CaleyD

Some absolutely fantastic golf, the Americans just weren't good enough and they knew it. Watching the singles today and it got to the point where it was just bang bang bang, game over. The scoreboard was dominated by Blue the whole 3 days but in the space of about 10 minutes we seemed to drive home the final nails. Outstanding perfromance by the whole European team, think every man managed to contribute something to the overall score!!!! Think Lehman pretty much summed it up when he commented on the fact that we capitalised on every error and missed putt they made and the fact that in the fourball the players were backing each other up when it was needed and the Americans just didn't seem to have the same cohesion. When you look at the World Rankings for both teams the Americans were by far the stronger looking Team on Paper but the bookies seemed to know better as we started the tournament as favourites and never looked like being anything else. Garcia's singles performance will be lost in the overall euphoria but it was good to see him keep on battling despite things not going his way early on. If your going to get beat then do it in style and I think he managed that with his chip in on his final hole. Westwood's performance in the singles was kinda lost in the excitement of the matches which were out earlier.....5up after 7 holes!!!.....would like to have seen how Westwood would have held it together if the Cup hadn't been decided when he was around the 12th or 13th and DiMarco kinda took the shine of the Finale with 2 balls in the water on the 18th. How funny was it when Tiger's caddy dropped his 9 Iron in the water....think it shows how much Tiger has matured as a player and person cause he just laughed it off, a few years back he would hav spat the dummy and probably thrown the guy in after it. The whole atmosphere of this years RC seemed to have improved and their didn't seem to be some of the same tension as we've witnessed in previous years. No signs of the "Typical Yank Arrogance" which we have almost come to expect from them in everything they are involved in and I think it made for a far better tournament. Just how much feckin Champagne do these greens need??? Why can't they use water on them just like everyone else.....Posh Barstewards :015:

I think he still has a bit to go to "mature" as a player but I don't think CC should be doing anything to dampen his terrier like approach to the game. All he needs is a bit of guidance in properly channeling his energy. OK, so he's picking up a lot of bookings and I think he now faces a suspension, I don't think thats all that bad and so long as CC properly manages the situation and does as he did yesterday (hooking him before he got the 2nd yellow) then I still see him as an asset to the team. We have ample adequate cover in the middle of the park and so long as these yellows don't become straight reds then I don't see the need to worry. As a player much of his strength is in his attitude and approach, maybe it is "wee man" syndrome, but take that out of him and he would be walked all over in the middle of the park.

If you check the league table again you'll find we are 9th and nearer to 3rd place than we are to 12th in terms of points and Goal Diff. The true fact of the matter is that everyone is taking points off everyone else in the league this year and apart from Celtic, nobody is creating a safe top 6 position for themselves yet. With the possible exception of Motherwell who seem to be having an absolute howler of a season so far a top 6 is there for any of the other teams to take and there is a long way to go yet so no need for panic or wholesale changes to the team.

The "They're worse than us, so that makes it ok for us to misbehave" argument is a load of BS, IMO. I don't know the full story or exact reasons why this person was ejected from the stadium or why he is up in court facing a potential FBO, but justbecause the OF fans or any other fans are worse or participate in these things on a larger scale is no excuse for smaller clubs to be let off. I disagree with the FBO system and how it works, but lets not get into the mindset that exists among a lot of the OF fans where they try and justify their actions by claiming the other half are worse. The argument here is not about which other teams fans are any better/worse or did anything more deserving of action, it is about whether the person in question acted in a way which justifies the action and potential penalty he faces. Like or dislike the fans of other teams, they are all in the same position as us with regards these FBO's and pointing the finger and saying they are more guilty than us serves no purpose when the problem lies in the system itself. I have no doubt that their are elements among most teams supports that should be brought to task for their behaviour on matchdays - perhaps this person deserves what is coming to him, and perhaps he doesn't. Either way, saying that the Hearts fans did this that and the next thing and nothing was done to them serves little or no purpose. The game in Scotland is in rapid decline, you have managers of teams coming out and asking supporters to get behind the team, to make a bit of noise and gee themselves up for matches. You then have men (and women) in suits who have likely never witnessed a match from the stands introducing laws which rip the heart out of the one big thing that keeps people coming back to matches week after week - TRIBALISM. Following a team and going to matches is about more than sitting there for 90 minutes watching the team on the park, it's about the banter between opposing fans, a bit of harmless baiting and shouting at each other, it's what gets the blood flowing and the adrenaline pumping. Take that away from the matchday experience and we would all be aswell sitting at home watching the game on the TV (and a good bit better off with regards the pressure on the wallet, but thats a whole other argument) Plenty has been said on here about how quiet our fans can be on a matchday, is it suprising many people are like this when they have these ridiculous rules hanging over their heads and the very fact (as has been witnessed on several occasions) that whatever they say or do could be misinterpruted and lead to them being evicted from the stadium and now, with these new FBO's, find themselves banned from matches altogether. I'm all for weeding out the real trouble/troublemakers, but going to matches is becoming far too clinical, who gives a stuff if you hear the odd swear or witness the odd rude gesture made to the opposition fans, it's not a Sunday School Picnic, and so long as there's no racism, sectarianism etc involved then I see no real harm. I'm not the smallest of people and I was cursed with red hair (I really didn't have much going for me) and I was subject to Fat and Ginger jokes all through my childhood, if I could cope with it every day of the week, I'm sure a player can cope with it once a week from opposition fans without the need to go crying about it. In fact, I'd like to actually see some figures on how often players do actually report directly (without press leading them for a story) on being upset by whats shouted at them during games, I would bet everything on it being a miniscule figure, and nowhere near the issue these "Public Servants" would have us believe. These claims of behaviour that "Incites Violence" I also think are a load of tosh. Unless someone actually lays hands on another person then their is no excuse for them to react with violence, if they do then they are worse than the so called "offender". Flashing your erse at someone may not be the most pleasant thing to witness, but it's hardly inciting violence. People need to learn to be a little more tolerant and live and let live. The problem in this day and age is that everyone feels they have to justify their existence, Stewards think they have had a poor day at work if they haven't ejected a few fans, police have arrest targets to keep up and courts, despite being stretched to the limit, seem to want to give themselves more and more work.....none of it makes any sense to me and I truly think the whole country is going berserk.

No

I'll likely still go, but the reasons not to are fast mounting up. With not finishing work till 7:30 and starting the next morning at 6:00 it really is tempting to save myself the £15 and go home for a decent kip!!! We don't have the biggest fanbase in the world, and I understand the need to make the books balance, but their is only so long you can bleed people in this manner before they decide enough is enough.

I often get the feeling we are trying to make the team fit the game plan rather than getting a game plan that fits the team. Week after week certain players come under criticism for having a bad game when, IMO, they are being asked to fulfill a job or execute a strategy that isn't working for us. Whats the point of having these "creative" midfielders if they are constantly left out of the loop with long punts up the park, and whats the point of having a player like Dargo who is most effective when receiving the ball inside the box when he is expected to collect the ball from 25 yards out and then do something with it. The players are never going to shine unless we have a system that works to their strengths. I'm happy enough with CC's performance as manager and he has to be given time to work these things out, it may just be a case of trial and error with a touch of him wanting to stamp his own mark on the team but he has to be careful he doesn't become too blinkered on these things and keeps in mind what worked for us so well last season. It's early enough in the season yet and considering the teams we have played to date I don't think we are doing as badly as some might have us believe. So, in answer to "Whats Going On??" - CC is learning his trade and pushing the players to develop in the process. What the outcome will be is anyones guess, either the players will click with the current system or CC will have to re-think and perhaps get back to basics. I don't think he should be too quick to abandon whatever it is he seems to be trying so long as we can keep ourselves away from any relegation tangles, but that is a decision that can be taken once we are through the first round of games and have a more realistic view of the bigger picture. It may not be too exciting for the fans, but if their is some kind of longer term benefit then so be it. We criticised Robbo and Brewster for being far too one dimensional, so I don't think we should be so quick to criticise CC for trying something new.

(Belated) Happy Birthday. Have to admit, you didn't look a day over 39 when you were here!!!!

Brewster basically told Wilson to shape up or he would be shipped out, if you all think back you will recall that their seemed to be a bit of a rift between Brew and Bazza at the time, but Wilson finally decided to listen to what Brew had to say and knuckled down to getting back in shape - it hasn't gone unnoticed and provided he keeps it up then he will be an asset to the team for a season or two yet.

[retorical question]So you were just complaining for the sake of complaining when you were questioning why he wasn't even on the bench on Saturday???[/retorical question] As I said, you just can't win with some people!!!

Your the one wanting him on the team sheet :017:

Ummmm....hate to burst yer bubble and all that, but Brewster has already gone!!!!

With regards to the "Experienced Manager" argument. Appointing young and ambitous managers to take us to the next level has worked thus far, so I see no need to change a formula which is working. As for the idea of playing in Europe, I see no reason why we couldn't play there, however, we are far from being ready to compete on that stage. A few European matches will do us no harm, but they have to be seen as part of the learning/growing experience, and that is not only for the team on the park, but the manager off the park and the whole club setup. I would far rather see the club continuing to make gradual progress than jumping in and "going for broke" only to see everything crumble around our ears. IMO, those who are looking for the European glory etc etc here and now are starting to sound like the OF fans, as all they ever do is mump and moan about how they should be doing this that and the next thing in Europe, when the truth is they themselves (at the moment) are nothing but small fish in the big European Pond. Lets enjoy what we are doing at the moment, it's not all that bad if you take your head out of your erse and stop living in cloud cuckoo land. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with being ambitous, but not to the extent that it has you knocking current achievements and getting on the back of the team, manager and club who have done us proud to date.

Alex said "Served Alongside" not "Played For"

I totally understand, but you can't be shouting the guy is crap and should never be in the team etc one minute then complaining he's not the next!!! The problem in understanding lies with those who fail to see the fact that he was signed as cover and as stated above, may not be match fit. If we were to base our squad on not signing people unless they go on the teamsheet then we would be working from a squad of no more than 18 players.

You just can't win with some people. When news broke that he had signed they didn't want him anywhere near the team, and now his name isn't on the team sheet they are up in arms asking why!!!!!

Not necessarily :016:

McSwegan :001:

With Dargo being back to partner Bayne on the pitch and McAllister on the bench there was no need for him. Only serves to strengthen the line of thought that he is here to offer cover should it be needed.

I reckon the Centre Half turns around, goes back and kicks the feck out of the Keeper for hitting him on the back of the head, chaos breaks out and the match is abandoned.

Who was judging McSwegan not good enough for the 1st? It's well known that C*unty have been and continue to cut costs and as McSwegan was one of the top earners there then it is not suprising that they would be looking to get him off the books.

ICT have managed to re-kindle the careers of players in the past. For that reason alone I think we should at least wait until we have seen the guy play in a couple of games before passing judgement. As has been said already, an old head to steady things at the front may be what we need right now. We are creating the chances and opportunities but the final shot is not there on many occasions, if McSwegan can provide a bit of cool then we can hopefully see more of these chances converted. I have my doubts over his ability to play any more than 30/40 mins in a game but that may be all that is needed to influence the outcome. Time will tell, and I think there is a job for him to do for us here at ICT.

Deciding who was "it" was often a game in itself. One of the ways we used to decide was by having one person turn their back and giving everyone a nuumber, they then picked a random number to be "it". Was suprising the number of times the person with back turned chose their own number :015: - a similar method was also used for picking teams for football etc aswell.

Your a hard man Jock :015: Just finished 9 days of 12 hour shifts, and for someone who has been out of work for so long it is taking it's toll a bit. Don't panic though, I am reliably informed that Dalneigh isn't going anywhere so the photo opportunity will not vanish :016:

Munro turns 26 a week on Saturday - player profiles can be found at Clicky Clicky