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In a surprise attack yesterday, special forces commanded by military chief Sir Terence Butcher were finally successful in their mission to assassinate Grant Munro and Russell Duncan. It is thought that Munro and Duncan had been hiding out in a remote and mountainous part of Scotland for the last 10 years. Much of that time was thought to have been spent at a training camp east of Inverness, where the football fundamentalists attempted to radicalise other recruits into believing passionately in their cause. In addition to reading sacred texts from the Kerrang, the pair were known to pray 4 times a day in the direction of Mosstodloch in honour of their mastermind, known simply as “Pele”. Pele is understood to be the spiritual leader of the group of known as Al Qaholica, for whom the Highland region has long been a fertile recruiting ground. In a bizarre ritual, sympathisers and followers are understood to congregate regularly in known meeting spots, chanting “Qhali” repeatedly after consuming vast quantities of intoxicating liquor. Another of Pele’s henchmen, known as Ross Tokely, is understood to have escaped. “I’ve been after Tokely for years” sighed a disappointed Butcher. “We located him and sent in the helicopters to take him down, but he swatted them away like flies. I then implemented plan B, which was to call in air strikes. At first we thought they were having an effect, but then it became apparent that Tokely’s reaction was simply laughter because the missiles were a bit tickly. He’s got away for now, but believe me, I’ll be doing everything I can to get him as soon as I can, and the same goes for any other Pele sympathisers I come across. Roy? Golly? Nobody is a better manager than me, is that clear?” Butcher himself had a long and distinguished military career, seeing active service in warzones such as Govan. He notably received a commendation for bravery after losing all his limbs in the midst of a battle but insisting that a simple bandage would enable him to carry on. Commenting further on yesterday’s successful operation, Butcher added “This mission to get Munro and Duncan was a long time in the making, and Tulloch Caledonian Stadium will be a better place without them. Munro thought he was getting a new contract but it was a simple misunderstanding after I said was I was taking out a contract on him. He was the one I really wanted because he was leader of this cell and I’ve tried to take him down before, but Duncan had been protecting him for years, thwarting numerous attacks. I’d also seen horrific videos on the web of these guys in action. Some of the ones featuring Duncan portray absolutely shocking scenes of heading.” Another detail of the operation to emerge is that the initial plan was for it to be carried out by a crack Israeli unit. “But sadly, he got injured.....again“ said Butcher. “In fact even when he’s not injured, he’s actually pretty ineffective, but we’ll see, I might give him another few years just cos I hired him and he’s not one of Pele’s followers.” The whereabouts of the remains of Munro and Duncan was the subject of much speculation, but Butcher confirms that they were taken out into the Moray Firth at night and pushed out of the back of a dolphin cruise boat, in accordance with strict local custom. But this hasn’t stopped conspiracy theorists speculating that the two will somehow “come back to haunt” Butcher. When asked if his next mission would be to tackle a group of Irish Republicans believed to be a potent attacking threat operating in the Inverness area, Butcher quickly gets up to leave the press conference and makes for the door with fear evident in his eyes. “’Kinell, I ain’t messing with the likes of Ritchie Foran! Fundamendalists, no bother. Mentalists like that, no chance!”

Having initially reeled from the shock of this I decided to try to see things from TB's perspective. I opened a bottle of wine and have gone through a couple of cycles of glass full, glass half full, glass half empty, glass empty and am now at the the glass and bladder full stage. Much as I am sad to see the likes of Munro and Duncan go, I accept that there is probablty a brutal logic in this. The aim of the club must be not just to stay in the SPL but to move us on to the top 6. This needs to be done on a static budget. So what are the options? Status Quo? No chance. Some players in that scenario will not progress and we simply cannot afford players on fairly significant contracts if they do not have what it takes to step up to the next level. That applies both to legends like Munro and Duncan and younger players like Blumenstein and Odihambo who have been given a chance and who have not made the grade. There are others who have made the grade or who the manager feels have the potential to step up. Of those who are staying are a number of youngsters with real potential. Not just Ross and Sutherland but Cox and Rooney as well who we sometimes forget are still very young. Some of the emerging talent such as Shinnie and Morrison will presumably not be costing the club a lot but are keen to stay because they see the club as a great place to develop and to showcase their talent. When they move on they should be able to maximise their earnings. This leaves a small number of quality players who the manager is keen to keep and who the club can afford to offer better contracts to in order to encourage them to stay. This still leaves a gap - a big gap, but I think Butcher sees this being sorted by short term contracts and loan deals. He has stated before that the club is attractive to players who have undoubted talent but are not quite realising their potential elsewhere. He feels some players see Inverness as a good location for rejuvinating careers and players will come on short term contracts to gain confidence and put themselves in the shop window. Better still are loan deals where clubs want to have players getting regular competetive football to help develop them. In this way we can, on a short term basis, get the services of players we could not otherwise afford to sign. By making the statement before the end of the season, Butcher is giving players released the best chance of attracting attention from elsewhere but I don't think he and the club are doing that just to be decent. I doubt that they would be letting these players go if they were not pretty confident of getting decent players in on loan or short term deals. There may also be one or two more significant signings in the bag. So a mix of a small number of proven players on good contracts, emerging youngsters and players brought in on short term deals/loans seems to the way forward and will be the pattern for the future. With very limited resources, this may be the only sensible option. I doubt anyone at the club has taken any pleasure from the hard decisions taken but they could well be the correct decisions. Yes, I'm sure we all have views on who we would have kept and who we would have let go but we have to back the manager on his decisions here . The proof of the pudding will be in what emerges at the start of next season and the time to judge him will be this time next year. It is certainly the start of a new era and should be interesting!

An honest and frank interview given by Butcher who seemed genuinely sorry that he was letting these guys go, but gave no apology because he feels it's what's needed to move the club forward. Doesn't make it any easier to swallow, especially for fans who have become used to a setup that has always had a backbone of players who we knew were honest, hard working and dedicated to the club. That aside, I think it says a lot about the fans opinions of Butcher that despite all the shock, anger and confusion we seem willing to hold off on the calls for his head and give him fair opportunity to show us what the plan is.....only one other ICT Manager who would ever have got away with the same thing, IMO. No doubt that this is the start of a new era for ICT, it had to happen some day and I guess this is that day. You'll not find me celebrating the departure of some of these guys, but I also see little point in fighting it. Time to embrace the future and hope (and man am I hoping) that Butcher has got it right.

Interesting times. I guess part of me is as amazed as most other posters. Roy, Russell, Grant and Stuart have all made a massive contribution to Caley Thistle in the last decade. On that point, I think, we are all agreed. Playing time must be nearly up for both Roy and Golly but Munro and Duncan both have a few years left and clubs will be interested in them. It's very easy for fans to get a bit sentimental about players who have been around for a long time. As ICT fans we have been used to previous managers tinkering with the squad each summer - two or three out and in. Terry's approach seems to be different and that doesn't mean it's wrong. The manager has got to be asking himself how he can improve Caley Thistle. How can he take them to the next level. If he's not doing that then he shouldn't be in the job. All of these players have never been able to get ICT to the top six. With each passing year they will be less likely to contribute in a manner that will move ICT forward. No doubt there will be others moving out too and everybody about to go out of contract will be feeling very nervous right now. It looks like we could have a good few unfamiliar faces in place come the start of 2011-12 and the challenge for Butcher is twofold. First of all he need to be find players who are better than the ones he has disposed of. Secondly, he needs to ensure his new squad gels together quickly enough to make a reasonable start to the new season. The SPL can be a very unforgiving place for a club making a slow start.

I thought we could update this topic as things develop over the summer? I've looked up old BBC reports so I'm confident the contract info is completely up to date The current up-to-date situation for next season. UNDER CONTRACT Goalkeepers Ryan Esson - till summer 2012 Jonny Tuffey - till summer 2012 Defenders David Proctor - till summer 2012 Graeme Shinnie - till summer 2013 Midfielders Lee Cox - till summer 2012 Jonny Hayes - till summer 2012 Nick Ross - till summer 2013 Forwards Richie Foran - till summer 2012 OFFERED NEW DEALS Kenny Gillet - one year Ross Tokely - one year Stuart Duff - one year Gavin Morrison - two years Adam Rooney - one year Shane Sutherland - two years FUTURE UNCLEAR Aaron Doran - loan deal from Blackburn expires at end of season Alex MacDonald - loan deal from Burnley expires at end of season RELEASED Max Johnson Stuart Golabek Chris Hogg Chris Innes Grant Munro Russell Duncan Roy McBain Gil Blumenshtein Eric Odhiambo Danni Sanchez

Max of 4 loans from other Scottish teams....you can take in as many as you like from other associations with no age limit.

Just read the Inverness Courier online. It says 9 players will not be offfered new contracts.... Eric Odhiambo, Dani Sanchez, Chris Hogg, Gil Blumenshtein and Max Johnson today joined Grant Munro, Russell Duncan, Stuart Golabek and Roy McBain in being told they would not be kept on It also mentions......Adam Rooney, Stuart Duff, Kenny Gillet, Gavin Morrison and Shane Sutherland have received new contract offers, while Ross Tokely triggered a clause in his contract that will keep him at the club for at least another year CLICKY LINK

A club of our size can't really afford to throw out 3-4 year deals here, there and everywhere because there is no certainty that the money will be there in 3 years time. The club are being cautious with their money and quite frankly i support that. One thing they can be credited with is not plundering us into administration through overspending. So if 2 year deals is the best we can offer then thats just the way it is.

Something that still puzzles me, nobody asked these sorts of players to be on 3-4 year deals, 2 years each would have been the norm,then reassess if they are good enough then, even as backup players they would do. A shift, it's more the fact that we never offered players like Hayes and Rooney 3-4 year deals earlier, even now Hayes has just over a year left.... Get him tied down! No player from down south will ever relocate there family here it's far too big a risk, if we give them a 2 year deal, they have to risk either moving their family again or hope county will take them at the end of that deal.

Butchers Armies?

If you consider form over the last 5 or so months, we are clearly one of the very bottom teams in the SPL. So a relegation battle is very much on the cards for next season unless we: A - bring in better players than the ones we've got, OR B - get a better manager than the one we've got. Whilst Butcher has made mistakes, very few people would suggest he should be sacked. Which, unfortunately, leaves major changes to the playing squad as the only realistic option if we want to improve.

The only thing I don't like is the bit about not offering contracts for longer than two years. If players that are brought in do what we want them to do, we'll lose them for nothing, and if they don't, then we can offer them another two year contract, or lose them for nothing. I am sure the decision folk at the club think through all the possibilities, but where is the harm in offering 4 year performance related contracts, with a relegation wage cut? Anyhoo, good luck to those that are moving on but, as someone else said, if we want to move on and grow as a club, the manager has to free up wages for those that will improve us, and bomb out those that, he believes will not. For what it's worth, I think he's 100% correct in regards to Munro and Duncan. Love them both, but the aim of the game is to score goals, protect your own goal, and retain possession. Munro reached a certain level, and stayed there, but it never has been what it could be. I think that whilst Duncan and Munro put in 100% effort and 100% commitment, the technical aspect is a major factor that is regularly overlooked. In saying that, I think Tokely may get to stay.

Every manager of any team has a right to pick his own players and, on the flipside, get rid of those that need to go. It's the same at every club, and TB oviously rates Cox higher than Duncan and must feel that Gillet & Shinnie are adequate in Granty's position. it's just a harsh reality. You can't say that decisions are "too decisive" or can you attach arbitary timeframes to them. Duncan has been in and out of the team all this year, which indicates a decision making process and Grant has aso missed a few games. That both players have been at the club for as long as they have also indicates loyalty - but you can't simply keep people you don't need on the wagebill because of sentiment. Look at the progress that Sutherland, Ross & Shinnie have made and the whole argument about not progressing through the ranks becomes tosh. I realise that people feel emotionally raw on this issue right now, but some of the arguments put forward for keeping them have been a bit flawed. I personally look forward to an new model ICT next year.

Congratulations and Commiserations..............steak bridie time

Good grief, that was ninety minutes of my life I'll never have back. It was a woeful game which Aberdeen won by being slightly less abysmal than us. With the sunshine, the sparse support, the lack of atmosphere and the apathy on the pitch that could easily have been mistaken for a pre season match. We only really managed two clear cut chances - Rooney had a smashing effort wide from an acute angle early in the second period, then Sutherland drew a fantastic save from Langfield later on. But Aberdeen spurned numerous opportunities, particularly a glaring one-on-one miss by Michael Paton. As far as I could tell, blame for the goal rested mostly on Rossco's shoulders - he got far too tight to Pawlett who turned him easily and beat Esson. Tactically we were very poor - MacDonald didn't seem to know if he was playing in a 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1-1; Ross and Cox were overrun in central midfield, especially as Maguire came deeper in the second half. That game was tailor-made for Russell Duncan - who came to the away fans at the end and handed his soggy shirt to my mum, which was a nice gesture. Worth noting that Odhiambo made us look a lot more dangerous when he came on - I wouldn't be surprised if he starts against Celtic.

Having publicly accused the coaches of incompetence and arrogance, is that all you've got to say?

Born Caley, the Inverness Ct page is run on bs text it seems randomly received n posted to get the scoop, I wouldn't bother to much with that.

cairngorm you seem to be very bitter for someone who's not affected by this. Perhaps you should stop and engage your brain before rambling on. First thing is the youth set up at ICT is run as its own entity and is funded by donation and Flybe sponsorship. It is not funded by the club, as such, and would not be affected by any cancelled game as you seem to imply. Second point is the ferry. It is extremely difficult to find space at very short notice for a coach and its passengers. I'd go so far as to say it would be unlikely that space was available on any of the ferries.

You need a faster grapevine....Butcher confirmed that's exactly what would be happening in his press interviews last week!!!

A change is as good as a rest, good luck to who ever we let go. I trust TB.