FoolPhysio

Excellent refresh, much better presentation than the previous site. However, ICT-TV does not let me log in - is it just me or have all the accounts been wiped?

Sounds like an excellent addition to the squad and with the addition of Piermayr in defence things are looking up for Saturday, with both cleared to play.

No real surprise really. Defence was a concern before the game and although it was fortunate in the friendlies to have goals at the other end so we finished with a win and some draws for an unbeaten run, in the first actual competitive match together it has been shown up for the weakness that it is. I realise this is only the opening game and one swallow does not a summer make, and we also have a right back in the offing, but one injury and we are left with what we fielded today. Lets hope that this is just a symptom of not enough games together and that experience will rapidly catch up with talent and we get stronger in that ara before we meet some real opposition! :pale:

TSNY, speaking as an ex-referee, albeit at the lowest rung, I wanted to post a comment on here but was struggling to find a way to do it - your post has hit the nail right on the head. Good post, and well deserved green dot. It is easy for armchair generals to criticise the referee but this constant drip-drip-drip of negativity from fans, clubs and media can do nothing but erode the confidence of the referees at the higher level and introduce second-guessing, thereby creating a vicious circle that will only result in further damage to the game. When I was trained I was told the best game you can have is one where you blow for the start, blow for the finish and only have to indicate the call when the ball goes over a line. But football more often than not isn't like that. And one "wrong" decision can affect the remainder of a match through ill-feeling or worry over having made a mistake. Add to that the increase in television coverage where every action can be endlessly re-run and scrutinised and it becomes a cauldron. Not to mention the voracious need for scandal and intrigue by the media who crave controversy in order to maintain interest (so they believe) so that even minor infractions are blown up out of all proportion. Think about this - next time there is a game where there are a number of goals, one or more disputed penalties and a number of cautions or a sending off or two and listen to the introduction from the intro from the commentator, I guarantee it will be called "the game that has everything". Like it is something to be desired. And a game that has an excellent refereeing performance and maybe only one or even no goals? It will be portrayed as boring. But if it were the way most people seem to be asking for, should it not be the other way round? By the way, can anyone tell me of one country in the world that does not criticise their referees in any way shape or form? Is England have a better than us or is it similar? In essence, are you not just wishing for the impossible?

Congratulations!

Good pictures, thanks

That diatribe from Hearts is just . . . stunning, really. But standard fayre for the Motherland so no real surprise. One thing though - Thomson will be at very real risk of injury at the start of the season as there are likely to be tackles that are less than savoury visited upon him. I would just hope that our players are not tempted to deal out any "natural justice" and damage our good name as result.

We seemed to feature more often in the "goals against" bit, then again, the others needed to bring out something special to get passed our Player of the Year!

"Yeovil Town have announced a second pre-season friendly against the recent conquerors of Celtic, Inverness Caledonian Thistle . . . " Good intro!

Whenever the OF fans, either side, sing their obviously sectarian sh1te, why don't we reply with a chant that goes along the lines of "What's that got to do with football?". I suppose it may just encourage them, being the perverse bunch of bigots that they are, but if there was just ONE chant of that nature that EVERY other Scottish club sings back then maybe it will give the stewards and police a heads-up on when these are being sung! Wouldn't it be funny if it caught on so well that when one of them starts their bigoted song at the next OF match, the other side responds with the new chant? Now to be honest I couldn't give a monkey's chuff about either of them or what happens at an OF derby, but I do question why we silently accept these songs at our matches with them. They are so ingrained into their repertoire that they possibly don't even realise it, so we have a duty to point it out to them (and the authorities). Perhaps the reason the SPL does little about it is because they cannot hear them from the directors boxes, so we need to give them a bit of a hand . . .

So . . . business as usual then?

Aye, true, but there is an old story about two bulls standing at the top of a hill and the young one says "let's run down there and have one of those cows" to which the older one replies "naw, let's walk down and have all the cows". Point being, the older wiser heads may have the experience to be in the most effective positions they need to be (right place, right time) while young 'uns are running their socks off and getting knackered more quickly. Anticipation, ability to read the game, knowing where your oppo is going to be without having to look etc etc.

Long may they understimate us. Although Lafferty's comment was probably more aimed at upsetting Celtic fans than a jibe at us.

I almost resisted responding to this, since whenever there is an OF derby I never watch it as it is impossible to watch something where you want both teams to lose, but just for consistency - couldn't give a monkeys chuff really, as far as I am concerned they might as well toss a coin at the start of the season, save on all the aggro and BS and just play all their games against the rest of us as exhibition matches so their brightest and best can sell themselves on the market stall so they can GTF out of Scottish football!

Well deserved - his level of consistency has been commendable throughout the season. Others have had noticeable dips in form and others have suffered through injury, but Ryan has saved the team on many an occasion and indeed probably has to work harder when the odd cylinder is mis-firing in front of him! BZ Ryan.

Good grief - it's like the Wee Frees all over again . . . So it is a case of "dae whit we want as we'll gan dae it anywie". Hardly a threat, since without promotion/relegation it would become a bore for the remainder outside the OF who are still not winning it and have nothing to play for except a European spot (if they are lucky enough to still have one) and some cash. Pathetic. Personally I would be delighted to win the Scottish Championship league every year, just for that authentic Celtic/Rangers experience . . . until it got boring, which it would fairly soon. How do they cope with the boredom? . . . oh, yes, by hating each other and having a false sense of superiority over everyone else.

The highlights show a pretty good angle from the side, and it looked as if the ball would have gone across the face of the goal had it not hit Mulgrew. Would love to say that it was simply a deflection off of Rooney's shot but it does look more like an OG, but I suppose the debatable factor is time - it was so close that Mulgrew couldn't have done anything else but knock it goal-wards so maybe that should count more as a deflection. Won't stop Adam from claiming it though!

There seems to be a fairly simple, if likely to be protracted, solution to all this. Complain to the Club direct, each and every time, if you sincerely believe you are justified in doing so. For example, this is taken directly from the AFC website Supporters Charter: I would expect that the term "customer" to refer to both home and away fans since we have all had to purchase a ticket / pay for admission at some point. Make sure the complaint is in writing and if you don't get a response, there is an offer for the complainant to correspond direct with the Managing Director. You may be sceptical and think "what's the point? I'll just get fobbed off with some paltry excuse" but there are two things here - strength of evidence and volume of correspondence. If 5 people all wrote in about an incident then it lends weight to the complaint. Be sure to take the name of the steward or stewards at the time - after all, according to the back of their jackets on Saturday, they were there to help! By the way, I am NOT suggesting collusion. Like cheating at exams, it can be usually be found out quite quickly. But if you really feel that strongly that you have been badly dealt with, then do something positive about it. Make the complaint relevant - there is little point in justifying rule breaking and even less so if it is contrasted with "well the Aberdeen fans got away with it". It wouldn't work in a court to justify being caught speeding by claiming that everyone else does it and then expect to be let off! So, make the complaint more to do with the way the stewards were confrontational, used abusive language and were unwilling to listen to reason and seemed intent on using harsh penalties from the off. Every single SPL club has a website and most, if not all, will have a similar charter in place - here's ours: http://www.ictfc.co....2214411_1002424 You will note that we only invite emails to an Admin account and not to the MD himself! If you are going to moan then moan to someone who can do something about it, otherwise it is just pointless whining.

Aye

Where and when?

Yep, I'll be there too - bought the ticket yesterday so I am committed now! Angling for a lift in with a couple of dye-hard sheep (pun intended) so when we win, that will be an interesting run home - better make sure I have cash for a train ticket, just in case . . .

For the record, the assistant referee is restricted under Law 6 to what they may do, but the actual application at each match will be under the direction of the Referee who retains absolute responsibility and authority throughout (Law 5). This explains why an assistant who will indicate fouls on the pitch one week will not do the same the following week - it depends on the brief that they get given by the Ref before the game. So just because they can have the roles and responsibilities outlined in Law 6, does not mean that the Referee has given them the authority to use it. They could, for example, be restricted to offsides, ball over the line and substitutions. Remember, these people are qualified referees in their own right but may be under training for the higher leagues by having this support role, although some are happy to remain as assistants as their area of "specialisation". When I left, the SFA were developing a system where you had to chose to become one or the other, but I am not sure if that system is still in place. Regarding waiting for the Ref to indicate the direction of a throw-in or goal/corner kick, this may also be part of the direction but could equally be that the assistant did not actually see it and believes the Ref did, but if neither saw it or are both unsure, the Ref has the responsibility to make that call. When I refereed, that was the brief I gave - if you are certain then raise your flag and I will indicate, if not, wait on my call and raise to support. If I give it one way and you are certain it is wrong, raise and hold and I will change.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, expect nothing

Interesting - so this may be a more effective methods of not just keeping the rain / snow off, but can also heat up frozen pitches? Mind you, will it heat it to sufficient depth? If this really is the better option, why not buy it and install it? SPL may stipulate that we have USH, and we have. But do the rules specify that we need to turn it on though . . .? Cut out the running costs (and don't bother with the maintenance unless for safety reasons) and use the better method just to prove it actually IS better!