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7 hours ago, Row S said:

This all begs the question about the role of our Directors in the last two years. Are they deliberately trying to get us back to part time football to keep the overheads down to a more manageable level?

I used to be so proud of the fact that we had kept on improving year on year after being admitted to the Scottish Senior Leagues. Now it's just hugely embarrassing to see how far we have fallen since we won the SFA Cup.

Time for Robbo to be binned along with his poor signings before we become even more of a laughing stock.

 

And where is the money going to come from to replace them?

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That was a disaster. We seemed in control at the start of the match, lots of time and space on the ball. However we  lacked urgency, a st mirren or pars team would have destroy them when the opportunity arose. Not us, vigurs and Trafford strolled about. Our full backs didn't push on we were happy to sit on a 1-0 lead. Second half, they pressed and harried and bullied. We dissolved. Once we conceded. Players went hiding, midfielder not moving for a pass, strikers passing rather than shooting, defenders who are unable to defend. A horrible combination.

One extremely worrying thing is the lack of fitness, bell died on his feet, as did Trafford, tremarco and Polly. Our bench offers little, we have no CM. Our defenders on the bench are worse than the awful defenders already on pitch. Even more worrying is the lack of resilience in the side. The players are passing responsibility, shirking tackles, not making runs. A horrible combination when you combine it with players who are not particularly good. Only pass marks for me were OFW, Bell (even though he ran out of gas) and Warren (despite getting sent off for diving). At least he had the gonads to make a run into the opposition box and take players on. Ooft I'm stressed.

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I did in the past around 1 to  2 years ago see that Caley was in profit by around £100,000  so I find it a bit hard to believe that Caley is out of money and overall the club seems to always get things for the cheapest prices. I knew before of them often getting players without buying the contact on the grounds of the player out of contact I remember a Nigerian guy they had before who came from that  case but  I would be interested to see what Caley money level is actually like either way weather I am right or wrong .

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Well perhaps the omens were there long before we kicked off. Glasgow city centre awash with Old Firm neds, the nice wee train journey to the Rock cancelled due to engineering works and roadworks bringing traffic chaos to the Erskine Bridge. Underground to the West End and an empty student pub. Uber to Dumbarton and quaffing in the Stags Head watching part time Old Firmers watching the game. And then a walk down to a ground that resembles a Sunday League setting and then watching 90 minutes of Sunday League fare.

At the time I was quite happy with the first half performance. A superb Polworth through ball splits the defence and Bell finished well in the 8th minute and we were in charge for the majority of the first 45 minutes. Again I have to comment on the lack of enthusiasm and celebration to herald that early goal. We looked neat enough but it was tippy tappy stuff with most balls going either sideways or back. OFW did appear to ooze more confidence to those in front of them and those brave few sitting in the stands. And if Bell had notched a second when through on goal 1:1 and we had gone 2-0 up – well who knows. Trafford and Oakley both had half chances, OFW had little to do and it really should have been 2 or 3-0. There was a sense of a standing ovation, albeit muted, as the boys trooped off at half time.

And very quickly after the restart it became clearer what had happened. Stevie Aitken had given us far too much respect. He had decided to sit his team deep, allow us the ball in our own half and defend deep. The elements were also in our favour in the first half as well. Dumbarton lined up like a pack of dogs looking for the fox. From then on they defended, allowed us the luxury of possession in our own half but they pressed and pressed and looked to break at every opportunity. Froxylias basically ran the show. It took them a mere 2 minutes to equalise and we never looked like getting back. Froxylias fired home in the 47th. Froxylias bent a curling free kick at our goal in the 63rd minute, OFW made a good stop, albeit over dramatically and  Wardrop reacted, knocked in the rebound whilst our defenders watched.

OFW looked as if he had pulled his groin or his knee and he never took any further kicks and threw the ball out if necessitated. I suspect that he will be missing in action for a few weeks. And why oh feckin why did Robbo appear to leave the playmaker role to Donaldson ? Why didn’t Vigurs drop back ? Is Gary Warren collecting yellow cards ? Hope I get him in Top Trumps. If he dived then that was ridiculous. I thought that he was practically in with a chance of a goal. Judging by his muted reaction he was guilty. That all happened in the 79th minute and Robbo had not even appeared to have considered a substitution at that stage. How Oakley stayed on after the hour stupefies me.

And then to add insult to injury the decision is made to hook Tremarco and take on Mulraney. A certain poster on here gave Mulraney some gentle stick and his reaction almost led me to go on the park and give him a slap. He clearly does not want to be here. Tremarco himself also looked bemused as he trooped off. And then we leave it to the 87th minute to bring on Baird for Oakley. And we keep on hoofing to the skyscraper front three of Bell, Baird and Mulraney !!

And remember the name Colin Steven. Another in a long list of embarrassing, amateur referees. He lost control and came up with a bevvy of ridiculous decisions – albeit both ways.

And then it was back to the Stags Head, on to the Uber, on to the Underground, on to Central Station and home to Chorley. Travel cost me around £75 and I will NOT be spending that type of amount to watch absolute dross. I have booked for Livi and Dumfries. I am going there for the pre-match and post-match activities and I will not be considering any other games unless the team show a distinct improvement or even if they showed some enthusiasm and fight. Those two ingredients are sadly lacking.

OFW   :laugh::laugh::laugh:- Nice to see him back. Back four looked more confident. Spectator for most of the first half. No chance with either goal but may have over-dramatised the free kick save.

McKay  :help:– Back at full back. To be honest I hardly noticed him which probably says it all.

Warren :yellowcard::yellowcard:– Sorry but has become a luxury and his lack of discipline is shocking. And he was mighty quiet for a captain. He basically looked cheesed  off.

Donaldson :ohmy:– Who the feck gave him the playmaking. Libero role. Dzebi-Zade would have done a better job.

Chalmers :wtf: – Sweet left foot was noted once and then it was a case of Sweet Feck all.

Polworth  :twothumbsup::twothumbsup::thumbup:– Roving role again. At least he gave 100% and looked most likely to produce something. Great through ball to Bell for the goal.

Vigurs – :smile::shrug:Some lovely touches but plays throughout in an area ten yards either side of the half way line. If we could afford such a luxury and have a couple of beavers beside him – well.

Trafford :thumbup::question:– Dougal’s comment about fitness and diet may come in to play. He  looks the part but dies after the hour. Mind you he runs for Vigurs.

Tremarco :thumbup:– As with OFW it was nice to see him back but not as an offensive , wide player. Needs to either go back to left wing back or even central defence. And why he was not allowed to play for 90 minutes to enhance match fitness beggars belief.

BELL – :smile::smile:Starved of any delivery in the second half. No support up front. Worked his socks off and should have got a first half brace.

OAKLEY :getmecoat: – Inept and provided zilch basically.

Already mentioned Robbo’s selection and tactical boo-boos. :rotflmao:

 

 

 

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I think it's looking clear while most agree the new signings are mainly dross we has pinned hopes on the experienced longer serving squad members but perhapswe need to face the facts that Warren and raven are declining fast and the recent injuries are taking their toll as with Tremarco as well.

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One thing that has stood out for me both this season and last season is we are so slow all over the park.  No one  seems to be confident to take a man on with a back pass most of the time preferred. There is so little movement or runs  of players to open options up for whoever has the ball.  Going back to my opening the pace we play our football is far to slow. When we go a goal behind you expect a reaction and the tempo and attacking to move through the gears but just nothing happens. That is the stand out thing i have noticed for months now.   

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Our defending for the equaliser was absolutely shite. Mckay starts running towards your left midfielder then backs away then goes back over with Bell and between them they still allow him to get a cross in. Then Chalmers and Tremarco are both ball watching and Froxylias steals in between the two of them to get to the ball and hit a shot. Wonderful finish but from an ICT perspective utterly shambolic defensive play.

There is also a video on YouTube side on for the Dumbarton free kick and Polworth gets a wee shove from the player he is marking who scores the second goal which is why he isn't following him in.

 

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11 minutes ago, RiG said:

Our defending for the equaliser was absolutely shite. Mckay starts running towards your left midfielder then backs away then goes back over with Bell and between them they still allow him to get a cross in. Then Chalmers and Tremarco are both ball watching and Froxylias steals in between the two of them to get to the ball and hit a shot. Wonderful finish but from an ICT perspective utterly shambolic defensive play.

There is also a video on YouTube side on for the Dumbarton free kick and Polworth gets a wee shove from the player he is marking who scores the second goal which is why he isn't following him in.

 

If we are striving for consistency then we've achieved it at least in defence. Our defending has been consistently abysmal all season.

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Well, it's a terrific goal, at least.

 

I tried to be positive after the St Mirren result but it's harder this time. Dumbarton are never going to get out of this division northwards, but they have built a reputation for scrapping and gathering enough points to avoid relegation. Might be worth learning from them...

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24 minutes ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

RIG - That actually makes us look a lot better than we were. Confirms that Warren dived though.

Not really clear what happened. He never appealed for a penalty. Did he just get his studs caught or what?

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2 minutes ago, KirkieRobRoy said:

Well, it's a terrific goal, at least.

 

I tried to be positive after the St Mirren result but it's harder this time. Dumbarton are never going to get out of this division northwards, but they have built a reputation for scrapping and gathering enough points to avoid relegation. Might be worth learning from them...

Perhaps their manager, who was interested in joining us, would've been a better choice than Robbo...

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Interesting to watch the highlights....as someone said they look better than it sounds like we actually played. I'm not really convinced that Warren dived, more like ran out puff and the second challenge was all too much and he fell over, did he even appeal for a penalty? (I don't think you should be booked if you're not appealling)

Positives for me seem to be Bell, who looks quite tricky and committed, Trafford is sounding half decent but may benefit from a period of fitness management, Polworth seems to have found his mojo again and OFW is back and sounds like he is at least better than Ridgers. Tremarco is back too, but I would guess having been out for a while it will take some time to get back to where he was last season early on. And we are scoring goals (unlike my other team who have scored none at all in their league) and have either been ahead in a game or have pulled the game back (like against St Mirren/Livingstone). Of the rest it seems Vigurs gives us something for a parts of games, but can't really be relied on to have an impact for 90mins or do the dirty work.

My impression of the defence is that apart from individual errors there is very poor organisation or ideas as to who is doing what. I put that down to the coaching, maybe Robbo needs a defensive coach.

Listening to peoples views on the defence, I find it somewhat bemusing how easily Meekings was let go, whether this was to do with percieved likeihood of return to fitness, cost of a new contract, an attitude problem...yes he may not be fully fit now, but he could be the difference later in the season...and we seem to be quite happy to wait for Zak Elbouzedi and Aaron Doran. And what has happened to Seedorf, he doesn't seem to have played since he got sent off? Meanwhile Oakley who seems to have been to better option to Baird early on, now seems devoid of ideas and energy, whilst Mulraney doesn't seem to want to play at all.

So I think we're all now resigned to the fact that getting back up is looking unlikely this season (was it ever?) ....so now it's all about doing enough to stay up, and I can't believe Falkirk are as bad as their league position suggests.

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Has Robbo finally realised that the very players he told he wanted rid of (those he hadn't signed) are the ones he now desperately needs to rescue things?

If Robbo carries the can for the players he signed, then Muirfield Mills carry the can for the Manager they signed.

People point to the Cup Final as the moment things started going south for us, I think it stems back to the involvement of Muirfield Mills. They've been all mouth and very little positive action from day one. What ever happened to the additional investment they promised when they said the initial £250k was just a start? How much did they pay for control of the football trust and where did those funds go?

They forced Sandy Catto out, had Grassa removed, refused to let the club sell Hughes to Utd, seem to be delaying on the stadium deal, forced Kenny Cameron out, forced Willie Finlayson out and David Cameron is gone. Ken Thomson is the only non Muirfield Mills director and how long till he's pushed out the door? Add in the numerous club servants who have been alienated and you have to really question what the end game is, or if they even have one.

Robbo, Danny MacDonald and Jim Oliver are all Orion rejects. Almost as if they are trying to rub Savage's nose in it, not make friends with him.

Not one of the Muirfield Mills members on our board has any football experience at any level. None of them have any experience with running a business when it comes to it.

Lots of vanity projects sapping money away from more vital functions would suggest they are in it for no other reason than ego.

People will say things were not perfect before. Really? What we have now is better than Top 3 Premiership finishes, Finals, Semi Finals, Europe, Squad of Players who cared and not going home feeling like **** after every game?

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12 minutes ago, Eagle4Caley said:

Interesting to watch the highlights....as someone said they look better than it sounds like we actually played. I'm not really convinced that Warren dived, more like ran out puff and the second challenge was all too much and he fell over, did he even appeal for a penalty? (I don't think you should be booked if you're not appealling)

Positives for me seem to be Bell, who looks quite tricky and committed, Trafford is sounding half decent but may benefit from a period of fitness management, Polworth seems to have found his mojo again and OFW is back and sounds like he is at least better than Ridgers. Tremarco is back too, but I would guess having been out for a while it will take some time to get back to where he was last season early on. And we are scoring goals (unlike my other team who have scored none at all in their league) and have either been ahead in a game or have pulled the game back (like against St Mirren/Livingstone). Of the rest it seems Vigurs gives us something for a parts of games, but can't really be relied on to have an impact for 90mins or do the dirty work.

My impression of the defence is that apart from individual errors there is very poor organisation or ideas as to who is doing what. I put that down to the coaching, maybe Robbo needs a defensive coach.

Listening to peoples views on the defence, I find it somewhat bemusing how easily Meekings was let go, whether this was to do with percieved likeihood of return to fitness, cost of a new contract, an attitude problem...yes he may not be fully fit now, but he could be the difference later in the season...and we seem to be quite happy to wait for Zak Elbouzedi and Aaron Doran. And what has happened to Seedorf, he doesn't seem to have played since he got sent off? Meanwhile Oakley who seems to have been to better option to Baird early on, now seems devoid of ideas and energy, whilst Mulraney doesn't seem to want to play at all.

So I think we're all now resigned to the fact that getting back up is looking unlikely this season (was it ever?) ....so now it's all about doing enough to stay up, and I can't believe Falkirk are as bad as their league position suggests.

As far as I know,  Meekings was offered a new contract at the same time as Tansey and both turned them down,  and I think that Meekings has signed for Dundee since the end of the season. I also think that Seedorf has picked up an injury and is out for a couple of weeks. 

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45 minutes ago, Buster said:

Has Robbo finally realised that the very players he told he wanted rid of (those he hadn't signed) are the ones he now desperately needs to rescue things?

If Robbo carries the can for the players he signed, then Muirfield Mills carry the can for the Manager they signed.

People point to the Cup Final as the moment things started going south for us, I think it stems back to the involvement of Muirfield Mills. They've been all mouth and very little positive action from day one. What ever happened to the additional investment they promised when they said the initial £250k was just a start? How much did they pay for control of the football trust and where did those funds go?

They forced Sandy Catto out, had Grassa removed, refused to let the club sell Hughes to Utd, seem to be delaying on the stadium deal, forced Kenny Cameron out, forced Willie Finlayson out and David Cameron is gone. Ken Thomson is the only non Muirfield Mills director and how long till he's pushed out the door? Add in the numerous club servants who have been alienated and you have to really question what the end game is, or if they even have one.

Robbo, Danny MacDonald and Jim Oliver are all Orion rejects. Almost as if they are trying to rub Savage's nose in it, not make friends with him.

Not one of the Muirfield Mills members on our board has any football experience at any level. None of them have any experience with running a business when it comes to it.

Lots of vanity projects sapping money away from more vital functions would suggest they are in it for no other reason than ego.

People will say things were not perfect before. Really? What we have now is better than Top 3 Premiership finishes, Finals, Semi Finals, Europe, Squad of Players who cared and not going home feeling like **** after every game?

What is it like working for Tullochs ?

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41 minutes ago, Jaggernaut said:

As far as I know,  Meekings was offered a new contract at the same time as Tansey and both turned them down,  and I think that Meekings has signed for Dundee since the end of the season. I also think that Seedorf has picked up an injury and is out for a couple of weeks. 

Meekings turned down a deal in November or around then saying he wanted to concentrate on his football or something like that which is typically code for I'm leaving and waiting to see who comes in for me. He then got injured and didn't play any games in the first half of 2017 for ICT. Then, after relegation, instead of offering the guy a deal based on the best we could offer, just in case he might have hung around, we, erm, released him and Meekings found out via Twitter, through an Inverness Courier journalist. This obviously went down like a lead balloon with Meekings who wasn't aware that he was getting released and he subsequently signed for Dundee after training with them for several weeks.

Even injured and with one leg he's still better than every single defender we have. Combined.

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1 hour ago, Buster said:

Has Robbo finally realised that the very players he told he wanted rid of (those he hadn't signed) are the ones he now desperately needs to rescue things?

If Robbo carries the can for the players he signed, then Muirfield Mills carry the can for the Manager they signed.

People point to the Cup Final as the moment things started going south for us, I think it stems back to the involvement of Muirfield Mills. They've been all mouth and very little positive action from day one. What ever happened to the additional investment they promised when they said the initial £250k was just a start? How much did they pay for control of the football trust and where did those funds go?

They forced Sandy Catto out, had Grassa removed, refused to let the club sell Hughes to Utd, seem to be delaying on the stadium deal, forced Kenny Cameron out, forced Willie Finlayson out and David Cameron is gone. Ken Thomson is the only non Muirfield Mills director and how long till he's pushed out the door? Add in the numerous club servants who have been alienated and you have to really question what the end game is, or if they even have one.

Robbo, Danny MacDonald and Jim Oliver are all Orion rejects. Almost as if they are trying to rub Savage's nose in it, not make friends with him.

Not one of the Muirfield Mills members on our board has any football experience at any level. None of them have any experience with running a business when it comes to it.

Lots of vanity projects sapping money away from more vital functions would suggest they are in it for no other reason than ego.

People will say things were not perfect before. Really? What we have now is better than Top 3 Premiership finishes, Finals, Semi Finals, Europe, Squad of Players who cared and not going home feeling like **** after every game?

What's it like working for Orion?

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Tulloch, Orion or Weldex would all be preferable to what we have just now. At least those guys all have experience of running a business and knowledge of football business in particular.

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1 hour ago, RiG said:

Meekings turned down a deal in November or around then saying he wanted to concentrate on his football or something like that which is typically code for I'm leaving and waiting to see who comes in for me. He then got injured and didn't play any games in the first half of 2017 for ICT. Then, after relegation, instead of offering the guy a deal based on the best we could offer, just in case he might have hung around, we, erm, released him and Meekings found out via Twitter, through an Inverness Courier journalist. This obviously went down like a lead balloon with Meekings who wasn't aware that he was getting released and he subsequently signed for Dundee after training with them for several weeks.

Even injured and with one leg he's still better than every single defender we have. Combined.

Meekings was on over £2 k a week it might be that due to his injuries he was offered less when he turned it down.  If we had signed him again he would have to play with one leg as I believe he is injured again!

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1 hour ago, RiG said:

Then, after relegation, instead of offering the guy a deal based on the best we could offer, just in case he might have hung around, we, erm, released him and Meekings found out via Twitter, through an Inverness Courier journalist. This obviously went down like a lead balloon with Meekings who wasn't aware that he was getting released 

Are you suggesting that he was unaware that his contract had expired and that he hadn't agreed a new one with us?!

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  • Scotty changed the title to Dumbarton -V- Inverness CT
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