starchief

Esson Piermayr - Tokely - Gillett - G.Shinnie Tansey - Proctor Ross - A.Shinnie - Tade Sutherland Not sure how fit either Cox or Hayes would be, so they get a very important place on the bench. Foran dropped but would come in at defensive midfield otherwise. Don't fully trust Golobart, but Gillett is supposed to be able to play in central defence. Well, he's a good player, so gets a chance. We really need either Tansey or A.Shinnie - both with plenty of skill - to stand up and be counted. One of them can be the heart of the team but they need consistency and drive.

I could never hope for an Old Firm win. Let's beat our rivals on our own terms but they all stuff the gruesome twosome.

No changes. Proctor definitely deserves to stay in.

It might seem as though we fell at the last hurdle but we didn't. Scotland was out if the Czechs won. Spain in Spain was never going to work. Although it was the wrong tactic, I can't even blame Levein for the 4-6-0 in Prague. After Burley, we were a shadow of the side we could be. We now have a young team that can battle. That's a big step up. It's still a big, but not impossible, ask for the world cup. With Burley, we had no chance. Now, no-one can expect an easy game. And, with the players ages, we're just going to improve all the time.

1. Paterson: what he did was amazing! 2. Christie: got us to our highest league position - should have stayed on 3. Butcher: up first time of asking 4. Robbo: could have done so much more but chose to leave 5. Brewster: made the mistake of coming back to early but only got the DU gig after some impressive ICT performances

1. Brown - I think it's easy to forget just how good he was. Took the money but lost playing regularly and that's set him back 2. Esson 3. Calder 4. Fraser 5. Tuffey - needs to play more to justify being any higher. I wouldn't be surprised for either Esson or Tuffey to leave. Difficult call as they both have their uses. Esson, more experienced but older. Tuffey could grow into a highly-prized keeper with a possibility of a transfer fee.

Was Gil a striker, a midfielder, a winger? Y'see the guy could play anywhere and maintained his level of performance. That performance being crap or injured unfortunately. For the #1 midfielder, it's difficult to see past Brian Kerr - remember how the stadium would reverberate to 'there's only one King Kerr' as he led what became known as 'Brian's Battlers' out to the glory of relegation? Tudur-Jones has been near perfect. He's only really had one bad game in his whole time here. (and one good game and one injured game). It's unfortunate he got injured but who could have foreseen that? Dan Stratford has to be in there. It's the usual story. Plays for ICT one season, then is snapped by a club down south. Why oh why won't our board commit to long-term contracts? He must have missed Scotland though as he's back up here with Partick. Difficult to believe, but he's yet to play for the Jags. I know, I know... Halfway between a forward and a wide mid, the one and only Dougie Imrie. Who can forget the amount of times, Dougie would be cheered on by supportive fans, as he sprinted down the wing, to hoist in a near-perfect cross for the waiting strikers, just a few metres over the crossbar and on to the roof of a van in the car park. Sheer class, that boy.

I can't see how Brewster can be named first either. His career was very near over by the time he came here. For me, Wyness and Stewart are in a class of their own. The amount of goals they scored for ICT was phenomenal. You could argue that Stewart never played at the highest level and Wyness didn't do much at Hearts and wasn't top when he came back but I just wonder what would have happened if they continued with us to the top flight... Next up, Dargo. He always looked like he would score. Another one who didn't look anything special before he came and after he left, but a potent striker whilst he was here. Paul Ritchie just below but he's another with amazing statistics. Could he have played at a higher level? His goals scored column suggests quite possibly. Fifth? I'd go for Foran, just above Rooney. Different players, but I believe Foran would have scored a lot more in a different system. Put Rooney with no Foran and I think we'd struggle more than Foran with no Rooney. Yeah, I know it's not going to plan currently but Foran's getting on and I still think he'll get his goalscoring touch back before too long. Had he chosen to stay longer, David Bingham could easily have cemented his place in there. But he didn't, so he doesn't.

I think that says it all about Brewster and his second time at the club. IMHO, most fans were against him returning from the off (including me!). Just like McLeish at Villa, there's far less give'n'take.

Heard you the first time. Wow, Renegade. You've changed your tune. Although I disagree about Jimmy Calderwood. Look at the before and after of his time at Aberdeen and Dunfermline to see what a fine manager he was. I applaud the decision (see, I told you). He's done wonders since he got here. Let's give him a longer run to run the club his way, the same way that Pele moulded ICT to his ideas.

Kevin Pressman, the Sheffield Wed keeper, was in that situation once. He basically just blasted it as he would from a bi-kick. If the opposing keeper had got in the way, it would have taken his head off!

I suspect Foran will start banging them in sooner or later. He is a goalscorer and at the heart of many of our chances. His form is good but his touch is slightly off. I don't think the latter will last long. If you're looking for ability, I think Foran is the best player we have. He can score, he can pass, he can win in the air, he works like a dog. Whether in central midfield, as a striker or on the left-wing, he's a regular start for me. I don't know why people are so keen for McKay to start. 75 apps for Northampton, 13 goals. Hardly rapier-like. Yet to score an SPL goal too (although perhaps not entirely his fault). Let him prove himself from the bench first.

You could say the same thing about Rooney when he first started (apart from the defenders bit). By the end of the season, we will see. He's played a handful of games with a weakened team. Look at how badly Torres started with Chelsea. Let him get at least half a season under his belt before condemning him. I was a bit wary at the start but I think he'll come good. Getting in the right position is a big ask of a player. Tade seems to be doing that. A bit of confidence, a bit of a run and he may well outstrip Rooney. But let's give him a chance. If Hearts, Motherwell, St Johnstone, Dunfermline and Aberdeen (and I'd say Rangers too) can't buy penalty box strikers, then how can we? Same as we did with Rooney. We get someone with an inkling of talent and attempt to coax a bit more from them. I think he'll do well come the end of the season. Right now, he's absolutely a first pick.

Ah go and play with your frisbee "It's not the same without Bart....he used to watch me"

And the weird thing is, I don't think he's ever played in his most natural defensive midfield position. He looked half-decent when first at CD but didn't have the strength to pull it off. Munro wasn't the big aggressive character he needed, so faded very badly. Luckily, Tokely seems to have grown into a Dods. Maybe the big battering ram, with a player that can see the action could work wonders. A little similar to McLeish and Miller (although not as world class). Let's give him a run there.

That boy Shinnie. What a player! He was everywhere. Tackling in defence. Up front with the attackers. Out on the wing. You'd think there was two of him! (apologies to Denis Law and the de Boer brothers for plagiarism)

yet neither of you has suggested your line-up. Easy to criticise. Would you have put A.Shinnie in 3 weeks ago? I very much doubt it. No Foran and no Tade? So, presumably Mackay up front? Our strongest line-up is then a player that's never started an SPL match, much less scored a goal. Let's see your choices before criticising others.

'Fraid not. Two different files. You can't read either on each others. I love my kindle but only really read text (.txt), images and pdf's, rather than kindle store books.

Whereas I agree with CaleyD, it's just a bit of fun. I'm quite sure Butcher will pay no heed. It's Championship Manager, except that you get over-ruled most weeks.

Esson Piermayr - Tokely - Golobart - Shinnie Ross - Davis - Tansey Tade - Sutherland Foran Going for the Xmas tree approach here. Two big, quick, skilful players that can batter away on the wings and in the middle all day long. Foran staying up front and bringing in other players. A midfield with a bit of passing ability to get the ball up. I think this might well be the way to go with the wingers out.

YEEOOWW!!! What the hell was that?

I doubt it would be Hayes in the middle and Doran on the left. Probably, when fit and on form, Esson, Tokely, Foran and Hayes are first picks. Tansey, Doran, Ross and Tade close to it but probably struggling to fit them all in, with a defensive midfielder. Hogg would probably be in there but with no pre-season and an injury, perhaps not. I think we have options at RB and excellent LBs. Anyway, here goes: Esson Piermayr - Tokely - Hogg - Shinnie/Gillet Tudur-Jones - Ross/Tansey Hayes - Foran - Tade/Doran (no-one) Don't think any of the strikers have covered themselves in glory. Foran and Tade don't look as though they're strikers (any more in Foran's case), so I'd give Sutherland or McKay a go, until maybe just going back to Foran again (still might be our best bet after all that).

You are aware that you can block users, so all you see is This post is hidden because you have chosen to ignore posts by Laurence . View it anyway? The guy turned his back on ICT coz they weren't good enough for him, stating he would stop posting here. Personally, I'd like him to keep to his promises.

Thought we've been doing okay. Just don't have that extra bit of quality Celtic pay millions for. It's a bit like when Scots play in Europe. You can see we compete and are unlucky to lose but yet, it's obvious there's just that bit missing. Tade's looked lively. Foran's days as a striker are gone surely. First choice for a midfield berth but I'd rather see Mackay or Sutherland get a goal-hanger role. We're crying out for someone that doesn't do half the work that Foran or Tade do, but are very selfish, waiting to grab the glory of an easy tap-in. Chippendale was drafted in due to injury to Hayes and Doran...and you can see it. Not a patch on those players. Not that he's done badly...just nothing special.

Och, I enjoy all that. It's all part of the passion. Do you really want Steve McLaren sitting with his umbrella? I much preferred it when I saw Brian Clough and Jock Wallace lamping their own fans for daring to cross them. That's the fun and the passion. The more of that, the better.