Stirling Observer

Im off to the balloon shop. Cup final is almost here

I don't mind losing. Losing is a part of life. What I won't accept is player who represent my club as employees, failing to give their all on the pitch. Last night, there were plenty of them. This is unacceptable, surely Robbo can see the players hiding. I would rather see 11 youth players giving their all and snapping into tackles, than mercenaries floating about the pitch, stealing a wage.

Our clean sheet run came when we had Coll, Raven and Tremarco. These three were more pivotal to the defensive resilience than the Brad/Coll parternship. These three protected McKay. If Warren was in for McKay it wouldn't have mattered.

I think a major issue is the type of player we are signing. The majority of Butchers signings had work ethic and a desire to develop (Warren, Hayes, Rooney, tremarco). Under Hughes and Foran we have had the entrance of more egotistical players (Vigurs, Mulreany, McKay). When the going gets tough, good luck finding these guys.

Must be horrible for boys like Trafford to sit on the bench when Chalmers faffs about on the pitch. Bell must be furious, he was unfairly dropped in my opinion and hasn't been reinstated even though his replacements have offered nothing. McKay must be choking for a chance.

Disgraceful. No desire or belief. Embarrassing that these so called players represent the club bar a few. Ridgers, nothing to do in the first half except pick it out the net. Couple of missed crossed which should have been punished but a good save towards the end. Seedorf. Did okay defensively. Has no left foot so always goes outside when attacking. Easy to dispossess. Warren. Did okay. McKay. He is woefully bad. Just saunters about thinking he is a player. Tremarco. Mom for me. Showed desire and fight unlike most others. Chalmers. Rotten, always passes sideways or back, any forward pass is to the opposition. Powderpuff in the tackle. Polworth. Started brightly but seemed to give up. Vigurs. Classic Vigurs, nice touches, too relaxed sometimes giving ball away. Gets frustrated, gives away needless fouls, Huffs, gives up. Jake. Hid all game, couldn't be arsed today. No runs in behind, didn't take the winger on once. One decent cross. Doran. Usual. Can only last a half. Poor game by his standards. Oakley. Bullied. Little service or support. Put in decent effort. Zac. No football brain or touch. Bell. Hardly got on the ball. So so bad. If we play like that again then relegation is a serious concern. Forget the challenge cup. We have much more important issues at the moment. Survival.

Cool. Just hand the Scottish cup back then and fold. Scotland needs clubs spread all over the country to give opportunities for youngsters to access games. What we need is for the MSM to stop filling their shows with ex old firm players who live round the corner who peddle the same myths about how important and great the old firm are. I must prefer listening to a balanced discussion/piece on Scottish football by ex players who have no association with either old firm club, the difference is shockingly obvious.

I'll pop in for a dram

Pretty sure County will finish bottom. They have the cursed Billy Mckay. Plus they are very poor.

Just ruined your own arguement. Apparently inner moray firth can't cope with 2 professional clubs. Currently Dundee, it was Edinburgh. What next, what's the point, let's just leave it to Celtic and the new team from Glasgow?

Anyone going? I will be there. Presume Coll is still out. If so we are almost guaranteed to concede two goals. Optic stats.

You can't judge the pitch based on overnight frost surely. Every game in the country would be off

Course it's frozen at 8 in the morning. Surely it will be fine by 3pm when temperature has risen. I thought they were worried about a waterlogged pitch.

Yup the glory hunter tag doesn't really fit. I use it for the majority of football fans who say they support either of the old firm who have never been to parkhead or Ibrox. Prefer the term day tripper. They just want to get involved in an enjoyable day out with a big more of a special atmosphere than the run of the mill fixtures. I don't have any problem with that.

Has our club done anything to drum up interest or excitement? Surely the more this is plastered and marketed the more likely fans will go along and persuade others to join them. A Saturday 4.15pm ko gives the excuse makers very little excuse.

It stinks. It is well known Celtic and Rangers have supporters groups from all over Scotland, probably there shall be a bus or buses from Angus travelling to glasgow for the old firm games. Both Angus and Glasgow are heavily affected by snow. However this is deemed fine, whereas a small contingent of supporters and players from Brechin to a completely snow free area is deemed dangerous. It's a joke.

I drove up from Fife. Which has similar conditions to Brechin, not a bother once out my street. Unbelievable they called this game off. The traffic from Brechin to Inverness would hardly have had a major impact on the road network. Poor call by the police and clubs. About time we stopped being the nice guys and start doing what's best for us.

County sacked Adams to become more community orientated. Look at them now. They have and always be a bunch of mercenaries with little care for the community. The development team was hugely successful last season but Roy panicks on a almost 6 monthly basis and relies on short term responses to survive in the top league. Who wants the county job now? I would suprise if there are any decent candidates bar the desperados

How many times has there been horrible conditions on the A9 at the high passes whilst no concern at sea level, plenty. How many times has there been a concern for RCFC or ICTFC staff and fans during these times....not many. I'm not saying either situation is correct but double standards are in play. If the weather warning is less than amber then the game should be played.

When we had our amazing success in the premiership we were fortunate that some traditionally large clubs were struggling for a variety of reasons. The championship was very strong for at least 3 years as these 'bigger' clubs fought back to the top table. I would argue we are in the weakest championship there has been for some time and are making a mess of it. Utd seem to have downed tools, Falkirk are in transition so the opportunity has been there. Our lack of quality and discipline has been evident. We haven't been higher than 6th I think in a weak league compared to usual. Livingston, a newly promoted side, have shown that with a solid defence and organisation how to be successful. Basically I think we have a lot of issues and areas to improve and my hope is erading quickly.

I don't get the thinking to charge loyal fans more to keep the club afloat. I will pay more than market value to watch my team but by increasing prices you alienate lots of potential customers. I don't care about facilities or catering. I just want to see the players who represent the club giving 100%. At times over last and this season, I am questioning whether or not this is the case.

Market our game as blood, thunder and passion. Some may see it as a backwards step but for many that's what makes football good.

Business football (English top leagues and champions league, world cup etc) is creating a new sport which is sanitised and moving away from the traditional game. Tackling is gradually being eradicated, diving is allowed because there was 'contact', video refs will analyse every decision. Scottish football has an opportunity to offer an alternative to business football. If we can leave football alone and offer something different to what people watch on a Wednesday night or an early Saturday morning, it may help to bring people back to our game. However I presume our governing bodies will just copy whatever the English leagues rather than making decisions for themselves.

Think we will need win 2/3rds of them to achieve a playoff position. Realistically I don't see us getting promoted via the playoffs but it would be a good boost for the bank balance and add a bit of excitement. Sets us up nicely for a proper attack next season.

Happy. Saturday, good location, plenty pub time pre game. Happy.