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Calls for replacements such as football dinosaurs such as this, Calderwood, Jocky Scott etc make me cringe almost as much as the continual calls for ex-ICT managers to return although achieving little in the game after their short, successful stints many years ago. Clearly the gamble of inexperienced manager doesn't always pay off such as with RF so far, yet as a club we shouldn't be afraid to keep being brave and giving new ideas a chance - but we need to also be proactive enough to recognize when this doesn't work and keep moving forwards rather than stagnate or even regress. There's young managers out there looking for their step up from lower leagues who at least have some experience but are ready for a bigger stage to try their luck - look at guys who could be on the way up, not those on their way down.

I doubt he would come back - he may be from Inverness but that doesn't mean he's spent the forty odd years since he left wistfully thinking back to the days he spent playing against Rothes, dreaming of being welcomed home as a conquering hero, his photo above the bar in the Tarry Ile, local boy done good. He's been at Villa for decades, why would he give up a job like that, developing young players for a shot at a (likely) lower league club, for less salary hundreds of miles away from where he's made his career?

I know we are all down tonight and being rightly critical, but at risk of being shot down, now is the time the players need us as their 12th man. For all of us, let's get behind them in the next six games and do all we can to salvage our season and keep our top league status. If we can achieve that, we can then debate who our Manager and players should be, but for now we have what we have and need to do our bit in our bid to survive. Recent years have been good, despite the agony of the penalty kick loss at Parkhead in the League Cup. I will never forget the cup semi at Hampden, and us all joining in with the chants of "stand up for the Caley Jags". Now, more than ever, we need that spirit and support, not just in Section E but in the full stadium. Then there was the cup final.... My best ever day as a fan..... The best hangover excuse ever. Europe was brief and I only managed the home game, but an experience for a small club like us. It all seems a lifetime ago, so much has changed in less than two years, but let's make our support count where if matters: at the games by being loud, positive and behind the players. We need to play our part. It's now or, I dread to think, possibly never!

"Pride of the Highlands".... "The Highlands Are Ours"....."Always In Our Shadow". Yup..... hubris always carries its attendant risks. I am sure Robert, the Original Poster on this thread, won't take offence, and nor should he, if I describe his wise words as "the bleeding obvious". His advice certainly trumps checking out the boozers in Ayr and Dumfries most easily accessible by bus pass.

i gave the Fish top marks for being the only player to applaud the fans who suffered til the bitter end. and apart from that, he actually, as always, worked hard and fought for every ball. a guy who has always given his all to the cause!

Not until the Fat lady sings !!

If the manager is indeed not listening to the assistant manager then one or the other needs to go.

Aye but under what name?

The board made an absolute shambles of JH leaving the club and let's not pretend otherwise. Turning down money from Dundee United for him then paying the guy to leave 6 months later. Its ended up with seemingly the only option being Richie Foran, who was a complete risk. It's not worked. Foran to a degree has been hung out to dry. Basically the club not having the money to get rid of Rice as well as JH has meant Foran has been unable to bring in anyone that HE might have wanted as his assistant. It's normal for a manger to pick his own backroom team within reason. I would it very convenient if Rice was his choice. I'm not sure if anyone actually wanted Rice at the club other than JH to begin with. Basically because of the Hughes fiasco, we've ended up with a management team who in all likelihood wouldn't have wanted each other in their respective roles. For all the boards reasonable work in balancing the books over the years. This expensive mess is one they haven't covered themselves in glory with. And they know it.

Devil's advocacy time! So when times are good, the credit goes to the managers and not to the board who appointed him. But when times are bad, the blame sits with the board and not with the manager they appointed.???

I've been racking my brains to think of a manager who could do a worse job than Foran and I'm somewhat relieved to have come up with one. Claude Anelka - brother and agent of the footballer who despite any experience became Raith Rovers manager after investing £180,000 in the club. His strategy was to bring in a load of French amateur players. It didn't work and he didn't last long. I'd rather have Foran than him.

It needs doing NOW! The team itself are really not a bad set of players it's just leadership that's never been there from day 1. Act now and at least we've given it a shot. Leaving him there is just a disaster

I do think Foran going is the one lift the team would get that would change morale enough to give us a chance, slim as it is. If he stays, it is more of the same, so what have we got to lose by showing him the door?

Well truly thought by Monday we would have seen the last of Foran as manager . We obviously have a chairman with not big enough balls to admit he has got it wrong and at least give us a lift and some hope going into the last 6 games . Seemingly manager and chairman are as bad as each other and have not got our clubs best interest at heart . Sad really !

Billy Reid was dire at Accies in the SPL and the fans absolutely despised him. Along with that, his teams played some of the most negative, brutal football seen in Scotland in recent years, while his general signing policy (which often involved signing everyone available over the summer, then releasing them after two or three games) was even more scattergunned than Yogi's. He's currently employed as an assistant in Sweden and perhaps the fact that he's barely been considered as a manager since he was sacked by Accies tells you all you need to know. Do you use the same tombola to construct sentences that Foran uses to pick the team?

I've seen her standing in the wings for some time and now I'm hearing her clear her throat.

^^^this is the issue. we have players with quality who have and will play well. but with no clear plan, consistency, tactics, formation, ideas, belief etc then we're fooked.

Yes that's what I meant.

Mate your attitude is spot on and cannot be faulted, but football is a 2 way thing and from where I was sitting on Saturday there was a fair proportion of our players who had just decided to call it a day. So asking the supporters to play their part is commendable, but the management and players need to at least to try and give us something to hang onto and believe in. At the moment we are being fed, week in week out constant bullsh*t on how we need to be more aggresive, how we create many chances, how things will improve next week, must win games etc. On that note I will see you at Motherwell on Sat.

What is logical in Scottish football ?!!

Really? We're bad enough with the professionals that play week in, week out without removing someone for Richie's ego to get a boost and have a crock who's had about 90mins of football over 3 years have a run out. Too many on here seem to think he was a playing messiah, he was average at best with a bad temperament at times and was as likely to get sent off or injured as he was to score. Pulling on his boots is not the answer to this situation.

Hughes was at a very low ebb in his career, was unemployed and had nobody else rushing to employ him. Kevin MacDonald is in a very different position indeed. Yes, they wouldn't let him spend money we didn't have and that he knew we didn't have when he signed his lucrative contract only a few months before.

It is worth remembering that Charlie Christie once one won all our five games after the split

What happened in tunnel I heard was that he told the ref what he thought of his performance!(it wasn't complimentary). Just like a lot of the North stand who waited behind to boo & demonstrate there frustration & anger at the ref's **** poor performance. Probably give Fisher a 7 for the game. Found space, won balls, set up chances, work rate etc.....and boy is he an improvement over Anier. Pity Ritchie has FROZEN him out of the team for so long, considering Alex was fit and ready!!!.

Fair play, Robert. The problem I'm having is that I don't recognise the team from one week to the next. Butcher and Hughes' success was built on consistency of selection and tactics. I have no association with the players or team this year - it seems to be a random group that is put on the park, which challenges loyalty. I'll be there to tge bitter end and will scream and shout to encourage, but boy they're making it hard!

I see Marley Watkins scored for Barnsley today (and got booked). How we could do with his pace today!!

And keep the same players and manager . That will make a massive difference and I don't think !

Nah, he deserved more of a chance than that. To me, the 3-0 debacle at Hamilton at the end of January was when it became crystal clear that he couldn't organise or motivate the team.

Absolute garbage. Just because you like going on the pish in Ayr, Dumfries, etc.doesn't make this good for the club I'm any way. Relegation would be an absolute disaster, even more so if our neighbours stay up. The real blame here needs to reside at the door of the clueless, faceless board who are utterly invisible and show no direction, vision or aptitude to manage a Premiership club.

He should have gone in November last year, when he lost the dressing room and said he's to blame. That's also when the players got together to see how they could improve things. They have all failed since then to kick on and climb the league. If I was in Richie's position at that time I would have walked to save what was left of my dignity. Now it's just ridiculous to let things go so far towards the Abyss. I really don't understand how the Board have keep faith in him so long.

Please go, right now. Abundantly clear that Foran cannot get much out of this team and does not have an aptitude for management. It's painful to watch someone so hopelessly out of their depth. Get an experienced manager in on a basic wage plus a 6 figure bonus if he keeps us up.

Sorry but we CURRENTLY have a squad of players capable of Top Six. If we had produced performances we would have attracted a few more in attendance figures BUT the team have simply have not been managed properly. Again Foran was an average player, played fer the shirt, gave everything, was popular BUT had no experience of coaching or managing and unfortunately has FAILED. The BOARD are to blame fer promoting him taking a massive risk, probably because he was cheap and THEY gave him a long term contract in the HOPE that he would succeed. THE BOARD ARE ULTIMATELY TO BLAME FER THIS. Unless we clear the Board OR get ONE voice in control - ONE who has football experience - and get in some experienced coach we will linger outside the top league fer ever.

and take Kenny Cameron with you please

Rice is the issue i would say. He sits most of the games and lets Foran get on with it. Did Foran have a choice in the picking him? Terry Butcher as a director of football role

He doesn't have the ability to get us from the Championahip back up to the top flight. We are however tied, in that he was given a 4 yr contract!!!!!! The board should apologise at the end of the season for their bad appointment based on finances and convenience.

RF should do the decent thing and pack his bags. I'd rather have 6 games without a manager than continue with what is happening.

4pts behind with 6 games left. We play our now closest rivals motherwell twice and need wins in both games just to hopefully get off the bottom spot. 1 win in 21 games until now and a team bereft of ideas and confidence. Foran should walk tonight and the club seek Rice to step up or tell him to go too and we see what happens, I think ithts safe too say he's lost the dressing room and the players, so sadly we need change now. The foran fan boys will say he can turn it round, he was a great player etc but in the last 3 years his only telling contribution to the club is to make us an on field shambles.

We had this discussion in January and, no doubt, will have it again at the end of the season. However, personally, I don't believe right now is the time for this debate. Rather, it's the time for pulling together and trying to dig ourselves out of this hole we find ourselves in.

Tansey & Ofere - both players who scored important goals on our run, but he picked the team and tactics regardless of the players to get us to a final and win it - however its still evident from some on here he will never be given any credit for anything achieved.

No point blaming others forans the top boy all blames at his door the mans fckin useless him and rice need to go couldnt trust him to outfox managers like peter houston next season could easily end up like st mirren if he stays a stupid appointment at the time an unqualified manager in the spl ffs even if we stay up what then relegation fights every season fcuk that

Billy reid unearthed some cracking players at hamilton spending buttons just the man we need used to zero cashflow right now id take daffy duck gotta be an improvement on foran

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