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Good post, Sean. I don't think Draper is playing nearly as well as he did a couple of years back and I think maybe that some posters' take on the importance of Draper to the team is based on past performances and not on more recent ones. To me, he doesn't seem to have the drive he once had.. He can be a real handful going forward but he rarely seems to take responsibility for anything creative. With the talk about the need to get Raven off the books my observation would be that Raven played a lot better and showed considerably more commitment against Dundee Utd than Draper did. Despite the fact that in Warren's absence he was given the captain's armband, I saw precious little leadership from him on the park on Saturday. The club have made it quite clear that they are prepared to sell him for something a shade above £100k or thereabouts. If he stays, it will be more a reflection of other clubs' views on his worth rather than our determination to keep him. Getting £100k for him and freeing up his wages may not be a bad move. I certainly think Raven's contract should be extended, and with Seedorf looking good in the Right Back position, I think Raven could do a real job in Draper's current role. He's defensively solid, can tackle well, he's not afraid to run with the ball or have a shot at goal and always gives 100%.

Lack of commitment from Draper on Saturday? I must have imagined him battering through United players to win back lost balls. I agree he's not been at his best over the last few months but honestly who in an ICT shirt has been? Last season was utterly farcical for so many reasons and I would be wary of writing off a players importance to us based on what was one of the most chaotic periods in our recent history.

Surely he's worth at least £250

Wasn't Raven a very significant figure in our winning of the Scottish cup?

There seems to be a massive black cloud hanging over the place at the moment and nobody in management seems to give a f***k. Is it any wonder we could barely manage 2000 supporters for our opening day fixture. The club have been taking the supporters for granted for to long now and many have voted with their feet. As posted, by many on here there is a whole host of basic things that could be done (with minimal outlay) but always seem to be to much trouble. Time for the management to come out of the boardroom on match days and see things from our perspective.

It pains me to say it, but our club is extraordinarily amateurish when it come to these things. Programmes were on sale on Saturday but the poor folk who sell them are given a bag of programmes and a handful of change and left to stand in some random spot regardless of the weather. You can walk straight past them with realising they are actually selling programmes. Why does the club not do what others do and have a clearly marked covered stall for programmes? This would make it clearer where to get your programmes, it would keep the folk selling them dry and protected from the biting winds, it would make it far easier for them to handle both the programmes and the money, and the stall could have scarves and hats for sale . And why not have someone just inside selling them as well. Same goes for 50/50 tickets. They could be on the stall too and certainly as you go through the turnstiles. I would happily buy a 50/50 ticket but I never see anyone selling them. Anybody who has ever helped out in a fundraising event in the local community hall or school could organise the sale of these things better. As for the tannoy system, I can be walking to the ground 400 yards away or more and hear the team line-ups as clear as a bell , but when I am in my seat in the North Stand I can' barely make out a single word. it is no doubt an effect caused by the distance from different speakers which create that distortion, but most modern PA systems get round that problem these days.

The next 3 weeks will tell us a huge amount about where we are and where we are likely to go. If Drapes were to be sold for £100k, that will give us a clue as to the depth of the financial predicament and how the Club feel it should be resolved. What happens with Fon Williams and Raven will also give indications regarding both ambitions for the season and skill in the off-pitch aspects of football. As with all these issues, we are totally in the dark, so nobody can make informed comment. Draper has been a brilliant servant to the club, but we'd be raging in 10 months' time and we lost him to County on a free (e.g. Ross, Shinnie, Tansey). Equally, if his sale made the difference between solvency or not, we'd tear the Board to shreds if they didn't do the right thing to save the club. We need to offload some big earners, so OFW needs to go ASAP. The decision might then be between Raven and Draper. For me, Draper would be a bigger loss, but would bring in more cash. Tricky. On the pitch, performances have to improve - Robbo hasn't found the formula yet and there are tough fixtures ahead. We need ro get the outstanding issues around the squad sorted so that we can shut up shop and get on with the football.

There comes a tipping point for most clubs in our situation where we either show some ambition or just resign ourselves to mediocrity. It seems to be the latter for our current board if they sell Draper. If we hold on to him and if we can create a winning team, the revenue we will make by getting promoted far outweighs the transfer fee we would get from County. Let's face it, a move to County is hardly a dream move as they could well be flirting with relegation again as their management team are not as good as they think they are and only Uncle Roy's money has bailed them out. On a serious note though, our Board must now start to create some ambition for the club with a clear plan on how to take us forward. This has been sadly lacking from our previous chairman and shows no sign of improving with our new chairman. Has our new chairman actually said anything of note since taking over?. He should have at least organised a fans get together by now to outline the board's plan for this season and beyond but, as usual, the board remain silent. Appreciate they may be backing Robbo with cash but the silence is worrying to me. Think the board needs fresh blood, even some common sense would help, as soon as possible.

Christie wasn't found by Butcher. He came through the youth system and preceded Butcher by a few years.

Maybe I could live with this transfer if it wasn't such a derisory offer. £100 000 is the figure being talked about, Boyce went for over 5 times as much after 1 good season. That for me sums it up. Tell them to GTF.

Excellent, factual and informative post from Scotty. Now I have an inkling as to why the videos for overseas fans are unlikely to re-appear in the near future....and why our new CEO has not replied to my email on the subject of the continuance of that service. Is he embarrassed or is it just that the money is so short that they feel they have to cut all services as drastically as possible? There is no shame in the latter situation but courtesy costs nothing and that includes responding to legitimate and polite enquiries. After all , we may live overseas but we still have relatives and friends in Inverness and word of mouth can still have a significant impact on how the club is viewed in the town and so forth. To think and do otherwise in a medium nowadays which is lightning fast and interconnectivity is so prevalent is very short sighted in my view. Also it's just not a professional way to do business. Some may criticise K C but he was always polite and informative and always responded to contacts. These videos are/were very good value for the small amount of money we paid to receive them every other week taking everything into account such as their quality, the excellent, informed commentary by Don himself etc. We sit at home in a comfortable padded chair, completely protected from the cold and the elements, we have immediate access (no queues) to toilets and a cup of tea and a scone at half time and how can you beat that? If money is such an issue, why not at least put in a fair increase in the price of the service to allow a possible resumption of the service and then make an effort to arrange the resumption through putting out feelers to tech savvy sources? Or, better still, invite Mr. D..Johnstone into the club for lunch and a glass of wine, thank him for his past work and discuss relevancies and how to meet his requirements together with that of the club. I think that might pay dividends for all parties and enhance relations both now and for the future. If the club dwells in the past with the emphasis on the harbouring of past grievances, real or imagined, then it will it will fall behind drastically.Then what?

Doofers i sort of agree with you but really want draper to stay for all the character and mental strength he brings to the team. Even when out of position and in struggling team he brings a focus and concentation to himself and others. That being said if vigurs polworth and draper cant play together and club can get money for one of them then i could understand but not like the decision. Conflicted as always until we start winning.

More lost revenue perhaps at belladrum where the dwellers from over the bridge had a decent sized stall open all 3 days. Although in all fairness I never saw anyone actually visiting it but am sure they must of made some money

Sadly when we aren't far of being outnumbered by the away support for our opening home game of the season the boards hand could very well be forced in a financial sense. Whether that means some stay away or not time will tell. For all the talk of his importance to the team Draper for me doesn't contribute nearly enough with his overall game and severely limits the creative side of things for us. If his breaking up of play was quite as good as some would lead you to believe we would have conceded far less goals over the last 12 months.

Disappointing result for us obviously. United didn't seem to threaten much unless it was on the back of an error by our defence, and there was a few of them, or a long ball over the top for McMullan to chase. He gave Elsdon a torrid time. We looked really shaky at the back throughout the game best exemplified by our poor defending for the United goal. Instead of booting the ball into touch Elsdon dallied on the touchline and McMullan nipped in and sprinted for goal. After a few ricochets in the box McMullan seized on the loose ball and a lunging Mckay challenge brought him down after he had dinked the ball over the ICT defender. A clear penalty and a stupid challenge to make. Easily converted by the United player. After that United sat in for long periods challenging us to break them down whilst looking to hit on the break. Their best chance to grab a second game when another mix up in the ICT defence let in Stanton (I think) but with Ridgers sprawled on the ground and an open goal to aim for he lifted a shot over the bar. Before and after this ICT dominated without ever really making Lewis work hard. We had plenty of "half chances" but our final ball or shot was lacking in any real quality. Whislt it was good to see us match United for long spells it was disappointing to see how little we created. As others have noted it's a similar story to the League Cup games we have witnessed so far. Interesting to see Robbo abandon the 4-4-2 he had used for the League Cup games and go with a 4-1-4-1, Vigurs playing in front of the defence and Baird on the right. Some folk seem to be saying Polworth was playing on the wing. Didn't seem that way to me. Worth persevering for another game or two perhaps but maybe not with Baird in that slightly withdrawn role on the right side. Vigurs and Calder were our best players until the latter was wiped out by Toshney in the second half.

Agree with most of what has been said by other posters and a lot of positives to take from the game. Some major negatives as well though. Lack of a cutting edge is costing us at the moment as both Utd and Falkirk were there for the taking if we had one. Defensively we are giving ourselves major problems with poor passing, poor decision making and total lack of anticipation at times. Only Raven for me gets a pass mark. As for the actual game, thought Calder was excellent but wondered if Utd would try to take him out in the second half as they were pretty cynical with fouls and gamesmanship. If what DD says is true with Toshney "assaulting" Calder (couldn't see from where I was sitting), then it does not surprise me. From their last spell in the Premier league, Utd were on a par with Hamilton for their cynical play acting for fouls and our gullible referees always fall for it. So many Utd players going down yesterday as if seriously injured then up and running within seconds. As for the referee, he is nothing but an arrogant sod. He had no interaction with the players, was inconsistent with fouls and bookings (especially for Vigurs and McKay) and if he gives the United penalty, which he wasted no time in giving, then he had to give the one for the foul on Draper as well. Mulreany was taken down in the second half and there was a big shout for that but I could not see from where I was sitting if a clear penalty. Disappointed to not get a win but promise is there but this has to start being fulfilled soon.

It was the same for me and others in the north stand that usually buy them I went round to the main door and asked if there were any for sale and was told they were selling them in the sports bar so I did not bother. I hate to say it but when you go to Dingwall you have to walk round the tables with the sellers there and they push the sales which is why they can afford a bigger prize as well. Our club just can't get the basic things right even at the Clach friendly game recently they had them for sale as soon as you entered the ground.

Surely we'd be OK if we just move OFW on? Draper is key and it's vital we keep him. Ravens contract only runs to January. It would make sense to keep him until then and maybe, if required replace in January. Or offer him a deal on lower wages at the time. He might favour that over tearing up roots and moving.

I thought that there was much to be positive about. The performance, by and large was much better than we witnessed in most of the Betfred Cup group stage matches and Vigurs had one of his best and most positive performances for the club. Don't forget this was against the best resourced club in the division and firm favourites for the title. We had the bulk of possession and played the better football almost from start to finish but, as others have said, need more penetration in the final third but the forwards are new to the club and new to each other so hopefully that will develop and improve in the coming weeks. There is no doubt that we need more width and there is equally no doubt that Polworth is not the player to provide that width. He has the potential to be a strong positive for the team when played in his proper position but is frankly a liability when not. I am sure, however, that Robbo can't fail to see that and this experiment will not last long. Finally, if that is going to be the standard of refereeing we are going to be seeing this season then god help us.

Disappointing to lose but I think we can take a good few positives from that. I thought there was real effort and determination in the team. 2 standout performances and sufficient from others to show the potential that exists. Bear in mind that this is largely a new team and we were missing several players from the starting line up who would be first choice. The stand outs were Vigurs (again) and Calder. Vigurs was immense in the first half and kept us in the game at 1-0 when he tracked back and made a perfectly timed tackle when McMullen, I think it was, was through on goal. He faded a bit in the 2nd half but few seeing him today can seriously doubt what an important player he will be for us this season. His corners, though were generally poor - they need more pace rather than being floated in. Calder was also excellent. His control in taking some drilled long passes was terrific and he seemed to mix it up pretty well between running with the ball and crossing it - some of his crosses were pretty decent too. I said earlier that he looked promising but lacked confidence. He seemed to play with more confidence today and I would think this performance will give him the confidence to believe he can do very well at this level. Unfortunately Calder's game ended prematurely following an incident with Toshney. I'll be interested to see if the club says anything about this, but to me it looked as though Toshney put his hand into Calder's face with perhaps a finger in the eye. Toshney then went to ground clutching his head as though it was a clash of heads. What did the referee think? F**k knows! He was well placed to see the incident but despite the two of them lying on the ground, Calder clearly in distress and Toshney holding his head; from 5 yards away he glances down at them, waves play on and runs off after the play. Unbelievable! Had he seen it as I did then he should have blown for a foul and given Toshney a straight red. If he didn't see it like that then it was an accidental clash of heads and he should have stopped the play immediately to get treatment for the potentially concussed players. The referee was late stopping play then but stopped play on a number of occasions when a Dundee Utd player went to ground having been fairly tackled. Throughout the game he let both Toshney and Scobbie constantly foul the players they were marking and engage in blatant holding. Meanwhile he managed to book no less than 5 of our players for rather more trivial offences. He was quite the most inept and one sided referee I have seen for a very long time. We have a small squad and these bookings will be costly when suspensions inevitably kick in. I was also pretty disgusted by Dundee Utd. The amount of gamesmanship, play acting and downright cheating was also as bad as I have seen for a long time. They seemed to have no ambition to play football and having gone into an undeserved lead did anything they could to try and stop us playing. The only good thing about utd today was their fans who came in large numbers to support their team. No doubt they are happy with the win but hopefully not in the manner of achieving it. It could all have been different had we scored. That would have brought Utd out more and created a bit more space to exploit. Despite our superiority in midfield, we could not find the cutting edge to create decent chances or to finish any half chances we had. That is a worry. Today was the first time I have seen Bell and he looked the most likely to be able to nick a goal or two. I'd like to see him get a bit more game time because I can't see Baird scoring many. We really need to find our way to goal or else we will continue to lose games which our general play should see us winning.

I can't say the match was a world class exhibition , but a lot of good play was seen from both teams , disappointed yes, but we live to fight another day. I was not in a position to note whether the penalty was rightly called but judging by the way the United unit on the bench immediately jumped up and appealed it looked like the Arabs had a good case. United started with 3 centre halves and no fullbacks as such giving ICT a free run especially on the left with some superb play on the left wing and on the left mid field . Quite frankly some great crosses from the left were fritted away by some poor finishing I can' t understand why corner after corner was floated in only for the goalkeeper in Orange ( strange to be allowed to play in the colours of his team ) collected the ball with some degree of skill. Why not a shrt corner or two which can be worked into the box A word about discipline , so many bookings , is not good , I lost count, this will only result in suspensions in the later part of the seasons. After the suspensions of last season we really need to be more careful in not arguing with officials . I was taught when talking to refs in my day. It was yes Sir, no Si,r 3 bags full Sir. . I thought on the whole there were quite a few positives in the game for ICT. Talking to some D U supporters after the game many of them said they though Caley was the best team/ I think we can only get better as the team get some co-ordination up front

Dont know how DU got away with the play acting and conned Thomson into stopping play every time we had a break on. Ref was terrible.

Hugely frustrating. We were good value for a draw, mainly because Dundee United offered little going forward too. But for all our possession we were relatively toothless in the final third. Our best passages of play came in the early stages, when Baird lined up wide right and Polworth tucked in to give us an extra man in the middle of the pitch. Polworth, Draper and Oakley were linking up really well and the overload in the middle dragged United players infield, giving Calder loads of space. Curiously, we drifted into more of an orthodox 4-4-2, maybe in an attempt to get Baird into the game...but the veteran striker remained anonymous and Polworth was wasted out on the flank. We ultimately offered little other than high hopeful punts into the box, which United's excellent keeper and centre-backs dealt with fine. The loss of Calder made things even harder; Mulraney had a great initial impact but United dropped so deep that he had no space to operate in. I'd have liked to see him on the right flank, cutting inside and having a go at goal. Some good performances - Calder, Vigurs (some misplaced passes in the second half but his attitude was light-and-day from last season), Oakley (who looks like he could be a flat-track bully against weaker defences than this). And some stinkers - aside from Baird, Chalmers and Elsdon were awful on the left hand side of our defence. If Chalmers can pass himself off as a professional footballer, there's hope for me yet. McKay grew into the game, but I believe it was his panicky tackle that gave away the penalty? As for Ridgers, I get grumpy with keepers who are poor with their feet;' for a professional goalie to be incapable of kicking the ball properly from hand is unacceptable. Fon Williams was in the stand today, he must have had a good laugh. A few reasons for optimism, but a few for concern too. The defence will be fine with Warren and Tremarco in it. But I'm not convinced this team is going to score too many goals.

I agree with most of the comments on the match against United. Calder and Vigures had good games. Polworth again disappointing, maybe some time coming off the bench would do him good. Mulraney can beat a man but needs to learn how to release the ball better, not enough end product. And we needed to put their keeper under more pressure at set pieces, he plucked everything out of the air. The final third is still a worry, we need to find more penitration, Oakley look OK but who partners him? I think when we get Doran Tremarco Warren Seedorf and Elbouzedi back we will have a side who can mount a challenge.

Plus points - Vigurs had one of the best games he's had in months. Calder had a cracker until he came off. Raven put in a solid display. The majority of possession and some good passages of play. Negative points - We've signed an absolute dud in Joe Chalmers. Ridgers' kicking is appalling. The poorest I've seen from an ICT keeper since Zibi Malkowski. Polworth is simply not a winger. He looked far better in the second half when he was sitting narrower. None of our four strikers look like finishers. Our crossing and especially corners were atrocious. Every single one was to the back post and thus straight at the keeper.

Highlights for me, Calder was superb and terrorised their right side with a few sweet crosses put in, Vigurs looked confident and skillful but as pointed out he seemed to slow the game down at times however thought he did the full backs jobs well at times too, thought Bell looked very sharp and possibly could have done more if had come on earlier. Draper looked solid as usual, Mulraney looked much more accurate along with his usual pace and was unlucky a few times. Low points for me include Polworth once again, seriously he must stop taking free kicks and corners as he is absolutely abysmal at them. Chalmers was too slow to react at times, ref was ludicrous

Felt we bossed the game and on another day (with another ref) things might have gone better. Just can't see how united got that early penalty and the linesman calling the ref over to send Robbo off was way OTT 10 mins into new season. Vigurs awarded a well deserved MoM. Mark Ridgers is needing to practice his kicking this coming week.

Sat 5 Aug 2017 Scot Championship J Rankin (QOS 4 - Brechin 1) SL 2 M Cooper (Elgin 1 - Cowdenbeath 1) Highland League D Park (Cove 8 - Fort W 0) S Soane (Forres 1 - Formantine 4) National League (South) B Greenhalgh (Hemel Hempstead 3 - Whitehawk 0)

The pessimism is premature, and unnecessary. We narrowly lost a game to the favourites, thanks to a hotly disputed penalty. We showed some good football, DU inevitably sitting back. The next three games will be a far better indicator of where we are, and our new look side will improve.

Dedication. Hope the players respond!!