Darthter

Strange...I can't find ANY mention of this in today's DR.....

Silverware in any form is required at the moment. Also, The Ramsden cup is one that we have never won, and one that the majority of the SPL will never get the chance of winning. Be good if we could win it back to back as well.

Not true at all.... Sporting integrity (in the proper sense) dictates that we join the SPL through the proper channels ie working our way through the leagues and being promoted as league champions. If we were fast tracked up the league, it would create a stick with which we'd get beaten with for years to come. When we reach the top tier, we need to have done it ourselves, on merit. That way nobody can say we should or deserve to be there. As for Europe, it wouldn't matter if we were put straight into the SPL for next season....we can't get a European license until the company has filed 3 years worth of accounts!!! By the time we have done that, we should be back in the top tier anyway.

The Ramsden's cup should be firmly in our sights.....a good run in the others would be acceptable.

How long before we hear...."The players need time to gel..."

That's different....we had won the league & earned promotion. The problem was that under the reconstruction proposal, every other team in div3 was getting bumped up as well

I think folk need to be clear as to WHY we were put into the 3rd Div..... The SPL share is held by the COMPANY ie Oldco. We requested that the share be transferred to the Newco. The other SPL shareholders took a democratic vote on whether to allow the transfer - they voted no. With the SPL being a separate entity from the SFL, we had to apply for SFL membership - we were not relegated. The SFL clubs all agreed that the correct thing to do was to start us @ the bottom. We didn't end up in the bottom tier due to a punishment or some such from the SPL/SFA - The SPL clubs refused to transfer our membership. They CHOSE to vote us out of their league. Now the realities are starting to hit home.....clubs are feeling the pinch, investors are reluctant to put money in and the SPL clubs are realising that the need us back - they have effectively changed their minds. Now, RFC is a club with dignity & integrity. We accepted the situation and were/are grateful to the SFL for welcoming us into their league. We are doing more good to all these lower league clubs than the SPL could EVER do. Were are directly helping Scottish football by being where we are. The income generated by the Gers fans last season will keep some of these clubs ticking over for years, it will allow them to grow & expand. Are we to simply slap them in the face & bu**er off back to the very group that saw fit to vote us out when it suited them??? While I agree that financially, being in the SPL1/2 should be better, I think if we were to be fast tracked, it would be cast up to the club forever more - we must earn our spot in the top league & prove to the world that we were, are and always will be the top club in the country - on the park and off it!!!!

We are where we are because other clubs thought it was the "right" things to do, based on sporting integrity. They had the power to keep us in the top division but opted to vote us out. Now they have to live with the consequenses while we do the "right" thing and earn our spot in the top division through league winning performances & hard earned promotions

....but they don't appear to be working too well so far. Some times the old ways are the best....

In fairness...Temps did considerably better than the rest....I think he did fine to good. with the odd excellent in there. A wee bit more consistency required. The others were rotten to okay (at best) - especially Shiels. I think folk expected a helluva lot more from him.

pushing to the absolute limit, never did Sir Chris Hoy any harm or limited his success....Daily mail article Armed forces, the world over regularly push soldiers to the limit in order to prepare them for any eventuality. As someone previously pointed out....when Jock Wallace had his team going up & down the sand dunes, it was as much (if not more so) mental conditioning - every player believe they were fitter, faster & stronger than their opposition - can any honestly say that has been the case @ RFC in recent years??? The players have it far too easy - a couple of week of serious boot camp would do them the world of good, and probably result in a much closer team!!!! just because its old fashioned....does it mean it doesn't work???

Introducing them to each other, the ball & the concept of passing to a team mate (who isn't always the keeper) will do initially. They can work on the finer points later.

Surely in the long term, that would be a good thing - less niggling injuries keeping players out of the squad. They need toughening up!!!

I think some "brutal" training would bring any prima-donna back down to earth. Players these days have it easy - couple of hours training each day then they are free to do as they please. Also the training that they do will be very structured to raise the heart beat to a specific level & maintain it. I would bet that none of our players (even going back a few years) have actually pushed their bodies to the point that they are physically sick...... Somewhere like Gullane sands is idea for giving the body a shock - takes the person out of their comfort zone & messes with their head. The players may be fit, but giving them a shock by running up & down sand dunes may well tell them that they aren't as fit as they first thought.

The technology may tell us that they are fitter....but going by what we've seen on the pitch, I think the report card would definitely read "must do better" We have the latest technology & fitness science at our disposal, yet how many time last season did we look poor against part time teams, who probably train twice a week after they've finished work????

We should not be fast tracked under ANY circumstances!!!!

I disagree....being in Div2 (regardless of club stature) would result in us getting way below true market value for him.

Does he not run some kind of football academy/agency type thing???

can't see them selling Wallace...he's probably been our most consistent performer since he signed....

We have NO adequate LB cover....I think Andy Mitchell covered LB for a game or 2 last season when Wallace was out. He's still a right sided player. The fact that Smith has been without a club for a year, I'd image his wages would be minimal since he'd be happier just signing for a club, and getting the odd game.

We could offer them Cribari....

Why is the majority of the board made up of Non-execs??? What is the difference between an normal board member & a non-exec member???

It all depends on WHERE the info is coming from. Leaked info tends to come via the mhedia, who can present it in such a way to suit their own ends. The only info that should be of interest/relevance to RFC fans is that issued directly from the club.

I'm sure that is the main reason behind it!!! That doesn't mean that he won't do a fine job though.....

my take on the statement is that due to the on-going Whyte/Earley situation, it's not in the best interest of the club to make the report public - at the moment. Once Whyte/Earley have been legally told to pi55 off, then I'm sure the full report will be published.