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I'm afraid to say I think this is coincidental rather than causal. With or without Billy McKay on the park, when we have a slender lead or drawing, we drop deeper and deeper as the second half progresses inviting the opposition to come onto us and, more often that not, score a late winner. Billy McKay usually looks pretty spent by 60 odd minutes which is fair enough given his advancing years combined with him being asked to cover more ground than ever, dropping back to fit in with our current style of play. The problem for me stems not from substituting Billy itself, but from having a complete dearth of adequate replacements for him. Despite their height and presence, neither Lodovica or Sheridan have looked capable of holding the ball up and fulfilling the 'target man' role never mind threatening to score a goal. Whilst I still think Adam Brooks has the potential to be a regular goalscorer at Championship level - good goal towards the end at Cappielow - he ain't going to do that as a lone striker within our current set-up and no doubt needs more experience. It's clear that our lack of creativity in the final third, cutting edge and shots on goal is our most pressing issue to be addressed right now. I don't think we as fans will be the only ones who recognise that. The question for me is not whether Duncan Ferguson will be trying to strengthen his attacking options in this transfer window, but whether the current budget will enable him to bring in one or two players who are available, willing to relocate to the Highlands and **crucially** are better than what we already have. Having attended the vast majority of games this season, I am still confident we have enough quality within the current squad of players to keep us in the division. I also think if we can (somehow!) bring in a proven goalscorer or two - and see more of Bray, Doran and MacGregor - we can still challenge for fourth place. I know some will think that's deluded but we have actually played some really decent football at times this season (often away from home) and matched the best teams in the league....at least for the first 85 minutes!!

I dont want to speak for the rest of the pod guys but i'll speak about how we used to arrange and interviews and the changes that the club requested last season. In the early days of getting players on to the pod we would contact the player directly and sort out a date and time to record which wasn't an issue but this changed when i got cocky and started asking players before a game whilst going out to warm up which was rightly out of order and after speaking to Scot it was agreed that any further requests would go through Liam Morrison which was the best way for both parties and that was the case for most of last season and up until Billy left. The podcast has always been fair in its criticism of the team and club but we are generally positive to the point where i was seen as the happy clapper and somehow kissing up to Scot which was never the case. We owe Scot and the club a lot for giving us access to players and staff which we greatly appreciated but now that things changed we don't really know why we aren't being given access apart from being told their media strategy has changed so that's where we are at the moment but hopefully i'd like to think we can get things back on track in the near future.

Our lack of penetration and general guile in the final third is a major concern for me. This makes Ferguson's apparent aversion to Roddy or Keith Bray utterly bizarre. For me Bray was the only positive in the Dodds portion of the season and as a minimum should be on the bench. The game was screaming out for one of them to come on but we wait until United score before Doran and Sheridan enter the fray. From my perspective Billy dropping deep, even into our own half at times, is clearly being demanded from the manager and leaves us with no outlet up top which again I find to be a very strange tactical decision. Our lack of a sustained bounce under Ferguson is a concern and although we manage to retain plenty of possession it's apparent that the opposition are happy to sit back and let us pass it about as they know we're unlikely to actually trouble the keeper and they'll fancy their chances on the counter given our inability to see out clean sheets. We've seem glimpses of optimism at Queen's Park and Ayr but seem completely incapable of sustaining any kind of form which is desperately needed to get us away from the bottom of the table. My previous optimism that we can challenge for a play-off place has completely evaporated in recent weeks. I fear all we're going to see this month is more loanees who may, or may not, be better than the current squad and/or lads we're releasing. This suggests to me that that we have little or no long term plan with the vast majority of the team out of Contract in the Summer. It's all very well shipping players out to reduce wages buy who do we get in to build a team capable of moving the club forward in the medium to long term? Worrying times and no signs to me that we have a coherent way out of our current predicament.

Yes, I trimmed it down to those that are left and might get a game if we are struggling for bodies. Realistically, we are down to the bare bones, 15 fit outfield players and two (very good) youngsters in Bray and Thompson who would have been better used instead of wasting money on Sheridan.

To put our ladies result into perspective Rangers beat Dundee United 10-0 today while Celtic beat Montrose 9-0. Both games in the Premiership.

200 games for ICT. Well done sir

I pretty much agree with everything you have posted on this match, I thought Shaw and Longstaff did OK, but Shaw needs to stay out on the wing, it seems like he is being asked to be the creative guy in the middle. And that issue rather made me wistful for the likes of a Vigurs or Liam Polworth [I never understood why the latter got so much stick] let alone a Christie, Andrew Shinnie, or Marley Watkins. Obviously also annoying that Welsh scored on his debut for QP, on his day a stand out player for us, but far too much time spent injured...and I think Gilmour is developing nicely as his replacement [in most departments], Anderson impresses me too, but he is a temporary addition and time spent on the pitch for Bray and MacGregor between now and May could be crucial for next season. We seemed strong in defence for 99% of the match, Carragher looked pretty decent to me, and the commentators though he had a decent game although he risked a card or two. Boyes stand out at the back for me, but again another loanee. Is Ujdur carrying an injury or does big Dunc think he needs a bit of a rest? The overwhelming feeling from me though is how desperately we need a decent enough big guy up front who can both win headers and hold the ball up [doesn't even have to score too many goals]. Guys like Sutherland and Todorov [at his best for us] gave us that. It would bring McKay, Shaw, etc more into the game, and ensure the opposition CB's had busier time. Not an easy fix I know, which could lead to Sheridan staying on if Dunc thinks he's getting fit enough. Brooks, I see as a future replacement for Billy. Samuels, much as I like him, has a bodymade of glass, and a slow brain. Lodovica was a panic punt, he has pushed on at all. Fingers crossed then that we can find someone in this window.

By my calculations, these are the only players capable of first team action unless I've missed anyone. 19 fit players, 2 goalkeepers, 6 defenders, 4 midfielders, 5 forwards and 2 youth. 2 of these on loan Mark RIDGERS - Cameron MACKAY Nikola UJDUR - James CARRAGHER - Danny DEVINE - Morgan BOYES (loan) - Jake DAVIDSON - Wallace DUFFY Max ANDERSON (loan) David CARSON Cameron HARPER Charlie GILMOUR Aaron DORAN Luis LONGSTAFF Nathan SHAW Adam BROOKS Billy MCKAY Roddy MACGREGOR (injured) Lewis NICOLSON (injured) Austin SAMUELS (injured) Harry LODOVICA (injured) Keith BRAY (youth) Robbie THOMPSON (youth)

Oh come on. This is the guy that procured an orange strip for an inverness family oriented club and released it on the 12th july. Nothing more needs to be said. If the club wants to align itself with this kind of nonsense then I want nothing to do with it!

Been a great servant and probably played all his best football with us including winning the Scottish cup. Given the criticism during his spells at Partick and Dunfermline he's proven a shrewd return.

Phew! Saw the topic title and thought that we’d terminated his contract!

I agree that SG can be good company etc. But, my problem with him is he talks a good game but nothing happens. The club may not have a large budget, but he seems to not want the fans money and only interested in the big, high risk projects which so far have not been successful. Too focused on concerts, free ports and battery farms and not interested in the bread and butter business of football and the fans. Season tickets not being renewed, hospitality non existant, player sponsorship nothing like it used to be, businesses not supporting club any more due to the concert fiasco, lack of communication and lack of fan engagement. The list goes on and that is nothing to do with him being a Rangers supporter!

I hope we don't loose Boyes and Anderson unless there are two better players coming in, no more like Sheridan please.

MacGregor has been on the bench recently so we can probably treat him as available for match days.

After next weeks cup games it is catch up in the league. if QP beat Dunfermline we go down to 8th. Then if Ayr beat Arbroath we go down to 9th. from your list I see Goalie a back 3. Decent 4 midfielders playing sideways/ backwards football 2 forwards. Who contribute 10 players and none of them will have a pop at goal Were doomed unless Dunc uses his English contacts to get a player like Easton at raith ( a Jonny hayes hopefully) a midfielder that can break at pace through the lines someone to help billy. Oh and a proper right back, we haven’t had one since David raven. ( Rooney was a galloper going forward but not great defensively) yet again on Friday, we lose a goal from our right side.

Tbf I'd sti question whether 2 of the listed forwards are actually even options at all and will only still be here as they are injured so probably can't be shifted on.

Hee haw

Don't hold your breath mate.

So perhaps the club should advise us as to what the current "media strategy" is and the reason for any recent alterations ?

Had a great game on Friday. Total commitment and took no prisoners.

Playing superbly at present. Really nice guy. Well done to him.

If true, we don’t know the reasons. I did hear that the club wrapped him in cotton wool towards the end of last season so he was available for the cup final as he was carrying an injury that could have been resolved so he was available for the start of this season. I don’t know if that is factual or not, but it sounds like he was wanting to return to the central belt given his house sale but maybe he was unable to do so in the summer due to the injury? Personally I am sorry to see him move on as, when fit, he was one of our best players. I accept the views of others that his many injuries meant it was time for him to move on. I do remain concerned that we seem to incur more injuries than most other clubs and whether that is due to our recruitment or some internal reason with our training regime.

So it seems, but isn’t that a case in point of what we are talking about here, ie an automatic presumption by the witch hunters that SG has done something wrong when as far as I can see there is no evidence that this is the case? I have absolutely no information on why the podcast seems to be getting shunned at the moment. Maybe the manager doesn’t want players doing unnecessary media work at the moment. Maybe the podcast guys have done something which breached the club’s trust and they are deservedly blacklisted as a result. And maybe the CEO is just being an erse. But he answers to the Chairman and Board and if he has severed a connection with fans without a good reason, I would think it would not go down well with them. Whatever the reason, it’s a very disappointing state of affairs and I hope it gets sorted.

Not allowing the podcasters access to players is one factual example.

Good luck selling marketing opportunities to sponsors/businesses when there's no fans to market them to.

I don't know if it is my imagination but every time Billy McKay is substituted we seem to capitulate and lose late goals

I demand a VAR check on that penalty decision!!!

Yes, I agree, but not to the detriment of everything else. A football club is nothing withhlout fans. I would also be happier if the big money projects SG was in the press shouting about actually made the club money. We all know the disaster the concerts were despite SG telling us all that concerts were the future for the club. Was that his fault with insisting on doing everything in house to make more money instead of handing it over to a company that knew what it was doing and making less money but still a profit. Yes it was. We were then told by him that the free port was an amazing opportunity for the football club. Only to be told by the chairman recently that was not true. Now all hope is being placed on a battery farm, is that going to go totally pear-shaped too....... Like I said, he talks a good game but never seems to deliver. And thats not only at our club.

Hi Scot, You should build on the foundations of a club/business, not blow it up with dynamite and lack of people skills. You have been at Tottenham Hotspur, Sevco, Dundee and ICT. Where next? CEO of Avoch amateur football club?

Or from players by all accounts.

Dodds on the radio this afternoon was repeating what he said on tv last night, that he was surprised we released Welsh, and considers him to be the best midfielder in this league (provided he stays fit).

Sean Welsh has been a great asset and player for this team. However he is 34 in 2 months time and has really struggled with injuries. I think the time has come to find his replacement sadly. We need to put faith in Duncan to find us a player of decent quality to replace him with. I wish Sean well if he does go and I thank him for the hard work he has put in over the seasons.

I hope they’ve learned from the experience. All the women will be used to seeing the weekly coverage on BBC and would be aware of the standard of the Prem clubs, especially the big 3. I thought maybe 12-0 when I saw the draw but scores like this happen in the prem as well.

But not fully fit, Doran is the same. To be honest, we need about five players, as we could also lose Boyes and Anderson, and who knows what is going on with Ujdur.

From my experience that actually sounds a pretty normal way for a business to operate. Who here would be allowed to issue public communications for their employer without approval?

Thats a very good point and probably carries significant validity, a question is though while the ideas are good and in some ways innovative is the current administration the correct or most experienced and competent to execute or do egos get in the way of bringing in experts and consultants to assist?

Wondering what he has achieved which justifies his huge wage out of the club ???