absent friend

Well Harry, he may not be up to speed initially but surely he will have enough grey matter to contribute to the success of ICT, provided he gets involved. Be fair, it can not be that difficult, every poster on here can do the job - at arms length!!

Babies first visit to the Doctor Doctor examines him and is a bit concerned at weight or lack of Asks if bottle or breast fed - confirmed breast fed Strip to waist please Breasts are massaged, kneaded, stroked and the nipples flicked, in a professional manner Clothes on please Problem is you have no milk I know, I'm the child's grandmother BUT, I'm pleased I came!

If the'rotting core' were instrumental in recruited TB and Co, lets hope it is more of their type that come onto the Board and we will preserve them for a long time!

Now from this I assume(I hope I am correct) that he is more prone to 'bombscare' moments than the other defenders, say, Grantie, Rossco and U Know Who(I can't spell/pronounce his name) - if this is the case why are the 'good' reporters giving him MOM? I would have thought that they would be only too aware of the sharp intake of breath by the ICT fans as Zadi provided another'bombscare' and that their reporting would reflect this. When I watched the game I was only aware of a moment of uncertainity, by him, at the half way line, when we had a throw in, when he was unsure as to go forward or back. He went back and maybe before he would have gone forward and left his berth exposed. If this is evidence of coaching then praise to them. However he intercepted many times, tackled well and can definately clear his lines. Not the finished article but Hastings must be having sleepless nights. .

I was maybe watching a different game but I thought the whole ICT team were attacking, with the exception of Esson, their break was made from a central position up over the half way line and...... it was Zadi's fault! Not the right back, central defenders BUT the left backs fault!! WHAT??? If we continue to look for fault with this guy we will find it, he is only human. Why can't we offer some support instead, 'On edge' performance - well I was 'on edge' when he cleared off the line, I was 'on edge' prior to him hoffing the ball miles up the park, for a throw in, to allow our defence time to regroup near the end. As someone remarked on here, rugby style and that was needed, no time for fancy footwork. Find your man? They were all back helping out! I was also 'on edge' waiting for him to receive MOM. Long may he have me 'on edge' Scotty! Don't know what has brought about the change in him but it sure feels good! .

On the subject of Russell being sent off - as Swanson had the ball at his feet and Russell was chasing, it is obvious that had Russell taken two more steps before the 'lunge', he would then have been alongside Swanson and doubt as to the ball/man man/ball would not have been an issue. I realise it is all now history but that two points slipping through our hands is really sore! On the issue of our now established left back, each game a possible MOM, why does IHE keep undermining the lads performance week after week? He is waiting for the big boy to make a mistake, he states, we are bottom of the league because the whole TEAM has made mistakes, every player has to hold their hands up at some time - so if IHE is expecting a team of players that will not make a mistake I would suggest maybe a visit to Old Trafford is required. Lionels the best we have in his position, at this time, if his game goes off we have Hastings or Byrne as backup, IHE says Lionel will cost us matches, well he has saved us matches with his play and clearances in the recent past. IHE is suggesting that TB is not picking his best players. Well the players I have seen in ICT shirts this past wee while are not doing a bad job, considering they were down and out when CB left. What then, if I am correct, is IHE's agenda? Is he a tinkie in the camp? Is he really a jailender in disguise? Maybe CB leaving was the last straw and he is now a convert to over the bridge! Nothing worse than the strong opinions of the newly converted and they can be so manipulative, if they wish. Beware the enemy within! .

The SPOON: A lesson on how consultants can make a difference in an organization. Last week, we took some friends to a new restaurant, 'Steve's Place,' and noticed that the waiter who took our order carried a spoon in his shirt pocket. It seemed a little strange. When the waiter brought our water and utensils, I observed that he also had a spoon in his shirt pocket. Then I looked around and saw that all the staff had spoons in their pockets. When the waiter came back to serve our soup I inquired, 'Why the spoon?' 'Well, 'he explained, 'the restaurant's owner hired Andersen Consulting to revamp all of our processes. After several months of analysis, they concluded that the spoon was the most frequently dropped utensil. It represents a drop frequency of approximately 3 spoons per table per hour. If our personnel are better prepared, we can reduce the number of trips back to the kitchen and save 15 man-hours per shift.' As luck would have it, I dropped my spoon and he replaced it with his spare.. 'I'll get another spoon next time I go to the kitchen instead of making an extra trip to get it right now.' I was impressed. I also noticed that there was a string hanging out of the waiter's fly. Looking around, I saw that all of th e waiters had the same string hanging from their flies. So, before he walked off, I asked the waiter, 'Excuse me, but can you tell me why you have that string right there?' 'Oh, certainly!' Then he lowered his voice.. 'Not everyone is so observant. That consulting firm I mentioned also learned that we can save time in the restroom. By tying this string to the tip of our 'you-know-what', we can pull it out without touching it and eliminate the need to wash our hands, shortening the time spent in the restroom by 76.39%. I asked quietly, 'After you get it out, how do you put it back?' 'Well,' he whispered, 'I don't know about the others, but I use the spoon.'

'Never trust Politicians or Real Estate Agents' or Bankers etc 'So in my book Gordon was either asleep at the switch, or he hoped that it would all go away, or wasn't up to the job' Either were all the gambling men - the stock market was circa 6500 a year ago, so the professional punters did not expect this! The RBS top brass took their bonus in RBS shares so they look pretty stupid right now as well. 'The blame lays more on us' We all borrowed too much, the cry goes up 'we were allowed to' - we are also allowed to drink too much but must accept the hangover! Last night on TV we had the wee celebrity chef complaining he has lost his two pubs and four eating houses, due to the Prime Minister. It then transpires he had a cashflow problem of ?200000 and the bank refused to cover this shortfall, surprise, surprise! The blame is his, if he has a shortfall after the Festive Season, what is going to happen to his trading in the hungry months? However he is not alone - many will look for a scapegoat at this time to cover their own situation, it is only human to so do, and I suspect that any one in power will be targeted. Does the political colour matter at this time? Not a JOT!! Here am I clever after the event, not so, I have been consistent with my opinion from the start. If all governments underwrote the contaminated money at the outset, we may have had little loss of confidence, lending would have carried on, albeit to a lesser extent but the current international stagnation would not have prevailed. .

I am sitting here thinking, now if it had said 'there is probably no Allah' would that not be different? No buses, we would have the bus lanes to ourselves(well we would when they carted the twisted metal away) - Plenty garage work, like Humpty Dumpty, trying to put the busses together again - Police overtime making that sector very happy - No drivers to drive the busses, like HD above, they would be putting a lot of them together too. OAP's not able to get about, pavements quiet. Mothers with prams...does it never end?? Bliss! Oh, and of course, the bus companies shares would tumble as the share holders are targeted and therefore offload their holding pronto. Richard Dawkins and Mr Rushdie would be keeping each other company, in a bunker somewhere, along with the advertising executive that accepted the campaign. Why can't this be considered when the public get immune to this campaign - max two weeks - in the interest of fair play for us drivers. Isn't tolerance a wonderful thing, we live in a super country.

No doubt the above comments were levied on the bail-out of the Northern Rock, lame duck, good money after bad, etc. They have now returned in excess of 50% of the Government money from their profits. Now I accept that they have also the highest rate of repossessions but they also had the highest loan to value ratio of any lender, so the two tend to go together, in a down turn. We require a healthy banking sector due to our lack of manufacturing and I think this is a wake up call for all bankers, get your house in order or else. Would I nationalise? Maybe - but I would fear that this would be the opposite extreme from the situation that existed, everything in triplicate and wait in line for a week to get an interview! Financial life would grind to a halt. Will the banks return to profit - of course! Due to that five lettered word G R E E D. When the recovery comes and it will, watch the profit makers at work, buying in at the bottom and enjoying the growth. The packet of crisp priced shares will then be valued at fillet steak, with trimmings, price, at an upmarket restaurant. This is not a UK political situation we find ourselves in. Maybe Canada is sidestepping this problem but for us in Europe and the US, we have a common problem and it is not, I'm afraid, Mr Brown's fault, it is embracing countries regardless of their political persuasions. If only it was so easy to apportion blame. The disappointing thing for me, since we are now talking about the government, all the other parties know, after the event, what they would have done. Magic! I could exclude Vince Cable from that BUT he is worse, in this time of trouble he was invited to help the government with his knowledge and REFUSED! He now sits on TV shows showing off his ability but like the rest - after the event. It is our money that pays him, our money going down the drain due to his lack of input and he can still sit with a smug look on his face! .

I would assume that they must be the only banking staff with no banking qualifications(excluding the non bankers), yet they were dictating the push for expansion. I do accept that qualifications do not make you a good business man but in that field surely banking knowledge, in depth, is required. Gob smacked 1 - No qualifications Gob smacked 2 - I now learn that our banks ( not the Bank of Malta etc) are practicing tax avoidance, illegally, the case is in court today.(Source, yesterdays Guardian) This is the same Banks enjoying being bailed out by...........TAX MONEY!! Work it out, they are found guilty and are fined a massive amount, paid for by.....TAX MONEY!! Gob smacked 3 - You go for a mortgage, you are underwritten (passport, utility bill, salary slips, P60, bank statements, proof of rental payments up to date, source of deposit proof, survey etc) you then, I hope, get your ?150,000 on your ?200,000 purchase. The ?150,000 you are given has come from the Money Market, has never been examined to establish that it is OK and is now found, by the bank, to be worth only ?10,000 to ?15,000. Perhaps they should have used the office junior to give advice, he would have suggested that funds going out with all the security is less concerning than the source of the money coming in. Why? Because his father was a greengrocer and the most important thing to him was the condition of the tatties in the bag from the wholesaler, if rotten or part rotten and paid for, father made a big loss. If they were OK he made a profit, housewives...wholesaler...greengrocer.. and ...taxman....all happy. Of course, he had some housewives that did not settle up their monthly account and this was written off against his tax bill but this was accommodated for within the price of his tatties. Now the Banks on the other hand were more worried about their monthly bill being unpaid despite holding the client's house as security........and who checked their tatties from the wholesaler???? How many banking qualifications do you need to have common sense??

My 'home from home' was the Crown Bar, this was across the road from the Plough - well not quite it was across from the Highland chip shop. Mine Host was George McKay, a big man that ran a super pub aided by Alex Smith who lived at the top of Bruce Gardens (in the circle opposite the back entrance to the cemetery), Starched aprons were the order of the day and you were invited to go home when they judged the punter had too much to drink or in some cases 'you have a wife and kids to feed, get home now!' Opposite the Plough was (now this is a memory!) a tea room with plastic(wrexine?) covers on the tables, catering for the farming fraternity. Broth to stand the spoon in and scones like grannies made. I hope my memory is correct but it was a long time ago!

What is the full draw?

What would the likely monetary difference be between going out against the OF away or say Hamilton at home? Is it ?500000 / ?30000? If so I will go for the OF away!! Take the ?500000 (we will win) beat the other half of the OF, another ?500000, then onward and upwards to Hampden and European football. We would have an expenditure for gloves for the Inter players when they play at Sneckie, it is only fair, so it is not all profit!. Use the ?1,000,000 for our new strikers - the defence is good (two games no goals against, what more do you want!) I was only joking about getting beat!

What you will do to try and get your crowd prediction correct!!

Willie Treasurer's was a hairdresser you went into hoping you were fifth in the Q. 20 mins of fun waiting your turn and then your few mins of being the butt of the really funny remarks. Happy happy times indeed. Johnstone set up in the market when they moved from the High street end of Eastgate, close to Melville the shoe shop. Always top stock and well priced and always 'did a deal'. Your change always a bit bigger than it should have been and you parted with 'see you back soon'. Service and quality - where has it all gone?

Police are attending Blackpool Pleasure Beach where 20 striking donkeys are causing a disturbance after Blackpool FC signed Charlie Adam. They are chanting local donkeys for local jobs

Brew has gone - Malkie is gone - the board have bought in a few players. NOW who will we attack? I know - let's attack our own support!

I think the appearance of boardroom politics maybe just be the fact that we, as a club, are too NICE! Did not want to sack - held on too long - tried to take the fans heat away from the problem(Brew) - Accepted situation. There is not an employer that can not be accused of making a mistake. Remember faultless is lifeless!! We are very full of life as the rest of the SPL will find out and the board will make further mistakes and just lets hope that this episode is learning for us all.

Yep, that was how it panned out with a lot of mutual bacon saving going on. Even Russel was called in a few times. Proctor never really got stuck in to the same extent as Rosco, but the whole thing seemed to work. Proctor is going to be one of those players that terryanjune will remake/remodel or dump, I think. He showed a lot when he was first here, but since coming back with his patron, things have been a good bit more quiet. I remarked on the match thread at halftime, that Setanta were even commenting on Proctor not being concerned with providing cover for Rossco. ''He is only now trotting back' was one comment. Contrast that with Imrie who chased every lost cause and showed they could be won. Either Proctor was under orders to stay upfield or needs a word!

This is the fairest summary on here. The ability of the defence must be considered as you judge him. I accept that to date his game is not what was expected but I thought this new manager said 'clean slate' - this clean slate worked for our left back! IHE said no place in SPL for poachers, well I think the top scorer in the league is just that. I would say a fault Barrowman does have, is his lack of movement as a move builds up. He appears to watch the play instead of the marking player, who has to watch the play and this should leave him able to move off his man into an unmarked position. McDonald of Celtic is probably the best in the SPL for doing just that and when you see the number of headed goals he gets, with his feet on the ground, he proves position(quick thinking) is the thing that can score goals as he cannot outjump any defender! Because of this lack of movement Barrowman always appears to be under pressure from a defender when he does get a chance. Maybe outwith the SPL the marking is less tight and he had more time/room to score. For the record this requires crosses coming into the box and there were very few of them yesterday.

Left back OK so far. Unfair much better than that! On theright Rossco not bad but Proctor leaving him exposed. Quote 'Proctor jogging back leaving Tokley on his own.' Imrie playing well, Foren(?) looks good. Next 45 - Same again!!

I agree that this is a honeymoon period and before todays match gets underway I offer congratulations to all that managed to bring about the change. We have a big mountain to climb and this will be easier under the new management than under Brew. Onward and upward!!

I wonder if his commitment to this new position is really appreciated when I read rubbish on here. On the Setanta interview last night, he even stated that his Scotland job would not have stood in his way, when considering ICT. He was so committed in the interview he left the studio guests scratching their heads. On the Scotland position they saw no problem that the two back up staff, Elvis and TB are now both full time employees, as the 'few days' the Scotland job takes up will not be a problem for them or their club work. TB discussed the 'good life' he had with his two positions but was prepared to give it all up as he wanted back into management. He, I would suggest, on the evidence of last nights interview, has more face to lose by being unsuccessful than ICT. I don't know about Malpas but he looks and sounds a winner. .

Was that the little, little tobacconists shop, on your left, as you went through onto High Street? Never many customers yet always seemed to make a living. You then went past the plate glass windows of the 'fifty shilling tailors' before coming on to High Street. On Woolies side, opposite the plate glass windows was the entrance to the Youth Employment Exchange, an upstair office. Memories are made of this!