absent friend

Stolen from P & B - A Falkirk fan writes to fellow Bairns:- Here are some facts for you: We've played 18 away games this season We've drawn 6 We've lost 9 We've won 2 We've conceded 32 goals We've scored 17 We've never won a game all season after going a goal behind, in fact we've only fought back and gained 3 points - home and away We've not scored more than 2 goals during an away game So, if ICT score first the liklihood of them losing the game is virtually nil. Now this does not sound very positive to me so we are on a winner - according to them! I think he means they played 17 games so if that is the case, they have failed to win 88% of their away games or they have only won 12% of them. This surely means, even from our low position, that we mathematically have a great opportunity to stay up!! .

That could be a 'goer' with the sweetie rustlers!

The very fact that our manager discussed the situation re 'going down' (I find it difficult to see that expression as a negative) in the P & J on Monday or Tuesday and he therefore does not appear to see the subject matter as taboo. Sometimes one has to accept the hard knocks in life and respond in a very positive way. I do realise that this should not be on this forum but there is every likelihood that Mr Hughes, his team and the fans are reading this and I therefore felt it was only fair to offer them the above words of wisdom!

Obviously still on target then, Don? Pass on best wishes to them (and you) and strength to ignore their sore spots and I feel sure that many more, on here, have them in their thoughts as they tackle the final and most difficult, miles. Lets hope the team on Saturday can reflect this 'ne'er say die' spirit and give us all, the marchers and the supporters, the biggest hangover on Sunday....... EVER!!.

I suppose like many others on here, I am with you in spirit and wish you all the best for the rest of the walk. I watch the weather forecast on TV with all you lot in mind and hope that nasty wee/big cloud is just to the side of you and not above or even, God forbid, Heather the Weather has got it wrong! Any update?

There is no argument that is correct, however, even for me a Lionel fan, he does lack concentration at times and this, I think is what frightens his attackers on here but he has improved. I would suggest that Grantie has cost us as many goals since Butcher has arrived, as Lionel has. I would also disagree that he finds Lionel a problem playing alongside him. I think, like Rossco, Lionel is his own man and maybe Grantie is the weaker link at the back, not always covering for the left, whereas Rossco still covers for the right. .

Those in the ticket office are always very professional and any shambles - if it exists - is usually further up the food chain !!! When i booked my tickets they were very helpful and had a good laugh to them on the phone too so i have no complaints about them at all Considering all the positive posts, re tickets being ordered and arriving on the doorstep the following morning and the joking with the staff when ordering - there is only one negative post and Brian decides to get onto that band wagon. It must be so demoralising for the staff that someone can attack them over one neggie and give no credence to all the positives. RANT OVER!!

Having enjoyed watching football in Milan, many top players come to mind but the biggest footballing impact (his ability in comparison to those around him) was Zolten Varga, played for Aberdeen in the early 70's when banned by his own country. I remember him beating Rangers, all on his own, in the Semi final of the cup at Hampden. He shielded the ball, keeping it on the half way line as he went to the centre spot and back towards the wing. Big John Greig was not a happy bunny and did not appreciate the skills and sent the ball and Varga up in the air. Varga rode the challenge and took the resultant free kick and sat it on the centre halfs head, in the penalty box, with an enormous curve on the ball, unusual in those days. It was a simple job for big Willie Young to nod it home for the biggest 1-0 steal ever!! An amazing player, at that time. .

In the last six games only the OF have performed better than us. However, on our tail is Killie and Falkirk!!!! Hamilton and St Mirren taking up the bottom two slots. Now this would appear that we have to take our result from two teams performing as well as we are, at the moment, so it will be a big effort OR a big slice of luck OR maybe both!!

Fraser, in my and the BBC last night's, opinion, should have come out and attempted to punch the ball before it was headed. Maybe pedantic but I do feel he was at fault. Lionel, as you correctly state needs a bollicking - even during the game he was getting this from both Butch and Malpas for lack of concentration. Even a Lionel supporter like me can see he is not the finished article by a long way and is inconsistent. However he is exciting and has a lot to give, so let's hope we are all singing his praises this time next week, Butch must know what he is doing. .

Harry, I think any player that gets a one year contract will be content, this year. I don't think anybody will get any longer due to the precarious financial position the SPL footballing world is in. (Will Setanta and their money, be with us next year? Will corporate hospitality fade away? Will we stay up?)

Erm, because they're the Government? Starting off with members of the Cabinet, to be precise, was a pretty good way of drawing maximum attention to just how widespread the expense abuse has been. I suppose I made a distinction between widespread (5p bags and bathplugs) and amounts (?300,000) making the news headlines. Great idea Absent Friend - you're really on the ball this morning! So who should we engage to tackle the problem of those who have lost their jobs?What about the Employment Minister? I used the 'best brains in the House' as a requirement and whither he has the best brains or not I don't know. I fail to see how claiming/not claiming expenses indicates mental ability, perhaps the press are doing a good job on you. .

Just for the record, the system and the rules within the system, were not made by all the current MPs - so to infer that they made the rules to take advantage of them is nonsense. Is it orchestrated? A wee thought. Why start with the Labour party members expenses? The reason? By now folks you will have heard so much about a bath-plug/video cost, that the small matter of ?300000 profit on the sale of a house and the change of status of the house from 2nd to 1st home, to save a further ?18000 of Capital Gains Tax, will be of little consequence and will not even make a headline. Oh, the bathplug/video value, maybe ?15. Oh wait, I forgot the 5p carrier bag, now that will really cripple the country and also deserves headlines. I really feel that right now all efforts should be made to get this country of ours back onto its economic feet, party politics should be put on the back burner. the best brains in the House should be united in the common desire to help and not hinder our recovery. Losing the likes of EWS to another country when we need him here for our future, should be a target for ALL parties to address as he is not an isolated case. Getting jobs back so that people have an income, is a priority as money is required by us all, to allow us to stand tall. MP expenses - that is for another day - the people we all know that have lost their job (and often their self esteem) and therefore do not take home an income....... Now that is the priority!! .

It was interesting to read the Aberdeen managers Q & A in the Evening Express on Tuesday or Wednesday this week, very candid, hands financially tied, players can just go, etc. His opinion is that there will be loads of top class players looking for a club come the summer. Can't afford to be kept on by their current club, a la Aberdeen, and therefore offloaded. They will then realise that they have to take a lower wage to be resigned by someone and he is seening this as his big hope for getting suitable replacements for his assumed large loss of players. He has not started resigning talks due to the above and feels other clubs will follow suit. Maybe we will also be able to 'cherry pick' suitable players come the summer and our position will be better than anticipated, at this time. .

Rig, I did! I am big enough to state that I got it 100% wrong and the proof has been great for ICT. I though he could be an unsettling influence in the dressing room. I don't think that effort over the last few weeks, on his CV, will do him any harm in the future. Not just calmed down on the park but matured off the field as well, it seems. .

It must have been Willie MacLeod who was known as "Teetums" then? These were the legendary days of the late 50s and (as I just remember) the early 60s when the Inverness BBs had both Teetums and Feetums. Indeed the Inverness Battalion was full of legends or guys who became legends... Gordy Bus, Scoobies, Rodwill, Peter Home, Jackie Sutherland, John Beaton to mention but a few. Yes, you are correct Willie MacLeod was known as 'Teetums' - why I don't know. He did have jellyjar glasses and maybe it was a reference to him 'teeting' through them. Is 'teeting' an Inverness/ North word? I don't think I have heard it used elsewhere. "Lets teet through the Round window today, children" does not sound quite BBC! Peter, mentioned above, is still carrying the mantle of Legend as he is still running the Fourth, in very trying circumstances, I understand. Maybe, with your professional hat on Charles, you could do a piece on him before he and the Fourth become memories. At our recent Church Parade we sang a hymn to a tune composed by Peter called 'The Old High Church' or something similar - the fourth are attached to the Old High Church - so he is a pretty rounded guy.

I remember in the late 50's, thats 1950's not my 50's, we came up against the favourites to win the cup, at football - either the 7th or 8th( we were the wee fourth, totally unfancied) They had Pops the prefect from the high school, I think his name was Hector Morrison, a terrific sprinter, in their midst and I was up against him. I was all arms and legs or maybe knees I should said and I upset the ref and the guy, by catching him in mid flight, down the wing, with the already stated knobbly knees and watch him fly through the air, unaided. The ref unhappy, Pops unhappy but we managed a draw and I lived to tell the tale. This was in the Caley park and our Captain, Willie MacLeod, barely able to see over the touch line, continued to offer constructive help -"Your bunching, boys!" Well, maybe we were but I don't think the Captain could have seen it, if we were. The following Saturday night, the replay at the Clach park took place and WE WON!! We all made for the Highland Chip shop on Eastgate to celebrate, At that time the 4th had a big Culcabock content, before Charles wonders why the Ferry boys went to the other side of town to celebrate! The team was made up of brothers - Holme, Allan and MacDonald. What a super memory to have.

I don't know about sunbathing but bathing is possible as it has pelted rain here in Aberdeen all afternoon. Sun this morning but still very cold, possibly 40C below you. Wee bit worried about the tree hugging, is this foreplay before the sheep? When in Rome....!

None of the so called 'hard men' were ever as athletic as the likes of Ferdinand. Keen may have been closest but they could never match todays top players with the emphasis on fitness, diet and tactics. The ongoing medical checks on todays top players is a far cry from the beer swilling antics of days long gone. The refs also play a part at keeping the 'hard men' in check now, especially in Scotland. I realise that Ian Black is enjoying a better time in the SPL re cards from the refs BUT the refs are equally aware of his better behaviour. It must be a discussion topic when refs meet to recount the problem they have with certain players and this must therefore put the other refs on their guard for any small problems that then arises, when they are in charge and this then can lead to over reaction. I am sure that Ian was a victim of this for a long time, conversely I think he gets away with a bit more now due to his reformed behaviour. Rossco is maybe seen by opposition as a hard man but we all know he is just a big pussycat and like any cat he can take exception to someone but that is another story. He has had his fair share of cards but I do not see him as being 'hard'! Barton, now, he is just a thug!

God help us.....Terry Butcher is obviously the worst manager ever to grace the Tulloch. He was quoted in last weeks papers as wanting at least three Tokely's in his team. Seems like him and those before him can't see what some others can. It says if we were the manager. If i was manager, I wouldn't play him, that is a position I would very much be looking to invest in during the summer. But thats why I'm not a manager and just voicing my opinion on this. Alex, a lone voice amongst all that managerial talent - well, not really, it just seems that way at times! What does our current managerial team know about defending? It is not as if they have any history in this department! I think you and I should let this new breed of armchair manager have their say and accept their deep knowledge of players abilities. Personally, I don't think they can recognise a good team player when they see one!! .

This selection is indeed good news for us! The last thing we need is players taking their eye off the ball, so to speak or getting injured. We or they, have a task to do, win by any means, total commitment required. Scotland B cap would be a memento for their grand children to be excited about, but for us and them, it is survival this year, I'm afraid. Not so exciting in the scrap book but will make a difference in their bank balance next year. The players must already be feeling the effects of this season - failure is so much more of a drain than being part of winning - the last thing they need is an extra game. Lets hope they keep the energy levels up so that we can all celebrate at the Falkirk game. .

Yup, Scotland among the first countries to be affected. That'll be the Year of Homecoming up the tubes then! Yep! Take home something special from your holiday Swine flu or a blast of radiation - take your pick!

Accepted, our league position gives cause for concern BUT it is Brewster's legacy that caused this. Since the change of manager we are one of the top performing teams, on points gathered. I realise that past performance does not guarantee wins in the run in but I would rather have our recent history behind us than any other bottom six team, at this time.

Whilst I accept that 'it is not the end of the world' or 'as it was 100 years ago' - however I do not remember a potential block on international movements before, as is being discussed currently, for release tomorrow, as I understand it. Quarantine, for the arrival of passengers, is also being mentioned as an interim step. This could have an enormous effect on all travel firms and airlines, with the wee ones, already living on shoestrings, maybe having to close up shop. Maybe the flight to the Costas will get the go by this year in favour of Gairloch (no, the midges) - maybe Dornoch then. 18 holes in the summer weather in Dornoch (wet suit on over the heavy jumper) will kill the bugs and pneumonia is easier to get over, I understand.