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I've given this a bit of thought and so the first thing to say is to apologise for the length of this post. My immediate response to Mahonio's original post was simply to post . I didn't expand on that as I felt it encapsulated my frustration at folk who are not prepared to give folk a chance to bed into a new role. It is, after all, a common criticism that football clubs don't give managers time and this club has a record of bucking that unfortunate trend. That is not to say that I did not have any concerns, but my view was that it was far too early to judge the man and we would need to be struggling well into next season before it would be reasonable to ask such questions. Since then, my concerns have been growing and yesterday rapidly took things to a new level - his comments before and after the match and the tactics on show during the match were simply not acceptable. So, should he be sacked? Rather than say a definite "No" as I did a short while ago, or a definite "Yes", I think it all depends on discussions between the Board and the Manager - and if such discussions have not taken place today, they need to take place very soon because having taken over the Manager's position at a period when the most successful season in the club's history was all but assured, Hughes has catapaulted the club into crisis in just a few short weeks. I don't use the word "crisis" lightly, but crisis it is. Hughes has now very publicly stated that the style of football the squad are good at and which the fans love to see is not his style. His style is to play it through the middle - a style he has not been able to achieve results with elsewhere and which we all know he will not acheive results with here. Not only are we to play it through the middle but the guys are to pass it at all costs. No wonder we are creating little up front and are nervous as hell at the back and are giving away soft goals. Not only is it not going to work, it is boring to watch. The frustration of players and fans alike was evident at the game yesterday. For me it was encapsulated at a first half free kick midway in our own half. With most of the team moving up towards the 'Well penalty area there was an exchange between Warren and Draper. Warren was calling Draper back to receive a short free kick and it seemed to me that Draper was effectively saying something like "what's the point" whilst Warren was saying it was what they'd been told to do. A short kick was taken and inevitably came to nothing. Presumably when Draper has been "educated" on how to pass the ball to Billy's feet through the 6 or 7 opposition players in the way, all will be well. If Hughes hasn't already lost the dressing room he appears to be doing his best to lose it and he is certainly losing fans through the turnstiles. If his insistance on his fundementally flawed tactics is allowed to continue then there are number of implications:- We will not win a European place next year. Whilst a European adventure at our level may not be very lucrative and might even cost in the short term, the experience for the players and fans and the kudos it would bring to the club would be huge. The longer term impact would be to attract more fans to the club and it would make it a more attractive club to potential future players. Barring miracles, what recently seemed probable this season is now highly unlikely. Players will want to leave. Perhaps we would get some money in for them as they are all under contract but it will not be much. Our current form is relegation form or close to. If this style of play carries on to next season and we lose some of our better players then relegation is a real possibility. Post independence, a European adventure will mean a trip to Berwick. Crowd numbers which are already low, will drop alarmingly and that will have a major impact on the financial position of the club. This will be a much bigger factor than any transfer income. Club finances will be further hit by a lower league position (or a position in a lower league) and no windfall through cup success It is a distinctly gloomy prospect. Hughes came here in the fortunate position of inheriting the best squad this club has ever had and with most of them contracted to the end of the following season or beyond. Since Butcher has left others have committed to the club, Tansey has rejoined and Christie has emerged as a real talent. In short, the scene was set to build on Butcher's legacy and take the club forward. Butcher and his management team certainly did well in assembling the squad and had them playing an effective style of play which, when the team was on form, could be exhillerating to watch. Where Butcher was weak was that he was often tactically naive and had no plan B. It was in this aspect of the game that I for one had high hopes of Hughes. I believed he could bring a different dimension to build on that legacy: little did I think he would simply knock it down. This is a crisis not just because of what we see happening to the team just now, but because of the potential of next season. The Rangers and Hearts are out of the equation and Hibs will be rebuilding. That's half of Scotland's big 6 teams. This year and next represent the best chance we have ever had or are likely to have for many a long year to finish in the top three and to win a European place. With the excellent squad we have available to us it really must be a priority for the club to secure a top 3 finish next season. We may never have a better opportunity as the following year will almost certainly see The Rangers back and challenging and possibly one or both of the Edinburgh clubs. Aberdeen and Dundee Utd will probably continue to strengthen. Bottom line for me is that we simply can't afford to start next season playing Hughes' "through the middle" nonsense. If he is given the chance and 10 games in we are sitting close to the bottom then it will be too late for anyone else to turn it around. We have to get back to doing what our players do best now. The Chairman needs to tell him that and if he won't do it, then out he goes. Many have said that so early in his contract the Board can't afford to sack him, but in my view the financial consequences of him continuing to do what he is currently doing would cost far more than buying out his contract. I don't know what gets written into contracts but is Hughes not in breach of his contract by radically changing the way we play? Surely the interview process must discuss a candidate's proposals for basic playing style and tactics. Unless the Board felt that this nonsense was a good idea then Hughes will be in breach of his contract and he can leave "by mutual consent". If the Board were conned because they did not have a football man on the panel then they should have the guts to make a sound business decision and cut their losses. So Mahonio, my original to you is now directed to Hughes and his fatally flawed philosophy. For raising the topic I now give you

The really worrying thing about tonight's game for me was that I thought the players gave their all and actually played pretty well within the tactics that were deployed.How bad will it get when performance levels drop off? Shinnie, Draper, Tansey and Vincent all worked hard in midfield but time and time again it all came to nothing because there was no width. But it's worse than just there being no width - I got the impression that players have been told to play the ball to feet. On the odd occasion that Raven or Tremarco were wide in space the ball was played to feet and so by the time the ball reached them their way forward was blocked and so it was sideways or back again. A few months ago the same players would have had the ball played into space for them to run onto. It was the same with the forward ball - lack of width meant there were few gaps to exploit and therefore sideways it went again. Motherwell had players out tonight and were there for the taking. With the effort our lads put in we would have taken them to the cleaners if the tactics had been better. Unless things change soon it is going to be a disappointing 6th for us at the end of the season. Very proud of the effort of the players tonight but hugely disappointed at the way they were told to play.

I've stayed out of this til now but I personally think the board really have to cut their losses now. I never wanted Hughes in the first place, but was prepared to give him a chance. Since he's arrived we've taken a huge step backwards. The players obviously aren't buying into his 'philosophy', and don't seem to have a clue what he's wanting from them. We were already pretty much guaranteed top 6 when he arrived, and just had the worst team in the league to beat to get to our first cup final. What's disappointed me the most is our performance in that final. Aberdeen were there for the taking but we were so negative we could still be playing today and not have scored. There seems to be an attitude amongst some that we should be grateful for where we are. Sorry, I don't agree with that...we have a squad full of very decent players who are more than capable of achieving top 6 every year. Before Hughes came we had IMO one of the best central defensive units in the league, but now they look like Sunday park players making the most basic mistakes which teams are punishing us for. The likes of Warren and Meekings don't become bad players overnight so their dip in form has to be down to whatever the manager is instructing them to do. Similarly McKay was on fire before Hughes came...now he just looks shot of confidence. I'm all for watching great passing football, and there's nothing better than watching the likes of Barca, Bayern or Arsenal when they're on form. Trouble is we're ICT, and if we had players who were capable of playing in that way, the way Hughes likes, they'd be playing at a far higher level than they are now. I used to get excited about going to games, now it's hard to muster up the enthusiasm to even attend.

Tansey at right back was a real clanger for me, almost as hilarious as the days of Proctor playing sweeper and why was Christie dropped? He was our best player on Saturday. I want him to do well so badly just so we can put this all behind us but the last few performances have been some of the worst to date, last night being the real tip of it for me. He has totally altered a system that has brought about so much success for us over the last couple of seasons and has all but returned us to the dark days of hoof ball. Talk of winning ugly with the side is a joke, given the quality of performances seen at the start of the season (with the same players) he shouldnt have to re jig things as much as he has. We were warned about the stubborn nature. His persistence of Vincent as a winger (which he will never be) and not playing any of the 3 currently fit wide players at his disposal (which he should) makes it plain to see. Watkins and Ross are more than capable while Williams may not be the best but would at least be in his regular position, yet theyve been ignored. The only good thing that Ive seen is the development of the young lads. Evans looks promising while Christie has the potential to be a great player for us, last nights goal and cameo paying justice to that, it leads to the question of why was he dropped in the first place? I really just want this season to end, it all but did after the final. We are staggering towards the finish line with very little to show for it after such a great start in the league, i would have expecting a small slump at some point but this has been a major regression that we havent got out of. Hughes maybe cant be blamed for the start he had when he came here but part of me feels he can be blamed for not getting us back on track. 5 wins from 19 is pretty dire, 7 of those games have seen us not win against teams in the bottom 6, including Hearts. Part of me wants to give him the summer, but part of me cant help but think weve got it wrong. I would love to see him do well, its clear he is trying to work something here but its also clear he needs to re think it, this is a results business, we aint getting any and sooner or later something has to give.

Here's where I've stood on the Hughes appointment throughout and why my attitude has changed: 1. Amazed that he was shortlisted, given some of the names supposedly (but probably not really) in the hat 2. Astonished that he was appointed for the same reason 3. Understanding of the board's decision after I heard his post-appointment interview - I could see how his enthusiasm and footballing philosophy, coupled with his willingness to embrace the club and community were attractive (especially if the rumours around Hartley's unwillingness to even move here are to be believed). In view of the other 2 candidates short-listed, I felt we'd got the best of a bad (short-listed) bunch. 4. Forgiving of our early form under him because we were already at the staryt of a slump when he came in and we had a real problem with suspensions and injuries in the holding midfield area, which he failed to solve 5. Forgiving of our form up until the league cup final because it was a distraction for players, management and supporters 6. Delighted that he was showing faith in the young players (Christie and Polworth) 6. Forgiving for the form in March due to fixture congestion:a small squad will always struggle with a succession of midweek + weekend games, but nevertheless.... 7. Confused by his midfield team selections. They have never been balanced, have consistently played guys out of position, when there are perfectly capable individuals available to play in those positions. 8. Frustrated by the lack of width and use of wingers. I now understand (as of yesterday) that he likes to play through the middle, but that is not what he said he'd do at the start which was along the lines of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"! We do not have the players to play through the middle. 9. Infuriated by his pig-headedness in sticking to a philosophy that is not working and is simply not entertaining. 7 chances in 90 min is not enough for a top 6 team at home. The players we have need to play with width and on the counter-attack with fast, incisive passing. 10. Devastated that he's managed to take a team that worked fantastically well in a 4-2-3-1 system, to one that can no longer defend or create chances and is hamstrung into playing square and backward passes in the name of "possession". Possession football only really works if you've got Iniesta and Messi to make a killer pass or go past 2 or 3 defenders. We have Vincent and Mckay. 11. Depressed that I don't think he will learn from his mistakes, or indeed listen to anybody around him. It wasn't broken....but it sure is now! The best fix will be to go back to where we started, play on the counter, with width and pace. Doran (when fit), Watkins and Williams are all capable and Christie is a revelation. Mckay will score if he gets chances in the 6 yard box (needs crosses to do that!); Draper, Foran, Tansey are all good players in their right places and the defence and keeper were watertight for 6 months. Good players don't turn bad overnight. In summary, I really believe in giving a guy a chance........providing he is willing to learn from his mistakes. Highes isn't doing that and doesn't look like he will anytime soon, so he's in my last chance saloon, I'm afraid. Season tickets are at stake here!

He/she/it has got to be a troll definitely. Every post is an attack on the fans or at fellow posters, some of the stuff they're coming out with as well is beyond belief! Got to be someone on the wind-up.

Dingwall is very narrow, so an all out attack 4-3-3 for me - Brill Raven Warren Meekings Shinnie Tansey Draper Ross Watkins Mckay Christie Subs - Esson, Devine, Tremarco, Vincent, Polworth, Williams, Evans What I think Hughes'll go with - Esson Raven Warren Meekings Tremarco Draper Tansey Polworth Shinnie Vincent Mckay!

RIG is offshore :lol: :lol: :lol:

This. Sometimes easy to forget how rediculously fun those Pele days were.

The equivalent of us appointing Hughes when we did, would be the equivalent of Aberdeen losing McInnes and replacing him with Ian MacCall or Dundee United losing McNamara and replacing him with Jim Duffy! What I thought was interesting was Ryan Esson starting last night. It's been pretty clear for a while that Brill isn't comfortable with the style of football, yet had a much improved performance on Saturday. Why was Esson in? Has Brill told Hughes was he really thinks of his tactics and they've had a bust-up? I wouldn't be surprised. The fans aren't happy with the tactics. The players aren't happy with the tactics. How long before he properly loses the dressing room? I've heard two players in-particular are really at their wits end with the tactics. I'm not going to give away their identities just yet, but unsurprisingly they're both wingers. Hughes's tactical problems existed at all his clubs. They didn't score goals at all and kept the ball for what seemed like a matter days, passing the ball round the defence and doing nothing with it.....and often losing it. Maybe they were all tired as well? I remember when Hughes first came in, he did seem to make a few tactical changes, which paid of. The defensively solid and swift counter-attacks in our 1-0 win over Aberdeen is a prime example. That was great to watch and sussed Aberdeen out perfectly. Why's he being so stubborn now? When he first came in, he said "he wouldn't change too much". What rubbish. He also told the players to go out onto the field and "express themselves". They like they're doing anything but at the moment. Many look devoid of confidence and being forced to rigidly stick to a system they're not comfortable with and don't want to play. And what's this trash about "educating the players"?! These are professionals, not schoolboys. One final thing I find interesting, is the lack of happy clappers on here after last night's debacle. You know the kind; the ones who sound all smug and attack their fellow fans loyalty to the club, while telling us that we know nothing as we're nothing more than footballing paupers when it comes to tactical knowledge. I believe their silence this time is deafening and long may that continue. Viva the realist revolution and all who follow it!

Not so sure about that. Hibs have a manager with a track record of being able to build a successful team if given time. Our manager's history offers no such cause for optimism.

I disagree I think he thought he would go a great job there and then get the Rangers job, he has never been short on ego

We were the best, or I should say a close 2nd best to Celtic. The best defence, the best leagues goal scorer, the most entertaining team to watch. We knew how to play football and win. Butcher selected all of our players as he saw something special in them. Butcher, larger than life character and international player. Enter Yogi. Play through the middle? Play fecking everywhere, what ever it takes. long balls, diagonals, down the channels, down the middle, keep them guessing. Yogi may or may not have the dressing room who knows, bar giving the youngsters a chance he hasn't scouted for a single player and they may not have heard of John Hughes. Butchers style of play was boring and we lost fans because of it and they didn't want to come back, sadly they have missed out on 2 great seasons. Thankfully Butcher changed the style of play 2 seasons ago and we haven't looked back, it was nowhere near what it is now. Yogi has to educate himself as to what his best options are, whats best for him, whats best for the players and the club. When Strachan took on the Scotland job he quite openly said he didn't have the pool of players to suit his style of play so instead played to the players strengths. Do I want Yogi sacked ? No, not yet. I actually think he is doing a good enough job of trying to sack himself. See what you have in front of you, see what works and what doesn't, Butcher changed his tactics too. Aberdeen have been crying out for pacey wingers for years, problem now resolved on both wings. Aberdeen struggled to score from open play enter Rooney problem resolved. Aberdeen go from being under achievers to cup winners, in another semi and on course for Europe. We aren't Aberdeen but see what you have and play them to their strengths before its too late.

David Bowie would be better than Hughes. Even his laughing gnome would have more of a clue

Butcher Pele [then a big gap] Christie Brewster 1 Robbo [then a big gap] Hughes Baltacha Brewster 2

Has rimet not noticed that it's now 2nd April ?

Do the posters ever think that they might be detrimental to the club? Negativity seems to be the theme and those who try to be positive are deemed 'happy clappers'! As a season ticket holder for many seasons I have been delighted with the progress the club has made. My only gripe has been the lack of game time for 'home grown' players but Hughes seems to want to change that and whilst I think Polworth and Christie have much to earn they must be the club's future.

Maybe he just nipped out for a smoke

Why Christie bottom? Got us to 7th in the table, with a points total above 4th, then 8th in his second. That's got to be better than Baltacha and Brewster 2 at least. My thoughts as well. Does the poster remember the season and a half of good football and good results that Charlie had or does he only remember the four defeats start of following season.

Personally, I thought that very insulting to our squad indeed and I fear it will do him no good in holding the dressing room. What an ill considered thing to say.

I have stayed out of this up 'til now but Hughes should be sacked just for last nights post match comments. Educate? This was an insult to every player in the squad and his self- praise for the substitutions was pathetic. Raven spent most of his game in acres of space wide right only for us to play balls to feet through the middle. I am not looking forward to our last 6 games, never mind what will happen next season if things don't change. We can't afford to wait until Christmas as I think the rot will have already set in and our season will be lost.

Pele . . . . . The Rest

Is it not amazing how many co-dependents are coming out of the closet. If there were such great things on the horizon why did the erstwhile Messiah dump us ?

1. Butcher - he took us to top six and left us with a team lying second in the league. He also did wonders for our profile! 2. Paterson - it was just so much fun. Every home game was an absolute joy, even if we didn't win 3. Christie - hugely underrated for me. Tactically astute and kept us punching above our weight. 4. Robertson - took us up, but I don't know how well we would have done in the SPL if he had remained 5. Brewster (first time round) - how much of his success was down to Brewster the player? 6. Brewster (second time round) - after an initial bounce, his relationship with the players collapsed and the writing was on the wall months before his departure 7. Baltacha - I was only about 10, but I still remember that we were rubbish, and boring, under his charge 8. Hughes - has accomplished the remarkable feat of making decent players look useless. May yet become our shortest serving manager ever

I have finally made myself watch the highlights on the on the SPFL youtube and I just want to 'highlight' some of the issues that have been discussed about lack of width at the moment. First Example: Look at how much space is being sacrificed - at home too! To be fair to the lads, moments later Greg Tansey cracked it off the post but I was amazed that we went through the middle and if Tremarco was allowed to exploit the flanks then Billy Mckay would have been supported. What should have happend: The annoying thing is that if Butcher was here then the above would have happened and we could have scored. Second Example: Granted that Ryan Christie did go on to score in this example but look at the right hand side of the pitch, Billy is crying out for the ball and he was a break away from a goal. Third Example: As you can see again, the wide right is empty and you can see that the narrow style of play has drawn Motherwell in and this was at a point where David Raven could have been wide right looking for the ball and getting a cross into the box and create a goal scoring opportunity and again support for Billy. Sadly Raven was taken off and a central midfielder was placed at Right Back - ridiculous. Final Example: Not just attacking, defensively we are leaving too much space for the oppostiton to get into spaces and they utilise them and are more clinical with the ball. The most annoying factor about the missing space in the wings is that you have Nick Ross on the bench that would love to exploit the flanks but he isn't getting a look in.

I'm going to start the Paul Sturrock nonsense again! (purely for my own amusement you understand!)

Charlie Christie until the end of the season. He won all his post split game 1-0. 5 wins out of 5! Imagine that. (imagine a win against a top 6 team again!)

Ultras!?

Got to say after last night I'm struggling to see how John Hughes will move the club forward or even keep them at the current level. The players in general are shadows of their former selves and it's obvious to all that the change in playing style isn't working. No question in my mind he's cost us a European place this season. Next season will be a massive test for all at the club, especially the board if the team struggle in the first half.

Jhesus what if I got it wrong - what if Kenny Cameron is the Head Narcissist !!

I was not unhappy with Butcher's departure. He had brought success but was clearly restless himself and had probably reached his shelf life with the club. At the time I was hugely enthused at the prospect of an energised dynamic new manager coming in and taking us forward. As soon as I heard who we had appointed my enthusiasm and expectations immediately nose dived. Given that what is happening is no more than I expected from the manager my disappointment may not be as acute as others who expected Hughes to be a success. However, for the long term, we remain a decent club run along prudent financial lines. We have a decent squad of players many of whom are on extended contracts. I suspect the manager will be there for next season but after that we can maybe make a more inspired appointment and resume our ambitions. In the meantime I believe it's important to continue backing the players even if you've lost faith, assuming you ever had any, in the manager. John Hughes is temporary, ICT will survive and prosper after he's gone. Stick with it.

Go Mr Angry & Co ... At least they are trying to create an atmosphere, passionate & provide great entertainment which is more than can be said for whats happening on the pitch these days !! As for the Stewards last night they were nothing but a shower of fannies getting on to Mr & Angry's son for banging on the sign behind him !! Whats the first thing shouted over the Tanoy?? ..... Lets make some noise for the Caley thistle boys!! & thats all the lad was doing !! Its ok for Old Firm fans to come up here & do what they like !!!

'Should Hughes be SACKED?' To me the answer is yes, will it happen - no it would cost too much money for what it's worth, in reality - top 6 every year is all the club are looking for. I have never seen such a lacklustre performance, from start to finish - why are we playing so many central midfielders? At times i still struggle to work out the formation, we appear to swap positions every couple of minutes! The lack of width is frightening!, At the beginning of the year i would have said that we had the best 'squad' we have ever had, and alot of different style wingers yet none are being used! If you ask me Marley Watkins in the last 10 minutes of the last 2 games has made a real positive impact, yet he does not get a start? Nick Ross is another one capable of performing, why has he not been given a chance? currently all the midfield players are trying to make the same runs, nobody is giving another option. The real thing that annoys me is Hughes' stubbornness to change his tactics, it is obvious that this passing across the back and lumping it forward ontop of Billy is not working, as opposed to the ball into the channels, where are the passing options we previously had?We always had natural width from our team, and multiple passing options, now we only ever have one. Last 5 minutes last night Hughes had the option to go two up top to chase this game, but refused. I could have told you about a month ago that the current style and formation is not working - the players do not seem up for any game. Away to Dundee United we lost that game through defensive errors, but also through loosing the 50/50 battles and the second balls, i cannot recall any of them being won by a player in blue.

I'm interested in how Kenny C and the Board will respond to all this. Are they going to keep their heads down for the rest of the season, and hope against hope that things change - despite what they can see with their own eyes? Even if one or two results go our way, who in their right mind would pay to watch that style of football? The fact that most of our players are signed up won't stop clubs coming in for them. I could see Ross, Doran, Watkins, Williams, playing elsewhere next season unless there's a change. Why, if you're a winger, would you want to stay and play for a manager who doesn't believe in playing wingers? And Mckay as well - it's so bleeding obvious that the service to him has dried up because of this attitude and style of play. Why's he going to want to stay?

Draper was playing out of his skin and should have been man of the match. The team played to plan using the final telling pass back to esson. We demonstrated last night that we can neither go forward or backwards. I think Hughes will realise Billy is surplus to requirements who needs striker with this system it would allow him another mid fielder.

f**k off Hughes. Our goal was good. That's about it. Absolutely no width. Played a central midfielder at right wing (and later right back), our left back at left wing, three central midfielders who looked like they had never met before. Odd then that 3 wingers sat on the bench. McKay looks more and more isolated up front by himself. Shinnie was rightly MotM for us and Christie looked good as well. We can play all the pretty passing along the defence and the half way line but we have no clue what to do with it when we hit the final third. We were so successful because we were quick to attack and direct. This doesn't mean long ball at the time but when we had the chance to attack we went for the jugular. Hughes has strangled our attack and forced everything to go through the middle of the park. We are so slow to attack teams get men behind the ball and task us to play through them which, more often than not we can't do. Well were solid but didn't have to be any great shakes. Their first goal was a long punt down the pitch which caught out our defence and Anier slipped in between Warren (I think) and Esson to slot the ball home. The second goal was much better. A rapid counter with 4 or 5 quick passes played in Vigurs and he easily dispatched the ball past Esson. Crowd was really disappointing. Less than 2,400 but in truth I think it was even less. The only game left that means something now is the Derby on Friday.

The only silver lining to this latest cloud is that the defeat was very predictable, to the extent that I had a successful bet on the outcome. Did the same last week v Dundee Utd. Sometimes you can just see it coming. All too often, these days.

I understand him aging, Yogi is making me age

or should it be - Forty

I think a 2-2-2-2-2-0 formation is more likely as the full backs will be considered as wide players and therefore unnecessary? Of course this formation could always be varied to an attacking 2-2-2-1-2-1-0 utilising a midfield diamond ?

I'm fed up of hearing this "be thankful that we are in the top league, top 6, punching above our weight, etc etc" fact is we have a side who are good enough for all that so why shouldn't we expect it from them? Unfortunately we have a manager that has destroyed what could have been a great season and needs to get the boot now! I feel sorry for the players having to play for this guy!

It's time for the fans to get behind the team. My opinion and not everyone will agree is that Hughes won't get sacked, the Inverness board have to think long term and while Hughes may not be the man for the job, he will be given time to prove himself or not as the case may be. The Inverness job is not the most attractive for an established manager and we are caught in the position where we need an experienced manager to sustain our expectations and try to improve the team. Managers who may be wanted elsewhere will not come to a club that does not give them time. Things have to improve and maybe we the fans have to show the way, I sit in front of 3 people in the north stand, 2 elderly men and a woman who never seem to shut up criticising the team and even laughing at mistakes, then have a go at the manager, at one point tonight I was wondering if I had enough money on me to offer them a refund to clear off (fortunately I didn't). I know that they pay their money and have a right to opinions, as we all do, but get behind the team or shut up, this negativity must get through to the players and confidence can't be high in the dressing room at the moment. We expect high standards now from the players, so let's get behind the team, we have some very young players on the field now and they need our backing. I would hope that Hughes has some contacts in the game who can source some decent, and they will have to be cheap, new additions in the close season. Top six finish and first major cup final, I would have been happy with that at the start of the season, the worry is that this bad form we have now struck will carry into next season. Who knows what will happen, but we are Inverness, we are in the top league, we are top six and we are here to stay. Twenty odd years ago in Inverness we would have been watching Highland League football if we wanted a live match, now we are bitterly disappointed if we don't beat Motherwell that's how far we have come, surely despite this bad patch this can be considered a success.

2 postponed games to be fitted in 1 Scottish cup replay Cup final 4 games more than the other top teams in Scotland in 6 weeks One of smallest if not THE smallest 1st team squads so no rotation and resting Try working 7 days a week for 6 weeks and tell me you are not tired

It's all gone a bit off track this. I really just wanted to make a genuine observation about the value of having a really passionate supporter who encourages the crowd to get behind the team. As for the xenophobic stuff it belongs in a bygone age. Even Inverness is a multicultural city these days and I couldn't care less about the accent, skin colour or past football allegiances of my fellow fans as long as they encourage the team. Mr Angry and his two accomplices are worth any number of grumbly mumbly old men regardless of their local pedigree in terms of the impact they have on the match.

The way things are going recently may I suggest that we put them behind Dean Brill and in front of our goal

Brill is actually well on the way to rivalling or bettering the amount of clean sheets in a season at 20 (a record currently held by Ryan at 23) This doesn't tally with the current hand-wringing about him. He makes the occasional mistake and as a goalkeeper is in the full glare of publicity - nowhere to hide and all that. For the manager to drop him at this stage in the season and with that kind of record would be odd in the extreme. If you looked at his averages for kick completions etc., I'd be surprised if he was worse than anyone else in the league, apart from Forster. I certainly couldn't see Hughes behaving towards him in the same way that Adams has towards his goalkeepers this year and thank goodness for it. In terms of Hughes, I still feel that Wednesday night had width in the side and it was a game that we could have taken something from and that against a side that has a massively better playing budget than ours and a commensurately massive level of debt attached to it. So does Aberdeen. So does Motherwell (although their debt figures are better) Celtic are ahead of everyone else. So where does that leave us? As high in the table as we are likely to ever logically be. Football is good at defying logic though, but a small and increasingly knackered squad is less likely to challenge it. As well as the physical demands, the mental strain of two or three games a week for weeks on end catches up. I know that people expect high standards, but they are bound to vary. It wasn't the "rubbish" that others have posted. There's a case for bringing Christie, Polwarth et al in but not yet at least en masse, not until our season is over. We are 5 points behind United with a game in hand. Our next games are against St Mirren (with Motherwell in the middle) and County, theirs are against Aberdeen and Celtic. Which would you rather have? After the split everyone will take points off each other. Season over? Don't think so, and with all due respect it's a bit short sighted to contend that it is. There's much concern about the current passing from the back game that we seem to be adopting. Getting the ball up the park as soon as possible appears in post after post, despite the fact that Butcher was lambasted for that approach in his early reign - keep the ball on the deck was the cry at that time. Of course it's early in Hughes's reign but their are signs that he wants an already passing team to do it even more. Can that be bad? With a fresh team and more options, especially up front we might see a different beast next year. Some of the criticism and language directed at Hughes recently has been saddening. Ok the guy doesn't have a PHD in english, but did he have to? The remarks scattered around on here about his command of english are a poor reflection. He is a far more insightful and perceptive individual than his predecessor who is wedded to the ideas of the club, not his own personal power base. He is far more open and frank and engages on a far more equal basis. If he deals with the players in the same manner, I am more than happy that they will buy into his philosophy and take the club forward. That has to be better than the constant carping, sniping and infighting that is the alternative.

You may also notice in your table that we have one of the best defensive records in the league in that period also, so not turned into the defensive shambles many have claimed. The thing with pretty much any team in the SPL is that by and large they're fairly evenly matched. How often in the past have we seem evidently bigger and more seasoned clubs surge into 3rd one year and then have a stinker the next? People say "Oh but we finished 4th last season and were up top with Butcher" Yes that's true, but the season before that we flirted with bottom, and before that had a strong return to the top flight. Also do people not remember that last season we didn't win in our first 7 games? 5 draws and 2 heavy defeats. People wanted Butcher out, he then took the team to 8 games unbeaten (2 of which are part of the no wins in 7), winning 4 of them. Which also coincided with only losing 1 in 17 (winning 9) Up until the 30th of January we'd only lost 3 games. Twice to Motherwell (4-1, 5-1) and Celtic. We'd won 9, drawn 10 in 22 games. Doing well and everyone was happy. We then lost 7 in 16, Including 4 in our last 5. Only winning 4 in total from January 30th onwards. 2 at home. That run at the end and a final day loss to RC cost us a place in Europe. So to get to the point, perhaps, just perhaps it's not necessarily just down to the manager. We seemed to have developed a habit of doing well early on and being in a good place in January before form deserts us and we fall away. Maybe more down to the fact we have a small squad of players, all made up of free transfers. They have qualities but also limitations. Unless we manage to get a top class team the likelihood of season long consistency is unlikely. Also with a small squad, injuries, suspensions and fatigue all play their part. If someone told me 2 seasons ago that we'd have an average position of 4.5 and still in with a chance at Europe I'd be quite happy. No ecstatic. So stop being typical football fans and be done with these fickle notions.

It's such a specialised role, goalkeeping. years ago, if you were a good 'shot-stopper' and could gather crosses, you'd be a top 'keeper....in the days when you could simply pick the ball up from a back pass! (It looks totally 'alien' now if you ever see a clip of that happening from old footage). Can't remember if it was Peter Shilton or Ray Clemence, but one of those former England goalies has since said that he was glad to have retired before the passback rule was changed, as he was 'hopeless' with a 'live' ball at his feet! Nowadays, a goalkeeper needs to be competent with both feet at clearing, despite oncoming strikers closing him down. It pains me to admit it, but Andy Goram was terrific at clearing danger and was comfortable on either foot. I remember when I was at school, and my PE teacher was ex-Caledonian custodian Derek Dewar, he gave me a rollicking for scoring an own-goal from an intended pass-back. His advice was logical and simple - when passing back to your 'keeper, play the ball back in a committed fashion so you don't under hit it and let the striker nip in, but more importantly, place it wide of the goals, so that the goalie isn't obligated to deal with it to prevent a goal - only a corner would be conceded. It's literally schoolboy stuff!

You may also have observed, Sneckboy, that until Brill came along we were leaking goals on a regular basis, the defence were playing without direction and we never had a keeper that could deal with crosses into the box. That said IHE is correct in his feelings of misgivings about Brill's capabilities with dealing with back passes and clearance kicks but most of the time it is because he is put under huge pressure by the passers back not dealing with the issues themselves or giving him little chance to get to the ball and clear it safely. He has been instrumental to the success we have had this season and I for one still think he deserves his place.