CaleyD

Mind made up then...I'm definitely taking the camera so I can blag an undercover spot somewhere!!!

What's the chances of us being under cover for the game?

We all know that's not going to happen. The SPL beaks tried everything in their power to keep them in the league...not a chance they'll do anything to prevent them getting back at the first possible opportunity. What's more, if the game in this country hasn't undergone massive restructuring by the that time then we'll be begging teams to join the top league in order to fill the spaces left by those who have gone to the wall...or who will themselves be getting dismissed for going into administration etc. The only basis on which they could justify doing what they are doing is one of integrity...and after the carry on in the summer, nobody has any integrity left to protect, so it's a pointless pursuit. Don't forget...every pound the SPL spend paying these guys is a pound less that will be distributed to the member clubs. It's ultimately the clubs and the fans who are paying for this and setting everything else aside...we simply can't afford to be throwing good money after bad.

The mentality in Scotland seems to be one that would rather see clubs cease to exist, than exist as the part of a merger. The problem with our merger, IMO, was that it was one driven by desire more than necessity....although some (Mr Bannerman) will no doubt argue (with hindsight) that it was necessary. The environment is very different these days and I think some mergers have to be looked at as necessity/means of survival. For that reason the arguments that would be put forward in support of/against a merger would be very different to the ones we experienced 20 years ago....making it very hard to draw a meaningful comparison.

Got to wonder what the SPL hope to gain by continuing to pursue this and paying out the vast sums of money these people will be commanding for their services. We're not arguing a point of law, they won't be able to enforce any fines and stripping titles means what exactly??? Would be far better if they put the money, time and other resources into sorting out the mess Scottish Football is in instead of trying to save a bit of face from the disaster that occurred because they were operating a system which allowed such things to happen in the first place. Nobody came out of the summer fiasco looking good and the more they drag it out the more damage that will be done and everyone will just look even worse. Time to draw the line and move on with stuff that matters instead of further lining the pockets of solicitors etc.

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Yes

Thoroughly enjoyed todays game and (despite Terry disagreeing with me ) I didn't think there was much to fault the team for during the entire match. Ok, we lost two goals, but they were both well taken and you couldn't really point a finger of blame at anyone for either. The only stat that didn't favour ICT for the first 45 minutes was the goals....and if not for a great performance by Williams then that could easily have been 3-2 in our favour after 45 minutes. Have to disagree with Wotherspoon having the best goal of the game...the opportunity was handed to him on a plate. Peppers was far better for me as, even after standing strong to win possession, he had to remain composed to pick the shot to slot it past a the keeper who was baring down on him and vastly restricting the angle/options. My conclusions from today....sometimes the league table does lie. Hibs league position flatters them, whilst ours does not do us justice.

http://ictsupporterstrust.co.uk/events/public-events/253-fans-v-legends-131012

Kudos to whoever the store manager (allegedly) spoke to at ICT and for spotting that they were an (alleged) shister....and that's before you take into consideration that none of the figures stack up. They were after £15k of advertising which means that (assuming £20 mark-up) we'd need to see them increase shirt sales for ICT by 750. I'm also assuming that they weren't going to buy the stock and it would be some kind of sale or return agreement, so they could have taken the stock (additional stock which ICT would need to purchase to supply them) and stuck it in a corner somewhere (no incentive to sell them if they get nothing from the actual sale of a shirt) and if they didn't sell then they simply send them back and ICT are out of pocket the advertising revenue AND the cost of the returned stock. You could argue that advertising space doesn't really cost us anything and it's better to have something instead of nothing for the use of that space...but that doesn't negate the risks involved with taking in additional stock which may or may not sell and having it dumped back on us at the end of the season. Sounds like the store manager (allegedly) took whoever he was (allegedly) speaking to for a fool and (allegedly) tossed his toys from the pram when sent packing.

Just as it's difficult for Managers, Players & Fans to maintain objectivity in regards to refereeing when the standard is so poor.

I believe the first stage of appeal is for the referee to be given the chance to change his mind and admit a bad call after seeing the video footage...so it may not have actually gone to a decision of the panel themselves.

is it just me or is half of nothin not actually the exact same as 100% of nothin goin along the lines of how deep is half a hole Doh!!! Half of something being better than 100% of nothing is what I meant

It certainly has not, we just had to check out the logistics of it to ensure that we do it in the correct (legal) manner. We've talked to the club, I'm in the process of putting together the proposal document outlining the how's and why's of it all and the CJT treasurer is getting an account set up. That should all be in place and ready for final sign off by the CJT Board at our next meeting (first week in October) and will be launched straight after that.

I'm sure there's a joke about a Halal Butcher in there somewhere...!!!

Sports Bar.

Hew went across the front of the player and the contact was shin to shin....no studs aimed at Fraser or even a hint of it.

Which is what makes following football such a great past time!!!!

Sorry, but docking wages and/or hammering a player for what is essentially nothing more than an error is sheer folly. All you achieve from that is a culture whereby players aren't going to get stuck in or involved in the physical side of the game for fear of losing money as a result. We just have to accept that these things happen from time to time and it's just unfortunate that OTJ's been on the receiving end of a couple of red cards.

I couldn't tell you the exact calculations used these days....but they are/can be quite complicated. They only really come in to play in situations where a club losing a young player doesn't feel the compensation being offered is fair. As I said, if we release a player then we get nothing for them. Cross border/association rules are different...I may be wrong, but I don't believe compensation can be claimed for a player moving to a different association. This might suggest why we are taking in younger guys from outside Scotland (we don't have to pay compensation) and add weight to the claims that Scottish players are beyond our budget....of course we also lose if our young guys sign outwith Scotland!!! On your final point, it's purely a numbers game. The more young lads you have showing potential, the more likely you are to find players that will make the step up. These are lads already on our books, being watched by our coaches every day and so we get first bite at the cherry in terms of offering them pro contracts and the opportunity to step up. Does that guarantee we'll be any more successful next season? Absolutely not....but the more players we bring through ourselves, the fewer we have to go looking for from elsewhere and the more unity you can build into a squad.

This is not a new thing and the players and community department visit several schools every week (and have been doing so for years). The only difference here is that they got a bit of publicity (and yeah, I get and agree with the point about them doing more to publicise these things themselves).

No idea...but then again, I couldn't tell you how many were sitting in the North Stand, other than it was more than 1....does that mean it was empty also? Read some of the other posts on this thread and you'll see I'm not the only one saying it.

What a load of tosh. Not sure what's worse, the C*unty propaganda machine, or that fact that it works so well because we have so many gullible fans. I believe the claims that they have sold out all hospitality there is also not what it seems. The real situation seems to be that one person has bought out the whole lot and is selling it back to the club depending on demand.

This article from the Ross-Shire Journal......

If people want to make an argument for replacing him on the team sheet with someone they think is a better option, then that is at least rational. The idea, though, that he should be ditched/benched purely because of a couple of cards is not...and that was the mindset I was disagreeing with.