td bgcolor="#003300"><div style="background-color:#003300;" align="center"> <h2><font color="#FFFF00" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">THE MATCHDAY THREAD</font></h2> <h5><font color="#FFFF00" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen </font></h5> </div></td> <td width="55" scope="col"><div align="right"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png"'>http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png" alt="ball" longdesc="ball icon"></div></td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <tr> <td width="100" rowspan="3"><div align="left"><img src="http://community.caleythistleonline.com/public/added_images/club_crests/aberdeen.png" alt="team logo" width="120" height="120" longdesc="team logo"></div></td> <td><div align="center"> <h2><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Aberdeen -V- ICT</font></strong></h2> </div></td> <td width="100" rowspan="3"><div align="right"><img src="http://community.caleythistleonline.com/public/added_images/club_crests/inverness.png" alt="team logo" width="120" height="120" longdesc="team logo"></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="http://caleythistleonline.com/3950-aberdeen-v-inverness-ct-preview-2" target="_blank">PREVIEW</a></font></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><stadium> Saturday April 30th 2011 @ 3:00 PM<br> Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen<br> </font></div></td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" bgcolor="#99cc99"> <tr> <th width="33%" scope="col"><div align="center"><img src="http://www.caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/twitter-icon.jpg" alt="twitter icon" width="50" height="50" longdesc="twitter icon"> <br> Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/ICTOnline" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></th> <th scope="col"><div align="center"><img src="http://www.caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/facebook-icon.png" alt="facebook icon" width="50" height="50" longdesc="twitter icon"><br> Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/CaleyThistleOnline/122778317770191" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </div></th> <th width="33%" scope="col"><div align="center"><img src="http://www.caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/chat-icon.jpg" alt="chat" width="50" height="50" longdesc="chat"><br> Go to the <a href="http://community.caleythistleonline.com/index.php?app=ipchat" target="_blank">Chatroom</a><br> </div></th> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr bgcolor="#0000CC"> <td width="51" scope="col"><div align="left"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ie8-logo.png" alt="ie" width="50" height="50" longdesc="ie"></div></td> <td width="601" scope="col"><div align="center"> <h2><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Media Coverage</strong></font></h2> </div></td> <td width="51" scope="col"><div align="right"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/firefox-logo.png" alt="ff" width="50" height="50" longdesc="ff"></div></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <td width="51" align="center" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>AUDIO</strong></font></div></td> <td colspan="2"><ul><li><a href="http://radioplayertwo.mfr.co.uk/" target="_blank">Moray Firth Radio Live</a> Commentary [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK Only</em></font>] </li> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/7742209.stm" target="_blank">BBC "Open All Mics"</a> Live discussion and Goal flashes [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK Only</em></font>]</li> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/default.stm" target="_blank">BBC Live Commentary</a> Match Commentary [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK Only</em></font>]<br> <br> </li> </li> </ul></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"> <td width="51" align="center" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>TEXT</strong></font></div></td> <td colspan="2"><ul> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/live_scores/default.stm" target="_blank">BBC</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/MatchCommentary.aspx/Inverness" target="_blank">P&J</a></li> <li><a href="http://live.skysports.com/ScoreCentre/live.html" target="_blank">SKY</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.sportbox.tv/football/live/" target="_blank">SportBox</a> </li> <li><a href="http://www.sportinglife.com/football/live/latestscores/" target="_blank">Sporting Life</a><br> <br> </li> </ul></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#E9E9E9"> <td align="center" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>VIDEO</strong></font></div></td> <td colspan="2"><ul> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/default.stm" target="_blank">BBC Match Highlights</a> (online) - [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK only</em></font>]</li> <li><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006zrbv" target="_blank">BBC Sportscene </a>TV programme [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK only</em></font>] </li> <li><a href="http://www.ictfc.co.uk/page/matchhighlights/0,,10447,00.html" target="_blank">ICT Official Website Highlights</a> [<strong>Worldwide</strong>]</li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" bgcolor="#FEFEEB"> <tr> <td scope="col"><div align="center"><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">TEAM LINEUPS</font></strong></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"></div></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table>

Yup, I will jump on the Russelldinho bandwagon too .... He is one of those unsung players and I totally agree with the "winning ugly" comment made earlier. If he is going, then I too think its a mistake, but it's Terry's mistake to make, not ours !!!! The comment about "playing for your future in every game" could equally apply to managers who are "managing for their future in every game". None of us know what TB's plans for the squad are for next year or who he hopes to bring in and I would say this comment is equally as telling as some of the others ..... "We have our targets, there are some good ones lined up which is exciting. It will be interesting to see how the new players gel and what they can do.".

Charlie likes North America, and Toronto specifically, I know cause he once told me that he and Danny loved coming over here for a tournament when they were young enough to play ! perhaps a wee trip to the new $20m home of the TFC Academy when its completed next year would be in order ... The Academy is 4 years old and up till now hasnt had a permanent home but with 5 players already 'graduated' into the first team squad hopes are high that the new home will find more Canadian stars of the future with teams slated to go as young as U-10 ! http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2011/04/tfc-unveil-massive-investment Seriously though, teams in Scotland in general and the likes of ICT in particular who are not, and never will be "rich" in comparison to others have to get it right at grass roots level so talent can be developed for the future and either form the backbone of our team or be sold on to fund even more development. I know very little detail about the ins and outs of the current setup at ICT so cannot really comment on much of it but I do know that a lot of people do not just pay it lip service. Whether its Charlie and the coaches on the frontline or Kenny Cameron, our operations director, they all take it seriously. Kenny - previously a main board director with a focus on the first team - only came back to the club a few years ago because of his interest in working with Danny and being able to focus on youth development. He is now the man in day to day charge of the club so you have to assume that Youth Development is right up there in terms of importance. I purposely did not comment in the early stages of this story as my 'spidey senses' were tingling about it. Something just didnt pass the sniff test. Not from the original poster, but just from the story itself. After hearing both sides, it sounds as simple as has been stated. ICT obviously looked at timetables, dates, accommodation etc etc etc .... and when they created an itinerary they realised that should they reach the final it might be a problem. Rather than deal with booking an extra day involving additional cost to parents who were funding the trip, and also having to deal with keeping kids off school for an extra day, they asked the organisers to make a concession in the event that they reached the final. With hindsight, the additional day and additional cost and permissions required might not have been a bad idea, and certainly not insurmountable to organise before the event, but given that the organisers of the tournament said the timetable would be moved up in the event of ICT reaching the final, they obviously decided that all would be good and timetables could be met so didnt go for the extra expense. It definitely sounds like someone was clearly miffed at ICT reaching the final and whoever it was wielded enough power and/or influence to reverse the original agreement that ICT had with the organisers. In that scenario, ICT are between a rock and a hard place and lacking in many options. Yes, we have internet and bookings etc can be made online in a few seconds ... I did it myself in Stockholm when I didnt like the hotel I had booked online when I saw it in person. However, thats fine for one person, but trying to get a block booking for a group and then trying to re-organise ferries not to mention contacting parents and anyone else who needs to give any new arrangement the thumbs up is no easy task and at such short notice many service providers will see the opportunity to charge extra as they have you over a barrel. I believe ICT did the right thing, and further to this, I also believe that this particular tournament should now be off the books if that is the way organisers treat visiting teams from other countries. As someone posted, perhaps ICT should look for some better opposition or a better and more organised competition where one person going into a huff doesnt screw everything up. I may have been joking a little bit about North America in the start of the post, but at youth level, the club could do worse than visit this continent .... In Canada, "soccer" is the #1 participation sport amongst kids. More than Baseball, Hockey, Basketball or anything else and there are dozens of thriving individual leagues in Toronto alone !! Its just when kids become young adults that the other sports tend to take more precedence.

Yup - agree with that but would expand on it by saying that the buyer also considers what they think the other team might accept ..... If a team was willing to pay 500,000 for someone like Hayes for example, I cant see them bidding that much ... they might offer 100K and see if ICT accepted it ... if they did not then the bidders can always come back and up the offer incrementally until it reaches a point where they pull out because it is beyond what they were willing to pay.

Nothing wrong with their site or their aim within their fantasy league, good luck to them, but FFS, the initial info posted on the site made it sound like it was an organisation which would lead a "real world" campaign to get the OF out of SPL football or at the very least run at the same level/tier as a 'real' league. Even if it was a real campaign, some of the verbage made it sound preposterous as well as pretentious to the extreme. And I quote ..... We have come to the conclusion that its time for major change. We have come together for the first time in order to promote our own league. If they mean providing a table that would show how the league finished without the OF, it has been done many times before on a casual basis by various sites and news organisations. Its hardly ground breaking. The aims of the Real SPL are both ambitious and forward-looking. It is a league that is not scared to think of football in Scotland without the Old Firm. We are excited by the challenge of bringing back football to the fans, making football accessible, increasing crowds going to games on a weekly basis, improving the financial outlook of the teams we support, providing a fairer basis for all teams to compete, creating a more competitive league and increasing the interests of Scottish football throughout the world. REALLY ? HOW ? We understand that the Real SPL will not take over running the league from the SPL in the short-term. So thats a long term aim is it ? If the writer seriously believed that then their head was so far up their arse that they could actually see the utter shi** they were talking !!!! We have therefore, come to the decision to run in parallel with the SPL. Bully for you. A mickey mouse league with no mandate running against another one which at least does have a mandate ! The Real SPL will allocate points on the same basis as the SPL for games played but no points will be awarded when a team plays one of the Old Firm. These games will be deemed as “friendly” against a team from a different league. The Real SPL will run from the start of the season until the normal SPL split. The team with the most points will then be awarded Champions of the Real SPL. At least now we know that this 'mission statement' was grossly over-exaggerated and all that it really is is a half-baked fantasy league that will have zero impact on the actual league itself !!! Its basically a fixtures/results table with games V the OF omitted rather than a campaign and therefore more like forum spam than any proper cause we can all get behind such StandUpSitDown or Show Racism the Red Card. Good luck to them, hope the site works, not personally interested as I think it is codswallop but thats just my opinion. As for posting any more info on here, I would rather that not be the case ... We dont mind worthy causes or campaigns but this is just an unsolicited and thinly veiled advertisement for another site and therefore forum spam. If the owner wants to advertise it more, he can email us to find out our rates !

As per the poll rules. NO. sorry. EDIT: Nothing to stop you saying who you would have voted for in the poll thread, thats fair enough ... but please dont vote on the actual poll (which is where we count the votes from).

[info='PLEASE NOTE']Links to audio coverage of tonight's match may or may not work. Supplied links are the default links normally available on a full Saturday programme and due to firewall issues where I am, I am unable to check them. [/info]

<table width="80%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#003300"> <tr> <td width="55" scope="col"><div align="left"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png"'>http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png" alt="ball" longdesc="ball icon"></div></td> <td bgcolor="#003300"><div style="background-color:#003300;" align="center"> <h2><font color="#FFFF00" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">THE MATCHDAY THREAD</font></h2> <h5><font color="#FFFF00" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen </font></h5> </div></td> <td width="55" scope="col"><div align="right"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png"'>http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png" alt="ball" longdesc="ball icon"></div></td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <tr> <td width="100" rowspan="3"><div align="left"><img src="http://community.caleythistleonline.com/public/added_images/club_crests/stjohnstone.png" alt="team logo" width="120" height="120" longdesc="team logo"></div></td> <td><div align="center"> <h2><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> St Johnstone -V- ICT</font></strong></h2> </div></td> <td width="100" rowspan="3"><div align="right"><img src="http://community.caleythistleonline.com/public/added_images/club_crests/inverness.png" alt="team logo" width="120" height="120" longdesc="team logo"></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="http://caleythistleonline.com/3919-st-johnstone-v-inverness-ct-preview-2" target="_blank">PREVIEW</a></font></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><stadium> Monday April 25th 2011 @ 7:45 PM<br> McDiarmid Park, Perth<br> </font></div></td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" bgcolor="#99cc99"> <tr> <th width="33%" scope="col"><div align="center"><img src="http://www.caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/twitter-icon.jpg" alt="twitter icon" width="50" height="50" longdesc="twitter icon"> <br> Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/ICTOnline" target="_blank">Twitter</a></div></th> <th scope="col"><div align="center"><img src="http://www.caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/facebook-icon.png" alt="facebook icon" width="50" height="50" longdesc="twitter icon"><br> Follow us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/CaleyThistleOnline/122778317770191" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </div></th> <th width="33%" scope="col"><div align="center"><img src="http://www.caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/chat-icon.jpg" alt="chat" width="50" height="50" longdesc="chat"><br> Go to the <a href="http://community.caleythistleonline.com/index.php?app=ipchat" target="_blank">Chatroom</a><br> </div></th> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr bgcolor="#0000CC"> <td width="51" scope="col"><div align="left"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ie8-logo.png" alt="ie" width="50" height="50" longdesc="ie"></div></td> <td width="601" scope="col"><div align="center"> <h2><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Media Coverage</strong></font></h2> </div></td> <td width="51" scope="col"><div align="right"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/firefox-logo.png" alt="ff" width="50" height="50" longdesc="ff"></div></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <td width="51" align="center" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>AUDIO</strong></font></div></td> <td colspan="2"><ul><li><a href="http://radioplayertwo.mfr.co.uk/" target="_blank">Moray Firth Radio Live</a> Commentary [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK Only</em></font>] </li> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/7742209.stm" target="_blank">BBC "Open All Mics"</a> Live discussion and Goal flashes [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK Only</em></font>]</li> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/default.stm" target="_blank">BBC Live Commentary</a> Match Commentary [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK Only</em></font>]<br> <br> </li> </li> </ul></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"> <td width="51" align="center" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>TEXT</strong></font></div></td> <td colspan="2"><ul> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/live_scores/default.stm" target="_blank">BBC</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/MatchCommentary.aspx/Inverness" target="_blank">P&J</a></li> <li><a href="http://live.skysports.com/ScoreCentre/live.html" target="_blank">SKY</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.sportbox.tv/football/live/" target="_blank">SportBox</a> </li> <li><a href="http://www.sportinglife.com/football/live/latestscores/" target="_blank">Sporting Life</a><br> <br> </li> </ul></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#E9E9E9"> <td align="center" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>VIDEO</strong></font></div></td> <td colspan="2"><ul> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/default.stm" target="_blank">BBC Match Highlights</a> (online) - [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK only</em></font>]</li> <li><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006zrbv" target="_blank">BBC Sportscene </a>TV programme [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK only</em></font>] </li> <li><a href="http://www.ictfc.co.uk/page/matchhighlights/0,,10447,00.html" target="_blank">ICT Official Website Highlights</a> [<strong>Worldwide</strong>]</li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" bgcolor="#FEFEEB"> <tr> <td scope="col"><div align="center"><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">TEAM LINEUPS</font></strong></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"></div></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table>

personally, I think the overseas option would be good ..... TFC -V- ICT TFC Academy -V- ICT Can guarantee 2 members of this board would be in attendance and a few more casual 'converts' !

Looks like one has been organised already ..... According to the HN, we will take on Livi at Almondvale on Saturday the 9th July. The league kicks off two weeks later.

TWTD understands that released academy central defender Josh Meekings is interesting League Two Torquay United and SPL side Inverness Caledonian Thistle. more ..... http://www.twtd.co.uk/news.php?storyid=18284

nice to see they are getting shiny new signage for their offices too .........

1. But what exactly is a conflict of interest? Is it one when they are a card carrying supporter of a particular team? if so, then yes I agree, they should not officiate a game involving that team. However, if you start to base it on the fact that they were born in a particular town/city or that they may have once - perhaps in their youth - gone along to watch a particular team then I dont think its needed. What type of service they go to on a Sunday would also be irrelevant ! 2. I believe Celtic did try to get refs to state certain things publicly this year and it was quite rightly shot down in flames. It does not matter whether they go to mass or go to a sunday morning service ... As far as I am aware no-one has proven any ref in this country to have an ongoing bias towards or against any team. As far as I see it, the biggest issue with refs is lack of ability and lack of consistency. For me it is the inconsistency that is more worrying. Whilst there may be the odd ref who truly is awful, I do not believe every single ref in the country has a lower level of capability than his predecessors, instead I believe that we the supporters have vastly increased expectations of them. With the increase in TV coverage and the advance in TV technology to a point where you can pause or rewind live TV, every armchair pundit now knows the ref made a bad decision almost before he does. Whats more, the ref is no longer allowed to make an 'honest' mistake in a situation where he has a split second to make a decision based on a view of the action that (unlike fans at a higher elevation in the stands) may be blocked by other players .... Refs dont make mistakes any more - we have seen to that .... according to us they make decisions based on a conspiracy of their support for the other team or because they are a certain religion !!!!! When it comes to consistency, thats the bugbear for me whether it is in the SPL or the MLS. We read it on here every week and it is multiplied across almost every forum for every team, and its not exclusive to Scotland !!! ... crap ref this, bad decision that, but most of peoples arguments are 'Player A' did this and got away with it while 'Player B' got a card for a lot less. Its the inconsistency of decisions rather than the actual decisions themselves that should be the first thing addressed but that will never happen until the referees association (and the SPL/SFL/SFA) stop regarding referees reports as 100% gospel and 'protected' and until certain teams stop going several steps further than criticism and into vilification of the refs. For me, the answer is to find a balance between what we can do in terms of technology and what we cant do. Our expectations are higher because of technology so I dont see the issue in using it to increase the performance of officials. I do not want to see football end up like American Football with all the stop-start stuff but if we can equip officials with headsets to talk to each other during a game then thats one way to make sure decisions are quick and easy, and if we can install goal-line technology that works, then thats another. If a ref is about to award a penalty or red card to someone I also do not see the problem in the 4th official (or perhaps a 5th official) having a simple tv box in the press area that he can be reviewing as the decision is being made so he can say "no red just yellow" or "yes penalty". It wont slow or stop the game and may help confirm a decision from a better vantage point.

12th Man and CaleyD have both made great posts .... our hearts like only one of them but our heads realise the other is also true. We have made huge progress since 1994 and that is a testament to literally hundreds of people over the years who have worked diligently and often without any reward other than seeing that progress. Lots of unsung heroes in the ICT story. I still sometimes marvel at the idea that in the late 80s or early 90s we would be talking about maybe getting past Airdrie or Raith Rovers in a cup game as a huge achievement, yet now losing to either would be an embarrassment. Our biggest hope in those days was a money spinning tie in the 3rd or maybe 4th round of the cup against Celtic, Rangers or Aberdeen and if we lost by anything less than 3 or 4 goals that would be a good result yet now we go into these games - home or away - thinking we can get something out of it and are currently several places above Aberdeen in the league table !!! Look at us now - A manager who is instantly recognisable on a world stage, a team that has spent 6 of the last 7 years (or more than 35% of our history) in the top flight, a decent group of fans, a board who we dont always agree with but who have - for the most part - steered our ship carefully around many financial icebergs and a set of players who consistently give us 100% (apart from the odd off-day). But we dismiss CaleyD's reality check at our peril. We saw ourselves what a devastating effect relegation had on the club and we made a huge push to get back up in one season. It had only been done once before (i think) and we managed it thanks to the bottle of Dundee collapsing and the backing of the board not to mention Terry, Mo and the lads. If we hadnt done it then we would have been well and truly screwed ! Destined to life in the 1st (or lower) for a few years as we struggled to regroup and rebuild - look at Dundee, Dunfermline, Partick or any other team in the lower leagues who were once in the top league. Going forward, the reality is however that we will almost certainly be one of those teams who always skirt with relegation, especially if the nonsensical 10 team league comes into effect so we have to keep one eye on that and another on the SPL. Enjoy being and ICT fan, and enjoy our moments of pride, but please, lets temper all of this with just a pinch of reality that keeps our feet on the ground and ensures we dont become 'entitled' like supporters of some other teams I love being an ICT supporter. This is real football. We are not expected to win anything which makes it all the sweeter when we do. Its definitely an adventure (and a roller coaster) but its one we enjoy most of the time...... I can say the same about following TFC in MLS too - in the space of a week TFC are snuffing out Beckham and associates in one game with some nice silky football, then 3 days later laying down to DC United as they steamroller 3 past them while the fans are heartily doing the bouncy .... football - you gotta love it

Lets face facts, Scotland is a small country in terms of land mass and given the population distribution you are going to get what might on the face of it appear to be a disproportionate amount of refs from Edinburgh / Glasgow. After that you might get Aberdeen / Dundee based ones and then maybe, just maybe the odd one from Inverness or the Highlands. Not sure if Inverness has had any grade 1 officials since Kevin Bissett but even when Kevin was an active referee there were not a huge number of refs in the Highlands capable of making it to grade 1 and the refs association was always struggling to encourage more to take part. I would say this is probably reflected in other parts of the country too. As for biased officiating .... I think it sometimes works the other way .... Refs who come from an area near to one of the teams they referee tend to go harder against that team as if they feel the need to prove they are not biased. However, bias or not, ineptitude and lack of consistency is the biggest problem, not bias (no matter how much Mr Lennon insists on this). I have just completed the processing of the highlights video and its now up on ictfc.com and totally agree about the performance of this particular ref, but I would probably say he's not biased ... just bloody crap !! There were a number of goal line clearances (for both sides) and any one or more of these could have been given as a goal. In those instances, that is where he needs to rely on his assistants. If they are mince too then he's S.O.L. !!! The first booking for Tokely was 100% not a booking and the second might have merited a yellow (for persistent fouling perhaps) if he had not already been booked, it certainly did not merit a second yellow and most refs in that situation might have said "big man your already on a yellow, so I'm not booking your for this one, but no more". The throw in that led to the goal was a piece of nonsense and should have been called back. The players had stopped for the whistle. Having said that, it was a soft goal and we should have done better. We almost lost another goal to an almost identical move a short time later. Blackie is Blackie ... he hasnt changed, pushing, pulling, cynical wee fouls and a mouth on him the size of the Forth estuary. He should have been booked earlier, but we know from experience that he can get away with things ..... we enjoyed that fact for a long time ! Overall either team would have won and I am happy with a point against the 3rd best team in the country. I would have been happier with all 3, but over the course of the whole match, and taking dodgy decisions out of it, a draw was probably fair. We dominated most of the first half, they did the same in the second and as the game wore on either team could have sneaked it. Incidentally: on the subject of refs ..... dont get me started ! MLS referees make the guys in Scotland look like the best in the world ! Two Toronto games this past week and in the first one (Vs Beckham and LA Galaxy on Wed), we got a ref who had officiated 3 games so far this season and had issued 19 yellows, 1 red, and averaged 30 free-kicks per game. After that game his tally for 4 games was up to 24 yellows, 2 reds, and he awarded another 28 free kicks in a match that was not dirty in the slightest. Beckham was booked for the 5th time in 6 games and became the first player in MLS this season to serve a 1 game ban for yellows. He came out after the game and attacked the standard of refereeing - and much as I didnt want to agree with him, I had to. His booking in our game was complete bull**** and so were about 3 others. The red too was nonsense just like Tokely's. In our second game of the week (Saturday), we got a ref who had never officiated in MLS before and for the first hour or so he was decent. He let a lot of hefty challenges go, the game was flowing (even if TFC were losing) and he was on target to get pass marks, then he lost the plot and truly became an MLS referee - 2 or 3 yellows, some weird decisions and an unmerited straight red for a Toronto player. End result ... yet another MLS referee who needs a police escort off the pitch in Toronto !

In the unlikely event that you could get away with selling bootleg T-Shirts with Maple Leaf logos and trademarks on them, a T-Shirt with the expression "Maybe Next Year" underneath a TML logo would be good for about 40 years !!! Toronto FC will hopefully be the first Toronto sports team to reach any sort of end of season playoffs for a few years .... I have a feeling. And to bring all this Toronto talk back into the thread and establish even the remotest of links to ICT, I have to mention that TFC signed Richard Eckersley on loan from Burnley yesterday so with ICT having MacDonald and TFC having Eckersley, there is at least a tenuous link between the sides

indeed. frustrating that we could not get that 2nd goal from one of those first half chances. if we did I think we would have won it 2-0 as Hearts would have given up (nothing to play for and all that). Never mind, it means that neither myself or "GaryJambo" will have the upper hand when we meet up before the TFC game tonight.

http://tfcpics.com is a site we do with pics and results/stats from TFC games (sometimes takes me a day to update it though) http://mlssoccer.com is the league site which has info up straight away. TFC are 2nd in the east after drawing 0-0 with LA Galaxy on Wednesday night.

Blackie booked !!!!! how often has that phrase appeared in an ICT matchday thread !

matchday thread is pretty 'loose' in terms of moderation.... for example, just to bring another team into the mix, its pissing rain in Toronto today so right now I am debating what to wear to the TFC -V- DC Utd game tonight (and whether anything needs to go in the washing machine) and whether or not to go via public transit (and therefore beer) or to take the car (no beer) ....... PS Scarlet - not really into hockey. been to one game ever and didnt really understand or enjoy it so give it a miss ..... Toronto Maple Laffs are pretty bad anyway and 70% of the tickets are corporate and therefore mega expensive .....

and now Tokes gets a red. bugger

Tokely clears off the line .....

sounds like we played well in 1st but have been second best so far in the 2nd.

<table width="80%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#003300"> <tr> <td width="55" scope="col"><div align="left"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png"'>http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png" alt="ball" longdesc="ball icon"></div></td> <td bgcolor="#003300"><div style="background-color:#003300;" align="center"> <h2><font color="#FFFF00" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">THE MATCHDAY THREAD</font></h2> <h5><font color="#FFFF00" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen </font></h5> </div></td> <td width="55" scope="col"><div align="right"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png"'>http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ball_icon.png" alt="ball" longdesc="ball icon"></div></td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <tr> <td width="100" rowspan="3"><div align="left"><img src="http://community.caleythistleonline.com/public/added_images/club_crests/inverness.png" alt="team logo" width="120" height="120" longdesc="team logo"></div></td> <td><div align="center"> <h2><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> ICT -V- Hearts</font></strong></h2> </div></td> <td width="100" rowspan="3"><div align="right"><img src="http://community.caleythistleonline.com/public/added_images/club_crests/hearts.png" alt="team logo" width="120" height="120" longdesc="team logo"></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="http://caleythistleonline.com/3896-inverness-ct-v-hearts-preview-3" target="_blank">PREVIEW</a></font></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><stadium> Saturday April 16th 2011 @ 3:00 PM<br> Tulloch Caledonian Stadium<br> </font></div></td> </tr> 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</div></th> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr bgcolor="#0000CC"> <td width="51" scope="col"><div align="left"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/ie8-logo.png" alt="ie" width="50" height="50" longdesc="ie"></div></td> <td width="601" scope="col"><div align="center"> <h2><font color="#FFFFFF" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Media Coverage</strong></font></h2> </div></td> <td width="51" scope="col"><div align="right"><img src="http://caleythistleonline.com/media/images/misc/firefox-logo.png" alt="ff" width="50" height="50" longdesc="ff"></div></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <td width="51" align="center" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>AUDIO</strong></font></div></td> <td colspan="2"><ul><li><a href="http://radioplayertwo.mfr.co.uk/" target="_blank">Moray Firth Radio Live</a> Commentary [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK Only</em></font>] </li> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/7742209.stm" target="_blank">BBC "Open All Mics"</a> Live discussion and Goal flashes [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK Only</em></font>]</li> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/default.stm" target="_blank">BBC Live Commentary</a> Match Commentary [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK Only</em></font>]<br> <br> </li> </li> </ul></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"> <td width="51" align="center" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>TEXT</strong></font></div></td> <td colspan="2"><ul> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/live_scores/default.stm" target="_blank">BBC</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/MatchCommentary.aspx/Inverness" target="_blank">P&J</a></li> <li><a href="http://live.skysports.com/ScoreCentre/live.html" target="_blank">SKY</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.sportbox.tv/football/live/" target="_blank">SportBox</a> </li> <li><a href="http://www.sportinglife.com/football/live/latestscores/" target="_blank">Sporting Life</a><br> <br> </li> </ul></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#E9E9E9"> <td align="center" valign="top"><div align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>VIDEO</strong></font></div></td> <td colspan="2"><ul> <li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/default.stm" target="_blank">BBC Match Highlights</a> (online) - [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK only</em></font>]</li> <li><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006zrbv" target="_blank">BBC Sportscene </a>TV programme [<font color="#FF0000"><em>UK only</em></font>] </li> <li><a href="http://www.ictfc.co.uk/page/matchhighlights/0,,10447,00.html" target="_blank">ICT Official Website Highlights</a> [<strong>Worldwide</strong>]</li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" bgcolor="#FEFEEB"> <tr> <td scope="col"><div align="center"><strong><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">TEAM LINEUPS</font></strong></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td><div align="center"></div></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table>