PullMyFinger

Yeah great to generate more income. Did Elton John's insurers ever cough up to pay for the pitch repairs?

Sights firmly focussed on revenge against the tinks at first opportunity. :angry:

Try Hector Brocklebank at "HB Fush".

Was he singing ' tie me kangaroo down sport ' ? Is that not a dogging hotspot? :D

What a condescending post. A pox on you. :018:

I believe you need to let these new players settle before judging them as "average (at best)" I believe you are correct.

I don't belive that is the case. I belive he'll be on less at County. I belive Vigurs would've been worth paying it to and we're probably paying even more for less talented players now. That's what I belive.

All in all it is a severely insular attitude to think we could have been as succesful as we have been with only "local" talent .... also, what exactly is local ? Is it Inverness, does it extend to Nairn, Elgin, Dingwall, Dornoch, Wick, Aviemore, Perth ... where do you draw the line in defining that ? Severely insular? :P Can you now read my thoughts Scotty? B) I did not say we could've been as successful with only locals, the majority of our new signings are average (at best) mercenaries here for the money and have no affinity with the Highlands. We have released better players, Ian Vigurs for instance has won the fizzy pop youth player of the month and I'll bet he continues to haunt us through the season.

Count me in, too. If I'm off shift that is.

Is this your justification for wanting Butcher out? You don't like that fact that his signing aren't local? Did you notice that he signed a certain Mr Golabek from Laurel Avenue last week? Our captain is also a Dalneigh boy and in Russell and Roy we have a combined service to ICT of 18 years sitting on the bench. I believe the sub goalie is from the dark side of the bridge and Shinne, Ross and Sutherland have all come through the youth system. Are names like Ross and Sutherland local enough for you? There's more local flavour in this squad than in most. I think that the vocal minority who are having a dig at Butcher just now are all folk who didn't want him in the first place. As CaleyD has pointed out, they seem more concerned with being proved right than with success for ICT, and on the evidence of the argument above, they are clutching at straws. The comment in my profile was a tongue in cheek reaction to another posters comment, if it stimulates discussion such as this then it can't be a bad thing. I don't believe Butcher is here for the long haul and another of the applicants would have been. I will be over the moon and cockahoop if Butcher guides us back into the SPL at the fist time of asking but suspect that he and Maurice will be away at the end of the season regardless. Stepping stones and all that. I wholeheartedly agree with Johnboys previous post, it wasn't a time for experimenting and ultimately it may have cost us dearly. edit to insert missing word in bold

He finished 12th in the season they had to make most of their squad redundant and in the following season, on an almost zero budget, and working mostly with youngsters did what under the circumstances seems miraculous to get a top 6 finish. Yes his (individual) record apart from Motherwell makes grim reading and so for that matter does the record of his #2 ...... but together they seem to make a good team (as they did at Motherwell) ..... I still believe in Butcher and think it is ludicrous that there are calls for his head at this stage. Get a feckin grip !!! He took over a team in freefall under Brewster, turned it around and almost kept us up .... 2 more goals over the whole season or one more draw or victory and we would have remained in the SPL. It is not TB's fault we went down any more than it is Rossco's fault because of his red card V Falkirk, or Barrowman or Rooney's fault for every goal chance they missed, or Fraser or Esson's fault for every goal conceded (you get the idea) ..... bottom line is that its a team game and everyone is a little bit to blame and should take some of it. Did Butcher get everything right after taking over - NO, but when he came in did we look like we would only go down on goal difference ??? We just have to suck it up and try to win the hardest division whilst avoiding the trap of getting so arrogant (as fans or a team) that we dont remember that there have always been decent sides in that division. As much as I dint enjoy the County match, it did look like there is something about a few of the new signings and listening to the Partick game the commentators were highlighting that too ..... perhaps we are being too impatient ... they seem to be starting to gel with each other now (a problem we predicted Dundee would have with all their new and expensive signings - not sure why our new signings would have been immune). TB will do for me I am not blaming Butcher for relegation. I just don't think he was the best choice of those available to us at the time. I guess I think the club has lost some of it's identity by searching so far for playing and coaching staff. In doing so I think a lot of the passion has also been lost. Is there not a lot more pride playing for your local team or cheering on local players in your local team? Maybe you think I should start following the can cans but I'm an ICT fan and say it as I see it.

CaleyD you've said no-one can say we haven't improved and then questioned others expectations on an improvement on last year. I've probably misinterpreted what you've said but eh? First off you need to redefine what success means to the club and what is acceptable to the fans. This is our first season back in the SFL and success to me personally would be finishing in the top 3. The club itself in a foolish advertising campaign set its sights for the top "bounce" which although it is achievable is not at all easy. What is success for ICT this season? Fans view? Club view? Team view? Management view? Are they all the same? Is it ever? What would failure look like for Butcher? How would we recognise it? What should be done about it? When should it be done? Yes, results are slowly improving at the club. Has the football improved? Has the squad improved? Please elaborate on what has improved exactly. On saturday we'll likely be starting with 8 players who weren't in the squad last season, that is a big change and it will take time to settle the team. Why so much so soon? We had players who could still do a job released for strangers. It is now without shadow of a doubt a team formed by Butcher whereby in the past our successive managers didn't make wholesale changes. It is my opinion that this is a team who may do exceptionally well but I don't expect them to win any competitions this season. If/when they do I'll be as chuffed as the next fan.

Donald Dewar, Sir Bob Reid, Alex Salmond, Boy George, Brian Blessed

yet

Baird's tv systems involved mechanical, as opposed to electronic scanning to produce a picture. Doesn't bear any resemblence to today's tv or computer screens Actually Johnboy the first computer was wholly mechanical, invented by a Mr Babbage who never actually completed building it. It was like a large version of the dial darts scorer I remember from (The Seaforth?) Youth club on Planefield Road.

Ross Tokely

Perhaps your misconceptions are clouding your judgement Alex. At no point did I suggest or imply that Butcher will get us relegated, but if that's what you read in my posts on that thread you should maybe have a look at where you are viewing them from. I believe ICT will have a better future with a full-time manager who's loyalty and love for the club hasn't been bought. I have watched helplessly as our team has been slowly dismantled and it cracks me up.

A psychologist would get some milage from your first sentence, very interesting. Would you care to be more specific about your impressions of individuals views so that they can retort? Where has it been said "sack Butcher or we'll go down"? I haven't seen that.

I'm not trying to slag Butcher off (not on this thread at least), just curious how our managers' track records compare. I'll be offline for a few days then I'll do some unbiased in depth research into all our managers and assistants (past and present).

Emm, no you're not alone CaleyP, ripped the heart out of the team when all it needed was a bit of CPR. Hell, maybe we'd still be in the SPL and the tinks wouldn't have earned bragging rights. Who knows? :biggrin01:

While I expect that suggestion would fall on deaf ears, it's a no brainer as far as I'm concerned. As much as it makes me sad to say, I agree completely. The times they are a changing. Bring back entertaining football please.

My mother had a **** poor signal with ghosting (on digital?) until I raised the aerial a foot and now perfect reception. Get it as high as you can as the actress said to the bishop.

That was Stirling Observer I believe? Should have heard him mooing at Lionel. :biggrin01:

Billy Dodds better look out. :biggrin01:

I really don't think we should be gloating, after all "there but for the grace of God" and all that. :biggrin01: