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Guys like Munro, Duncan, Tokely, Wilson etc etc etc were never going to last forever. ICT were pretty unique in the manner that they managed to hold a core team together for so long and it was always going to come to an end one day. Partly because these guys get to a stage where they are past their best and partly due to changes in football in general where more and more players seem content to go warm the bench at clubs in return for a bigger wage instead of getting out there and plying their trade. Whether it was Butcher or some other manager, someone was going to have to guide the club through that transition. Would I prefer a settled squad with 20 odd players on 2 and 3 year deals with no injury worries and the ability to push the club forward? Hell yeah. Is that a realistic expectation? Not in the slightest. I'm as cheesed off as the next person at some of the performances we've witnessed this season, I just don't see the argument that some (as yet unidentified) alternative manager and/or group of players that would be affordable and willing to come to ICT would be doing anything different....it's all just pie in the sky speculation. It might not be pretty, it might not be what we want to see right now, but the inevitable transition that we are going through could have been a whole lot worse than it has been. We might not have been fortunate enough to get a manager capable of seeing us through relegation and a bounce straight back in to the SPL, we could be sitting in Dunfermlines position, languishing at the foot of the table with little hope of improving the situation. We could still be in Div 1 contemplating part-time football just so as we could make ends meet with the finances. So yeah, it's a bit crap right now, but is Butcher really to blame? Which manager might we have had who would be doing better? Where are all these players that are capable of beating a team made up internationalists? Who's wallet would be funding all this expectation? Far from thinking everything is rosy, I just think that...under the circumstances...it could be a whole lot worse.

I was thinking along similar lines but not because I think he was as bad a Mahonio does, but because I thought he was just the normal standard of referee we see and therefore poor. I wondered therefore whether to tick the average or poor box as he was both. I wonder, Scotty, if "average" in the poll could be changed to something nuetral such as "Acceptable" or "OK"? Given that most of the refereeing we see is of such a poor standard "average" in this context actually means poor.

williams so far has been solid. against rangers we played 2 very young full backs and were punished for it the full backs were beaten easily leaving the centre backs no cover from the wings allowing rangers to put balls in our box at will. imo it wasnt the centre backs fault we conceded 4 it was the full backs there was no one cutting the supply. on the golobart matter. well im presuming you were either at aberdeen, or dundee utd away? because after that he got dropped for 3-4 weeks and returned to the team against st mirren and rangers and was outstanding. he marked thompson out the game against st mirren with 1 mistake from a set piece and then against rangers he marked jelavic out the game. owain from what ive seen is a quality player and when you mention duds what do you mean? duff? you mean the the centre midfeilder that played at right back all season when we had no one else and done the job fairly well? hardly dross dani sanchez was definatly a good player just coming into his own scoring goals setting them up he was very similar to andy shinnie and then he got injured and was out for the rest of the season. and is now tearing up the a-league in australia. again hardly dross. i could go through all them and make a point for all of them (except stratford) but when it comes down to it terry has made more excellent signings for us like hayes, foran, cox, and andy shinnie than he has duds hes doing a great job imo

I would also like to say something. Take your head out of the sand and see the reality of the situation. I'm all for happy clapping, but theres not much to clap about at the moment. That does not make me a worse supporter, but it does not make me a happy bunny either.

Some interesting thoughts on here. There may be differences about where we think we ought to be and how well we are actually doing but there does seem to some general agreement that we could and probably should be doing better. Notwithstanding the disruption to team selection that injuries have caused the level of performance does seem to be very inconsistent. But I would like to respond on a couple of points. The first is regarding some of the so called "pish" that Terry has brought in. That doesn't bother me in the slightest. The financial position of the club forces him to bring in players who are basically off the radar of others and who are hardly setting the world on fire in whichever lowly club he gets them from. Some, like Stratford or Aldred don't make the grade but some, like Jonny Hayes most definately do. Players can look promising based on what you see or hear of them in a different setting but until they arrive and become part of the set up at ICT and get used to the Scottish game you have no real idea whether they will blossom or not. I think enough of his signings have proven their worth to make the policy justified. And remember there is still a good crop of young local lads on the books who have every chance to prosper if they are good enough. The second is on the question of what it is we want from the club. Some are clearly unhappy about the quality of football on display even though we are competing well in the top league in Scottish football. Some have said previously they would rather watch a more attractive brand of football even if that meant we played at a lower level. That's maybe a valid point but not one I agree with. I want the club to win at the highest level for two reasons. Firstly because at the end of the day it is those successes that one remembers and treasures, but also because I honestly believe that on balance, regardles of the style of football played, the more successful the club is the better the quality of football is and the more enjoyable it is. I'm sorry, but if people thought we played "pish" in finishing 7th last season then they failed to appreciate an awful lot of good football. Realistically with the wages we can afford there will always be a significant element of "pish" in the mix or esle the players would be signed by Celtic and the like. Just accept that there will always be some "pish" and enjoy the good stuff that is on offer as well.

How do you work out that Butcher "ripped the heart out of the club"??? You say he did it by doing things "his way"...is that not what a Manager is suppose to do? Were you not one of the ones getting their knickers in a twist when their was talk/rumours of various Board Members/Share Holders interfering with how the team was run? How should things be done if not in the way of the person who is employed to do the job? I suspect we're just going to come back to the "He got rid of Duncan and Munro" argument...but humour me anyway!!!

Mike Fraser played in the semi-final of the Maltese FA Trophy.

Those players and others associated closely with the club who read this site must wonder why they bother - maybe they won't bother in future and who could blame them. Yesterday we were outclassed by a very motivated Rangers team who played very well on the day, but this seems to have spawned a constant stream of completely OOT negativity. You can't judge a team or a manager on a single performance so let's look at a few facts. People are concerned we might still be relegated. We are 8 points clear of Dunfermline with 2 games in hand. If Dunfermline accumulate points for the rest of the season at their average for the season so far, they will end the season 2 points behind what we already have. We are not going to be relegated. People say our current form is poor. Since Rangers defeated us at Ibrox in December only Celtic have beaten us until Rangers beat us again yesterday. Looking at the longer term picture, we have not lost to another bottom 6 club since we lost 2-1 to Aberdeen on August 20th. People say the defence is poor. In the 7 games between the 2 defeats to Rangers we conceded ony 4 goals. We have been particularly hard hit with injuries this season. We must all understand how hard that makes it to field a consistent side and we all know that you need a consistent team to get the best out the players. It has also meant that for much of our season we have been without players we would regard as first cloice. People say this season's pish is a continuation of last season's pish. Memories are short. Last season we equaled the best ever finish by a Highland side in the history of Scottish football when we finished 7th - 9 points clear of the 8th placed team. Looking at the broader picture this is all pretty impressive. I might not always agree with what Terry does and to be honest some of it baffles me, but at the end of the day you can't argue with the overall record of acheivement. We are a small club with limited finances and to be in the SPL at all is good, Yes we can hope for a top 6 finish and / or european football but to acheive that will require a number of things to come right at the same time. We will hopefully savour it when it comes but we have no right to expect it. Just staying in the bottom 6 of the SPL is hard enough and to acheive that, the players, the manager, the club need the support of the fans. It is reasonable to express opinions which are critical from time to time but this constant tirade of negativity is not support. Typical of the nonsense is the comment in a post above which states "During last season, I regularly pointed out that our defence was no where near good enough for this level. A remark which, whenever I brought it up, was equally as regularly told that I was being too harsh and I expected too much of the team." It is astonishing that the poster repeats this nonsense a year later in the knowledge that his assertion was emphatically disproved by the fact that we equalled our best ever finish last season. It really is beyond pathetic. Just what do some people expect? If you want your local team to play breathtaking, silky, attacking football week in and week out then I suggest you move to Barcelona. As for me, I'm proud of my local club, of what it has acheived and what it still is acheiving in very difficult circumstances. I'm not suggesting everything in the garden is rosy; the lack of goals in recent games is a concern, for instance, but the bigger position is good. Exchange of views and opinions is healthy but please, can we have that debate against a background of realistic expectations for our club, realistic understanding of what we have acheived and realistic understanding of what we are currently acheiving. This is a supporters' forum. Come on folk, let's get behind the guys and show some real support.

Just for Rangers game, this little ditty? To fools and Horses tune No Income tax, No VAT, No comming back, no RFC, Red and Blue, Rich now poor, Cut price players, in a fire sale God bless Cragie Whyte, Viva the taxman, Long live ICT, Say pay your debt, Rangers, Say pay your debts, Rangers :ictscarf: :ictscarf:

To the tune of Happiness, Happiness by Ken Dodd Inverness Inverness A hundred percent and nothing less The Caley boys will give their best Your gonna get beat by Inverness Scope for plenty of changes, but could make a good chant.

Come on KB.........if Dundee Utd can have an Inspiral Carpets tune that everyone knows the words to surely we can manage something? Inverness, Inverness The night life's crap and the town's a mess So get your thermals on and your best stay pressed Your gonna get tanked in Inverness As the great Bamber Gascoigne said........starter for ten!