Council Juice

True but maybe, just maybe, Brewster could show some stones and think that signing him and him playing well would benefit the team and thus benefit him?

I'd be happy to go on trial. Im free, available and a scoring machine :023: Sorry we talking about football here. Well if the grass is dry i suppose i could lie down on it (after collapsing from running a yard)

Yes but very rarely is a manager aloud to spend alot of the money brought in. 150k would do nicely IMO as it would destroy any previous budgets we've ever had :010:

STEVEN PRESSLEY!!!! Doncaster turned him down so he'll be getting desperate No really think he could do the job for us for a year or two and wouldn't necessarily go for high wages as he'll want to play 1st team football at his age. He's a Scotland coach also which could help us out somehow perhaps!

Take him in a flash. No two ends about it. Come one Elvis. Come where your wanted! :021: :sillywave:

Personally men taking of their tops is not really an active pursuit of mine... but it was a special day. Not least as i was there and my mate, a clyde fan in the opposite end was also. Nice to rub in all the way home!

Just tried to register but my email has been banned as they do not allow free email addresses such as yahoo, msn, hotmail, gmail. Is that a joke!!! How many fans do they have? 4, with only one allowed on the site perhaps!

Personally as a loan deal which would benefit both it would be folly not to sign him. Absolute Folly!!!

If we turned down 2 400k offers before it seems unlikely we'd settle for less if we were offered 500k elsewhere. Add ons perhaps?

Also I come from a land where the Daily Record is prevelant. Full of Gers and Tics acting like their team is Barcalona and should be signing the best in the world. Then you get the Hearts and Hibees who are both positive they'll be fighting relegation along with the likes of skint killie, St Mirren, Accies and ourselves (maybe). I see negativity everywhere!!!! so it can be hard to distinguish

I don't think that's the case at all and most of the hysteria is being generated by the "Rose Tinted Specs" brigade who jump on every topic with a "before the moaners start" type excuse, which makes it look like we've got more negativity than their actually is. We had one topic last week (forget which it was off hand) where almost the entire first page was full of "people will be moaning about xyz" and it morphed into complaints about people's negativity which didn't even exist on the thread :015: Yes, criticism does exist, but it's made to look far worse by those who are doing all the complaining about it and starting threads with statements such as the one I quoted above really don't help any and only skew the perception further. You've probably got a fair point there. Id say there are as many messages with the "before the moaners start" (never used that exact line myself) as any negativity posts. The rest are either seeking or fairly realistic. I think we all know our defence is leaky to say the least and our forward line inexperienced (but promising) but we have a very strong midfield and a set of two good goalies. Two sorted and two to go and i think Rooney on loan, someone in the mould of Dods (ie Pressley-big deal if Doncaster said no. He can still cut it!) and a decent older forward and we'll have a strong team and will be able to challenge for the top 6. Pre season has a bit to run yet so hopefully something will happen there.

After bills and expenses and such like are dealt with it's surely going to be the case that we'll have a little (prob max 100-150k) to spend and a wee gap in the wage structure. It seems obvious to most that the team in crying out for a strong reliable centre half who can header as well as read the game, preferably with a yard or two of pace. Hopefully Rooney signs on loan as he sounds (going on brief match reports) lively and an eager goal threat. He'll want to show Stoke what he can do. But with Niculae now away we only have: -Barrowman, who seems to be a goal getter but untried at top level footie. -Rory Mac who has shown promise in glimpses but it seems unclear as to whether he can be relied apon. -Gary Wood who showed promise last season in pre season and again this pre season We are crying out for the older head to play alongside one of these lads. Im sure there would be someone in the English lower reaches looking to prove himself. A player with Champioship/SPL or similar experience would be preferable but its the cool headed experience we really need. The type who doesnt worry to much if he misses a few and keeps plugging away. A good example. Fair enough Brewster was the good example forward type but he can't exactly lead from the front now. especially not week in week out. (maybe in an emergency more likely) Question is does anyone think something will be done. Particularly in defence.

It seems the solution in place to avoid selling to trouble makers is the clubs (falkirk and hearts thus far) take the fans details and check them against police databases before sending them out. The police (central scotland police thus far) are said to be happy with the solution. lets show the OF the :33: Always wanted to use that smiley :001: :021:

Yeah but was that former glory not over 100 years ago? Queens Park were at the forefront of footie in Scotland but refused to go pro...so got left behind. East Fife just got left behind. Going by quotes from his agent "Stevie didnt want to wait for the SPL clubs to make up their mind" From this it seems likely the SPL clubs were saying to him that essentially he was a stop gap/ panic signing really. Thinking along the lines of he'll do if we can't get anyone else that fits the bill. Im really glad this one has passed us by but slightly embarrassed about the story. Why was only ICT slurried with his name and the fact we were one of several SPL clubs rejected. Is this a case of our poor hush policy when it comes to signings or just a name from a hat? Brewster should come out with a press release stating "Crawford, as in my old team mate Stevie Crawford? Nah dunno what your talking about mate, we had no plans to sign him at all, ever, right!" "oh but i think he's find his level mind" This might spare our blushes a little, even if he gets one christmas card a year less.

Its a loan signing that we're going for. I think he could benifit the team. Still a little worried about the experience in the forward line when/if Niculae moves. Although Im far more concerned about the back line. Was it not Brewster who brought Dods in? As a tall physical striker does he not know the best type to combat his style of play?

I read elsewhere we won 1-0. So either I trust the metro (ever reliably piece of journalism :023:) or the official site. ..........Tough one.

it probably does mean we're skint. Credit Crunch?

Weaken St Mirren? Now that would take real talent :015: :015: :015: :015: Broadfoot is pretty limited though - maybe Watty thinks he can 'do a Hutton'....... I mean in the sense that the old firm sometimes seem to take players for the sake of it, David Fernandez, Chris Killen, Riordan, Gow, and Broadfoot and they never play for the 1st team. Broadfoot being the only one to make an impact at all (shock really) I very much doubt Broadfoot will ever do a hutton.... he lacks the pace to cover up the other flaws in his game.

There have been alot of people on this board ripping into the team over our pre season results and tactics etc but looking slightly further a field and you might think we are not doing all that badly. Hearts 1-1 with Glentoran!!! and a loss against Dunfermline Aberdeen 4-0 loss against PETERHEAD! Hibs trounced in Intertoto cup, albeit against a team slap bang into their season and flying high in their league you'd still expect better. Although I hear it was ?35 a round in Sweden from a hibee at work who was there for part of the game (said it was so awful they all went to the pub and blew about ?200 in one night each! Celtic who managed to get to the last 16 in the European champions elite were easily beaten by a team in the premiership lucky to escape relegation by the skin of their teeth. 3-1 Fulham and Bobby Zamora scored- how embarrasing! Rangers struggled against two lower league german teams and were lucky to not be on the end of a hiding from Schalke 04 I havent really noticed any other results but i think considering that they were all top 6 bar hearts who lets face it should and normally would be, shows perhaps our performances thus far havent been all that bad. Maybe i'm clutching at straws but is pre season not about fitness, tactics and gelling players whilst hopefully not picking up injuries? Think it's went ok so far myself...touch wood. :023: anyone know the result of the game today?

Looks like we may have got lucky missing the boat there as it looks a stormy sea ahead. Why do i keep refering to boats and other sailing analagies?!

Dougie uses "but" 4 times in that opening paragraph, including twice in one sentence.....but we did sign him from Clyde so perfectly excusable. :001:

Chances are we only offered him a trial at best. Stevie Crawford was an OK player during his 1st Dunfermline spell... thats it. "but he got a Scotland call up" -as did Kevin Kyle, Scott Dobbie...... We was very limited in the striker front back then was our national team we was. To be honest I think he'll be found wanting at East Fifes level.

If i was in the position to re-hire Brew at the time then the answer would have been no. If Warnock was available and we had got him , for all his moaning i would have taken him. But we've got Brewster, the new season is yet to get underway and we need to get behind him and the team. We could finish in the top 6 and still have doubters no matter who the manager is or which players were playing. To be honest the same can be said for most clubs- Gordon Strachan has won 3 leagues in a row, got to the last 16 of the champions league twice and is still hated by half his fans. Everyone else hates him because he talks nonsense and is beyond irritating. But why slate a man who done what "god" O Neill could not? Then you have Walter Smith who closed the gap on their rivals and won 2 cups, got to a uefa cup final, and still had a shout of winning the league with a team who played a game every two days. Then take Jimmy Calderwood who has kept the Dons in the top 6 since he's been there and achieved more than anyone else there in Europe since Fergie. We are a Bottom 6/mid table team at the moment along side the likes of Falkirk, St Mirren and Kilmarnock and most probably Hamilton - nearly all of their managers are well liked despite similar or worse records, working with similar budgets or better. Brewster works on a shoestring, IS the man the board appointed and IS the man in charge and needs a bit of backing for the new season!

Brewster was a manager before.... with us and did quite well before jumping ship and then sinking that ship before going on a wee boat to get back to his first ship where he has done ok since returning. Paterson had although only worked with Huntly, he had been working on his coaching for a while before that. Robbo as said was a good coach before joining us. Charlie was only appointed for his long time affinity with the club lets be honest. Even if he is a good coach its unlikely he'll ever work elsewhere. I can only take your word on Malky's attitude but not everyone can handle their drink and perhaps he took offence at the manner of the bumping into. Spilt his pint or something. Parky is the only one with any long term coaching experience but lets face it as much as he seemed to enjoy working at the club his heart is in the capital. I dont see any great idea in replacing someone with a good track record at ICT in management with a rookie based on his iron will and leadership alone.

Pressley - Manager Parky - Assistant Christie - Assistant Brewster - Fitness/ Coach Shearer - Coach Clellend - Coach Pele - Scout Malky- Water Boy. Perfecto! I think Malky is a decent coach and has been highly thought of at previous clubs so to suggest waterboy. Touch insulting. Also Pressley has very little coaching experience let alone managerial experience... Although I do think he'd work well as a coach alongside Brewster and Malky Thompson. Pele as scout is a good shout though!