Alex MacLeod

Would like to point one thing out that comes from someone who may have been in a position to know. A substance was found in the guy's car, not on his person. Third hand info tells me the owner of the substance has owned up to the police. Enquiries continue. At no time has anyone, other than the speculators, claimed the person concerned was using any illegal substance. Until police enquiries have been completed and the club's internal enquiry made public then I would ask that people stop assuming that the person has been directly involved in the use or misuse of any substance.

bewildered

the cash

Cant see it happening. They already come and watch our games..........................................from the roadside. :tic01:

Cheers Rig. Just goes to show the lads level of ambition.

I agree wholeheartedly that proffessional sportsmen and women have a duty not to be involved in the use or misuse of illegal substances. However, the player in question has not been charged with, or convicted of, such abuse. The press have speculated. Reproduced here is report from Scottish Television Caley launch inquiry Inverness Caledonian Thistle have launched an internal inquiry after a player was detained by police over a suspected drugs offence. The first-team player was quizzed by officers over possession of an illegal substance at the Rock Ness music festival, which took place on the banks of the loch last weekend. A club spokesman said: "We have been made aware of an alleged incident involving one of our players relating to a recreational drug at a music event. We are making our own enquiries and considering our response." He added: "We will need to discuss the matter with the player before finalising our position. "We will make no further comment until after we have completed our assessment." Northern Constabulary declined to comment on the matter but it is understood the player was spoken to after a substance was recovered. The player was not arrested and has not been charged but it is understood the force will analyse the substance. But it could take months before the police probe determines whether the player will be charged and Caley Thistle are making their own enquiries in the meantime. Please note Northern Constabulary have made no comment and everything in the above report is allegation and speculation. It does not take months to analyse any substance, and it could well come out that the alledged substance was nothing more than Askit powder, so until proved otherwise, beyond any reasonable doubt, the player concerned is innocent of any wrong doing. Please leave it at that for the time being.

Get your tenner on an each way Aberdeen.

Who do we go for then? A central defender, a right back, a striker and maybe a right winger

We will only be able to say what we have or haven't missed when we see the lads performances against SPL opposition. Personally I dont think we've missed anything. Heres a lad who has not been noticed by any other club in all his time at Cowdenbeath. He's now 22 and still a part timer! Obviously, by choosing a mediocre, mid table 1st division team he has shown his true ambition. If he wanted ICT he'd be fighting to show his worth not issuing press threats. We have signed players from our youth squad who are likely to turn out as good if not better, and they have experience against SPL opposition, be it in the reserves. Lets give them the support and forget about the wee Buchanans of the world who think they are big.

Nothing inept or inexperienced about it. Buchanan was told in jan to go away and improve in areas suggested by the ICT coaches, come back for another trial and if he had worked on those areas this would be seem as a positive and he would get the chance to sign. Seems to me the lad isn't confident that he can meet the criterea if he has, indeed, chose to commit to signing somewhere else. Certainly not ICT's fault. Can someone tell me, is the transfer window open yet? If not then I dont think Buchanan can be signed without agreement on compensation. He's still a youth. Now to the points about conducting business through the press.........clubs don't! The press speculate, get quotes from agents then approach clubs for confirmation of stories. Club officials may or may not choose to comment but that makes no difference. Stories will be published. It is extremely niave to think any club would go to the press with their plans. Scenario: Daily Prish phones Joe Moneygrabber, football agent.......Hi Joe, got anything in the pipeline......yeah got a lad I might try and sell to ICT...........Daily Prish phones Grassa Bennett.............Hi Graham, we here JM has made some contact about so and so...............yep we did have a chat So and So to Caley Jags exclusive Inverness Caledonian Thistle are in talks with central defender So and So. A club spokesman said that he was in talks with the players agent about bringing the lad to Inverness blah blah blah. Next you know we the fans are in deep debate about what

The bottom line is this club cannot afford to pay half decent players what they think they are worth. Inverness as an area is not attracting anyone from outside the region. The ones we get, and are able to keep, are players who perform well for us, fit in with the team ethic and work for their meagre earnings but who would probably not be seen as being attractive to any other team. Or the ones who are born and bred within the region and/or are happy and settled. Those we do persuade to come up here, and who do shine above the rest, are those who need a shop window to better things. Its all very well calling for scouting networks but scouts need paid as well. The trend in Scottish football over the last year or two has been to nurture your own. We have a head start over a few of our rivals in that respect and in the next two or three seasons, I believe, we will see the fruits of our labour. Meanwhile, the club needs cash to operate and the only way thats going to happen is to fill the seats. As for Sean Webb, we need another central defender, he is very fond of the region, is a NI international having won five caps, and would come at the right price. Sean had an unluck time at St Johnston. He was suspended after his first match for the club, was sidelined with injury for two or three months and then Coyle came in and decided not to keep the lad. He's only 22 so is still learning. Cant really understand why Coyle didn't rate the lad but have my own thoughts on that one.

The History of Elgin With its equable climate, fertile soil and strategic position, Moray has played an important part in the story of Scotland from the earliest times. Its principal town, Elgin, was founded on a well-drained ridge with a natural defensive mound and protected on three sides by the River Lossie which was also a source of power and a means of communication. There was probably a castle here as early as the eleventh century and the land hereabouts was a favourite hunting ground of the early monarchs. David I raised Elgin to the status of a Royal Burgh and in 1224 the town received the additional accolade of being chosen as the seat of the Bishop Of Moray. Despite the unwelcome attentions of various armies and bands of brigands, Elgin grew steadily throughout the medieval period until by the seventeenth century it boasted many fine buildings reflecting the prosperity of its merchants and craftsmen. At the begining of the nineteenth century though, the town had a population of less than 4,000 and was still largely confined to three parallel lines of streets running between the Castle and the precincts of the Cathedral. Then fortunes made abroad financed some of Elgin's finest buildings and stimulated a sense of civic pride, which, aided by the coming of the railway and the general economic growth of Victorian Britain saw the laying out of new streets and the construction of new buildings on a scale previously unparalleled. The most recent development has been into the previously seperate villages of Bishopmill and New Elgin and latterly into marshy area south of the railway line so that the town now has a population of some 20,000. The Bishopric of Moray was founded in 1107, but it was not until 1224 that the Cathedral was transferred to 'the Church of the Holy Trinity beside Elgin'. In its original form Elgin Cathedral was a simple cruciform building, but after it was damaged by fire in 1270 the choir was doubled in length with aisles added on each side and a Chapter House built opening off the north aisle. In 1390 Alexander Stewart, more familiarly known as the "Wolf of Badenoch', plundered and burned both Forres and Elgin including the Cathedral, which sustained such damage that it was necessary to rebuild the western gable, the arcades of the nave, the central tower and the Chapter House. Although in the years immediately following the Reformation the Cathedral seems to have remained untouched, it was much too rich a target to resist for long. In 1567 the lead was stripped from the roofs and in 1637 the choir roof collapsed. The rood-screen with its painting of the crucifixion was taken down and destroyed in 1640 and on Easter Sunday, 1711, the great central tower fell destroying the north transept and the main arcades of thre nave. Thereafter the ruins were used as a quarry and rubbish dump until in 1807 an enclosure wall was built and the process of decline arrested. About 1824 John Shanks was appointed keeper and set about clearing the rubbish which had accumulated over the years, removing, it is said, some "3,000 barrowfuls and laying bare the foundations of the pillars of the nave, the elevations of the altar and the stairs at the western gate". From this time onward the conservation of the building became the great concern of successive government departments so that the ruins seen today remain one of the finest examples of medieval architecture in Scotland. Edward I, the "Hammer of the Scots" visited Elgin in 1296 and described it as "a good town". The layout of the medieval town can still be seen from the top of Ladyhill which is now dominated by the column erected to the 5th Duke of Gordon in 1839. Elgin's importance as a commercial town, in an area which was "fertile, well watered and with genial climate"; remained and by the early eighteenth century it was a prosperous burgh with many fine buildings. Daniel Defoe described Elgin as "a very agreeable place to live in", a quality which has remained. Several restored eighteenth century buildings are to be found in the High Street as are the Little Cross of 1733 and the Muckle Cross near the centre of the now pedestrianised High Street. Between 1820 and 1840 Elgin was transformed, with many fine new buildings identifying it as a city well worth visiting. Dr Grays Hospital, Anderson's Institute, the neo classical St Giles Church built between 1825 and 1828, and the Elgin Museum of 1842 reflect Elgin's status. At the same time the old restrictive gateways or ports to the town were removed with only the Pans Port near Elgin Cathedral now remaining. It was the coming of the railway in the mid 19th century that had a significant effect on Elgin. The size of the burgh doubled and effective communication links were opened up, thereby further strengthening its commercial and administrative importance. Elgin today is a city steeped in history, ruined castle on a hill, classical town centre, award winning museum, restored 18th century town houses and wynds, beautiful cathedral with the nearby Bishops House, and the Cooper Park gifted to the town by George Cooper in 1903. Here is Elgin's superb new library, opened in 1996, beside the Cooper Park pond in the old TA Drill Hall, Grant Lodge built as the town house of the Seafield family in 1751 and now housing the Grant Lodge Local Heritage Centre with its archival and local collections on Moray, and at its east end Elgin Cathedral, a must for all visitors. And beyond the Cathedral, Johnstons of Elgin Visitor Centre. From the above there is nothing that I can see that would hold true as to the reason for the anglified spelling so here's my stab at an excuse. Elgin was indeed a Burgh town. It was surrounded, on three sides by the Lossie. I believe there once was a bridge close to where the Mansion House Hotel sits now. Which is also near to Borough Briggs Road. That road did not exist in earlier times so my assumption is that one of the city fathers of recent times, who was likely to have been of english decent, whilst writing down suggestions for the name of this new road spelt it as he thought it should be spelt.

My understanding is that, unofficially, Grant has been given permission to form a testimonial committee which the club will support. This cannot be written into his contract for taxation reasons. Generally the rules are that if the club give the assurances and do the organizing then monies paid to the player would be liable to income tax, whereas, if the player and his committee do it all, using their own bank account, they are exempt from income tax. Agree with length of service being criteria. Not sure about the non-playing staff bit though. The purpose of testimonials, historically, was to provide players coming to the end of their career with a nest egg to see them through the transition from football to something else. Cant see how non-playing staff would come into the criteria on the grounds that they can work to state retirement age. I believe the SFA must approve every game in the country that is played by affiliates of the association.

Fetia

There's only one Barry Wilson....................for heart and soul and for being a proper gentleman towards the fans.

We will finish in the SPL

My guess is that first game will be on Sunday 5th for Setanta.

What people have to remember here is Buchanan is a twenty two year old playing part time football in the lower leagues. In january he was assessed and deemed to be short on strength and fitness for SPL. He is now being given the chance to show that he has the commitment to improve. That cant happen until the squad return to training. If the lad is confident that he now has what it takes to play in this league then he'll be patient and wait. If he's not confident he'll go to a lower league club. At the end of the day, as well as signing on fees etc, we will have to pay compensation because of his age so its fair to say the club need to be sure of what their getting. My one question is, if the lad is so good, how come he's still playing part time and hasn't been noticed by other clubs yet?

Los Christianos

bedatimea

He's been given a chance now and hopefully he will come good. At least he hasn't been thrown on the scrapheap

posh

green with

Congratulations to the pair of you. Hope to **** Tayside Health dont decide to close the maternity unit before the wee ones born otherwise it would have to be an arab

Reported on Teletext that Alan Morgan has been given a six month contract. Apparantly CC thinks he can make it in SPL but has to increase his workrate and is prepared to give the lad till January to prove himself.