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After thinking for a while, I've managed to come up with 3 positives from that game... - Tokely was flipping brilliant - Tuffey looked assured in goal again - It was a nice night and I got some fresh air Everything else was absolutely dreadful. The penalty looked soft to me, and I thought the ref had a poor game, but I don't think we warranted anything from the match. It's particularly frustrating as St J weren't particularly special, but they kept the ball, looked organized and always posed a goal threat. I thoroughly dislike Sandaza (surely he should have got a second yellow for that dive/deliberate handball combo?) but I'd kill to have him in our team. How come they could get him and Sheridan, and we've only got the willing but goalshy McKay - who spurned three excellent chances tonight - and bloody Tade, who was trying in more than one sense of the word tonight. After he missed that early sitter he could do nothing right. I felt we were second best in every area from the off - it was as if that tremendous performance at Pittodrie had never happened. Our midfield, so good against Aberdeen, was rank rotten. I've been a big champion of Jones, but he was far too slow and kept getting dispossessed. Why Tansey gets a game is beyond me. Foran has the right attitude, but not the quality - you could say the same of Sutherland as well. I suppose our defence is at least a bit more solid, though Piermayr kept giving the ball away. Shinnie had a hard time in the first half but certainly improved in the second. This is another game which could be used in evidence against our management. Lomas had done his homework - press us high up the pitch and we quickly revert to punting high balls at McKay. Yet it was 70 minutes before Butcher made a sub - and 10 minutes before that he changed to 4-4-2, sticking Tansey on the right wing, which seemed to make us even worse. Too many times this season the tactics have been wrong, and by the time the manager changes them it's too late. Anyway, after being briefly perked up by last weekend's result, I am descending back into depression. I've a 1 litre tub of Mackies Honeycomb Ice Cream in the freezer that's going to get demolished tonight...

It's quite clear from that game, Sutherland is not a winger FACT. McKay is not a lone frontman FACT. Tade is just a striker, not a wing man FACT. Countless long balls to a slight 5"7 striker, up against two 6"+ centre-backs is just not going to work FACT. And if things continue like this next season, then we're going to be in for a tough time. Oh, and Tokely must stay FACT!!!

Rossco has to stay!! We are running seriously short of players who play with the traditional, true Caley Thistle spirit - and who play for the jersey.

And if we can't manage that we could always follow the example of the FC Magdeburg fans who felt the need to show their misfiring forwards where the goal is!

Poor display, but even poorer management. I'm probably the umpteenth person to say it, but I'll say it nonetheless as it's obvious to all us fans - Mackay is by no means a lone striker and our system was horrifically unfair to him (1x 5'7 attacker vs 2/3/4 6'+ defenders only ever has one winner, despite Billy's absolute best efforts), Tansey's starting berth begs belief and Tade and Sutherland don't work out wide. Tade is very much a form player and it was apparent from early on that nothing was going his way and he needed subbed, yet Ross was kept on bench till too late (not the type of guy to instantly turn a game) and Winnall bizarrely never got near the pitch, yet Gnapka got a run out. Not one did I see TB or MM encourage the team, all the screaming did was instill more fear in the players. Fair play to those on the pitch, didnt see Foran do his usual turn-on-teammates stuff, and amazingly Tokely and Golabart didn't have a bust up after a crigeworthy mess on second half. Tokely most obvious MoM in a longtime, passmarks to Shinnie too.

Tokely - The only player that played really well. Best man on the park. Golobart - Steady and did his job. Tuffey - Tough to pick a third one, he had little to do but did well when called upon.

Interesting to read that some folk think it was a stonewaller (including the radio team - did it include Brian Irvine by any chance?). It was right in front of me and it looked like two players running alongside each other then one fell to the floor. Maybe I missed something else but regardless of that decision we deserved nothing from that game as we were horrible. It was actually a bit like the Aberdeen game the other day with the visiting team sitting back and the home side having a lot of the ball but doing nothing of note with it. I cannot think of many good chances for ICT tonight. Tade and Mckay both passed up excellent chances to open the scoring for us in the first half. Foran had a reasonable chance with a header in the second. I think that was it? The longer the game went on the more obvious it became that we were not going to get anything out of it. That side was one of the most one dimensional sides I have seen in a long time. We are so flat and predictable. There was almost zero creativity and without Hayes we have no pacey and direct players that provide us with some sort of threat out wide. Tade and Sutherland just don't do it. The midfield has plenty of "bite" but there are no players who can play a key pass to slice open a defence or offer the forwards support from the middle of the pitch. Tudor Jones played so deep he was almost like an extra CB. Up front we were utterly toothless although in fairness after the early chances for Tade and Mckay the forwards had little else to feed off. If we continue to play like that from now until the end of the season we could be a lot closer to the bottom than we are now but we might just have done enough earlier in the season to see us safe. On the plus side Tokely was excellent. He reminded me a lot of Darren Dods with his approach to his defending. No nonsense - just get it clear. Oh, and we took a throw in quickly as well. That's about it. To add in something about Saint Johnstone I would say that they weren't great but they didn't have to be. An easy game for their players and barely had to get out of second gear I would say. I cannot think of many times when your defence was overly troubled by us and Morris bossed the midfield. He was excellent and kept things ticking over nicely for Saints in the middle of the park. Sheridan was quiet but Sandaza was a bit more lively. He converted the penalty well but was perhaps lucky not to be sent off after being booked and committing a number of bookable offences thereafter but I doubt if ICT could have profited from any dismissal. About 200 Saintees up for the game who made some reasonable noise. I doubt they will have been overly concerned at what they saw from ICT tonight and will be relishing our visit in a couple of weeks.

In that case, he'd have been reet petite.

What a bunch of knicker-wetting pearl-clutchers we have on this thread. We'll be fine with County coming up, it'll be good to have a derby game and we'll benefit from having more away fans than we get from Dunfermline or Hibs.

At the end of the day, ICT have been very lucky in some ways ...... we have generally had people at the helm, or in positions of extreme influence due to their own shareholdings, or control over other (company/organisational) shareholdings, who have had our club's best interests at heart. Regardless of anyone's personal opinions about Messrs McGillivray, Sutherland, Savage, Catto, Fraser, et all ... I firmly believe they have all been of a mind to try and move the club forward in their own way(s) and for the most part they have done that. If you doubt that, sit back and think for a moment and reflect on the next phrase .... Highland League to Scottish Premier League in 10 years !!!!! It is true to say that not everyone has agreed with everything each of these individuals did, that not everything they did may have been the correct decision, or that some "hard" decisions may have been unpalatable to some of our support, and that there have also been some fairly high profile personality clashes between them ... but ultimately, this club has moved forward under each and every one of them whether in a chairmanship role, a directorship or just as a major shareholder or person of influence. It is also true to say that not one of the names mentioned has got rich off the back of ICT, if anything, they probably dropped a zero or two off their personal wealth by being involved in ICT. There may have been an element of benefit in terms of local PR to their businesses, but not to the detriment of ICT. Its more of a symbiotic relationship than anything else. Look around football in both England and Scotland and you can find plenty of examples past and present where this is not the case ...... As for the group of ex-pats going under the Muirfield Mills name, I know nothing of who they are, what they are offering, or what they want in return other than what I have read on here or in other corners of the Internet, but as an ex-pat myself (and not one associated with this group I hasten to add), I know that far from waning, my support for ICT continues to grow ... I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder, and it also has the added benefit of removing some of the political bullshit that tends to fly around if you start talking about power struggles !!! CaleyD mentioned earlier up in the thread, that the motive in his opinion is unlikely to be asset stripping as we have no assets to strip, and I agree with this assessment ... If these guys are truly ICT fans who have a bit of money and want to try and continue to move the club forward then I am 100% behind that notion ... Many of us have posted about the few million we would throw at ICT if we got a huge lottery win .... these guys may be of more modest means, but in this climate, throwing money at a smaller football club (with no tangible assets) is done for love not return on investment so it is to be applauded ! I dont really give a rats ass who they are friends with, or who they may or may not have on their Christmas card list .... if their motive is the continued progressions and success of ICT then its something I can wholeheartedly get behind.

Belladrum line-up this year is the worst I've seen it. Other commitments have always prevented me going in the past and I was all up for it this year...now I'm not so sure.

Prob just be going to Belladrum TBH.