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This is a colossal week for us now. Losing to Hibs would be embarrassing and failing to beat the wee team on Saturday would be a very tough one to take. We need the three points and to put a dampener on their parade. Let's burst their party balloons and get a win. I'm glad JH went to the match yesterday. I really hope he can do it this week and get the players giving 100% in both matches from the kick off. I just hope we don't dilly dally about at the back, fail to get forward and end up having a solitary shot on target. C'mon ICTFC, let's do this - they're winnable matches. I'll finish on this quote from Pep Guardiola's biography: "I hate tiki-taka. I always will. I want nothing more to do with tiki-taka. Tiki-taka is a load of ****, a made-up term. It means passing the ball for the sake of passing, with no real aim or aggression - nothing. I will not allow my brilliant players to fall for all that rubbish"

John Hughes getting some advice from a young supporter, in advance of Wednesday's replay.....

So you really think that the number of injuries at present isnt affecting our form? Even some playing on Sat were not fully fit but having to do their bit for the cause. Luck is also not going our way at the moment as far as I can see. Having a fit Richie Foran is a start and hearing that Josh Meekings and James Vincent very close to coming back. Personally I think the International break cant come soon enough and hopefully by then the walking wounded will be returning. Then we can regroup and push on.

Those fans who think that results like Saturday are mainly due to bad luck or missing key players are extremely complacent and in danger of sleep walking into the Championship. It's true that we are not always lucky and, for whatever reason, we have had more than our fair share of injuries but these are minor factors in our poor form. Far and away the biggest factor is the manager's blind adherence to his preferred form of football which is not only generally ineffective but not exactly entertaining to watch. Just how many times this season have we footered about for seventy minutes achieving very little before, usually out of necessity when we are behind, playing more directly and with more urgently and immediately looking far more dangerous as well as being more entertaining. Sometimes we get away with it like Easter Road last week but far more often like the League Cup Quarter final and Hamilton on Saturday it is a case of too little too late. There is no doubt that we are now in a play off battle at the very least. I believe we have the players with the ability and attitude to get us out of it but only if we set out to play each minute of our remaining league matches in the style we are clearly best at. Yogi needs to be less one dimensional and appreciate that teams have long since worked out that by pressing us quickly they can almost completely negate his 'passing game'. Time now to do from the first whistle what we tend to do only in the last quarter or so.

Dear god, what have ICT done to deserve supporters like Lawrence and Shaun. And by the way, it was not the last few minutes that Falkirk scored in the cup final, that was us Lawrence.

Letting Vincent go but keeping Horner?

Would that be the half way line.

Said aye to a few too many Killy pies

Jimmy Calderwood?! The man's a dinosaur, a bully and an egomaniac.

Calderwood is an oaf and a bully. He hounded young Ryan O'Leary out of Aberdeen and Kilmarnock calling him 'soft' when he was battling depressing and rinsed him in front of the entire Aberdeen team saying they should stay away from him. If he (Calderwood) ever came to ICT I would not go to a game until he left the club.

Crackeen idea mun. I'd start with the Falkirk Herald. Them parochial bastroids will never print it.

Playing too cautiously has been part of the problem this season. What we need is to play a far more attacking, expansive game.

As I came to ICT by marriage not birth or residence I can say I'm delighted to see County get the wee cup. The spreading around of major trophies since the old Taxdodgers club went bust has been brilliant for the game, a complete change from the tired Old Firm narrative. Sadly, I expect it'll all change next season now that yon Hibs team have let said Taxdodgers off the hook in the league. The unrestrained joy of Chic Young et al when the gruesome twosome were drawn against each other in the big cup semi was nauseating, bit there will be plenty more of it to come.

Shaun I think its time to hide behind a new user name.

**** ********** *****' ****

Debateable if you are entitled to your opinion if its as moronic as that and quite frankly if the best adjective you can think up is **** (whatever that may be) sums up your contribution. Guess you were one of the 'supporters' today who failed to recognise we had a weakened and makeshift team out today. We have played worse and won, from the start we had people complaining about everything the players did, this negativity does get to the players, Couple of people in the north stand along from me kept a stream of criticism of players and manager probably thinking they were spreading their footballing wisdom but really just showing them to be the fools they are. If you don't want to support your local team through thick and then then get on a bus to Glasgow every second week and depending on which particular scarf you choose you will support a team that wins every week, suggest you pick green for the next 4 year then change to blue, don't throw away your ICT scarf as you will want to come along to the cup final every 10 years or so. We had a great season last year, we are having a more challenging season this year, but that's what supporting a smaller team is all about, So man up, and support the team. Now is not the time to change the Manager, financially we cant compete with many of the teams around us, we are not an attractive proposition for an established ambitious Manager. If we are successful we will lose players and have to be realistic we are a selling and rebuilding team. This does not mean we cannot have moments in the sun, we are the Scottish Cup holders, its March and we are still in the cup, we are established in the SPFL and not in the relegation zone (yet) 20 years ago at the start of this journey this would certainly be seen as positive.

Phillip Roberts gets his first Red Card, in only his third competitive game for Sligo Rovers, tonight (14 Mar).

What team have you been watching this season? The problem has been that when we go a goal up we sit back, almost as if our defence is sellotaped to the edge of the box and invite pressure. Didn't you see that at Dens Park the other week? Probably not.... Also your belief that Newport have Butcher to thank for their upturn in form is preposterous and laughable.

This thread is now on a yellow card. When there are as many posts slagging off multiple posters in the thread as there are about the content - regardless of whether you agree with the point or not - then its in danger of being closed. For what its worth, I disagree with the original poster, but he is most definitely entitled to his opinion. He and others are not however entitled to get personal.

I like CB's idea of a photo of both teams with the Scottish and League Cups in one place, just shows there is always a place for Highland football

Our history shows a successful story. One which by and large has seen our managers given time and eventually being headhunted, not often have we wielded the axe unless it has been the only option available. Under Brewster it was clear he had lost motivation, he was out of ideas to change things and the players werent playing for him. I dont see that in the current situation. Surely a third place finish and a Scottish cup buys him at least a season. Its naturally a relatively small but successful side will see its squad cherry picked. I see a team that is missing some key players due to injury and lacking in confidence. Fair enough, the manager has a footballing philosophy of possesion football but its not the manager playing the pass. The players need confidence to attempt that risky pass that may lose possesion and have the whole stadium sigh or dribble at a player and get tackled, or make a run beyond defenders and perhaps be caught out of position, the easier option and safer option is the sideways or backwards pass or stay in position. It doesnt all come down to what the manager says, we have essentially squad players in the first team due to injuries (we would all love a squad of 22 equally good players but am afraid it will never happen at this club) and players lacking confidence due to lack of faith in their ability and the current run of results. Hopefully we can do enough to stay in the league sooner rather than later, give Hughes a opportunity to find some gems over the summer, then see where next season takes us.

You know me too well. Great picture though don't you think?

A little more than a few minutes. Falkirk scored in 80th minute. One of the fatal mistakes of many teams is trying to defend a one goal lead.

I wouldn't say sacking Yogi is the answer, but unfortunately he is the one who has created the doubts. Sub standard signings, seemingly unable to vary tactics, lack of use of subs. I personally think a lot of our isses this year stem from the lack of pace throughout the side. Last year we had Watkins and Shinnie who could break at pace with the ball and stretch the game, we have nothing like that in the wide areas to do this, and that is compounded without having a real goal scorer to rely on. injuries haven't helped, but due to European football,some of our guys are near on completing 2 seasons without a decent break.

I wouldn't rule a Butcher return out as long as the intense psychotherapy has been successful.

Somebody said somewhere.."Bring back Butcher" ..... Unfair and counter productive. No chance anyway and , after the way in which he left for Hibs, if he did ever grace the seats at this stadium half the remaining fans would quit.

Absolutely. Excellent post. I would suggest that a joint photo with both teams, managements, club officials and both cups is an absolute necessity - even if it has to be taken on the Tore Roundabout. Then distribute freebie copies to every single Central Belt newspaper and monitor results.

good research Gavroche you keep us well informed, thanks

Good to have both cups in the Highlands I hope both clubs can get together to show them off. Both Cups up here are a great advert for football in the Highlands. We dipped after our Cup final defeat. There's still a lot to do but County have just given us a helping hand for Wednesday night. Im also pleased for our neighbours it was a big thing for us last May so it's a big thing for them now, however I would have probably felt more envious if they had won a Cup before us.

Still think he was the target of the "play through injuries" jibe. If the above is correct, we've probably seen the last of the man who scored the goal to win us the cup! Not the way I'd have liked to see it end, but I suppose when you have a tiny squad, you can't take a risk on somebody who might only give you 10 games a season. However, I don't think JV has been man-managed very well and boy, have we missed him since Jan.

Yogi was given the sack......he filled it with all the toys Shaun had thrown out of his pram.

Could almost hear Willie Miller's teeth gnashing together when he mentioned the two cups were in the Highlands,what a shame for some

Do you not think this has become extremely tiresome? Whether it's on here (under a variety of usernames), P&B, Facebook or some Tartan Army forum, you're obsessed with demanding people's sacking. Why? We hit a bad spell (no matter what the circumstances or the success we've had previously) and as predictably as night follows day, you come in with posts that almost make sound like you're screaming at your computer screen. At the start these meltdowns were funny, but now this obsession seems to have become sad, predictable and pathetic.

Found a piccy of Shaun

Think some of the comments are harsh to say the least. Form has been poor as of late but the lads did not deserve to lose today. When you see the way we absolutely battered Hamilton in the last half hour, it reminds everyone what we're capable of. The trouble is, it takes going behind for us to get out of second gear. We need to eschew the ineffective, self-defeating possession game for fixtures like this and adapt the direct, aggressive, assertive approach that we saw in the final 20 minutes. Horses for courses.

A lot of players getting injured at training does though

Mr Useless sounds like an Estonian DJ from 1995.

I am certainly not complacent but I totally disagree that we footered about for 70 minutes on Saturday. Not the greatest performance admittedly but we were more direct than in previous games and there was not a great deal of the tippy tappy football that we have witnessed previously. The fight and ability is there amongst the players but we need that little bit of luck to spark us (just like County's winning goal yesterday).

I am not advocating a change of manager but throwing Foran in at the deep end in the position we are in would not be fair on anyone least of all him. IF we were to replace Yogi in the next couple of weeks, which, quite properly, will never happen we would need to go for someone experienced and willing to take a very short term contract such as Jimmy Calderwood. However, Yogi can steer us out of this mess he just has to accept that his current method of playing simply isn't working.

Just received some exclusive hidden camera footage of Roy McGregor arriving back at his office at Victoria Park.

Injuries are due to our style of play. ( Good English may be owing to our style of play ) If you dally on the ball and kick sideways the opposition know what you are up too and close you down. This means they catch you with heavy tackles. If you play Butcher style and get rid up field quickly defences don't press but retreat to cover the long pass. Hence you don't get caught with the ball . So I feel the style of our play is contributing to our many injuries. Teams have got used to our style this season, last season they were taken by surprise, now they know we we won't punt up field they are on to us like a ton of bricks. With regard to Hughes he has passed his sell by date. Maybe not this season but he will eventually take us down. He took over from Butcher ( a dirty word ) but he inherited a decent squad, That squad has started to disappear, and the replacements are not as good. It can be seen at Newport too, which after Butcher with the new manager has started to win games, true the new manager has turned them around, but the salient test it is the players Butcher left and sorted out. Some replacements like Tansey and Fon Williams are good , but others are not. Another point I would make is the tactics are poor. I will give one example. We were winning one nil in the cup final, with a few minutes left. We got a free kick on the edge of the box, what did we do?. We attacked, virtually all our players went up field . Well you know what happened the free kick was cleared we had one man back, Falkirk broke on the counter, professional foul, resulted and we had a sending off. Bad tactics in the extreme, never criticised because we got the win. It happens all the time. The team is not trained to shut the stable door. Sorry for the diatribe, but I am fed up with the way the team are playing.

I don't want to get into a row here, my perception is we should not press when one nil up, in a vital match. This is only one example of poor tactics, the barn door is left open time and time again. The great Brian Clough once said that if you are winning you ," make sure you win. One goal is enough", . Never give the other team a chance in sport that's my motto. If you don't have players as good as the other team, you have to win by using your brain, We don't even have clever tactics for taking a throw in, Watch a top team take throw ins, They don't play a version of the kids game, musical statues, they whip the ball into play like grease lightning. We don't even have enough ball boys/girls , available to make sure our guys get the ball back straight away and the away team have to wait. I could go on all day, I perception is we are not well organised, it is not altogether the managers responsibility,

One team are still drunk (quite right too,County)and the other team are still depressed.(Hibs)