AJS

That truelly was the lowest ive felt this season as an ICT fan. The rollercoaster of emotions ended with me feeling very depressed at what i saw throughout that 90 minutes. Same old story. Missed chances, poor defending, late goals blah blah blah. I'am absolutely sick to death of it. I dont care if we performed better than we did in the St Johnstone game and i really don't care about what excuses were churned up at the end. We simply were not good enough. Hibs weren't any better but the difference is they had 3 chances in that game and they took them. We had 3 in the first half and didnt take any. We had at least two more before we needed a penalty to get ourselves in front. This is by far the weakest ICT side i have ever seen in terms of fighting spirit because their arses simply dropped as soon as Hibs drew level and this was followed by the usual headless chicken routine of passing to shadows and chasing a game we know we should have had dead and buried before Hibs even drew level. I just want this season to end. I will never give up on my team but i have defnitely given up on this season and achieving anything even remotely worthwhile.

They deserve another season as their genius revoloution that was supposed to be put in place this season has be de railed by injuries, harsh red cards etc etc. It cannot be denied that the signings of this season alone have all shown flashes of quality when they have played but what they have not shown and what was clearly evident today and has been seen throughout this season is an outrageous lack of fight, a lack of bottle. Hibs were there for the taking today and we let that slip through our fingers because we simply bottled every chance that came our way today apart from a penalty and a feckin cross (not many more of them will hit the back of the net.) We were a solid unit last season because the team we had then was a closely knitt squad that had a great understanding of each other and how they worked. I saw none of that today and the fact that we are still getting things like that wrong at this stage of the season is making me sick of going to games. It was the closely knitt squad we got promoted with that should have been built upon, rather than a mass exodus. Terry and Mo still have a chance to save themselves but only if they are wiser in the market this summer. What we are needing is some more experience and some more quality and i can only hope they are given some of the Muirfield Investment to do so. Im also fairly sure that with the money in his pocket Terry would be able to attract a higher and better quality of player, the better the quality then the better we will be. If he takes another summer of recruiting youngsters from down south then he can kiss any support and probably our SPL status goodbye.

Tuffey Meekings, Tokely, Golobart, G Shinnie Gnakpa, Tudur-Jones, Foran, Hayes Winnall, McKay Subs: Matheson, Williams, Gillet, Tansey, Doran, Tade, Sutherland

Buckett just out of curiousity what street do you or did you live in at the time?

Daddy(DJS) took me along to games, obsession kind of grew from there.

Dear oh dear i must admit i saw this coming, excluding the run we went on in January we seem to have this habbit of being S**t after winning a game. Another game, another gifted goal for the oppostition. Not an OG tonight but instead a penalty. People think it was soft but for me Tade didnt have to be anywhere near the box, i dont think Craig was getting to the ball anyway and it just summed up Tade's performance tonight which was arguably his worst for the club. We huffed, puffed but just couldnt blow St Johnstones defence down but at the same time we were passing the ball to ghosts that only ICT players seemed to be able to see and when we did we spurned whatever chances came our way. Tade being the most guilty, the goal was gaping and he scuffed it wide, im sorry but my right foot is just for putting the other boot on and i still could have scored that. What was really frustrating for me though was that St Johnstone weren't even at their best tonight, one shot on target all game, which was their spot-kick. They had players like Croft and Sandaza out there who were easing through this game and it seemed that the best we could muster was a few passes that would eventually lead to nothing. One player who evades criticism tonight is Billy McKay who for me was awesome. He ran his little heart out, chasing long balls, chasing lost causes, trying to carve out chances for himself and team mates and doing his best against a strong defence and was probably the only player out there tonight for our side that could have been referred to as a threat. When Claude Gnakpa came on i feared the worst but in about 5 minutes he managed carve out a beautiful cross that Foran nearly got on the end of and a wonderful strike that clipped the bar in the last minute. If he would just put a bit more effort into his overall effort in a game he could be a good player. We HAVE to pick ourselves up for the Hibs game now, we have and will have no more games in hand now and need to keep as much distance between ourselves and the scrap for the drop as possible, i dread the idea of looking over our shoulders after the fixtures split. Boys you know you are better than this so start showing it!!!

bdu makes a good point. If anyone remember's back to last season St Johnstone couldnt buy a goal so they solved this by signing 3 strikers in Sandaza, Sheridan and Haber who are all very good players on top form. We in a similar situation lost our top scorer in Adam Rooney but never replaced him properly. Tade has done a good job, 9 goals is not bad for a player who is not a recognised poacher and spent alot of time on the wing and Andy Shinnie was showing some real quality up until he broke his foot but we dont have anyone up front you could refer to as a natrual finisher. Also worth bearing in mind we have gone almost a whole season without a penalty. A rather damning statistic when you look at the claims we've had over the season.

Hello Mr Bear, might i suggest we do a player swap, we have one combative and consistent defender called David Proctor and a hard working utility player called Claude Gnakpa, they are yours in exchange for Adam Rooney, we get our vacant striker and you get a straight exchange plus one more player added to your small squad - is it a deal?

I have to say that because we were given a bit more freedom yesterday by the stewards i thought that was the best away day ive been at all season in terms of atmosphere. The way we wheeled the team home towards the end with constant singing put the hairs up on the back of my neck. It meant alot to the players and TB, that was clearly evident. Oh and the fact you could still hear us at full time on Alba through their TV adverts shows we can be well heard, you can only project that kind of noise if your standing up, so i think the stewards deserve a bit of credit for simply leaving us be, even if its taken them forever to do so.

He's cooled his engines a bit in terms of temperement and to me that has mad a major difference. Thought him and OTJ were solid together in midfield yesterday and imo that pairing should remain for the rest of the season.

Dean McDonald was payed for i think but as said the fee was undisclosed. And we payed for Phil McGuire when he was signed permanently.

Pretty sure he was there yesterday, seen him in a pair of ICT trackies and an ICT jacket in the tunnel. I know he wasnt in the squad though and i wouldnt be suprised if your right.

Gotta disagree with you there. Yes we have those boys that can play up fron but Foran, Shane and McKay have only scored once all season. Tade i think has done well for his 9 goals this season considering most times he's been on the wing and Shinnie probably would have got more goals. But i think we need another option up top, someone who's a decent finisher, i'd be looking at Farid El Alagui and Falkirk, 25 goals this season is a good record, 15 in the 1st Division, with us probably having Gillet and Tade here next season he may see this place as somewhere decent to step up to.

I can see there is no pleasing some people. Performances have not been good at times i agree but there have been several circumstances that have been beyond control of Butcher like injuries and red cards. What is he supposed to do? We cant afford to have 2 or 3 quality players for each position. Given the way things were up until December i think we have done pretty well. As the OP says all i would like is some continuity in the squad with regards to contracts and maybe the players that are signed in the summer can maybe be a bit more experienced too.

I thoroughly enjoyed that yesterday. Thought the defence was outstanding yesterday, even after Meekings red card, thought Proctor and Piermayr both did very well when they came on, Tokely and Golobart just seemed to win everything in the air, Golobart especially, that one moment when he lost it and then sprinted back to take it off Vernon was brilliant. We need to try and keep him, if we can he will become an absolute asset for us. Jonny Tuffey deserves credit too, sounds like he was a late inclusion in the starting line up but thought his handling was good and the couple of times he was called into action he did well. In an attacking sense i thought Billy McKay had his best game in an ICT shirt yesterday, held the ball up superbly, chased down anything that came his way which led to the goal and was quite smart in the way he won a couple of free kicks. Tade also deserves a mention, he has had his critics of recent but his performances have not been good but he seemed back to himself yesterday, he actually had a big influence on his goal, it was him that started the play at the half way line, it was him that flicked the ball to McKay and it was him that banked on McKay's pass finding him. Tudur Jones had a real influence on the game two, between him and Foran they seemed much stronger than Aberdeen's midfield and again both defended well once we went down to 10. I thought for the amount of time we were a man down Aberdeen did very little to test us, we defended solidly yes but for all the firepower they had on the pitch at the time i thought they looked distinctly average, having watched it yesterday it was no suprise that 6 of there last 11 games have seen them not manage a goal. No qualms about the red card, Meekings was young and foolish, he will learn from it. We are more than sufficiently covered at full back just now. And needless to say another penalty shout went a miss yesterday, the handball from Vernon was blatant. Hope we build from this, that was a gritty performance yesteday and as unattractive as it was it brought about a result, a couple more results like that and we can have a strong finish to the season. Fans deserve immense credit it too, turned up in our numbers yesterday and i dont remember a quiet moment in the away end. As the game got more tense the way the fans were cheering the boys on to get a result which was just brilliant and i dont recall anyone leaving at full time so pat yourselfs on the back folks, you deserve it.

Esson Meekings, Golobart, Tokely, G Shinnie Tudur Jones, Foran, Tansey Winnall, Tade McKay Subs: Tuffey, Williams, Piermayr, Morrison, Sutherland, Ross, Gnakpa

More like building the team around arguably your best player. Had it not been for Esson this season could be a whole lot worse.

I cant blame folks for looking over their shoulders at Dunfermline but i do agree that is perhaps a little to late for them. They have a terrible playing squad and i agree that even if they were to get off the bottom the furthest they will reach is 11th, i cant wait for the Hibs game on the 1st. If we win that one then that one could see us safe me thinks.

He didnt leave, he turned up in his suit left to get changed into some casual clothes and came back, i know cos i spoke to him.

Wouldnt mind El Alagui at all and he is out of contract in the summer but i would imagine he will be littered with offers, though we could offer him the french connection with already having the likes of Gillet and Tade. Going back to what Proctor said i agree, some of the players down in the lower leagues are terrific and i think given the chance could really make an impression in the SPL. Another player i thought could be of use is Michael MacGowan at Ayr, he tore us apart in the cup game and with Ayr looking likely to go down he may well become available.

Brought as back from the pit of despair that was the 1st Division and in some style, almost had us in the top 6 last season with a very strong return to the SPL, has tried to put his own team into practice and in the face of much adversity steared us off the bottom of the table. Like many i may not agree with everything he has done but it cant be denied that he has brought alot of success and notice to the Highlands and with one or two changes here or there he can still do that. Unlike many ive still got the utmost faith in him as a manager and still believe he is that right man to carry this club forward.

I disregard what i said about Gnakpa. Unless i see a serious change of form i hope he's gone. He was a complete liability when he came on.

Very frustrating to watch but in a way for all the right reasons. We never looked like scoring against United on Monday but today there were times were Killie quite simply couldnt get the ball of us. Weve lacked ruthlessness in front of goal alot this season and that reared its ugly head yet again today. Luck was just not on our side today and Kilmarnock must be one of very few sides to take a lead this season before registering an actual shot at goal. Must admit i have never seen such a spectacular looking OG in my life, wouldve been a terrific goal if it had been at the right end. The number of times we gave away posession was unbelievable but the fact we kept the pressure on Kilmarnock was good, however the longer it went on the more i felt a goal wasnt coming, especially after Foran missed his 1 on 1. He shoudlve scored but hats off to Cammy Bell, it was a terrific save. And from the corner an even better save from Foran before Billy hooked back in and Golobart had the easy task of just rolling it in. Was suprised to see us so defensive afterwards, it was the first time Killie really started to press and i feared they may snatch their lead back, fortunately it never came and i suppose given the way we huffed and puffed throughout i was content with a point, being content dosent necessarily make me happy though...not by a long shot. Few folks get a mention, Golobart who despite his one wee moment had a terrific game both as a defender and a great willingness to help start attacks, Winnall who i thought had an exceptional first start and was unlucky to be hooked so soon, and Foran who despite a few misshaps led the team well and helped drive them on for a result. Gnakpa should be slapped for his performance though, he was absolute gash when he came on, he was lazy, he was slow, and he showed no real willingness to get forward when he came on. If he carries on like that then he can feck off. Another negative is Shane on the wing, im sorry but this boy is not a natrual born winger, he is a target man, end of. Another real negative was Calum Murray who i thought had a dreadful performance as referee today, havent seen it on TV but thought when McKay round Bell that was a penalty, and towards the end Nick Ross was hacked down while run at the defence and Mr Murray simply waved play on. He let too many people off to easily. Needs to man up and no when to draw the line.

Most problems lead back to injuries. We've never had a settled back four? Mainly down to injuries. We've had to sign so many short term and loan signings? Defnitely down to injuries. Players being played out of position and not getting the best out of them? Butcher deserves some flack for this cause he hasnt always had to do it but this is partly down to injuries too. Lack of width and attacking flair? Shinnie, Doran and Hayes are all out just now. Im not totally standing up for Butcher as you could argue that some signings havent been up to scratch and it could be argued that he never really replaced the stalwarts. But its safe to say he's never had an opportunity to really make a mark with his new team because there has never been a moment where he has had the majority available to him.

So if we had a fit jones, doran, hogg, and meekings, all season we wouldn't be higher in the league? There's no doubt that we would be higher imo Add a fit Hayes, Golobart and Shinnie to that and its a definite