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Had a feeling we'd get this kind of reaction the first time we suffered a hiccup. Some people seem to have slid into the mindset that Butcher and the Players are infallible. Perhaps not surprising given how well things have gone over the last 12 months, but one poor game hardly signals any impending doom. Yeah, mistakes were made, but when things have been going so well it must be hard to recognise or accept that we're in need of some changes...if indeed we are. I don't think yesterdays game was nearly as bad as some are making out and as I have said already, it looked to me like it was largely down to tired legs....or the fact that, having had more rest of late, the other team simply had a bit more in the tank than we did. Most of our squad haven't had a rest since day one, and they've been out there every week giving their all. I, for one, am not surprised if a few of them are in need of a little R'n'R. People need to take a step back and realise that the great run we were on was always going to suffer a bit of turbulence at some point. The fact we sustained it for as long as we did without a "major" upset is a miracle in itself. Let's not fall into the trap of thinking we are better than any team, or that any game should bring us guaranteed points as that would be arrogance personified. Get the frustration/disappointment out of the system by all means, but no need for knee-jerk reactions and calling for this, that or the next player to be dropped or hung out as the fall guy. As for Butcher, this is the guy who orchestrated our immediate return to the SPL, who has taken us 12+ months unbeaten on the road in any league encounter and currently has us sitting in the upper half of the premier league, well ahead of teams with bigger budgets and larger resources....I think we can forgive him the odd mistake.

Its so easy when you are an armchair manager :twothumbsup: :twothumbsup:

Pass marks to Esson and the youngsters Shinnie, Ross and Sutherland. Particular criticism to Foran who did very little and seemed to provide no leadership at all. The quickest he moved all afternoon was when he was taken off. Criticism to Butcher as well. The team played far too deep and the the substitions were too little too late. A top 6 finish seems unlikely on this showing. We have got to start winning this type of match.

Lots of unhappiness on the boards after yesterday's result, and the main complaint appears to be that we had very little creativity going forward. I was struck by this comment from ajsict92, a poster who always speaks a lot of sense IMO: I wonder what people's opinions are on whether Sanchez could perform this role? He took a lot of criticism last season for missing easy chances, but I was always struck by his ability to put his foot on the ball and make passes that our other players couldn't seem to see. Eric at times has looked dangerous breaking from midfield, but seems to be more effective when running on to loose balls, whereas Sanchez, to me at least, looks more composed doing something with the ball from a more or less stationary position. He made a big difference to the game when he came on at Easter Road this season yet since then has barely featured, even from the bench. Should he get his chance from the start against Killie?

I don't for a minute believe that any of them were tired, that's what they do for a living. I think what Butcher has achieved here is fantastic. But that does not get away from the fact that this was avoidable and nothing was done about it. Of course fans are going to be scunnered by it. Twnety minutes to go, we are searching for a breakthrough and we persevere with the same drivel that being dished out earlier. No subs until too late, chance lost if you ask me. That is where the tactics should have won us this game, but we let it drift away. Frustrating really, not knee jerk, just so avoidable.

Yes, I agree, the manager should shoulder some blame when things go wrong, or the game plan doesnt work, and TB must take his fair share of that for yesterday, but last week's saint seems to be this week's sinner and the truth of the matter is that no matter how many alterations he can make or tweaks he can suggest, the one thing he cannot do is make players play well if they are having an off day .... Whilst all that is true, I would suggest you forgot the bit about how we (and the opposition) know virtually nothing of the player either having not seen him for months ...... Perhaps Butcher saw something in training that we do not hve the opportunity to see and thought he could do something in the final few moments. FFS , we are not world beaters, and we will not win every game, and we will even lose some games in an awful manner where it appeared we didnt perform very well or in some eyes even try (like yesterday) ... but the one thing that gets to me more and more these days is our fans .... Last week TB/MM were saints, lauded by everyone and one shake short of a feckin knighthood, this week they are a stain on the carpet or something on the bottom of someone's shoes ...... such mood swings really should be investigated by someone with the qualificatons of IHE !!!

This isnt just a TB thing ..... its a malaise that has blighted us since the early days .... I have never had a worry when we are playing the OF or other teams we might have regarded as 'big' at the time. The motivation seems to take care of itself. Its when we are playing teams that we might just get complacent about that I worry. I have seen it happen all the way through the divisions, not just in the SPL. We get complacent, we think we just have to turn up and win and we come away with what we deserved .... usually nothing ! Seems we did it again yesterday ...... so lets get our feet on the ground again, draw a line under this small blip and get back to winning ways in midweek ......

Been told hayes will miss 3 weeks unfortunately :(

rubbish thought shane was one of our better players today

I saw this coming. Its just typical of ICT to fall flat in the games they should be taking points. Am not too worried, and to be honest...i think it will do us good, and bring the team down to earth and remind them that theres more to this league than just raising your game against the top teams. Still....all in all....the good games against OF etc mean nothing if you cant take points from the "lesser" teams

IHE will be making a rare sojourn to TCS on Wednesday evening and will be rite there in the bowels of Section G - Bring the festive merriment,singing and double voddies on.

Merry Christmas. Me, struan and owen. Again. Honestly, I'm a babysitter, and not a very good one at that!

Hmmmm. "Political maverick taken out of play by the legal system". So now he can no longer be an irritant to the complacent and affluent Scottish political elite. Funny how charges were brought just when he was being effective. Julian Assange, anybody?

One defeat and your having a pop at our star striker and now the manager !!! Get a grip mun .

With support like this I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to leave . Pathetic comment .

Heres another message for you Adam Get yer finger out, it's goals we need, not near misses.

What were our tactics then? didnt see anything that made me think we had much of a game plan. Shane tried hard but aint a wide creative player, he is best in the middle where his directness would have paid off, too many time he got the ball then turned back and gave the ball back to another player. Team formation / choice was wrong -well wrong.

Woeful, pathetic and inept. Was Brewster back in the dug out? For ICT to perform like that against St Mirren is shocking. Couldn't pass, couldn't tackle and couldn't shoot. So many players were off the mark and so many seemed to be knackered. Sutherland and Cox were fecked 15-20 mins into the second half but left on the pitch. Foran seems a different player since getting the armband. More interested in shouting at his own team than actually performing on the pitch. That is a massive 3 points lost and makes the last few games feel like a waste. Four games without a win is how I shall have to look at it. Not good enough, needs sorted on Wednesday urgently!

We should just simply put a red pen through today and move on to Wed and give Killie a good doing.

Wish "we" had. "we" lost. Think you may have accidentally gone to the wrong message board.

rangers are a better team than celtic we dont need to wait until the last 2 mins to score a goal

Get a goal, switch off, drop deep and wait till the equaliser comes! In the second half we switch to a more traditional 4-4-2 which makes us look tactically much more stable and results in very few chances for St Mirren. We then run out of steam and do not make substitutions and lose an unfortunate goal. Whilst individuals had poor games, I would think that Butcher should look himself in the mirror and ask whether he should have changed the formation and made the subsitutions earlier! We seem to be incapable of taking home games by the scruff of the neck and being positive in an attacking sense.

Cringe .

Kiss ma swingers. If i've ever read a pointles thread, this is it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e78a0kLIUy4 enjoy