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I'm speaking as somebody who was muttering on the way out of Easter Road (for the first time ever) about not coming back. However: The only point where I can agree with Laurence is the punting. I think TB sometimes gives opponents too much respect and doesn't allow ICT to play football. This is backed up anecdotally by players' dads etc when you meet them at the games. As for the rest, Laurence I think you have posted some bizarre stuff since you came to live amongst us. Your attitude seems to be that you are doing us a favour. You admit that you had never seen a Scottish match in your life so your criticisms of ICT are strange as you cannot compare it with anything else in Scotland. As said before ICT is really a div 1 club and punches above its weight. Let me admit, as someone in my mid fifties, that Scottish football is going down the swanny. Older people always say this, my teachers used to say it back in the seventies, but it's true. It's true because of globalisation. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In the seventies a Scottish club could give an English club a decent game and they always sent their strongest squads up to play us. Same goes for the national team. We actually had a winning record against England in internationals till quite recently. When I was at school people who came in with Old Firm scarves on got stick. Then in the 80s you got the odd Liverpool scarf. Now you ask people who they support and they say Barca or ManU. Only today I was asked in the classroom 'who do you think will win tonight?' I thought they meant ICT but they meant Chelsea v ManU. In the long run globalisation is death on a stick for wee nations like ours. At least in England the wealth trickles down. In Scotland it used to trickle down from the Old Filth. In 1968 Rangers paid Hibs a record £100 000 for Colin Stein. Now they buy foreigners. Carlisle United have far greater resources than most SPL clubs. Was it Crawley who were paying £150 000 for a player recently? ICT's record signing is about £65 000 and the players get about £1k per week. Fleetwood Town are now playing Keigan Parker and they're only in the Conference. If you think we're bad, try watching that lot over the bridge. Thank Christ there's more to living in Scotland than just football, which presumably, Laurence, is why you relocated to Boat of Garten.

Why can't posters give red dots to ignored users? Oh well unignore red dot ignore

One thing not being mentioned by anyone here is the opposition. The OP bases his judgement on Boxing day match against St Mirren. A team who stifle play, a team who play the game on the very edge of the rules. Many teams go out with a game plan only to have it destroyed by the way the opposition play. It costs me in excess of a hundred quid each time I go to watch ICT and, regardless of having seen some bad games, regardless of getting beat at times, I have absolutely no regrets about the spend, nor the time spent. We win games, we lose games, we play brilliant, we play crap, we have big crowds, we have little crowds, we find star quality, we find pub team quality. Guess what?? We are no different to any other team in the league. wanderer I don't see us as having a lop-sided squad. Had every player been available I think we'd have a very balanced squad. Trouble is that for too long this season we've suffered with injury and ilness and had to start too many games with players not suited to the role being asked of them. having said that we are still in sixth and we have a good chance of remaining there.

As long as Odhiambo doesn't get a start - he was truly shocking on Saturday. good news that Gillet is nearly fit - really rated him

Wow Scarlet - there must be some feckin poor reception in the Rockies - You have picked on the three best performers from a debacle - In the POY ratings I went Esson (5); Rooney (3) and Foran (1). Hogg will come good but it was a loss of concentration with the attempted pass to Duff - plus the ball sat up just rite for the wee Hibby - no way that Esson could have seen that coming. But when the feck did Eric Djebi Zadi tackle - I missed them both.

Just what we need - more negativity. So they're heroes when we're winning in the first division, but you're criticising them although we're secure in the first season back in the SPL? We lost to the Scottish Cup holders tonight.

Duncan was sorely mised tonight. A poor performance all round - made worse by a totally inept referee and a stand-side linesman who never seemed to understand why he was there.

Can't argue with the result as United were the better team but I was sure Goodwille pushed Innes over in the build up to there first goal. Things might have turned out differently had Foran coverted Hayes brilliant cross early on but their keeper made a great save and that was pretty much Hayes contribution for the evening. Can't believe the amount of aimless hoofing coming from the feet of Munro & Tokely it was actually embarrassing at times and it just invites more pressure as we gift possession to the opposition. Thought Esson & Cox were OK but Duff was truly p**h. Why Duncan gets dropped at his expense is another Butcher mystery On a lighter note it was nice to hear 'the voice of the Mysterons' has a new gig on the PA at ICT

We have blown our best chance so far for a top 6 place and we have no one to blame but ourselves. We got bowled over like a band of skittles tonight by some of the most inept displays of football i've seen from us in years. Sure, we started well and almost sneaked ahead but slowly but surely we let United back into the game and were punished for doing so. Everytime we got into a good position we either screwed up with a combination of things. We either gave it away, played it out or fell over. We lacked any first touch and shooting chances turned into wasted crosses. Quite frankly i'm glad we won't be finishing in the top 6 as it is clear we're losing our bottle. I understand that we were patched together again in terms of a team but tonight we were meant to have enough craft to carve out a result. Simply didn't happen.

"A poorly executed throw in that went out for a goal kick" I find that unlikely. The radio presenter must have made a mistake.

I've said this before and i'm going to say it again, non season ticket holders who can prove they were at the Elgin and Morton games in the previous rounds should be added to these so called priority groups Poor show by the club Well said Seoras, i'm seriously thinking of boycotting this game in protest, don't get me wrong there will be some genuine fans but they will be in the minority unfortunately dougal Tickets available to usual priority groups As Here People who can produce a ticket from the Morton game are included in the priority groups for this game. Tickets could not have gone on sale any earlier as agreement on price was only confirmed with both clubs last Friday, so today was the first day tickets could be sold. Ticket office open late every night this week and until 8pm on Thursday to give all 'Priority Groups' as much of a chance of possible to get their hands on tickets. Tickets will also be available online from Friday but no new registrations will be allowed to purchase tickets to try to restrict the 'away' fans buying tickets for the home end. Sadly if the ICT fans don't take up the tickets on offer, there will be a fair chance that the remaining tickets could well fall into the hands of away fans - I can assure you that the staff at the stadium will do all they can to avoid that happening, but it's impossible to prevent. Boycotting the game would therefore only increase the chances of away support gaining entry at your expense - seems a bit ironic. Most ICT fans would usually fall into one of the priority groups (or at least know someone who doees) and will therefore be entitled to buy tickets during the priority period, due to the late decision on pricing the priority period could not be as long as normal. Dougal - feel free to apologise for your misleading comments

*** a stupid question *** Oh dear - How do you answer this sort of attack? I just gave you my view of things as they are. How many teams in non league football in Sctland , do not take better throw ins than Inverness The standard of coaching is terrible from where I sit . The team is playing primitive crap. The big boot over the top, for the counter, is primitive when you do it all the time. It is all right supporting a team you have followed all your life. I have no complaint with that. I came to live here in my late 60s. I just dont like what I see. The point I make is, and you wont like it. Is it dosn't matter how big the top division in Scotland is. Inverness have a lot of work to do, to justify being in it. In fairness to Inverness there a 4 or 5 other teams in this division also needing to improve, if this league is to get any where near the standard of the championship or even league one south of the border . Take Carlisle for instanse a much better side than most in the SPL. People have talked about the under 21 Scottish side. The same side who lost to Iceland if my memory serves me right. Name me one team in Iceland, Inverness wouldn't fancy their chances to beat. ? Anyway I have had my say, rightly or wrongly. I have answered the call of the 90 day email reminder to take part. I will be back in another 90 days. bye.

IMO tomorrow night is the most important game ICT have played this season Anything less than three points tomorrow will virtually end our dream of a top six position, our form has been pretty poor since November and looking at the league table now isn't particulary pleasant viewing Think us the home fans have an important role to play tomorrow night by turning out in numbers and getting right behind the team from the off, i'm ditching my usual seat in the main stand and i'm going to purchase a seat in the north to help the young uns with the singing dougal

From where I was sitting,Rooney was our best outfield player by some distance. We had maybe five or six chances of any note in the whole game - four of them were largely down to Rooney's ability to read where the ball was going even if, on this occasion, his finishes were below his usual standard. He also did his best to hold up the ball and look for support, which was largely non-existent. The service he received on Saturday was absolutely diabolical - he can't be in three places at once, but did at least tend to be in the correct areas of the pitch looking for the ball, unlike the majority of his team-mates (Foran, perhaps, excepted).

That was the worstwell it made the top ten - trip I have ever been on. It was like wtaching two teams playing each other after the split knowing that they were safe from relegation. In my book that simply is'nt good enuff. There was a lack of committment from some individuals and I am afraid that - tactically - Terry and Mo got it all wrong. Have also to remark that it was the best Hibee Home support that I have witnessed in years and unfortunately we were like a home support for the majority of the time. I suppose it may have been becos of trepidation following our last visit but I was actually shocked by the mass exodus when they scored the late second. It was HIGHLY EMBARRAASING. ESSON If Ryan doesnt get a Scotland call off - even if it is a one -off sign of recognition - then Craig Levein should give us a clear decision rationale. In my book he was the only player who "performed" and therefore - once again - my MOM. DUFF I have always liked him as a right back but that isnt his preferred and looking more like not his best position. He is solid enuff but he lost his usual composure and trying to pass the ball out of defence and simply hoofed it most of the time - or was that tactical?? He was also lost playing against Riordan who played deeper and had far, far, far too much time on the ball. HOGG Coming back to a club where you have enjoyed life for years is always going to be difficult. He did well enuff but the lack of concentration which led to the first goal is not the ilk of an experienced and seasoned campaigner. ROSSCOE Determination, effort and committment are integral qualities of Mr Tokely but playing as a central defender isnt. Yes he did OK but he gets out of position too often. He makes up for his defects with his passion and tackling but he needs to go back to his favoured position. You could ahve said that he should have equalised but it was a full back in a shooting position and that can go horribly wrong. GRANTY I suppose that Terry had no choice but he simply isnt a left back and it will be interesting to see what will happen when Shinnie and Gillet return - as both are preferences. It will also be intersting to see if Terry has the "balls" to play Granty and Hogg together - as he should do - and what he then does with Rosscoe and Duff. DORAN He has displayed promise and potential but what was on show at Easter Road was his lack of experience and naievity. He simply did not suus Riordan or the wee boy at left back who scored the first goal. He looked "lost" at times. He evidently does not come up to a Johnny Hayes replacement as he wasnt played to stick wide and he wasnt prioritised to be given the ball - I would have liked to have seen him in the Hayes role. DUNCAN A la Rosscoe - sure he works his butt off and is a leg end but these are the kind of games where Russell becomes anonymous. He plays in the hole when all Hibee threats are out wide. He cant play a pass out - unless he is feeding Hayes - and he just watches the hoofs going over his head. COX Like Russell in many ways but I think that he is a better player to be in the "hole" role. Simple passes he can do well but intricate passes he cant. ERIC DJEBI-ZADI That is his name to me as he has similar skill and appears to do little wrong in the eye of Mr Butcher - I would prefer to play with 10 men. That may sound harsh but he is being carried. FORAN I thought that he palyed really well - freer after Eric went off - if only we could provide him with better service. ROONEY As per Foran - I feel that he gets better game by game although by his standards he should have got a brace - dont know who looked the more perplexed when he was hooked - Adam or me ?? ROSS Where exactly did he play when he came on ? It is time to let we Nick have a run as the creative central midfielder. Will wait to watch the highlights but did Nick miss the runner for the first goal or was it Doran. So Tel got the tactics all wrong yesterday and the icing on the cake was to replace Rooney with Sutherland with 2-3 minutes left - especially when we had a free kick in a very promising position. I see in the papers that Terry said that he picked up 14 "strangers" on the A9 and would be chucking them off on the way back. Personally I would have fecked them all off at half time with a rite rollicking and sent back 11 good men in their proper positions and with an apparent will to play football and win. Post match I was asked will we still make the top 6 and have we lost our way - My response was that we will be in the top 6 and we wont be going back to Easter Road this season and the second response was a subtle play on words - " we have simply lost our Hayes !!" HOGG

Hibs were the better team and growing in confidence. They have some very "possession-driven" players who are very good at keeping and distributing the ball. Frankly,overall, Caley were second to the ball throughout the match and simply did not put as much effort into the whoLe thing as the Hibs team DID who clearly wanted ppossession and a win more. Some of our passing was woeful, intercepted by Hibs players time after time. It's not about the players getting tired because that affects both sets of players . Where was Adam Roooney today--nothing but a ghost? ! And the second Hibs goal caught Esson off his line and ,,,sure,,,it was unexpected but these guys are industrious and dangersous and I see them continuing to climb up the table on this display.We simply did nokt match them in aggression and effort. And let me just add that this was not a dirty match at all. But it was about industry, wanting to win and controlling the ball. Hitting on the break is fine for an experienced team with a very strong defence but is unlikely to win matches by itself. Terry, IMHO, should have made more changes earlier in the match and just gone for attack. Foran was not effective and ICT left it all too late. After MacDonald came on he tried hard but had little support and there was no cohesion up front By that time the team had faded and Doran must have been getting really tired because at least two succesive corners went past the goal and out over the line -a complete waste.And he seesm to be the only player designated to take corners because I see him running from one side of the park to the other to do this. Is that good? Not much else to say. Hibs

Is there a barber's around here where I can get my beard trimmed? Karl Marx. But apart from that, I simply see the 10 team league as being to the benefit only of the Old Firm and maybe one or two other clubs for whom relegation is permanently highly unlikely and to the detriment of the leading clubs outwith that tiny and exclusive group (as well, of course, as that of the fans.) Clubs which are now unable to remain permanently inside the top 10 as opposed to the top 12 previously will be consigned to oblivion -financial and otherwise - and there is no way the SPL can come up with any bribe payment big enough to make that danger financially attractive. Here in Inverness, the devastating consequences of dropping to 1st Division football from the SPL have already been felt and there, but for the grace of God, a rousing finish to last season and Dundee bottling it, still would go Caley Thistle.

What evidence can you provide to disprove this statement by Ayr United chairman Lachlan Cameron: ?In the grand scheme of things, the money doesn?t flow down properly. There are two teams who run Scottish football, Rangers and Celtic, and everything revolves around them. That is not a league; that is a monopoly. We are the laughing stock of European football.?

The problem is if we don't pull our socks up it doesn't matter if it is a two team SPL. Which it virtually is, or a 20 team SPL. We will always be struggling. The games I have seen this season, I think we are pathetic. My daughter came with me on Boxing day. Her reaction was " a waste of twenty quid" . As she is a student the waste of £20 hurt. We can' retain the ball, we can't pass to feet. We can't take corners, We can't take throw ins for love nor money. Our free kick taking is as bad as it gets. Our midfield is none existent, so we have to boot the ball over their heads. In short in footballing terms it is primitive crap. What are the coaches doing all week in training, I see better throw in takers in the park on Sunday mornings. I was sent an email by this forum, to say , why have you not visited us, now you know why. The supporters, are the worst I have ever seen. They are the quietest I have ever seen, unless they are berating the referee or telling the opposition manager to get back in his box, they seem incapable of understanding what is going on. Every time the ref blows in favour of the opps. They shout cheat or similar at the ref. The team in defence stand off all the time ( closing down, seems anathema to them ) The ops attack can take pop shots all game long, with no challenge. No wonder the team like it better away from home. Of course I am new to the area, I gave ITC a chance, I now wonder why? So Mr Doncaster do what you want, but from where I am standing you are peeing up brew as they say in my native Lancashire.

Irony overload, coming from the one covered from head to toe in Cellic Tatoos dougal

So where does the "we" come from ? And it is ICT not ITC Lawrence. Were you at Tannadice ? Were you at Ibrox ? Were you at Parkhead ? Were you at Rugby Park ? No - we were. What fecker asked you to visit ? Must have been a whining, disloyal sweetie rustler - go and watch the Old firm if ya want to glory hunt in Scotland.

we will do well to finish 10th. top six what a joke

Look I can only tell you my perception of the team I put my faith in. Pick me up on grammar, on spelling mistakes huff and puff, My reception is based on many years of watching professional football. Your reaction to my post only shows either you don't understand it, or you don't want to understand it. You quote exceptional performances away from home. Good performances I am sure. But a team is judged on what it dishes up for it's home fans. I bought my season ticket , and other contributions, but I don't think I will next season

I'm bitterly dissapointed not because of the result as United were the better team but it was the way we lost, I lost count how many hoof up the parks were played tonight by Tokely and Munro There was very little football played on the deck, there was no passion and to be honest very little if any entertainment Our home performances have been nothing short of an embarrassment this season and I now really have doubts about our management duo and the tactics they seem to be deploying I am in no way calling for their heads(not yet anyway) in this thread but I believe its about time they tried something new tactic wise because if they don't they are going to see dramatic reductions in attendance at the Caledonian Stadium for the remainder of the season I shudder to think where we would be if we hadn't had such a good start and picked up all the points we got on the road C'mon Terry & Mo i'm afraid what we are having to endure from November time isn't good enough dougal