DoofersDad

When Graham Rae was Chairman he always had a brief column in the digital matchday programme which was emailed to ST holders. I rather liked that and saw it as a good medium for communication. It was not only issues around the forthcoming game, but about the club in general and various upcoming events. This stopped when Graham stepped down. It would be an easy thing to reinstate and, with a bit of imagination, widen it out to include other items of interest e.g interviews of previous players, anecdotes from fans about previous games. It could be a good way of promoting a sense of community as well as keeping the club's most loyal supporters informed.

Next game is at home to Arbroath and we start as underdogs. Who would have thought we would ever be saying that a few years ago. Having said that though, we are still in a decent position for the play-offs and promotion to the top flight remains a possibility. Raith seem to be going through a very bad patch and clearly have been impacted by other issues, and we should have enough points in the bag to hold off the chasing pack even with out any dramatic improvement. We've yet to lose a league game this season by more than a single goal. This is a tight division and most games are decided by fine margins. The luck went with us in the early games and our league position rather flattered us. More recently things have not gone our way and we have not been able to find a way to win despite having decent possession and a good number of attempts at goal. Therein lies our problem - our shooting has often been woeful and it certainly was yesterday. I fancy our fortunes will change next week. Our first ever league match was, of course, home against Arbroath when we won 5-2. I predict a repeat of that score line with a hat-trick from Billy Mckay. I'd better stop now - there's men with white coats at the door!

Fifa's decision is pathetic. It's a bit like saying it is fine for Russian tanks to roll into Ukraine as long as they don't show any Russian flags. Great idea about the blue and yellow saltire, Scotty!

Russia due to play Poland at the end of March too. That's not going to happen either. First action from Fifa should be to kick the Russians out of the competition. The Russian people need to feel the world's anger and disgust at the actions of their power crazed leader.

Yes, essentially that is true. The relationship between the Club and the Trust should be one of respectful cooperation to the mutual benefit of Club and Supporters alike. The Trust is striving to re-establish that kind of relationship and trying to avoid an adversarial position. The Trust exists to represent the interests and views of the supporters, but it is also there to help the club and that is what we are trying to do. At this stage, as Chair of the Trust, I don't think it would be particularly helpful to go into the detail. What I would say just now though, is that the credibility of the Trust requires it to be representative. Whilst our membership has seen a healthy improvement in the last year, it is still only about 10% of the number of season ticket holders. If people are concerned about the poor communication from the club, then I would urge people to join the Trust and help the Trust grow into an effective and representative channel for the fans' concerns to be both heard and acted upon. As a collective, united voice we can be so much stronger than separate voices venting their frustrations on social media or simply fuming in silence over the lack of communication. As supporters of the club, we can also do so much more to raise money for the club and support it in other ways. It is not just new members the Trust needs, it is active members too. We are in the process of setting up a fund-raising committee with a view to raising funds for initiatives at the club and will be looking for folk to help with that. We are also short of members on the Trust Board and would love for some new blood to bring in some more energy and ideas to help raise the Trust's profile. Remember, the Supporters Trust can't effectively support the supporters if the supporters don't support the Trust. Membership is just £5 a year (£1 for U16s ) and folk can join here.

Duku scored for Havant and Waterlooville

Great picture of our last gasp equaliser on the BBC website. Whilst it was good we got the goal, it is a shame the referee couldn't also have awarded 2 penalties for the blatant fouls being committed by the Partick defence.

I thought we started quite brightly with the 3 new signings on the pitch all looking to get forward and not being afraid to take defenders on. Unfortunately, their efforts never came to much and nothing seemed to find its way to Mckay who looked increasingly frustrated as the game wore on. Perhaps that is in part due to their lack of familiarity with their new team mates, but what certainly didn't help them was the lack of ambition from the established members of the squad. In his post match interview Dodds said "We need to get back to what we are good at and where we were at the start of the season." That's easy to say, but the reality is not so straightforward. We weren't actually that good at the start of the season. We had a great start because we were tight at the back and things went our way. We are currently missing Devine, and Allardice is out for the rest of the season. Allardice is a big miss. I have said before that I think Welsh is far more effective playing alongside Allardice and the 2 of them playing in front of the back 4 made us a very solid defensive unit. You don't get that defensive solidity back by signing 4 forward players in the transfer window. It is inevitable that we are going concede a few goals, so in order to get back on track for promotion we are going to have to score more at the other end. That means we have to be more adventurous and take a few more risks going forward. It means we have to play much more football on the deck. It means we need more movement in and around the box to give defenders decisions to make. If we don't manage to gain promotion or even a play-off spot, than can we not at least try to play attractive football in the attempt?

Are you sure that's the same Jordon White who used to play for us? On the commentary this afternoon they said "on too many occasions now for Rangers, Jordon White has been able to win a high ball with ease".

I thought we were significantly better against QOS than we were against Raith last week. There was much more energy and we created a lot of decent chances. Had we been a bit more clinical up front we could have won that very comfortably. We were undone yesterday by poor defending. Their 1st goal was a very good goal but should have been defended better. Paton received the ball in acres of space and both Welsh and Carson went to close him down. Paton released the ball for a 1-2 and moved off into space. Nobody tracked him so he was again in plenty of space to pick a great ball through to Connelly who may or may not have been offside. Players should play to the whistle rather than look to the linesman with an arm raised, which was the reaction of both Broadfoot and Deas. Broadfoot did do his best to cover once he realised the flag was not raised, but he'd left it too late. Deas simply didn't bother trying. The 2nd was really poor marking at a free kick. Deas failed to track Debayo who was given the time and space to allow the ball to drop and to play a teasing cushioned volley into the danger area with absolutely no pressure being applied. QOS will feel very fortunate to have got anything from that game. Without those defensive errors and with a bit more composure up top, we could have been celebrating another thumping victory.

The club has tended to take the position of not standing in the way of players who want to move on and further their careers. It is, after all, perfectly reasonable for players to want to move on to clubs playing in a higher division or paying more money. A career playing football only lasts a few years at best and can easily end sooner than expected due to injury, so it is understandable that players will be keen to grab any opportunity they get to further their careers. Having an unsettled player in the dressing room leads to an unsettled squad. But another important factor here is that if the club is seen to be sympathetic to players who want to take up other opportunities, it makes it more likely that other players will be happy to come here. If the club had a reputation of blocking players from moving when a bigger club shows interest in them, then recruitment would suddenly be a whole lot harder than it already is. We are always going to be a club that develops players and moves them on. The key thing for the club is that not standing in the way of players moving on must be conditional on getting a fair price for the players. If we get £150k for Deas, I would have thought that was good business. He's a decent player and would be missed, but he's not exactly topping the polls for POTY.

Anyone following Afcon? After hosts Cameroun's 2-1 win in the opener against Burkina Faso, there have been 11 matches played in which a total of just 9 goals have been scored. Nine 1-0 score lines and a couple of goalless draws. It doesn't sound too exciting but I've not watched any of it yet. I'm hoping it will be a big success or else we will have the big European clubs trying harder than ever to justify not releasing players for international tournaments which are scheduled whilst the league programmes are on-going. Lots of coverage on Sky apparently and a few games on BBC. More goals, please.

What worries me is that we seem to have become so poor at doing so much of the basics. For 80 minutes today, we were 2nd to most of the 50:50 balls, we couldn't pass the ball, we couldn't shoot, we couldn't cross, we couldn't find spaces we, didn't try to take players on, there was no movement at throw ins and we couldn't cope with the far more direct and attacking movement of Raith. Thank goodness Ross got a knock early in the 2nd half because he made complete mincemeat of our defence in the first half. Yet again, it was Ridgers who saved us from the scoreline we deserved. We only came alive and showed a bit of belief after McAlear's great strike, but by then it was too little, too late and too panicky. We may still be 2nd in the division, but unless there is some considerable improvement in the quality of our, play we will be fortunate to even make the playoffs. I'm not going to single out individuals for criticism because we don't know who has had Covid and how issues around Covid have affected particular players and what can be done in training. But remember, we got 19 points from our 1st 7 games this season but have only managed 17 in the last 13 games - that's the sort of return that over the season would hopefully keep you just above the playoff place at the wrong end of the table. We'll need to do better than that for the rest of the season if we are to remain in the playoff places, and much better than that if we are to maintain our title aspirations.

The value of a vaccine passport is that even if you do have Covid and pass it on, you are not passing it on to someone who is unvaccinated. Unvaccinated people are far more likely to become seriously ill with Covid. That is reflected by the fact a hugely disproportionate number of Covid patients in hospital are unvaccinated. It is, of course, the pressure on the NHS that drives the decisions about imposing restrictions. There is a rather unfortunate irony here in that it is the unvaccinated who complain most about their rights and loss of freedom, yet it is their irresponsible actions which are a major reason why restrictions are being imposed.

The AGM of the Supporters Trust took place on December 9th with members present both in person and on-line. Lynne Macdonald had decided not to seek re-election and was thanked for her valuable contribution to the Board. But whilst Lynne is stepping down from the Board, we were pleased to welcome John West onto the Board as a new member. Also, Alison McInnes who had been co-opted onto the Board last year is now an elected member of the Board. The current Board members are now: Jennifer Aitchison, Laura Grant, Alison McInnes, Peter Mutton and John West. We were pleased to report on a significant increase in the membership, albeit from a low base. Increasing the membership remains a top priority because the higher the membership is, the more credibility the Trust has with the club as a representative mouthpiece for the wider body of supporters. Members present showed support for the Trust Board's representations to the club in promoting a dedicated area where those who wish can stand and be encouraged to give vocal support to the team. We are also keen to pick up on earlier proposals for improved facilities for disabled supporters. The Board will continue to seek constructive engagement with the club on these issues and will press them on resuming the fans focus group initiative. Supporters wishing to join or to find out more about the Supporters Trust can do so here.

Just have to stay at home and read "Milestones and Memories". Copies still available and a great late Christmas pressie. https://shop.ictfc.com/product/pre-order-milestones-memories-book

To be fair, our record of holding on to leads this season is pretty good. I've gone through the results of our games in all competitions (full time score for cup games) and in the 15 games we have scored 1st we have gone on to win. 11 times (73%) whilst on the 9 occasions our opponents have scored 1st, they have only gone on to win 4 times (44%). It is, however a worry that the only 2 times we have lost this season after scoring first are in the recent games against Dunfermline and Hamilton. Have opponents identified a weakness? If our defence to the inevitable pressure placed on us by teams trying to get something out of the game is simply to hoof the ball clear, then opponents can throw caution to the wind because they know they are going to win the ball back. When we are winning, we need to keep the ball. By all means look to exploit space at the back by looking to extend the lead, but if we don't create a clear cut chance, don't give possession away with a speculative shot - keep the ball. It looked to me today that the guys thought they had the game sown up as we became increasingly dominant. The manager needs to drill into the players that holding one to a single goal lead is hard work and requires everyone to work hard in finding some space to receive the ball and closing down opponents when they have the ball. It also means not giving away fouls when there is no immediate danger.

That's a hard one to take. First half was pretty lacklustre but we came out well in the 2nd half with Harper looking far more effective than Doran down the left. We looked increasingly threatening and then Harper was rewarded by getting on the end of a slick team move. We continued to play well for a few minutes and could have got a couple more. We were well on top and looked by far the better side. Then with 15 minutes to go we inexplicably completely fell apart. Whenever we got the ball we gave it away and Hamilton piled men into the box and bullied their way to victory. What should have been a comfortable victory turned into one of the most demoralising defeats I can remember. Looking on the bright side (or the less dark side), if we had played the whole match the way we played in the last 15 minutes we would have lost 10-0 and been 3rd in the table rather than 2nd. I hope that thought has cheered you all up as we move into Christmas week!

Any chance of you staying away for the rest of the season?

Wasn't able to get to the game today but did manage to try out the ICTV coverage for the first time. It was good to see a number of the younger players in the starting line up with MacInnes and Carnihan coming on for debuts later in the game. With so many changes it seemed pretty obvious that this was all about resting players with a busy schedule of more important games coming up. Stand out for me was Cameron Harper who was always positive going forward and looking to play balls into the gaps. Cammy MacKay looked pretty solid between the sticks which is encouraging but other than that, there was not much to enthuse about. The ICTV coverage was pretty decent though. Shooting practice before Friday's game, please.

792 sounds about right to me but it is still an absolutely woeful number. Even if we were to keep all of the gate receipts, a crowd of that size would not cover the costs. It was certainly chilly on Saturday but it was actually a rather good day for a game of football, so I'm not sure how many folk were put off by the weather. The fact is that crowds have been dwindling for years. We can all speculate on the reasons for that and there will be several reasons. The question is, how can we reverse that trend?

I understand the criticisms here, but please remember that this is just a first step in trying to get more youngsters into the ground and to create a bit more atmosphere. Nobody is suggesting that what is being proposed for the Morton game should be a long term solution. It is a stepping stone. There has been a bit of fan engagement regarding this and a small group of youngsters where involved in that, but we need much more. Hopefully the stewards will be told to give folk a bit of leeway and likewise the youngsters will respect the boundaries of the leeway they are being given and Saturday will be a success. If people engage positively with the process, then my hope would be that we can learn from the experience and bring in more people for wider and more representative discussion moving forwards. As someone who used to stand behind the goal when I was a lad in the 60s and 70s, I would like nothing better than for a large vocal standing area behind the goal, but we live in changed times. The club needs to work within current legislation and the regulations of the footballing authorities. It may need to seek appropriate planning consents for physical changes to the stands. It meeds to work within its budget. And this is not just about the youngsters. There are also other people to consider. For instance, there are long standing season ticket holders who have had seats in the sections behind the goals for years. It would be completely unacceptable to simply tell them they will have to move without any proper consultation. I am sure we all want to encourage more youngsters to come to games and for there to be a better atmosphere. Where there will be disagreement is how we achieve that. Giving everyone what they want is simply not possible. There is no magic solution, so the way to move forward is for as many people as possible to engage constructively with the process. The more everyone understands what is important to others and what the barriers to change are, the more likely we are to reach a solution that represents a good compromise. The club has been much criticised for not engaging with fans. The club is engaging with fans on this, so it really is important that fans take the club at its word and engage constructively too. What is being proposed for Saturday is far from perfect but it is a step forward. If folk don't engage and support the initiative then it will be a lot harder to move forward to achieve the best solution.

https://ictfc.com/drummin-up-support-for-the-team First steps in trying to work with the club in order to encourage youngsters and the young at heart to make a bit more noise in supporting the lads on the pitch. Hopefully a good vocal support against Morton on Saturday.

A very entertaining game and some great performances. Having Carson and Sutherland back in the team makes a real difference. Billy too is looking very sharp but MOTM for me was Allardice who won some balls he had no right to, moved the ball forward well and had 2 or 3 surging runs. I thought he was immense today. We should have won rather more comfortably, but if we continue to play with that intensity and quality we should be winning a lot more than we lose.

Adam Rooney scored a penalty for Solihull Moors in their FA Cup replay against Wigan last night. It was on telly too (ITV4). It was apparently his first for Solihull this season but he certainly hasn't forgotten how to take a penalty. Hard and low into the corner as ever.