CaleyD

De Ja Vu - Swap Niculae for Juanjo and we've had this discussion before.

Nobody seems to have commented on the fact that Fraser should have perhaps come out for the ball which led to the penalty. I wasn't there, but it was a statement made on the radio....anyone care to expand?

Of their is anything in your intuition IHE then I would make the following comment... The pressure would have been on after last week, and as CC had chosen to single out players for criticism then it wouldn't surprise me that they were going to be out there to make sure they weren't the ones being singled out this week - each player trying to out-do the other instead of playing as a unit and getting upset when someone else got in the way of that. We need to be playing as a team and that should be reflected in all criticism and praise.

Your really turning in to quite the boo-boy aren't you Johndo :029:

Anyone able to shed any light on the "exchange of differences" between Duncan and Munro?

Strange midfield we have out today.

Whatever way the club choose to go in terms of stadium development I would like to see them put some kind of 5 or 10 year plan in place. It's amazing how much more support a fund raising event will get if you have a specific cause or target for the money. E.g. If the club were to say that it would cost ?2 million to replace the North Stand with a permanent structure which incorporated a bar, gym etc etc and they wanted to do it within 5 years then it focuses the minds of everybody, it gives something the fans, club and community can buy in to. Then when it's completed it gives everyone a sense of achievement. These things also go a long way in making fans feel like the belong instead of being kept at arms length which is what seems to have been happening in the last few years.

....a large jet passes over head.....wooooshhhhh!!!

:024:

Funny how all those who come on to chastise everyone else for saying Rory isn't good enough end up saying the same thing by the end of their post. Granted some people haven't exactly minced their words when expressing their opinion, but most people have acknowledged the reasons why they think Rory is where he is, have said they would be happy to be proved wrong and stated that they think it would be good for the lad to go elsewhere to get himself back on track. Would you rather CC continued to play the lad, destroying not only his confidence but maybe even his future whilst dragging the whole team down with him in the process? Regardless of how many appearances he's made, how many starts and how many substitutions, he isn't playing up to standard. It's a dog eat dog world, and being nice doesn't put balls in the back of the net - at the end of the day, that's what he is being paid to do and he is failing. Yes the whole team (with a couple of exceptions) were poor on Saturday, but we're not judging based on one game and Rory has showed lacking for some time now.

About ?1.5 million it cost for the North & South Stands

If the club go down the route of using the stadium during the closed season for more concerts I believe plans are being considered to develop the West side of the the stadium to include some kind of stage area. Modular structures would be placed on it during the season to cater for press/tv etc.

In all honesty I don't know who it is, all I know (or have been told) is that an announcement is due.

One new signing due to be announced this evening or at pre-match press conference tomorrow. :004:

Some things never change :029:

Disagree on the point about access to Stratton Farm. Smithton/Culloden has, and always has had one of the most regular bus services in Inverness. It is also lies on routes which take in the greatest part of the city. Craig Dunain to Balloch via Torvean, City Centre, Retail Park, Smithton & Culloden (would have started/ended at Highfield at time of merger) (and reverse route) Craig Dunain to Culloden via Scorguie, Grant Street, Town Centre, Raigmore, Cradlehall & Smithton (and reverse route) 8 buses/hour leaving the city centre which would pass by Stratton Farm (or as near as that makes no difference) That's not counting the regular bus services coming in the A96 from Elgin/Aberdeen etc. These services haven't changed much in the last 15 years, but even if the were half what they are now it is still far more than was ever going to happen for the current site. You can argue that the Stratton site wasn't suitable for any number of reasons, but access is definitely not one of them. Fact of life, people in general are lazy and they expect to be able to go door to door without to much effort these days. The current site may not be "inaccessible" but it is a hassle for most folk, especially those who don't have a car. Comparing TCS to the Retail Park is nonsense IMO as it has 6 buses every hour that leave the town and go there. There are many contributing factors when it comes to attendance, some of them that can be resolved and some that can't. We are kinda stuck with our current location unless we receive a hefty cash windfall, and even then finding an alrernative site would be even harder today than it was 15 years ago and we'd likely find ourselves pushed North/South along the A9 or East along the A96. The club could however look at a better match day bus service taking in several parts of the City. Other contributing factors include.... Those who have previous allegiance to other clubs - this is something which will only be overcome in time. Price - I honestly believe that there is scope for initiatives on this front, the club just have to be willing to stick with them long enough for them to take proper effect. Even if that means a short term drop in income. PR - Something which ICT are shockingly bad at. Treatment of fans - Stewarding issues, handling of complaints and the "corporates come first" mentality only serve to p!ss the fans off on a regular basis. Car Parking - Nuff Said...lol Lack of Protection from the elements at the stadium - location isn't great but some kind of fourth structure, even a narrow vertical building with offices on the West Side would offer up some protection. Style/Quality of Football - Under Pele you always knew you were going to be entertained win, lose or draw. Under Robbo and Brewster we were boring. CC seems to be trying to introduce more entertainment back into the squad but it isn't working (yet). TV - The single biggest contributing factor to lower attendances, not just for us, but across the game in this country as a whole. In the past if a person moved to a new area they either traveled to watch their old team or they got their fix by going to local games, nowadays they just sit at home/go to the pub and watch it on the TV. The additional income is welcomed by clubs but it is killing attendances like nothing else in existence. They can't have it both ways. I'm sure there are more, that's just the "biggies" that come to mind just now.

Very Generous??? More like an extremely expensive screw up. However much it has cost them with these vouchers, you can be sure the money could have been put to better use elsewhere.

:33: You can disagree with someone without resorting to name calling gentlemen. TY

It may not be a degree, but I'm certain he has qualifications in something oil industry related. I'd have an injury free Keogh back no problem, but that wasn't likely to happen which is why we let him go.

He was kind of out of the picture with us due to his constant injury trouble, hence the reason he took up the offer from Peterhead. At the time they were offering full-time contracts, that has now all changed and contracts are being re-negotiated on to part-time basis. With Peterhead going part-time he had to decide whether to stay with them and get another job to help support his family, find a new full-time contract elsewhere (and uproot his family again) or get a full-time job away from football. I believe he has an engineering or oil industry related degree and was looking at that as a career move, whether that would allow him to remain part-time with Peterhead or not I don't know but he wasn't in the squad for last weekends match.

I know, my comment was TiC. I take no delight in seeing any ICT player not performing and would love to see Rory turn his game around. After the Rangers game CC again made the statement of showing loyalty to players he perhaps shouldn't have and I can't help but feel Rory is one of them. I also feel that he's already maxed out his overdraft in terms of "being given time to come good". With Niculae now available and once Bayne and McDonald are back to full fitness (which may be this weekend) we aren't likely to see much more, if any, of him in the first team.

By keeping him out of the squad?

CC has commented a couple of times that Niculae has done exceptionally well in training on both the technical and fitness front. That just leaves "match practice" and the only way he will get that now is by playing.

[img width=500 height=577]http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/blog/images/cheese.jpg

When all the discussion was ongoing about the signing of Niculae we had a few differing opinions on the situation. I had thought we might have got one or two people posting that it would be some kind of "blessing in disguise" if he wasn't to get his permit but I was glad to be wrong in that regard and I think I am right in saying that every person regardless of their thoughts on us signing him initially was in support of the appeal. :clapping03: Despite the views of some that things like the petition are a waste of time it was good to see Niculae acknowledge the support the fans gave him. As he said himself, he hopes to repay the support he received with goals - you can't buy that kind of incentive and here's to a very successful season for Niculae and ICTFC. :021: