Sneckboy

Nah...it's just me! But to clarify, I also don't mind where the goals are coming from. If we compare our leading 3 marksman with Aberdeen, for example (both add up to 23 goals) 5 - Mckay, Watkins 15 - Rooney 4 - Tansey 4 - Pawlett 3 - Doran, Christie, Meekings 4 - McGinn Which is 'better'? Well, neither, in my book. Both achieve the same end...23 goals. Most seasons we've had a 'runaway' leading marksman, Iain Stewart, Dennis Wyness, Adam Rooney, Billy McKay etc. and that's absolutely fine - it's a 'pattern' at many football clubs. This season, we're witnessing the goals being spread around - also great. But neither 'pattern' is preferable to the other. So I had a wee 'pop' at what I perceived as an inference that our current spread of goals was an improvement on our more familiar pattern. But aside from that, I was 'due a go' at Yngwie after that picture he posted of me. (post # 7) My glasses do NOT look like that! I'll stop digging now.

I'm very much in the one-game-at-a-time camp! Having a platform of 32 points at this stage is just brilliant. To totally contradict my first line - and daring to look ahead(!), we genuinely are on track to accumulate a record points haul, come the end of season. 58 is the target and we're on 32 after only 15 games!

Revised draw after all completed replays: 6 Premiership 5 Championship 2 League One 2 League Two 1 non-league Dundee v Celtic Falkirk v Brechin City Hibernian v Arbroath Partick Thistle v Inverness Caledonian Thistle Queen of the South v St Johnstone Rangers v Raith Rovers Spartans v Berwick Rangers Stranraer v Dundee United

It's certainly no bad thing. But equally, it's no good thing....We're normally a club who has a leading goal-scorer. So for us to 'celebrate' having goals-spread-throughout-the-team would be strange. Regardless of league, or position in league, every club has either a runaway goal scorer or spread-out goals. Logically. When Billy was grabbing 80% of our goals, I didn't hear any voices suggesting that it was a bad thing! A prolific scorer = good; goals spread about = good. It's the same for every club. So to suggest that having the goals spread about the team is 'no bad thing' is happy clapping to the extreme!

I suppose it comes down to 'interpretation'! And Willie Gollum probably realised he'd not booked one of our players with only 2 minutes remaining! Here's the official ruling on celebrations: Celebration of a goal While it is permissible for a player to demonstrate his joy when a goal has been scored, the celebration must not be excessive. Reasonable celebrations are allowed, but the practice of choreographed celebrations is not to be encouraged when it results in excessive time-wasting and referees are instructed to intervene in such cases. A player must be cautioned if: • in the opinion of the referee, he makes gestures which are provocative, derisory or inflammatory • he climbs on to a perimeter fence to celebrate a goal being scored • he removes his shirt or covers his head with his shirt • he covers his head or face with a mask or other similar item Leaving the field of play to celebrate a goal is not a cautionable offence in itself but it is essential that players return to the field of play as soon as possible. Referees are expected to act in a preventative manner and to exercise common sense in dealing with the celebration of a goal.

That attendance is very much in line with their average gate these days. No wonder with an attacking line-up including Suarez, Neymar and Messi all starting! For me, and much to the chagrin of the English media (eg. Garth Crooks), who are reluctant to admit it, La Liga is the top league in Europe/World.

As well as the 4 above names, another Dutchman and former 'well player Mitchell van der Gaag is being strongly linked in the papers today. I think the other candidate is Norberto Solano from Peru, who (unless he's lieing!) admits he's been interviewed. There will probably be an announcement this week. I wouldn't normally be too 'bothered' about who Motherwell appoint as their manager - but the Butcher link intrigues me! Surely their board haven't got such short memories! The manner of his leaving ICT followed by the cataclysmic series of results that followed! My gut instinct at the time of his 'dismissal' from Hibs was that he was finished as a manager - certainly in Scotland! There must be a lot of money going on Terry though as the bookies have him as 1/2 favourite. We shall see.

I hadn't been aware of that stat - Clarkson netting in 8 consecutive games! Although Billy didn't score in our back-to-back cup games with St Mirren, he has now scored in 3 consecutive league games (4 goals). He's back! Great win today - and the first time we've come from behind to win, on the road, in over 3 years. (November 2011)

Was reading that article and thought, I've heard of him! But after googling 'Charles Ingram' realised that was the name of the guy that got caught cheating on 'millionaire'!

Premiership Stuart Armstrong (Ross County 2-3 Dundee United) Adan Rooney (pen) (Aberdeen 3-0 Hamilton Accies) League One Bryan Gilfillan (Stirling Albion 2-3 Peterhead) Connor Pepper SENT OFF (Stranraer 2-0 Morton) Highland League Andrew Greig (Brora 1-0 Inverurie Loco Works) Daniel Park (Rothes 0-5 Cove Rangers) FA Cup 2nd round Tom Aldred (Accrington Stanley 1-1 Yeovil Town) Irish League Curtis Allen (Glentoran 3-1 Ballinamallard)

Next fixture: Tuesday 9th December - Ross County v Inverness Caley Thistle - Highland Football Academy, 1pm

haddock

I'm certain he'd remain focused and professional. But, I'm not a fan of 'pre-contract agreements'.

That would be ITC!? But, yeah we are the Cinderella club - but there's nothing Grimm about that - except that nobody wants to come to the ball with us!

I also think we should try to keep him until the end of the season - at least! I think we'd be 'cutting off our nose to spite our face' by relegating him to the Development League games, if he hasn't committed to us by a certain time. He's such an important player for us that I think we should offer him a 2-year-deal on greatly improved wages. Obviously, finding that extra money will be difficult - but Horner and Sekajja seem to be 'peripheral' figures at the club and could be released, freeing up wages.

Revised draw after last night. Dundee v Celtic Falkirk v Annan Athletic or Brechin City Hibernian v Arbroath Partick Thistle v Inverness Caledonian Thistle Queen of the South v St Johnstone Rangers v Raith Rovers Spartans v Berwick Rangers or Albion Rovers Stranraer or Dunfermline Athletic v Dundee United Previous meetings: 2002 - Quarter-final - Partick Thistle 2-2 Inverness (replay) - Inverness 0-1 Partick Thistle 2006 - last 16 - Inverness 2-2 Partick Thistle (replay) - Partick Thistle 1-1 Inverness (after extra time) (1-1 @ 90 mins). Partick won 4-2 on penalties. 2009 - last 32 - Inverness 3-0 Partick Thistle With our record of never having won there in the SPL/Premiership or indeed any of the cups, having also drawn at Firhill in the League Cup, they should start as favourites - I'm sure we'd all settle for getting them back up here for a replay!

RossP will be hoping that his McBookie bet is still on! And his 'sizeable sum'.... A sizeable sum for me is a fiver!

Managers and those 'between jobs' - like Stuart McCall himself, attend games all time. Half the managers in the Premiership were at our match last night.

I'm not sure! He maybe just wasn't picked for the squad - got to say, I can see him being released at the end of December. Anyway, great that we're into the last 16 - the Partick Thistle game isn't until February so we can look forward to that one when it comes. We've 11 league games before then and a transfer window to 'survive'!

Have included the 'split' fixtures this time - although, as Charles suggested, there are only minor changes.

Update. Penalties taken for ICT. (Last: Greg Tansey (scored) v. St. Mirren 2nd December 2014) Ross Draper (100%) Y Y James Vincent (100%) Y Nick Ross (80%) Y Y X Y Y Greg Tansey (80%) Y Y X Y Y Aaron Doran (75%) Y Y Y X Billy McKay (67%) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y X X X Y X Graeme Shinnie (60%) Y Y X Y X Richie Foran (33%) X Y X

Charles, on checking that my link 'worked', I've noticed an error in my figures. (my 2013/14 figures are only for the pre-split fixtures). I'll resolve it tomorrow!

£8 for us 16-25 year olds ain't too bad And Under 16's just £1 And they'll spend considerably more in the pub afterwards!

Absolutely. The figures are indeed 'transient' as the visits of certain clubs can hugely impact on the averages. We've still got a festive game against Aberdeen to come plus visits from County and Celtic. I've used the database Soccerway for these results. I've cross-referenced random clubs' attendances (simply using my own arithmetic) and they always exactly tally - I'm confidence of the veracity of Soccerway's published figures. http://uk.soccerway.com/national/scotland/premier-league/20142015/1st-phase/r25295/tables/?ICID=PL_3N_03

It would actually be 6 away ties - 4 in January followed by the first 2 games in February! The old cliché about the winter months and squad depth, injuries and suspensions etc probably holds-true!