DoofersDad

Shiels' interview with Chick Young was a disgrace. He would not answer a straightforward question on whether he thought Kilmarnock should have had a penalty because he said that if he criticised the referee he would be in trouble. Even when Chick Young explained to him that he wasn't asking him to criticise the referee - just to give an opinion on whether he thought it should have been a penalty - he still refused to say because he would get into trouble if he told the truth! He says he has to be really careful what he says - but he's actually been very careful to deliberately refuse to express an opinion on a particular matter in a way which made it absolutely clear what he thought and which implied strong criticism of both the referee and the authorities. What he said was clearly designed to be far more controversial than simply saying that he thought the referee got it wrong. But worse, to my mind, is the quote above about a fellow manager. Just what is he saying there? It's said in a pally sort of way and is seemingly complimentary to Terry, but it is very difficult to interpret his statement in any other way but that Terry has developed a relationship or arrangements with referees such that they will give the 50:50 decisions our way. That is a very serious thing indeed to imply and he really needs to be taken to task for that.

We've had more penalties simply because we are playing the ball on the deck in the box. Long may it continue. What we do need is a reliable penalty taker. Whatever their other attributes may be the Shinnies do not look like natural penalty takers - apart from those that have been missed the ones that have been scored have looked saveable. Also, I would not be surprised if the referees start giving us only ones that are stonewallers. If they see us getting more than what might be seen as our "fair share" they may think we are playing for the penalties and we'll not get them. Worse still, we may have players booked for simulation. If that happens it will be important not to complain but just get on with it. We are creating enough chances that we should not need penalties to win games.

With us leading the way by going third in the SPL, it has been a good day for North football. I have to grudgingly acknowledge the gudgies win against Aberdeen whilst Elgin thumped a team in the division above them in the cup. Also in the cup there were wins for Deveronvale and Turriff whilst Nairn and Inverurie both drew against 2nd division opposition. Clach and Cove both went out but by the odd goal away to Ayr and Partick respectively but those are very respectable performances. It really goes to show what a good standard the Highland league is. All in all a very, very good day for North football.

Its more than novelty. Regardless of what the Dons fans were doing, that crowd demonstrates that the County fans are getting begind their team well. After a solid but unspectacular start it looked as though they might be finding it a little bit tough, but they have picked themselves up after getting humpred by us and are managing to secure wins when they might have been content with a draw. We may be 3rd (which is brilliant) but they are only 3 points behind us. We need to keep winning to stay in front of them and we will need to get the support behind the team. Our crowd against St Johnstone was pathetic on a good day for watching footy - hopefully the message will get through to a few more folk that this could be our best season ever both in terms of what the club achieves and the way the team is playing.

I'm shocked too. I didn't think Dennis was the type to go anywhere near a nightclub.

But you're not comparing like with like. When you watch an SPL match you are watching the top footballers in the country. If you were to watch the top performers in the country in music, drama or comedy etc you would be paying at least as much. If you are go skating you are entertaining yourself. Skating's an expensive way to entertain yourself - you can kick a ball around the Bught for free!

Oh dear! Mind you, the BBC is in a bit of a spot because if they if they only broadcast old editions of "Top of the Pops" which don't have Saville in them, then the recording artists featured in those programmes lose royalties - which they are not very happy about. So what the BBC is going to do is to broadcast those editions late at night and rename the show "Tup of the Tots".

Roll on retirement. Then I might be able to get to some of these away games. I'd love to be there as I think it should be a good occasion and a great game.

Esson was somewhat shakey in the games I've seen this year - not the same confident Esson of last year. Reguero has really impressed since he has come in and to my mind deserves the chance. It may just be coincidence with the back 4 gelling at the same time as Reguero has come in, but I just get the sense that there is better communication from him, and his central defenders in particular have more confidence in him. Even when Esson is playing well and makes good saves and is commanding on crosses, a weakness in his game is that he is not vocal enough. The keeper has a good view of what's in front of him and needs to keep his defence aware - I never feel that Esson does that enough. Reguero has done nothing wrong and for deserves a decent run in the side to give him the opportunity to prove whether or not he is better than Esson.

Was this before or after she died?

I thought the crowd would be a good bit higher today. Not only are we playing well but so are St Johnstone and this had every prospect of being a really open game of football between 2 in-form sides who like to play a passing game. It was the sort of game which I would have thought would attract folk who are only going to attend a few games. I wonder why more of those who turned up for the County game and who must have enjoyed it decided not to come today. The price of attending games is clearly an issue for many folk but it does not explain the overall picture. The recent survey showed that it was cheaper to watch football at TCS than just about anywhere in the UK and yet crowds are holding up very well South of the Border where prices are much higher. We need word to get round that we are playing some really good stuff at the moment and perhaps more folk will feel it is good value.

From A.A. Milne's "Now we are six". "If I were John and John were Me, Then he’d be six and I’d be three. If John were Me and I were John, I shouldn’t have these trousers on." Yes. The word "if" spawns such profound philosophical musings. If I were Andy and Andy were me We'd not have missed that penaltee

So do you have privileged knowledge of how Julia Roberts "plays" DD? Yup. Looks good, but after stripping off it's 60 minutes of rather tame action. Just a few brief touches and then heads for a shower before the climax is reached.

Regarding Philip Roberts Whilst he shows glimpses of talent I thought he played more like Julia Roberts today.

Pretty much agree with Hislopsoffsideagain. But two points on two points lost. 1. Why substitute A Shinnie right at the death and bring Morrison on? Doing so served no purpose other than to cause confusion around who was doing what defensively. 2. Why suddenly resort to hoof ball in the last few minutes? All that tactic does is give the ball back to the opposition and provide them with a succession of chances. Whilst the first half saw few chances, it did demonstrate that we can keep possession pretty well these days, so why not go back to doing that at the end. We did not fail to win this game due to missed chances, we failed to win it through tactical naivety.

Is Meekings returning to Ipswich then?

He did at the Press Call today....unfortunately it doesn't serve the press too well to make that point clear as the speculation gives them headlines to sell papers off the back of...and it would seem that some of our fans aren't going to accept his word until someone else is appointed. I'm in the process of uploading the video to YouTube where he says the speculation is nothing more than paper talk. I'll be interested to see the video if you are able to post the link. Does he say something different to what has been reported? You refer here to "paper talk" and that is what is being quoted in the media. If he's not interested then all he has to do is to say he's not interested. It's not difficult. We know it's paper talk but is there any truth in it? He's doing himself and his team no favours by talking in riddles. Terry isn't normally so reticent in saying what he thinks! As for accepting his word, I more than happy to do so. He has said it is paper talk and I accept that it is paper talk. I will also accept his word if he says he isn't interested in the Ipswich job, but as far as I can see he hasn't given a straight answer for anyone to accept or not. Terry, if you were invited to be interviewed for the Ipswich job would you accept? Yes or no?

We have a very important game on Saturday and this speculation can only be unsettling for the players. If Terry is not interested in the Ipswich post then he should end the speculation by making a statement to that effect as soon as possible.

http://www.eadt.co.u...ation_1_1669923 Despite the headline, the quotes he give simply say that talk of him being in the frame are pure speculation. There is no reason why speculation can't be correct. At no stage in this does he say he is not interested. He is clearly selling himself in his statement that the players here are responding well to his methods. The implication is that he has the ability to get a response from the Ipswich players who do not seem to be responding very well at the moment. Sounds to me that he's very interested indeed.

His name is one letter shorter than Immortal Howden Ender

The fact (if true) that he is buying a house in England means nothing, more to the point is whether he is selling one in the Highlands. Butcher is a legend at Ipswich and that is exactly the reason why taking the job at Ipswich (if offered) would be a huge mistake. He might have some initial success and he might even help them avoid the drop from the championship this season, but there is nothing in his track record which suggests that he would bring them close to the Premiership. It would end in tears and he would be remembered more for his latter failure and inevitable sacking than for what he did there as a player in the Robson years. That would be a real shame both for him personally and for those at Ipswich who remember him as a legend. I think most ICT fans would say he has been a qualified success here and we are optimistic that the opinion will be rather more positive by the end of this season. But it is important to consider what the qualities are that has led to his success here. To me his success has been primarily the ability to identify lower level players and to bring them on to compete at this level. This has been a valuable attribute here because of the lack of finance at the club. I'm not sure that ability will be quite so important at Ipswich. Where he seems to fall down is in his tactical approach. All too often he has followed paths which seem obviously wrong and he pursues them dogedly until circumstances change and he is forced down the right route. When things are not working he is not good at seeing what is wrong and changing things around during the game. I am sure his tactical naiivety would be ruthlessly exploited in the championship. For those reasons, I doubt that the Ipswich board would offer the post to him even though it would undoubtedly be a popular choice and tempting for a Board under fire. For Terry to move to Ipswich would mean that both the Ipswich Board and Terry himself would have to make big mistakes. I don't think it is going to happen

That's an interesting point. In first past the post elections folk have defected to other parties and kept their seats, but in those cases it could be argued that despite the party label, voters were voting for an individual and therefore it was reasonable for them to stay on. In this case however, the electorate clearly voted for the party and the party should be entitled to retain the level of representation which reflects the voting share. No doubt John Mason is correct on what the rules are, but IMHO the rules are wrong. Given that their election was clearly not a personal vote but a vote for a party they are no longer members of, the honourable thing for the two MSPs to do would be to resign their seats. I very much doubt that the "principles" which led them to resign their SNP membership will extend to respecting the democratic wish of the electorate, but if they were to resign their seats does anyone know if they would then be replaced by 2 others from the Highland SNP list?

I don't think he'll stay long. Hair today, gone tomorrow.

I like the bit where is is saying that they are now "closing the gap on the likes of Inverness and St Mirren". We have 9 points from the last 3 games including humping County 3-1 and yet he thinks they are "closing the gap on us"! :rotflmao:

Great result but from the commentary I'm not sure about the performance. Obviously started very strongly but allowed Dundee to get back in it and it sounded as though Dundee were the more likely team for much of the game until we stepped up a gear at the end. Might have thrown it away against a better side than Dundee - and all the other sides are better than Dundee! Sounds like 4 - 1 flattered us but the positive here is that we are finding the back of the net with regularity. We seem to have the potential to blow teams away and we need to keep the focus and the hunger for the full 90 minutes. If we can do that it is not just a question of top 6 next year, it could be Europe! BBC seemed to pick out Raven and A Shinnie as the top players so it seems it is someone different every week. Get everyone at the top of their game at the same time and we will be awesome.