DoofersDad

Well, there was a game in Edinburgh where the result certainly suited County! Of course, Adams has not got the class to refer to it directly. Had the boot been on the other foot you can be sure that our manager would have acknowledged our neighbours had done us a favour.

A good response by CorrieHarrier in post 67. This is the type of constructive response which is required in this important debate. In my previous post I asked both sides to respond to my point. It would be nice to think that a similarly well argued response might come from those wish to maintain the Union. I will just pick up on the reference to poverty and the gap between rich and poor. Presumably these are things which CorrieHarrier feels will improve in an independent Scotland. The problem with emotive statistics around childhood poverty is that the scale of the problem is dependent on the definition of poverty - and the definition is certainly very different now to when I was a child. 25% of children certainly do not live in the kind of economic poverty that existed 50 years ago. Maybe more live in social and emotional poverty but that is very subjective and not something that is easily measured. As for the gap between rich and poor, I wonder if it is much different here than in other developed countries. It could be less than it is but that rather assumes that it should be less. My view is that it perhaps should be less but a significant gap needs to exist to encourage innovation and to reward people for doing more difficult and stressful jobs. To me the problem is that we are too tolerant of those who abuse our economic system. And by that, I don't just mean the twin evils of benefits and tax fraud, I mean the dependency culture which has emerged in the UK whereby people can quite legally receive a range of benefits and live a tolerably comfortable life without making any contributions, or live a very comfortable life by tax evasion. We live in a society where more attention is paid to upholding the rights of citizens than in expecting the citizens to discharge their responsibilities - and the honest taxpayer foots the bill. It's all about what the state can do for me and how I can exploit the system rather than what I can do for the state. Will that change in an independent Scotland? Will independence really change the dependency culture or, if the economy thrives in an independent Scotland, will we simply hand out even more to those who are more concerned with their rights than their responsibilities?

... and Barrowman has joined Dundee! Curses - another missed opportunity

I'd like to see them seal the title by virtue of Queens Park dropping points, on the same day that The Rangers themselves suffer an embarrassing defeat to the likes of Montrose. How flat would that be? Not far off what actually happened. A draw away against mighty Montrose and an Elgin penalty at Queens Park giving them the title. It is also good to see that Queen of the South secured the 2nd Division title before Sevco secured the 3rd. Meanwhile, without one half of the OF we have had one of the most, if not the most exciting SPL season ever.

That is not actually confirmed yet. If they lose to Hearts, Kilmarnock beat St Mirren and Dundee, Dundee Utd. beat St Johnstone and Aberdeen, and we lose to St Johnstone then they end up 7th at the split. So depending on results, we could secure them their top six place on Friday. Aberdeen have 41 points, County 45 points. How can they finish 7th or lower? Don't ever doubt me! Because Dundee Utd can leapfrog both Aberdeen and County

This is an argument that is often rolled out and one which on the face of it sounds convincing. I certainly don't know what countries these all are but I do know that many of these countries were previously under the subjugation of a larger power in a way in which even the most ardent of nationalists could never honestly argue that Scotland is. The countries of the former Soviet bloc spring to mind, for example. I don't underestimate the importance of the fact that none of these countries wants to go back, but let's not overestimate it either. It is important that we compare like with like if this sort of argument is to be used. After all, let's not forget that large numbers of citizens of some of these recently independent countries have chosen to leave their countries and live in Scotland! Citizens of countries like Latvia and Lithuania may be glad to be free from Russian domination but they still feel they are better off in a Scotland which is part of a Union than in their own independent countries. Other countries have separated on clear ethnic or religious divisions which are also not relevant to our situation. Rather than trundle out what are really rather meaningless statistics, it would be more constructive to identify countries which had similar levels of prosperity, freedoms etc as Scotland before gaining independence and to identify how the people have benefited both financially and culturally as a result. If someone in the "yes" camp could provide some evidence of benefit in a country where comparison was meaningful, then that would be a helpful contribution to the debate. Similarly, if someone in the "no" camp could provide evidence to the contrary, that too would be helpful.

We might be away in the Europa League that day! Better set our sights on a Champions League place to leave the Thursday free, then.

This would tend to suggest otherwise. http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/ross-county/218208-derek-adams-happy-at-ross-county-and-plays-down-aberdeen-speculation/

And if he's staying then they are keeping it well under wraps. I am sure there are offers, but he will be hoping that 2 or 3 excellent performances before the end of the season will prompt a better one.

Aaargh, I've got a holiday booked then! Same. Off to the US of A Don't worry - there's always the next round.

Always best to make sure. Given Hibs' recent experience it could have been a foot over the line and still not given. So, yes, it would probably have gone in but I'm not so sure it would have been a goal - after all, most of these big decisions go against us in the derby games.

And when asked at the end of his BBC interview whether he wanted to say anything about the Aberdeen situation he just walked off without a word. Total lack of class. A simple "No" would've been fair enough. "They're looking for a manager with charm and charisma - so that rules me out" would have been more honest.

Has nobody but me noticed that the home grown under-20 players are not perceived as nearly as good as under-20 loanees and signings from English teams? Much more sensible, it seems, in the Butcher mindset, to improve English loanees than to improve our own young players...after all an improved loanee will possibly get an English team more money. when they move on...so we might get more of them to improve.....while we, in the meantime, dunt our own kids with no improvement....or return to our coffers. I think everybody but you has noticed that today we have acheived a top 6 finish for the first time in the club's history. Butcher must be doing something right don't you think?

I thought he was better than most. I haven't seen the highlights yet but my impression was that he called it right both for the penalty and the free kick from which County scored (silly 2 handed push in the back from Doran - I think!). He knew it would be a highly charged game but he kept the game flowing and rather than get the cards out early for a couple of players and potentially ruining the game he made a point of having a word with the players. The result was a hard fought but generally fairly contested game for which I think the players of both sides and the referee can take credit. If there was one thing I would criticise him for it would be for not getting the card out for a couple of County players who went OTT in questioning his decision over the penalty. With that going on he wouldn't have seen what Vigurs was up to.

Dundee Utd have drawn 1- 1 That confirms top six for us. Fantastic acheivement. Well done to Terry and the boys!

Great result. some really pleasing aspects to the game I thought. It was a very disciplined performance. It was a vital derby game but there was no diving in and rash challenges. The team all worked hard and closed down well. The fact that no ICT player was booked is testament to that discipline. Taylor came in in very difficult circumstances and played a blinder. Clearly Terry will have a difficult decision to make when Shinnie is available again. Whilst it was unfortunate the crowd was not bigger, those that were there gave great support. The supporters who sang throughout the game were fantastic and I'm sure contributed as much to the win as the players on the park. It was as good an atmosphere as I can remember for any match at TCS. Well done lads! As for County, I wonder what the end of their run, the falling out between Adams and Brittain and the speculation about Adams heading to Aberdeen will do to their confidence. I'm sure their top six slot is all but assured but they could end up with a bit of a stuttering run to the end of the season after this. Oh, and their supporters! were there actually any at the game or were those cardboard cutouts in the South Stand? Now that we have the longest currently unbeaten run in the SPL, hopefully we can press on with confidence to a European place. A great day all round with the respective post match comments of the 2 managers the icing on the cake.

Just loved Terry's response to Adams' reaction to the penalty. He said "If I'd have lost to a penalty like that, I would probably have been annoyed as well because I would've felt the defenders could've done better." Brilliant!

4 - 1 win for Motherwell over Hibs tonight takes us a further step closer to securing top six. Good performance by team and fans tomorrow and we should be there.

I wonder if the independence campaign forums have such heated debates going on about the likely outcome and implications of tomorrow's game between ICT and County?

At the end of the day, I think the arguments for or against separation are going to be largely irrelevant. People understand three key points. The first is that voting for independence would be a huge historical change and that there is a significant degree of uncertainty about what the longer term implications of that would be. The second is that life within the UK is generally not too bad - after all, it's not like the former Soviet nations where the Russian tanks rolled in if the natives got a bit restless. The third is that we get a fair bit of say about our own destiny already through the Scottish Parliament. So there will be aspects of the "Yes" campaign which people may find very attractive but they are not going take that leap of faith and vote for it. It's a bit like parachute jumping - lots of people think it looks very exciting but are happy just to watch other people do it.

Seeing as you've asked, I'd like him not to do it again.

As it should be. It would be a sad day if others were more concerned about the behaviour of our manager than we are. It is great he's so passionate, but that is not an excuse for poor behaviour.

No, but it breeches the rules about bringing bottles into the stadium.

Success is acheived by understanding how you can fail. The complacency rife on this forum is a dangerous thing. We have won nothing yet. We may be three games away from our greatest achievement yet but we could also be 3 games away from being 9th. I remember the season we got relegated and after having gone on a great run after Butcher's appointment there was a feeling we were safe and sound - and we all know what happened next. A sense of reality is needed to make people appreciate that 100% effort all round is required if this season is not to end up as an average bottom six , no cup final sort of season. Some folk seem to me a bit like the cyclist who raised both hands in salute in the finishing straight only to crash and have the whole bunch overtake him. When you've fallen on your erse, looking upwards is about all you can do.

Very poor example. It is good that he is passionate about the game but he needs to keep it in check. His reaction to a bad decision or a bad mistake by one of the players should reflect how he expects his players to react on the park to the same incidents. Just as an example, last week Villa's young defender Nathan Baker scored a howler of an OG in the crunch relegation match against Reading. Rather than kick the post and swear, Baker's team mate Vlaar came over, put his arm round his shoulder and gave him a few words of encouragement. Baker never put a foot wrong for the rest of the match. I don't know what the specific incident was that caused Terry to lose it but I have certainly seen him lose it before when players make bad mistakes. Players know well enough themselves when they have fouled up and seeing their manager behave like that is hardly going to help in getting their confidence back. Get a grip, Terry!