CaleyD

I hate when people post lines like that - makes you feel like whatever you post after it is done so out of some kind of guilt :029: You are right however, and the fact that any club in the SPL, let alone one of the smallest, is managing to turn a profit in the current climate is quite remarkable. The bank book must be looking pretty healthy these days which will not only assist in attracting new investment, but starts to open doors when loking at new developments and initiatives. Maybe one day we'll be able to buy back the stadium.

It was pretty inevitable that we were going to see this happen. McBain may be one - as a result of Rankin and Paatelainen coming in we are pretty heavy on the left side of the park and, IMO, although McBain is fairly consistent he offers nothing extra in his game. Even though Morgan has singed a 6 month extension he may still be in the same boat - if we are releasing players then it's unlikely we'd be holding them to contracts or looking for cash for them. Duncan, I doubt we'll see as one of them. I know we have fans who don't rate him but he is a solid player and often instrumental in breaking down the oppositions attacks in the middle of the park. He's the Bobby Mann of the midfield IMO, nothing fancy but reads the game well and his passing is usually pretty good. Although I rate Hart as a strong attacking midfielder and one who may come in to play a fair bit at the start of the season with our striker problems I have a gut feeling that he may also be "on the list" - he just doesn't seem settled with us at the moment, can't put my finger on it but I sense their may be issues there.

It's going to happen sooner or later, of that I have little doubt. However knowing the powers that be it will likely come at a time where it is absolutely meaningless. We'll see either one of the OF docked 3 points at the end of the season when they are 10 points clear or something equally as daft.

You don't have to pay to sign the petition. As I posted above, that screen is a bit confusing, when you get to it your signature has already been recorded and you do not need to make a donation. iPetitions asks for donations to fund the running of the website, they are not compulsary.

I have to say that the confirmation of registration page is very unclear and may be leading to some of these double entries. For anyone who hasn't registered their views on the petition, when it comes up with the page asking for a donation that means your signature HAS been recorded, pressing back on the browser and submitting again will cause a double entry.

Guilty :029: Was having problems with my connection last night and it registered my entry twice.

Typical Dundee Utd Fan, will do anything to sponge a free drink. As for when things have and haven't been done, you really should listen more carefully to those you speak to in the Heathmount, especially when they've got a drink in them!!!

Have decided not to merge this thread, instead I shall be making it a sticky. Their is a VERY Important link within the article to an online petition which has been set up my MSP David Stewart. It is located at - www.ipetitions.com/petition/mariusniculaeappeal/ and I would encourage every ICT fan to get on there and sign it and to also send round the link to everyone they know will be in favour of Marius Niculae being granted a Work Permit. Thanks to David Stewart for giving the fans an opportunity to have their say where it will count.

If you haven't done so already you can sign up for the SPL Prediction League at Clicky Clicky Full Instructions at Clicky Clicky

You should be careful Sophia. Keep selectively quoting people (and not even full sentences) and people will start thinking your a journalist :014:

Relying on Champ Manager as a translation of the rule book is taking it a bit far :015:

No idea of figures but I do know of a few people who have decided not to get a season ticket this year for various reasons including/combination off..... 1. Too Expensive/Not value for money 2. Contributing to the wages of certain staff 3. Can't afford it but would have one if they could 4. Corporates cutting back on numbers they have bought in the past 5. Way they've been treated at the stadium in the past 6. Work commitments meaning they wouldn't make best use of them 7. Last minute changes of fixtures preventing attendance and meaning they don't get full value 8. Don't enjoy games as much as they used too/shine has worn off 9. Setanta ?9.99/month is more appealing than getting cold and wet at TCS I've urged these people to make it known to the club their reasons for not renewing as that's the only real way that issues can be dealt with, whether they do ro not is another story and of course in some cases it's personal circumstances instead of anything the club has/hasn't done. Some of them will still attend as and when possible but on a match by match basis, but I do get a feeling that this season may be the first where we witness a decline in attendances.

I think we are witnessing the beginning of the end for Wilson. With this article and one a few weeks back he has talked a lot about not knowing if he'll be here for a 10th Season and I can't help but feel he's already made up his mind and that kinda upsets me. Not because I think he is in any way letting us or himself down but because this is the first time we'll witness one of our long term greats retire from the team. Sure we've had some other players retire in years gone by, but none that have been here for the entire journey (or almost in the case of Wilson). We've also had many players leave for pastures new, but in some ways that's easier to handle as you can balance your upset at seeing them go by giving them a bit of stick and wishing the ICT Curse upon them :001: On the plus side we have some fantastic young players coming through and from the Clach game last night it looks like we have a few more to come in the next couple of seasons. I just hope Wilson sticks around as a coach and mentor to the likes of Zander and the other young lads as, IMO, he epitomises everything that ICT is all about. I may be wrong and we may see a couple of more seasons of him on the wing - either way he fully deserves his Testimonial Season, what a year this would be for us to win a cup and finish top 6. A fitting tribute to a player who has worked hard and played a huge part in ICT being where they are today :021:

Don't you just hate looking forward to a pint or two and then realising that today isn't actually Friday :029:

So there we have it.... "Footballs World Governing Body Protects Cheats"

Although the procedures will go in to place immediately, they don't take force until 1st January 2008. On the surface it looks like a good move, however I have a couple of concerns. 1. Is a referee reviewing the game afterwards likely to turn himself in for making bad decisions or missing incidents? 2. It is the smaller teams who will (potentially) suffer most. The larger teams have "larger" squads of players and will be better placed to absorb the impacts of these new procedures and will be able to take more risk on the cheating front. 3. They have failed to cover the most important aspect of cheating and that is the impact it can have on the result of the game. These new procedures will not be used to overturn any result and will only serve to punish individual players. I would like to have seen the scheme extended to include some kind of points penalty for teams where there is an obvious issue with cheating or the ability to remove the goal if the cheating has resulted in a penalty or scoring directly from a free-kick. The proposed scheme is better than what we have at the moment but I think it has room for improvement and tightening up. As with many things it will only be as effective as is allowed by those who are administering it - unfortunately that's the SFA, fortunately it's not the SPL :015:

Away to Fort WIlliam, Next Tuesday (7th Aug) - not sure of time Pictures from Trevor Martin now added to gallery - Clicky Clicky Hopefully I got them right this time.... :015:

CC was in the press saying we have a fit back four of Rossco, Munro, Caff and Hastings clears up the rumour that Rossco could miss out with back problems. Had a wee chortle to maself whenIread about Dargo. Not because I wish any ill on the guy, but because all the St Midden fans have been all over any post about ICT on Pie and Bovril laughing about our injury problems - he who laughs last and all that :015:

I'd have Duncan in ahead of Cowie or McBain and as I said above I'd put Paatelainen in on the left, if for no other reason than his physical presence. Not sure we'll see Wood or Zander starting this one given the fact they played last night in the North Cup.

Thats what I get for trying to do too many things at the same time..... :015: All sorted now though. :022:

Some pictures courtesy of Gordon Gillespie (NorthSport) from last nights game now in the gallery - Clicky Clicky

Think a couple of people have misunderstood chris123's reply. He was telling Arab4Ever to check the source of his answer for the question as up until last season Rangers would have been included in the list of teams we hadn't beat in a competitive match. I don't think he was suggesting Rangers should be included at this point in time.

Rangers seem to have kicked things off playing very physical football and I think we'll need to utilise some of our "bigger" players from the start if we're to absorb that kind of play. I also think that 5 across the middle is the bet way to compensate for that kind of opposition, plenty of bodies in the midfield so we can string lots of passes together, reducing each players time on the ball and thus the chances of being kicked to shreds. Leave Wilson on the right, put Duncan in the middle and sacrafice Rankin for Paatelainen. If you want to put someone just in front of the middle line then use Hart although I think a flat 5 across the middle makes more sense with them adjusting to cover anyone who goes forward to support Wyness or drops back in support of the back 4. Save the fresh legs and nippy running of the smaller guys like Rankin (for Paatelainen) and Zander (for Wilson) for later in the game when they can come on against tired legs and operate to full effect. Possibly even look to changing back to a 4-4-2 to increase our attacking threat. Not tonight, I've got a sore head.

McBain on the right? Are you having a giraffe?