IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER

What - it is full of water and monsters ?

Para-abnormal - so who ya going to call ? Feb 8th ? Have to admit that I have seen a few spirits in there and the balls on the pool table shoot out on their own ?

Esson Cooper Meekings Warren Shinnie Ross Foran Draper Doran McKay Agadstein

Does it have a lock-in ?

It is the feckin traffic lights and the lack of traffic management which I presume costs the club spondoolachs. Can you imagine the chaos if it is the same story when Aberdire, Cellic or County visit. How are single bus drivers supposed to stop groups of fans who think that they are going to miss the kick off.

Apart from old whingeing Jeggies.

Perhaps Dougal was right - we should charge all the media freeloaders.

Must be my old mate Marius - wonder what his transfer fees added up to ?

How the feck are ya supposed to cycle from the feckin Innes after a few aperitifs ?!! The bottom line is that we need a smaller, more compact ground - 7000 capacity max - in a site which is more user friendly - the traffic on Saturday was absolutely ridiculous.

As Dougal has correctly pointed out we have a fan base - many of the away attenders can only afford to attend every so often. We simply have to continue to attract the yoof - and the allowing of them to stand and sing and enjoy is applaud able. Keep playing and performing the way that we do will bring in some more curious neutrals. Lets face it the attendances will seldom differ.

This is potentially the best ICT ever - the real test will be the ability to maintain the standard and achieve something this season. The other measure will be to see how we cope with injuries and suspensions. Having said that it has never looked better and we look more prepared than ever before.

A bad draw from my perspective - both in regard to travel which means I will not make it but that Issa big a banana skin as we could have got.

Who is the team Billy hasn't scored against? Partick I'd imagine? Think about it Steve as you scored a bit of an own goal there

In retrospect thank feck he only bagged a brace yesterday as if he had netted 5 or 6 as he could have it would really have brought last minute interest. I suspect unfortunately that there is a group of scouts watching if he develops in areas other than effort and an eye fer goals. And thank feck in some ways that he ain't got a player in the Agadstein role beside him regularly as Isuspect that would give him the extra freedom to be and look a lot better.

Oh dear that reminds me of another frustration. - I am in favour of keeping possession and taking time to build up attacks and I concede that it was the ploy to use close to the end when we still hold what could be described as a tenuous lead BUT I thought that we overdid it at times and it became the "norm" and it appeared that it stopped some players from going down the middle. We certainly had a lot of width yesterday and I thought that we looked dangerous when the wide players - predominantly Raven, Shinnie, Doran and Ross were often looking fer that and/or the square ball BUT McKay and Vincent suffered by making space up front and not getting much service. To me Draper and Foran droppedbackthe further the game went .i would also concede that tactically that made sense due to the score line. IF we had got a third it really could have loosened us and it could have been raining goals. Fortunately of late we seem to be learning from these things and changing the tactics accordingly

Enjoyable day all round then ? It will be pre match Innes next !!

Perhaps slightly off topic but the traffic control, especially from the A9 was simply atrocious. I suspect a lot of Hearts fans missed the start and possibly the first goal - I suppose that made losing a fiver a head more appropriate. The attendance figures also puzzle me as I thought the ICT sections were fairly well populated yesterday.

Well since the vast majority of things to discuss from yesterday are positive and encouraging I felt that it could ba an appropriate time to raise three personal frustrations of mine that I have seen and heard this season. To me David Raven is similar in many ways to David Proctor. Now do not get me wrong as I felt That Proctor was a good footballer who played for the shirt - and I would put Raven slightly ahead of him. The big difference is that when Proctor made a mistake it always appeared to be punished cruelly whereas Raven does make boo-boos but rarely befalls the misfortunes of Proctor. There are often times that his distribution reminds me of another full back of yore who played international football for Canada! Neither of them had a defensive unit like today's covering for them either. I have been impressed by our restraint and discipline this season and avoiding suspensions are as important as injuries. But Richie Foran, my MOM yesterday, does my head in with his constant bitching with officials. He was very lucky not to get carded. As captain he is expected to support colleagues but without the clear dissenting presence. Referees do not forget. And my last abiding frustration is an old one of Mr Butcher. Last week was the perfect opportunity to admit simply "sorry I got it wrong" but he waffles out the excuses. And yesterday he claims that McKay taking the penalty was nothing to do with him - WTF - I could see McKay picking the ball up and setting up fer the penalty a minute due to the kick and the dismissed Jam Tar took a good minute to trudge off. How did,nt TB see what was going on and holler, as he usually effectively does, instructions to Foran or others to tell McKay to give the feckin ball to Vincent. But TB has to have an after match swipe at Vincent and McKay. Oh and one more !! I noted that TB mentioned in the Highland News that he has never had a player like Meekings who he could utilise to have a long throw option. He either never noticed or perhaps, in line with my psychological theory, has dismissed the name of Grant Munro from his memory banks. And on recollection that Munro throw was very rarely used. And a final thank you for allowing me to vent my frustrations - I feel a lot better. BRING ON THE KILLIE - AND I WILL BE THERE.

Keep this form up and the attendances will rise bit by bit.

Should have been a quid a feckin goal though.

It just has to be feckin great that I, and probably more than a few others, left feeling disappointed. We just totally and utterly dominated that game in a manner that I have never witnessed before. It was like we were strolling and we went into third gear - but still were a class in front. If there are any negatives it is that we really should have feckin hammered them - and in the fifth game of the season we should NOT have allowed McKay to take the spot kick. At the end of the day we may regret not putting our goal difference way ahead. But 2-0 in a trot against the Jam Tarts is recognition of our present form and status, Brill looks more and moe commanding and is beginning to give others jip around them. Raven makes the odd boo-boo but is solid. Warren, Meekings and Shinnie are as good as anywhere else in the SPL. Loved the way that TB played Foran - in the hole in front of the defence foremost but given the chance to foray if needed. Draper is more effective just in front of him and with Doran and Ross flanking. Vincent was subdued but what a feckin engine he has. McKay scored a cracker early dors and could have bagged a double hat-trick and - sorry - really fecked it up on a couple of chances. Doran is now tacking and tracking as well as being a runner. Ross looked better than I have ever seen him. But I would give the MOM to Foran, closely followed by Warren. Happy feckin days.

We 8 County !!

OK

Good cod.

Now when have I feckin heard that before ?!!