Libero

After todays result i'm not that bothered about the Cup, top six for me :022:

Agree 100% with everything in that post RiG, spot on. i'm absolutely gutted with todays result.

No-one, its been ditched in favour of an advertising spread! :007: unlessits hidden away somewhere

I have never been a fan of loan deals, partly because of the lack of sucess we have had with them however after seeing Falkirk making a what turned out to be a dream loan deal in Stokes it has led me to think differently, Stokes has arguably saved Falkirk from possible relegation this year and if one loan player can do that then maybe it is an avenue that should be looked into. Co-incidentally it looks like they have another potential star in the lad Finnegan from Newcastle who scored against rangers at the weekend. The premiership has a huge pool of youngsters trying to force their way into first team contention and i'm sure a lot of clubs would be willing to let players leave for first team experience so both parties clearly benefit. Kudos to the club for keeping the club financially stable over the seasons however we have been very lucky in that our team has managed to make the step up in quality through the leagues without too much difficulties and we have therefore managed to retain most of the team without too many changes. It certainly appears now that the time may have come where we have no option but to update the squad and hopefully our prudent stance in the past will mean we have the resources to update the squad as necessary.

I agree that defence and up front are the priority areas. Since typing the original report i have read an article in the Daily Express which has mentioned that "Charlie has already started looking at defensive options and Livingston's James mcPake and Dundee youngster gary mcKenzie are on his radar". Also It quotes Grassa saying " we have been looking at two or three players from the First division and that is likely to be the road we will be going down" The article also mentions that Richard Offiong is on our 'wanted list, English striker who's at Hamilton just now supposedly recommended to us by Robbo Is scouring the First Division for talent going to be enough to keep us in the SPL? I certainly hope so!! Good to see that moves are afoot to replace players leaving though

Over the fast few seasons we have started each season with similar faces and have benefitted from a settled squad that has not had to deal with any major changes in personell. We have been very fortunate enough to retain the core of successful team and have therefore only needed to add the odd face to our squad. Inevitably though the time has come where other teams have recognised some of our better performers and we have lost or will be losing a couple of first team players in Brown, Dods and possibly Dargo, Hastings, McSwegan(out of contract iirc) We have been unfortunate with injuries recently however our injury history over the season has been pretty kind to us for a small squad and what we have to remember is that although we have lost two important players it could be worse, just one or two more injuries and we could be in a great deal of trouble. This has shown that we do not have adequate depth to the squad to cope with injuries to a couple of top team players. IMO i think we are a team now established in the SPL but seem to have reached a peak where the lower end of the table seems to be our status quo therefore it is now the case that we need to look at a serious overhaul of the first team squad. I understand however that its sometimes easy to see the problem but not so easy to remedy it. It is well documented that ICT do not have the funds to compete with some of the SPL clubs in the top half of the table with regards to transfer fees and wages however there are several other SPL teams in the same boat as us (eg St Mirren, Killie, M'well, Pars) so in theory we should be able to compete. So is now the time for an overhaul of the first team squad and if it is are we capable of replacing the lost players with players of a similar or better calibre?

As far as i'm aware both Hart and McSwegan played the full 90 minutes of the last reserve match which would indicate they are fit enough for 90 minutes of football. We have been struggling in front of goal since losing Dargo and Wyness and i think fielding Hart who has a more attacking side to his game would give the team a more attacking impetus. I think with regards to Rory that he's had needs to keep his head down and work hard on his finishing but for now mcSwegan should be given a chance, after all thats what he was brought here for. McSwegan was brought here as back up for our main strikers if they became injured, they are now injured, rory isnt cuttting the mustard just now so why not let mcswegan play. If not then what was the point in signing him?

maybe not injured, but fighting his way back to fitness after injury is he not ? He won't be match sharp after nearly 3-4 months out but he was always been a pretty fit guy and he's been back in training at least 4 weeks and lasted the whole of the last reserve game. Don't personally rate him but I'd pick him ahead of McBain every time McCallister isnt exactly sharp either though and thats after starting the last few games! just now i'd have hart in for mcbain purely for the reason that hart is a bigger goal threat and we desperately need goals just now.

I would love to see a different formation such as Harry's however i just cant see it happening. Personally i'd like to see Black and Hart recalled with Duncan and Roy dropped and McCallister dropped for Mcswegan. McCallister was given the chance of proving himself in the first team when it was clear he wasnt 100% fit so why not Hart and McSwegan? If it were me in the hotseat i would line up with: Fraser Tokely Dods Munro Hastings Hart Black Rankin Wilson Bayne McSwegan with rankin pushing forward to support the front two and black dropping deep to do the dirty work.

Theres probably some legal reason why they cant publish such tripe on the website! ha ha

there was one from IHE spouting informing about the supposed done deal to bring thon Ross County youngster Mckay-stevens to ICT. ha ha ha :024:

How many ICT fans then? :023:

IMO suspensions and short term injuries are the ideal chance to give fringe players the chance to show the gaffer that they are worthy of a first team slot and they should therefore pull out all the stops to impress which should benefit the team. Ergo I'm not too worried by McBains suspension

25/30 out of how many overall pupils?

Not suprised it was a success, thon heads or tails game must of made a few pennies not to mention the punter that shelled out £300 on the MFR lassies top! was a great night though, any word on how much was raised?

Aberdeen - Barry nicholson - vastly under-rated, has the ability to pick out a killer pass, run at players and can ping a decent shot Celtic - Nakamura - Drifts in and out of games too much but has the ability to change a game with one kick Dundee Utd - Robson - Crossing, passing and shooting is outstanding and if he took his impudence and diving out of his game would be a genuine contender for a scotland spot IMO Dunfermline - Jim Hamilton, not what you would call an elegant player but will give his all, gets in around the defence and pops up with his fair share of goals. Falkirk - Latapy - Passing and vision is sublime on his day and can hit a fair shot. Hearts - Gordon - Can single handedly prevent his team from conceding any goals even when his defence are ropey at best. Hibs - Sproule on his today has the pace to cause any team problems however is way too hotheaded and not consistent enough. Until he got injured Killen was someone who always looked dangerous with the ball in and near the box. Brown for his vision and willingness to run at defenders. Inverness Caley Thistle - hard to pick one player i think is key to the team but on current form Dods, Rankin or Wilson are all key components in the team just now. Kilmarnock - Naismith, deadly in the box given half an inch Motherwell - Scott macdonald - the only well player i can think of that has the ability to change a game Rangers - barry ferguson - never say die approach is exactly what you need from your captain and orchestrates most of rangers decent attacking play St Mirren - Sutton - the type of big forward that defenders hate playing against, gets stuck in, good finisher and good with his head. Have to say though Clacher's most feared ICt player was a cracker :015:

Would like to see him getting on the bench at the very least. Hart offers us a different dimension to the team i think, great crosser usually and not afraid to hit a shot. Just a shame that he's had his share of injuries and has had some pretty tough competition for a starting place in the team.

Completely agree, its a generational thing at present unfortunately, what we have to remember is a lot of youngsters have been influenced by their parents, brothers, relatives when choosing their allegiances and seeing as our club has only been a top flight team for a matter of seasons then its to be expected that there will be a lot of Old firm supporters still in inverness but hopefully over the coming years it will dramatically drop. Thankfully i did not personally succumb to parent pressure or i'd be a hibee!! :010:

How about a freshen up with the line-up? Fraser Tokely Dods Munro Hastings Hart Black Duncan Rankin Wilson Bayne

I certainly am not panicking but I was dissappointed that we didnt manage to get any cover in for the forwards in the window. Considering the recent speculation that Liam Buchanan has been watched and was rumoured to be coming in the summer why was a move not made in this window for cover and to acclimatise to the team? I feel McCallister did play well at the weekend and was a lot better than i expected but for me seemed to be lacking not just match sharpness but overall fitness, it looked to me that he was tiring after about on an hour which isn't a great sign. McSwegan has looked lively whenever i've seen him come on and i believe can do a good job for us providing he stays clear of injury. Bayne i have no qualms about, tough as old boots and could run all day amd is popping up with more goals now which is pleasing. Realistically having 3 recognised forwards of which 2 have not played a lot is not a great situation to be in.

from teamtalk.com: with keogh offski, hart injured? (i think) and Black possibly away today looks like he will be a welcome addition to the squad!

Just heard Tam has been released by Falkirk, anyone like to see him up here?

have to say, today has been very quiet in terms of speculation regarding scottish clubs, especially ours! :020: havent heard a thing today which is unusual considering all the people on this site 'in the know' :023: thought IHE might have popped up with a few 'rumours'

Ive been hearing that Hartley is currently embroiled in a tug of war between Celtic and Rangers, Rangers had a bid rejected last night, Celtic had one accepted not long ago, will rangers put in another bid? one of the only transfer snippets ive heard from scotland today unfortunately! Heard a rumour that Gordons off to Arsenal too. When's our new striker gonna be announced!

Blackie is undoubtedly a very talented footballer and i think has a great future in the game (hopefully with ICT i might add) as long as he learns to control his temper, i was absolutely delighted to see him remain calm regarding the Jarosik incident and hopefully this is the turning point with his recent booking problems. :025: to Blackie. I have seen in the past Blackie react to much less so to remain calm and not react to Jarosik was pleasing and bodes well for the future, Personally i doubt if i would have remained calm when yon big lad shoved him. :023: