CaleyD

You pronounce the G in Gnasher....I know because he told me.

Attitudes and actions of individual Police and Stewards is a different thing...and you will get no argument from me on the need to be dealing with that issue. With further regards to attitude....there's far more fans who think they can do and say as they please than there are police and stewards...and therein lies my issue with the Celtic Trust statement. All it does is fuels that paranoia/victim mentality of some people. They will be of an even stronger mind that nobody should be searching them and they are now armed with what they think are "facts" (there is no need for gloves to be worn for a bag/pocket search or pat down) in regards to their rights when being subjected to a search. Nowhere have they been made aware that refusing to submit to a search by a steward can lead to a request from the police and a refusal to submit to a search by the police can lead to arrest. So, Little Bhoy Bloggs is approaching the turnstiles, is ushered to the side for a search, the steward has no gloves on so he refuses to turn out his pockets, this is flagged to the police who aren't wearing gloves either and he refuses to co-operate there...in the back of a van and away he goes. Is that an over-reaction on the part of the police? His behaviour, as far as they are concerned, has to be viewed as being that of someone with something to hide. So, by issuing the statement they, the Celtic Trust, have only served to enhance the risk of the problem becoming more than one of simple inconvenience at having your pockets etc checked.....something they claim to be moving to try and avoid. The best thing the Celtic fans could do would be to make sure they have no prohibited items on them, submit to the search, get a totally clean outcome and demonstrate that such action is not required. They would also have to ensure good order when searches aren't in place, but by doing these things they give themselves a far stronger case to argue against large scale operations against them in future. Unfortunately, as it stands, the recent behaviour of (some) fans only gives police etc reason to do what they are doing.

As I said, I don't believe that searching every fan at every game is justified....however, I do think that occasional searching of everyone acts as a good deterrent to anyone who might be of a mind to try and take banned items into a ground. It's certainly a more logical approach than just stopping someone because you don't like the look of them....and a little naive to think that any/all perpetrators can be spotted from their demeanour and/or behaviour.

Scarlet...."Man Date" is the modern term used for when guys hang out and go for a meal or whatever. It implies nothing in regards to sexuality.

I don't think anyone is denying that some of the actions on the part of police/stewards/officials is not justified....and I've gone to bat for people on more than a few occasions over it. However, what we are talking about here is a group of fans with a recent and substantial history of taking flares etc in to games and endangering peoples safety. To suggest that Police/Stewards should not have the power to search people entering a stadium under those circumstances is ridiculous. As I said already....imagine the outrage if someone was injured (or worse) by a flare and police/stewards/clubs had done NOTHING to try and prevent it? Would those campaigning for no searches be willing to come forward and accept responsibility? Would they hell....they would be the ones queueing up to sue police/stewards/clubs for negligence because they did nothing to stop the items getting in in the first place.

Not sure anyone "wants" Tokely out....I certainly don't, but I also don't think he is the player he was and is perhaps at the end of his career as an SPL player. No malice, no dislike, nothing sinister....just an opinion, and one that I would happily like to be disproved on.

http://ictfc.com/news/club-news/376-matthew-will-star-on-the-pitch Got the chance to meet Mathew a couple of weeks ago, a great young lad who is really enthusiastic about being given his chance with ICT....and he couldn't have a better mentor.

Offering players a % of transfer fees is perfectly legit....although after the Niculae debacle, I'm not so sure we should venture down that road again!!!

Don't see what searches have to do with the concept of the "game belonging to the fans". The level of searches undertaken will be determined by the outcome of the security meetings that take place with the safety officer, police and stewarding companies. If the reports suggest that there's an increased risk then police and stewards have a duty of care to act accordingly. It matters not a jot if fans are involved in that decision process or not, the duty of care to act on the intelligence to hand still exists. Could you imagine the uproar if that duty was ignored and something happened? We don't know exactly what intelligence was to hand when the decision was made to pat-down all visiting Celtic fans, so it's impossible for us to make a call on whether or not we think it was justified. FWIW, I believe that to occasionally search every fan acts as a reasonable deterrent...to search every fan every time they visit is excessive. Regardless, the way to deal with that is not to promote actions that will only serve to exacerbate the situation and potentially cause further trouble. The Celtic Trust communication is not about informing people of their rights or seeking a solution, it's about causing so many problems for those doing the searches that it leads to mayhem...allowing them to come back with the "See what problems you are causing" argument. Who's fault will it be if the searches are abandoned due to unwarranted questioning of officials causing delays and fans getting rowdy because they are about to miss kick-off...and that results in an object getting in to the stadium that then causes problems or injury? If the Celtic Trust, or any other organisation wants to make some real inroads into dealing with these things, then they first need to look at the actions of their own fans and work on bringing that under control so as others don't feel the need for increased security measures in order to protect the safety of innocent bystanders. P.S. Setting aside the fact that you would be hard pressed to deem them as being a risk to public safety, even those attending societies more prestigious events undergo security checks...checks that would be deemed a far bigger incursion on civil liberties than a simple bag/pocket check and pat-down at a football match.

Time will tell if he's a cut above the rest. He's only made one appearance, but he did comb over as the kind of player who could be a permanent fixture in the squad as opposed to a fringe player. He brushed aside the Hearts forwards without being too cut-throat and managed to clip a few useful balls forward. At 6'5" he could easily bob up in corners and set pieces and highlight his usefulness with a goal or two.

I know it's been said several times before, and he's always proved people wrong, but I think Tokely is finished as a regular first team player at this level. He's not been great this season, and actually don't think he would have been here had it not been for the "1 year option". He used to be the kind of player that chased everything and everyone....this season he's been off the pace and found wanting on more than a few occasions. My all time favourite ICT player, but I think it's time for him to bow out while he can do so with head held high. I would far prefer that than see him struggle on and tarnish his status with the fans.

I like to think that such gestures are what set us aside from other clubs.

Until a player signs then any news is "rumour" or talk relating to players from other teams, "Non-ICT", that we like the look of and should be put in the relevant forums.

I think the teams tune for the rest of this season should be......

Whether St Mirrens actions are seen as being OTT or not, the statement from the Celtic Trust strikes me as being a tad irresponsible and is only likely to lead to further delays and problems at the turnstiles. Also think there may be some misinformation in there regarding hands being covered. As far as I am aware there's no need for gloves to be worn for a bag search or pat-down (other than for the searchers own protection). Willing to be corrected on that one if I'm wrong.

Got further information on the arrangement with Eden Court this morning. The setup is that Eden Court are given blocks of tickets to sell for specific areas in the Main Stand and North Stand....so you don't have full choice on which part of the stadium you wish to sit. Priority sales are not offered via Eden Court and they do not have the ability to deal with enquiries regarding season tickets etc....these will have to be done via the Ticket Office as normal. Eden Court were being supplied with tickets for the Celtic game this morning, now that it is on General Sale. These will be available until they sell out and/or 5pm on the Friday before the game (awaiting final confirmation on that time). In short, it's an outlet for those looking to purchase tickets and are happy to take the ones on offer and not looking to sit in a specific area. Hope that helps clear up any confusion.

Why would Williams not be available? The only reason (as far as I am aware) that he could not play in the Pars replay was because the rules say you have to have been signed prior to the original fixture.

I could perhaps see the need for that with ticket only matches, but for games where there's a cash gate then it wouldn't make much sense to go over to Eden Court to get a ticket before heading over to the Stadium.

Had it been at the other end then I would have been looking for the penalty as well. Was suggested afterwards that Templeton slipped, but I'm pretty sure his leg was taken from under him. Will have to wait for the highlights to be sure.

I think it does the lads that came in a bit of an injustice to suggest they were "makeshift". We've not had a settled team all season and the entire squad has had to learn to cope with that. I think it's a credit to every member of the squad that Butcher can now rely on any of them to come in and get the job done (and to do so without changing the system too much)....it may actually prove to be a huge plus as we now chase a top 6 slot because we should have the confidence to be able to keep on changing and keep the opposition guessing week on week. Not much I can add about todays game that hasn't been said already. I was worried at kick-off that there was no bounce on the ball and it was running at all on the surface of the pitch. I expected a messy game but ICT coped well and made the best of the conditions, whilst Hearts chased shadows and struggled to string two passes together. The only thing Hearts were good at was cynical and dirty play. Hayes was having the chit kicked out of him all over the park and the referee did nothing about it,,,yet Sutherland somehow managed to get a yellow for heading the ball when it was stuck in his face!!! I have to admit that I had some concerns about Proctor being played in the middle, but he was pretty solid today. As was Williams, who didn't put a foot wrong all afternoon. Going back to the rough treatment Hayes was getting....it seemed to do the job that Foran had been asked to do on Wednesday night and get him fired up, because the more he got pummelled the more determined it made him and he ran Hearts ragged for most of the game...in fact, the only way the could cope with him was by fouling him. Foran is going from strength to strength since being moved to the defensive midfield role and ran Hayes close for my MotM. Nick Ross continues to impress and his vision and ability to pick a killer pass will prove useful if Butcher decides to stick with giving him a start. Shane Sutherland battled hard the whole match and deserved his goal...he could/should have had more. The one he did score felt like it happened in slow motion. Even before the ball was played in to him you could see it coming as he worked himself into space. Not the sweetest goal you'll ever see and watching the ball trickle over the line given how muddy the goal area was starting to get was a nervous moment. Up front I think it's fair to say that the object was to cause confusion for Hearts....and it worked. Sutherland, Hayes, Tade, Tansey & Ross seemed to be working in rotation and none of them spent more than 5 minutes in any given position. Hearts back four were being pulled all over the place. Not the prettiest game of football we've played this season, but we had a game plan that was well executed and effective.....bring on St Mirren!!!!

Game Is On : At the stadium and Pitch Inspection has just been completed.

Wondering if Williams might get a shout ahead of Tokely....Meekings could also be in contention for a start. The one benefit of having has so many injuries and line-ups this season is that we're not having to rely on players without any game time and we have a squad that is more familiar with change than anything else and should be able to take it in their stride. One thing is for sure, a few players should be out there proving they are worthy of a start and looking to make it difficult for others to get back into the squad as/when they are fit again...that alone should be worth a couple of performance points. Anyway, time to head for the glorious sun trap that is TCS. Strangely upbeat about this one.

Are St Mirren Debt Free? I thought I saw/read something somewhere that they'd already managed to screw that situation up by the end of the first season in the new place.

It's a ridiculous situation...and one that is only getting worse and will only cause further long term problems to the sport. I wonder if the decision makers really stop to think about the effect of moving games willy nilly like this? We are all aware of the impact it has on us as individuals and as a result the fans in general. It's bad enough when a game is moved to an earlier kick-off or a Sunday as we all, especially families, have routines and plans which need changing to accommodate. Moving a match to a weekday evening will almost certainly exclude younger kids who will have school to attend the next day....or who can't get off school to allow them to travel. Parents have to leave kids with friends/babysitters if they want to attend by themselves...and the kids, who we should be doing more to bring in to the game given that they are the future supporters, miss out. Even if they are lucky enough to have access to the game on TV, a 7:45pm kick-off means a match goes beyond their normal bed time, so still they miss out. More than ever clubs rely on fan volunteers for a lot of things. ICT, as with many clubs, have such people doing media duties at matches, videoing the games, selling programmes and 50/50 draw tickets. These people have other jobs and can't just go in late the following day after not getting home till the small hours, nor can they just swan off early to get to games in the first place. Even paid staff at clubs who have kids are severely put upon by the upheaval....and that goes for the players as much as anyone. But what can we do? The league and the clubs have sold out to TV and are now in a situation where they (TV) call the shots. Boycott these games? That's like asking fans to cut their own throat....but, IMO, it's getting to the "no choice" stages. Banner protest? Not really effective when protesting against the TV companies who would just not show the banners. Complain to Clubs? As I said already, they have long since sold out to TV and are powerless to do anything and just hide behind the "wasn't our decision" excuse. (hide is maybe a bit strong, and not all the current incumbents can be blamed for the situation as it is one they have inherited and almost powerless to do anything about.) Complain to the league? They'll just tell us that the game would be worse off without the TV money. Scottish football is, IMO, beyond practical repair...and the roots of much of that lies in the fact that we sold out to television. If Scottish Football was a horse we would have shot it and put it out of it's misery a long time ago. Maybe it's time to stop throwing good money and effort after bad, scrap the current setup in it's entirety and start again...it would almost certainly be a lot less painful than suffering the slow death that is currently taking place. Better to do it now while there's still some interest in the game than spend another 5 or 10 years driving everyone away and their being nobody left to rebuild it when the inevitable happens.

Our thanks to those who attended tonights AGM, it's always good to get feedback and input from the members and we look forward to following up on and implementing some of the ideas and suggestions that came from this evenings discussions...I have a feeling that 2012 will be an especially good year for the Trust on many fronts. Two new additions to the Trust Board tonight in the shape of Rob Wilson (aka Gringo Jnr) and Davie Balfour. Treasurer, Doug Ritchie, stepped down from the Board and we thank him for his service to the Trust. He leaves a big pair of shoes to be filled and we wish him well for the future.