IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER

The term "lost the dressing room" is used in football (soccer) to describe the situation where a manager of a club is seemingly very near to being sacked. The team will invariably be struggling on the pitch, the manager will be under a lot of pressure and the signs may be that he has lost the faith and respect of his players. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_the_dressing_room" At the present time the future of Brew is highly dependent on results and is also dependent on the players busting a gut for him. He has to lose faith in his favourites and keep the same team and tactics. Sounds like last night was as much a reprieve and a relief as a victory. Given the run of games coming up he is - to coin another well known phrase - on a very sticky wicket.

Lets face it - none of us have a clue !! Brew may plump fer: Fraser Tokely Maguire Munro Hastings Cowie Black McBain Imrie Wood Rooney He will then play Cowie and Imrie on the wrong wing, hook Rooney before Wood and play McBain in front of Black. I am afraid that playing two up front end up in the hoof tactic. Me: Fraser Maguire Duff Munro McBain Vigurs Cowie Black Duncan Imrie Rooney That leaves us with loads of options to change it.

Dear Naelifts and Mantis, It must be an ageing thing but I agree with a lot that you say. However two wins in tricky away ties should not be totally scoffed at - we are in the QF's and if we get the luck of the draw ya never know. It is a one off game and surely the players - and the fans - can lift themselves fer that. Lets face it - the standard of the SPL has dived as well - If we had left Falkirk and Tynie having won 5-1 on both occasions we wouldnt have been overly surprised. Team selection, formation and tactics let us down on both occasions. The team and the shape appears to be relentlessly altered every week. It is clear that their are disgruntled players out there and the togetherness has been slain. We have players of similiar ilk to many other SPL clubs and, on our day, we can beat most apart from the OF. But we have a manager who has clearly lost the dressing room. Yours sincerely, A wise old man.

Poor Rory was thrown in the deep end by Brewster - and as with a few others Brew decided to stick with him in his usual blind faith style. The lad simply does not have the pace or movement to make it in the SPL - the more he is played at this level the worse his confidence will become. He simply is either cumbersome or, as is rumoured, not fit enough and possibly not motivated enuff. We should have kept to playing him at a lower level - if he started scoring on a regular basis and got his fitness levels up he may have had a chance. Fraid this is his last season at TCS.

I think the bottom line - and I could add this to several threads open at the present time - is that Brew came back to us with a "history" - I believe that there were evidently players who did not welcome his return - it is one thing when you lose the dressing room - it is even worse when you never really had it. In our first couple of seasons we only had a couple that peeple would describe as "SPL class standard" but the team ethos and spirit shone through. In many ways we had a team of journeymen and plodders. The "togetherness" aint there any more and IMHO hasnt been since the demise of Charlie Christie.

Rosscoe and Bazza are already legends but calls to bring them back together - give me a feckin break!! Ross has never been a consummate SPL player - he has always lacked a bit of pace and he has always looked awkward - but he has made up fer that by staying fit, giving 110% to the cause and bringing a breathtaking overlapping element into his and our game. He has also benefitted from the development of positional sense that simply means that he anticipates opponents more than most. IMHO Rosscoe was at his best when Darren Dods provided the cover - Rosscoe was at his best when Dods and Duncan provided the cover and allowed Rosscoe and Barry more rein. Rosscoe was at his best when other coaches hadnt sussed how to play against him, keep him on the back foot, play pace against him and stop him from powering forward where he was at the most dangerous. Opposition are now aware of his weaknesses and the teams and exploit them - The years of extreme effort on his behalf are evidently taking their toll. Ross cant play anywhere other than full back - at least not in the SPL. It wouldnt do him any damage to be rested a bit - like Bazza has been in recent seasons. That may allow him to charge up his batteries and I wouldnt wish fer anybody else in reserve if we had to turn to him. But being the proud individual that he is would he accept that role. Unfortunately I dont think he is going to have a choice.

I suppose that what I was alluding to from an away supporter point of view was that it was dismal performances all round and Kingston may have been ineffective but he had a lovely touch every now and again. If anybody had a forward it would have been a walkover.

You are beginning to sound like a feckin oriental - do ya mean fingers or figures ? By the way the chicken was rubbery.

Brew must have noticed the wee boys - he is sending Ian Black to train with them next week.

Alcohol.

That is chicken feed - even in rural Aberdeenshire.

The Academy was the Oxford / Cambridge of Scotland in those days - It would appear that the only significant difference in your aging process is yer eyesight - or perhaps it is jealousy that a mature man can maintain his good looks. Have to admit I lost it fer a second but I didnt keep it going. It was the gloss on a bad tactical day at the office - I was really quite confident pre match but when I saw the team and the formation I couldnt believe it. It was clear we had to change but we didnt until far too late and the changes were rank. That was so different to Falkirk that it was untrue. But why was it ?

Well - perhaps he is a right eejit then.

Black to be rested :018: :thumb04:

Thank **** fer that.

How about our next away game : ESSON PROCTOR DUFF MUNRO MCBAIN SUTHERLAND COWIE BLACK DUNCAN VIGURS ROONEY

Spoke to Peter Paul after the game and he probably has the photogrphic evidence.

And who could we get to manage them ? Or should I not be making false prophecies !!

Something is wrong ?

But I do feel a hell of a lot better for it. Just waiting for someone to say " Do you think that you could do better ? At least I could play at Quarterback !!

Competition is hotting up to find the ugliest face at the World Gurning Championships, as entrants contort their faces into grotesque shapes while wearing a horse collar. Organisers say the game, taking place in Cumbria, has its origins in old tales about the treatment meted out by locals to so-called village idiots. The horse collar, or braffin, would be thrown over the village fool, and he would pull faces in exchange for a pint of beer. A colourful performance is expected, as it is the norm for competitors to snarl like a dog, look savage, paint their faces, make wild animal noises and thrash around uncontrollably. Toddlers and pensioners are expected to take part in the championships, which has three categories - juniors, ladies and men. Alan Clements, organiser of Egremont Crab Fair, near Whitehaven, said: "Gurning championships have been around for most of this century in Cumbria but the world championships started after the Second World War. The fair is more than 730 years old. "People make all types of faces and nothing will surprise us. But the werewolf look and the old-fashioned look copying Popeye the cartoon character is still popular." The winner will receive a cash prize of ?150. Here are the three main contenders.

I meant in SPL terms.

What about ? : Tupper,Race and Dane

"Does anyone else have a problem with Brewsters baffling substitutions?" is how this thread started. "Does anyone else have a problem with Brewsters baffling team selections and tactics?" "Does anyone else have a problem with Brewster ?" Answers on a postcard to Ian Black, c/o TCS, Inverness.

"genius" - "legend" - other teams set out to mark him. He is a promising young player who is an apprentice, learning his trade - he has potential - he has his strengths and his weaknesses - like most - he is inconsistent - he is a "squad" player at the moment - nothing more. I would question his attitude and his temperament - I suspect that he loses concentration when he has a bad spell or makes a mistake or two - he certainly appears to be one that does not react well to criticism from colleagues. Of course the jury is out - it will be till the end of the season - I am not overly impressed but give the poor **** a chance. The "hype" is from the fans - he has endeared himself cos he reacts to the fans - feckin fair play to him. How did you all feel when he cracked in the winner at Falkirk and made a bee line to the way support. I am quite happy to keep singing the Dougie Imrie ballad - the lad can only improve.