THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Motherwell -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 19th Mar 2014 @ 7:45PM Fir Park, Motherwell Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage AUDIO LIVE COMMENTARY (BBC) [uK/VPN Only]   TEXT SPFL Official Site ESPN BBC SKY Sporting Life VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel   TEAM LINEUPS

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Motherwell 2-0 ICT

Well.... Christie and Warren have to start on saturday in which now becomes a match we have to win.

Wasn't really expecting a win, but another disappointing performance ( especially at the back) and a disappointing result. I'm getting very disheartened with this state of affairs. Luckily we had secured enough ponts earlier in the season to make our current slump seem less bad than it actually is

How to ruin a team in four months!

How?

Radio really playing up m'well sticking 5 in midfield to shut out Inverness threat. Sounds like Inverness played well but shot ourselves in the foot defensively with couple of slack goals. I'm sticking with the team and management. Lets not get carried away. At the start of new season our first target will be 30+points to avoid relegation.

At the start of new season our first target will be 30+points to avoid relegation.

With such a good, settled team, worrying about relegation is a mark of failure.

Radio really playing up m'well sticking 5 in midfield to shut out Inverness threat. Sounds like Inverness played well but shot ourselves in the foot defensively with couple of slack goals. I'm sticking with the team and management. Lets not get carried away. At the start of new season our first target will be 30+points to avoid relegation.

 

At the start of this season the expectations were far higher than avoiding relegation, don't forget we only missed out on Europe on the final day.

By the reaction of some of the "fans" here it would appear ICT has actually now moved into upper half of the EPL. It must be the case as calling for the manager's head before he has a chance to get his feet properly under the table is a normal reaction there. That also explains why the world's top managers were all in for the job and were surprised to be beaten to it by a relative unknown with a good patter.

 

Yes we are on a slump, but when there is the upheaval of a change of management team that is not unusual. Remember Butcher had less than half a season to prevent relegation, didn't by 1 goal, but I think we all agree that the next season helped to define him at ICT. 

 

Top 6 is now secure and a full matchday squad of players are signed up for next season, OK we may not improve on last season's position, and miss out on Europe once more, but the rest of the season can be used to bed the team into how they can plat best under Yogi and Russell.

If by this time next year we are without a chance of top 6 or worse, then would be a better time to discuss whether an alternative management team should be looked for, for now back the team however you can, will them on and believe, (remember 09/10).

The team and tactics seriously need freshened up. We can't buy a goal at the moment, never mind a win.

 

It'll be a disgrace if Warren, Christie and Ross don't all start on Saturday.

Cant keep quiet any longer, usual suspects having a field day, they haven't a clue about football they just like to moan, groan and really all they are doing is making fools of themselves.

 

For once the pundits were praising ICT, the way they were playing and the future they have.

 

OK two mistakes, two goals down but the rest of the game we dominated, more shots were on target tonight,  goals will come. We are top six now, plenty of points to pick up yet

 

Have faith or go over the bridge and join your like minded  friends.

Bit disheartened but i'll watch the Alba showing and see how we played before i start slatting them.  It was always going to be difficult playing Motherwell away,  They are a very decent team and if i'm being honest they are better than us so a draw would have been a great result for us tonight.  Not to be though, and i think whats more annoying is yet again we haven't scored.

 

Lets keep it real:

 

Scottish Premiership We 19Mar 2014   Motherwell 2 - 0 Inverness CT

 

Scottish Premier Sa 16Feb 2013   Motherwell 3 - 0 Inverness CT

Scottish Premier Su 02Sep 2012   Motherwell 4 - 1 Inverness CT

Scottish Premier Sa 14Jan 2012   Motherwell 0 - 1 Inverness CT

Scottish Premier Sa 23Jul 2011   Motherwell 3 - 0 Inverness CT

 

Results from last 2 seasons at Fir Park....

Edited March 19, 201411 yr by ICTPAISLEY

Cameras are better than normal the night on bbc alba

From a psychological perspective many of the posts tonight are closely associated with the anger, frustration and despair that we eventually blew a great chance of winning the League Cup. Many appear to have the new ideal of a European place and nothing less will do. Some appeared to be expecting the possibility of two cup wins and a European place.

Perhaps many of us have expectations on a massive scale. And remember that this is our fourth game in 11 days - 4 days after probably the most physically and mentally exhausting game in our history. And the we go away to the team expected to be in the top three and again we expect more.

So in other words..... get feckin real.

Having been at the game tonight, i'd like to make a few observations regarding team selection, shape and where I think we're going wrong. Where to start!

 

Starting team and formation:

 

Brill

 

Raven Devine Meekings Shinnie

 

Tansey

 

Doran Draper Foran Vincent

 

Mckay

 

Yogi set up tonight much like the final on Sunday. The aim of the tactics being to let Doran and Vincent come inside and play off McKay whilst dominating the centre of the park with Tansey, Draper and Foran. The two 'wingers' coming inside opens the space down the two wings for Shinnie and Raven to get forward and provide the width. Tansey then sits deep with Meekings and Devine and aims to pick out passes from his own half. In theory a reasonable tactic which focuses on ball retention, high quality passing and clever movement.

 

This means when attacking we effectively had three players at the back - Meekings Devine and Tansey.

 

Tonight (in the first half), we couldn't keep the ball, the passing was poor (especially from Draper and Foran) and we were too static in the final third. A risky tactic to adopt from a team known for pace, work rate and counter-attacking football under Butcher.

 

Both goals came from loosing the ball too far up the pitch, Motherwell playing it down the channels and breaking on us. This for me is a real worry as we didn't even make it difficult for Motherwell to score.

 

Second half team and formation:

 

Brill

 

Raven Devine Meekings Shinnie

 

Draper Foran

 

Tansey Christie Vincent

 

Mckay

 

Second half was much the same but with Draper and Foran sitting deeper to provide a little extra cover for a open defence. Bringing on Christie helped improve our passing and movement but the same problem existed, we played too narrow and we lack the quality to open up defences with clever passing movements. Tansey was useless on the wing and looked lost, Vincent doesn't suit the role and Foran can't pick out a pass.

 

What now then? For me, i'm very worried about Yogi's tactical decisions - the players don't look comfortable. We are not playing to our strengths, Mckay is not getting any service and when he is, it's balls into him with his back to goal and a defender on his back. When was the last time we saw a ball played through for him to run onto?

 

Desired team selection:

 

Brill

 

Raven Warren Meekings Shinnie

 

Draper Foran

 

Watkins Vincent Doran

 

Mckay

 

I'm not necessarily slating Yogi's team selection but what I would heavily criticise is his tactical awareness in terms of playing to our players strengths. Why play Tansey and Vincent wide when it's so clear that neither of them have any pace to take on a man and deliver a cross? Why have our full backs become our main attacking threat? Why are we insisting on playing the ball to the centre backs from goal kicks? We are not technically good enough to play a ball retention/patience style of football.

 

I want us to get back to what we are good at. A solid back four with two sitting in front and making it hard to break down. I want to see Doran and Watkins hugging the touchline offering width and for Vincent to get forward and run beyond Mckay. Lets get men behind the ball when defending, lets get forward in numbers when the opportunity comes to counter.

 

My worry is that Hughes is changing the whole dynamics of the team. His tactics are not necessarily wrong and I hope that they will work but I have strong strong strong reservations i'm afraid to say.

Perhaps many of us have expectations on a massive scale.

 

How about a goal once every 8 hours of football?

Not long in via a shoulder-shrugging pint or two in the Horseshoe.

 

Some observations:

 

• Wyness101: 53 away fans, not 50. Tsk.
• Warren's presence would have made little or no difference - the goals we conceded were essentially down to slackness further up the park. Neither Meekings nor Devine was amongst our poorest players; for the most part both did fine. 
• There seems to be a general lack of confidence in the team when we are in possession - both Draper and Foran were guilty of a number of rushed, directionless passes and seemed unable or unwilling to try to retain the ball and create time to find more effective out balls.
• James Vincent looked slow on Sunday and looked slow again tonight. If we're going to stick to a policy of allowing teams onto us and frustrating them by playing patient possession football around the back line before counter-attacking (as seems to be Yogi's policy) then I don't see how he can be effective in this team. 
• Everyone (including me) has been talking up Ryan Christie as the great white hope; while it's probably not fair to heap so much pressure on him, his 45 minutes today convinced me that he's a truly talented player, potentially the best we've ever produced. He's willing to take on players, capable of beating them, and the weight and vision of his passing looks a clear cut above anything any of our other players have to offer. It was notable how much more positive and adventurous Tansey looked when Christie came in, when there was someone else on the park willing to take on players. Unfortunately, by that stage, Motherwell were able to soak it all up as they didn't have to push up in search of goals.

 

Overall, a disappointing but not unexpected result and performance after the team's efforts on Saturday. However, the run of 5 games without a goal, and the lack of chances created, are a worry. Fair play to Yogi and the board for tying up the majority of contracts for players who have done a fantastic job for us, but somehow we need to get back to imposing ourselves on games and creating enough opportunities to give ourselves a realistic chance of winning them.

Surely if we are in a major slump now would be the time to refresh the team with the likes of Greenhalgh, Williams , Tremarco and Christie.

These players deserve a chance when the usual suspects are under performing week in week out. Let's try and create competition for places no guarantees of a first team start

One glaring feck up Hughes has to hold his hand up to was not replacing the two front players who left mid season, to go with one recognised striker for half a season is unthinkable. Surely funds were available from Butchers compensation.

50 ICT fans at the match

Obviously a first ever cup final followed by a midweek game down at Motherwell is a totally unfair comparison, but I wonder if the respective ICT turn-outs have seen the biggest percentage disparity in consecutive crowds, anywhere, ever?!

7,800 fans, followed three-days-later by 53. That's around a 99.3% drop!

Poor result, but by most accounts, not a bad display, particularly in the second half.

I think we all need a reality check. The fixture pile-up and disappointments of successive cup defeats have taken their toll and have meant that Hughes has had to continually tinker with the set-up (not particularly successfully it must be said). It was a mistake to play the guys that played 120 min on Sunday again last night, but I understand the temptation.

Sadly, I don't expect things to get much better over the next few games because he'll have to keep tinkering to deal with the fixture pile-up. Do you go with your best XI every game despite exhaustion or rest players?

I think the best XI and formation currently:

Brill

Raven Warren Meekings Shinnie

Foran Draper

Watkins Christie Doran

Mckay

But Tremarco, Vincent, Ross, Williams will all have to be used to get us through this gruelling schedule.

Fourth is as good as it is going to get realistically, I'm afraid. Fifth is more likely.

For a team that can't buy a goal and has become so shaky in defence sixth place is not out of the question which, whatever the view of the happy clappers, I find disappointing from the position of being clear in second well into the season.

 

The one bright positive from the last two games has been the potential shown by Ryan Christie on the big stage. There has been good news on players' contracts in recent months, maybe the best news of all would be to get this young man secured on a three year deal.

James Vincent had a very poor game last night IMO.

And Richie had one of the poorest games I've seen him have (going by the usual high standard).  I really do think there are a few players who would benefit from a short break.

This is the time to use the full squad.  And well.  How Hughes uses the squad with the current fixture pile up will say a lot about his management ability to me.

 

50 ICT fans at the match

Obviously a first ever cup final followed by a midweek game down at Motherwell is a totally unfair comparison, but I wonder if the respective ICT turn-outs have seen the biggest percentage disparity in consecutive crowds, anywhere, ever?!

7,800 fans, followed three-days-later by 53. That's around a 99.3% drop!

 

 

Not to worry, the 0.7% of us that were there made the most of it and still had time for a beer or two!

Could our Motherwell match be moved to the 12th April  as its Scottish cup semi final weekend, instead of being squeezed into yet another midweek fixture on Tuesday the 1st. April

 

Neither teams are in the semis and both are in the top six.

Edited March 20, 201411 yr by 12th Man