Libero

No.3 Chalmers - Wasn't expecting much given that i'd seen numerous Motherwell fans rate him poorly however I thought he did quite well. Eager to get down the flank and support the winger, vocal in encouraging other players and didn't let much past him defensively. Pretty tidy on the ball overall No.6 Leitch. Good first half performance, very energetic and full of running. Good on the ball and technically sound. Constantly asking for the ball and keen to get forward. More disciplined performance in the second half and less involved as the game seems to move more to the wings. No.9 Davidson. Couple of half chances but didn't show anything particularly special. Well shackled by the Forres centre halves which isn't a great sign. Would need to see more and hope the injury he sustained isnt too serious, looked a real sore one. No.10 Oakley. Same as Davidson really, couple of half chances including one nice turn on the ball in the box but shot over. No.11 Elbouzedi. Quiet first half but really came into the game in the second half. Looked like he could be a real find. Created quite a few good chances and had one rasping shot just over the bar No.13 Ridgers. Wasn't tested much in the second half but looked a lot more commanding in the box than OFW No.17 Foy. Replaced the injured Davidson and looked very bright when he came on. Bit of pace and trickery and seemed a lot more likely to score than the other two forwards.

Astounded by the amount Boden is rumoured to be getting paid. What a complete waste of money that transfer has been. Certainly hope that the termination of his contract was by mutual consent rather than a pay off!

Tremarco out injured until about October time iirc so definitely need cover at left back

Given the most likely candidates named over the last week or so: Danny Lennon and Paul Sheerin then I'd be happy with Robertson over them

Linky Don't want him anywhere near our club

Not good! Do we have any cover at left back? Vigurs?

Gives us another option in an area where we were a bit thin on cover. Will reserve judgement till I see him play but good to see that Richie has identified a weak area and signed a player to cover it (a big failing in Yogi's time here!). Do we have any confirmation on how long McNaughton will be out for?

We've apparently signed striker Scott Boden, no further information other than whats in the tweet from the journo below:

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36387772 Technically we would be a closer option for his family?

'im smarter than your average bear boo boo'

Although there's no official word on Roberts I found this article from the official site when we signed him "Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC is delighted to have completed the signing of 21 year old, former Aldershot Town FC player, Jordan Roberts, on a 1 year deal with a 1 year option for the club…subject to international clearance." This suggests that we potentially have him under contract if we want him.

I cant remember where I heard it or how true it was but he was rumoured to have been on around £12,500 a week at one point at Rangers. Don't know how accurate that was but i don't think anyone in the premiership would even consider paying a quarter of that to sign him given that he is still relatively unproven in top leagues. I would imagine he would try he luck down South but I could be wrong

Whilst I'd like to see Nicky Clark here i think he would be very much outwith our pay structure. Fear this is a non starter unfortunately

If he were open to a move then I'd be delighted at appointing Houston

Well its been over two weeks since we were told that two pre-contracts were due to be finalised, still curious to find out who they are. Hopefully the added monies from finishing 7th will give us a bit more lee-way in securing targets sooner rather than later. Its a shame Fisher wasnt able to regain fitness in time to play for us again this season but hopefully attacking targets have been identified. This summer is going to be huge in terms of recruitment for us. Its a real make or break summer and our immediate future will rest on the players coming in. Can only hope suitable recruits have been identified or are on their way!

Caley Thistle captain Richie Foran hints at summer departure Doesn't sound like a happy place to be at the moment. The board are saying to Yogi we want our business done before the summer, Yogi saying he doesn't have the resources to get players in and players leaving left, right and centre. I'm not one for hitting the panic button but things sound like a shambles at the moment I know football is renowned for highs and lows but what a turnaround from last season! The board need to either come out and tell Yogi to get on with it and stop bad-mouthing the club in the press or they need to move onto a manager who can sign players within our budget.

Great to hear the clubs thoughts and see that they have been putting substantial (for this club) resources his way A little bit worrying that the board and JH dont always seem to be on the same page however. Any requests JH may have for more funds from the board should be kept strictly confidential IMO. He already has the largest budget we have ever had so for him to be demanding more is frankly ridiculous. He has worked at smaller clubs than us with smaller budgets and been able to sign decent players so I personally think he needs to act a bit more professional with the media and respect the private nature of budgets. All things being well our clubs board should not have to come out with statements like this and its my guess that this has only happened because of the ill feeling that has arisen from JHs comments in the press about lack of funds.

The Inverness Courier is running an online editorial questioning the logic in releasing Raven Ranting and Raven this decision baffles me

I can see why St Johnstone are doing what they are doing. With rangers and potentially Hibs coming up next season (who will both have bigger budgets than most in the SPL) then there will be more competition for clubs with regards to top 6 finishes/European places and also potentially relegation spots. We all know how badly relegation can hit a club so I think what St Johnstone are doing is a little bit of forward thinking and potentially putting themselves in a stronger position to maintain their recent high league positions. At no point has any one said that means put their club into debt or take on borrowings they cant afford but presumably they have cash in the bank that the chairman has agreed to add to the player budget. I'm all for sustainability and operating within your means but likewise I think it can be a wise decision to speculate at times with regards to investing in the squad. Its a risk but a calculated risk and for me i'd rather see my team spend a little more on player budget (if they have the resources to do so) than sit with money in the bank waiting for a rainy day. I'd much rather a pro-active approach to a reactive one. Makes a lot of sense to me what St Johnstone are doing and very interesting to see a bit of transparency from the board/management with their clubs aspirations. It means the fans and the board know the direction they are going. Wish i could say the same for us at the moment

What chance do we have of persuading our most important players to agree to long term contracts if the club treat loyalty like this? We have an experienced, loyal and IMO a very good SPL right back yet we don't want him? Unless JH has a great replacement on a PCA then this is madness. Raven has on numerous occasions said how much he loves it here and how its been the most enjoyable part of his career, he has said in the press that he would be willing to commit to the club for a long term contract but the best we can do is offer him a 1 year extension (last season) or not offer him a new contract at all this season. As mentioned before if there is a reason why he is being released then a little bit of PR from the club would go a long way. Seems that JH prefers the closed book method while leaving the fans to speculate whats going on

I have a very real fear that may happen

Gutted with this news, Raven had a slow start with us but firmly established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet for me. Great engine and willingness to get forward which surprises me so much that Hughes isn't keen on him. Surprised and disappointed by this news. This summer really is make or break for Hughes as he will me making his own team with only a few regulars from this season. He needs to pull the finger out and start identifying players that can make a real contribution to this team. Too many of his signings to date have failed to impress at all.

done

No one can disagree that last season was epic so this year was always going to be back to earth with a bump however last year Hughes was working with essentially a Butcher team with a few additions of JH's. I think JH's efforts last season more than merit him being given a chance to form his own team next season and recruit what he thinks to be a competitive SPL team. We are in a transitional stage this season (as we usually are at the end of most seasons) due to the nature of contracts we offer, however hopefully he can retain the core of the current team and supplement it with some of his own recruits. I am prepared to give JH a chance but I certainly hope his recruiting is better than it has been! I can see Foran taking charge of this team eventually but dont think it'll be for a couple of seasons

First and foremost we need to get the out of contract players signed up and hopefully there aren't too many moving on. Now would be a chance for Hughes to put his own stamp on the team and I certainly hope that he has learned from his recent forays into the transfer market that he needs to improve the quality of player coming in. He's had a very mixed bag so far. I think the area where we need quality is in the attacking areas. I think El Bahkatoui would be worth the gamble as well however i reckon there will be a lot of interest in him A left back, a no 10 and 2 strikers would be minumum for me provided we dont lose any more players