Scotty

For the avoidance of any/all doubt, we would like to confirm that the user "Birdog" has confirmed that he wishes his account to be deleted and we have actioned that request. We did not ban him or delete him of our own volition, we merely did as we were asked. TOPIC CLOSED since the original poster is no longer a member.

Ian McCall kicking a paint tin in the tunnel at the TCS .... I think he thought it was an empty tin and the look on his face when he realised it was full and he had just burst it open was pure class.

Blame the SPL then - as well as Setanta, ITV and the club themselves ..... The BBC are only allowed to show a certain number of minutes of highlights from each game. This is the relevant part of the agreement relating to BBC: "...right to broadcast up to 20 minutes per Outside Broadcast Match and up to 5 minutes from all other Matches (subject to a minimum of 2 minutes from any Match) for use in a BBC highlights programme broadcast on linear (traditional digital and terrestrial) television channels. The BBC will have the ability to simulcast this programming via bbc.co.uk" However ... the CLUBS "...have the right to broadcast video of all games live outside UK, after midnight in UK for a live Setanta game, or after 10pm for non-live games"

LOL - I doubt it ! morning meeting probably, likely to be at the stadium, and will probably have to ask for a couple of sugars in my coffee. but that suits me.

no problem birdog. If you do wish to have your account deleted, let me know via PM and I will oblige. Funny you didnt mention that in the message you sent me 15 minutes before you posted here.

Lets begin by walking !!! You are good at that Jnr, and maybe IHE will be better at it next year ! Step 1 - lets get some sensible and/or constructive questions organised for the first meeting Step 2 - lets get the framework sorted out as GB has suggested Step 3 - lets be confident it will see equal effort on both sides to make it work Step 4 - lets get the first couple under our belt Once the dialogue begins, it is far easier to suggest we incorporate whatever comes of IHE's proposed "standing agenda" as the club are likely to be more receptive if they can see that this is not just another excuse to have some potshots at them and people actually want to work with them to make life easier for everyone. There is quite a chasm between the club and some fans with both sides having their faults. The club seem to have retreated inwards because fans are questioning their every action, and the fans are questioning whether the club care or even listen because part of that isolation involves a severe lack of communication. The whole thing is a vicious circle that has been gathering momentum for a while now and hopefully this is the first step in stopping the downward spiral, turning it round again and pointing it in an upwards direction. We will not achieve everything that is suggested in one fell swoop, but if we can take small steps and begin to rebuild the trust on both sides with some open and frank communication then maybe some of the bigger steps will come.

:thumb04: :018: Have they moved Tesco into the TCS or was there a football match taking place there ?

:thumb04: That is the best so far .....

If we are doing some back-slapping here, lets also include Gringo Jnr and IHE who have both been pushing this in their own ways and have had just as much impact as any emails I have sent.

It was a report from 06/07 not 07/08 and the other club operating with no debt were Falkirk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/s...rem/7584257.stm

I have had an email response from Graeme today. My initial email to him was talking about reinstating BB in a similar fashion to what we had before and suggesting we get together for a chat when I am over. This is what he said. I would say that is a positive outcome and although we might have to walk before we can run - by reinstating BB and seeing how that goes before moving onto some of IHE's other suggestions - there is no harm in also discussing the next level as suggested by IHE.

Not sure about his earlier caps, but the majority of those since his recall have been in central defence and he does pretty well there for Canada. Arial Narrow ... font size 6 perchance ?

On forum homepage you have choice of viewing new posts, todays active topics or your own last 10 posts. On every page, you have the option to view new posts via the member bar (just above the ad) When viewing the list of new posts you can mark all as read if you want.

Think this article shows how bad it is !!! 9 international call-ups for Toronto, several players on the injured list and half the fans heading to Montreal for the Canada game !!!! I might have to bring my boots LOL http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...ortsSoccer/home

If I had known that .........

Havent seen him say anywhere that he actually wants to go ? However, I do agree that we should make sure we try to do everything we can to secure him and others who could/should be the spine of our team for years to come to sign on the dotted line. Sadly, it wont work for all players - and I see Black and Cowie as potentials in this category - as they may well be snapped up by clubs who can offer more, but if we can offer decent length contracts (happy to see some recent signings have had 3 year deals), with decent wages, some may not seek a move so easily or if they do, we might just get some decent recompense.

Yup, would say so .... the BBC just trotted out the story a few days early !!! [off-topic] talking of 'mater', it reminds me of a story my mum told me once about the Beeb and the vast collection of pre-recorded obituaries they have ready to roll if someone prominent expires .... wonder if any of them were broadcast early by mistake !!! [/off-topic]

what about the fox that 'invaded' the parkhead pitch during the November 96 Celtic V Rangers game ... remember that one, it was funny.

not so much that he wouldnt go to a match, as he is well knows as a Sheffield Wednesday fan, just didnt expect to see and speak to dead mechanic "Tommy Harris" from Corrie at a Toronto FC match !! Turns out he was in Toronto filming the "Murdoch Mysteries" for Canadian TV.

Spidey senses are tingling ....... Man Utd and Abu Dhabi Utd mmmmmmm from BBC .... Former prime minister of Thailand Thaksin, who completed his takeover of City in July 2007, welcomed ADUG's involvement. His ownership of the club has been constantly overshadowed by the problems he faces in his homeland. A warrant was issued for his arrest last month after he failed to appear in court to face corruption charges. His Thai assets, believed to be worth about ?800m, have been frozen until the charges against him are resolved.

He may not struggle on 3/4 of an already phenomenal wage, but as I read this thread, I realise that I did once find myself in a similar situation in my own working life !!! I was one of 5 floor managers in my workplace. We all worked well together, we all got on with each other and with higher management, and we all wanted to progress. I also believe we had a good working relationship with the staff members we were all responsible for. We didnt go in for any (or much) of the petty backbiting that sometimes goes on in this kind of establishment and things ran very smoothly, especially when we would unwind and de-stress with a few pints after work and get rid of any petty niggles we might have had. A new manager was appointed, and just like football, the new manager had different ideas - some good, some that didnt seem so. Over the space of two years, I and the other 4 floor managers were effectively demoted (on the same wage), made to work in scenarios that were designed to make us disgruntled, and put in situations where it seemed impossible for us to do anything except leave. Because that is what the manager wanted, and didnt have the decency to have a discussion and offer some kind of voluntary severance package, I stuck it out for almost two years. Just as the manager realised I did indeed have something to offer, and would be considered for 'promotion' I left, at a time of my own choosing, having proved my point. In that two years I faced having to work under people I had actually trained and who could do the job quite well. However, I also had to work for some very "yes ma'am, no ma'am, three bags full ma'am" people who just didnt have a scoobie. Needless to say, you can guess which ones received the benefit of the knowledge I had acquired over the years and which ones did not. There were a lot of "private" comments made when there were no witnesses and I was publicly lambasted by the manager on a couple of occasions. I was even docked a weeks wages after taking bereavement leave when my sister died (later reinstated after a grievance to head office and the threat of publicity). When I eventually did leave, I went to a better place, where I actually made a lot more money for doing less and having a lot less responsibility. The point is, I DID have drive and ambition in that job. Every day I tried to show that manager I was better than what she had replaced me and other colleagues with (and I think we succeeded on numerous occasions). It was only that manager's stubborness to acknowledge our contributions that made us stick it out. As soon as she realised she had surrounded herself with a lot of "yes men" who she could put to the sword if something went wrong, but who could not actually resolve the causes of things going wrong, and turned back to the experienced 'old-stagers' we pretty much upped and left within 6-8 weeks of each other .... 50+ years of experience between 5 of us in a 2 month period as well as another 50+ years of experience between another half dozen staff members a month later !!! I never looked back, and with hindsight, perhaps I should have done it earlier, but I am still happy that I left with my head held high, knowing my own worth, and also knowing that this manager finally realised my worth but could do nothing to keep me there. [EDIT] - I also just realised, that like a footballer, I was also offered a transfer elsewhere. I was sent to head office for a couple of months to work on a project (which I reluctantly agreed to - but scaled it back from 6 to 2 months because of family reasons) and I was also offered a place on a team who went round the country revamping our company's locations and sorting out problems (which I did not agree to because of the same family reasons). Both of these were done to try and get me out of the location for more than 6 months and therefore officially and permanently "off the wage bill" ....

I see your point and even agree to an extent. For those of us not good enough to make a living at the game, I think most would totally agree that any player should be hungry to get first team football because we the fans would love to be good enough to even have that opportunity .... but lets transfer this to the real world where most of us operate. ..... You are in a job at one of the best known firms in the world, you are not deemed to be the best at what you do, but you get paid like you are .... would you accept a job offer from another company who thought you would be the best they could afford but also only wanted to pay you 75% of your current salary ? It may be mercenary-like, but unfortunately, thats the nature of football in the modern era. While it might frustrate certain clubs, they have made their bed in this regard. How many players have the OF taken from other clubs because they were one of the strong links in that team only to deposit them on the bench or in the reserves .....

Exactly. If it had been Celtic wanting to keep him and Balde desperate to go would we (or more precisely, would Celtic Fans) be decrying him for not honouring his contract ? Too right they would. If Celtic are desparate to get rid of him, then as Birdog says, they can buy him out, otherwise, they need to honour the contract they were also happy to sign.

To bring back an old cliche It's a funny old game .....

As I said in the other thread .... "I dont have a lot of sympathy for Lennon in most situations but no-one deserves to be attacked like that. You could argue that he sometimes brings things on himself - especially on the pitch, as we have seen - but reading the BBC report, it sounds like he was enjoying a drink with friends, and when he left he was verbally abused first, then jumped from behind by two cowards, at least one of whom was a fairly big boy !!!! No-one deserves that, and whoever did it is cowardly scum." [NOTES] I believe the moderator in question will be sending you a message to clarify why posts were removed from the original thread. I don't believe the thread title slanders Juanjo and no-one has made any allegation that he was involved. I believe it was an attempt at humour going back to the sending off incident where Mr Lennon went down as if hit with a snipers bullet when Juanjo got within 3 feet of him. The BBC indicates that the alleged assailants were both between 40 and 50, and at least one if not both were of heavy build ... think that puts Mr Perez in the clear ! I will leave it to the moderator team to decide whether the title should be changed as per your request.