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totally agree with maryhill on this one. football is a fickle industry that revolves around success and when success is not forthcoming then i feel supporters are far to quick to get onto the sack the manager bang wagon. Look at the issue with arsenal, wenger has been a brilliant manager for them but people are starting to call for a change absurd. In this situation Butcher has been here some 2 to 3 years and has been successful in everything he has done here. The relegation wasnt his fault and he almost kept us up so this is the first period where Butcher is under a bit of pressure and i think he should be allowed to sort it out and that sacking him is going to make things worse. I wasnt there tonight but from the games i have attended i feel our forward play has been quite good but as been stated we havent finished anything off because we have no natural goalscorer so get a loan in and then i can see us scoring for fun as we are creating, luck has deserted us and the injuries is just awful but that is football. We will get better and i do feel our team are better than some in the SPL so i feel we just need to rid this out but please lets not over react by calling for terry's head so early especially when everyone some 12 months ago had not a bad word to say about him

Looks to me as if the Bank is subsidising the Football Club here to the tune of a ?30 million overdraft!!!

All this doom and gloom reminds me of what was being said here early in the season a couple of years ago. Remind me how many points we won the league by that season!

Will follow my boys through everything. No matter where we end up. Love you loads caley. CALEY TIL I DIE

What?

From the inside or the outside? They'll be worried if it's from the outside. If they can't unlock the Ayr defence then they've got f*** all chance of unlocking a dressing room door !

Is butcher untouchable? If we go down this season will he be here next year?

Not a subscriber to the "too early to panic/talk about relegation" merchants. We are nothing short of absolute horsesh*t and something needs done. Calling for Butchers head is stupid - I think the answer could be as simple as a tactics change. Oh and some players that aren't crocked/prone to being crocked and are actually footballers please.

Cant wait to hear the sh1t excuses tomorrow. Who you going to blame Terry? oh and no feckin wine for you tonight. Be lucky if 3000 turn up on saturday.

I honestly couldn't care what County do to be honest. I wouldn't neccessarily support them but I wouldn't cheer on another team simply because they were playing RC. Indeed I was deligthed when they beat Celtic in that Semi Final game the other year. I hope we get a Derby in the SPL personally. That said Derek Adams is a bit of a welt.

I don't blame the lad, whisked up here then ignored; I smell a rat.

That could well be Tel boys dilemna - but the way I look at it we play 5 in midfield with Foran playing on the left side of a midfield three where he was most effective and playing Hayes and Doran consistently wide (and their replacements) - then again the problem with playing this system is that we have to look to playing the ball on the deck but that would lessen the responsibility for Shane - who still could be a fairly effective hold up player but he is also a penalty box player and more service from the wings may pay dividend plus the forward runs of Tansey and Foran - with Morrison in the defensive holding role. Shane is raw and makes mistakes but he has far,far more potential than Tade in the centre forward role and Foran is quite simply a loss in the middle where he can influence the game and be more effective as a captain. Tade can then be used as super sub but he needs 20-30 minutes not a last gasp addition. And the only way that Shane can progress is being played and given a run in the team.

Reflections, then the What and on to Relax.

Dear Laurence, I'm very disappointed to hear that you won't be attending games or visiting this site again. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that the Caley Stadium will feel somewhat empty without you there and this forum won't be half as interesting without your fantastic and intelligent input. Hopefully one day we'll all be able to move on from this terrible news and eventually find a reason to live again. I don't know about you, but in my and many others opinion, supporting a football team is about getting behind them rain or shine, winning or losing, no matter how big or how small. Some may say that Celtic have the best fans in the world - but they are wrong. The best fans in the world are the ones who support their local team, and get behind them no matter what their size or circumstance. ICT have had a great journey to get to where they are now, and that journey will continue on - this season and beyond. It's just a shame that you won't be able to join us. I'm going to have to stop now, as I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Goodnight and God Bless Renegade

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.

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.

Calls for terry's head after tonights game??? Get a F---in grip people!!!

The fact of the matter is, no he isn't and nor should he be, though he seems to be in some people's eyes. Getting rid of Duncan was daft and getting rid of Munro was particularly stupid and the team is not as good without them. While I am not calling for his head, perhaps with this result and this start to the season, he should ask himself whether he has taken this club as far as he can. Kind of reminds me of the old Bela Guttman adage - "The third season is the killer". Perhaps that rings true in this case too.