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So many view on here all regarding sectarinism, now unless I have missed it in the news (which I may have) who actually said Lennon was attacked for his religious beliefs, perhaps thats people on here jumping to assumptions. Nothing to do with the fact he accused Hearts as a club & players of not playing and trying against Rangers and actively assisting the Ibrox club win the SPL? Surely that inflamatory remark cant be acceptable when he is questioning the intergrity of fellow professionals? This is not the first comment of such nature that he has made this season - perhaps if people look beyond NL as the victim and the religious bigitory which he has endured, there is an under lying case of him behaving in an inappropriate manner that the SFA are failing to deal with.

I dont recall in any post I have made suggesting he brough on or deserved the violence or abuse brought on by the narrow minded majority focusing on his religon, but in terms of his other behaviour towards other professionals in football and his total contempt for authority in the game certainly isnt doing anything to make him a popular character throughout all football fans (not just those looking for an excuse to vent religious bigitory), so perhaps the SFA are to blame for being weak at acting on these comments?

While he shouldnt be subject to this abuse in his job and in no way can it be acceptable to be 'driven' out of his job for these reasons - what about the behaviour he has displayed throughout the season do people feel its acceptable? I dont - every other manager in the SPL has conducted themseves in a much more dignified and professional manner - so why cant he?

Its a shame that we now live in an overly PC time you cannt dislike someone for the sake of them being an unpleasent person without people looking for undertones of a bigoted nature, to either say you are racist, sexist or sectarian...........

Never realised there were so many Lennon fans, at no point do I condone the behaviour of the fans and also stated I dont believe anyone has the right to get bombs or anything else sent or personal attacks.

The issues in Scottish society have been around for decades yet when other men managed Celtic there were never this issue, are we saying that in the last 12 months there has been a marked change in society to increase sectarian behaviour? If so what?

So the fact that Lennon was instrumental in the Celtic witch hunt of officials which the man & club have not bothered to aplogise for? What about the last OF game walking off the picth taunting the Rangers fans - you dont see any other manager in Scotland doing that to the opposition.

Fact is much that is negative this season about Scottish football has involved Celtic & NL.

Sad times that comment cannot be made on a situation without people on here assuming its done with sectarian undertones - its not I just believe that the reputation of Scottish football is starting to suffer and its time to start getting the house in order that also includes the fans as well. But the SFA are to weak to do anything because of the OF size so unless they take action nobody else will (not even UEFA it seems).

In no way can this be condoned as its bringing the whole of Scottish football into disrepute and I hope the perpetrator is treated how he deserves by the courts.

However is it time for the sake of the Scottish game that Lennon leaves Celtic & Scottish football? So far this season we have had - referee accusations and strikes, parcel bombs, bullets in the post, outrageous scenes at the OF games and now fan attacks and in all cases a common denominator is Lennon. Not saying he deserves any of the personal attacks or situations, but you have to wonder does he encite and entice this behaviour?

All this is blackening the Scottish football name worldwide - is it time he left for good?

Who cares? Been a disappointing season, Rangers are a weak team with little actual quality yet have managed to grind out results, Celtic have players who flatter to decieve and a manager who is abnoxious - the only light at Parkhead is the impact of Commons, yet as with every season not a single so called 'challenger' could appear. No matter how poor & weak the OF get we still dont see Hearts, D Utd etc give it a go despite all their promise, as ever its a 20+ pt gap from OF to the rest - seems the worse they are the worse everyone else plays.

The league is crying out for a challenger & a bit of change

Youth, has to be - assess who is good enough to make the step up. Those released are gone so why rest on sentiment of giving final appearances to except perhaps Grant as he has played all season. We know our strongest current team, so its a good oppertunity for others to prove themselves and no matter who is on the pitch they should be giving 100% and going for the win - if not they dont deserve to be at the club.

If Tade is free and with Sanchez & Odi leaving, plus probably AR, then I agree he is an option - whether he is anything better than a squad or cover at SPL level is another issue. Wouldnt think that he would be considered as the attacking spearhead for next season. Although if his wage expectations are realistic then I'm sure other clubs such as St J, St M etc will be after him - he may not be keen coming this far 'north'

I honetsly believe if he was going to stay he would have signed by now - in every walk of life in the current economic time everyone wants to know what work they have a like to plan ahead and get security, by the fact he is out of contract and has had offers from us which would have extended his stay and given that security which havent been signed indicates he has other plans or options elsewhere. Hope I'm wrong but sadly I think Sat will be the last we see of AR in an ICT shirt :(

Aye

But........as last night proved TB knows what he's doings, so while I would like GM to stay, I shall reserve judgement as -- In TB we trust!!!

Based on tonights contribution by Grant, wonder if there can be any chance of a U-turn - although probably not as the departure has been made public and would cause huge embarassment for all concerned :(

TB has my full support

yes some stalwarts of the club are leaving, but they are all the wrong side of 30 and apart from Russell are any of them in a position to improve the team and move it forward? As for others players like Eric & Dani have had a chance, they were in my eyes average D1 players when we were there and have failed to step up the way we needed. Others havent performed consistent enough.

I hope with the money saved we can bring in some quality in terms of signings & loans, retain younger players like Rooney, Hayes, Sutherland & Ross on longer deals. The nucleus of a competitive squad is here, now we need TB to bring in a spine & some flair.

Its not just ICT who are having big culls or clear outs - Hibs, Hamilton, Dons have already started, D Utd have a good few players out of contract and I expect many otehr clubs to follow - Scottish football is feeling teh financial squeeze so its all about VFM - harsh as it may seem, TB is doing the right thing IMO

Darryl Duffy is a decent player with a good scoring record at various levels, he hasnt produced at Hibs this year due to injuries & falling out of favour, but I think he would deffinately do a job for us if we keep him fit.

Colin Nish can score goals but even from his Killie days is too inconsistent and do we need that hen we have Odiambo who is a very similar type of player IMO.

John Rankin would be a good addition and provide coverage n the middle of the park, certainly would give more depth & options.

Not sure any of the rest are worthwhile going after, if the HIbs players were that good then they wouldnt be in a team below us in the league.

Apologies, wrong side of the Irish border - obviously matters not to me or I'd have been right ;)

A question, what international platers of major countries play outside the old firm?

What internationals of major countries even play for the OF?

AR isnt an international of a major country - he is from NI and good as he is, he isnt the best player in the SPL or near it at the moment - may as well stay in Scotland and improve his game, afterall look at Boyd & MacDonald - 2 prolific scorers in the SPL repeated over numerous seasons went down south cant hit the net.

Personally if he decides to leave I hope its to a bigger club where he gets the chance to perform and develop his game whether thats in Scotland or not - always want to see ex-players do well - Robson, Cowie, Black - always get a bit of pride when our team is mentioned as helping them on their way.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13078886.stm

Candidates have been named, agree or disagree?

For me it looks like Izaguirre and Goodwillie for young player.

Not sure if there have been many other players in the SPL who have shown high levels and consistency all year - although Hooper/Naismith could really be subsituted for any other Rangers/Celtic player TBH as neither have really shined from whast I've seen - perhaps MacGregor would have been one to include?

Oh and Rory is nominated for D2 - good luck to the boy, his goal haul this year suggests winning would be deserved

If as the press suggest Hearts are interested in Rooney, then he will probably go there - fact is he will leave for a bigger club and more money - if he is ambitious. The only factor in our favour is that since the turn of the year he along with much of the team has gone off the boil and the performances less consistent, which may mean he has less options than perhaps were touted in January?

Chances are if he hasnt signed by now its because he is assessing his options - perhaps he hass a mantal list of the clubs & level he wants to be at? Where if no offer is made by a certain point he will stay - but I very much feel that staying will be a secondary choice now.

Is Tuffey an unnecessary luxury??

Not really, GK is a key position and one that cannot be filled and covered up with a lesser player unlike some outfield positions or have the formation or type of play adjusted to compensate. If Esson gets injured or looses form etc we need someone experienced and capable to step in.

Simply if we let Tuffey go (for a nominal fee) then Esson picks up an injury early in the season we will not have anyone capable til the Jan window when we will need to get a loan etc. Some may say having 2 quality keepers is a luxury, at this level its got to be a necessity.

Agree with the above but might consider Duff as cover & squad player depending on salary and I'd consider adding Odi & Sanchez to that list of who should go - clearly the step up from D1 has been to big for both of them to make an impact IMO.

We need to free up funds/salary to get a creative midfield player as when Hayes is injured we struggle to create and find a striker who can hit the net be it on loan or a free. Defence needs a player or 2 as cover and competition.

Mixu did a good job and certainly changed the playing style, brough in a few good players with quality too. Killie have somewhat punched above their weight this season with him at the helm, must be a big loss as I'm sure they would have liked to consolidate on Top 6 and build the team stronger again next season - now they will probably go back to fighting relegation. Not sure if there are a big number of quality candidates about, so as said they may just wait til teh summer, but wouldl expect names such as John Hughes & Gus MacPherson to get mentioned lol.

Some good stuff on here, although I'm too young to remember much more than visiting Fine Fare and La Scala lol.

Should start another thread where folks can post pics of places & old sneck - would be good to see what the place looked like before it became full of franchised pubs and mundane national organisations. Certainly sounds like a lot of character is gone :(

Overall with the players coming into the team and the increasing number of (young) players from the EPL there may be a brighter future - I would suggest the depth of talent Scotland has is on a par with Wales & ROI

You make that sound like a good thing. It's not.

Nobody expects us to beat Brazil, but our natural place in football has got to be higher than those small nations who have incredibly weak leagues.

Of course its not, but then again we have a 'self contained' League system, unlike Wales who somehow have Cardiff & Swansea in the English set-up, perhaps if we had gone down that route our players may be better at the detriment of the National league set-up? As for ROI they have exploited the rules of eligability for the last 15 years, yet we as a nation have always thought we were too 'proud' to do that - maybe we need to wake up and start doing the same as many European teams are doing - France (african players), Germany (polish) etc

Fact is we were well beaten by a far better team, its something we shouldn't be happy about, but then again we have never been world beaters who have fallen from a pedastal - only an average quality national side that got to a few WC finals before places like Africa, Asia and Eastern Eurpoe really started to develop as football nations.

Obviously the perception is that we should be winning this game? People need to take a look at what Levien is trying to do - inject youth and build a team for the future - this is a gradual process and overall against Brazil areas are shown to be lacking. Judging the progress of the team against some rose tinted era from the 70's or by how well shaven the magager is - well thats nonsense. Overall with the players coming into the team and the increasing number of (young) players from the EPL there may be a brighter future - I would suggest the depth of talent Scotland has is on a par with Wales & ROI and not far off England once the 'golden era' of failures move on.

Patience is the key and progress can only be assessed at the end of the qualifying campaign and Nations Cup.

The photo's in the paper of his ex Hayley Macnamara are worth a look though ;)

The OF - Celtic for the constant whining about refs and Rangers for just being a dirty/nasty team. Also dont see what either Hamilton or St Mirren bring to the SPL - poor crowds, poor quality football, low entertainment value - would be happy to see a couple of D1 teams get the chance to replace them!!

Outside of that, any team that goes out and tries to buy a title such as Man C & Chelsea, always get satisfaction seeing them fail miserably. At least teams around them such as Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs try to develop young talent and buy players looking to build a team, the aforementioned 2 just seem to buy - then if they fail to win clear out for huge losses and start again, its where football is going mad with money wasted.

Unfortunately when he was here and got a chance it was too soon and he wasnt ready, going out on long term loans would have been the ideal scenario, but he was allowed to leave. He's done well progressing through the lower ranks, but going from D2 into the SPL and in Aberdeen a team that should be challenging for Europe it might be a step too much, anyone remember Barrowman - goal machine in the lower level (D2) but couldnt find his feet in the SPL. At 23, any move he gets will be his chance at the 'big time' - fail again and he will probably end up a lower league journey man like many other youngsters that showed potential.

Looks like the Scottish government wil sponser the League Cup next season using cash from proceeds of crime

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_cups/9431726.stm

Is this a damning inditement of the state of Scottish football that no commercial sponsor wants to be involves, is the quality & standard of product so poor nobody wants to associate? If thats the case, then if we go to 10 teams and the product reduces further in quality as expected are we going to be in a situation where all of Scottish football is government funded - because thats got to be the 'beginning of the end'?