A HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM

[Naelifts]

  Will I go to the football on Saturday?

  That is a question which, in the past, I would never have asked myself. If I wasn't working it was....into the car and go, go, go. Home and away since league election I have travelled from Peebles in the Scottish Border country.............a commitment of a whole day and some considerable expense. Now, I feel , things are slightly different this year.

Week after week I hear radio commentators describing the fare on offer at home as dire,scrappy,even boring..................in short.................lacking in ENTERTAINMENT.

Entertainment and value for money has always been what I'm looking for. I may be wearing rose-tinted glasses but I don't see on the park nowadays what I used to see. I am in a small minority, I know, but I would happily be in a lower division (I do miss those days) watching a ludicrously high-scoring end-to-end game .....even if on the end of a beating. AND, I don't need goals galore either. My two favourite games were a tense-as-you-could-possibly-get  top-of-the-table  clash with Clyde (30/11/02) when we had to wait until the 80th minute for Barry Robson (oh to have a player like him!) to break the deadlock with a delicious curling free-kick. The other game that springs to mind..........and I remember raving on about it to incredulous work mates.........was a 3-4 defeat at the hands of Falkirk ( on Feb 8th (!) 2003). We were sunk that day by an Owen Coyle hat-trick if memory serves me, but the ENTERTAINMENT factor was unsurpassable.

Due to work I have missed the following games in Inverness this term. 0-0 draws with Hibs, D Utd and yesterday with Hearts , and the 0-1 defeat at the hands of Falkirk. What have I Actually missed? According to the media and this forum...........very little!

Now its easy to get nostalgic for all those classic games under Pele, the comebacks, the visits to homely little grounds where anything went (**** I even took my dog into Gayfield on a couple of occasions). No plastic seats,great craic,no officious stewarding, half the price.

The price of progress has been high indeed.............we can't slip backnow...............it would be a financial disaster for the club.

I still love watching MY club..........I don't think that will ever change................but when it comes to getting into the car at 9.30 and pointing it in the direction of the A9 there is a new factor involved......................will I be ENTERTAINED????

[The Mantis]

Feckin part timer.

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Yesterday was a very entertaining game. For a spell before half time we created some significant opportunities but Britain's best goal keeper stopped us scoring.

In the second half there was plenty of incident and entertainment. Mark Brown had one major save to make and he was alert to Hartley's drive. Two of Scotland's finest goal keepers at their best. Even the Hearts fans were in awe of Mark Brown chanting 'Scotland's number one'.

There was drama before the start. Would Pressley return? He did, so did Ivanaukas and baby Romanov and Big Daddy. Grassa calling stewards in to escort the paperazzi from under Romanov's nose.

Iain Brines warning Hearts players from the kick off about diving.

Ian Black booked rather unfortunately I thought. Then Donald threatening him with various tortures if he picked up a second booking.

Hearts packing their side with Scots - more than usual. Romanov's Mole plus McCann plus Wallace all coming off the bench. Fan power for one week.

Dargo and Denzil giving Berra the skitters. Dargo kicking a chunk out of Berra and getting booked for it.

Richie Hart in a cameo appearance sending a left footer wizzing past Gordon's post - Gordon a mere spectator.

There was masses of entertainment. Don't believe everything you read in the press or on the radio. Oh, and Rossco's tackling  was ballistic.

[RossP]

Jamie Mole is a Geordie

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Does his granny not come from Glasgow?

[+Gringo]

We're certainly not going to get the kind of end to end entertainment in the SPL that's for sure but the boys still need our support. I also miss those days of the lower leagues very much indeed - it was bullshit free and brilliant.

However, we life in the now so, next Thursday evening we will head south 95 miles to London to catch the overnight sleeper train to Inverness (550 miles ?). On Saturday I will go to the game against Motherwell and I will be entertained, we'll win 6-0 and on Monday night we'll come home.

[maimie]

   Will I go to the football on Saturday?

   That is a question which, in the past, I would never have asked myself. If I wasn't working it was....into the car and go, go, go. Home and away since league election I have travelled from Peebles in the Scottish Border country.............a commitment of a whole day and some considerable expense. Now, I feel , things are slightly different this year.

Week after week I hear radio commentators describing the fare on offer at home as dire,scrappy,even boring..................in short.................lacking in ENTERTAINMENT.

Entertainment and value for money has always been what I'm looking for. I may be wearing rose-tinted glasses but I don't see on the park nowadays what I used to see. I am in a small minority, I know, but I would happily be in a lower division (I do miss those days) watching a ludicrously high-scoring end-to-end game .....even if on the end of a beating. AND, I don't need goals galore either. My two favourite games were a tense-as-you-could-possibly-get  top-of-the-table  clash with Clyde (30/11/02) when we had to wait until the 80th minute for Barry Robson (oh to have a player like him!) to break the deadlock with a delicious curling free-kick. The other game that springs to mind..........and I remember raving on about it to incredulous work mates.........was a 3-4 defeat at the hands of Falkirk ( on Feb 8th (!) 2003). We were sunk that day by an Owen Coyle hat-trick if memory serves me, but the ENTERTAINMENT factor was unsurpassable.

Due to work I have missed the following games in Inverness this term. 0-0 draws with Hibs, D Utd and yesterday with Hearts , and the 0-1 defeat at the hands of Falkirk. What have I Actually missed? According to the media and this forum...........very little!

Now its easy to get nostalgic for all those classic games under Pele, the comebacks, the visits to homely little grounds where anything went (**** I even took my dog into Gayfield on a couple of occasions). No plastic seats,great craic,no officious stewarding, half the price.

The price of progress has been high indeed.............we can't slip backnow...............it would be a financial disaster for the club.

I still love watching MY club..........I don't think that will ever change................but when it comes to getting into the car at 9.30 and pointing it in the direction of the A9 there is a new factor involved......................will I be ENTERTAINED????

Let me.....

:001: :015:

[buckett]

I have often come home from a very entertaining game to find that, well, it wasn't really entertaining at all, according to the media, or indeed this website.

I suppose for those who watch a rich variety of matches from all over the country, the fare on offer at TCS may not be up there among the very best, especially for a neutral.

But the one thing consistent about every Scottish League or SPL game I have ever attended is that one of the teams playing was ICT (or whatever they were called back then) and as a passionate supporter of that team I have never failed to be entertained.

But then, perhaps my standards aren't so high!

[Kingsmills]

Yesterday's match was fairly entertaining for a nil nil draw, especially the second half.

[Stevie]

Naelifts, sounds like a classic case of "nostalga ain't what it used be"

Were there not some poor games back in Division 1, 2 or 3 ?

Do you not think that in years to come, you will fondly recall the 1-0

win at Ibrox or Rankin's late double against Falkirk etc.etc. ?

Often, of course, you can get a more exciting game at lower level, simply because

errors are much more commonplace. On the other hand, at the highest level you can

get games which are not so exciting, because the players are at a higher technical

level. Classic example being this years World Cup, some bland stuff on show.

Hats of to you for all your travelling, and I'm sure the great memories you've got

will be overtaken by even better ones from the present

[Scotty]

I have often come home from a very entertaining game to find that, well, it wasn't really entertaining at all, according to the media, or indeed this website.

If it was entertaining to you at the time, then it doesn't matter a **** what anyone else thinks !!

I think your comments that "as a passionate supporter of that team I have never failed to be entertained" might be taken with a pinch of salt, as I have seen some games that (also as a passionate supporter) failed to entertain me ... but our passion for the team may be why we as supporters think games were better/worse than the neutrals in the media or those listening on radio etc.

[Naelifts]

    Yeah I know. Nostalgia is a thing of the past! Good to see you guys fighting back. We are the best team in the land........the one and only ICT..............but, believe you me...........its harder to drag yourself out of your scratcher in the depths of winter when you know that, statistically, you are almost bound to be watching another tortuous home performance.

The debates about our home v away performances are old hat...........who knows the secret? I think I must be suffering from Seasonal Whatsit Disorder. Thanks for cheering me up

[+Gringo]

....its harder to drag yourself out of your scratcher in the depths of winter when you know that, statistically, you are almost bound to be watching another tortuous home performance....

I know where you're coming from on this but I don't get out very often these days. Its always great to get away from Coventry Nil even if the boys on the park aren't as enthusiastic as me!!!

Don't worry my friend - you'll get over this period in your life and wonder what all the fuss was about...  :004: :003:

[Dmacca]

If you think about it all, the different view points made, this is what football is all about, dont think there is another entertainment where the customer would go back for more time and time again when things are not going so well. When things are going well, there cannot be a better feeling than watching your team, make the most of the good times, unless your a glory hunter your gonna have to put up with this scenario. I know where id rather be and who id rather follow.

[The Mantis]

He's just going through the menopause.

[Scotty]

He's just going through the menopause.

and your just the man(tis) to help him - give him the benefit of your experience with your own male menopause  :015: :015:

[tm4tj]

Strangely enough Mr Lifts, I pondered this very question last week.  I thought about the days gone bye and wondered if I would be happy to return to them one day. Back watching in the lower divisions, less hassle, being able to walk around the ground and change ends at half time, the hedge at Brechin, the lovely home made soup, local Derbies with County, aye those were the days.  However, we have moved on and although the entertainment is not always value for money, to me it is always enthralling.  Very seldom are we completely out of any game, barring Celtic recently and the inexplicable Falkirk debacle.  I fail to comprehend what happens at every home game, with ten or twelve minutes left it starts...........the exodus..........cheerio cheerio cheerio, for instance, playing Hearts on Saturday, this was a reasonably tense affair which definitely opened up in our favour in the second half, but, true to form what happened......offski.  No, not the latest foreign signing but the crowd leaving in their droves long before the end.  Do they not like football, why do they bother to come along, whats the rush.  A lot of goals are scored towards the end of games, being an ICT supporter we should be used to that, but no, off they dander trying to get ahead of the masses, are these real supporters or just people passing the time of day?  Anyway, I appreciate where you are coming from and understand your concerns, but for me the last few games at home have been compelling, if not silkily entertaining therefore I would stick with it..........see you in the Innes for Well game :drinking09:

ps Now david James's haircut............thats entertainment :003:

[Ronaldo]

When it comes to the crunch, I'm sure most of us would be happy being "less entertained" playing in the SPL than in a lower division having fun. I'm getting used to the tension, it's fun sometimes as the rewards are greater. And it's much harder on the players we should think of them sometimes. Personally I thought the Hearts game was quite engaging and if we could have found the luck in the opposition box that we get in our ownn we would have scored too! 

By the law of averages we will all be entertained fully on Sat, I predict 5-0 nil not 6!!

[Naelifts]

My...........what a spirited bunch we are!! Feeling much better this morning after a double dose of HRT.

Mr thejob........my next appearance in the Innes will be the Killie game but I will be available for more debate at Dundee Utd and Dunfermline.

Now........where's me zimmer

[Harry Chibber]

Strangely enough Mr Lifts, I pondered this very question last week.  I thought about the days gone bye and wondered if I would be happy to return to them one day. Back watching in the lower divisions, less hassle, being able to walk around the ground and change ends at half time, the hedge at Brechin, the lovely home made soup, local Derbies with County, aye those were the days.  However, we have moved on and although the entertainment is not always value for money, to me it is always enthralling.  Very seldom are we completely out of any game, barring Celtic recently and the inexplicable Falkirk debacle.  I fail to comprehend what happens at every home game, with ten or twelve minutes left it starts...........the exodus..........cheerio cheerio cheerio, for instance, playing Hearts on Saturday, this was a reasonably tense affair which definitely opened up in our favour in the second half, but, true to form what happened......offski.  No, not the latest foreign signing but the crowd leaving in their droves long before the end.  Do they not like football, why do they bother to come along, whats the rush.  A lot of goals are scored towards the end of games, being an ICT supporter we should be used to that, but no, off they dander trying to get ahead of the masses, are these real supporters or just people passing the time of day?  Anyway, I appreciate where you are coming from and understand your concerns, but for me the last few games at home have been compelling, if not silkily entertaining therefore I would stick with it..........see you in the Innes for Well game :drinking09:

ps Now david James's haircut............thats entertainment :003:

A lot of the guys you find "leaving" from bridge end before the end of the match are actually just watching from the exits so they can have a fag, also to get a better angle to run on the pitch if we score a late goal :004:

That's what all my lot usually do, it's almost turned into a ritual now

[caley100]

David James haircut .....  :015: :015: :015: :015: :015: :015: :017: :017: :017: :014:

              Clark Kent or what!!

Anyway naelifts, we NEED you and your nice t-shirts for OUR entertainment, so dont delay, get to the Innes.

[Mrs Pauliebee]

Here here!  Stop yer slacking!  :018: :003:

Mrs PB

[CaleyCanary]

Empathy, empathy, I know where yer coming from Naelifts.

It was always my biggest worry as we careered headlong into the EssPee(H)ell that we would be leaving all our cuddly, lower div pals behind and things would never be the same again.

It was a great delight to leave the bile of Ibrox behind after 1994 and start enjoying watching football once more with all the great craic that went along with it. Following and watching ICT is nothing, absolutely nothing, like following one of the OF thank feck and is still my favourite pastime  -  I'll even drive past a field of sprightly young unchaperoned lambs to get there! Just wish it could happen more often.

As for entertainment, well that's the icing on the cake to be savoured when it happens. The enjoyment comes with just being there and it's why so many of us exiles cannot understand why there ain't bigger crowds with a better atmosphere at TCS.

[The Mantis]

As Joni used to say 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone'.

This is a golden age for fitba in the heelands, enjoy it. If ICT get relegated it may be a long time coming back.....

[Kingsmills]

I agree, these heady days of SPL football are a onderful bonus and will not last for ever.

Let's relish the experience while it lasts.