Back Again

[JohnRobertson]

Hi guys/ladies

Slow week so if anyone is up for a bit of Q+A fire away international week as well so be my guest

[absent friend]

I take it John, that with our Scotland make-shift team, you are siding with the bookies and giving us no chance this next two games?

[Yngwie]

Score prediction for Saturday?

While you're at it, how about a team prediction.

[JohnRobertson]

I take it John, that with our Scotland make-shift team, you are siding with the bookies and giving us no chance this next two games?

Not at all i as you all know like to be optimistic about my team/countrys chances in any game,while i am the first to admit we are not at our strongest for the match in Holland we must be positive and have a go!!! what have we got to lose?

however i beleive saturday will be more of a backs to the wall gritty determined effort to frustrate our opponents and try and nick something put it in perspective here RANGERS v CALEY and CALEY v KILMARNOCK !!!!!!!!! how many fans honestly expected us to win at ibrox?? and how many saw the match v KILLIE as must win? this is how i view both games

HOLLAND anything is a bonus ICELAND must win similar reults to caley would do nicely

[Howdenender]

Hi John - whats your view on the Kris Boyd situation? How can it be sorted, and do we even want it sorted - would he be an asset to the international team?

[JohnRobertson]

Score prediction for Saturday?

While you're at it, how about a team prediction.

honestly i would possibly say HOLLAND 2 nil but as said you have to be optimistic and hopefully 1 all

team wise i would go for 4 5 1 as ditch will play there normal 4-3-3 with the front men being wide centre wide(2 wingers i striker)

1.GORDON (I know decision made)

2.Hutton

3.Naysmith

4.Caldwell

5.Berra(assume mcmanus out Berra very quick)

midfield 5 with wingers told to push on and centre mid to attack

6.Brown(push on and suppourt miller using his energy dynamism)

7.morrisson(push on and suppy crosses from right)

8.Fletcher (sit and pass)

9.Miller (pace to drag dutch back)

10.Ferguson(sit and pass)

11.Hartley(push on and cut in ala goal v slovenia)

after an hour or so look to replace miller(tiring) and depending on score throw on Fletcher for midfielder

[Guest natasha]

Hi John,

Just as aside to the more serious side of football, many years ago in the days when I used to run about in a black uniform ruining games of football I ran the line at a closed door between Hearts and inverness thistle, the funniest thing I ever saw was the hearts side forming up for a team photo even if the front row in the team photo stood on the chairs they sat on they still would have looked tiny against the defenders at the back. Talk about a team of 2 sizes.

[JohnRobertson]

Hi John - whats your view on the Kris Boyd situation? How can it be sorted, and do we even want it sorted - would he be an asset to the international team?

Its a tough one and like a club side if a player says he does not want to play for a specific manager then there is usually only one winner

boyd is a scorer and yes it has been citied at both cluba nd club level he does not allegedly score against the top sides but he rarely starts against the top sides so ma said tiugh one i would personally like him in the squad all things being equal and use him in a 4 4 2 formation for home games but as a sub in away matches if you needed someone to score you a goal.

as team manager George Burley deserve respect and he has asked Boyd to re consider his options if i was manager and a plyer did not want to play for me i would not pick him i was lucky enough to play 16 times and would walk anywhwere to play for scotland so its sad to see this

[JohnRobertson]

Hi John,

Just as aside to the more serious side of football, many years ago in the days when I used to run about in a black uniform ruining games of football I ran the line at a closed door between Hearts and inverness thistle, the funniest thing I ever saw was the hearts side forming up for a team photo even if the front row in the team photo stood on the chairs they sat on they still would have looked tiny against the defenders at the back. Talk about a team of 2 sizes.

hi natasha

yes that has mostly been the case as defenders certainly do tend to be on the tall side and beleive you me its crazy sometimes trying to get something as seemingly simple as getting a team photo done properly eg getting players with similar height together and sloping down from tallest in back row to slightly smaller but hey look at Caley squad today??

height. tokely,munro.zadi,pavel,duff,mcguire,esson,wood,fraser,byrne

med, foran hastings,mcbain,gattusi,proctor,rooney.barrowman

smallish black kerr odiambo imrie morais ,sutherland,duncan

not easy

[Howdenender]

Interested to know if you agree with what seems to be general opinion that the standard in the SPL is probably as poor as it has ever been, including the OF. If so, why do you think this is - cant be just down to money (or lack of it)?

[JohnRobertson]

Interested to know if you agree with what seems to be general opinion that the standard in the SPL is probably as poor as it has ever been, including the OF. If so, why do you think this is - cant be just down to money (or lack of it)?

It has generally been quoted as getting poorer and that things are levelling out below the old firm they seem to be not able to bring in the same quality and have unfortunatly raided Scottish teams for their best talent therefore weakening the opposition in the league you only have to look at recent times with Hibs in particular losing out on their home grown and cheaply found talent its not just money as i know that caleys budget is at least double than the one i had but this is down to two main things tv money increse and no rent to Aberdeen plus more income from advertising and hospitality at tcs.

but imagine if these clubs still had this talent at their disposal how stronger they would be

inverness mark brown don cowie ian black (barry robson)dargo wyness bayne.

hibs whittaker,murphy,caldwell,brown,killen,miller,o connor.beuzilin,sproule thomson

hearts bednar,popisil,skacel,concalves,gordon,webster,berra,hartely

dundee utd zaluskas.wilson,flood,robson

falkirk gow stokes

killie boyd naysmith nish

thats just a small example and i know they have not all gone to old firm but it shows you how quickly squads can be weakened.

i think the game has become stagnant and we need to change the set up as i have said on previous visits to 1. make the full time top flight sides safer and therefore produce more home grown players and 2. to generate more interest and excitement in the 1st div that would create tv opportunity and a way to get promotion i have really good ides on this

[jamie ictfc]

heres one for you John, where can you see the club in the next five years?(honestly)

[hislopsoffsideagain]

Hi Robbo, as always it's a pleasure to have your insight available to us.

Here's a question for you - who do you think will be relegated from the SPL? Will it be us?

And, in light of my username, was it just my imagination that Hissy kept getting caught offside?

[Johnboy]

Hi John

Good to see you back on here again.... this website has been suffering from depression ever since the Falkirk game...

What did you think of that one?

Can Caley pick themselves up again and steer clear of relegation or has the Butcher bubble now burst?

[Yngwie]

Apart from Capn Munro, which of our players have leadership qualities?

[JohnRobertson]

heres one for you John, where can you see the club in the next five years?(honestly)

As said i feel this could be the most important season so far in the clubs short history staying up would allow the clubs flourishing yoth system to continue and of course ther is an up turn in the setanta deal for next season as well so that is vital.The club with the continued progress can in my beleif avheive what donald and i along with danny macdonald and graeme bennet set out

1promotion (acheived)

2.become an established premier league side(acheived)

3.set up a conveyer belt of local talent and keep them up north(acheived)

4.reach top 6 (work in progress)

5 win a major cup (work in progress)

6 qualify for europe

its not just fanciable i honestly beleive that with continued progress all of the above can be acheived i have argued long and hard that our location can be used as an advantage to encourage al local businesses to get behind club(lookat finance and budget increas since reaching spl)and encourage nore youngsters to games another 5 yearsin spl would see the next generation of caley fans start to watch games and see more local talent play

beleive it or not i feel the directorsand director of football have done very very well to keep the club going forward and reckon this will continue its a tough tough job to keep fans happy at any club and i still beleive in the next 5 years all of the other objectives can be realisticaly acheived

[JohnRobertson]

Hi Robbo, as always it's a pleasure to have your insight available to us.

Here's a question for you - who do you think will be relegated from the SPL? Will it be us?

And, in light of my username, was it just my imagination that Hissy kept getting caught offside?

in reverse order i do remember stephen occasionaly get caught offside but prefer to remember his wonderful header v clyde and his clinching challenge cup goal both great days

yes we will stay up i have no doubt last time on i hoped for 3 wins to pull us up ther and make as many teams involved as possible and now falkirk st mirren killi and hamilton are all in the mix we will NOT GO DOWN

[JohnRobertson]

Hi John

Good to see you back on here again.... this website has been suffering from depression ever since the Falkirk game...

What did you think of that one?

Can Caley pick themselves up again and steer clear of relegation or has the Butcher bubble now burst?

Lets take a wee reality check here yes it was a bad result yes it would apear a poor performance but while dissapointing it is just 3 points lost against the 3 surprise points gained at ibrox people talk about honeymoon periods and bubbles bursting dont look back look forward the most important thing is the next game ST MIRREN

remember this as i have said to players many times and i urge the fans to take on board

YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT YOU CAN INFLUENCE THE FUTURE

forget the falkirk game that has gone lets concentrate on supporting the team v st mirren

[JohnRobertson]

Apart from Capn Munro, which of our players have leadership qualities?

leadership qualities can be found in many ways its not always the guy who is fist pumping and shouting who is the true leader its guys who show through their dedication in training and games thir skills on the park the way they go about their busines in games and training that can show true leadership qualities

sometimes being a captain can give players the extra responsibility they need others it could be an un wanted burden TOKELY and BLACK for example might see being captain as a need to show more resonsibility on the pitch (better discipline lead by example) where as a MCBAIN DUNCAN IMRIE type might see it as a burden and would prefer to concentrate on their game

i beleive Grant is best suited but beleive that Ross russell and brian kerr(in time) could allso be fine captains

[Johnboy]

YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT YOU CAN INFLUENCE THE FUTURE

Good answer !! Thanks John....

I hope TB is reading this!!

[JohnRobertson]

YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT YOU CAN INFLUENCE THE FUTURE

Good answer !! Thanks John....

I hope TB is reading this!!

Just quick one for you all out there here a said earlier is my thoughts on changing Scottish footbal all crticism is welcome but i reckon it would provide much needed stimulus

scottish premier league 14 teams

scottish premier league championship 10 teams

scottish regional league 1 2 and 3

promotion relegation champions from championship up bottom premier down as usual then our own

play offs 4th in championship play 3rd one off game at 3rds ground as 3rd finished higher the winner would travel to play 2nd and the winner of that would travel to second bottom of the premier league in a one off game with the winner taking its place in the spl think about it as the leagues are right now

st johnstone up falkirk down

4th dunfermline travel to3rd dundee sell out crowd say dundee win travel to partick crowd 5k plus winners travel to caley crowd 5k plus excitement would be brilliant and would give real sense of a chance to the ist div teams as even if you finish 4th you still have a slim 3 away wins required chance to get to the spl and gives all teams in the division something to play for at this moment 6 teams could make the play offs

just say premier was

celtic,rangers,hearts,dundee utd,aberdeen,hibs ,well,hamilton,st mirren,killi,caley,falkirk,st john and partick

championship dunde,livi,pars,queens,county,clyde,airdrie,morton,ayr and raith

premier teams play each other twice(26games) then split 7+7 and play home and away again (38) games same as moment and takes away the stupid thing of 20 home/away games or 18 home/away games you are guaranteed 19 home and 19 away games simple

championship would continue to play home and away twice (36 games) as would the 3 regional leagues

regional leagues would be north montrose,forfar,brechin,arbroath,cove,inverurie,elgin peterhead,fraserburgh and huntly

central east,east fife,cowdenbeath,berwick,gala,stenny,spartans,lochee,tayport,linli

thgow preston thletic

central west stirling,queens park,albion,dumbarton,annan,stranraer,pollock, killwinning,alloa,auchinlek

most have tried to apply in past but atleast we would have pyramid system all 3 league winners plus challenge cup winners would play off home and away to meet in final winners playing bottom of championship in one of game at championship teams ground and if they met championship mcriteria so many seats etc this wouls assure that only teams with a wish to improve their stadium etc could come up if a team won the challenge cup and the regional division they would proceed to play off final direct only regional teams compete for challenge cup

advantages 2 extra teams in spl more safety allowing use of more home grown talent plus more excitement to the 1st division plus we retain more full time teams and we retain the new look 3 divisions in the regional leagues allowing young managers/coaches and players opportunity to play in the senior game

what you reckon have thought about writing to spl and sfa have it all typed out

[DornochJAGGIE]

hears one for u john. what do u think of munro as captain? who would u give the captains arm-band?

[troublegum007]

Just quick one for you all out there here a said earlier is my thoughts on changing Scottish footbal all crticism is welcome but i reckon it would provide much needed stimulus

scottish premier league 14 teams

scottish premier league championship 10 teams

scottish regional league 1 2 and 3

promotion relegation champions from championship up bottom premier down as usual then our own

play offs 4th in championship play 3rd one off game at 3rds ground as 3rd finished higher the winner would travel to play 2nd and the winner of that would travel to second bottom of the premier league in a one off game with the winner taking its place in the spl think about it as the leagues are right now

st johnstone up falkirk down

4th dunfermline travel to3rd dundee sell out crowd say dundee win travel to partick crowd 5k plus winners travel to caley crowd 5k plus excitement would be brilliant and would give real sense of a chance to the ist div teams as even if you finish 4th you still have a slim 3 away wins required chance to get to the spl and gives all teams in the division something to play for at this moment 6 teams could make the play offs

just say premier was

celtic,rangers,hearts,dundee utd,aberdeen,hibs ,well,hamilton,st mirren,killi,caley,falkirk,st john and partick

championship dunde,livi,pars,queens,county,clyde,airdrie,morton,ayr and raith

premier teams play each other twice(26games) then split 7+7 and play home and away again (38) games same as moment and takes away the stupid thing of 20 home/away games or 18 home/away games you are guaranteed 19 home and 19 away games simple

championship would continue to play home and away twice (36 games) as would the 3 regional leagues

regional leagues would be north montrose,forfar,brechin,arbroath,cove,inverurie,elgin peterhead,fraserburgh and huntly

central east,east fife,cowdenbeath,berwick,gala,stenny,spartans,lochee,tayport,linli

thgow preston thletic

central west stirling,queens park,albion,dumbarton,annan,stranraer,pollock, killwinning,alloa,auchinlek

most have tried to apply in past but atleast we would have pyramid system all 3 league winners plus challenge cup winners would play off home and away to meet in final winners playing bottom of championship in one of game at championship teams ground and if they met championship mcriteria so many seats etc this wouls assure that only teams with a wish to improve their stadium etc could come up if a team won the challenge cup and the regional division they would proceed to play off final direct only regional teams compete for challenge cup

advantages 2 extra teams in spl more safety allowing use of more home grown talent plus more excitement to the 1st division plus we retain more full time teams and we retain the new look 3 divisions in the regional leagues allowing young managers/coaches and players opportunity to play in the senior game

what you reckon have thought about writing to spl and sfa have it all typed out

Not a bad idea, but what happens if Ross County finish bottom of the Championship and lose to Berwick in the play-off final? What regional league do Ross County go into? The North would still have it's 10 teams since no one was promoted and obviously being relegated to the Central East league defeats the purpose of a regional system.

[Caley Stan]

3.set up a conveyer belt of local talent and keep them up north(acheived)

Come on Robbo! We haven't brought through a first team regular since Grant Munro. Most of our 'local' players have been Pele signings from the Highland League and Aberdeen rejects. Most of them are getting on a bit now having served the club well for a number of years.

Brewster tried to bring through a few youngsters but that all went a bit t1ts up and one of Butcher's first acts was to sideline them.

[TopSix]

3.set up a conveyer belt of local talent and keep them up north(acheived)

Come on Robbo! We haven't brought through a first team regular since Grant Munro. Most of our 'local' players have been Pele signings from the Highland League and Aberdeen rejects. Most of them are getting on a bit now having served the club well for a number of years.

Brewster tried to bring through a few youngsters but that all went a bit t1ts up and one of Butcher's first acts was to sideline them.

100% agreement there with you CaleyStan