starchief

It's fairly obvious Foran is part of a long-term plan. I'd be surprised if he wasn't part of the coaching set-up soon. I know some will criticise that as Foran is pretty aggressive on the pitch. Two things: so was Peter Grant and Roy Aitken but they seem to be doing alright as assistants. Also, that has to be the manager's choice. Who knows what Foran is really like as a coach, except those with substantial football experience. After all, wasn't Paul Lambert terrible at Livi? Sturrock at Dundee United? It has to be Butcher's choice.

So, let's see.... Butcher was criticised for getting us relegated coz he played Tokely at centre-back. Tokely should also not play for ICT again as he's 4th, 5th and 6th choice as centre-back. He's too slow, too rash and cost us a number of goals. Tokely should also stay as he's a great centre-back. Proctor also must stay as he's ICT through and through, even though he only came back after failing elsewhere. Proctor is terrible and should never play for ICT again. Proctor will be a great signing for Ross County - we should never have let him go. Butcher should never have signed Golabeck as he was past his best. He should also sign Duncan after Ross County decided he wasn't good enough for SFL1, so went to Peterhead. Munro needs to getaefeck as all he does is hoof-the-ball. Munro should have never been sold. Buthcer has ripped out the heart of ICT by not keeping McBain, Golabeck, Hastings and all those others that were no longer SPL quality. Meanwhile, he can't replace them with any quality. Which is why Golobart was never player of the year, we're desperate to get rid of Tade, Gillet and Hayes and we're expecting nothing from A.Shinnie or Doran next season. David Davis. Another failure. As was Tansey, which is why Motherwell were after him. What would Stuart McCall know about potential? Hayes would be better off going to a club where it will be almost impossible to get spotted, as long as it's in England. After all, anywhere in England is better than the SPL. Meanwhile, we should try to sign Black from Hearts and get Rooney on loan from Birmingham. Even though we're desperate for any players with a hint of quality not to sign for any other SPL clubs, we will also bemoan the lack of quality in the SPL. We have no money yet should be able to sign a load of great players for free, whilst acknowledging we can't compete with other SPL clubs, both in terms of finance and location. The likes of Eagle, Stratford etc prove this, even though they cost very little and we went up first time of asking and almost achieved a top six finish. We also wasted a lot of money on Tuffey...who we should offer a new contract to. However, we should forget about that as we were almost relegated this season, finishing only a mere 14 points above Dunfermline and beating a Hibs side that spent vastly more than us. Nevetheless, we should be playing more flowing football on a budget far below the Brazil-like Aberdeen, who finished far above us on two points more. Butcher should play Ross, G.Shinnie and Sutherland more. CTO begged for G.Shinnie to be dropped after a dip in form, although he shouldn't have been dropped. Gillet should have been brought back earlier too. Although neither Shinnie or Gillet should be played out of position. So two left-backs then. Ross isn't strong enough to play regularly and should be loaned out. We should also build the team around him. Ross played 32 games this season. Ross also didn't play much this season. Sutherland should get his chance. Sutherland did and showed he isn't the answer. Why didn't Sutherland play more? We should sign more Highland players, even though we don't know any capable of playing in the SPL. We should though look to the SFL, even though Tade wasn't SPL quality, which is why St Johnstone are after him and he rejected us. But we should take a chance on SFL players to get us some goals, apart from Rory McAllister as he wasn't any good as a teenager but is a superior goalscorer to anything in the SFL 2 or 3. We should sack Butcher and get Robbo in, even though, in a vote, CTO voted for Butcher above Robbo. A more experienced manager is the answer, such as Jimmy Calderwood, Jim Jefferies or Bobby Williamson - all of whom aren't the solution. A young manager with potential should be brought in as long as he's experienced as we can't rely on untried managers. If you think Butcher deserves a chance after doing better than expected two seasons out of three, then you're a happy clapper thinking everything is rosy in the garden. If Butcher doesn't improve the club's fortunes, then he should never have been hired. Just as long as we're being consistent here.

Disappointed Hayes seems to be leaving. Glad he seems to be staying in Scotland. With Hearts on the way down and Craig Brown/Archie Knox at the helm, I think Aberdeen could do well next season. That's a number of decent players they're after. Won't get them all of course but can see them battling with DU for a good Euro-spot next year. That's got to be better for the Scottish football fan than seeing if Jonny got subbed at Colchester in the Sunday Post.

I'd say moving anywhere but the EPL or possibly the strong promotion candidates of the Championship would be the only step up from the SPL. He might earn more money at Doncaster or Coventry but there's no chance of Europe, Cups, tv fame, international recognition (see James McPake) etc. Aberdeen has that. Hell, even ICT has a better chance of it. Maybe time to look at the positives Scottish football can offer other than a bigger wage packet, sitting on the benches of a club that will go nowhere? And for the record, I hope Hayes stays. But if not, I hope he stays in Scotland to improve play in the SPL.

Foreign football managers should be banned for national teams. Why should it be any different for the most important part of a team, the manager, than it is for a goalkeeper? And the sooner we can stop hoping our players go to sit on the bench for a Division Two (or Championship if you insist) club, rather than staying and making the SPL improve, the better. An Aberdeen team with Cowie, Black, Rooney and Hayes might upset a few people at the TCS a couple of times a year but it would make out league more exciting and push up the standard of all clubs. I want Scottish football to be better at all levels. And we won't get that with McGuire, Allan or Fyvie playing in some reserves for a few bob more, or hoping Hayes or Black leave Scotland 'to further themselves' at a non-top division side. Maybe not a lot we can do about it but perhaps not urging them to leave Scotland at the first opportunity might help a little.

If you're up, Dundee v Dundee Utd for the 1982-3 SPL decider is on the Big Match Revisited currently on ITV4. You're missing the battle for the English 2nd Division (nope, not 'the Championship') - how tight was Pryde Park!?!

And yet Foran and Tokely have been criticised all season, with posters on here urging Butcher to drop them, many saying they weren't worth a new contract - probably only Proctor has been criticised more. Amazing how so many seem to have forgotten that. The majority of Nick Ross comments too were of the getaefeck variety, how he isn't good enough, he isn't strong enough, he needs loaned out, he adds nothing etc etc. Talk about fickle.

I think that's basically what I said.

What, you rate Tokely now? When did that happen? If you'd had your way, he'd have been gone two seasons ago.

I think it was obvious why he got rid of Duncan. He'd lost his place, didn't do anything special when he got time on the park, went to a lesser division, couldn't get a game for them, dropped down more divisions. An ICT legend sure, but just like McBain, Golabeck, Wyness etc etc, eventually the time comes when he's not good enough. He'd reached that time. No blunder there. Or would you like to sign a Ross County over-30 reject who was loaned out to a 3rd division club? Munro got a lot of criticism from ICT supporters for his hoof-the-ball. I thought he was a decent player and it was a mistake. He was never international class but a decent bottom six defender. A mistake. Tokely has been criticised all season, with some saying he was fourth, fifth and even sixth choice of central defender. I heard very few shouting Ross should have had a new contract most of the season, except for the last few games. As it is, I hope he does get a new contract as, again, he is a decent but not Earth-shattering bottom six defender. I'd keep him but where are all the critics that have been shouting how he must leave all season? And who are all those other players that we're losing that are the 'heart and soul' of the club? Picked at random from 2009: Inverness CT: Esson, Tokely, Mihadjuks, Munro, Djebi-Zadi, Proctor, Black, Duncan, Foran (Hastings 87), Morais (Imrie 62), Rooney (Odhiambo 77) Couldn't afford: Mihadjuks, Black, Morais, Rooney Stayed: Esson, Tokely, Foran - both of the latter have been constantly criticised all season Left controversially: Munro, Duncan - only one of which has managed to play in a lesser division Other: Djebi-Zadi, Proctor, Hastings, Imrie, Odhiambo - which one of these is the 'heart and soul' that we shouldn't be losing? All of them were being hugely criticised.

So you are happy with the quality of the SPL then? You want the best players to leave? This perochial attitude is part of the reason why Scottish football is so low.

Weeks? GMS was out injured for the best part of six months. So, would you have taken on a player that had a history of injuries, that was given a trial but failed to finish the match, that was going to be injured for a lengthy part of the following season, with no guarantee of recovering long-term? A player that couldn't get accepted by any team in the SPL or SFL1? A player that turned down a pay-as-you-play deal becasue he quite simply wouldn't be playing enough? Would you honestly have taken that type of player on a long-term deal? On hindsight, a 5 year deal for GMS would have been a great investment but to have given that would have been madness. He hadn't shown anything to prove that he deserved that. dougal is very easy to disagree with, given that it's pretty clear through his posts that he doesn't support ICT. And we managed to almost break into the top six without GMS or Vigurs. Here's the question: given that Butcher 'bounced back' at the first time of asking, then achieved a finish that was probably a lot higher than most of us believed, should he be sacked after one mediocre season or given a chance to improve next season? He deserves that chance.

It might well be his last season, where poor defending and desperately bad finishing means we're towards the bottom of the table. Then again, it could be like last year, if Hogg gets fit, less injuries and he can find a striker. In which case, it could be like the year before, where we are heavily pushing for top six. It's way too early to be making these predictions. Two good seasons out of three means he deserves a chance. It's impossible to say what next season will bring.

I've always thought him best as a super-sub. But if not, then some big guy, like Higdon (though obviously not Higdon), would be ideal. Holding the ball up for Tade and A.Shinnie, even Tansey. Probably a player that would let the team score more, rather than be a goal machine himself.

Shouldn't have been a penalty. Hooper's goal was offside. Therefore, who scored the only legitimate goal? End of.

Well, he has been diagnosed with depression and that's usually manic depression (big swings in either direction). In all seriousness, this must be one of the worst jobs in the entire world for him to control his illness.

Looking forward to this final astronomically more than a Celtic v Aberdeen tie could ever have been.

Ditto. At the end of the game, li'l Neil chased after the referee to complain about both the weak penalty to Hearts and Celtic's offside goal. Why do poor little Celts never get the breaks ?

I wonder if people would change their minds if a new question were added asking whether Rangers should start in Div. 3 even though it would mean ICT, Killie, St Johnstone and Aberdeen becoming bankrupt (I've no idea if they would but they seem clubs that could be close to the edge). (for the record, I think the whole of Scottish football needs such a radical overhaul, I'd be inclined to close, merge and rebirth dozens of clubs for a streamlined competitive two leagies and regional leagues below that)

If there's no redistribution of money, it'll just mean Celtic pumping seven past QoS and continuing on with their trophy haul until Rangers get their act in gear. you could have a four team or a forty team league. It would be as equally uncompetitive without that money change.

It's not bickering. In the case of the most obvious poster, it's baiting at best. Trolling at worst. I'm not sure why, for that case, the ignore function isn't used more.

Good luck to him. My biggest problem was the way he left us, then came back after failing elsewhere. Just didn't feel right.

Not a bad result for ICT. I'm more disappointed with the Aberdeen score. Thought we could have caught up with them. Still a chance but more of a hope of getting above the Buddies.

I've always said Proctor would be ideal as a defensive midfielder or sweeper. He doesn't have the strength for central defence or the pace for anything other than a very defensive full-back. When Butcher came in, Proc was at right-midfield. He proved he had the ability for the midfield but not the pace. Get Foran up the park and play Proc there. He deserves a chance.

About the same as beating Aberdeen at Pittodrie or Hibs at home. There's no banker for your fixed odds with ICT.