DoofersDad

Barnsley is also a lot closer to Chorley and access to the psychological advice Terry relies so heavily on these days.

Caley 100 answered that in an earlier post. It was his brother, Bianco. A lovely man who made "fudge" that tasted just like I remember my grandmother making 50 years ago. I blame her for the state of my teeth today.

2nd in the table at the end of the year! Now where have I heard that before? I have to say it is absolutely right that Renegade's excellent post is a clear winner in the chart. Voting "no" and getting rid of Rangers was the most important topic of the year. Not only was voting "no" the right thing to do but it has been the best thing that could have happened for this club and for the Scottish football in general. Despite the dire warnings from officialdom that the SPL could not survive without Rangers, we are currently seeing the most open and exciting season in SPL history. The fact that fans expressed their views so forcefully on this matter was an important factor in how things turned out.

I can't see any sense in Terry wanting to go to pastures new. Sure he might be offered more money at the likes of Barnsley but would he end up with more and is that really what he wants in any case? If he wants to stay, I am pretty sure his future is secure here for some time to come, during which time he will be on a good wage. He may be able to earn more elsewhere but that could be pretty short term and unless he produced positive improvements, he could soon find himself out of a job again and unable to command the same sort of salary in another post. In any case, at his age and with his background and other interests he should be financially very secure by now. My feeling is that the money isn't actually that important to him as long as he has enough to live comfortably (which he has). He likes to be in the limelight and I am sure he would love to win a national trophy and manage a team in Europe. He won't get that at Barnsley, or Wolves or any other Championship side but he may well get that at Inverness. And being associated with a team that is challenging for those honours (albeit in a far less competitive league than in England) he maintains a higher profile for his wider interests. If he achieves success here, then he will be in the shop window for a seriously bigger club and I wouldn't blame him then for moving on and trying his hand at the top level before he retires. But to move to a championship side at his time of life just makes no sense. If he wants to win something then he needs to stay here.

Yes. There's 4,000 seats in it.

"Soil was excavated and regraded to improve root growth and improve drainage". In other words they've raked the soil and haven't actually put any drainage in. The turnips should be good though.

Pork followed by porkies.

Seems like a no brainer to me. The ground is saturated and heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow morning. It would be far worse to delay a decision and then end up calling it off late as they did against Hearts. It is, of course, the only way County would be able to stop us remaining in second place at the end of tomorrow but it is without doubt the correct decision.

They can cope with the Reindeer - it's the sh*t on the park that's the problem. Seriously though I think the game could be in doubt. They have, in fact, made significant improvements to the drainage without which they would have barely played a game at the Global Energy Swamp all season. In previous years they have had a number of postponements but the amount of rain we have had this year is signifcantly more. The ground is saturated and the water table is high so there is really nowhere for any more water to go - and the forecast does not look good. A bit of a respite on tuesday but with more rain forecast for Wednesday morning we could end up with a pretty similar scenario to the Hearts game. If it does go ahead the ground conditions will favour their hoof ball tactics and the tightness of the ground will also be in their favour. It will be hard for our more skillful players to put together the smooth silky football they have been playing elsewhere. It will be a hard game and we need 100% effort if we are to win this. Our cause has also not been helped by the fact that they had a little rest on Saturday and will be fresher . I'll be happy with a point from this - if it takes place on Wednesday.

The police should spend their time catching criminals. Billions is lost to the public purse (which pays their wages) through tax evasion and benefit fraud and they would be far better employed chasing those people rather than persecuting honest fans enjoying a bit of banter I suspect this is just a bit of a ruse to allow a few of the boys in blue to get free admission to a good game of footy.

I read the title as Offensive Signing. Thought it was another thread about Ross Tokely

This all seater stadia farce is just symptomatic of the twisted values and priorities in modern society. There is no commonsense in the corridors of power. Sitting at football matches is just wrong. It's like going to the bloody theatre where you sit in silence and then applaud at the end. It destroys spontaneity and has killed the atmosphere in the game. We all know the reason for it but it is like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The Hillsborough tragedy was not caused by the standing areas per se. It was caused by a variety of factors all of which are capable of being managed out of the system in order to prevent any repetitions. Within the general design of an old fashioned standing terrace there is no reason why there can't be more crush barriers to reduce any surge, there is no reason why grounds can't be subject to inspection to ensure barriers remain fit for purpose, there is no reason why there cannot be systems to restrict the numbers allowed into any area (modern turnstile technology for example). Actions can be taken to prevent fans trying to access grounds without tickets or trying to enter grounds when under the influence of drink or drugs. Severe sanctions can be taken against clubs and police forces who fail to have proper management plans for dealing with crowds. In other words, the lessons of Hillsborough and elsewhere where more minor incidents have occurred should be learnt and commonsense allowed to prevail.

Adams may be interested, Butcher won't be.

I wouldn't be too concerned at yesterday's crowd against the league's bottom club. It was a foul day and the Saturday before Christmas. Aberdeen's crowd against St. J was just 7051, by far their lowest league gate of the season and over 1700 less than against Kilmarnock last week. The way the team are playing I am sure our crowds will pick up again - maybe not as much as we would like but there's no need to panic.

Wunderbar!

He's talking to himself! Finally he's resorted to attempting to convince himself on the merits of his arguments because clearly even he doesn't believe the rubbish he spouts. Makes for good Christmas entertainment though.

Wot! None against the Midden? Is he being rested for that one?

Like comparing playing bridge and snap. :lol: :lol: I was kind of hoping for a bit more....... OK. ....or like comparing flying a fighter jet to riding a tricycle

There is always the possibility that some club will come in with an offer for one of our players that is simply too good to turn down. It makes sense to acknowledge the possibility and it may well be that other clubs have been sniffing around - indeed I would be very surprised if they hadn't.

Like comparing playing bridge and snap.

Just another 50 years or so to go before everyone who has some prejudiced view about the merger is dead and buried and ICT can finally get the City united behind it.

It is fantastic that Billy has hit a rich goal scoring patch. We should enjoy it but not get too carried away - yet. A few games ago his strike rate was pretty poor and many were questioning whether he should be in the side at all. Now he has a strike rate of 15 goals from 30 starts in the league which, whilst not bad, is some way short of the 44 from 74 starts Rooney achieved. It should also be remembered that he is playing as part of a very good side which is creating shed loads of chances. He has therefore got some way to go before bigger clubs will be prepared to pay serious money for him, but I think there are grounds to be optimistic. Last season he was largely wasted by the high ball into the box tactics which left many of us so frustrated last year, but this year we are playing to his strengths. He is a hard working player and a natural poacher. As long as we keep getting the ball low into the box, Billy will run rings round tall defenders and he will continue to score. His current purple patch will end (probably sooner rather than later) but I see no reason why he should not maintain an average of at least a goal every second game. A further 10 goals by the end of the season would be a good return and would put him on a par with the likes of Craig Dargo and Paul Ritchie. So, it's great to see him scoring but let's not pile unrealistic expectations on his shoulders - although a hat-trick against Barcelona in the champions league final next year would be nice.

Isn't it about time this thread was ova?

I agree with Laurence Test cricket is perhaps the most underestimated of sporting activities. So many different attributes are required to truly excel. Unfortunately the fast pace of modern life, policies in schools and the distractions of computer games etc mean that very few youngsters play the game to any kind of level which provides them with the basic coaching which would allow them to appreciate just what a complex and challenging game it is. Unfortunately far too few countries play cricket and it is never going to be a truly international game. It is a game that will go into decline - a victim of a modern society and where I disagree with Laurence is that I doubt a cricketer will ever win sports personality of the year again.

It seems that the team often do well when there is the prospect of a fish supper at Auchterader on the way home. I wonder if there is a lesson here for improved home performance? Can we site a mobile fish and chip van up-wind of the pitch with the promise of a fish supper if they win, mushy peas if they draw and a pickled gherkin if they lose. The aroma of fish and chips wafting over the pitch would surely inspire the team to victory. In addition, if fish and chips were to be sold to the crowd there would be an additional source of revenue for the club. But on the subject of Fish Suppers, what do folk think are the best? I certainly like Harry Ramsden's fish but I'm not struck on their chips. I'm more of a going in to eat sort of person these days and have never been disappointed with the haddock and chips at the Snow Goose. You can get a decent glass of red wine there too. Where in Inverness do you recommend Terry and the boys go for their post match fish supper?