DoofersDad

I tend to share your views on Yogi. His success here was based on the squad he inherited at a time when a number of the bigger clubs were struggling from having hit the self destruct button. When it came to replacing players that had been part of the success, he was found wanting despite having a bigger budget at his disposal. Having said that, I think the situation at County may well play to Yogi's strengths. Whatever his faults may be, he is a very good coach. He brought a technical discipline into our defence and the team kept shape well under him. At times it was excruciatingly boring to watch, but it did mean we were hard to beat. County need more discipline in defence, but they also need to score more. They have some decent players up top and Yogi's style of play, which tends to draw the opposition in, may well help them find a bit more space. A further plus for Hughes is that his inadequacies in the transfer market will be less of a problem OTB than here. He will have the funds to keep better players there. Sadly, he will also have the funds to capitalise on his neighbour's greater talent in recruitment and be able to offer better terms when our better players are looking to advance their careers. I don't know whether he will be able to make the changes necessary to be able to save County this year, but I would imagine that as long as Uncle Roy keeps faith with him, they will be a significantly better team next season than they are just now. They will also be significantly more boring to watch.

Even stronger indications it is Yogi. https://www.rosscountyfootballclub.co.uk/news-items/john-hughes-appointed-manager

It's not just the sacking so close to Christmas, but he was sacked before he even had a chance to speak to the press about the game. For somebody who has given many years to the club, that seems a simply shocking way to treat him. He deserves great credit for the dignified way he spoke to the media yesterday. Interestingly, nearly a day after his dismissal and there is still no statement on the club website other than a rather strange brief bit on Facebook and Twitter which says "Ross County FC can confirm that Stuart Kettlewell has been relieved of his duties as Manager. Stuart was an ideal appointment for the club given his history and association with the club and we will support Stuart in the coming weeks." Not even the usual thanks for what he has done for the club. There's maybe a bit more to this than meets the eye.

A very well deserved honour. Many congratulations, Ian!

With Christmas just around the corner what could be better for a late present or a brilliant read for yourself than a copy of "Milestones and Memories"! There has been terrific feedback and and it really does bring back so many great memories of the club's first 25 years. Reading through it will also reveal many facts and anecdotes that even the most ardent Caley Thistle fan will have been unaware of. And with over 500 pictures there's a good chance you might even spot yourself in the book! Why buy something less interesting from Amazon and add to their already vast wealth, when, with a click on the link below, you can support the club and spend many happy hours leafing through the pages of a truly wonderful book? Let's face it, this is not going to be the greatest Christmas ever for most of us, so what better way to make it a good as possible than buying a copy of "Milestones and Memories" for friends and family or even your good self? https://shop.ictfc.com/product/pre-order-milestones-memories-book Enjoy those memories and have a happy Christmas!

It seems from the PotY polls that the referees are getting higher ratings this season. Is this because in the current climate we are all being a bit more forgiving, or are referees actually making better decisions when there is no crowd to constantly howl down every decision they make?

They appear to be doing it a bit differently this time and asking people to confirm attendance. This is so we can be as close to the 300 allowed as possible and thereby maximise the number of games those of us who want to attend can get to. Like Lizi, I also got an email this afternoon and it came from the admin email address. No doubt for those of us who confirm our attendance, the tickets and associated info will be sent out from the tickets address, just as they were for the Raith game.

No! But what a brilliant draw for them! Mourinho tends to put out strong teams even for supposedly easy ties, so it would be fantastic for Dave to be up agains the likes of Kane, Bale and Son. What a great experience that would be for him as he comes to the end of his career.

I'd be happy to contribute.

Very good performance in the 2nd half. With better finishing we could have won that by 4 or 5. Really good work rate throughout the team and for someone who is recovering from injury, that was some shift Miles Storey put in. Thanks to the SPFL, I can't say I enjoyed the 1st half.

They told me that too at one stage and it made no difference. I tried a few times.

I managed to get a response from the email support and told them it seemed just to be ST holders. 1 minute later folk were posting they could now get on! It seems unbelievable that they might have blocked our access just because there are ST holders at the ground - but!

Seems to be.

me too

The club have made a video about arrangements for fans attending tomorrow. https://ictfc.com/fans-match-day-protocols-video

There's about half a dozen cases in the Muir of Ord neighbourhood but the number of new cases in Highland as a whole has stayed pretty steady since the new levels came into force. No reason why we should be moved to level 2 although equally there is no compelling reason why the continued ban on having people able to visit each others houses is likely to be lifted yet.

I've confirmed with the club that folk who don't have an email address are included in the ballot. Tickets have been printed off and put in the post for some without email addresses whose name came out in the ballot. Incidentally, whilst I was down at the stadium today, and elderly gentleman came into the shop wanting to buy a ticket for the game. He apparently was aware that fans were now allowed back in the stadium but not about the details. It was explained to him that it would likely be some time before tickets would be available for general sale. He did not have an email address and quite likely does not go online. It is so easy for those of us who access the internet to keep up to date with what is going on, but clearly it is difficult for those who don't. Perhaps if folk know of others who don't go online it would be a nice gesture to give them a ring from time to time to keep them in the loop.

It's a perfectly reasonable point and I'm sure the club would be open to considering that in due course. In their FAQs, the club state in relation to PATG "For now, season ticket holders have priority entry to the ballots in line with other limited availability ticket procedures." The "for now" bit would suggest they will be open to considering access to PATG (or buying on-line) when allowed to. As far as I am aware, the decision to restrict entrance to ST holders is one taken above club level. If ST holders who are successful in the ballot cannot or do not wish to attend, then their seat will be offered to another ST holder. I guess we will soon learn what the procedure for this is. I don't know whether folk successful in the ballot will be asked to confirm their intention to attend, or whether they will be asked to contact the club if the can't attend. One thing is for sure, if folk whose name is drawn out of the ballot simply don't turn up and don't bother to let the club know, there will a lot of other folk, both ST holders and PATG customers, who will be well p***ed off. Bottom line is that the more conscientious we all are about observing the advice and regulations for controlling the virus, the sooner more of us will be able get to watch the football.

The season ticket holders have already paid up front and I imagine a large majority will be living in a tier 1 area. If only 300 are allowed into the stadium for each match, then each ST holder will only get to about 1 in 3 or 4 games I guess and in a shortened season, that is not very many. I would hope that when restrictions change so that those ST holders who are now in tier 2 or 3 areas are able to attend, they will then get priority. I can't see non ST holders getting in until significantly more than 300 are allowed in the ground. It just wouldn't be fair on ST holders.

Pay at the gate

Well done Harry Nicolson! A really decent performance on his debut. Good performances too from Cammy Mackay and Cameron Harper. It's really good to see these youngsters being given a chance and doing so well. It wasn't the greatest of games but East Fife played very well and kept a really solid shape at the back. They caused us a few problems at the other end too. Another well taken goal by Sutherland who may be a really important player for us this season.

A much better streaming experience today. It seemed pretty clear from the previous efforts that the Pixelot ball tracking technology wasn't up to the job and so it is positive that Pixelot seem to accept the need for moving the cameras with human input. It looks as though a decent solution has been found but I don't know why they have the cameras in the Main Stand. Fortunately, the sun wasn't shining today. The Club and TV companies have their cameras facing the Main Stand for a very good reason! As for the commentary, I rather enjoyed Andy's enthusiasm - and bias! It's a difficult job because there is a short delay on the streaming so Andy had to commentate on the streaming feed and not from looking out of the window. This makes it far more challenging for a number of reasons. East Fife didn't help by having the squad numbers in black against a black framed pattern on the back of their shirts. I agree with the comments that it would be helpful for him to have somebody with him to help identify the players and perhaps pick up on one or two other things as well. Hopefully the various stakeholders can build on this significant improvement, as with no sign of paying customers being allowed into the ground for a while, the club needs to maximise the number of PPV viewers to get some level of income trickling in.

It is just "Milestones and Memories" which was on the site, but I've had a word with the club and "Going Ballistic" should also be available on-line later today. The euphoria over last night's dramatic win for Scotland is a reminder of just how good it feels when your small team overcomes the odds and achieves something. Our club is a small club and in its short history has overcome the odds several times. If last night made you feel good then you are going to just love "Milestones and Memories". It is full of recollections of those great days ICT supporters have been privileged to enjoy over the years. If you haven't got your copy yet, then now's the time to order it.

If you can't remember what it's for, it must be Aricept you are on. It's Pfizer's drug for Alzheimer's disease!

Yes. And given the age profile of our fan base, a good number of us should be near the top of the queue for the vaccine!