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This has probably all been posted before but We aren't having a bad season, we are having the worst season. Unless we have some sort of stunning turnaround we are relegated and relegated as one of the worst teams to play in the top flight of Scottish football in decades. Gretna, who were a bankrupt shambles in their top flight season, won five games. That's the level this team are at. Every area has been a failure: - Recruitment - Has Foran signed a player who has improved the team? I don't think he has. Maybe Billy Mckay but improving the team by signing him isn't exactly a managerial masterstroke. We have signed bench-warmers, who bat about Scottish clubs trying to find a good season to get a few more contracts. Guys like Brad McKay, Billy King and Henri Anier fall into this category. While watching the game the other night Billy King forced a corner and I said to my mate that his agent will be putting that in his highlights reel when he tries to get a new club - that's all these guys are interested in and that's how bad they are. We were starting Doumbaya in "must-win" games then we released him a day later, who is planning this? - Team selection - It's bizarre at times the sides that we are putting out. I think that Foran and his team are over-thinking things, trying to tinker because they are panicked at what is happening. In February we chanced upon a couple of good performances with a midfield trio of Polworth, Tansey and Draper but almost as soon as we found that we moved away from it. To drop Draper and Billy Mckay for a derby game and then complain that we don't have enough "nasty lads" is beyond belief. To make Vigurs captain is the same (we've got others just as bad as Vigurs btw). - Coaching - The players don't know what they are supposed to do on the pitch. What is this team's identity, how do we play, what are we trying to do? Do we want to pass it, are we direct, do we want to play on the counter? No-one knows. We don't have anything underpinning lobbing players onto the pitch and hoping it works out. This means the players don't have any confidence, it means they make mistakes, it leads to stupid decisions - the game on Friday we literally handed County three goals, the first goal and two penalties. Terrible decision making but what help and direction are the players getting? None. We have poor players badly set up and badly coached. - Organisation. I've heard that the day-to-day running of things on the playing side hasn't been great, that there's been problems with training and that all isn't well behind the scenes. We have a goalkeeper who lobs the ball in his own net every few weeks but we loan out our back-up keeper out without a clear option to recall him so are reduced to effectively bringing Esson out of retirement when we shell OFW out of the side for the second time this year? We have the worst season in our history, have directors resigning and the response is to bring back our former assistant manager as a coach? With five games to go when we are five points adrift? It's ridiculous. I'd be amazed if we sack Foran and it's dangerous times. If we go into next season with the same rag-tag squad on far less money, our crowds will reduce. If people think we are going to bounce straight back and go on a First Division tour then they need their heads examined. Dundee United were in a better situation this season and they are in no way guaranteed to come back up. I wouldn't be surprised for us to be nearer the bottom than the top of the First Division given our current form. I don't really have much hope even if we did sack Foran. Who are we going to bring in as a replacement? If we'd got rid a few months back we would've been a more attractive option than a lot of other clubs now we'll be a floundering Championship club with a reduced budget and a demoralised squad and fanbase. Best case scenario if he stays is that he shows a capacity for learning, we manage to keep together the bones of a competent squad and build on it. I'm not hopeful.

Considering how bad we are in the Development league over the last few seasons they aren't bringing anything better to the party than the stagnant coaching team we already have. While we are all focused just now on the first team plight, the performances of the development team are shockingly bad (infact worse) we find ourselves lagging far behind Championship teams who should have lower budgets than us for youth & development teams, yet we cant get it right. This is emphasised by the fact our first team performers can be complacent and knowingly under-perform as we have no depth at our club. Yet another embarrassment which will come back next season to haunt us when we haven't got enough quality at the club to get promoted.

The more pertinent question is who could have done worse. He was given a big increase in funds in January but didn't improve the team's performances and results, quite the opposite, in fact.

Richie Foran might have failed as first team manager, but to call him a fraud or a wage thief is harsh beyond belief. If the man is guilty of anything, it's accepting whatever contracts the club has offered him over the years (as a player, then manager). He can't be faulted for that. Your first loyalty is to your family - not your football club. If resigning means a financial sacrifice on his part, he'd be crazy to do so, and I don't blame him for holding on as long as possible. Ultimately he's just an employee doing a job to the best of his ability. If a new first team coach is required, it's up to his bosses to act - either cancel his contract and pay him every penny he's due, or negotiate and re-deploy him to a diminished but secure long term role (rather like Charlie Christie getting his Centenary Club job back). I thought the board was supposed to be full of business brains? If RIchie cannot be sacked for financial reasons, surely between them they can offer him a decent job worth 'walking away' for?

Just heard Richie on the radio. He clearly has no intention of resigning. Shame, because I really admired him as a player and I thought he had the interests of the club at heart, but he's decided to lead us into the abyss. Will somebody somewhere take the decision out of his hands and then also accept responsibility for this horror show?

Tbf both Foran and Mcnaughton have been seen helping with the dev league players when injured.

I am going to have a guess now, but are you actually Richie's Mum using a pseudonym?. Tell the truth now as the suspense is killing me! If not you must be Roy MacGregor and your just on here to take the mick!!

Instead of full fans/community ownership which as suggested by previous posters could cost up to 3 million another option would be to go down the Killie route. They have just launched the "Trust in Killie" initiative to try and get a fans representative in the board. They are aiming to raise £100,000 to purchase unallocated shares in the club by asking fans to pay £15 a month. http://killietrust.killiefc.com/news-detail.php?context=news&show=detail&rss=http://www.blogger.com/feeds/6864949749245332354/posts/default/6163283783693819205 This could then be used as a stepping stop to ultimately go down the route of community ownership.

Maybe a couple of drams of the rare whisky that Billy Fish gave you softened the blow?

Are you for real!!! I understand we're all hurting but this seems a bit personal tbh

I travelled to the Stirling game and the Cowdenbeath game pre-season and for me it was very worrying to watch. I turned to my Girlfriend and said "I think we are going to struggle this season." and boy was I understating that. I very much doubt Butcher returning would cause a magical return to the SPFL like when he first took charge. If Richie called it a day and left I think it would have to be a totally new manager not one of our previous ones. What concerns me more is what cif73 is saying, I dont want to see Caley Thistle die after only 23 years but thats another topic. (also my first post , please go easy. dinnae skelp me lol)

Hughes had us playing some pretty turgid football last season. Relegation was a possibility up until we found some form after the split, I think our run of results post split put a bit of a gloss on last season. Our inability to defend cross balls is something that we inherited from Hughes - even in the cup winning season the number of goals we lost from either crosses, or the second ball in after clearing a corner was frightening. Hughes inability to spot players was a weakness too - and just how many midfielders does one club need to sign? Having said all that, if Hughes wasn't the answer, Foran definitely isn't. All he has managed to do is polish the turd that Hughes left behind into a nice shiny relegation!

Yip and he wouldn't have got us to a Scottish Cup Final, won it and into the Europa League.

While this may be slightly off topic, if/when we get relegated, there is a chance to start afresh with many things next season. Getting back to a more "local or Scottish squad would help and I refuse to believe there are not some players in the Highland League who could step up albeit part time or full time. While I accept that fans may not turn out in the same numbers as this season, the club will really need supporters to back the team. Boycotting the team because RF/The Board haven't resigned next season will only hasten any demise. There is a 1 in 4 opportunity to get promotion either directly or via the play offs which wasn't their previously so better odds than previously to get promotion. All of this does come with a huge caveat however in that the board/manager must get their planning right in the summer and that is the part which worries me most.

This was one of my biggest bugbears with Foran. Good performances against Dundee and Saint Johnstone earlier int he season and later against Hearts and Rangers and instead of keeping that same approach to games he changed it and results faltered thereafter. I know you can't play the same way every single week and you need wee tweaks here and there but it seemed bizarre to have these good games and see players like Tansey coming to the fray after looking lost for weeks only to change the set up again and then the likes of Tansey went back to being completely ill effective. He never seemed to want to build on good results and changed things around again, results again became poor but then he strangely started to stick with defensive and narrow setups.

You're clutching at straws there. The one bright spot was the win against Rangers. Did Foran learn from that and build on it? No.

This is a problem that is going to affect all clubs with an average attendance under 5,000 who don't have a sugar daddy as costs rise against a stagnant support base. Scottish football is so poor that European qualification usually costs clubs money as they can't get through the preliminary rounds to the competition proper and can't recoup their costs due to the small supporter base St J being an example. Amongst the solutions would be part time football or hire more local talent at a cheaper cost which probably means playing in the lower leagues, smaller squad sizes, standing areas (at lower cost) and summer football might also help attendances. Clubs like Hamilton (who once had to resign from the league due to debt) have only survived because of their academy and the transfer fees and sell on fees they have collected which is definitely the way to go for smaller clubs to be able to compete. They also take a lot of their players from the lower Scottish leagues. When I started watching ICT we had a team of Scottish players now we have hardly any I also think the team we had in Div 1 was a better side than what we have now. There are far fewer people both playing and watching the game than there were back in the day, the standard has come way down and the cost way up. I recall a decent Partick side getting over 15,000 at home against Honved in the 70's despite getting knocked out with that crowd they would have made some money. They would be doing well to get half that today.

The point is that your bold claims about being some kind of soothsayer who foresaw this demise and rubbished claims of our new style of play at the time are simply garbage. I don't disagree that if Hughes was still in charge we probably wouldn't be on the cusp of being relegated however his time at the club was clearly at an end for reasons that have been discussed to death on this forum and he had to go. What he did with us was fantastic, taking a team we all thought was at its peak under Butcher and somehow got them playing even better. It was incredible. But after players started leaving, Hughes yet again showed his failings in the transfer market and couldn't replace those who left. Foran was clearly the cheap option but given the club have let Hughes spunk a mental amount of cash on the squad, gave him a new contract and then had to pay him off (and some allege are still paying him now), I am not sure what folk expected the club to do? That said I do think that the board should have acted back in January or whenever it was that we lost to Hamilton and, as much as I love Foran, sent him packing. It was clear by this point his tactical setups and team selections were questionable and we were already sliding down a very slippery slope. The fact is, blame can be apportioned on all parties here. Hughes for leaving a bloated, unbalanced squad in need of a serious overhaul with little cash for the incoming coach to work with, Foran for his largely poor signings, questionable selections and odd tactical setups and the board for sitting back and allowing this mess to develop.

I can understand that a lot of people are getting on my back, over Richie Foran. I seem to remember he was a popular choice on his appointment. What do I know, but lynching the manager is a popular remedy for failure. It can work look at Leicester City, But not Birmingham City. Managing a football club is not easy especially with no cash. Guys have left the club for pastures new , usually Aberdeen or Dundee because of one thing cash. Hughes left because he couldn't pay his players the going rate. Managing in a lower division , who can we attract ? I am not jumping on the sack the manager bandwagon . I realise it is just my opinion, but I am not convinced he ( Foran ) is incapable of managing with the proper resources. - Have another go at me chaps, I can't help the way I feel. As in the last line of " Gone With the Wind " Tomorrow is another day " We have nothing to lose in the next few games, let's blast the hell out of the opponents.

Really? Let's take a look at what you said just before Hughes left and Foran came in. Hmm, so far it looks like you're pretty non plussed about Hughes leaving recognising that his style of play has it's limitations. Nothing obviously at this stage of anything suggesting that you had called out the new exciting brand of football as nonsense. Some pretty fair comments here, reservations about the lack of experience which was echoed by a number of ICT fans on here at the time and, with hindsight, a very accurate comment about needing an experienced number two. Still nothing about calling out the style of play as rubbish. Again, repeating the reservations concerning lack of experience but again nothing about calling out the new style of football as you claim. More doubts but ultimately comments hoping that Foran does well. I sense a pattern here. This is the last post of yours I could find close enough to the time of Forans appointment which talked about your thoughts on him taking charge. Yet again, no comments whatsoever about the style of play and indeed you thought we might even get into the top six! That's definitely setting your expectations quite low especially given your concerns about his lack of experience... You almost seem pleased that Foran has failed so you can tell everyone "I told you so!" yet it's also clear that some of the bold claims you are making now about being some kind of prophecy regarding calling out the style of football that was going to be on show are a load of bollocks.

forget about past managers. Why anybody thinks they are a viable option, wanted by anybody, or they have any desire to do it is beyond me. Back to the past is not an option.

Fisher deserves a contract for all the hard work he's put in this season. Feel he's been massively overlooked. Crying out for players with heart all season long then lo and behold we've had one on the bench all season. Gigantic oversight from Foran to only realise this with 6 games left. The man always gives 110% and he's a fantastic addition to the squad. A definite fans favourite too, I really admire the way he's always the last to leave the field after clapping the fans, and of course giving his shirt to fans after Motherwell. Hardly a Scott Sinclair but definitely not a bad player to have at all. I'm a massive admirer of his.

Dougal.... for the first time in my life, I have given you a green dot for most of that post!

Ownership of a company is achieved by purchasing its shares and the shareholders are hence all part owners of its assets. To my recollection, although I can't currently lay a hand on my copy of the accounts, the club's share capital runs to something like 3 million £1 shares which are owned by the likes of the ICT Charitable Trust, the Muirfield Mills consortium, the Highland Hospice and also much smaller holdings down to £250 by individual fans although this last category doesn't make a large percentage of the total. £3 million is therefore the kind of money needed to buy the whole lot at face value. A fans' body might want, or indeed would probably want, to settle for less than the full complement, even if the owners were willing to sell them. There's also the possibility that some owners would be prepared to part with their shares at less than £1 each. For instance the late Ian Fraser is said eventually to have parted with over 300,000 shares to Sandy Catto for just a fraction of their face value and these are actually part of what the Catto family then donated to the Highland Hospice. As a result, there are possible ways for a controlling interest to be acquired for a lot less than £3 million, but a lot of money would still have to be raised. The raising of further share capital by way of a share issue would be another opportunity for fans to acquire some interest. On the other hand, fan ownership also brings with it responsibilities such as the running of a business turning over anything up to £4 million a year and with many employees. Inevitably there's a lot more to that than meets the eye and a supporter led board would have major responsibilities requiring significant expertise and time, as previous boards have had.

Sad thing is County have also had an absolutely dreadful season and their fans have also being shouting for their manager duo to be sacked up until the last few weeks To get humped so badly in a derby with no fight no passion and no bad tackles tell me our players have already given up the ghost and knew relegation was already on the horizon Draper and McKay should have been the first two names on the starting line up, the dressing room is obviously in turmoil Also the so called young team, how many times do they need to be told to not let off smoke bombs? Whoever the moron was that threw one on when we were about to take the corner should be banned from ICT games for life let's be honest they have become an absolute embarrassment to this club the fact that some defend them because they create an atmosphere no longer cuts it with me If we do indeed go down let's hope they go and follow either sides of the old firm where their antics will be more welcome Dougal

The club has a number of people who make rediculous decisions and don't have the balls to put their hands up and take responsibility.

JH's public criticism of the board was his way of manufacturing his exit. He had the biggest budget of any ICT in history and was moaning publicly about the lack of money. He did well with Butcher's team but couldn't bring in talent himself. He had to go.

But thats totally different to practically accusing them as being wage thieves when injured. What other duties did you want to see them doing out of interest?

Sometimes you can tell a lot about a poster and to what level to consider or disregard their views by the standard of their writing and ahem...their profile photo.

Are you on crystal meth bud forans the problem hes killing the club mans a clueless bullyboy