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And I was hoping fer two home games in the final week and the biggest pisss up and the shortest march/crawl ever !!

Nothing beats the unconditional love or blind faith exhibited by those who see no wrong in anything the Messiah (aka Terry Butcher aka A Very Naughty Boy!) does. Just because other chose not to walk the path of righteousness with blinkers and a halo, seeing no wrong, hearing no wrong and not deviating from the scriptures............does not make them any less of a follower merely more prone to lapses! Now back in the real world.......... This is a forum for debate not a propaganda machine. And whilst we're debating - Can you give me examples in support of 'Butcher achieved wonderful things at ICT in the last two seasons'? I will give him great credit for bringing the team back up straight away after they were relegated by Brewster and him (remember he dropped our star keeper in crucial games at the end of the season with disastrous consequences). His signing of Hayes looks a fantastic move and Cox looked decent. Davis didn't want to be here, Shinnie has great potential and as for the rest of them...............................the jury is out on some but most are already convicted! The comparison with the late great Brian Clough is insulting to his memory. Irrespective of the level, Clough's teams played football. Real good, decent football with a solid edge. Kenny Shiels can do it at Kilmarnock and did it at Tranmere as a coach. TB never has and never will. He is old school. Shout, bawl, run, kick. That is why he has ended up here.

The kind folk at the SPL figured that if they give us enough chances to beat Hibs, eventually we won't f*ck it up.

I am disapointed that we don't have another away day at Hibs. It is a very good away day but hey ho!

What has happened to Tom Aldred anyway? Is he injured? Went in a huff and packed his bags because TB realised he had got a stinker of a player. Didn't expect to get such a quick bite there! You almost broke my rod!

Highland March ~ Paisley to Inverness !!!

2nd of May should find out who is going down.

The positive in all of this is that there is a growing public awareness of the narcisstic aspect of TB's personality and the "blind devotion" of MM. I cannot believe that TB can continue to behave and communicate at the same level for much longer. He simply has to shackle some of the inner defence mechanisms and become a manager who rules the dressing room - and apparently the Board - with respect and not fear. One of the first things that he could do for "self protecton" purposes would be to encourage MM to take on a management position at a lesser club and employ a coach who has a background akin to fitness, training schedules and attack minded - I would love to see us go for a foreign coach. Butcher could then take a step froward in respect of media involvement and leave the tactics to another. From the narcisstic perspective that would allow him some more breathing space and allow him to only minimally restrain his automatic behaviours. I actually do believe that there is a lot of potential in the current crop of players. But many of them are raw and relatively inexperienced at the level that they are now competing at. In many ways the "experience" of this season may actually pay dividends next year as they should be a considerably wiser bunch. BUT they need to be coached positively, some need to get fitter, many need to play for the badge as well as the wage and TB really needs to instill the long missing ingredient of "togetherness" which can only really be accomplished by adhering to a more attack minded "system", start looking at playing the "easy pass" instead of the hoof - players need to learn how to make space when they do not have the ball and TB needs to have his first X1 - on merit - firmly embedded in his head and he needs to have specific personnel who can move comfortably in to that role and/or system. The one "ace" that we may have up our sleeve is that TB evidently enjoys the Highland life style and has a long contract. So what we also needs is an individual with the nous and the strength to take TB aside, give it to him straight in an almost ultimatum "style" and set "targets" for next season now - and I dont mean Top Six - I refer to points at home, points away, goals etc., etc. - and adhere to it. Again I have been waiting all season to see that we shimmer of change in TB's attitude and self rating. The narcssism is firmly embedded and is not aided by what would appear to be gutless line management. I really admire TB in many respects but if I was the Chairman he would'nt be getting off with the control influence that he clearly has at the present time.

I hope you don't mean that Luke. Your support and enthusiasm for the club are a breath of fresh air on this site and I'm sure most folk on this site agree with much of what you say. We could do with a lot more like you. There are some on here who for reasons best known to themselves are only happy when they are moaning and can't seem to say a good word about the club. Don't despair. Just ignore them. They may not ever agree with you but you will be winning the argument to the large number of folk who read the forum but who rarely contribute to it. As long as you say your piece it doesn't matter who has the last word - it's what you say that matters, not how many times you say it. This forum needs a range of views and that includes criticism when criticism is due. But criticism should be objective and constructive and when it is there can be a sensible exchange of views. I have been very critical of Butcher in a post above and you are just the sort of person I would welcome coming back with comments to defend him if you think I have been unfair.

The elusive 4-5-1 formation. Long balls aimlessly punted forward. Lone frontmen who weren't built for the role constantly played no-matter what. Talented established players disappearing. Players being played despite week after week of sub-standard performances. Players looking bereft of confidence. Team playing without bite or flair. Manager picking his favourites no-matter what. Substitutions made far too late. Substitutions made in the ninetieth minute while desperately needing a goal. David Proctor always in the squad, despite being rubbish. Manager blaming everyone but himself for poor performances.....Oh sorry, I was talking about Brewster! Is the Butcher the man for the job? I really don't know. In my opinion, this man has made far too many changes than was necessary. There's no doubt that getting rid of Munro was the worst decision ever made any ICT manager. The defence was pretty good last season - it's been awful this season. Oh and by the way, County's is great this season, funny that..... Butcher's got some people eating out of his hand, but really where is this club going? Backwards is the only gear right now. I reckon that it all comes down to Christmas and the club is in the same position this December or worst of all, has gone backwards, then it will be time for him to stand aside. One thing I will say though, when Butcher signed a new deal in 2009 I said it would all end in tears. I see no reason why in the end I won't be proved correct.

A possibility of Aberdeen, Hibs and Dunfermline at home! That should offer plenty of scope for unremitting negativity on this forum

Seems to be a strong sense among "The Ten" that Rangers are all but in a position whereby they will have to go into liquidation. If that happens then Rangers would no longer be a member of the SPL and the OF lose their stranglehold in regards to the voting situation, leaving the path open for it to be changed to a more democratic system. Rangers will have no European football next season as they missed the 31st March deadline for exiting administration...so there's little to be gained other than continuity of history from them pursuing an exit via CVA.

All this 'drivel' not because of 2 games, but because of a whole seasons worth.

I'd idealy see the ten teams re-join the SFL. 16 team Division 1, 16 team Division 2, 16 team Division 3 then a Highland League and Lowland League below with a pyramid system for entry to Division 3. This would mean we would need 8 more teams to join Division 3. 4 from the HL and 4 from the Lowland junior leagues to join Division 3. Rangers and Celtic can apply to join straight to Division 1 with the former SPL teams, but they have to sign up to the new league rules which means all potential sponsor and TV revenue must be split between Division 1 teams evenly. Also, no matter what league your in, terracing is allowed. No silly stadia rules that will get teams into debt building them.

I was dubious when we appointed Butcher in the first place. There's no doubt that he was a wonderful player but, as a manager he had one good season as a manager with Motherwell but failed dismally at Coventry, Sunderland, Brentford and in Sydney. Similarly Malpas had the same good season in (assistant) management but always failed elsewhere when a manager in his own right. There is no doubt that in his first season there was an initial "Butcher Bounce" but that soon ended and having taken us out of the relegation place he contrived to lead us back below a frankly poor Falkirk team who demonstrated quite how bad they were by taking the drop themselves the following year. There were some bizarre selection decisions along the way; who realyy thought that it made sense to play an out of form and lacking in confidence Michael Fraser ahead of Ryan Esson in those crucial relegation encounters ? The following season he was fully supported by the board. Despite savage cuts elsewhere in the company, he was allowed to retain the core of the SPL squad. Assisted by an on fire Adam Rooney and Dundee's implossion on and off the pitch, he has to be given credit for getting us straight back up. Last season was satisfactory again, in no small measure to Messrs Rooney and Hayes. This season he was given carte blanche to reshape the team and was ruthless in weilding the axe. County's debut in the SPL is in no small measure due to the rock at the back who is Grant Munro. I know we have been unlucky with injuries but which of the new recruits has been an outstanding success ? In my opinion the best of the new bunch by far was David Davies and such was Butcher's influence on him he chose to ply his trade at the foot of League one in England than to remain in the Highlands. I am not calling for a change just now but unless there is a dramatic improvement by January I fear that the First Division beckons again.

There is only one Mann4thejob !! As far as I am concerned and at the risk of repeating myself - this season has been a feckin shambles from the pre season onwards. We were totally caught cold by the early start and were rushed in to some "panic buys" and some very reactive "loanees". We were well and truly left stuck in the blocks. We have had more than our share of injuries and mishaps but the selections have been far too reactive and changeable. You do not get self confidence or team spirit when there is apparent favouritism for some but the acute "chop" fer others. As others have stated we are more like a band of mercenaries than a Highland regiment - and there is a good link there to Terry and Prince Charlie !! I actually think that we do have the potential to be an attractive side but we have to be consistent all round and we have to adopt a "system" and stick to it - tactically and positionally - and that is the one "task" that I am not shure that Terry and Mo can provide. Whether anyone wants him there or not he will be - and I agree. But he has to bring about improvement all round. He has to start working this out NOW and deciding who HE is going to tag along and who he is going to bring on board. And lets cut out the Top Six shittt next season rite now - it is mid table, early survival that we should be aiming fer. TB can keep his favourites but he has no excuses next season. I may well be harsh but I actually feel that TB was assisted by some of the injuries/suspensions this season as it gave him reason, at times, to chop and change.

I'm sorry, but what? I can only assume that you're on anti-depressants or something but really there's no excuse for the rainbows you're vomiting in that post. The entire team (Hayes excepted) was crap from start to finish. OK, so Tansey got on the score sheet with a well taken penalty and he had a better than average game but I'm afraid a better than average game is just not good enough. Our team as a whole, is just not good enough. The fact that we have to solely rely on Hayes is nothing short of a joke. am i on anti depresants or are you on depressants because all you ever seem to post is about how bad we are. im as unhappy with the result as anyone but for 64 minutes we were better our whole team than hibs and we realy should have won not winning was a huge disapointment for everyone but im looking at it from the point of view that we were 100 times better than we were on wednesday and we certainly got a response from the player the main difference for me was that hibs had 2 clinical finishers in their side who took their chances when they came to them.

As someone has already said, for 64 minutes, we were so much better than Wednesday and waited for us to kick on after the penalty (stonewall by the way) but then the defence just blew up and we lost a game we should have won comfortably. Haven't heard the post match interview from TB and while it may be true defensive mistakes cost us the game, had we taken our chances up front, that wouldn't be an issue. We need to defend from the front, something we seem incapable of doing. Substitutes today were baffling. It was obvious Tade was either not fully fit or so lacking confidence that he should have been replaced so much sooner. As for the last two subs coming on in injury time, what was that about. This game could so easily have been won as could Wednesdays and that is the most annoying/frustrating thing. Finally if some fans appear to be saying they would rather not renew their season tickets but go to watch County instead, then to me they ain't fans.

I know everone will be fuming about this massivelt disappointing defeat, but we actually got most things right today. Dominated possession, created plenty of good chances and restricted the opponents to 3 chances. Sadly It all came down to taking chances, and this game highlighted (yet again) the inadequacy of our forwards when it come to finishing. Sigh.

I don't think we were poor. We just don't have a striker. We dominated today. They had Griffiths and O'Connor. We had Tade and McKay. Had we a Rooney, we would have stuffed them today. But we didn't and those players are hard to find. No need to slate the rest of the team though. We were better than Hibs besides the (very important) points listed above. We got mugged by an inferior team.

As a boy living in Laurel Ave nearly all my pals were Caley supporters and we followed most of their games, then came my Techy years when I had to make myself some pocket money so had to get a job as ' message boy ' working after school and on Saturdays so didn't have the same opportunity to watch them but couldn't wait to hear how they got on. Then came National Service, most of my time in Germany, still keen to hear Caley results, demobbed my work took me all over GB, again I couldn't wait to hear the results on radio. Now retired and living in the Highlands again I think it must be an addiction because now I'm typing this and at times slating those folk who are negative about my team in this same forum. Could never understand why anyone could support any other team if they had the slightest Sneck connection. I predicted in my younger days that one day Caley would win the Scottish cup and play in the then first division maybe even win it. Still got my fingers crossed and still think they will!!! pass me my rose tinted specs please !!! ICT man and proud of it!!! :love02: :love02: :love02:

in our spl years we have had 2 strikers with good strike ratios that havnt cost us an absolute bomb. rooney and dargo which to me suggests that a goalscoring striker isnt exactly easy to come by. but when you look at both those strikers dargo had bayne and rooney had foran. for me its not about finding 1 striker its about finding the right partnership up front which we seemed to have for a while with shinnie and tade before shinnie got injured. sandaza has sheridan daly has russell and jelavic had naismith

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!

Hello Mr Bear, might i suggest we do a player swap, we have one combative and consistent defender called David Proctor and a hard working utility player called Claude Gnakpa, they are yours in exchange for Adam Rooney, we get our vacant striker and you get a straight exchange plus one more player added to your small squad - is it a deal?

I used to feel a bit sorry for Lennon with all that Northern Ireland / Catholic crap going on back then. I now realise he's nothing more than a thug and deserves no sympathy, ever.

Apparently, it's all the ref's fault. Rangers dominating against 11, 10 and 9 men was all the ref's fault. Cha getting the wrong side of a player and putting his hand on his shoulder to pull him back was the ref's fault. Sure, Wallace went down easy but (unfortunately), that's the last 30 years of footie - I wish it would change but not just for one match. It might be debatable for a red card but with only the keeper in front of him (I don't buy that Cha would somehow have made up a yard within the penalty area or that Mulgrew was anywhere close to beating down a shot), it certainly looks like one to me. As for Lennon thinking it was unfair that he was sent off for telling the ref he was poor, I would love for the ref to tell Lennon he got his selections all wrong. Give him advice on tactics and personnel selection. How do you think Lennon would take that? He'd be shouting for the ref to be sacked (again). Yet another important game lost. I just don't see he's got that tactical nous about him to make a great manager. Put him in charge of a Motherwell or Inverness [shudder] and they'd be relegation candidates. The multi-millions are hiding inadequacies behind that scowling angry front.