davie

I think Betsy Andreu has it right - this will be all about Lance. He can't confess to doping - and those are the least of the allegations against him. Will he apologise for pressurising others in his team to dope? Will he apologise for dealing in doping products? Will he apologise for ruining people who didn't agree with him? Will he apologise to his ex-physio for inferring she was a prostitute? Think not. If he makes a full confession, the feds will be down on him like a ton of bricks. Nothing would make me want to watch the confession, only the results.

So he's staying then. It's a considerable relief in that I wonder what the performance of those players who had come to ICT on the back of being managed by TB would have been in the second half of the season? How would the likes of OTJ, Raven and the Shinnie's react? Losing TB might have put the club on a real downward spiral that would have been difficult to arrest. The reason for this is that TB, his abilities and his personality are now an intrinsic part of who we are as a club - the highland gentleman, advocate for the city, increasingly part of the business community. You might argue about it, but that's how outsiders see him. Of course his (and his teams) best asset is in attracting talent that would otherwise never think of coming here. Lose TB, and we lose all that and that's a worry. The second half of the season will define where we go from here - a top six finish or a cup final will increase TB's worth and it may be that only something like the lure of a europa league qualifier might be enough to keep him past the summer. Whatever happens (and isn't that part of the attraction of football) I'll enjoy the journey.

It's strange how no one at Dingwall seems overly upset at the state of their ground causing postponements. They managed to absolve themselves on saturday by blaming Brines and will no doubt find something to blame this week. Could it be that Derek Adams is just not concerned about playing fixtures that he thinks his team will lose? At least a postponement gives them time to buy in reinforcements during January. I'm not saying that they would engineer this kind of "convenient" postponement... I'm not so cynical.

Luke, thanks for this. I'll raise the matter at the next board meeting and endeavour to take the matter to the club. I'll update wheen I can.

Dee, I think its actually a sledgehammer that Northern Constabulary have little or no right to wield. In doing this, they have insinuated that there is a problem of racism that exists in the fan base of both sides but in using the expression "traveller" they have apportioned blame to our side of the "banter". It would be utterly impossible to prosecute anyone for using the expression "tink" in that it has been in scots vernacular usage for years, so it's us they are targetting. This law was created to combat the worst excesses of glaswegian bigotry, which prompted hatred and violence. There is no history of that in our derby and there never will be. Up until Celtic fans showed why the police should be involved at times by their behaviour at Dens, there had been 30 arrests at scottish grounds this year - NOT ONE of which was for either an ICT or a County fan. Problem? Don't think so. I don't actually see what complaints could or would have been made to prompt this premature intervention given that the nature, manner and content of the banter between these two sides is well known. Is it just po faced plod getting in there first? Thoughts....

Great stuff. And well done to whoever shouted "Yeeeeees!" half a second before Mackay's winner hit the net! Guilty me 'lud

Mother of God

Straight to VD more like!

Possibly the biggest case of wishful thinking I've ever seen on here

Boozer - Willie Frews at the tap o the hill, just off the coldside roundabout. Or the snug on Main Street. Both great bars.

Again.

Banter. Get on with it (except Adams. What a sanctimonious walloper)

Let's get back to the OP's observations, because they seem to have provoked a bit of a sh*tstorm. There does seem to have been an increased police presence at the home end on tuesday (the difference from home/ away in terms of hi-vis jackets was noticeable) and this had nothing to do with the Club. as CD says, it is the police who dictate the terms of their operation to the club, not the other way round. It's clear that the increased security was made on assumptions about the likelihood of a repeat of chucking smoke bombs or fans getting onto the pitch. As it turns out, those assumptions were wrong although the police would no doubt contend that their actions potentially prevented any disorder. What is clear is that the club could have faced sanctions over the smoke bomb at the start of the Dingwall game as it caused the start of a broadcast event (which is subject to a contract) being delayed. Just as well it was the BBC with no advert breaks to schedule. Fans on the pitch is just a massive no no, we used to have fences to prevent that sort of thing and we don't want them back. So the causes of the increased police presence were our own fault and we need to just accept that, move on and keep supporting the team. Another matter altogether lies around fans being filmed (I personally find it disturbing that the police can film me, without my consent, without any reasonable suspicion attached to my actions. This is at least the 4th time that I can think of that this has happened at TCS, so it's not a training/ readiness thing. It's intelligence gathering. If you don't like that, ask the police why they did it through a freedom of information inquiry and take the matter up with your MP. I have. In terms of being asked or warned (as some have put it) that any chants about gypsies would be rewarded with a night in the cells, it is curious that the match recording clearly has County fans singing about rather being gypsies than tinks. How you would then enforce calling something racist or dicriminatory when those subjected to the songs were singing the same thing (and clearly accepting the name) is beyond me. The match commander (the senior police officer present) needs to brief his officers properly and unequivocally about their approach to enforcing certain laws and I would bet that, because this relatively new law is as yet unclear and untested he would find it difficult. It's a question of context. What we do all need to keep in mind is the good name of ICT and it's supporters and do everything that we can to preserve it. Does anyone think that a couple of "fan ambassadors" attached to this section of the crowd, who could liaise between security/ police and fans in a non confrontational way be useful? I would also say that, if the matchday experience is diminished for fans because of this stuff, get CaleyJagsTogether to seek a response on your behalf from the club. police or security company. It's what CJT is there for. Sorry about the length of this post.

understood that perfectly heilandee. must be the upbringing or something, eh dinna ken. BTW if you still need info about the sports bar, get in touch with Peter McCallum at the stadium ( although CD might have sorted you by now)

Yep, there will be.

I'll get Auldie to send him the tapes. It's the same ref, so I imagine he'll be dead chuffed to be called incompetent and then told what to do. Derek, yer an eejit.

TerryMo, it's something that the club and supporters groups (not just at ICT) have though about long and hard this year. Our attendances, like every other club in the SPL, have been hit hard by the fact that there's a recession on and money is tight. The latest SPL figures show an average league attendance of 4032 for this season and these are at the bottom end of the scale. However, they are not way out so it doesn't appear that there is something unique about us ( St Johnstone, C*unty and St Mirren are much and such) so outside of the main population centres there's a definite loss of attendances. Forget the stuff about the Rangers, that's a smokescreen and has made no difference at all to our overall crowds this year. Forget the stuff about the SPL being boring and substandard - we certainly can't subscribe to that this year! Away supports seem to have suffered greatly this year as well, so what evidence there is points to finances being the problem. So what can we do? The club can (and will) subsidise admission prices in an effort to get people in (£15 for the replay). Caley Jags Together will bang the drum and continue to fundraise and work our a*ses off in support of the club. The players and staff deliver a really cracking product week in, week out. We will continue to raise our media profile so that more and more people know about ICT and how good we are this year. So we do what we can, and will continue to do so but we need individuals to make the decision to come to TCS. We need you to persuade your partner, your mates, your neighbour to come along. We can't do that for you. My real fear is that we reach a point where the players who have reached historic highs for this club decide that their stock is sufficiently raised to go to places where bigger and noisier crowds will value and encourage them, and that would be a real shame. The solution is in the hands of the fans - and now they need to step up to the plate.

Scotty, I don't know. I thought he was singularly talentless. Who's dogs are they anyway?

I'll plug the podcast as well here! It's been really unfortunate for Simon King, but him being injured has given Josh Meekings a real shot at a partnership with Gary Warren and he has delivered. I also think he's learned more off Warren in three months that either Munro or Tokely could have taught him in three years. People also forget - he's only 20! When he matures, he could be a defensive rock at this (or any other) club for years. He's already proved beyond doubt that ipswich were mad to let him go, and I wonder what else he's got to prove?

Ritchie Foran's nose.

Gazebo. It would fit in my garden and look just as ridiculuous.

It's a certainty that the club will be fined for the first smoke bomb, because it held up kick off. I can see why you'se wanted to do it, but please - no repeats, it will only cost us.

Can't blame them, it's the only way Charlie Greens getting his money back.

Elbowed, kicked and pummelled his way through the game and was booed by better than me. Matter closed.

What a game! I'm glad we don't have to interview Adams every week - I'd jump off a bridge. Foran's goal- Tokes has both arms on Foran when the pass is made, so how can he be offside? Brittain's goal, NEVER a free kick against raven for the chance in the first place. Also, Craig Thomson said that the extra time that was added was because the "Ross County player celebrating the goal left the field of play and 30 seconds was added on. Hubris? Definately.