Scotty

The Canadian association's website is down, so I cant get the official team lines but I can assure you that RH was not playing in midfield. The side has been pretty settled throughout the competition with a back 4 of Jazic, Hastings, Hainault and Stalteri that started every game. Lineup for Costa Rica (4-5-1) G 22 Pat Onstad D 3 Ante Jazic D 11 Richard Hastings D 5 Andre Hainault D 7 Paul Stalteri M 16 Martin Nash M 14 Dwayne De Rosario M 6 Julian de Guzman M 13 Atiba Hutchinson M 15 Patrice Bernier F 9 Rob Friend Lineup for Guadeloupe (4-5-1) G 1 Greg Sutton D 3 Ante Jazic D 11 Richard Hastings D 5 Andre Hainault D 7 Paul Stalteri M 16 Martin Nash M 14 Dwayne De Rosario M 6 Julian de Guzman M 13 Atiba Hutchinson M 15 Patrice Bernier F 10 Ali Gerba Lineup for Haiti (4-5-1) G 22 Pat Onstad D 3 Ante Jazic D 11 Richard Hastings D 5 Andre Hainault D 7 Paul Stalteri M 20 Chris Pozniak M 14 Dwayne De Rosario M 6 Julian de Guzman M 13 Atiba Hutchinson M 18 Issey Nakajima-Farran F 9 Rob Friend Lineup for Guatemala (Q-F) (4-5-1) G 22 Pat Onstad D 3 Ante Jazic D 11 Richard Hastings D 5 Andre Hainault D 7 Paul Stalteri M 16 Martin Nash M 14 Dwayne De Rosario M 6 Julian de Guzman M 13 Atiba Hutchinson M 15 Patrice Bernier F 10 Ali Gerba Lineup for USA (S-F) (4-5-1) G 22 Pat Onstad D 3 Ante Jazic D 11 Richard Hastings D 5 Andre Hainault D 7 Paul Stalteri M 16 Martin Nash M 14 Dwayne De Rosario M 6 Julian de Guzman M 13 Atiba Hutchinson M 15 Patrice Bernier F 10 Ali Gerba Interesting to note these positive comments about RH on the main Canadian fan site (Voyageurs) after the disgrace of the USA game. "A game-breaking wrong call like that can either crush a team or make them stronger, and it looked to me from the players' reactions that this one is going to make them stronger. They were angry, but not broken. They looked full of confidence and pride. Hastings was rallying the troops like a real leader - just for that (and his steadily improving play game-in and game-out at centre back) I'd have him on the World Cup qualifying squad if I was picking the team." "Full props to Richard Hastings - he actually showed he could be a legitimate centre-back option out there today." "Have to say a collective "we were wrong" to players like Onstad and Hastings, who nobody here, or with very few exceptions in Hastings' case, had in the mix. We were mostly wrong, these guys were so solid."

5 goals in 0 appearances too !!!! pretty good dontcha think Blackburn and ICT is all that is on Soccerbase. Not sure who PTV (the website provider) pulls their stats in from but they might want to look at that.

That decision has Canadian fans going ape**** .... made even worse because this same ref has a history of making bad decisions against Canada including a shocker when they played Honduras in World Cup qualifying. Hastings squad number is #11 but he wasnt playing as a midfielder, he was left side of central defence although he was getting a little further forward. However, it was interesting to note the commentators mentioning how he had been playing out of position from his favoured left back role and saying he had done well. The coach obviously thought so too as he played every game. Perhaps it also gives CC something to consider for ICT ? Have you actually watched much of the Gold Cup ? There is a fair bit of talent in there let me assure you even with newcomers Guadeloupe who have traditionally had their players picked by France. The MLS may not be the EPL or SPL and the Gold Cup may not be the Euros but its not a mickey mouse competition. Many of the players in a lot of the squads play in Europe and I have witnessed a few of the Americans and Canadians playing in the MLS - its not like comparing Highland League to SPL, more like bottom half of SPL to SFL1

I have no problem with the club making a profit from the fans --- its all just business. If the club can be commercially viable then it is one way of ensuring progress. However, they have to make sure they are not ripping people off. You could argue that all clubs rip people off to a greater or lesser degree and ICT are no different .... new strips every year (or every 2 in our case), those same strips that cost pennies to make being sold for 40 quid a pop, other "cheap" merchandise sold at premium prices, inflated entry fees to actually see a game and an extra fee for parking in what amounts to no more than a field. At the end of the day however, I will continue to do my bit - even from over here - by buying said merchandise and paying my money for other things including centenary club. [note: I would actually buy merchandise over the net if postage wasnt a REAL rip off !!! but I send someone in for it instead and they can post it to me for a quarter of the price that ICT wanted to charge.] As for the stadium bar - this has been mentioned for about the 10th time in 10 years but never seems to happen. If it ever gets off the ground, then so long as it is selling beer at pub prices (or better still at social club prices) then there is no problem ... the club make a profit on it and the punters are paying what they would elsewhere.

Canada went out last night in the semi final stages to USA by a score of 2-1 even though they had a perfectly good goal chalked off in injury time !!!! Richard has played in every game and done pretty well. The commentators last night were actually complimenting him on a difficult Gold Cup where he has had to move from his favoured left back position to play as an out and out centre half. From what I saw on TV he managed the change with no problem.

ARTICLE - P&J

Just like a player (and any of us at work) he wants to get the best possible deal for himself .... as we dont know the contract details then we have no basis for knowing why he is not interested in looking at it at the moment. Are the wages too low ? Are there stipulations in there he doesnt like ? If he signs it will he lose the often suggested possibility of a fallback position in the commercial side of things if it all went pear shaped ? or is it maybe even because he still has a year of his current contract to run and wants to concentrate on trying to sign replacements for Dargo and Dods before even looking at it. these are all scenarios that took about 30 seconds to think up, I am sure there are dozens more. You very rarely sign a contract in business/work without first reading and considering it and in football I would say that it is even more important to take it away, read it, get someone else (agent/lawyer) to have a look at it and take time to decide on it as job security is less assured because of the goldfish bowl you are in. You could be a hero one day and a villain the next and if your contract aint right it could be your family that sees you as a villain. Its a non-story !!!! I have always had faith in CC's ability to manage ICT (since day 1) even though I will question decisions and tactics from time to time and be frustrated after a loss. CC is ICT through and through and I have no doubt that he will sign his new contract as and when he sees fit.

and how do you know he made his mind up "a long time ago" ??? Simple fact of the matter is that we know he has made up his mind to leave ICT but none of us have a clue when he came to that decision - unless of course he told that person directly. We can point to various comments in the press (unhappy with the constant subbing for example, or comments such as "I have enjoyed (past tense) my time at Inverness") and analyse them to reach a conclusion that may or may not be correct but we simply dont know. The moaning about the whole saga started because people believed he was stringing the club along after the season had ended which was the time he himself had given for providing the club and its fans with an answer. I believe he did string us along, however, in slight defence of the player, we were only ever hearing one side of the story and only one side was setting deadlines. There is a **** of a lot more goes on behind the scenes than we ever get a sniff at news-wise and contract-wise which has led to the departure of more than one player over the years. Best contract offer outside the OF ? ... lets just say, I have my doubts. If the player already knew where he was going, then its unlikely he would still be fannying around trying to get the best deal for himself ..... see ARTICLE. But at the end of the day thats his problem, not ours and we should be concentrating on the season ahead. We've already wasted too much effort and keyboard time on a player who doesnt want to wear an ICT shirt next season and I for one am now going to turn my attention to those that do.

no big deal to me ....... I am used to alcohol not being allowed during a game so have a few pints beforehand, a couple of $2 burgers from McDonalds (no fries or drink) and then steer well clear of the stadium concessions stands until it is time to start drinking again in the pub after the game ..... the Pitcher of beer in the picture above costs the same as a pint at the stadium !!!!

At BMO field (Toronto) you can buy beer but its inflated price (and that of the rest of the food/drink) is one of the few negatives so far 1/2 pint (in plastic glass) = $6.50 = £3.12 Pint (in plastic glass) = $13.00 = £6.24 500ml Tin (poured into plastic glass) = $9.00 = £4.32 Bottled water (500ml) = $4.00 = £1.92 Chip Butty !!! = $5.00 = £2.40

yup - it was one year when the labour (or Scottish labour ?) conference was at Inverness I think ..... or it might have been in support of David Stewart in an election campaign .... but he definitely was there .... I am sure "Kind of Blue" might be able to refresh our memories

where's the option for ALL of them !!!! seriously though - would want to get the Aberdeen hoodoo off our backs this season.

thank you m'lud :004:

I can see it now ..... the Innes Bar Bunch move locations to the stands at TCS ........ [attach=2] [attach=1]

4th Stand - i think we are fundamentally agreeing with each other here !!! both of us want minimisation in the amount of speculation. :003:

Thank You for proving my point !!! that even the facts (as I see them) are unclear !!! According to TeamTalk, Soccer365, Daily Record and the BBC a player was detained. According to the P&J, a player was questioned. Depends on what you class as detained I suppose. detained briefly at the scene and released pending inquiries possibly ? His agent, Kevin Drinkell ARTICLE. Today's Courier article also carefully words their coverage .... ARTICLE True and therefore he has not been charged with any offence (as I said). and will therefore be innocent (as i said). What is perfectly clear from this whole saga is that nothing is clear and will not be until the player, the club, and the police decide to comment on the actual facts of the 'incident'.

I would rather they focussed on safe standing areas and looked at alcohol later .........

Gabby - I beg to differ and as myself and Donald are the ones who would also be in the firing line IF (and I know it is a big if) either the player or the authorities decided to challenge some of what has been written on here, and we had not moderated any postings, then some of those posts could certainly be held up to show our irresponsibility. At the end of the day, I am covering both my own and the site's *** and make absolutely no apologies for doing so. We are trying to allow as much discussion as we can within the framework of what has been established as fact but we will not hesitate to edit or delete anything that we are uncomfortable with in a legal sense and this includes suggestions that the player was caught in possession of a particular named drug as this has not been established yet. If you want to call it a 'substance' then this is ok, but to categorically say it was drug 'a' or drug 'b' is wrong. I have done a lot of trawling through the internet over the last few days and have seen about half a dozen different accounts that claim to be factual and each and every one of them has different 'facts'. As far as I am concerned, the following are facts A player was detained at Rockness. That player has been confirmed as Richie Hart. The substance he was allegedly 'in possession' of has not been established (although it has been reported as one of four different drugs by various media outlets). It has not been confirmed that he was using the aforementioned substance merely that he was 'in possession' of it by virtue of it being found in his car. He has not (as far as I am aware) been charged with any offence. He is innocent until proven guilty. anything else is speculation. some of it may be strong speculation but it is speculation nonetheless. In today's Courier, the club (Bennett) have said "At the moment it is an allegation and it would be wrong of us to prejudice what will go on. I don't want to say or do anything until we have the full aspects of what happened. We can't really comment any further than that." and that to me seems sensible. We also do not want anything on here to be held up as prejudicial. If posters want to have a full discussion about drugs in sport or even about particular drugs in sport then this is fine. If you want to discuss drug policy within the club or the SPL this is fine. If you want to discuss Gordon Smith's idea that all players should be drug tested this is fine. If you want to discuss the dangers of other drugs such as nicotine or alcohol in comparison to 'controlled substances' this is fine. However, in any discussion, when you bring this player (or any player) into it and either categorically state or infer that he is a user of, or was caught with, a particular drug before this is established as a fact then this is not on. It is a very fine line between discussion and defamation and perhaps we might 'moderate' some comments that would be ok in that sense. However, after taking advice from a couple of people, including a lawyer, and receiving a LOT of email about the subject then I am comfortable with the level of both mine and the other admins/mods actions.

not a Canadian citizen so not allowed to vote .... not a UK resident so not allowed to vote ..... I am what they call disenfranchised :blah01:

I was never that good at history so things like the act of union and what happened hundreds of years in the past are of no consequence to me other than for sentimentality or for stirring the 'braveheart spirit'. I am not an SNP member or sympathiser but I am pro-independence for a couple of simple reasons. 1.I am old enough to remember the modern era raping and pillaging that has gone on within the country of my birth. It may not be physical violation in the criminal sense, but it is a violation nonetheless. It irks me that faceless corporations can extract much of the natural resources that would be within our land or territorial waters if we were independent without as much as a passing glance to Scotland as a country. The rules are set in Westminster, the cost of obtaining rights is set in Westminster and regardless of whether I am right or wrong, my perception is that the vast majority of the profits also end up outside Scotland. I do not blame England for this, as it is the oil companies and others (govt.) making the obscene profits but an independent Scotland would at least have a say in the process. 2.Again, this is not an 'England' thing but I have constantly been annoyed in years gone by with the way in which the Westminster government have used Scotland as a guinea pig for things or have allowed inequalities to continue .... think Poll Tax, think Cold weather payments etc etc etc. At the end of the day, an independent Scotland would have a lot of work to do and the politicians would probably be no better than what we currently have at Westminster so would make mistakes and would still screw us. However, at least they would be our mistakes and we would be getting screwed from Edinburgh instead of London. [note to those who aspire to the Scandinavian model - I dont like the Swedish/Danish model that has been mentioned ..... Sweden and Denmark have enviable health and welfare systems but would people in Scotland really put up with an income tax rate of over 50% and luxury taxes on things like alcohol and cars (100% tax on a car)]

Judd at the stadium used to be involved in organising these things. not sure if he still does it or has contacts. Also - it would not surprise me if CaleyD has some contacts as I know (through a former work colleague / part-time DJ) that many DJ's had/have access to a system - similar to their karaoke systems - that has race night programs and other party games :023:

I do. thats the problem ... otherwise this posting would have been made 2 years ago !!

One disturbing thing in all this for me is that the club publicly stated that the offer made to Dargo "would not be matched by anyone in Scotland outside the Old Firm" so either we are completely ignorant of what other clubs can, will, and have offered to players in the past (and currently) or it is the worst kind of PR/Spin .... i.e. falsehoods that can be easily disproved and leave us looking inept and stupid. I have long been a supporter of the notion that no player is bigger than the club and that our wage structure is a good thing as it keeps the camaraderie and team spirit alive by having no prima-donnas earning twice or three times what their colleagues do. However, as we enter our 4th season in the SPL, we once again find ourselves in a situation where a player (or players) are all but confirming they can earn more in the 1st division and it means we are scouring the lower leagues for talent. There is a huge gulf in the income clubs receive in sponsorship payments between the SFL and SPL and I understand completely that we had to tread carefully for the first (and maybe even second) season in the SPL in case we were relegated (even though we would get a 'parachute' payment) but as C100 has said above, if we are to move to the next level then we need to level the playing field both in terms of the players we are looking at and what we can offer them. We cannot offer what the top clubs can, but we should certainly be on the same level as St Mirren, Falkirk and Motherwell which are all clubs that CD has been linked with both before and since he declined our contract offer If I were CC, I would also be a little anxious as well .... If the club cant attract players, and results suffer, he is the one who will ultimately have to fall on his sword and right now, it appears that he is being asked to do his job with one hand tied behind his back as not only do we have the "geography" issue but we still have the "wages" problem. ICT - Please give him the tools to succeed (or fail) on his own merits as the current situation is not fair on him or the fans.

well we do have the caution smiley :018: or the booking smiley :32: or ultimately this one ..... :33: on this occasion, we will go with :018: :004:

talking of getting kids involved ... here are a couple of easy ones ...... At each home game, select a school and kids from that school are picked to be ball boys (or girls) for the day .... not only do they feel a little more involved than if they were just getting free tickets but if you make it into a package where they get a sort of kids-oriented hospitality day ... tour of stadium, light lunch, meet the players etc they may just develop some sort of affinity for the club ... and after their day is over, pester their parents to take them to more games Second idea, again focusing on kids, and something that was suggested before and even tried (half-heartedly) but never seemed to come to anything is to have an inter-school competition for primary schools in the area. Over the course of a season, "x" number of schools play each other for the right to play in the latter stages at the TCS. 16 teams qualify, and at each home game one game is played at half-time - 5minutes each-way - this gives 8 games in first round, 4 games in 2nd round, 2 games in semis and the final = 15 games (out of a minimum of 18 home games) where the entertainment could be these games. This would also allow the club to put it on hold for the guaranteed 3 home games against OF opposition during the season where seats are at a premium. Again, this would hopefully see the club focusing on kids who are our future supporters (and maybe getting parents involved who could be instant supporters !) [edit: - forgot to mention - for the schools competition - make it a little more interesting for the kids by assigning a player as a mentor for that side either during the qualification process or on the day. we might be a little blase about our players because in many cases we have watched them from the lower leagues all the way to the SPL, but for a lot of younger kids, these are "celebrities" who play football in the SPL.]