Council Juice

HE is an astute businessman who has done alot for the club and we all thank him for that wholeheartedly im sure. Does anyone think perhaps he and Savage just didnt get along, perhaps they did not agree on plans either. My only quelm is that his relationship with Brew is not as such to allow him to continue in his role of manager as of detriment to the club and it's SPL position as a whole. Hopefully he would sack him when he felt the time was right feeling Brew couldnt take the club forward rather than let his friendship get in the way of business. I dont think he intends to take us down a level and throw us of his land. Even if he does somehow stick with Brew.

Particularly with that Irish avatar :018: Its Jamaican you fanbelt :thumb04: Hence the We're all getting a little touchy now are we not? Personally at having two players back who have commanded ?20m in fees in 3 transfers (Fergie almost ?10m in moves to and fro and Hutton around ?9/10m himself) im delighted. We dont have alot of quality and having both played in top level European champions league games and competed year in year out for trophies have more experience than all bar Fletcher. Experience is vital at this level. So to have two players with a fair whack is of great benefit. Lee Miller deserved a call up due to good recent form but he's the type worth trying out in a friendly, not someone who could be utilised against the Netherlands in all honesty I dont see how Novo is a wee ned. Im no blue nose(please note), but he seems to be a family man, who doesnt get in trouble off the field. Always gives his all ON the pitch (although sometimes lets his "enthusiaism" boil over) but yes is Spanish and preferably wont be anywhere near a Scotland squad. However if he becomes a UK national by law who has only lived in Scotland, with a Scottish child and proud to live here (more than some "Scots") i'd consider him as Scottish as the rest. We are by fact a mongrel nation anyway. Most Scots have foreign blood. So if by the rules he can play, i have no problem. On Burley, i see his half time team talk being more a "well done for turning up", than a "buck up lads, they're nothing special this lot, we can win this one" a lie but it might have made a game of it. Instead, like them we just settled for the 1-0. Something i can see happening under Burley. Like we settled against Moldova and Norway. We lack the drive we had under McLeish. Against Italy it was try to the end. We lost but i was really proud. Which is what matters.

While it may seem that by moaning at the management is going to affect the players as they'll get caught it the cross fire, and cheering for 90 will make everything look rosey. Why not all unite with the chant " BREWSTER OUT BREWSTER OUT" or "BREWSTER BREWSTER GET TAE ... SORRY BUT WE CANNOT COMPLETE THIS AS WE ARE A FAMILY CLUB"

So going as far to say that Sutherland wants the land and Caley out. I agree he is a plonker, but not that bad and evil surely?!

Well i wouldnt have a problem with two of our better players playing either. The player making his debut is not one of our better players... by a long shot. Also I think the confusion stems from the fact you only highlighted the lee miller section and noted it turns your nose blue. Scotland got lucky last night. Argentina have been very of the boil of late and had it not been some good saves from the keeper and better finishing we could have been beaten far more comfortably. What worries me is that this was a friendly. The 1st Holland game is away and compeditive. My main worry is that under previous managers we were lucky. The team got the rub of the green because of sheer effort. Despite being outclassed. Under Burley i can see us continuously going 1-0 down and that being it. I cant sense a fightback.

"Can't say anything but it will all come out soon enough" is the answer you'll get there, i reckon

Only Ian Black could come close to getting a game for Scotland from ICT, but like the fellow strugglers St Mirren and Hamilton we dont have anyone capable to make an impact therefore no call ups. Do Dundee Utd have anyone in the squad? Killie? I cant believe how Clarkson consistantly gets in the squad. Must be the Butcher influence as he is nowhere near Scotland material. Maybe, just maybe a squad player in 2-3 years but not now. Never. Steven Fletchers form this season is hardly worthy of a call up. He seems to be suffering a little fro the hype. Miller at Aberdeen has been in good form and actually deserves a call up, but as a squad player. Riordan perhaps deserved a look due to his natural finishing ability and im suprised that now fit again O Conner aint there. Doesnt play every week but has to compete with Kevin Phillips and McFadden etc at Birmingham. I often now wonder if Burley understands the concept of a squad rotation policy after the Boyd debacle also. And on Jamie McAllister, maybe give him 15-20 then. But not long. Suprised also there is no McNaughton. Is he injured?

Im sure if Wyness had truly wanted his agent to get him the deal here he would have. He was punted out though surplus to requirements in Brews eyes. Maybe it was his time to go. His form wasnt great and perhaps a change was of benefit to him. I think both injuries and the Niculae saga played their part. In any case i think its widely agreed that Rooney is the man, but needs a reliable man to partner him up front. One with the experience to get the best out of him and complement him. And we all dislike the wrong footed wide men. And why Duff is not in central defence over Proctor? I do like Proctor but i'll say it again. He is either a right back, Right mid, or holding mid.

So we're all in agreement then. He might be a gentleman but no one likes him and dont want him at ICT. Everyone thinks he knows about fitness and has a decent eye for talent. His tactics though are often questionable and he seems to be taking us where he had DUTD. GTF

Bayne was a hard grafter a while never prolific had a habit of nicking important goals. Fair enough, not everything went his way but he improved a great deal from when he joined to when he left and be the type of player to help any of our other strikers get goals themselves. Hart was the type who would always have a go. The type to take a gamble. You need someone with that in the squad. We've become very shot shy of late. Irregardless theyre both away now and we have to look forward. Starting with a new forward in January. Preferrably with pace and strength (an all round natural finisher wouldnt be bad to but to get all three attribute and it'd be Torres and he's unlikely to move. location factor etc ) Even if he couldnt finish pace always opens things up which creates chances for the other players.

WasCowie not brought in primarily as a holding player? Getting a true winger on the right could be of great Benifit. Bazza or not. I do agree he should move into coaching but not soley. It's always good to have the option of him being available. He should start to look into his coaching badges

Home form, one word - Shambolic. Seriously its getting a touch embarrassing. A team like us, in the north should be able to have a seige mentality at home and send them packing down south with their tails tucked between their legs.

Sorry but reputable? This is still Celtic we are talking about right?

If Aberdeen did the same for the away teams and they all did the same for us it'd be fine. Probably picked at random or a cross section of managers. They probably thought JC is a northern manager anyway who would have more input that CB. No Edinburgh teams either. Or any forgeign input (hand in hand really)

With Darren Fletcher, Kenny Miller, Craig Gordon and Steven Fletcher all definitely out and McCormack and Morrsion very doubtful i wonder what the team will be. or what should it be? Baring in mind Kevin Thompson is also unavailable and Ferguson is unlikely to be able to last the full 90. Here's my line up (at least what i think it will be) - McGregor Broadfoot - Caldwell - McManus - Naysmith Brown - Ferguson - Robson Morrison - Iwelumo - McFadden Should Morrison be unavailable, Commons or Maloney or alternatively push Brown up and play Hartley(however i believe Hartley will replace Ferguson). If McCormack is fit i'd like to see him get a decent run out. Broadfoot has done well enough in the jersey and deserves the chance. He is still performing for his team while Hutton is still finding his feet following a long lay off. Give Hutton the 2nd half. Iwelumo deserves a chance to redeem himself. Someone like him or Boyd should have started the last game and the manager got that call wrong completely. I'd like to see Berra and Jamie McAllister both get a run out and Maloney should play a part at some point if not starting. Clarkson is not good enough or ready. Steven Fletcher although out is also not ready, or really performing well at Hibs (part of the managers criteria i believe) Alexander has been around the squad long enough and we dont need to see what he can offer. He's dependable when required but ultimately offers little as a full back in an attacking sense. He doesn't need to play. Ferguson wont last the 90 so a change will have to be made at some point. If Burley is stubborn and plays him the full game i hope it doesnt set him back and endanger him for future games. Marshall may get a run out to show that he is a capable number 3. Our goalie is not an issue though. They are all good. And lastly if George Burley plays Mcfadden up front flanked by Morrison and Maloney he should be sacked then and there as soon as he writes it on his team sheet. What i'd like (estimate) - - McGregor (Marshall*) - Broadfoot(Hutton 45') Caldwell - McManus(Berra 75') - Naysmith (McAllister 80') Brown - Ferguson(Hartley 75') - Robson Maloney(Commons*) Iwelumo - McFadden(McCormack 70') I believe Fifa only allow 6 subs in international challenge matches nowadays so the ones i'd be unsure until the game pans out i marked with a *. The others i'd plan to make outwith circumstances i couldnt control ie injuries, or sendings off or nessesary tactical changes.

Would your attitude be the same if the " scumbag " Drogba took a childs eye out with the coin? And if the coin thrower took the players eye out? It was only a matter of time before this happened and a player reacted without thinking (that he may take a childs eye out accidently) but the fact remains, refs get pelted, linesmen pelted and players with sharp metal objects. While in hindsight its wrong to throw it back, you cant blame someone for lashing out in a self defensive manner. It doesnt matter how much he gets pampered and paid, he is still human and is prone to acting on impulse. I'd hate to run the line. You've got to concentrate on making sure you get every offside right and put out your head that, back turned, a 1000 coins are being aimed directly at you. Its not right for drogba or previously carragher to react, but it's understandable and he later acted correctly and issued a full apology.

Was it not Charlie who brought in those three? He may have. Its hard to know when they were signed and who was in charge at the time. Either way Brew has given them the chance. It doesnt make him a good manager though. It just means he has a keen eye for talent. I've never doubted that.

I didnt think we would miss Hart but we do. Sad set of events though. I was not happy to see Bayne leave. I think we miss him.

What can i say about Robbo. He won us the Challenge cup. Turned us from a grerat attacking team into an attacking, consistant team. Then we won the league. Got promoted. Had us on great cup runs. Kept us up and left when and where in all fairness we all knew he would go. To Hearts. Brew severed his ties from the club badly and has not done enough to win people back over. Him tactics can be shambolic and doesnt have the passion of Robbo or CC. I can understand that Dun utd were HIS team but he belittled ICT and fell flat on face. Serves him right. HE could hardly come back into open arms. Robbo left and thanked ICT for what they gave him. He would be welcomed back... to how much success i dont know. If people dont want him here the only way is to be vocal about it and eventually hope the board clicks. Brew has to win the fans around with results, then he'll get support. Not the other way around.

I think we have missed Bayne. He had gained alot of SPL experience and was always improving IMO. As for Gary Wales and Andy Kirk. Their both good enough, but whether they have the consistancy and are able to stay clear of injury is entirely different. Winters is an unknown quantity nowadays but defo worth a look. Was always good for a goal and vast experience. Richie Foran in theory would be a good signing but i cant see him wanting to go further north than the central belt unless it was on a good wage. One we couldnt afford. I think we need genuine pace up front to trouble defenders. They dont need to be great goal scorers but worry and disrupt defences enough to create chances for your Barrowmans, Rooneys and Woods. Experience would help. Who that is, is the hard question.

I think most would agree the centre half pairing should be Duff and Munro. Certainly Duff has done enuff to merit a place. Proctor is a player i appreciate but would rather see him playing on the right, either midfield or right back. In saying that im happy with Tokely for now at right back. Our one problem area is Hastings at left back. He's really struggling. Maybe he's on his way down as a player. Maybe he doesnt get enough protection on the left and is exposed too often. Drop him and give someone else a chance, if it's too much exposure then it will surely become evident with his replacement as well. If Duff is not getting a game due to contractual issues then it is a sham! :thumb04: Why not as opposed to letting a clause trigger a wage rise, just insteadoffer him a long term, improved, contract. Reward him. Show him how much he is wanted rather than letting him have to rely on contract clauses to get a wage rise. Give Rooney a regular game up front. He seems to score when he plays. Get him a regular partner up front or a good creative option for him to feed off. Get a winger! Zander, Bazza,that A Trialist guy! !

He certainly wont be match fit or match sharp. Again you have to fault Brew for this. He threw Proctor in the deep end at Ibrox and he really struggled. With older players it takes them longer to get back to match sharpness if they've not played for a while, as physically they are declining anyway. So by throwing in from the start when he hasnt even made that many meaninful sub appearances doesnt seem fair on the player, unless (i dont know) he has really picked up in training and reserve game.

It was scotsport on STV that did all the challenges. I remember Brown won the goalie keepy uppies by a country mile. I think Granty's throw may have been one of the top ones. But Rory Delap he aint. Also think Hart got hardest/fastest shot. Which suprised me.

Sorry FF, but like others i question if you are employed by the club in some official capacity, especially with the 4 posts total. Im really sorry if your not and just a football fan....atic but it does come across that way. I DO think Brewster handled the Wyness situation properly in the end. To be honest his performances or goal ratio were not deserving of earning him a new contract and Brewster said as much. I was disappointed to lose Bayne as he was always improving and had experience and had a knack of scoring important goals, even if not alot. It was interesting to see that the County manager rates Ritchie Hart as his best player and considers him more than capable of making the step back up to the SPL. Losing Rankin was a blow as he was very capable, I think Craig realised this too late and it was one that slipped away. I do appreciate that he has found talent like Vigurs, Wood, Duff and blooded them into the 1st team. He was also the one to give Ian Black his chance of a regular game if i remember correctly. His emphasis on fitness gives us an edge where others may lack. However despite all this being a good former player does not nessesarily make you a good manager. Ruud Gullit was top class but has ultimately failed in managment. And people with no real football pedigree such as Mourinho, Advocaat and Scolari have all won top competitions. Being able to spot a talent doesnt make you a good coach... a good scout yes but it doesnt mean you'll get the best out of them on match days. Being able to keep a squad super fit does not make a good manager... a fitness coach yes but not manager. Being good on charity days at tesco makes you a swell enough guy, but not nessesarily able to make the sub that is gonna win the match. With the squad we have i honestly dont expect to finish any higher than 8th (but it shouldnt be any lower than 10th) With this in mind i naturally expect to lose a fair chunk of games, draw a few, and be outplayed on occasions. What am i saying? I want to give Brewster the support however i am still very much unsure as to whether he is the man to take us forward. He doesnt always get his point across well. Im not sure if the players respect him(theyre hardly going to say otherwise) and he does make to many baffling tactical desicions for his own good.

from reading the post before yours from Scotty i'd say 215.