Howdenender

Not posted missing - they certainly could not be faulted for effort and deserved to take something from the game. However, as I said a week or two back I think our lack of a genuine striker could kill us in the end. Imrie works hard but is not a natural finisher, and same goes for Odhiambo. Rooney has the potential, but is not there yet. Thats the difference between winning and losing games like today.

Not that it matters, but how did this end up in the non-ict section? Just about the whole article is about us and our relegation battle - how is that not ICT related?

We are the subject of the strange ones thoughts this week. Seems he may be changing his mind about us being relegation certs! http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/chickyoung/2009...ent_battle.html

My only worry is that there will not be enough end product - goals - between Imrie and Odhiambo, which after all is what you need your strikers to provide. Both are pacy, and movement is good, but you dont get three points for that unfortunately.

I know exactly what you mean. The last two or three seasons have been boring towards the end - this one will be anything but. Bring it on - I love happy endings! :thumb04:

I dont think Kilmarnock are out of danger yet either - they are in freefall at the moment and look like a team very low on confidence. No worries - the "Butcher Bounce" will save us!

I'm sorry but do you really believe all this? Brewster only played 4-4-2 because of postings on this site? "Natural side" isn't more suitably for 4-4-2 (as he did for Hearts match)? Esson got his chance not because Fraser had had a few bad games but because the fans had noticed this too? Otherwise Brewster would not have noticed at all that Mikey was going through a bad spell or would have ignored it? Choosing whether to play McGuire, Proctor or Duff at CB isn't a tough decision with arguments in all directions? Striker rotation isn't a policy adopted by a lot of Managers, plus is needed to give them all a chance to put their hand up for a start when nobody's been outstanding. And, shock horror, the Manager doesn't lay his plans out for the delectation of the CTO Championship Manager RPG crew. Isn't it wonderful, everyone can complain if he doesn't play their pet system and selections, and then when he does they can moan about it again. Spectre - blind faith inevitably leads to a dead end. His performance with Dundee United, where he was given considerably greater resources than he has here, should have been warning enough. Had they not acted when they did they would have been relegated, and he has simply carried the same performance here with him. There is no Gretna to save us this season, and every press interview he gives increases the impression that here is a man at a loss as to how to turn this around. Returning to the first division would be a disaster for the club on every level - action must be taken asap.

The CROWD at todays game were shocking!!? I have had the misfortune to attend every home game in 2008 and after what we've witnessed its a wonder there is any crowd at all! One inept performance after another, team and tactics (tactics?) varying wildly from one game to the next - I have been supporting football in Inverness regularly for the last 40 years and I can honestly say I have never felt less enthusiasm for going to a home game than i do just now. Considering the high ticket prices and the standard of entertainment on offer its little wonder that the home crowd has been numbed into silence!

I would say to that - remember where Dundee United were when he left them. I fear we are headed in the same direction. His record at Tannadice was truly appalling, where injury dictated he was Brewster the manager, as opposed to player manager. His home record with us, just 5 wins in 10 months, is completely unacceptable and in truth is relegation material. We find ourselves with no experienced striker, a defence seemingly incapable of keeping a clean sheet, and shall we say "strained relationships" between the management team and several players. Hoping for the best, but fearing the worst.

Agree - Imrie put in some shift today and was our motm by some distance. I also thought Wood did very well in the lone striker role (first half miss aside). Rooney is a bit of a worry for me - not sure what he gives us to be honest. Doubt he will ever be a prolific goal scorer, not much of a physical presence and first touch not great. Early days yet for him I suppose. Jamie Duff impresses more every time I see him, and given time I believe he will develop into a great footballing central defender.

Gutted to hear that Craig died very suddenly in his sleep - spoke to him as recently as Friday and he was as usual full of the joys. Lived life to the full and was a real local character. One of my favourite Craig stories was from his short (and very non PC!) spell as a dj with MFR. His show broke for the news, which included a sports story about England losing 1-0 to Tunisia - a "wonder strike" according to the commentator. Craig was having none of this - "it would have to be a wonder strike to beat England wouldnt it, the guy was probably selling camels in the desert this morning!!" Great stuff. Another light has gone out in Inverness tonight.

I'm afraid its a bit of a vicious circle Alex - there is no way we will bring in another 1000 season ticket holders with the dross the home support have been subjected to in the last few months! I have been reluctant to point the finger at the manager but ultimately the responsibility is his - and I cant help remembering where he took Dundee United before they got rid of him just in time. Tactically I have no idea where he is going from week to week (nor do the players I suspect) and fitness and effort alone are not enough to keep us in this division.

His post - match interview today was embarrassing, and more or less confirmed that he has no idea what is going wrong, never mind how to fix it. Lets face it, if not for the Gretna factor we would be odds on for relegation this season, and if you remember last season he did the same thing to Dundee United, who got rid of him in the nick of time. Now look at them this season, with no large scale signings and having lost their most influential player - the only difference is the manager. Brewster the player manager was helped by his form onfield - as a manager he is clueless ! :007: :007:

The most depressing thing about all this is that only last season - about 6 months ago - we were a better team than either Motherwell or Dundee United, and look at us now. Dundee United were a shambles under Craig, (who hardly featured for them as a player), but under new management both them and Motherwell are streets ahead of us now, and I am afraid that performance today was frighteningly similar to a Brewster led Dundee United effort. Mark McGhee was quite right in saying that going down to nine men had little bearing on the result - we were garbage with eleven and heading for a beating anyway. Long winter ahead I'm afraid. :007: :007:

Don't be worried wee howdenender ! Gretna got beat 4 zip by some bairns....we've nothin to worry about !!! :015: :015: :015:

What game were you at? 3-0 flattered Rangers?? It could easily have been 5 or 6! They barely had to get out of first gear to totally dominate the game. We did not manage to put together one constructive move in the entire 90 minutes - I was at the game today and have just watched the whole horror again on Setanta, and believe me it didn't look any better the second time! Our defence was all over the place, midfield hardly had a kick of the ball (and playing Hart from the start next week aint going to solve much), and we might as well have played no-one up front. On this evidence our pre-season "preparation" does not seem to have achieved very much, and for the first time since we made the SPl I am seriously worried about our prospects. :009:

I think Charlie has set himself up to some extent as he has several times been quoted as saying that "no-one can dispute that we have moved up a level from last season." In what way exactly? We finished seventh last season, and that is the very best we can now hope for this season - and it doesn't look very likely at the moment. Dodds has already signed elsewhere, Dargo almost certainly will too, Hastings has yet to commit himself............ :024:

Hmm..... a "Family" club that does away with the Family Section for the biggest game of the season. Pursuing a few more pounds at the expense of the kids seats ..... says it all really. :007: :007:

Believe it or not the Immortal One is on the right track with this one - I can confirm that Grassa was down in London last night checking out an Arsenal reserve game :010: :010:

Have to say that was a truly awful performance - not "one of these nights" because we never at any stage looked like scoring and were clueless from start to finish. Nothing remotely creative coming from the middle of the park...... Keogh?..... no, dont go there, unfair to single anyone out as they were collectively crap. Lack of enthusiasm from the bench area didnt help much either. Think we could be in trouble this season. :007: :007:

True....... if the ref hadn't booked him I doubt anyone would have noticed he was playing.

The home support - who, remember, are the ones who put money directly into the club via season ticket sales, catering etc, have been treated to poor performances for far too long now, and it is little wonder that crowds will start to fall. Today was the latest boring episode and two more home points gone - and yes Richard I agree with you that Rankin is contributing very little. :007:

Nice to read all the positive comments, but in truth I thought we were quite poor today - barely created any clear cut chances, which is not encouraging as we were after all the home team. I think teams have worked out how to play us now - not surprising as we are now entering season three in the SPL with a virtually unchanged squad and seemingly only one game plan. Consistency is one thing but we really need to freshen things up or I think we could be in for a long hard season.

Hard to get excited about the remaining fixtures now - nothing less than top of the bottom 6 will do to allow us to claim progress from last season.