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It seems to me that this is a tipping point for the club. We are where we are (which is punching above our weight), but do we continue to develop and grow as a team and as a club or do we drop back to what might be seen as a natural level for a club with our resources and fan base? It is also a tipping point for the manager. He took over a team that was 2nd in the league and was fortunate to be able to retain almost the entire squad for this season. He has also been fortunate that with the exception of Foran we have been relatively injury free. This is where he starts getting tested. I've said it before and I will no doubt say it again, but with The Rangers, Hearts and Hibs all out of the picture, this season and probably next offers a unique opportunity for success and a European place. Whilst I am all for sound financial management and adopting policies with the long term viability of the club in mind, I do think we should be seizing the unique combination of having a brilliant squad and weakened opposition to achieve something we may never have the opportunity to again. A European place might not of itself bring in money but it would bring kudos and make this a more attractive proposition for future players. It would, of course, be brilliant for the fans. What concerns me is the lack of information and the generally negative vibes coming from the club at this time of great opportunity. When interviewed after the dismal draw against County it was put to Yogi that we have a number of other players who are capable of scoring and that we might might not miss Billy too much. Yogi responded by saying that we certainly will miss him as he's a natural born goal scorer. From that one can assume that he doesn't see Billy's departure as being something that can be fixed from within. That being the case, what efforts were done to replace him? After all, they knew there was a very high chance he would be going. Yogi has previously stated that he would not be bringing anyone in unless he felt they were better than we already have and would strengthen the team. Yet it seems that the only player we know of who was pursued was a 30 year old squad player from Southend. That hardly sounds like a ringing vote of confidence in the players we currently have. Nor does it sound like a professional effort at replacing a player who they almost certainly knew was off. It does, however, seem like an admission that the club thinks we need to bring a striker in. In the interview Yogi also blamed the pitch and said that they would need to make changes to the way we play to cope with the stickier pitches at this time of year. These days, if the pitch is a mud bath the games gets postponed. If the pitch is deemed playable then it is exactly that - playable, and professional footballers trained in crisp passing of a football should be able to pass the ball on a soft surface. What is the point of completely remodelling the playing style if you then abandon it at the business end of the season because the pitches are soft. Soft pitches in a Scottish winter! Whoever would have thought it! He went on to say that we have been good at keeping clean sheets and that we need to keep doing that and nick the odd goal at the other end. That sounds very much like letting other teams come on to us and then punting it up the field for Marley to chase. A bit like what happened against the bottom team in the league on Saturday. The rest of the season sounds like it could be fun! Of course, if you want to keep clean sheets you need to have a good defence. We have that at the moment, but for how long? We know Shinnie is away next season but what of Meekings and Raven? We understand that Meekings wants a one year contract and the club wants a longer one so it should be something that can be sorted out easily enough. But the longer it goes on unresolved then the more likely it is that other more cash rich clubs will offer Josh a longer contract for more money and, much as he may want to stay for other reasons, he'll be off. As for the David Raven situation I have to confess to being baffled. He has been repeatedly quoted as saying he wants to stay but has not been offered a new contract. I find it almost unbelievable that the club would not have offered him a contract but yet to the best of my knowledge they have not refuted what Raven is saying. It really is imperative to get these two players and others who are out of contract at the end of the season signed up as soon as possible. The money we got from Billy should help as should the money we will get from a decent league position. If we can't do that the position will be looking grim. We have just lost arguably our most important player and will lose our acting club captain at the end of the season. Unless contracts get signed soon we could lose 2 more key defenders who actually want to stay here, and possibly others as well. In the meantime, we did not strengthen in the window and we have no word of anyone coming in for the new season. We have also yet to see anyone come in on a loan basis who does anything to strengthen the team. After over a year, we have yet to see any evidence of Yogi being able to attract players to the club who are as good as any of the current first team squad. Obviously I would not expect the club to make public announcements about the detail of contract negotiations or which players may be being chased with a view to summer signings, but I would expect some general information of what is going on. We may get some good news on contract extensions very soon, we may get news that players have been secured on loan or on pre-contract agreements and we might find that the change of tactics is to press the opposition harder and play football in the opponents half (Greg Tansey thunderbolts and Nick Ross nipping in to pick up the pieces - that sort of thing) but the vibes we are getting suggest otherwise. Which way is the club going to tip? Onward to an early season European campaign and a challenge for honours next season, or back next season to a bottom six survival scrap? Come on ICT - it's time to show the fans that the contingency plan involves a drive for the former and not resigning yourselves to the likelihood of the latter. We have a great squad of players at a time when the league is as weak as it has ever been. It is a time of unprecedented opportunity for the club so please, let's seize this opportunity and let's see some evidence of ambition from the club.

I'm not overly bothered about not having a recognised striker, I'm more concerned that we secure contracts for our soon to be out of contract players and that we play to our strengths. To my mind our strength is a lot of good attack minded midfield players and full backs who can all run and can shoot. I'd like to see us be more positive in taking the game to the opposition with a front three having pretty fluid roles which would upset the defenders and pull them out of position. Get players into the box and get the full backs to overlap and play low balls in with the likes of Tansey and Shinnie coming behind, exploiting the space created by the runners and looking to shoot from cut backs and half clearances. Mixing it up a bit up front would make us less predictable and throwing the likes of Fergusson into the mix as well would offer further options for the team as well as giving him a chance to show what he is capable of. Because we had Billy as a recognised striker we tended to depend too much on him and build our attacking play around him. Rather than focus on a lone striker, if we can focus more on the collective strengths of the team and encourage others to take more of the responsibility of looking to score, then there is no reason why we can't score plenty. Watkins, Doran, Christie, Tansey and Ross all have an eye for goal whilst others are perfectly capable of getting in on the act as well. Goodbye "He scores when he wants". Hello "They score when they want".

In regards to communication... It used to be my biggest annoyance with regards to the club and is/was the main reason I volunteer so much time to assisting them. We did an extended interview with Yogi last week in which he goes through all the possible permutations of what could occur with signings as the transfer window approached...and beyond. He stated that there was a chance that someone could have come in ahead of last weekends game, but if not then he still had other options and was very clear that if the window closed without us making a signing, it did not mean that we wouldn't still be looking....he even pointed out that his best ever signing was a free agent. I really don't know what more the club could say at this point without giving info which they likely don't want in the public domain (such as target names etc)....and I would be the first person pushing for a statement if I felt their was information to be given. There's been a few rumours floating around in the press (none of them true, to my knowledge) about approaches here and there, and whilst it may seem like a sensible thing for the club to make comment on these it doesn't actually help the wider situation. I've learned a few things along the way whilst doing what I do at the club, and one of those things is that the more the club do to try and counter rumour and misinformation, the more rumour and misinformation it creates because press start (more than normal) to create stuff knowing that even if it's nonsense then it generates a response and helps them fill column inches. It means that the club have to strike a balance, and that balance comes from not wasting time writing statements every day, but from giving proper information as and when there's proper information to give. The pursuit of the above mentioned point of balance has meant that in the past 3 years or so, the club has gone from not having a dedicated person working on media/communication to having someone for whom it's a full time responsibility. Not only is someone coordinating that, but you then have the time spent gathering and preparing the info from various dept's....so there is a marked increase in hours dedicated to it from everyone. It would be naive of the club (and arrogance by me) to think that they always get it right....and sometimes we know we're missing doing something, but the limited resources mean you have to take a "hit" somewhere. I don't believe that is the case here and all the useful information that can be given, has been given. If people want an official line on it, then I'll stick my club hat on and say "things are still happening and an update will be given in due course". We'll be speaking to Yogi tomorrow ahead of the game this weekend and I'm sure if there's anything that can be added to that then he'll include it.

I'm sure Aberdeen fans would be delighted to hear if they lost Rooney that they'd be doing extra training to compensate. Also the chairman is brilliant, new deal for Tansey, getting the game on last Saturday, pay what you think.... In fact all the ticket deals this season. But in my opinion they've made a mistake on this occasion. If we're going to be writing to him direct now because we dare to disagree with the club then just close this website down. It's a place for discussion, praise and and critsism.

I think it is time we took stock and analysed what happened here. Nobody died! But reading some of the near hysteria on this thread, one would be forgiven in thinking someone had died! We lost our striker in the transfer window, probably a few months earlier than we expected him to go. A striker by the way, who apart from in the last few games, had scored precious few goals in all of 2014. Yet we still managed to achieve a good league position in 2013/14, and are on track to better that in 2014/15. No doubt I'll be branded a 'happy clapper' for even suggesting this is still possible. A lot has been talked about contingency plans. Maybe there was a plan to get a replacement in before the window. I don't know. Maybe Yogi expects Foran to play a part before the end of the season, and/or he feels there is sufficient talent in the squad to cope without Mckay. One thing I was surprised about was letting Mckay's cover, Sekajja, go a few weeks before Mckay. To me this reinforces my view that Mckay moving in the window was unexpected. But it is clearly down to Yogi now to manage the resources he has to ensure we maintain momentum for the rest of the season. That is how we will judge him, and I, for one, expect him to succeed. Looking to the future (next season onwards) it is clear that significant effort is required by the club to ensure that at least Meekings and Raven stay. Hopefully Watkins too. I think losing two stalwarts from the defence would be an even bigger challenge for us than losing Mckay. Anyway, onwards and upwards, starting with a good cup win at Partick on Saturday. See some of you there!

We all want Meekings to stay, but at what cost? Hard to blame the stalemate on the club without knowing what his agent is demanding. Meanwhile, it doesn't help us that the player is in the press advertising his availability.

Let's talk football !! Despite the disappointment of the transfer window I feel more confident now than I have done in some time visiting Mary Hill. I feel that the main team to have Sussed us out recently and outplayed is is Partick. Now we are in a position where few of us can second think how we will line up on Saturday. Plus I expect Yogi to have revved everybody up to show that there is life after wee Billy. That may not last but should be evident this weekend. I would now say that we absolutely prioritise the cup. I suspect that Yogi will go with a 4-5-1 with Watkins up front alone. He can probably do that role but his skill will be sorely missed elsewhere. So why not go for a 4-4-2 with no actual centre forward but with two pacy players up front who play wide. That should baffle the centre halves ? I would play Marley and Christie in those roles with a midfield of Ross, Tansey, Draper and Shinnie.

Would love to see Calum Ferguson get a shout, completely agree with DoofersDad in the fact that we have good attacking midfielders and full backs so if we have a striker like ferg who will run and get into positions the chances will be created for him, why waste a wage on a striker who (going by quite a few of our recent strikers) have taken quite a while to get off the mark, perfect examples Billy Mckay and Adam Rooney. Would also like Ryan Baptie to get a shout at left back as well.

Hope this doesn't smack of desperation (cos it's not ;)) ... but the website below is actually quite an interesting resource. http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ Then go to Transfers and Rumours / Transfers / Without Contract You can do a search for strikers without a contract, search by nationality and order the results by date became available or value etc Apart from Jordan Slew there are some interesting recent releases now available include: Andy Johnson (ex-England international), Rob Earnshaw, Scott McDonald (ex-Celtic, Middlesbrough), Mikkel Beckmann (Denmark), Adama Diomande (Norway), Edson Buddle (US) ... Appreciate wage demands, lack of ICT resources, player's desire (or otherwise!) to live in Highlands ... but one can dream! We are not Aberdeen but they've picked up some useful players who are ex-big clubs or maybe a bit down on their luck. Apologies if teaching anyone's granny to suck eggs ... must have too much time on my hands :)

Forever In Our Hearts

If Meekings is only willing to sign a one year deal why not give him one assuming the salary being asked is reasonable. That way we have him for another season with the option of cashing in in January. Not exactly ideal but a whole lot better than losing him for sure in May and for nothing.

Just checked the website http://www.bbc.scotlandshire.co.uk/index.php/rural-news.html

Aye, best not sign a striker, in case they turn out to be another Billy Mckay or Adam Rooney!

I would take Johnson if we can afford him for a season, if we get past Partick on Saturday we are 3 wins away from lifting a cup.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31134390 Antoine-Curier saying he wants to stay in the UK. We could do no worse for 3 months with MAC on a short term deal IMO.

A young bull and an old one are standing at the top of the hill and the youngster, fuelled by adrenaline and blistering testosterone, cries out in a fervent: OOOH. look at all these lovely cows down there Let's rush down and get one." Replies the old fella, still alive and kicking "Aye, laddie, thas a good idea but why not mosey on down the prairie and at modest pace and conserve our energy; then we can get all of them?" BUT then another farmer bought the prize cow whilst they were dawdling down and the other cows wanted mating to wait until they could decide what to do. The old bull turned to the young bull and uddered "In my days we had a contingency plan".

Kevin McCann's side Warriors (Singapore), beat Burmese side Yadanarbon on penalties in the first preliminary round of AFC Champions League qualifying. I don't know if he played but he certainly didn't take a penalty

There are dozens of examples of top players starting out in one position and transitioning to a completely different role (Bale, Henry, Ronaldo, Mascherano, Matthaus - just off the top of my head. Even just looking at our own club - Jim Calder started life as a centre forward, but ended up being one of our best ever goalkeepers. Dennis Wyness started as a midfielder, but ended up being our all time top goal scoring centre forward. Roy McBain started as a winger, but ended up being one of our best ever holding midfielders. Ross Tokely started as a striker, but ended up being one of our best ever right backs. Graeme Shinnie started as a left back, but also excels at right back and central midfield. We're too obsessed with categorizing footballers in this country. We have plenty of talented attacking players with pace, skill, vision and an eye for goal - all the attributes required for a centre forward. There's no reason whatsoever why Marley Watkins, Ryan Christie, Aaron Doran, Nick Ross or James Vincent can't play up front. We should focus on footballing ability, not artificial labels. Thankfully we have a manager who looks beyond narrow 'specialist' positions and looks to be trying to develop well-rounded footballers with full-spectrum knowledge of the game. I hope he succeeds. Let's give him a chance.

Without meaning to sound like a happy clapper, attracting players and retaining the services of who we would like to see remain at the club would be far easier if we had more fans attending. Replacing Mckay is a big ask - which player realistically is out there who: A). We could afford and B). Is a proven goalscorer. Personally I'd like to see the young players on the fringes get a good run in the first XI

Further reports that both Raven and Meekings, while keen to stay, are frustrated by lack of progress in getting deals tied up. Now that the transfer window has come and gone, can we please prioritise getting these vital players secured. It's hard enough getting quality players to come to the Highlands, it would be criminal to let two who are content with life here slip away.

Call that a defensive wall?

Wel , as an older geezer I have to support Bughtie with his outlook. You say we have no chance to win the League etc. etc.--why Billy was not the only player on this team --it's about a team , not an individual. Why can't you just say that we still have a chance. Same old same old, negativers again. There is no proof of any stupidity or any fault by anyone in Management so why not get behind them and SUPPORT them instead of lambasting them ..for what? For inactivity.. sometimes that is a smart move . You can bet on it that they are trying very hard to work out a policy or strategytyhat nwill be for the benefit of ICT in the long run//Remember the old joke A young bull and an old one are standing at the top of the hill and the youngster, fuelled by adrenaline and blistering testosterone, cries out in a fervent: OOOH. look at all these lovely cows down there Let's rush down and get one." Replies the old fella, still alive and kicking "Aye, laddie, thas a good idea but why not mosey on down the prairie and tat modest pace and conserve our energy; then we can get all of them?"

Your worse than a load of old women it will be all right on the night!

You seem to be taking it so personally. I haven't seen anyone casting slurs. Contingency or no contingency we do not have a recognised senior striker at the club at the moment. How can that be a good thing.

As I said already, the Mckay deal taking till Friday PM may have scuppered one (possible) contingency plan. It's just as feasible that it's wrong to assume that "contingency plan" meant bringing someone in...could just as easily have meant that Watkins had been training in that position to cover. If that was the contingency (short term)....then it worked out fine, IMO. When Yogi did the interview last week he stated that he had various options to consider....and one of the things he said was that just because the transfer window closes, doesn't mean they stop looking to bring someone in. I'm not saying people shouldn't talk about it or have an opinion on the situation....but there's a lot of remarks being made and slurs being cast on people's characters which are based on wild supposition. We have a chairman who has brought the clubs budgets under control and has us living within our means...and he's done that whilst still providing the manager/s sufficient funds to deliver success on the park. I think he deserves a tad more respect than some people are showing him just now. If people want to bad mouth or belittle me for holding that view, fill your boots.

Why do people even criticise the club when CaleyD and davie are always right and the club is always right. Get a grip everyone.

While everyone's going into meltdown about the striker situation, I'm getting increasingly concerned about the defence. Raven and Meekings are two of our most reliable players and have expressed a desire to stay, yet one claims that contract talks have "stalled", while the other seemingly hasn't been offered a deal at all! What's the deal with that?

Come on some of the ridiculous stuff on this thread is laughable. From what I understand GMS was offered a deal at that time but didnt accept. Armstrong was in the youth setup and moved to Dundee to live with his family. Fail to see how club can be at fault for this. The club can only sell players for what other clubs are willing to pay? No?

Ever thought maybe the players approached didnt want to come up to Inverness? Should we pay over the odds for a player of lesser ability like our neighbours just to have a player? Also even if they had a contingency list the players cant be approached in advance as thay would have been 'tapping up' so until we formally go through the process we dont know if a player wants to come to us. I do agree about the GS situation especially as the Dons seem to have spent cash on MacLean, can only assume that they had the loan deal done for the otehr CB and decided that GS can wait. I hope the board didnt reject on the basis its a rival only to then sell off Billy.