Reasons to be cheerful

Thought about this on my long drive up the road on Saturday and I think despite the rubbish last 12 months we have had as a club there are reasons to be cheerful.

First and foremost we are still playing football. Going to the football on a Saturday for a 3pm kick off is great and just being able to do that after the summer we had makes me happy.

Having a bunch of kids making up the nucleus of our squad and playing well is another reason to be cheerful. Lewis McLeod and Barry McKay in particular are doing a great job but there is also hope in the shape of Darren Cole, Kyle Hutton, Kai Naismith and others. By the time we get to the top division in Scotland we could hopefully have the spine of a half decent team made up of youth players who all have over 100 games under their belts. Apparently the 100 game mark is significant for youth players and with the level of difficulty increasing each season (hopefully) this gradual testing against better opposition will help them in their development.

For a national team perspective it can only be good as well.

Another strong attendance on Saturday shows the fans are still backing the club and that is a positive as well. There may be a bit of defiance in some but in all honesty the regular 45k+ attendances I would say are a surprise to many on ja606 and beyond. What is also refreshing is that the atmosphere is better in certain respects, not so nasty, not so uptight worrying about other results and fans seem to be showing more patience with the younger players.

Also the amount of fans who are more willing to take their kids to the football is a good thing. We are engaging a new generation of fan and also the presence of more families contribute to the less nasty atmosphere. exposing kids to this rather than some of what has gone before can only be a good thing.

Also this week marks the opportunity to invest in the club for the first time for a lot of fans. Whilst the timing could be better for some (the week before christmas being financially tight for a lot of people) in these difficult economic times there never really is going to be a good time. The share issue is a good thing and whilst many Tic fans seem to want to obsess over this point I can't see anything but a positive for fans getting a chance to invest in the club.

Just a few of the reasons why there are reasons to be cheerful with 2013 approaching