Scotty

There is a hole in our stats but only in the early years ... Before today Aaron Doran has made 273 appearances and scored, 46 goals https://caleythistleonline.com/stats/playerstats.html/

THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Dunfermline -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 25th February @ 7:45PM, East End Park, Dunfermline Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC

Precisely zero I would think. The anonymous figure who fell on their anonymous sword and will never appear on the list for future anonymous panels will remain anonymous .... nothing to stop them from being selected for an anonymous role in future if no-one knows or admits to who they are. The whole thing stinks and needs to be reformed regardless of the fact that ICT will hopefully get the correct result here.

The panel have decided to not be anonymous this time and one of the members has already denied his allegiance to a certain team from Glasgow.

If the referee has acknowledged he is wrong - in the end - then fair enough but he too has been on the end of pressure to change his mind because - if the papers are to be believed - he maintained his position until after the outcry at the review panel decision had gathered speed. I actually feel for referees who are on a hiding to nothing during a game. In many cases they are unsighted, or the action is moving too quickly for them to get everything right but they are expected, without technology, to come to the same conclusion as we do or as commentators do when watching on TV or from a far better vantage point. That's why we got VAR and that's why it can work well when the referee sees it as a valuable tool. MLS referees are the same as Scottish referees and no doubt countless other countries. We have good ones, we have bad ones, we have ones who admit mistakes and still others who cling onto the belief they can do nothing wrong as they are in charge. We have those who let the game flow and those who want to make it all about them. MLS implemented VAR 3 years ago now I think and for the most part it seems to work well. It is used not for every decision but for 'game-changing' events such as goals, penalties, offsides, red card offenses, or where the 5th official (VAR referee) has indicated something within criteria may need to be looked at. When it works well, and the ref uses it as a useful tool to help him officiate then VAR has seen consistent results, but when you get a ref similar to Aitken then its only as good a tool as the tool using it ! What MLS also does well is to routinely review controversial plays over the next week with its disciplinary committee and hand out fines or additional game bans as well as reducing punishments. This is not a specially convened comitte, it just quietly goes about its business getting stuff done. It publishes the name of the chairman and some members, it routinely posts decisions on the league site and on its twitter feed and does Q&A sessions often .... the SFA could learn a lot from them ! : https://www.mlssoccer.com/league/official-rules/mls-disciplinary-committee-principles-and-parameters

so the un-named and anonymous panel member has been forced to fall on their sword so the SFA can say the decision was invalid and reconsider. This un-named and anonymous panel member will no longer be a part of future panels with other un-named and anonymous members (yeah right!) .... spin, whitewash and squirming to what is hopefully the correct result. If you happen to believe the SFA statement (and I take it with a full salt mine) .... If the function was simply to review video and decide if the card was merited, does them not fulfilling the duty mean they didn't watch the video in the conference call ? How else would you not fulfill the obligations of the panel ? Work not done though - these panels have to be reformed and made transparent. They cannot be anonymous and need to be able to explain their decisions . The comment earlier from Radio Scotland I think, that this panel apparently was made up of one ex-ref and two "non footballing" people beggars belief. Why are two non footballing people making a decision about the rules of football ?

THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Dundee Utd -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 21st February 2020 @ 7:05pm, Tannadice Stadium, Dundee Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO LIVE ON BBC SCOTLAND [UK Only] SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC

For my mind, common sense needs to prevail. They need to reverse this farcical decision. Everyone can see it was wrong but the referee and these anonymous appeal 'judges' persist with the charade. Thats all about ego and having the strength to admit your mistakes! They need to make these tribunals transparent. If you are going to make a decision on someone's career, even if only for a game or two then they should have the stones to be visible and defend or explain their decision. IT should not be some anonymous conference call as has been alluded to. They need to be consistent and unbiased and apply the same logic to each case regardless of the teams involved. If there is a conflict of interest, or a pre-existing knowledge of a panel member's personal leanings they need to be excluded from the panel for that case to preserve their own, and the system's integrity.

I stand corrected 🙂 Gary Warren, what a guy.

A lot is being made of the Rangers kid applauding the decision ... I see it a little differently (although I could be wrong). Look at the kid's face when the whistle is blown. He is thinking 'oh f***' and probably wondering if he is getting a card or if the ref maybe thinks its in the box and is going to give a penalty. The applause is a little self-serving i think and based on relief not on bad sportsmanship. However, knowing the player was going to get a red it may have been more sportsmanlike to say to the ref - 'i did catch him, but it was an accident' but lets face it, no player is going to do that these days. none. regardless of the strip they are wearing. Would be nice if Rangers could say something through the club to side with Keatings but again, cant see that happening. At best the ref is incompetent - something backed up if you search google for his name - but for the panel to uphold the original decision is not incompetent it is something far worse. Who is on these panels? Why cant we know who is on it? If you are going to make a decision that will deprive a player of appearing in a cup final at least have the f***ing balls to stand up and be counted and say why you came to that decision.

signed and shared with my ICT and my TFC accounts

The club have taken pelters in the past for bullshit or nonsense statements, but this one is an absolute belter. Nailed every word of it from start to finish. Extreme credit where it is absolutely due on this occasion to shame those who made the decision. I can only conclude incompetence or corruption in this decision. If its incompetence then resignations should follow ..... but I wont hold my breath on that one.

I was on the committee of the IDAFA for a good few years and the simple fact of the matter is that you were basically not able to overturn a referee decision at that time. If you did, and your decision was sent down to Park Gardens (that dates it!) you would literally get an angry letter back telling you to sort it out or be summoned to appear in front of them! I was witness to an incident where the ref was a complete ****hole and as a member of the local committee I stood up in the meeting to side with the "accused" who had received a red card. The committee were mindful to believe the truth, which was not reflected in the referee report, (we are talking full on lying about the incident here) but still had to impose the minimum punishment that came from the SAFA because they knew if they sided with the player or were lenient they would get letters galore. Big George Davidson, as secretary fought an almost permanent battle with them to try and preserve the dignity of the local scene but overall, on a national level, it was rotten to the core in my opinion. I actually like VAR - when used correctly. The World Cup in Russia was a decent showing and in MLS, where we have had it for several years it is pretty good and does not delay the game too much (most times). The biggest problem with it is that it is only as good as the referee who is in charge and some are reluctant to change their minds believing it shows weakness rather than strength. If VAR was independent of the ref perhaps it would be better .....

Its UEFA ... which would explain why virtually all of the EPL has been on Canadian TV on a Saturday morning .... although this year more of the games seem to be on a subscription channel. The associations themselves define the hours and dates - which is why for example a 3pm Scotland game can be shown, or the Cup Final etc. https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/news/newsid=19817.html

Thats down to either UEFA or FIFA (dont recall which). Clubs can do nothing about that.

two of the biggest stats we are missing is Denzil's goal tally and Rosscoe's appearance record .... we have the data, just not the time or volunteers to get them all entered right now .... myself and CaleyD spent a long time with a lot of the older games from Ian Broadfoots records but running the site and keeping things ticking over took us away from it too frequently .... so step forward any volunteers that want to help enter the data. A few folk did volunteer at the start of the season but have been posted missing.

The other version was ..... Low lie the fields of Longman Drive Where once I heard a young man cry Through the wind and the drizzle We will follow Caley Thistle At the fortress on the fields of Longman drive

It would be daft of Hibs not to fancy their chances ..... but as we have found out to our cost - and also to our benefit - over the last 25 years, you write off the underdogs at your peril. I think we often play a lot better when we have nothing to lose, and our cup pedigree is nothing if not impressive, so hopefully it will be a tight and enjoyable tussle and a return to Hampden for the Caley Jags !

THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Livingston PREVIEW Feb 8th 2020 @ 3pm, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC

THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Alloa Athletic PREVIEW 1st Feb 2020 @ 3pm, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC

nope. We can match anyone on our day, just need to find some consistency. I agree. Even if a player intends to give his all until the end of his contract I think it is only human nature, in most cases, to maybe not go in 100% or pull out of a tackle that is 50-50 for fear of getting an injury that might affect future plans. I hate PCAs with a passion, they create a whole breed of players who spend 6 months just going through the motions. Cant blame the player, they have to work within the system that is there, but perhaps the system itself needs some tweaks !

Funny that .... when we were in Oslo in 2017 I took this photo and never posted it ... thinking much the same thing !

THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Ayr United -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 25th January 2020 @ 3pm, Somerset Park, Ayr Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC

online talk is a six figure transfer but I cant see it being high six figures as MLS rules mean any transfer fee affects the salary cap and they are not going to pay a huge transfer fee for anything outside of a designated player. No idea about sell-on clause but I would be pleasantly surprised as it was basically a player swap deal for Beith. EDIT: Most sites have no numbers but Edinburgh news has it as 200K

Good luck to him. ITs a strange one to be sure as he will use up an international roster spot but they obviously see something. Atlanta have a pretty explosive attack too so they will obviously be looking to him to swing in some good crosses for Villalba and Martinez. Need to wear my ICT top on September 20th when TFC play Atlanta here in Toronto.