DoofersDad

HT. 1-0 FT 2-1 ICT. Bavidge QOS. Dickenson Crowd 861

HT 0 -0 FT. 0-1 ICT. Bavidge Opp Todd Crowd 412

There is no mention on the Club site, but the Courier is reporting on their website that Andrew Benjamin, Maggie's Highlands fundraising manager, is leaving that role to become the Club's Commercial Business Manager. It would seem to me that the Administrators must be fairly confident of a positive outcome to the Administration process to be making such an appointment at this time.

We also live OTB with a Wednesday collection. Bins still to be emptied nearly 2 weeks after they were supposed to be.

It was a bit of a nervy performance but a huge 3 points for us today. Dumbarton were very poor. We were dominant early on and should have extended our lead and cruised to a comfortable win. However, we got very untidy and allowed Dumbarton a few chances and gave them hope. Gilmour's composed 2nd half strike gave us a bit of breathing space but we never looked comfortable. However, the league table looks a lot better than it would have had we lost. Bavidge looks to be a good signing and we should draw some confidence from today.

HT. 1-0 FT. 2-1 ICT. Bill Mckay Opp. Gray Crowd. 1729 Yellow. Devine

I don't think anyone is saying you can't criticise the manager or the players. What I am saying is don't criticise people for something that is not their fault. The other very important aspect is that players are often criticised because people have completely unrealistic expectations of them. Yes, we are a full time club, but the players we can afford are being paid peanuts in a very insecure employment situation. They are players who are either at their level or who are just starting out in their careers and are learning the harsh reality of life in the Scottish League. Many wouldn't be in the first team at all if others hadn't created the financial crisis at the club in the first place. From our lofty viewpoints in the stands, we can see when the penetrating through ball is on and get frustrated when it isn't played, or if it is, it goes straight to a defender or runs out of play. It is easier to see those balls from the stands than out on the pitch. If a player could spot these opportunities and play the pass with the required accuracy and weight with any degree of regularity, they wouldn't be playing for us and it is unreasonable to criticise players for not performing at an unrealistically high level. Many of our lads will earn less in their footballing careers than the likes of Marcus Rashford earn in a week! Now Rashford and some of his Man Utd colleagues fully deserve all the criticism they get for the attitudes they display on the pitch. But we should expect players at our level to make mistakes and fail to take opportunities. Some people need to get real and be a bit more supportive of our young lads who, I believe, are doing their job to the best of their ability. That is not to say that we should never be critical of the players. Clearly we may have different ideas about what represents reasonable expectations and therefore about when criticism is valid or not, but if people feel criticism is due, then please try to offer constructive criticism. Prior to Saturday's game, the lads had done really well to win 4 of the previous 5 league games. Then we lose to a team who produced an outstanding performance on the day whilst we had a bit of a bad day at the office. On recent form, there should still be a pretty positive vibe about what is happening on the park. The booing and abuse directed at the lads on Saturday was totally unjustified and will do nothing to boost the confidence of the lads. A vital game now against Dumbarton at the weekend. If the boo boys can actually support the team this time, we might get an important morale boosting win.

This forum site is full of facts detailing the inept performance of senior management over the years which is undoubtedly the primary reason for the state the club is in. You say you will stick to publishing and facing the facts, so where are these facts we shouldn't ignore? Of course Scott Kellacher has had an influence over the years, but where is your evidence that his influence is partly responsible for our relegation last season? How do you know whether or not we might actually have done worse had it not been for his influence. Same goes for the players. Where is your evidence that the performances of the few players remaining from last year's line ups are in any way responsible for the state of the club? If you want facts, here are some. It is a fact that the quality of player we can attract and keep is dependent on the money available for the player budget. And how much money is available is dependent on sound financial management. It is a fact that financial management is not the remit of players and coaches. It is a fact that senior management decide who the coaches will be. It is a fact that within the last couple of years, our inept senior management gave a new contract to our head coach and then proceeded to sack him a few games later. It is a fact that Dodds therefore received a lot of money to do nothing for the club. Instead, they signed Ferguson for a significant sum of money which they hadn't actually got. It is a fact that Ferguson was tactically inept opting for possession based football which was boring to watch and which failed to deliver results. It is a fact that the majority of this season's first team squad made no appearances for the first team last year and therefore can take no responsibility for last season's relegation. So please, let's see your facts on how the past actions of Scott, Billy and Luis have landed us in this sorry state of affairs.

And would have been even lower without the seasonal yellow card bonus points!

Credit where credit is due. Cove came with a game plan and executed it brilliantly. They knew that we would come out looking to be positive and they pressed us really hard giving us very little time of the ball and forcing errors. Our approach left us a little short at the back and this was exploited by quick, well supported breaks. It was a high energy, high risk strategy and with just 5 subs on the bench it probably took us by surprise. It paid off for them with 2 early goals helped by some rather panicked defending. Their high energy pressing game was not sustainable and they were happy to sit a bit deeper and soak up pressure after the 2 goals. We pulled one back and had we been a bit more clinical we could have got an equaliser before half time. Had we done so, I would have fancied us to win. Alas it was not to be. We then conceded a very soft 3rd goal early in the 2nd half which knocked the confidence out of the team. Just when the team most needed the support of the home fans, many of our "fans" turned against the team, further denting the confidence. Time and again players would simply pass square, or back so that the responsibility for trying to do something positive was passed on with the ball. Only Longstaff was showing any real attacking intent. Meanwhile Cove continued to press aggressively whenever we did find a bit of space. They also deployed the tactic of feigning injury whenever they were tackled which allowed the rest of the team to have a minute or two to catch their breath. Their attitude was exemplified by Doyle who went up for a set piece late in the game with them with a 2 goal advantage. The ball went out for a goal kick which Musa was looking to take quickly. Doyle got his head down and literally sprinted back into his own half, shouted instructions to his team mates and then won the header from Musa's long kick. We were far from our best today and the way Cove out-thought, out-fort and out-played us will have damaged the players' confidence. As Charles so rightly says, these young players desperately need the support of the fans in this particularly difficult time for the club. Late in the game one of our lads got behind the defence and put a ball into the box. It wasn't a great ball and the keeper comfortably gathered it, but at least the lad had got into the good position and played the ball into the box. Next time, a better ball might result in a goal. Some of us applauded his effort but one loud voice several rows down shouted "You're f***ing useless" at the young lad. How the hell is that going to help anyone? Next time the lad might not run into the space or will look for a safer ball to play so he doesn't get abused like that. If you are moronic enough to abuse your own players, at least have the decency to do it from the South Stand. After all, it only helps one team - and it is not ICT.

All very true. People shouldn't lend money they can't afford to lose. However, there is an element of truth in what Drake says. I don't know Ross Morrison personally, but I know a lot of people have said he is first and foremost a fan who has always wanted the best for the club. So, how have we got into a position where he appears to be holding the club to ransom? It seems to me he has been far too reliant on advice from certain quarters. He (and his Board colleagues) seem to have fallen hook, line and sinker for the idea that the BESS would bring in some big money to the club. Until the windfall was in the bank, on-going funding was required, and I guess Morrison felt that whilst he was wanting to help meet the immediate need, he couldn't really afford to put more money into the club. The secured loan would have been a way round this as a bit of insurance just in case the BESS scheme did not go through. It seems as though Morrison and colleagues had been persuaded that the success of the BESS proposal was a near certainty, otherwise why on Earth would the rest of the Board have signed away the assets of the club against a loan? Similarly, since it has become clear that we will not get the BESS windfall, the club has signed away its rights to the surrounding land. It has been suggested this was to protect these assets from any potential administration process, but if Morrison himself is now in financial difficulty he won't be in a position to write off his loan or accept less than market value for the land he owns. Bottom line, though, is that if he is in financial difficulty, it is entirely his own fault. and I have very little sympathy for him. If he's not in financial difficulty then I have absolutely no sympathy for him at all.

HT. 0-0 FT. 1-0 ICT. Danny Devine Cove. Emslie Crowd 1618 Yellow. Danny Devine

HT. 0-1 FT. 1-1 ICT. Devine Opp. Yates Crowd 491

I think there will be a fair bit of brinksmanship going on here. There may be people willing to write off their loans, but if they do so now then the likes of Gardiner will get more of what is in the pot if it comes down to a CVA as his £70K would then be a larger proportion of the remaining debt. Similarly, if Savage pays off the debt to local companies now, then Gardiner ends up getting more. By seeing these businesses "OK" Savage might be meaning he will make up the difference after the admin process has taken its course. I would suspect that the list of creditors has been thoroughly checked and by making it public the administrators are acknowledging these are all legitimate debts. The fact that he is owed such a large sum is a reflection of how naive the Board have been. Similarly, it beggars belief that the Board were hoodwinked into agreeing the terms of Morrison's secured loan and the relationship with the property company which are now the biggest stumbling blocks towards a secure future for the club. Remember, though, Gardiner had been claiming he was owed more than £70K so the fact that the document only lists £70K suggests that the administrators have concluded he does not have a valid further claim. I have to agree with Charles though. Despite the administrators' best efforts, the future looks very uncertain. Hopefully Monday's press conference, just 2 days before Christmas, will bring us all some much needed Christmas cheer.

I am sure that there are lots who feel this way, although I think that any money going into the club just now will all be used for running the club rather than going into paying off creditors. In practice, if people contributed a bit more now, it maybe means Alan Savage doesn't have to dig quite so deeply into his pockets to keep the club going. But if a crowdfunder was specifically to pay back what is owed to local businesses, then I think it would do very well. Your argument will apply too, to some of the individuals who are listed amongst the list of creditors. They will not wish to write off their loans if it means that those responsible for this mess end up getting a bit more out if at the end of the day. Better to hold on, get a bit out of a CVA if it comes to that, and then put that money back into the club when we come out of administration. But didn't Alan Savage say earlier on that he would look after the debts to local businesses? I don't know whether any of that has happened yet, but regardless of that, the guy is certainly putting other local money men who profess a love of the club to shame.

I'm surprised nobody has commented on the Administrator's 43 page report released yesterday. It was sent to creditors and shareholders and so I am unclear as to what level of confidentiality applies to the content and therefore I won't go into any detail. Having said that, the main things to take from the report seem to me to be that:- Administration is likely to be a long process. The administrators are looking for a sale on a going concern basis and a number of interested parties have been given access to detailed financial information and been invited to submit bids with a view to a sale sometime in 2015. If it can't be sold, they would look for a CVA to clear the debt. Creditors are being asked to confirm by the end of the year, whether they are in agreement with this general approach and on whether a creditors' committee should be established. Clarification is still needed around the ownership of the land around the stadium The administrators have established a process to detail income and expenditure on a monthly basis and have provided details for the last 3 or so weeks. This detail will be invaluable for potential future owners. The administrators have also given detailed information of who the creditors are and how much is owed. I don't think providing any detail would serve any purpose. Suffice it to say, that the administrators appear to be going about their business in a methodical, professional and very efficient manner. But it looks to me that we could well be in administration for the rest of the season at least and we really should not be hanging on any hope of a quick fix. As fans, I feel the best thing we can do is to support the administrators in their work and get behind the club and the team, both financially and on matchdays.

I thought there was a lot to be positive about in this performance. OK, so we certainly didn't have our shooting boots on today, but we dominated possession in the first half before the red card and then, for much of the 2nd half, we were much the better side and doing the bulk of the pressing, despite being a man down. During that time we played some pretty good joined up football. Arbroath were hanging on, time wasting and continually fouling. The referee was awful. My impression was that both Thompson's yellow cards were soft. It looked to me that the trip that gave him the 2nd yellow was just a coming together when both players turned - but maybe the highlights will prove me wrong!. Even if deliberate, worse fouls closer to goal were committed by Arbroath with no cards being shown beyond Murray's early in the game. In some cases, no foul was awarded either. One of the worst referees we've seen - and we've seen sone pretty bad ones over the years. Despite the unfairness of the situation, the players never gave up trying. Obviously it is disappointing to lose, specially when Annan have thrashed Dumbarton, but Arbroath are the form team with 16 points from their last 6 games and now top of the division. Even with 10 men, we were the better team and I think the lads can take a lot of positives out of the game.

HT. 1-0 FT. 2-0 ICT Billy Mckay Opp. Dow Crowd. 1632

It also shines a light on the astonishing level of incompetence of those who appointed Ferguson. These are people who appointed Ferguson to replace a manager who they had sacked having only renewed his contract a few games previously. So they paid off Dodds and his side kicks and signed on Ferguson and his side kicks with significant salaries, all with money they didn't actually have. And all the time since these numpties came into club, there had been a coach at the club who was well regarded by anyone who knows anything at all about football.

It is perhaps a reminder of the huge gap in quality between the 2 divisions. Whilst our women are having a great season in the league, Dundee Utd are isolated at the bottom of the premiership having got just one point from their 14 games with a goal difference of minus 71. Give a thought too to Westdyke who are struggling in the Championship and were drawn against high flying Rangers. Westdyke will have been delighted to score a goal, but unfortunately, Rangers scored 24 in reply! With investment in Women's football increasing throughout the country and many more young girls coming into the game, general standards look set to rise. If our women's team is to continue to be successful at Championship level or even get a toe hold into the Premiership, it is clear that the brilliant work that has been going on in recent years needs to be built upon and expanded. There is now a pretty solid foundation for the development of women's football in the city and it is exciting to see the progress being made. We do, however, need to be realistic and understand just how wide the gulf is between where we and the top teams are.

Thoroughly deserved. He has been a real breath of fresh air in the club.

HT. 0-1 FT. 1-1 ICT. MacKinnon Opp. Hester Crowd 482

HT. 1-1 FT. 2-2 ICT. Devine Cove. Megginson Crowd 491

Only one game still surviving in each of the bottom three divisions.

HT 1-1 FT. 1-3 ICT. Mckay QOS. Doherty Crowd. 889