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Well it really was a strange 2023 !! The pure shock and delight of getting to another Scottish Cup Final amongst previous predictions of doom and gloom. I for one will be glad to see the back of 2023 and I do truly believe that Big Dunc can bring us more cheer but that may not be realised until closer to 2025. Have a guid one peeps

I agree with all of that. Shaw is best playing wide and taking players on. He’s currently sitting behind the front two but also trying to support the right wing back which means he’s a bit of a headless chicken at times. 3 5 2 doesn’t suit him and we’re not getting the best out of him as a result. He’s best running on to a ball, not receiving it facing backwards. He maybe needs to be an impact sub in this system rather than being a square peg in a round hole. I was surprised Welsh didn’t come on today as his craft in midfield could have made the difference. We’ve seen that Anderson can play successfully in a more advanced role so Welsh could have slotted in alongside Gilmour.

Yes and my glass is still half full.

On the basis that Wotherspoon is out for at least 10 days with his Hamstring injury - and does not extend his contract - a change of formation for Tuesday is good news. Hopefully Davie Carson starts. We need the ginger dynamo. Billy looked quite tired yesterday so this is Cillian's chance. Brooks might cover for Billy either partially or wholly. Sean for Nathan maybe. However, the relegation dog fight is brutal this year and the next three games could be very painful unless someone produces some magic as part of true team efforts.

At least he was prepared to have a shot unlike many of the team. Despite having the bulk of possession and territory, we only had 7 attempts in the whole game, with Gilmour responsible for 3 of them. The other attempts were by Anderson, Harper, Mckay and Carson. Only 2 were on target, by Gilmour and Mckay.

Game showed where we have been the last few years with a lack of cutting edge up front. The loss of Wotherspoon removes quality and when Billy is removed we are left with nothing. A process is underway to change how the team plays and unlike under Dodds there is a point to the way we are playing but lack quality in some areas to make a difference. Time is needed to bed in the changes and you could see some of the frustration from Duncan at some points. Shaw is a major weakness due to him lack of football awareness and having Carson back may allow a change to a more flexible shape than we have been playing since he dropped out.

Started your new year drinking early? Or maybe you just forgot to add the additional need for an entirety new bench of players that don't weaken the team when brought on?

I think we are two quality players away from being decent, hope Dunc can find them

You are right Tree, although there has been an improvement since Dodds was here and we have had the new manager bounce but unfortunately it wasn't very big! It is going to be a long haul and we will have to offload a few players to make way for some new signings in January.

I hope Ferguson has lined up some players, especially a striker, Wotherspoon is finished with us and will sign for Dee utd. Our midfield at the moment is pysh.

I suppose we shouldn't be too negative because other than Spoony this is Dodds team and Dunc up until now could only take players on loan or on a free.Silk purse and sows ear comes to mind.He has to fo his best with what he has at his disposal. Playing out from the back is good if the tempo is high and you have runners for the channels to cross in for strikers. That didn't happen today and Shaw didn't look settled where he was playing.I think we needed Welsh in the middle to direct operations. Let's give Dunc a chance to build his own team.

Sherif is evidently marked as one for the future. He has been at Everton since he was 13, has been playing games for the Under 21's and has signed a 3 year professional contract. Butterfield is an ex-Scottish youth international who has been on the edge of first team promotion. Another on a professional contract. Both would enhance ICT and lets hope that Dunc is also an attraction. I can see why they would be the main choices and also available to the end of the season.

We never looked like scoring yesterday at all. The honeymoon period is well and truly over for Big Dunc. He clearly doesn't have faith in the subs or fringe players and I can see many players being released by mutual consent to allow him to bring in players he wants.

I fear you are right on that as I’ve had a pal who’s a United fan messaging asking how bad his injury was. Seems it’s the talk of some United forums. I’m not sure exactly when in January his deal with us ends. I’m sure I read mid-January somewhere so if he’s fit we hopefully have him for a few more games.

The only bit of entertainment in the North Stand was the birthday greetings for 'Old Caley Girl'

What we need is Cammy Mackay to come on and do this

IMO we need to move the ball quicker and cannot fathom how Welsh (if fit) isn't starting.

Cannot believe our lack of desire to win a football match. Things have to change in the second half or we are a stick on for the automatic drop. The five at the back definitely does not work.Lost count the amount of times harper had the ball on the half way line and had to go back due to nobody wide in front of him. We just carry on threat going forward.

The only positive this afternoon is that we didn’t concede late on and end up getting beaten! We probably should have had a penalty when Devine was pushed in the box but he did go down too easily so maybe that’s what stopped the red giving it. Morton’s time wasting was disgraceful but that didn’t cost us a win. I’ve two real frustrations with our play in recent home games. We always seem to pass when a shot is on and end up giving possession away, and we pull everyone back when defending corners, so have no outball, so end up back under pressure. 3-5-2 seems to have tightened us up, but we’ve lost Shaw’s positive influence as a result and in the first half in particular we were not giving players support when attacking from wide positions. I think we should have changed to 4-4-2 early in the second half with Shaw and Longstaff testing Morton down the wings as whilst Davidson and Harper tried to, they didn’t deliver anything dangerous. It was good to see Carson back and hopefully his attitude will have a positive impact. We have two big away games against teams round about us. We ideally need to win both or at least get four points.

This is exactly why we need to sack Dodds. Oh wait…

Scrappy game in which we tried to walk ball into net.We need to take more chances and shoot for goal.I think we needed more balls in from the wings and great to see Carson come on.Good we kept the back door closed,just a pity we were no sharper up front. Neither side shone today and if we don't up the tempo and get sharper at passing the best we can hope for is to stay in this league. Hopefully we will see positive moves in tansfer market

If you care to google either Butterfield and Sherif, it says they are very promising players. In Big Dunc we believe! I will welcome any new players, either on loan, or signed (long or short time) to ICT that improve our match day experience and keep ICT improving and giving us fans hope again. The atmosphere since Big Dunc’s arrival is special, especially at away games when fans are very much more vocal.

The honeymoon period is over Dunc. If that's your tactics and game plan, think again. Most folk go to football for some entertainment and a release from the humdrums of life. Cheer on their team and have some banter with fellow fans. That had no joy, no excitement and had approx 2000 ICT fans feeling and sounding like Victor Meldrew. Not good enough and I'm not going back anytime soon to waste my time watching utter s###e!!

Just about the worst game I have ever had the misfortune to attend. Embarrassing lack of quality, no excitement whatsoever, freezing cold, no wonder attendances are falling away. We really are a grim watch these days.

Shocking performance. Could have played for weeks and not scored, Some players were awful, Shaw needs to be dropped and Gilmore needs shooting practice. The subs that came on showed how poor our squad is. As Ferguson says we're def.in a relegation battle.

Dreadful, dreadful stuff. One of the worst football matches I've ever suffered. We are going to be worryingly looking over our shoulder if this is the level of output until May.

Manager of the Month award, followed by 1 win in 6.