Leaderboard

I thought we played very well and were well deserving of a point. We were caught out with our defenders getting sucked in for their first goal and Novikovas had an easy task to finish it off. The game was relatively even, Hearts probably had a better time in midfield and had more of the ball and more pressure but we looked relatively OK. Utterly bizarre penalty decision, it's rare that you see a spot-kick given that no-one in the stadium appealede for. From what I saw of it, Richie Foran's red card was a stupid swipe, very unprofessional from him. He's our captain and while you can understand being frustrated at the penalty he needs to lead the team and didn't do it. The second half was a great effort though. Draper really impressed me in the middle, he got about, won the ball and used it intelligently. It was a big performance from him in the second half considering his main partner wasn't there. Andy Shinnie is by far our best player on the ball, he uses it so well and plays clever passes all the time. Very impressive start to the season from him. His brother was also impressive, especially when breaking forward, he was a real threat attacking down the left and helped us with both goals. I was more impressed with Meekings than Raven, I'd prefer Meekings to be first choice at right back. King and Warren were also relatively solid, Warren in particular won every header he went for with King being a bit more mobile. The main thing that impressed me about the performance was the guts and determination. Tynecastle is a difficult palce to go and with ten men we clearly decided to fight it out. The number of blocked shots from our defenders and midfielders was remarkable and the pressure we put on Hearts when they were in possession was admirable. The work-rate from every player was commendable as well. We've heard a lot said about how we've lost the 'heart' of the club by releasing long serving players, I don't think you could've asked for any more heart or determination than we got today. The togetherness at the end when we scored and at the final whistle was tangible. Very encouraging. We have a tough run of games coming up and we need to capture that feeling if we are going to continue in this vein.

Despite my reservations about McKay,s ability up front, the questionable tactics, the heavy touch of Sutherland, what is not in question is the desire and determination of this team. Shouted myself hoarse today at Tynecastle and very proud of the hard earned point from ICT. Great effort from 10 men determined to succeed

Foran was asking for it today. At least twice he threw the ball away when a kick was given against us. And he was giving the ref some serious verbals. Generally behaving like Black at his most petulant. Might be excusable in a young lad but not good enough for a team captain.

Dunno but my money would be on Esson.

Also despite my reservations about Butcher's tactics, his interaction with the fans after the game finished was excellent. He came on the pitch and hugged some players then turned to the excellent away support and cheered and waved along with us. Happy Highland Homebound.

To celebrate this magnificent recovery I am off to eat the entire contents of my pepper shaker.

Can't wait for it now

Asalt by pepper.

New Manager and Captain required - please apply at stadium before next Saturday ;-)

A month or so ago I sent a sum of money to the club addressed to Mr Cameron. I expressed the wish that they allocate seats to either disabled children or orphans in Inverness for the first game of the season. There were no other rrestrictive requirements. That was it. I rationalised in my mind that at this time the club really needed a financial boost and that doing this would achieve two purposes. a. Give these disadvantaged youngsters a chance, maybe the first chance they have ever had , to sit in the stand and see Caley Thistle first hand and maybe introduce a new dimension into their lives that might stimulate their emotions . b. By doing so, raise the club's profile in the town and suggest that they really are a family and people -orientated club with genuine feeling of compassion for such as these youngsters, The cheque in pounds was cashed, but so far I have not even had the courtesy of an acknowledgement and I therefore have no idea whether my request was adopted or not. I am still going to be interested in the team but I can't help wondering if the new management , since George Fraser went, has got much of clue about P.R. -- or has it reached the stage, as in many modern companies nowadays it ppears, where the letters are opened by the receptionists who is the one who decides what has to be done about it , including whether a reply is merited or not-- meaning did the upper echelons of management even see my letter?

You're absolutely right. If County sign Riordan then they will have a bigger c@ck in their squad than us.....

Someone said some local rangers fans who usually give us support have boycotted us. Sod them, we don't need them. Also some of the 'neautrals' are now going to see 'that lot' over the bridge. Sod them and their half hearted loyalty. We don't need these groups and need to forget about them. Our focus and priorities should be the community and youth of Inverness! We should be making sure that the youngsters of inverness are growing up supporting ICT and not the OF or 'that lot'. The club and. CJT need too work very closely on this! £16 for a concession is shocking! It was £3 for me when I was a kid only 10 years ago. I also remember when I was younger my PS used to give out 3 free tickets per year for each home game. This allowed kids who normally wouldn't go to games come more often. The club did under 12 free ST not so long ago, why not now? Lastly, I'm a part time youth worker in hilton and of the 40-50 kids who come to indoor footy on a friday night only 5 go to ICT games. FIVE!!! That's shocking, we are failing the youth of inverness and we need to encourage them along! It might mean losing money for a while giving out free tickets or charging £3 for kids BUT it will repay in the FUTURE when they keep coming back and bring THEIR kids!

Here we go! A coupleof iffy performances and thoughts are turning to the past players. Whatever will we do without them ? Well we had them when they were at their best and there were moans and groans when we had them then. Even though they did give good service to the Club I can't say ICT reached dizzy heights in the SPL or won a lot of silverware. So let's keep them in the past and give the new lads a chance to show what they can do. We are already seeing a better class of football from them and I'm sure with a ferw testing games under their belts things will gell. I don't think they are going to let us down that badly that we should be thinking back to those who MIGHT have have brought us greater glory had they still been with us. Remember they are now past their best. Many of this seasons team are still maturing. Bring on the games!!!