Scotty

Its a question of perspective Harry ..... ... perhaps more people commented on the Dunfermline game because they were actually there ? Not quite so many at Ibrox. ... perhaps more people commented on the Dunfermline game because the performance was shocking and not what we (or Charlie) expected. ... perhaps more people commented on the Dunfermline game because they got home earlier, were still angry, and needed to vent. ... perhaps more people commented on the Dunfermline game because there was prominence given to Charlie's after-match / dressing room comments in the press. ... perhaps less people have commented on the Rangers game (so far) because we didnt win it like we did the other two games against them :004: ... perhaps less people have commented on the Rangers game (so far) because we have to a certain extent been spoiled over the years with success and sometimes become just a little blase ... perhaps less people have commented on the Rangers game (so far) because they couldnt get access to it. Silence is indeed golden if you live outside the UK when it comes to audio coverage of about 70% of SPL matches. There is no legal way to listen to many games and unfortunately, I havent come across any other ways either !! Apart from a couple of comments, I havent really said anything about the Rangers game because I couldnt see it, couldnt hear it and to be honest although happy with the result turned off Radio Scotland (where I had listened to Falkirk's game) soon after the roundups because I just couldnt be arsed - no coverage = no atmosphere = no interest.

Thanks for that DD - my first chuckle of this thread :015:

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I also voted no. As Libero said - both parties have had a good deal. Dods got his career back on track and we got a good quality centre-half who was also a leader. Hopefully he will leave ICT with no-one thinking badly of him as he gave us as much as we gave him. If Caff is in the plans for next season then there is no time like the present for him to be given a regular starting slot. If he plays well, like he did at the weekend, then we know we have options for next season, if he doesnt cut it then we know we need to look around. The same may also be true for the likes of Richie Hart who also had a good game. Some have suggested that he might be on his way out, but as with Caff, if he can prove he is not ready for the scrapyard yet then he also gives us options. The only place I would stick with it is up front. Dargo has to play whether he is staying or going. With Wyness still injured and McSwegan and McAllister not setting the heather on fire then it will be Dargs or possibly Bayne who score the goals that hopefully get us up as high as seventh and the extra money that brings.

what ever side you are on .... and that is the crux of the problem. :017: At the end of the day, I think we are all on the same side, or we should be as ICT supporters. However sometimes those who hold beliefs at either end of this spectrum clash and rather than having a reasoned debate it degenerates into slaggings and both 'sides' are as guilty as each other. We as administrators/moderators are caught in the middle. We dont want to 'censor' reasoned debate because we were accused of this on an almost daily basis when the site was official but by the same token we dont want people to feel they cant post without being taken to task for their opinions (regardless of what end of the spectrum they come from). so what are we to do ....... I think myself and CaleyD maybe need to have a look at the 'posting rules' and see if there is a need to clarify some of them. We also need to ensure that they are applied fairly so that a 'positive poster' abusing a 'negative poster' is dealt with in the same way as the reverse scenario. It might hurt a few people, and we might lose some if the rules are tightened up but in the long run it may make for a better forum where verbal abuse is the exception rather than the norm.

EWS / Libero Fair comments. noted.

Thats a very sweeping statement ...... let me ask something a little less sweeping and a tad more specific ..... what would you have us do to change that situation ?? To my mind, its a no-win situation ..... if we delete/sanitise all criticism then we get accusations of censorship, burying our heads in the sand or catering to only a small clique of users (trust me, I know all about this after running the site as an official one for 5 years) ..... if we let people say what they want we get comments like yours ..... If we are to stop people from criticising then perhaps we should also delete the praise that is made of the team or the manger so that everything can be bland, non-controversial and we can all sit on the fence ?? Bottom line, as far as I am concerned is that we are now an independent and unofficial fan site that gives people the opportunity to express their views whether positive or negative. We no longer have to sanitise our content as we did in the past and will heap praise on the club when they get it right but we will also keep a close eye on them and question them if we think things are wrong. At the end of the day those involved in running the site are all ICT supporters and we will usually lean towards praise but we are not going to get all hot and bothered when criticism of the club comes along as sometimes it is justified. Users are free to post their comments and viewpoints (both positive and negative) and you are free to agree, disagree or post your own rebuttal to those comments. We will move posts that we feel are in the wrong place but unless something is wholly inappropriate or against the terms of service users agree to when they sign up then we will not delete them. If that forces you to look for ICT content elsewhere because you 'dont like the site anymore' then so be it. I actually enjoy reading all of the comments on here whether I agree with them or not. Most of it is no different than what you will hear in a pub before or after a game, and lets face it, in our own minds (especially after a few beers) we can all do a better job at managing, motivating and getting our tactics right than Paterson, Robertson, Brewster & Christie combined !!! Lets also add a few facts to the mix ..... FACT - The performance against Dunfermline was ATROCIOUS and drew heavy criticism. Overall, much of this criticism was justified. Those who are 'known' as perpetual criticisers were out in force and if you are honest with yourself you probably agreed with at least a portion of what they said ... I know that I did !! FACT - Charlie Christie made an emotional comment about resigning. This 'rumour' was not started here it was something said in the changing room and leaked from there to the press by one of the players as far as we know. Why did he say it ? Why did a player or players leak it ? This is of course a huge talking point so bound to get people from each end of the spectrum discussing it from different viewpoints on a site that is provided for fans of the club to discuss the club. Would you rather send a letter to the editor of the newspaper ? FACT - The performance against Rangers was EXCELLENT and should draw heavy praise. Whether you are a fan of CC or not there can be no doubt that he had a hard decision to make when Dods was sent off and although obvious that Caff would have to come on it was perhaps not so obvious to him as to who to sacrifice. As some have said, the obvious choice is a striker but would we have stood a chance of scoring with only one striker ? At the end of the day he didnt make a rash substitution, he took a few minutes to weigh up his options and then took off Markus and this proved to be a good move. He would have got slagged if it backfired, but it didnt and all credit to both CC and the team for that performance. FACT - Our record against the 'big' teams is pretty impressive - undefeated against both Rangers and Aberdeen this season for example but our record against the 'smaller' teams is not so good and I actually agree with Clacher that the next 7 are more important than the Rangers game. If we are to stay in the SPL for seasons to come then we need to regularly win games against the likes of Dunfermline, St Mirren, Falkirk, Dundee Utd, Motherwell who are our compatriots in the bottom six and also get better results against the non-OF teams in the top six. If we can do it against Rangers and Celtic then there is no reason why we should be incapable of doing it against any other team. Does this make me one of the anti-CC crowd or negative ?? some might think so .... but personally, I dont think it does. I am 100% behind CC and think he will 'grow' into the role of manager in much the same way that JR or CB will continue to grow as managers. I think he has done a **** of a lot correctly but I also concede that he has made mistakes - a human failing not a CC failing. Since we went unofficial again I feel I have been able to dish out praise where its due but also make criticisms where they were due so from that point of view I actually think the site is better .......

A point that Charlie made quite clearly in his post match interview (see match report on front page)

at least you can listen to it ....... The SPL are having a 'sports tourism' workshop soon, to try and discuss ways that they can encourage ex-pats and those in other countries to come visit Scotland either for or including visits to SPL matches ...... I have a suggestion for them .... find a way to actually let people listen to the feckin game and you might stand a chance !!!

Dods sent off in 14 minutes - straight red card - professional foul according to sky. Charlie Adam scores from resultant free kick .... b0llox

[li]Discuss the game in this thread right here :004:[/li] [li]Get to the chatroom HERE[/li] [li]See the subs / bookings / report HERE[/li] [li]At the game ? - Dont forget to vote in the POLL after the game has ended. LINEUPS RANGERS [attach=1] ICT [attach=2]

Good move for Partick !! didnt much like him when he was at Rangers but there is no doubting that he along with Tony Mowbray were two of the more straight talking SPL managers in recent years. Good luck to them both.

Flashes of brilliance surrounded by periods of inactivity and laziness .... a joy to watch when on his game but frustrating when he couldnt be @rsed ..... here's a few 'memories' (courtesy of some old pictures I have that were supplied by Gordon Gillespie, Mantis and others) [attach=1] [attach=2] [attach=3] [attach=4] [attach=5]

No. He is playing for them because he has been solid for us ever since he returned to the club and deserves to be back in the squad. I have never been Richard's biggest fan, and indeed published a scathing article about him when he left us. However, as with most football stories there are two sides to every one of them and I can assure you (via impeccable sources) that we most definitely only heard one side at the time and that it was spun so effectively that it met itself coming back !!! Like most, I bought the spin hook-line-and-sinker but heard the real story a few years later when he was playing on the continent. Turning to the Canadian national side ..... Yes indeed, Canada have a mediocre team at the moment - football is not the national sport and although hundreds of thousands of kids play it every day in school, and there are thousands of after-hours/weekend 'soccer' leagues across the country, until very recently any half decent players had to head for foreign climes to ply their trade or just give up when they reached a certain age and turn their attention to Hockey, Basketball, Baseball or even Lacrosse which has traditionally been a higher paying career than 'soccer' as there was no clear route to a higher level within Canada. With all due respect to teams like the Toronto Lynx or Vancouver Whitecaps, they are on a par with the lower leagues of Scotland and when compared to other sports watching or participating in these leagues is not very attractive. In the last 6 months, the momentum and interest for football has been gathering speed, especially in Toronto. It is being plugged on TV on an almost daily basis, and the increase in its profile is amazing. This is due in no small way to Toronto FC being awarded an MLS franchise which will finally give young Canadian players a "goal" to aim for (pardon the pun) and a chance to actually make a career in their own country at a decent level. Toronto FC has sold out of season tickets (14,000) and half season tickets and other packages are being snapped up frantically and most of this happened even before the announcement that Beckham would sign for LA Galaxy and likely make his North American debut in Toronto. The national side has been plagued with ineffective management both of the team and its national body and recently the heads of both have been replaced. The side is currently managed by a 'caretaker' manager who hopes to get the job permanently and he seems to have given an indication with this squad that he will ditch the traditional method of picking players that has existed in the last few years which was to pretty much pick only Canadians playing in Canada [equivalent to Alex McLeish picking only players from SFL2 & 3] and instead cast his net to pick the best Canadians regardless of where they play. With Toronto FC committed to having a core of Canadian players, increased interest in the media, and hundreds of thousands of kids playing the game and now seeing a possible career in it, dont be surprised if Canada starts climbing the rankings quite dramatically .... It might take several years, but ignore them at your peril :004:

Just about crashed the car last night as one of the radio talk shows I listen to on the way home from work started discussing a man who had been banned from his local bar for farting ....... they went on to describe how it was really noticeable after the smoking ban took effect in Scotland ..... (thats when i almost crashed :015: :015:). We dont hear many stories from Scotland on Talk Radio in Toronto but this was a right hoot .... with many references to Royally Rifting, Aromatic Anuses (or not), Methane Mixers, and Singing like Britney Spears, the show had me in stitches all the way home ..... audience verdict, about 95% agreed he should be banned while the others wondered how the pub hadn't caught fire in the previous seven years when smokers lit up right beside him :015: :015: :015: http://forum.dafc.net/read.php?f=7&i=248882&t=248722 http://www.dunfermlinepress.com/news/story.php?story_id=411 (I am sure CaleyD can do something with the pic on here :015: :015:)

Much like Prince Harry :015: :015: :015:

Got this note from the club about reserve fixtures ......... Please note that the reserve home fixture against Rangers FC has now been re-arranged to Tuesday the 17th April. The full schedule of remaining reserve fixtures are as follows; Monday 2nd April v Rangers FC (Away) Tuesday 10th April v Hearts FC (Away) Tuesday 17th April v Rangers FC (Home) Tuesday 1st May v Dunfermline Athletic FC (Home)

Or two - :003:_____________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _ _______ :004: or maybe just enclose the letters hr inside square brackets for a nice red line :004:

If F8 saw that, he would at the very least look like he had seen a ghost :015: :015: :015:

Yes, it was me who miscalculated .... 18 home, 20 away last season, 19-19 this season. Although the SPL try to make it 19-19 each season, they also try to look at the overall games over 2 seasons and had the opportunity to make it 38-38 instead of 37-39 by reversing the St Mirren fixture. We have played other teams 3 times at home or 3 times away in the past, so it wouldnt have been a big leap. Also, we should not be playing our last game away from home two seasons in a row. .... think of it ...... 4000 crowd (approx) at 20 quid a head (average) .... and we are losing out on near 80 grand revenue because of this imbalance.

Got the actual fixtures right, if not the order. However that raises another question ....... 37 home games in 2 seasons and 39 away games, with 3 away games after the split and ending the season with an away game for the second season running .......... shame really, especially as the SPL had the perfect opportunity to draw up a fair list. [edited to read 37-39 not 36-40]

think we will let 'DJS' answer that one ...... watch out GRABE, he's behind you ........... :015: :015: :015:

you could pick any quantity or any set of consecutive games, but 11 games - 1 game against each team - is a pretty fair indication as it doesnt exclude any teams or have more than one game against any team.

depends on the chunks .... I agree that posting the last 6 or a set of 6 from anywhere you choose might be manipulated to suit the result you want to achieve in your point. However, splitting it into 3 groups of 11 is realistic enough ... its one game against each of our divisional opponents and then another set of 11 games against the same opponents and another etc etc etc.

try YEARS ago. The SPL have a 'fixture skeleton' and 'golden rules' that are applied to fixtures. Unfortunately, these dont work very well when you are trying to split the fixtures fairly !!! I see two SPL headaches as far as ICT fixtures are concerned. In 05/06 we played 18 home and 20 away (2H-3A after the split) so we should get 20 home and 18 away this season as its supposed to balance out over 2 seasons. However, this season we have played 17 home and 16 away so another season with 2 homes and 3 aways would give us a perfect 19-19 split over the season but a 37-39 split over two seasons. so do they go for the 19-19 this season (which is the aim each year) or 38-38 over two seasons (which is fair). (headache #1) The fixtures themselves should be easy to work out as the same teams are in the bottom 6 this year as were there last year (except Livi / St Mirren). Again, over the course of two seasons, the fixtures are supposed to work out as even as possible and although we have played most at home/away twice each year there are a couple where its 3-1 or 1-3. Motherwell - 05/06=2H-2A, 06/07=1H-2A (3H-4A over two seasons) ----- prediction HOME Dundee Utd - 05/06=2H-2A, 06/07=2H-1A (4H-3A over two seasons) ----- prediction AWAY Dunfermline - 05/06=1H-3A, 06/07=2H-1A (3H-4A over two seasons) ----- prediction HOME Falkirk - 05/06=2H-2A, 06/07=2H-1A (4H-3A over two seasons) ----- prediction AWAY St Mirren - 05/06=N/A, 06/07=2H-1A - if the SPL go for a 19-19 split of games for this season then this should be AWAY. However, if the SPL look at 05/06 and use games V Livi to do the 2 season total (V Livi in 05/06 was 1H-3A) then this may be a HOME fixture giving us a total of 38 home and 38 away over two seasons........ (headache #2) Prediction : SPL to make it an AWAY fixture and our list to look like this (and in this order based on fixture order of first 33 games) 1. V St Mirren (A) 2. V Motherwell (H) 3. V Dundee Utd (A) 4. V Dunfermline (H) 5. V Falkirk (A)