CELTIC1CALEY3

If Barrowman signs for us it would be a nice gesture to buy a few light bulbs for Ross County's new floodlights.

It is fantastic that Marius has benefitted from the fresh air in the Highlands to reach his pre season target and great to see ICT supporters in the news. However, and take nothing away from Marius who is a top class person as well as player...................................... This is for the world's media who think Marius is our first player to play in a big tournament final: Richard Cory Hastings (born May 18, 1977 in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian footballer currently playing for Scottish Premier League side Inverness Caledonian Thistle, for whom he has played during much of his career. Hastings spent his early years in Vancouver. When he was 7 years old he and his English parents moved to Middlesbrough, England. He went to Millburn Academy in Inverness. [1] Hastings began his career as a teenager with Nairn County before signing for Caley Thistle, for whom he made 106 appearances as a defender. During this spell in Inverness he was an important player for the team and became Caley Thistle's first full time player. A constant member of the squad that won promotion to the Scottish First Division Hastings was also part of the team that beat Celtic in the Scottish Cup in 2000. In 2001 Hastings joined Ross County, before spells at Grazer AK and Maastricht. In 2004 he returned to Caley Thistle. An international player since 1998, Hastings' only international goal was the golden goal in Canada's 2-1 win over Mexico in the quarterfinal of the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, a tournament Canada went on to win. He was also in the squad for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2007 playing in a central-defence position and was also named in the "Team of the Tournament" line-up. He is one of only two internationals who play for Inverness Caledonian Thistle with the other being Marius Niculae. See also http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/view...p?Press_ID=3204 and by the way Davide Xausa was in the 2000 Gold Cup squad as an ICT player. See http://www.caleythistleonline.com/index.ph...13&Itemid=9

Agents can only exist on fees and commission. Not all players are contractually aware and you will hear stories of famous musicians who missed out on royalties because they did not know the law or the world of commerce. Occasionally an agent goes too far and his client is left with two bills - one for the base fee, and one for the mortgage. Nicholson, like a lot of players, will cut their demands to meet market needs. At that point ICT will look to pick up players who are desperate to play football and earn money. The economy is in movement to recession and both agents and players will increasingly recognise that. Ronaldo's prosed suitors Real Madrid and the paper talk of ?300,000 a week does not apply to 99.99999% of players.

If Barrowman has been offered a really good deal by ICT it would make sense at his age to sign a two year contract. Barry Robson, Paul Hartley and even David Weir have shown that you can make it after 27 years of age and still have a great career. Others have got greedy, paid off their agent's fees and then dropped out of the picture. If Barrowman makes the step up to ICT and scores goals his stock will rise and he will be in a far better position than diving into the Championship and drifting down the leagues on loan. One great reason for coming to ICT would be the fact we create so many chances and with Dargo and Denzil away he has the stage to himself for scoring the most goals - unless Rory gets off to a flyer.

Hearts would presumably struggle to get in if they mentioned their ?30m debt. It is quite interesting Gordon Smith saying we do not want another Gretna but clubs such as Hearts should have SPL auditors in every month to check their ongoing viability.

Another first for ICT if Marius was captain of his country. Puts into perspective his wage is modest to say the least

We should also give Richard credit for playing 90 minutes against Brazil in Canada's back four!! He has been an unsung here since his return to the Club and yet is a more established International than Marius. Marius did manage to get into the TV shots after two goals which is good for his profile!! Romania looked good quality especially as Scotland seems to have a knackered team at present with 50% of players moaning about fatigue or injuries.

He will make a better actor than football manager. In fact he could be Victor Meldrew's stuntman given the whinging nature he developed with Hearts and ability to fall over with little contact. Failing that he could train as a diving coach - Hearts became quite adept under his leadership.

St Mirren are certainly splashing cash on injury prone players.

Grant is a rock from the Highlands. He can but improve based on the difficult experience he had early in the season. He is definitely a great leader and we are privileged to have someone of his calibre lead the club.

Hearts ?40m in debt and the Manager rarely gets to pick a team. Every week someone different flys in to take training and then a spin doctor emerges to explain why the Chairman played for 10 minutes. Then the captain is suspended. Credit to Stevie Frail. When Hearts implode financially it will be because referees repeatedly booked their players for diving and this drove the bankers out of town. The administrator in charge of Gretna is the only logical new manager. McGhee knows he'll get a good offer down south at some stage to join his family.

Question - How many SPL teams have a player at Euro 2008? Interesting?

Smee, Give some credit to the Rangers fans. They were criticised for their chanting at the Caledonian Stadium and had years of history blocked. They are now learning some new songs. I suspect they will have mastered a few by the start of next year.

He looks spaced out - there has to be a reason why he is not liked at Ibrox.

Should we not bury the past and rebuild being very supportive of our managerial team? We could create a crisis especially if we create the conditions for Craig and Malcolm to feel they had completed the 'unfinished business' and then move on the basis some of us refused to put the bone down?

It did go in but the fourth official asked me to altar it. I then withdrew my original decision and pointed upwards. Let's park this debate and get on with the game.

Joe, Don't give up your day job to become a spin doctor!!! This thread is about a feelgood factor. OK Skippy ran in front of Procter (who earlier had scored a great goal) but in the 67th minute with still 23 minutes of normal time the diddy team went down to 10 men because of Skippys skill(Malcolm was probably asleep at the time he was sent off). Unlike Motherwell, who were not 2-0 down and being crushed by the mighty Celtic, the diddy team fought back against all odds and finally its goal keeper produced the save of the season. ...need I go on to justify trying to wipe away gloom and doom and sow seeds to generate the roots for next season?

Joe, All right I'll rephrase the heading. 'Who were the last 10 man team to go 2-0 down against the Champions but still come back to beat them with 10 men. Hint:this time Graham Bayne did not give the ball away!'

No one has answered my question - maybe Charlie Bannerman has the answer. Who was the last team before ICT to beat the Champions with 10 men (for most of the second half)?

My assistant flagged but I kept going.

Just a thought - who were the previous team to produce such a result?

Here's the link to the team we now support: http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind=1/ne...+romania+muster

With all due respect the finances for the club eventually have to come from the wider public and businesses in our catchment area. It does not grow on trees. It is about beating the odds. This year was deemed poor but we beat the odds again.

I'm 100% with Alex here - this will be a tremendous lift for Marcus who through no fault of his own has been unlucky. This should act as a tremendous motivator and to me Marcus still has tremendous potential.

This post sums up what ICT is - a family club with good honest players.