The Mantis

Ah the bloke with the backpack or maybe not, that was the third pic.

...and so it begins again. Penicuik 1 Drumchapel Utd 1. The Rookie Cuikie are outclassed for long spells in this PSF in front of about 100, but grab a late equaliser. Entry by donation.

Forth and Endrick League. Kippen 1 Balfron Rovers 2. Home side take the lead after an hour, both reduced to 10 after handbags, Rovers score twice, their keeper saves a last minute pelanty. Pishing rain but the pitch handled it remarkably well. Big shout out to @Crow for the brolly share. I guess that's a wrap.

Some great memories: 1st visit - Blantyre Vics v Penicuik, 1970 12th visit - the Tam Forsyth Cup Final, 1973. 122000 attendance 13th visit - Scotland 2 Czechoslovakia 1, 1973. Scotland qualify for 1974 WC. 15th visit - Scotland 2 England 0, 1974. Jinky flicking the vickies at the press box. 20th visit - Scotland 2 England 1, 1976. Forsyth’s tackle on Channon after KD makes an arse of Clemence. 21st visit - Scotland 3 Czechoslovakia 1, 1977. Probably the best display from a Scottish team I’ve ever witnessed as we destroyed them with a high tempo display of (almost) controlled aggression in the qualifying stages for Argentina 78. 25th visit - Celtic 1 Rangers 3, 1979 and the Cooper wonder goal. 38th visit - Celtic 2 ICT 3, 2015. A bit of luck but ICT provide the highlight of the club’s history for yours truly. A sensational team goal right at the death. A team the likes of which we’ll probably never see again. 39th visit - the 2015 final. ICT 2 Falkirk 1. 50th visit - the 2023 final. Celtic 3 ICT 1. 51st visit - the Georgia game

Is that Mad Hamish? Not abusive, just ‘singing’ all the time to himself? Unless there are two of them…

I had 3 nights split between Torshavn and Klaksvik on my first visit in 2016, but went back with Mrs Mantis in 2019 for a full week. Spent two nights in Suðuroy which is 2 hours on the boat from Torshavn. I had more flights booked but the Covid put paid to that. Knocked up this wee YouTube movie which is about 8 mins long. I think the first bit of music by Yggdrasil is wonderful, but even if it seems a bit boring, it segues into Arcade Fire halfway through…

Aye, never realised Sweeney had taken over as manager. He used to come down this way delivering meat around the time Air an Lot first came on the air. I asked him if he was the famous Sweeney who played as a striker but I think that was his cousin or uncle. A real media darling these days

Been a few times, even saw Pele’s ICT play there. Probably take in their game v United in august although it’ll mean going past Westside v Carloway on the way up the road. I take it you caught the bit on AVFTT the other week.

More rewarding than bashing the bishop anyway…

Another one who was at EEP. Not counting the new season's fixtures till July though, just in case I go to any more games this week Fits in with Futbology

I hope the club does the due diligence on which leg. Wouldn’t want to waste money on the wrong shoe.

Not sure where I heard it, but apparently big Gordon rallied the team before going out by yelling "Right lads, let's gie them the Timps!" A reference to the famous Timpson fitba bits.

Bonnyrigg have often played ‘Sweet Caroline’ at the end of big games. I think with Spartans it’s more like the Sound of Silence

That was the way of things and still is in most of the EOS. I think they brought out a desk from the committee room so they could stuff money in the drawers when it built up. They’ve recently got a hut for the gateman though, and contactless Whitehill led 2-1 but ran out of legs. Just remembered QoS were ICT’s first ever opponents in the Scottish. Sergei Baltacha’s season where we weren’t very good, then Steve Paterson took over. 2 late free kicks before Mark McAllister pulled one back.

I’m guessing you’d be at Ferguson Park in Jan 1997 though, just up the road… the Whitehill players mucked in to clear the snow off the pitch.

Oh aye, a lawyer, forgot about that…

Maybe I’m the wrong demographic, being quite an auld c**t. I enjoyed the first series but mainly carried on with it as I had a 3 month free trial, hoping each time for some fitba content. I forgot that the last episode was last week and so Apple have just taken £6.99 off me by dd, serves me right I thought in series 2/3 the episodes were a bit formulaic, ticking boxes such as bullying in the workplace, coming out, broken families. I have to say I liked Ted, Coach Beard, and especially Roy Fucking Kent! Also Jamie Tartt grew on me a lot towards the end. Most of the others were just stereotypes who got on my tits. I found Crimm really creepy, it took a wee while to recognise him from Teachers on Channel 4 way back. Also Anthony Head as Rupert Mannion who was another creep in a coffee ad back in the day. I never liked Patrick Baladi either, since he was in The Office. Nate was just a whiny wee p***k, and there was something about the pub landlady I found really irritating. Same with the psychologist wifey, and the wee wanks in the pub, why didn’t they actually make the games? Nice that the last episode signed off with The Flaming Lips

Ooft!

Updating my post from Aug 2016 on page 8, edits in red: Situation for ICT is obviously different but quite interesting (to me at least ) . This is all off the top of my head though so not guaranteed. ICT have met (and beaten) every SPFL team competitively since 1994, except Bonnyrigg, although Annan were a non-League side when we got our record 8-1 win in 1998. Have played FC Edinburgh but at Ainslie Park. Also met all the ex-league clubs Berwick, Brechin, Cowdenbeath, Shire , Gretna*. We have met every club in a League match except Dumbarton, Kelty, Peterhead, Elgin, Berwick, Annan and FC Edinburgh. we have never visited Dumbarton, Annan, Bonnyrigg, Meadowbank or Elgin in a competitive match. Have won everywhere else except Berwick and Stranraer. After formation ICT spent 3 years in div 3, 2 years in div 2, 5 years in div 1 then every other year except 2009-10 in the top league. Relegated in 2016-17 and been in the Championship since. In 98-99, Steve Paterson's side scored in all 36 league matches. From 4/4/98 to 29/12/01, ICT went 160 matches without a 0-0. Between 28/11/09, losing 2-1 at Partick in Div 1, and 2/1/11, losing 1-0 at St Johnstone in the SPL, ICT were undefeated on the road in the league. Our first ever opponents East Stirlingshire are the first club to be relegated from the SPFL. Our most overdue opponent is Montrose, 25/7/2009, in the Challenge Cup. I have seen ICT at 55 different grounds but have still to see them at Annan, Peterhead, Elgin, Meadowbank, Bonnyrigg and Dumbarton.

The cup final puts me on 81 but I'll wait till the end of June to end it as I’ll probably be at Scotland v Georgia. Not a lot of new grounds though, maybe 16. Meanwhile here’s a photie from Saturday

Aww that’s nice. I hope you get good results this summer in your Nationals

Why are you assuming it’s only a problem up here? If you follow the forums, especially NLM, you’ll find that this crops up on every hop. The Scottish cringe, ye cannae beat it

It’s a wonder nobody thought of this before. Oh wait… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Caroline

Tues night and another ammy fixture. Duddingston Athletic 3 Kirknewton CFC 3, LEAFA Sunday section, Morning Div 1. Always thought Cavalry Park would be a bit of a dump, hemmed in by posh Duddingston and not so posh Craigmillar, with maybe a few neds hanging about. But it's a lovely setting on a summer night, very spacious and rural with birds singing all over the shop. They had taken down the goals on the main pitch so we had to trek away over to the far pitch where they kept losing balls in the woods and nettles. The standard this far down the league structure is pretty poor, but an easy one for the ref with no cards and very few fouls. Some cracking goals though. Had a blether with the ref as Kirky were late arriving, and promised to visit Kirky for a home game. Obviously it would have been criminal not to drop into the Sheep Heid for a nice pint of Stewart's 80/- afterwards. This was my 80th game of the season. I had thought about keeping that to end the season with the Cup Final on Saturday which will also be my 50th visit to Hampden, but it was too nice an evening to sit all night looking at the missus.