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Most successful ICT manager ever, it doesn't get much better than where we are at the moment. He leaves the club in a massively better position than it was when he took over, and for all that, I thank him. But at the same time, I also wish him every possible misfortune.

I've just read the report on the BBC website and got the same sort of impression as Dargo20. If Malpas and Marsala like working for ICT then why would they leave just because Butcher would like them to? As a management team they have achieved a lot here and are appreciated by the club and the fans. They also have the real chance of winning something big this year. But despite the excitement of what this season could bring, I think both club and fans are realistic enough to know that at the moment the team is punching well above it's weight and as long as we stay in the premier division there is no chance of their being dismissed by the club. They have a level of security they wouldn't get in other places (certainly not at Hibs) and they are genuinely appreciated here. It's hard to know what to think. I would have thought that if Butcher and Malpas (and to a lesser extent Marsala) work as a team they would have talked about the potential of moving before and would know that if a management opportunity came up which interested Butcher then it would be clear that the other two were either in or out - and the offer would involve them. If Malpas was considering going to Hibs as well then I would not have thought he would be looking after the team just now. That is an encouraging sign. Whilst I said previously that whatever the outcome, this episode is damaging to the club and perhaps it would be best if Butcher left and let the club get on with the recruitment process, that was probably said out of frustration. What I think would really be best is for him to realise that he has got a good job here until he retires and to stay and commit to being here for as long as the club wants him or until he retires. He really could achieve legend status then. I wonder if he really appreciates what he has here? CaleyD was right before and seems confident that he will stay. CaleyD has good knowledge of the machinations behind the scenes and I am encouraged by what he says. I get the sense that Butcher likes it here but probably has the dream of leading a bigger club to glory. The reality is that that probably won't happen - but it is like an itch you can't stop scratching. He knows he should stay put but he just can resist. I hope CaleyD is right, but if Butcher is going to stay then lets hope he really stays and doesn't put the fans, the club and, most important of all, his players, through this trauma again.

Do people honestly think that if TB was going to say his goodbyes to the players that he would do it so publicly...especially when he was at the stadium with them shortly beforehand? The STV news showing Terry leaving the stadium saying he was going to work was shot BEFORE the footage at training...I would say order of events deliberately altered to cause confusion and keep people tuning in to the news. Why do people continue to pedal press reports as being "fact" when they are, time and again, proven to be nothing but inaccurate speculation? As far as I am concerned, Terry Butcher is the manager of ICTFC until such time as we are officially informed otherwise....and I don't believe that is set to change any time soon.

I don't suppose he'll be anywhere to be seen tomorrow?. Don't tell me it's out of respect to ICT, he didn't want to take the flak from the support. Makes tomorrow a day to be there for your team. Wasn't planning it but I'm going now.

Chris Hogg is apparently going to be in hospitality tomorrow. Will OTJ be on the park? Will Terry (and/or IHE) have a half and half Hibs/ICT scarf? So many questions, I have to be there for the answers.

We should let Butcher go and then approach HIbs to appoint him as our new manager.

Yeah....I was bored.

Had to smile when I read this on hibs.net: "I must admit I've been taking a look at Caley Thistle Online. The homespun psychology from one of the big noises over there is highly amusing." Got me thinking, I wonder if Butcher's move has been delayed because Hibs are insisting on getting IHE as part of the package?

Finding a dodgy online stream for games just got a whole lot easier!

Glad you started a thread about this nobody's mentioned it yet.

Monday - BBC report deal agreed Tuesday - denials etc Wednesday - Butcher journies to Edinburgh Thursday - Butcher sits in talks with messrs Cameron and Bennett Friday - Butcher goes to training pitches and chats with the squad...............tells them he's staying. Saturday - to prevent flack Malpas takes the dugout with Shearer and Marsella. Sunday - Butcher sits in his hoose in Abriachan stroking his dog and reflects on the fun week he's had stringing everyone along. Monday - back to training as usual. And all the while the hacks freeze their goolies of waiting on news.

That's what Mr Harvey said on STV, he also says that whoever is in away dugout tomorrow may well be an indication to if Tel stays or not. I think something we have learnt this week is not to listen to the journalists who clearly know as much as us!

Butcher is going to the slaughterhouse ? could be tripe...........I know that is an offal joke but I wont mince my words as many managers have had the chop there and it may not be long before he gets a roasting from their fans too!

I blame Tesco, there are no local shops left.

We should bin all of Butchers signings. My team ------------------Esson------------------ ---Esson----Esson----Esson---Esson--- -------------Esson-------Esson------------ ---Esson---------Esson--------Esson---- -----------------Esson---------------------- Esson can do a great job pushing forward to support Esson, although I'm a little worried that Esson and Esson may not marry up well in the centre of the park.

I suspect the Butcher/Malpas/Marsella package was offered as a take it or leave it....and Hibs have taken it. Assuming all the assumptions are correct, I am really gutted at this: I really wish he'd seen us to the end of the season. I met TB a few times and really liked him, but I am struggling to wish him well, given the fact he has gone to a rival team. Thanks, yes - good wishes stick in the throat at the moment, especially if the expected raid on our team happens in January. I just hope they have to endure another management team lifting the league cup in April and leading the team to Europe at the end of the season. Hibs won't do anything this year for sure (Dross County likely to dump them out of the cup in a couple of weeks), so you just wonder how long he'll get there.... Now for the positive: no manager is ever bigger than the club and ICT will go on. Who knows - the new man might have even more success than TB....and the charisma to hold onto our stars in January. Onward and upward - starting tomorrow!

Cut the negativity. These guys will not succeed at Hibs. ICT never lies down and history is likely to result with them falling on their swords in a few years time after yet another defeat by ICT. When Rangers return to the top flight in two years time, there will be little room for Hibs to be successful. Even next year Rangers will be a major force in cup competitions. The ICT formula will not work at Hibs. Ross County may well eliminate them from the Scottish Cup this year then what do they play for? A management team driven by short term increased salaries!!

Time to modify that away games song: "Terry away, With Steve and Mo......"

Gutted dosent describe it. These have been the best 5 years I've ever had as an ICT supporter. We became his club. He was supposed to see this through and he is off to basically start all over again. There was more history for him to make here but he has made his choice. A new chapter begins, I will be there for the start of it.

Not stopped ICT managers being successful in the past.

Terry is killing his chances of salvaging anything at either end the longer he keeps this up. Im at the point now where I almost dont want him back (I know that sounds bitter) but Hibs are a rival club with the same aims and aspirations as ourselves in a league where there is never much distance between teams. If this was an English club it would be a different story. Different league, different mindset, different country. Deep down I just dont think his heart is in it anymore. I cant imagine what the week has been like for the players and the backroom staff. My only hope is Hibs are peddling out the same tripe theyve been displaying for weeks and we take them apart. The players will need the full backing of the fans, especially on Saturday. I imagine its been a difficult week for each and every one of us. If he does leave I will be gutted, I will be gutted to see a man depart at a crucial time in the season, after having worked tirelessly for the last 5 years in building this club into a real force. I will be gutted to see him head to a club where he will ultimately throw it all away chasing the same ghosts that Fenlon, Calderwood, Hughes and Paatelainen have been chasing. But what I will be gutted about most is we will never see how far Terry could have taken us. We still sit high in the league and we still have a cup semi final in February to get through. If Marsella and Malpas follow then we will have to re jig our entire way of doing business. A formula which has served us well. Especially in the last 2 seasons, the thought of that dosent bare thinking about. If he does stay Im not convinced he will have the same authority or respect from the fans though time would tell on that one. Things could go on like nothing happened. On the flip side if he does depart. Our high league position and cup status makes a really attractive outlet for any manager. I would expect a massive flurry of applications. While it will be frustrating it could also be a really exciting time for us as fans. At the moment all we can really do is put this hellish week behind us and get right behind the team that is put out against Easter Road on Saturday...regardless of whoevers in charge. Eddie Thompson said fans are the only constant in football. I think that statement means more now than it ever did. The ICT ride will continue! Lets do our bit to keep it going.

This whole palaver is boring me to tears. I have a great deal of respect for Terry but he's making a right pigs ear of this situation. He and his advisors should have had the deal done before the whole thing became public. Dragging this out all week with us heading to Easter Road on Saturday is far from cool. Time to bring this to a conclusion and move on.

If he has decided he's going then there are two further scenarios 1. He resigns from ICT and goes leaving a bitterness behind. (Don't think he'd do that) 2. He doesn't resign but requests ICT negotiate a transfer deal with Hibs. 2. Takes time so he lets Maurice take charge of team because he wont be around after the weekend. If he's decided he's not going then he doesn't want to run the risk of the Hibs fans wrath spoiling his game so he stays away till the dust settles. I'm inclined to think he wants to go and to get the best deal possible for ICT and that if Petrie is not forthcoming then he'll be happy to stay and that the silence is while negotiations take place between the two clubs.

If it was Cluedo, I would say it was Mr Petrie, in the board room with an artificial cup bought on ebay

Maybe Butcher IS going to Easter Road tomorrow, and will sit in the away end in disguise. Then at the end when we've utterly thumped Hibs, he'll run out to the front, remove his disguise and do his regular post-match celebration! God I'd love that!

Whilst not dismissing any theories heard to date this simply smells like a compo problem to me. He wants to go, they want him, what is left Sherlock!

Spot-on, IHE.

I demand a statement as to why there is no statement

We're top o' the U20 league and you're no.....

Are you Butcher in Disguise ? Invisible Ink, Invisible Ink - Duncan And Pele - Invisible Ink.

FFS, wish these cnuts would put us put of out misery. This must be the only occupation where you can openly flaunt your services in front of your employer ( not for the first time) and get away with it. Butcher is fast losing respect, and I'm not wearing the 'he didn't know' about Hibs advances line, utter bull**it

If Robbo is considered to be desperate then some others of us could opine that he is simply an active man aggressively trying to improve his future prospects and should be given the respect he is due for not sitting around and just moping about the fact that he has not been in the Management frame for quite a long time instead of getting on with his search. I admire him for that. Robbo is not a nyaff, he's an aggressive fella who gets off his mark to keep his pot boiling. I don't envy him because who else is going to get him a decent job with prospects? Good luck to him I say and, if he was hired on at ICT , I believe that he would put a lot of effort into improving this club. For sure he appears to love the game and has been keeping into touch with all the other footie personalities around so, there you go. We could do a lot worse imho. If Terry did not have his two assistants to help him, where would he have been I wonder.? This is a speculative comment but not intended to be disparaging --just reviewing the past realities and the luck of the draw that he managed to engineer. After he goes, there won't be too many Managers that can obtain loanees from England so we had better look around for a Manager that is well-versed in Scottish football, has sympathetic contacts and can identify talent with a purpose in mind when he sees it.

I see me!

Source? Fijian Information Minister (or Chris Harvey).

So much so that Kingsmills pocketed £250 as a result.

Admittedly those odds are from January 2009 Mucho respect to Kingsmills who, on seeing that list back then, promptly replied "Terry Butcher strikes me as a good bet at 25-1"

Had to laugh at the tweet posted on hibs.net: "Richie Foran visibly upset. He's just been told how much a flat costs in Edinburgh......"

TBH I was more gutted when Pele signed for a flock of seagulls. We sit 3rd in the league, we are in a cup semi-final, we will be inundated with CVs and I trust the Board to pick the right man for the job. Onwards and upwards, Europe here we come.

upset like everyone but we must regroup get behind the boys and show that Butcher may have jumped ship but the fans will never. Nothing major has changed at the moment we are still in a semi final, decent chance to make the 5th round of the Scottish cup and still flying high in the league. The players will be professional and whoever comes in should continue on the good work. We can't become a bad team overnight just because Butcher has gone

Don't agree. We have lost good and successful managers before and the club has continued to prosper and progress. If Butcher goes there is no reason why we can't continue to progress assuming we appoint the right successor and the club have a pretty good record in that respect. The best has yet to come.

This is an opportunity, it's exciting. Managers don't stay forever, we'll soon see how we develop. Anyone got any odds for the new manager?

Sounds bad , silence on the BBC website , daily Mail , is eerie to say the least . Think TB is making a mistake , we all know how happy he is with life in the Scottish Highlands .. yeah Hibs bigger Club , more money , all of that , but .. dunno might be all over after a year and a half , then wishing he'd stayed where he was , and content ! Done it myself .. grass is always bloody greener

If Terry is not in the ICT dugout tomorrow that will only mean one thing. He slept in and missed the bus?

I don't want anyone back. If Terry goes then we need a clean slate and allow someone new the chance to come in and make their mark on the club. Need to get past old memories and look to the future.

He will be gone tomorrow

County fans think ICTFC from the moment they wake up until they go to sheep

If Terry's going to go he should just go.cant keep doing this every time a club shows an interest in him.how can we expect players to commit to the club when the manager runs off to speak to every club that shows an interest in him. We lost good managers before and survived.

Heard there is a line of Chinamen belting up the A9

Derek Adams