absent friend

"Not only have Livi little chance of surviving but I would suggest that many teams are looking over their shoulder hoping foreign banks will return to these shores with an easier borrowing mandate." Ironic indeed - just received an email from the Bank of China confirming their return to the financial market here!

If you toss a penny and it comes down tails 9 times the chance of it coming down tails the 10th time is.....evens!! What has gone before has no bearing on our effort this season! We were not involved before therefore the history of others is irrelevant to us. Of course we can go back up. the unfortunate thing is we are making predictions blind as we do not have a history with this squad and the other teams are in the same position. On paper and in some games our squad looks indeed good enough - maybe even better than the tail end of last year - so don't be neggie, vote YES

I think what is also being missed at this time is the lack of financial options open to all clubs this year. This time last year we had benevolent bankers opening their strong room doors to assist any club that required a bit of help. This year - hee haa! Now try and run a football club with a ten month season, bulk of income in month one and then, if lucky, just covering costs weekly. Add in players values dropping due to lack of trading because of said lack of cashflow (Setanta money) and imagine trying to present that to a bank, in the form of a business plan at this time, to stay afloat. We have this oil support company gone to the wall yesterday with a full order book, good historic trading but no bank wants to address the cashflow situation right now. Compare their business plan with that of a football club!! Not only have Livi little chance of surviving but I would suggest that many teams are looking over their shoulder hoping foreign banks will return to these shores with an easier borrowing mandate. The 'money men' backing clubs are very often the most reliant on borrowing and if one area of their financial empire crashes, like cards, the rest could follow. Unless there is a end product for injecting money into a club I don't see the same 'Saturday toy' mentality prevailing for a while so I'm afraid it is goodbye Livi. .

Just change the midfield to 3 and move Tokely up alongside Rooney!! Now wait for their defence to head straight for the subs bench when the first attack takes place. Can you imagine our big two bearing down on you as you decide to maybe pass back to the keeper, slip your man and move on upfield or...maybe I'll just kick it out of play and run like fun away from this man mountain! Well at least this team selection gave my mind a treat. Thanks. .

One area for debate - no, two and I will start with the second one first! Scotty, those young ladies definately dilute your offering, keeping my eyes on your written word is very difficult, however, maybe I am at a funny age! My main point is, why can the team raise their game v Utd and play such crap in the cup game? I was not there last night but by all accounts we offered Utd a good test and we looked good ourselves even making many posters happy for the upcoming season BUT their performance only highlights how crap they were on Saturday - what happened in that 48 hours? As Rig pointed out it was only a friendly and if our performance mirrored that then we would be more understanding - up for the cup, not too bothered over the friendly - this was the opposite!

Well I think the above highlighted remark is symptomatic of many ICT fans - 'win the league or we will change you for........??' Wait a moment we have possibly the best managerial duo we could hope for in our current situation! I also think they have provided us with a reasonable pool of players. Maybe if TB and MM decide to leave us and Foran etc follow, this will make the recruiting of a new manager so much easier! Aye, right! The favourites to win our league, in their game against Aberdeen, put out NINE subs at halftime and they were still the better side. Yes, of course, TB could also do that - I don't think so! Now please reply to this and give me YOUR reasoning for your above comment!

QUOTE (RiG @ Jul 27 2009, 02:05 PM) "Not aimed at you are anyone in particular at all more at the attitude that seemed to develop within the supporters on here whilst we were in the SPL which was that we were as good as shoes ins for the top 6 and relegation was never a likely scenario" Well I for one felt we had a 'right' in the SPL - not the top six but the top of the rest. Our fall into the SFL was only considered a possibility, by me, in the final two games of last season and even now I am in a state of denial. On P & B I have difficulty going to Div 1 as our position, in my stupid mind, is SPL. Delusions of Grandeur ? You Bet!!

Not only is the viewing area poor but the morons/non thinkers that decide to leave their seats 10 mins before the game finishes and then stand in front of this area ready to make a hasty move to the exit. OK for them, they are watching the play but the less fortunates are left watching the rear ends of the said morons/non thinkers - wishing they could land a size ten thereon!! What a super idea re the tea and pie provision! Maybe, now that we are aware of it, this can also be persued. This is indeed better news and will provide additional enjoyment to all concerned. Well done to the Trust if this comes off.

On the subject of trialists, they appear to be from England, Ireland, France, Spain etc. Where are all our players wanting to play under Butcher's watchful eye, hoping for a move into the Scottish setup?

Sean Evans is currently playing for Ludlow Town in the West Midlands Regional League 2 (The equivalent of the tenth teir of league football in England) and Michael Barnes is with non-league english side FC Halifax town (The equivalent of the eight teir of league football in England) Edited to add the league info I would say looking at the above reply that Brew got it 100% correct, in both cases. I realise that he does not enjoy the best of reputations on here but at least credit him with something he got right!

I think it could be quite a high scoring match maybe 7-0. Not really fair on wee team but players must look to shine to catch the managers eye.

The club must have a plan in place for a main stand overspill. Wonderful Courier headline all the same CROWDS LOCKED OUT AT ICT'S FIRST MATCH

Maybe he has been offered but the terms did not suit him. Don't forget it is a three way deal - club, player and player's agent and the latter very often pulls the strings. .

Taking a big positive from the above article, we can even learn from a club going down the pan! 'Hope to have the kit out in time for the Summer holidays to spread the name around' Now how aware is that for marketing - by the time ours is normally out for the new season, the holidays are over and the advertising days are numbered as heavy clothes are being worn. Maybe our club should also aim for the final game of the season to launch next season's kit.

On that subject, I am just disappointed that we did not substitite one ICT keeper with another last night - in the Clach goal!! I fail to see how the new keeper could shine without being under pressure and therefore idle in our goal was no comparison to being under fire in Clach's goal.

How does the average support as a % of population compare to the likes of Aberdeen for example?

I think you may have been on your own there unless you thought 'any one from five'!!

The drop may be big but the alternative must have been frightening for the smaller SPL clubs. At least with being on TV they will have an income from adverts around the ground that would have brought in next to nothing without TV. Don, I take your point, so big a gap both financial and in wealth of talent of players, cannot allow true competitiveness within the SPL. I do think we will realise that this year with the 1st div being so much closer in team ability and finance and therefore points. Am I correct in thinking that with maybe 70% of the games played last year, the gap between top and bottom was so tight that the 2nd bottom team could have been 2nd top if the results went right for them one Saturday. Can't ever see that happening in the SPL except in the first few games. .

Is this the Setanta deal that disappeared when they went t.ts up? If it was did he have an involvement with Setanta? If the above blushes are from the Setanta deal and he had nothing to do with their demise, why is he at fault? I thought the Setanta deal was voted on by the SPL clubs and they all voted, including ICT, for the Setanta deal over the Sky deal as the former offered more up front cash. The only clubs, I understand, that voted for Sky was the OF and Aberdeen. How the other clubs must now be kicking themselves for opting for additional cash over financial strength. Maybe the three that voted for Sky had financial background advice from their advisors, no doubt at a cost but in hindsight, a small price to pay. Now a lot of water has gone under the financial bridge since that vote, including a large loss of advertising revenue and to obtain any funding for our diddy league, at this time, must be a feather in the SPL cap! .

Man management is very difficult at the best of times but to man manage youngsters, who probably have an inflated opinion of their own ability and get the best out of them behind the scenes, as well as on the park, without creating friction, must need special skills. It is easy therefore to accept that this role could have an impact on a players output on the field. I do remember a top premier club captain who went over the top, I can see him on the edge of the park, questioning a decision, with very angry attitude, all caught on closeup TV but I can't remember his name. They stripped him of his responsibility and he was able to concentrate on his playing again. This additional responsibility is second nature to some and therefore TB will have been watching players with this in mind since he came here. I do feel we need Grantie the defender, with no other baggage but Rossco can sometimes be guilty of deserting his post and he sometimes needs a call to return but his enthusiasm is infectious. I favour the old Aberdeen system where Miller was the captain but McLeish was the mouth piece on the park for shouting at the players. Miller dealt with the referee and the press. We all know about his on park spats with referees but he also dictated that every press man had to put cash in the kitty for photo shoots and all players received a share, not just the 'stars' - a captains role taken to extreme! So maybe Grantie/Duncan or Esson/Grantie or Grantie/Rossco etc. - a task shared could maybe create less armband pressure. .

I think the blame lies with the supporters - they took off their shoes many weeks too late!!

I think we have a fair idea from his SPL Aberdeen career.

Like Lewis Hamilton is a sh.t driver because he has not finish well this year!! It will be how well TB does with the players at his disposal. I think we will do well to keep him for the full year, that is not negative, as he could be noticed and be in demand even if we are not top of div 1. Getting the best out of his team is the key, the team can be so much better than the individual players skills if managed correctly. This, I believe, is the basic reason for the ICT curse when players leave!

I would suggest that he is viewed by TB as 'work in progress' It was noticeable and remarked upon by the commentators, on a televised game, that he was receiving encouragement from the management staff all the time and even then, on losing possession, he followed the ball/man right across the front of the defenders, trying to rectify his fault. I do think he is potentially a very good player, with an acceptable level of skill at this time and will get better but needs leadership and direction on the park. He has improved with match practice and will continue to so do but his position will be up to TB and the playing staff at his command. The players he will be up against, in the main, will not be of the same class as in the SPL so it could be a super year for him to hone his skills.

"In regards to being able to "take it", you can be sure that if someone wants to make justified and constructive criticism of anything I have to say then I'll happily listen" I again apologise for my selective quoting but at no time did I refer to you being/not being able to "take it" if you re-read my comments you will note that I am referring to the fans, plural. I have no recollection of you ever using muppets when referring to the board! The point I was making, quite simply is, if you tease a dog often enough don't be surprised if he, at sometime, snaps back!!