Kirishima

"...he indicated that he would rather have the right to free speech as opposed to being announcer. We have acceded to this request." (Courier) Acceded to this request, i.e. you go along with it! That it's either free speech or a volunteer position, but not both. Who was the spokesperson...the same one that drew up Marius's contract? Can't believe they have the gall to try and justify this one...no, sorry I can completely understand it, as itis par for the course. Yet again, the club is in the paper because of stupid actions, David Sutherlands Supporters Trust rant, the ridiculous court case, and now this. The list is getting longer...I wonder if they know they are incompetent, or believe they are pretty smashing chaps all round?

Ah yes, i missed that...thanks! Not much of a response after having had all of the tabloids covering the story, and threatening, wrongly, to fine a 16 year old a huge amount of cash, to just say "we have given permission." Yon Grant fellow makes scrooge look like the tooth fairy

Yes, I saw it in December, and the Highland League responded by saying they would hold a meeting "in January" to discuss it. I assume this meeting has taken place, so I wonder what the outcome was...I imagine it would have been a medley of brushes and carpets.

The Highland league said they were going to meet in January after the League secretary, John Grant, threatened that school boy with a fine of 5 grand for videoing Buckie games and putting it on You Tube, even though it was not illegal and he had the clubs backing. Does anyone know what action the highland league took? Are they suing a 16 year old?

Not much else to be said is there. The board are the Borg, resistence is futile, assimilate...or die/get a phonecall. Though im in China, it makes me proud to be from a country where free speech, democracy, freedom, accountability, openess, justice and fairness are the cornerstones of society...oh :)

Thing is Croylo, no contract and voluntary work don't seem to garner any respect more than a phone call, despite Don having put more effort into the club than any other fan. Are the club trying to drive down attendances so they can justify administration, winding up order, and the final stage of the great stadium swindle? Sounds ridiculously far fetched, but when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth? There's no money to be had at ICT anymore, but there's money to be had without it.

Probably a mixture of DS V DJS, Marius, and the stadium...the club don't like it if you give the manager stick, but whatever you do, don't go any higher than that with your criticism, else you are likely to be punted out. What a joke. It really is. Thing is, they can do it, can't they? No one does anything about it. We are all too heilan' and would rather talk it to death, rather than do anything about it. No jibes there, I'm in the same boat. I'm just getting sick of them to be honest. Love the club, love the team, love the manager, but i'm just so disillusioned by those above that. It's not just this episode, it's been a multitude of things, for a long time, and the realisation the club isn't a fans club as we thought, it is David Sutherland and co. They aren't scared of the supporters opinions because they know we are all too spread out, divided, apathetic to do anything.We don't have a voice, whichever way you look at it. We have a soft supporters voice and a club with a hard perimeter, thus giving the club carte blanche to do what they like, like firing volunteers on hearsay.

Don, you didn't do anything wrong. The senior executives have taken to acting on forum posts from the internet to sack not just a volunteer but someone who many would regard as a representative of the fans by phone without any due process, discussion or explanation. Don't lose sight of that fact. It's as irrational and ludicrous as it sounds.

Well well, the board are at it again. You know, I live in China, and I hear about these things time from time, but,as I said, I am in a country that has no elections... I'm very disappointed about this, it is petty, sad, and wrong Petty: This is a forum, visited by ICT fans, it is not the Houses of Parliament, or The One show, it is a member forum, and independent from the club. Should CaleyD have written in the matchday programme, or the official site, yep...bye bye. But he didn't Sad: A phonecall? That's it? And going so far as to cancel the SRU game? Sad. Wrong: You do not treat your customers badly. What on earth do they think they are running? ICT is not a gulag! People choose to go there. Im furious. Darren, if you or someone who took this action is reading, i have a question. What do you think your job is? Is it to alienate fans? Is it to lose season ticket holders? Is it to make a mockery of ICT? Is it to embarass everyone associated with the club? If so, job well done. I'm not going to ICT anymore. Period. (Haven't heard the other side of the story....never will...no point waiting for it, is there?)

I have just finished it. Quite a book, quite a story. It was very open and frank, and showed the culture of football back then was as far away as you could get today. The Japanese saga was particularly sad...I wonder what would have happened had he not been addicted to gambling? Great book, but difficult to read - no happy ending yet, I hope it is yet to come! Even more my hero now.

Yes, Im sure Tam had thought about how to do it, and that he let Stevie know what he was going to ask, and that it was the style of the show, rather than any personal slant. I think it is ok, but then i cant hear it, so please let me know how it went, etc, as I hope I am correct in assuming this is done in a tasteful kind of jibe, rather than an offensive one - I like them both, but Stevie far more of course.

I concur, there will probably be a meeting in January to see if the prospect of SPL is realistic then, if not, they will let them leave

Phew, you must be very relieved. Very!, but i'm waiting to see if Unite have any more tricks up their sleeves. They are now talking about the fly globespan crash and on their website they say "Many crew are stranded overseas in Europe and beyond, extremely worried about how they will get home..." Very true...so was I thanks to Ubite! I feel for Globespan employees and customers, i lost my job like that too, it's horrible. Scotty will be pretty down about it as I remember him saying it was very good for Canada - Scotland flights, so not a good week for ICT abroad at all...

Strike averted. Unite supposedly balloted workers that were leaving or had left. Having looked at all the videos, press releases etc, I got the impression Unite were more focussed on getting PR for themselves than the issues at hand. The video of when the ballot results were announced was akin to a city getting awarded the Olympics...very distasteful and unprofessional I thought, why celebrate ecstatically such a serious action, that should have been "regrettable" and "a last resort" and as for the smirking general secretary, well. I hope BA and Cabin Crew can come to some amicable resolution without the obviously incompetent and wreckless Unite union.

My post was tongue in cheek, but SMEE didnt fall for it...rats! Yeah, though i do like the romanticism of gaelic, unless they intend to make it the official language of Scotland, im afraid it is a plaything of the government. Though BBC Alba gives ICT coverage so dont bite the hand that feeds you!

Look at how much money the commonwealth games got, and the olympics, and how much is being spent on the world cup bid by England Every child across Scotland should have the chance to enter a Gaelic school. Things like sports facilities, high-tech rooms, etc, if put into these schools could be used as incentives. 22m is nothing compared to what has been spent on the above. If money needs to be taken from elsewhere, then so be it.

Many moons ago I was a member of the Mock United Nations conference from Highland schools, and as South Africa, we got a resolution passed. I was 17 at the time, and was completely out of my depth, and spent most of the two hours thinking about how i'd have to climb the hill when i got home to clear leaves away from the water filter we had. Dornoch Caley - you are well ahead of the game, good for you.

I would happily go without food, drinks, etc as I completely understand BAs predicament. In fact, I would volunteer to help them serve drinks, clean, whatever in order to get home. If i have to change my dates I am out of pocket 200 quid for my internal UK travel i booked separately, plus probably another 200 to re-do it all, not to mention that i have to be at work 8am on the 4th January or my job is threatened. I just do not know how Unite and the Cabin Crew thought that this would be wise. BA is going to the wall if they don't pull together - and then what? Unite really are giving unions a bad rep.

I voted no. An unpopular choice no doubt. However, i think we use the players we have at the moment and im sure Barry gets a salary, which ICT need to justify, so my head rules my heart over this one. If hte club do sign him i will be very happy, however, i would prefer to see the wages go on a future talent as it may benefit us more in the long run.

Yes CaleyD does make valid points. My problem is that one less person on the plane, and a 2-year pay freeze, plus some extra working hours (within the law...so not going to be much) is hardly a reason to strike. Now if BA were making profits hand over fist, then I wouldn't be at all angry. However, as one industry spokesman said, it's time BA Cabin Crew joined the real world. They are far from being on minimum wage at 26k. All i want is to go home to see my Mum and Dad, and BA Cabin Crew chose christmas to strike as they knew it was the most important time...for who? For families who try to be together maybe only once that year. Yeah, my heart bleeds for them.

Well, I guess that as the festive season draws nearer and nearer, it won't be this year. However, it is an excellent inititive, and if the club are watching...please allocate some time to this. A little goes a long way, and it is Christmas after all. I think my pie-runner idea has legs, i mean it doesn't cost any extra dough but its gone a bit stale now. Seriously though, BB is one of my favourite features, it is usually trivial, but it does matter, and basically could we have it back please.

Ha ha. But i'm not in the least surprised. I mean, look at the name of the scottish fottball fans forum...pie and bovril. It is the only place i can get both,and not feel like a jake, or a pig. I, for example, wouldnt order one for lunch and go back into the office...i would hide in the toilets and scoff it...but at a game - bingo. Seriously though, it is a huge part of the matchday experience, and thats why people are posting.

I prefer vegetable lasagne to meat lasagne, and i am the biggest carnivore since T-Rex/Les Dawson. I personally like to have ma Bovril in one hand and Scotch pie in the other, with two more in my pocket. It's part and parcel of football for me. I cannot see the caterers adding vegetarian options asides from Macaroni pies unless it made up 20% of orders. Scotch Pie, Steak Pie, Macaroni Pie, Mince Pie, Balti Pie, Chicken Pie... thats where the real money is. 10% won't get them changing the order books I don't imagine. I wouldn't order a vegetarian burger but i would order a broccoli, carrot, potato and stilton pie. Does such a thing exist? If so, I would prob buy that (and my 3 scotch pehs)

Yes, very pleased to see some club viewpoints on the catering, which is a very important part of the matchday experience. I hope this is a sign of things to come, as although i don't expect the club to be on the forums day and night, a quick Q and A on certain matters via a mod, can work wonders to fan morale. Sterling work.

Yes, i think we are all on the same page (maybe just different paragraphs) with this. The list was just used to underline some of the reasons that why, one way or another, some fans are not as content as they could be, though in saying that, no fan is ever truly happy, and can always do better from their armchair, such as myself. Darren does have the backing of me, and I dare say most people too. The catering issue is new, and up in the air, and indeed will remain to be seen. I am optimistic about what Darren will do given time. What I would lile to see is CTO, the Supporters Trust, and ICT working in partnership, within reason given that the Supporters Trust and CTO are volunteers and as was pointed out by CaleyD, cannot be expected to fix things overnight. So, I guess the bottom line is this: Improved communication is essential to ensure a strong, consistent, healthy operation of the club, now and for the future. It is imperative that there is a much bigger effort made by ICT, which I believ will go a long way to making sure attendance numbers do not drop. My fear is that without this, the effects will be seen at the start of next season, and that there is no time for indecisive action from the club on this. They will reap what they sow, so to speak. A simple marketing example: There are 20 odd social media outlets such as Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, Twitter, Wordpress, blogspot, Flickr, You Tube, Google GEO, Digg, and many more. Now, im sure most clubs aren't on these, but that doesn't mean it's acceptable. My point here is that the club are well aware that communication is a sorepoint, and it is simple to fix it overnight. So, we will see if they either react in the positive, or in the opposite by doing nothing. (My Christmas travel plans have been destroyed as of 50 minutes ago via BA Cabin Crew, so apologies for any harshness in tone) As always, my great thanks to all at CTO who regularly provide an amzing service to fans through their own selflessness. I am not being sycophantic, it is just that it goes unsaid too often.