Kind of Blue

To win promotion at the first attempt is a tremendous achievement and the team and management deserve all the priase that is coming their way. Everybody who played their part off the field are to be congratulated also. I cannot wait until 1 May to finally get rid of the bitter disappointment of getting relegated.

Just to flag up Kingsmills's earlier post, tickets are going fast so get them now while you can.

Sorted. I like your style. Keep it up.

Without any doubt.

I think the majority of posters on here are not getting carried away yet and know that there will be twists and turn in the run in. The Raith game will be a good test as to how the team handles being league leaders. If they can get 3 points tomorrow it will keep the pressure on Dundee and the rest of the chasing pack.

A big thanks to everbody involved in providing this excellent facilty. It was great to see the County game again.

Shirt sponsors come and go at every club which got me thinking. Since coming into the football league how many sponsors have we had and who was the longest.

I can come up with Scotrail, Citilink, Inverness Medical/One Touch and Flybe with Medical being the longest sponsor. Indeed they still put money into the youths.

How about Sharp (something that rhymes with harp!). Flybe will be continuing to invest in our youth development and provide other sponsorship.

* ICT was very lucky not to go under in the 1999-2000 period. It was only the "Trust" deal which prevented financial oblivion. NB - that is a fact and not an invitation to reopen any debate on the nature of the "Trust".

How much was it costing the club to service the debt that existed and how much have we been paying in rent since?

The interest on the debt is serviced soley by the Trust - the club do not contribute to this apart from paying a rent whch is way below commercial rates and is a very good deal.

The David Sutherland critics must explain how the club would have survived without David Sutherland's intervention because there is no question that the Bank would have called in the debt in 2000. At this stage Dougie MaGill and Coffin John were finished investing in the club and nobody else was coming forward.

Imrie - 1-3

I'm too slow for this lark

The whole reason for joining ICT was for him to get fit, get games, get goals, get noticed and get a move. Job done. A stepping stone move that worked out for everyone concerned.

So I'm amazed how many people believe that Marius didn't want to leave.

Why would an international player want to ply his trade near the bottom of a minor league, where he is resented by some in the the dressing room, and being paid a relative pittance compared to most of his international teammates? After getting to Euro 2008 he would never get a better chance of a move to get his career fully back on track with a higher profile club.

He wanted to move on, the club wanted to cash in. In those circumstances he may well be entitled to the money, but he is certainly not the totally innocent victim that the interviews portray him as.

I agree with all the above. Our Board may not have covered themselves with glory on this issue but I do think that one way or another Marius would have/did angle to leave as soon as possible after Euro 2008.

What a load of cr*p. If our team all played with the dedication of Richie Foran we would be top of the league - in fact we wouldn't have been relegated in the first place. Ross Tokely is the exception to my remark - he also gives everything for the team. If anyone should be punted it is Danny Sanchez. He doesn't bother running for the ball and his passing is p*ss poor.

Totally agree with the above. Foran is the guy that runs his heart out; never gives up and gives everything he's got in every game. If more of our players displayed the same grit and determination then we would be putting in a serious challenge for the league.

Richard never did quite manage to learn how to cross or pass the ball.

As for Golly, he will add some much needed passion and experience to the team.

The accounts for the year ending 31 May 2009 have just been released.

The main headline results are:

Loss for the year: 2009 (113,937) 2008 (432,496)

Turnover: 2009 3,608,155 2008 3,409,754

Admin Exps: 2009 (3756,709) 2008 (3,409,754)

Overall salary costs were 59% of turnover, down from 70% in the previous year.

A dim memory now but we were being beaten away to Cowdenbeath during our third division years and scored twice, if not three times, in injury time to turn defeat into victory.

The most exciting game i've ever seen on teletext. I think we were 3-1 down going into injury time and won 4-3.

Only under Pele!!!

I was at this game and it was indeed an amazing finish to the game; and the turning point in the season which led on to the title win. Life was never dull under Pele.

Well done to everybody involved with putting on this event. Good to hear that it was well attended.

Renewed my season ticket yesterday.

The DoF was paid an emolument of ?50k last year. This was 'supposedly' in recognition of his services over the previous four years when he done the job for nothing.

The DoF received ?40k in the previous financial year, so the above justification for previous unpaid service is not valid. In my opinion, a paid DoF is a luxury we cannot afford in the 1st division.

Rescheduled for Feb 18th (I hear Sky dictated the date)

Just realised today is Feb 8th.

I spotted the date also, Yngwie. Amazing to think that 9 Years have passed since that historic night.

I warmly welcome the appointment of the new management team and they will get my full support. I urge everbody to unite behind the team and management, so that together we can play our part in fighting off the threat of relegation. I know that's easy to say and harder to act upon but everthing else is secondary in the face of this threat. We've had little to cheer about this season but I really hope that Butcher can turn things around; get the team motivated and fired up to spur on a challenge to the teams above.

The appointment of manager is due to be made on Monday. Apparently Robbo is still in with a shout but Buthcher is out of the running. My money is on Knox.

Alex, a timely and sensible thread and one in which I share your sentiments. It's time for us all to look ahead and believe that we can stay in this league. Every game now is a cup final and we must play our part in every way we can to fight for survival. All is not lost and starting with a win at Tynecastle we can turn things around.

Dundee United certainly seem in a position to try to tempt us to sell Cowie having just posted a profit in excess of ?800,000.

They did indeed post a profit of ?800k but they still have a debt of ?5.5 million. I don't doubt though that they could make Cowie an attractive offer.

Barry you have made a big contribution to the success of this club over the years and have provided many entertaining moments (how I dream of being entertained again!). I wish you every success at QoS and thank you for the memories.

Time for Esson to get a run in the side. His distribution is far better than Fraser and he has looked confident and composed when given a chance in the cup games.

A fairly good attendance today despite the early kick off and the game being televised.