RiG

Okay it's not January but it's still an ICT transfer rumour. Scott Burns claiming on Twitter that we are after Louis Laing (ex Motherwell) and were keen on Ryan McGowan (ex Hearts and Dundee United). The latter apparently isn't looking likely as he is going to England.

We're always in the corner at Celtic Park save for the League Cup Final.

Yeah, having more shots on target and not winning the game definitely sounds like an improvement to me. That 3 - 1 win over Dundee was the last time we won a game at home in the league. I have no idea how you can cite one above average second half performance as an example that things have 'vastly improved'. In the seventeen games that followed we have taken 10 points from an available 51. That is atrocious.

Three must win games and not a single performance in any of them that suggested that team had a must win attitude. We were poor against Partick, shocking against Hamilton and marginally better against Dundee with the second half showing a degree of fight but there is little point putting that effort in when you are already two goals down. Fact is we needed that second half performance as a minimum last Saturday and for the two games that followed. We now find ourselves with some exceptionally difficult pre split games to face up to, hope we can get something from them and also that teams above us don't pull away too much. Partick, Hamilton and Dundee were games were we could have bought ourselves some valuable points to put us ahead of other sides going into our tough run. On the positive side I thought Billy King had his best game for us all season. He's often had one good half and one subdued half but I thought he really impressed. He took a fair leathering off the Dundee players. Tremarco was also good and Mckay was a class above. Yes both his penalties were very weak but his hold up play was superb and he did well to make something out of those thumping long balls we insist on the playing. An absolutely awful crowd. Take out the Dundee fans and how many home supporters were there? 2,200 maybe? Looked like you could have put everyone in the North Stand. A real shame that at a time when the club needs all the support it can get people aren't getting along to games to get behind the team. Going off topic for a second... As for John Hughes I doubt he cares to be honest. He stopped caring for ICT when he started slagging off the club in the public domain. He worked his ticket very well and comes out of it all looking like he has been harshly treated when he fact he was thoroughly unprofessional in airing dirty laundry in public (as was KC). You could even argue that part of our downturn was sown by Hughes himself. Under Butcher we lost good players but tended to bring new ones in to replace them. Yes sometimes it was very hit and miss but for the most part the recruitment, however it worked, under Butcher typically replaced players we lost. This stopped under Hughes. When the likes of Billy Mckay left it took months for a replacement to be found. The wrong areas of the team were strengthened with bang average players whilst other parts (attack and defence) were ignored. The 'recycling' of players ground to a halt under Hughes as he filled the team with midfielders and it become incredibly unbalanced. His first full season with us was fantastic and he proved a lot of doubters, including myself, wrong however his second full season was typical Hughes as he has been with other clubs. Steadfastly refusing to adapt his style when he had been found out, poor recruitment, publicly whoring our best player to Celtic, high fiving Celtic fans and ignoring ICT fans at games, mind numbingly dull football especially at home, demands for more money then a public falling out with the board and some players (much like he had done at Falkirk by all accounts), the list goes on. His time was up and he knew it. By the end there was no longer any 'promising set up'. The stability that we had seen from ICT over a number of years was slowly ebbing away and we now find ourselves in an incredible mess. I am not saying Hughes is solely to blame. Kenny Cameron and the board should shoulder a fair chunk of responsibility as well as Foran. As mentioned on other threads Foran has also demonstrated poor tactical awareness and bizarre team selections throughout this season which have contributed to where we now find ourselves. At the end of the day I don't believe it is one person who is responsible for this mess. It's a collective effort but there's no point fawning over Hughes or Butcher or anyone else. They've gone. Deal with it. What matters now is we get behind the team and support them to get over the line and stay in this league and hopefully kick on from there.

P & J running a story that says four folk from Elgin and four from Inverness have been charged after the disturbance in Elgin the other week. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/inverness/1159990/eight-charged-elgin-v-inverness-football-violence/

Losing the early (or at least first goal) is a MASSIVE issue for us. We've conceded the opening goal in a staggering 74% of our matches this season and have been in a losing position at half time in over 60% of our games so far. We're being outscored by a factor of 2:1 in the first half. Unfortunately as soon as something goes wrong the fans are on top of the players and seldom get behind them. Obviously some of the stuff served up recently has been mince but it is a bit disappointing that some seem to be more than willing to be vocal in their criticism but seldom give the same amount level of support to the team.

Mantis has been released. bughtmaster is up and takes his place on the right wing.

Chat at the game was that Doran was injured. I think I heard someone say he was suffering from this sickness bug that appeared to be affecting one or two of the players.

If Foran knows which players are bottling it / hiding why do they keep playing? I know we don't have a massive squad but surely some of the under performers could have been benched in recent weeks?

hislopsoffsideagain RiG - Caley D - IHE - Celtic1Caley3 ICTChris - topsixnextyear TheMantis - Yngwie - RedCard Renegade

Mckay and Anier up front? Check. Comprehensively outplayed by Hamilton? Check. Manager says players lack bottle? Check. Relegated at the end of the season? TBC. Seems all too familiar to Dundee United under Paatelainen last season. https://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/fp/mixu-says-dundee-united-lack-bottle-fight/ https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/517819/furious-inverness-boss-richie-foran-brands-his-caley-flops-bottlers-after-defeat-to-hamilton/

A disgraceful performance from ICT. Easily the worst I've seen from us in recent seasons. When push came to shove Accies wanted it more and stepped up whilst we shat the bed. The relentless hoofball to Mckay was painful to watch. Foran had no clue what to do. The line up was bizarre. Four central midfielders, no pace, no width and just generally no clue. Mckay seemed to be claiming he was pushed or something for the opener. Good near post header from a corner. Warren at fault for the second as he misjudged the ball and was out of position. Good cross and finish for the Accies second. The third came from us being piss weak in midfield like we were most of the night. Accies could and should have scored more. It was embarrassing watching us tonight. Just completely and utterly pathetic. Not one good thing can be taken from that game tonight from an ICT point of view.

Confirmed by the club on Facebook (and I assume Twitter but I haven't looked).

Probably in the minority here but Doumbouya isn't very good. Not bothered if he is away. He seems a lovely chap don't get me wrong but as a footballer - meh.

Mckay thrived on the chances created for him by the likes of Doran, Shinnie and Watkins. Time for our current crop of players like Cole, Polworth and Doran (again) to give him the opportunity to fire us to safety.

Would love this to be true but I can't see it. He's still getting games at Oldham as far as I'm aware although perhaps he has dropped out of the starting XI recently. If anything I can't help but feel this is an agent trying to drum some interest in his client like the Simon Murray rumour last week. Still, if it is true and we somehow get him that would be superb.

Smashing post from Chris. Not really much else to add other than something he said at the game about ICT lacking any real control of the ball. Each time the ball fell the way of one of our players we seemed to aimlessly blooter it forward. Partick on the other hand seemed more inclined to take a touch and try and start some kind of passing move to lead to an attack. ICT were exceptionally direct by contrast thumping long balls to Anier to chase. The tippy tappy stuff under Hughes was boring but at least the side under him had a degree of control about it albeit quite toothless with no end product. Under Foran we are almost trying too hard to get the ball forward to get a chance when we might be better served by trying to be a bit more patient and take a touch instead of battering it high and long every time the ball comes near one of our players. I am getting very, very worried.

Tremarco Tremarco Tremarco Tremarco Tremarco Tremarco Tremarco Tremarco Tremarco Tremarco Tremarco

2;42 - Gary Warren getting it right up the Jailend

I'd be surprised if we take more than a couple of hundred to this sadly. I wonder what the ticket prices will be like.

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=1957&newsCategoryID=7&newsID=16748

Looks like this will be live on the BBC, Saturday 11th February, with a 12:15 KO.

I've not seen it but apparently Foran, during his press conference, refuted any interest in Murray.