CaleyD

The solution has to be two-pronged.......find more efficient, less harmful ways of producing energy, and more importantly...use less energy. Floodlights and USH must be two of the most wasteful uses of energy I can think of in relation to football. If they shifted football to the summer then it would eliminate the need for floodlights for all but the evening matches and it practically negates the need for USH. As a result clubs would save a fortune in energy bills and it would be of huge environmental benefit. If your more concerned about the eco element, then lets get rid of the car parks and put proper bus links in for matchdays. The best thing about all of the above.....it wouldn't cost a penny to implement it.

I think your being extremely unfair on the majority of the users on here. Most of the concern when he arrived was in regards to what deal he was on and how it would impact on others...concerns which were wholly justified at the time. I remember very little being said when he signed about his ability, other than in speculation to how it related to the rumoured salary. During the course of the season most fans have been fair in regards to praise/criticism of the guy and he would be the first to admit that he got off to a slow start and that he never performed to the standards he'd set himself....again something which many acknowledged and understood that he couldn't be expected to come flying out of the blocks at 100% given his time out from playing and lack of pre-season. Yes, perhaps one or two were OTT and unfair in their criticisms, but I think your way wide of the mark to suggest he was receiving flak from "many quarters".

Scotty, I'm not saying he shouldn't be there or that the Brewster had any choice, what I was saying is that if things were more positive in general with things at the club then those complaining about his absence and saying he should be here would have been very unlikely to have made issue of it.....in other words, it's the state of mind of some fans which is leading to every little thing being immediately latched onto as a means to criticise.....a state of mind caused, in part, by how poorly the club handle PR. It's the whole issue of cause and effect....as I said, we may not always agree with or understand the reason for peoples complaints, but in most cases if you dig deep enough you will get to the root of it. Absent Friend, I couldn't tell you precisely which part of the coaching exams were failed, but yes, it would have meant re-sits, either of what he is doing now or something earlier in the courses which might have set him back meaning that this part of the course has fallen when it has instead of perhaps having been done during one of the international weekends which is when, as I understand it, they try and do these things normally.

Come to think of it....me trying to get into an Errea top...I'd be as well painting it on :015:

As with Barrowman, I think players like Elliot are worth taking a chance on, but they need to be brought in alongside someone who you are confident, or who has proven, they will get results. If we had been looking at either play with a view to bringing them in alongside Marius (or Wyness had he not moved) then I'd maybe be a bit more enthusiastic about the whole thing, but as we're looking to take a punt on players yet to prove themselves with nobody in there alongside who already has, then it's shear folly and far too much of a risk.

It's hardly "innovative", the whole concept of painting up models to promote stuff has been about for as long as I can remember. I'm no prude and I think it's all just a bit of harmless fun, but if the club has to resort to getting some lass to flash her t!ts to the photographers to get our new kit into the papers then things are far more desperate than I feared. Also, I wonder what reaction a female supporter turning up on matchday painted like that would get from the club and stewards. Any volunteers to try it out? I've got a decent sized pair of man boobs, but I'm guessing that not even the supporters would appreciate the humour in me trying it out :015:

Had things been going well then I'm sure the whole idea of Brewster having to take time out to do this course at a time when we would rather he was concentrating on the squad and transfers would have passed without complaint. But....it's just "one more thing" for people to complain about, and whether those having a go at people who are being critical like it or not, there's far far more to be negative about just now than their is to be positive about and the poor handling of the clubs PR just turns it into a self-feeding monster. It's not as if it is all mindless moaning, bitching and complaining and anyone who takes even a moment to think about it will realise that the vast amount of criticism, be it directed at Brewster or anyone/anything else, is justifiable. Despite what some might thing, the vast majority of folk don't just complain for the sake of it....although we may not always understand the reason, one always exists. It's up to the club to manage fan expectation, understand the reasons for complaint and work to solve them.....not simply bury their head in the sand and hope it goes away. Even this topic about him being in Salzburg instead of concentrating on the squad and transfers is merited, although most people probably wouldn't know why....but had Brewster not failed exams last season then perhaps he would be further along than he is now and not needing to spend time away from the club. For what it's worth, I don't think it will make the slightest bit of difference to preparations for the new season as most decisions about where we are taking the team/squad will have already been made and the Summer could be extended by 6 months and it wouldn't have us targeting anyone different from those we are at present. It's very little to do with the specific people we are targeting and more to do with the type of people we are targeting....that's what worries me.

From "your not a real fan if you slag Brewster" to "slagging Brewster in reference to the Barrowman situation"......and all in the space of a single post :015:

The stitching looks a lot better on that version :023:

New nickname for Zander.......Heinz :023:

Hard for Marius to do anything when not getting the ball!! He was getting into space and screaming for the ball only for Mutu to take it and run into 3 defenders.

Robben offside and in thick of play for the goal!! Romania have become one dimensional. Nearly every forward ball going to him. Think Nicolita should have been man to come off there he's been anonymous most of the game.

By all accounts Mike Smith signed a new 3 year deal with Errea not so long ago......so no, not the last year.

It's ok, nothing special, but not offensive either.EDIT: I was making an attempt to be diplomatic since I've been slating much of what's gone on at ICT recently, but I can't do it as this has to be a contender for our worst strip ever IMO....cheap, tacky & unimaginative. I'm also hoping those are just samples being used in the pictures as the stitching between the panels and how it lies doesn't look to be the best. As it's still Errea then I at least won't be faced with the quandary as to whether I get one or not...unless they're doing a XXXXXXL this time :015:

I could have just said "I am unimpressed with how things were being run just now"....but that doesn't help people to understand the reasoning behind it. I'm still waiting for one of those who think everything is rosy to expand a little more on why they think this is the case and why they believe it's a good idea to wait until things hit rock bottom before people are entitled to voice their observations and concerns.

And just as I finish typing my thoughts I here that the "word" is that he will start up front alongside Mutu :029:

It would seem that word is on the street about this being the case. With Goian out suspended then Chivu will more than likely move into his Centre Back position leaving space on inside left which is where I think Marius will slot in to start with. I'd prefer to see him playing up front as he's more of a physical presence than Daniel and could hold the ball up more whilst waiting for support....so it will be interesting to see how Piturca decides to play this. If the go for a more attacking 4-4-2 then it wouldn't surprise me to see Niculae and Niculae as the front pairing.

I love people who, when they have no counter argument, resort to turning their attention on the person instead.

I'm only just getting warmed up :001:

The people that really annoy me are the ones who constantly harp on that fans should realise we've found our level and be grateful for what we have. It's exactly that kind of mentality among those running the club which has caused ICT to falter...both on and off the field. We may never be a Rangers or a Celtic and constantly appearing in the top 3 or 4, but with the small team mentality of some we'll be lucky if we ever make the top half of the league. Fear is rampant right throughout ICT at the moment...among everyone from the fans to the Board of Directors. You can see it when the fans talk about "11th being good enough", you can see it in the team when they lose faith in the ability to play football and resort to hoofing it up the park, you can see it in the manager when he employs negative tactics or is scared to make a game changing substitute, you can see it with our Board of Directors who haven't offered the best ever player to play at ICT a new contract....either through fear of refusal, or fear that he might just accept it and they are scared nobody will be interested in coming in for him in 12 months time. It's fear that drives them to set targets for possible signings and then keep on extending them when they aren't met because they are scared they won't find someone else. You can call me and others moaners if you like, but I prefer to think of it more as a desire to see ICT doing the very best they can with the resources they have...something which isn't happening at the moment.

Same as me.... :029: Austria 0 v Germany 2 Poland 0 v Croatia 1 4 Yellow Cards

- Where are we going to find a proven SPL goalscorer for the money we may get for Marius? Even if we got ?2 Million for him we'd still struggle to get a proven striker, let alone bring in "three or four quality players". Marius scored 10 goals for us last season, and that was after a slow start due to his lack of football for 2 years and no pre-season. He was just starting to come good and Brewster was (slowly) learning how best to use him (apart from left midfield at Falkirk). The Barrowmans of this world might shine alongside someone like Marius, but they're going to struggle alongside the likes of Rory or Bayne. The money will either be ferreted away in the bank (in which case we will need it to make a push to bounce back from Div 1) or it will be p!ssed away on bringing in "hopefuls" from Div 2 and the anyone we are lucky enough to tap up from Chester City. Perhaps if the club had the balls to stand up and say "you know what, we will keep Marius" then other players might appreciate that they won't simply be churned for a few thousand 12 months down the line and they might actually be more willing to come here. It's not only the club that need to grow a pair, some of the fans need to do so as well. How long are people going to allow themselves to be lead by the nose and blinded by all the spin (and poor spin at that) which seems to have become common practice at ICT in the last few years. Wake Up, Stand Up and Be Counted before it's too late.

I think Romania are capable of getting a result in their own right. Aside from the results against Netherlands in qualifying, they have the ability to totally neutralise the "counter attack" which Netherlands have relied upon so heavily to get them the results they have. If Romania set up their stall in the way they did against the French, but put on a lone forward with more of a physical presence (Marius) to hold the ball and give them the chance to counter themselves then I think they have the making of any team in the tournament. Daniel Niculae is pacier than Marius, so I'd keep him on as a Wing Forward on one side and Mutu on the other. Alternatively, with Goian facing a one match suspension then it's very likely that Chivu will drop into his slot at Centre Back leaving space for Marius to play inside left.

It's only "cashing in" if you can replace him for less money or a better player. Given the fact we can't even get a 2nd Div striker to sign a deal, I can't see where people expect us to get a replacement for Marius for even the same money, never mind cheaper.

It's all a state of mind...if we project the image of "a diddy team" then that's how we will be viewed...whether it's fact or not. It's not the lack of money that has the club shooting themselves in the foot whenever they speak to the papers, it's not lack of money that had Brewster telling the press that our #1 signing target is an unproven 2nd Div striker, stopped us extending Wyness contract, made us ship Rankin or had us in the papers accused of trying to tap up 2 Chester City players...it's not even down to the lack of money that we haven't (yet) offered Marius Niculae an extended contract.....but these are all situations that have made us look remarkably "diddy" recently, and that's just on the footballing side of things. Diddy is letting your best players leave for pennies or for free and publicly resigning your team to not being able to sign anything other than lower team players. Ambitious is taking a chance on players you know are capable, not selling them off for pocket change and at least going after players who are either proven at a decent level or have been out of nappies for more than 6 months. We saw signs of ambition last summer when we signed Niculae....but now the club seem to be sh*tting it and unable to follow through and make it one of the best moves they ever made.....I'm not talking about accepting the first offer that comes in for him and saying "look how much money we made", I'm talking about having the balls to keep him here. Let him realise his full potential whilst we bring in players with a view to replacing him in another 12 months....and then cashing in on what I believe will be even bigger money......that would be ambitious, and it doesn't even carry that much risk and it would be far riskier to let him go and pin our hopes on players who have barely played at this level, far less proven themselves at this level. Opportunities to have players like Marius in the squad aren't going to come along every day for us....I accept that, but when they do we have to make the best of them, not look to turn them over for a quick buck and then go back to where we were. We seem to take one step forward and two back....at the very least we should be trying to makeit two forward and one back, because, if nothing else, that's still progress.