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Players who I think have shown they can be decent from the current squad and I wouldn't be disappointed if they were in our squad for next season: Ryan Esson - Good, solid keeper. Jonny Tuffey - Good option as a number two but he'll probably leave for first team football. Thomas Piermayr - Decent enough when I've seen him. Josh Meekings - Has made mistakes but is young and has also had some solid displays. One for the future. Graeme Shinnie - A decent full back, not too spectacular but has good feet and is gaining valuable experience. Roman Golobart - Cool under pressure, perhaps too much sometimes. Kenny Gillet - When he's on his game, solid defender. Chris Hogg - Experienced and offers leadership. Andy Shinnie - Talented player, great striker of the ball and drifts between the lines, creating interesting opportunities and a different sort of positioning. Greg Tansey - Frustratingly inconsistent, at times he gives the ball away too much but he showed in teh first hour on Saturday that he can dominate the midfield. Richie Foran - Gets a lot of undeserved stick from the tinfoil hat brigade but he is strong, good in the air and a leader. Jonny Hayes - Our best player, will probably leave though. Nick Ross - A decent player, handy on the ball but not consistent enough. Needs to improve physically. Gregory Tade - Hard working but maddening. Billy McKay - Hard working without the madness. I think Tuffey, Golobart and Hayes will all leave. Tudor Jones hasn't played enough games to be judged, he could be a good player for us. I've also left out Doran as he's barely played this season. The two big issues for us this season have been stupid defensive mistakes and a lack of quality going forward. The only two creative attacking players of any quality we have are Jonny Hayes and Andy Shinnie and they have been injury prone this season. Also, if you rely on these guys so much if they go on a poor run then we are goosed. We don't have strikers who can conjure goals out of nothing, we need to create more chances for them. At the back, we need to improve concentration and organisation. It's difficult to recruit quality attacking players when you are on a budget. We'll have to hope that Butcher's recruitment this summer unearths some Johnny Hayes' rather than Danny Stratfords. Last season Butcher plucked Gregory Tade out of the First Division and, overhead kick attempts aside, he's been better than anyone thought. There doesn't really look to be any obvious targets in the lower leagues, with most of the leading scorers more established players.

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.

It is obvious from most postings above that the answer to ICT staying in the lower reaches of the SPL rather than top six is ..... Mr Munro. You know the one that plays in the SFL, great defender and wonderful attacker - through the middle or wing play - just magic!! Dream on folks!! Grantie is a super team player but if he is/was as good as you make out he would be playing not up with the tinkies, or the Old Firm BUT in the EPL along with Davis. I think the offerings above is a matter of Highland hearts ruling Highland heads. Now Butcher . . my biggest disappointment with him was after this last game. He should learn from the real touchline pros like Fergie/Moyes and Co ... NEVER NAME NAMES IN PUBLIC! A BIG sign of weak management! Compare this to the dying managerial days of Calderwood at Aberdeen and see how this trait of naming players in the press, was resorted to, prior to his 'leaving'. An Aberdeen player who he named as not fit to wear the top was being heralded, by him, as the teams' saviour the following week! Butcher will either have to do this (eat humble pie) or have the players he named sit it out in the next games or end up with egg on his managerial face as they are all named on his next team sheets! Of course Butcher is the man for the job, we cannot get better, even if he makes mistakes, BUT he will have to man up and say his piece away from the press.

Great post, it's nice to see an analytical argument rather than reactive which I myself have been guilty of sometimes. To me I see Butcher as exactly that, a butcher of a good ICT squad. No doubt there is talent in there but his use of tactics and man management have often been deplorable. As for injuries, I often wonder if this has something to do with training as we all remember Brewsters extra work training sometimes hindered progress due to players becoming more susceptible to injuries as a result of it. I can't see what he see's in McKay and Tade as he claims to not like the long ball game but week after week it becomes exactly that game for us. Once you cross that white line yes it's in the players hands, but 15 minutes in the middle is precisely the time where you should be drilling it into them it is not acceptable. These are two 'strikers' who can barely strike a bar door. But the midfield are to blame also as if there is no service to the front two then they can't do their job, so why are the midfield looked at as to be pretty good? They are also responsible for taking the pressure off the back four, it's a tough job, and they are not doing it. We have Foran who spends more time screaming than passing, and Tansey who would be better off kicking in rugby. The posts are a lot higher for him to aim at. I cannot defend Tansey at all. Favouritism has crept into this squad horribly this season for these four players mentioned and that is Butchers fault. And the back four comes down to The Munro equation. ICT - Munro = a poor poor excuse for a defensive team. Butcher was a defender by trade but seems to have forgotten everything about it. There is a huge huge huge part of this season that has come down to Dunfermline and a season spent looking over our shoulders to see how they are doing. Also Butchers talk of top 6. It's a bad bad way to spend a season. Right now if we survive then Butcher has to take a look at HIMSELF as well as the team and additions to that team. If nothing by the start of the season and into December has been done then I'm afraid he's for the chop (way!)

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.

The difference between success and failure is a thin line. This forum is awash with negativity at the moment as a result of 2 very disappointing defeats but things could have been very different. After a stirring win at Aberdeen we were very poor against St Johnstone but could easily have won: we had the better chances, we hit the bar and 2 penalty incidents went the wrong way. We played much better against Hibs, again having more chances but simply failing to take them. We could and should have won that but were unlucky to be up against a side who managed to take their chances when they came. We could easily have been reflecting on 9 points in 9 days and the talk would have been about whether we could equal our highest ever finish for the 2nd season in a row. And to some extent, I think this sums up our season. We have not had the rub of the green. Penalty decisions have gone against us, red card decisions have gone against us and there are certainly far more times we drew or lost games we should have won than the other way round. Our well documented injury problems have obviously not helped the cause. What I am saying here is that we nearly have a very good side and if the luck had been with us over the season as much as it has been against us then we would be in the top six. No, it is not just the last 2 games fortune has not been on our side, it is the whole season. But before I am pounced on for being a happy clapper (if only some others would clap their team a bit more often) I have to say that to some extent, you make your own luck. Losing games you should have won is not just down to luck, it is about the other team scoring more goals than you. There has been some poor defending and undoubtedly injuries have not helped here. The defence more than any other part of the team needs to work as a unit and that needs consistency of team selection. But even when players are available, Butcher switches things around just because someone makes an error one week. He seems to have no faith in any line up and then slates them when things go wrong. It's hardly going to help the players to be composed in their role at the back. Butcher must take responsibility for that. And whilst on the subject of defenders, there can be little doubt that we are a poorer side without Munro and Butcher must take responsibility for him not being here. But it is not the defence that is the real problem, it is the attack. To some extent (but not much) I have sympathy with Butcher here. Everyone says that being an effective striker is a confidence thing (look at Torres and Carroll in England!) and that you need to let your strikers have a decent run in the side and the goals will come. Butcher has done that with Tade and MacKay but unfortunately the goals have not come. But in fairness to the players, part of that is simply the wrong tactics. Tade is too wide and long balls are hoofed up to Mackay - poor lad doesn;t have a chance. What Mackay needs is balls on the deck and he so nearly scored a good goal on Sunday when Hayes played him in with a cracking through ball. More service like that and I am sure MacKay will score. If Tade is playing he needs to be the target with Mackay playing off him. And I don't for the life of me understand why Butcher plays Sutherland the way he does. I think he could play the Rooney role well. He's often got a good first touch, he can hold the ball up and he can turn and shoot well. Play him as the target with MacKay playing off him and we'll do better. Bring Tade on as an impact sub to terrorise tiring defences and he'll always keep a couple of defenders busy when the opposition is trying to chase the game. And what of Winnall? Who knows? He just isn't given the chance which seems extraordinary given the lack of goals in recent weeks. We may not have the greatest strikers in the league but Butcher is certainly not making the best use of them. I don't think there is much wrong with the midfield and I think the number of chances we have created over the season bears witness to that. But again we seem to get change for change's sake and are never quite sure what the team is going to be. The players need consistency to avoid there being too much pressure on them and so that they can gel. By the way, I think there is too much criticism on here of Tansey. Whilst he has been hugely disappointing with his free kicks, he plays some pretty inteligent balls and a lot of the chances we create involve him in the build up. He's not the best we've ever had, but we've had worse. So whilst as I say, we are nearly a good team, we've still got a little way to go. Yes we have not enjoyed the best of luck, but for me, the biggest reason is down to the manager. I think he has done well to bring in the quality of player he has, given the financial constraints he is working under (a point people tend to forget), but he is not making the best use of the players once he gets them. His team selections are irratic, his tactics can be naiive and his substitutions can be baffling. I don't get the sense that team spirit is particularly good and that is hardly surprising given the lack of consistency around selection and the extent to which players are asked to play out of position and are then publicly castigated when it doesn't work. He also seems to be stubborn and can't see when he is wrong - and one suspects he does not tolerate the players suggesting he might be wrong once in a while. There is no doubt that Butcher is a charismatic figure and I am sure he is a great asset to the club in terms of profile, but in terms of his managerial credentials there are huge question marks. Given my criticism of him here, it is almost surprising that we are not struggling below Dunfermline at the foot of the table. But the fact that we could still end up comfortably in mid table indicates that there are several things he gets right. For me the jury is still out. As far as this season is concerned, I think we should write it off as one to forget but I think the Board should be concerned and should be sitting down with Butcher and Malpas to discuss certain issues. This season was meant to be the start of a new approach but it is fair to say that it has been derailed to some extent by factors outwith his control. It is highly unlikely that we will be as unlucky next season as we have been this. I expect us to do better next season and I will reserve my judgement on whether Butcher is the man for the job until this time next season.

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

These statements are typical of the egotistical Mr Butcher. He has a squad of some very good players but he doesn't have a team. A person can make a mistake and that mistake may result in the opposition scoring but a team would get it together and counter the mistake. Put eleven of the worlds best players together and chances are they wont be a team. Think England have proven that on many occassions. There's no team spirit with us. There's nobody capable of holding everyone together as a team. Nobody directing play. No doubt I'll face the wrath of some but Richie Foran is not a captain. He's a screamer and a moaner but not a director of play. Of the squad we have I've probably seen some seventy five percent play exceptionally well in games and I believe most can yet we aren't able to string a couple of wins together. Why? Because there is little or no emphasis on team work. That is proven by the managers after match quotes. Terry, its the team who lost this game not the individuals. And you are a part of the team. Terry, digest the bold bits and then either put up and shut up or ship out. Nothing will work without the TEAM

We did look promising for a while, but it all fell apart as soon as we scored. We can only play with the players we have at our disposal, but what does concern me is how we utilise that players and how we ask them to play when selected. I don't think we are getting the best out of some of our players and maybe Butcher needs to look at his tactics. There seemed to be little point in delaying the substitutions as late as the last two were. Both Sutherland and Jones came on after the ninety minutes had elapsed. FFS we needed a goal five minutes before that............why the delay, is Butcher trying to prove something here. I am simply deflated by these last two results and sick to the back teeth of watching McKay chase long balls way above his head aimed at 6ft 4in defenders, it is criminal. Tade has been poor recently and would find it difficult to trap a bag of cement. Everything that could possibly go wrong recently has done so. We have not had a great return from our strikers this season considering the amount of hits at goal, this is purely down to a lack of talent, no? It is commendable to see one or two still trying to justify our team picking up their wages, but in all honesty, some of the stuff on display is the equivalent of watching the team under Brewster's regime and he was not afforded the same grace. So, come on Terry, show us a new side to your undoubted charisma, a cutting edge development whereby we play the ball neatly around the park to our own players and we put the ball into the opposition goal. Is it too much to ask? It's a while since I have been so gruntled, please fix it for me or let someone else fix it. Yours' Mr Disgruntled.

I thought we played pretty well for an hour. Tansey looked good, he did what you'd want him to do in the middle. Hayes looked decent but not at 100% and we were completely untroubled at the back. The issue is our defending, yet again. First goal, Tokely left his man at a corner, bang, goal. Second goal, TWO left backs are beaten and then the least mobile striker in Scottish football got away from our defence to score. Unforgivable. Third goal, Meekings was out of position by a couple of yards and then Tuffey could've done better with the shot. The story of our season - promising display, lack of cutting edge and then defensive ineptitude. We have two international defenders as our managemetn team, this shouldn't be happening.

The most disappointing thing this season is that I know we have players who are capable of much better. Last week against Aberdeen we were a dream to watch in the first 45 minutes and then showed real guts after going down to 10 men to hold on for the win. To then watch the exact same players come out and play like a bunch of lads picked up at the local park the day before is a bit gaoling....and that has been the story of our season. Yes, we've had more than our fair share of injuries and dubious cards/suspensions...but that doesn't, on its own, explain the flip-flopping performances. You can understand one or two players having the odd off day, but for us it seems to be everyone or nobody who's up for it come game time. We can argue the reasons for that around and around all day long. It's easy to sit and look at the effect, we all do it. Can we honestly put our finger one thing and say "that is the cause"? I don't think we can. Yeah we've got things wrong with our tactics here and there, but we've also had more than our fair share of misfortune with injuries etc. I was speaking to a few guys who support other teams around the country yesterday (was at a meeting of Trusts) and some of them were surprised that we hadn't been cut adrift at the bottom and were praising Butcher for holding it together and doing what he have done under the circumstances. So the picture from the outside looking in is very much different than the one we may have from being so close to things. I've said it before....Butchers biggest mistake this season was all the talk of a Top 6. It created an inflated expectation among the fans and now, having failed to deliver and regardless of the reasons, we're seeing a bit of a backlash on that. I personally saw/see nothing wrong in his previous approach to questions on the league table where focus was always on catching the team ahead...wherever that was in the table...and I'd be happy for us to go back to taking that approach again in future.

That truelly was the lowest ive felt this season as an ICT fan. The rollercoaster of emotions ended with me feeling very depressed at what i saw throughout that 90 minutes. Same old story. Missed chances, poor defending, late goals blah blah blah. I'am absolutely sick to death of it. I dont care if we performed better than we did in the St Johnstone game and i really don't care about what excuses were churned up at the end. We simply were not good enough. Hibs weren't any better but the difference is they had 3 chances in that game and they took them. We had 3 in the first half and didnt take any. We had at least two more before we needed a penalty to get ourselves in front. This is by far the weakest ICT side i have ever seen in terms of fighting spirit because their arses simply dropped as soon as Hibs drew level and this was followed by the usual headless chicken routine of passing to shadows and chasing a game we know we should have had dead and buried before Hibs even drew level. I just want this season to end. I will never give up on my team but i have defnitely given up on this season and achieving anything even remotely worthwhile.

Celtic supporter from fairly young, 'cos sister (still) supports Rangers, but was not really interested that much in football..more interested in the arguments supporting opposing teams produced..but the Celtic/Rangers thing was passed down to the offspring on each side..and to the grandchildren. I blame myself for that. Forres Mechanics supporter from the time I was old enough to be allowed to attend games on my own, then work selling tickets for the stand and head to away games on the team bus (supporters who travelled rarely travelled in enough numbers to warrant their own bus in them days). Have to admit that I haven't really come to terms with the modern fitba game. I still think 1 is the goalie, 2 is the right back, 3 is the left back, etc. and squad numbers on team lineups muddle me up immensely because I don't really know what they should be doing in the tactical scheme of things any more. Got into ICT more through knowing kids from outside Inverness picked up by the youth system and following them via the Courier reports around seven/eight years ago...and liking what I read about the ICT set up and in Courier game reports, so I googled and got pointed here and to the original ICT official site. Though, tbh. if I could have read here without joining, I likely would have......but I am glad I couldn't, because I kinda appreciate the ability to pontificate without knowledge of much at all.(I do notice I am pontificating more as I get older and more opinionated..but I still don't attempt to understand or comment on game tactics, team lineups and the performances of players when I haven't yet worked out what they are meant to be doing on the field bar giving 100%) ICT has, to my mind, retained the "family club" Highland League ethos in an SPL in which many/most of the other teams are frantically chasing success/money even to the point of bankruptcy........and I hope that never changes. An aside......... I'm looking forward to Ross County getting into the SPL and playing in Dingwall because I will be able to plant myself on a cousin in Ross-shire and drag her along to ICT/Ross County Derby games (or to shop while I attend games) so I can actually watch ICT playing, rather than just spend match days on the Match thread here listening to the Beeb. It's fun but not the same watching games against Wick Academy in Wick, because I can get there relatively easily, or games in Forres against Forres Mechanics because I happen to be down at the sister for the weekend. I've never managed to be in Inverness en route to elsewhere when ICT has been at home in the SPL, though I have managed a couple of u-19 games at the stadium over the years.

Ooooh this is a tale. I warn you. But you did ask... I guess it al started back in the 2nd division days really. Up until then my only football obsession was Scotland and Brian Laudrup, who I had followed since his time in Italy, and henceforth Rangers(Yes I know, shame on me. One still shudders). I had parental help in picking a team. Neither had the slightest interest. At primary school, I was encouraged by peers, and fleetingly did for a short period, to support Hearts. It didn't really work out. I had no real affection for them and Brian Laudrup was not leaving Milan to join them any time soon. By the time 94 came around I was in the Rangers camp. Laudrup was there. I thoroughy enjoyed watching him destroy Hearts in 95. Now, getting onto the ICT part. It all started through my grandparents. They had previously encouraged me to follow Aberdeen or a local team (Aberdeen was pretty much their local to Aviemore, SPL team). Perhaps through that and our wonderful name, coupled with the amount of great scorelines we seemed to muster up, a certain Inverness Caledonian Thistle began to stoke my interest. They must have just gotten to the 2nd division. David Xausa was still there and scoring peaches according to any reports I got ahold of. Must have been articles in the Press and Journal perhaps. I remember beginning to watch the classified results at 5pm on a Saturday to hear that voice state whatever result we had. Add to the fact he always said the full name and with such flair. We were a pretty yo-yo team in terms of results and they always seemed to be phenomenally high scoring. Xausa went to Livi but but interest never waned and by the time ICT were in the first ICT had firmly become my 2nd team. By 98 Laudrup had left Rangers and went to Chelsea then Ajax, where I followed his career. I still followed Rangers due to their new regime and the excitement surrounding that and bringing in players like Numan, Van Bronckhorst and such like. I had by then went to high school and whilst folowing ICT I never made a deal of it. Late Jan/ early feb 2000. Celtic v ICT. I remember having a good few conversations with a Celtic following chum and warning him in jest his team was getting a beating. This continued on and past the original date and well... first there was the news highlights, then THAT headline. I ws beeming. Perhaps it was then i really began to realise how much ICT meant to me. The pride I felt. The next stage in my ICT supporting development was in late high school. A few of my friends in my year were season ticket holders at Clyde (dont ask why. ha ha!) It was at that time we would enjoy numerous banter sessions. They'd bring out their big guns of Leigh Hinds, Simon Mensing, Alan Kernaghan and Andy Millen (the choppers essentially) and I'd clearly trump that with Barry Robson (who left soon), Wyness, Tokely, Mann, Brown, Hart and even Paul Ritchie. Who was easily a match for any on loan Colin Nish (who even they called Shhhh not very good). After high school I attended Bell College in Hamilton, which incidently wasn't all that far from Cumbernauld. It gave me opportunity to get to some inter school derby games, Clyde v ICT. They one the 1st I went to that season 1-0. Their new striker (signed from Stranraer I think, Ian Harty) scored the only goal. I went to a few Clyde games with friends that season. A cup game abandoned at half time because of snow sticking in the memory. Clyde had opened up a fair gap and even though we closed it up we had a killer run in. Falkirk who we always seemed to lose to. Clyde, which was anyones guess but they had the upper hand that season. Even beating us in our own strip. The old Caleythistleonline headline 22 ICT shirts and still no win (v clyde) sticking in the memory and St Johnstone who I pointed out we had a good record against at the time. Home and away. So off I went to Broadwood ice box with one dorm and old school buddy who was supportig Clyde and my Stranraer supporting farming dorm mate who also decided to support Clyde as he felt they were most likely to win. I bought a ICT scarf outside from a stand, brought along by the ICT fans I guess. wrapped it round my neck and, parted with the mates, headed to the away end and bought a ticket. Back in the good old pay at the gate days. The score was 2-1 to ICT. I remember Hislop rising like a salmon to score his best ICT goal (in my opinion) and most important. The fans jumping onto the pitch to celebrate with Keogh and Hislop. I then went home waving my new scarf in my Clyde mates face. Sadly, for him, his belief that St Johnstone would win and ruin our party was proved wrong and we won the league. Amazing time. Having dropped out of college I got a new job. I had a dilemma I guess. Can't have 2 SPL teams. It was solved when asked by new colleagues who my team was. Quite simply "Inverness" was the answer. It just felt right. I had grown tired of the association with Rangers fans and the vile speel that could by heard at Ibrox. And I loved everything about ICT. Since then I've followed ICT only, grown to quite dislike Rangers and the Old Firm in general. It was a long way to becoming an out and out ICT fan. Took maybe 6-7 years. But looking back - WELL WORTH IT.

Kingsmills Park was closest to my house as a youngster and was taken to see a Jags against (I think) Montrose Scottish Cup game in early 80's and then followed Thistle through the years. Was initially against the merger and even went to a couple of games and stood in the visitors end. Then moved away from Inverness and began to see the new team as a connection to my home and Highland Invernessian identity and slowly began to warm to them.Realised it was time to move on and how good it was/ could be/ would be top see kids with an ICT top in Inverness as opposed to one of the glasgow teams. Makes me so proud to see the see our local club in Scotland's top divisision.