AJS

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

Tansey, Piermayr, Tade, Esson, Jones, Hayes, Tuffey, Gillet, Tokely, Hogg, and Gnakpa depending on how he plays. I would aim to retain most of those lads that are out of contract. Proctor can feck off, Billy McKay im really not sure about and Sutherland, Meekings, Doran, Foran, Ross and The Shinnies are under contract for another year so no fear of losing them. So assuming what i want happens (wishful thinking), that would give us a squad of around 18 at the start of pre season. The obvious areas to begin would be up front and in centre defence. If its possible and depending on how Wigan finish i would love us to get Golobart back similar to what happened with Doran, he would be a tremendous signing to get if we could make him ours. A striker is a must though, we have chopped and changed up front alot as well and i think the best player has been Tade but i think match him with a decent strike partner and he could be even better, but he's gotta be someone with a more all round approach to their game, not just another battering ram. Of course its possible that not everyone will take an extension so whoever dosent will need to be replaced.

You suspected I was on the windup so I then gave an example of me being on the windup. To be honest I thought it'd be fairly easy to spot! Good for you.

It was Sean Higgins he punched and i believe it led to Tony Bullock resigning.

Renegade makes a good point. Butcher said at the end of last season that he was keen to change our style of play but you couldnt even count on one hand the number of times it has been put into practice. I think the only difference is that there are first team members that still very much want to play for Butcher whereas with Brewster that wasnt the case.

2 words - Well said.

Are you on whacky baccy or something? I only intentionally wind up folk on P&B and even then, that's when I can be bothered. When I rant about the team, I damn well mean it. Tade being top scorer means nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. Rooney was our top scorer in our relegation season with 6 (six) goals. Was he good in that season? Seems like a touched a nerve . 8 goals is already more than he managed at Raith all of last season, he may not be playing very well just now but there has been times this season where he has been the best player on the pitch. He may not get it right all the time but neither does anyone else. Tbh i think his slump in form ties in with him being punted onto the left wing, he dosent look comfortable there. The few times Adam Rooney was given a game that season he was decent. Never got many chances. And your comments about Gillet are absolute bull. He has played all across the back four this season and has probably been the one player to add any credibility to a defence which has struggled all season and has literally saved some games with his performances. And for the record i know what 6 is, you dont have to spell it out in writing for me

I completely disagree. Yes he gives 110% just like Bayne did. Bayne for me was never SPL quality. Neither is Tade. When he first arrived I liked Gillet because he was better than Golabek and Shinnie. Now... I'd say with a lack of serious competition for the left back slot, Gillet has degraded to Shinnies level. And yes, I'm saying both Gillet and Shinnie are both not SPL quality and neither are worthy of being in this squad. Tade is top scorer and Gillet has been arguably our best player this season...i suspect someones on the wind up.

Everytime a get a haircut in a week leading up to a home game Caley always win. My hairs pretty fairly lengthy just now so should i get it trimmed for Saturday?

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

Butcher cannot solely be blamed for the lack of form this season. Injuries have been unbelievable, we have fallen into a bit of a slump since January but this is probably the first time weve looked really poor in the season, there have been countless games this season where we lost but were incredibly unfortunate. Butcher dosent know his best defence because all season he has never had the option of pick and choosing, it is only now that players are beginning to return from injuries but if you look over the course of the season he's never had the option of really picking a truely strong team and we are not a team that can afford to have depth in quality. But it cant be denied that given he was an international defender along with Malpas that the players should be performing better. Most of his signings have all made an impact at some point but i agree that maybe they havent quite shown as good a level of commitment that we would maybe expect and for that Butcher has to take some responsibility but the quality of players i think has been good, Golobart, Shinnie, Tade, Tansey and Meekings at times have all shown that they are very capable players. OTJ would have been a key player had he stayed fit, i have no doubts about that. Some players however havent but we cant pick and choose who we sign we have a budget to stick too. Those who havent will get punted and will be replaced, thats the way buisness will be conducted. Theres no point in asking from him to go cause even if we did he wont be sacked.....certainly unless things begin to go horribly wrong. I think the best thing to do is just draw a line under the season, Im confident we wont be relegated and the sooner we get our status secured the sooner we can play for who stays and who goes. This season has never really kicked off for a variety of reasons. All we can do is free up some space within the squad and retain what bits of quality we have within it. All i would hope is that we dont pick up injuries like we have this year and maybe that Terry is a bit more careful in the market and maybe aims to bring in one or two more experienced heads.

I just won a pound cos of this, i just knew somebody would call for Butcher out after tonight.

Dundee United have some cracking players and the difference in quality showed. Russell's goal was tremendous and despite the defensive mess that led to the opener Rankin still took it very well while Mackay-Steven was a threat all night (thanks for letting him get away, Tel). We lack a cutting edge because most of our quality players are all crocked, Shinnie, Hayes and Doran were all out tonight and we have lacked a consistent striker all season though i thought Tade put in a fairly decent shift. McKay was not up to scratch, think he is better coming of the bench. Was pleased to see Golobart back, thought he put in a decent shift for a player going straight back into the fold and thought Rosscoe did ok as well. If we can keep the current back four fit for the remainder of the season confidence will grow and it will get better. Thought Gnakpa looked ok when he came on though he needs to stop faffing about with the ball so much, he needs to be quicker in his decision making but there is potential in him. A few positives to come out of tonight though sadly overshadowed by heavy defeat but i hope we can pick ourselves up for the Killie game, that one is a must win imo.

His display against Rangers last week was probably his best of the season. His best position is at right back, not saying he is the best there but he has given some fairly credible performances there before. I do think at the end of the season it will be time for him to move on. He's nearly 29 and reaching that stage where he needs to be playing week in and week out and it is safe to say that in both his spells here he has never established himself as a regular and with Meekings and Piermayr vying for that spot as well he is only going to struggle even more.

Fair enough - I can only go by what I saw of him and haven't seen much of anyone at the club since my last outing (Dundee Utd). I was also fairly critical of Andrew Shinnie at the start of the season and I'm delighted that since then, he's made me eat my words. I think we're almost there with the attack, but for next season, the defence needs a lot of change. I agree the defence needs work but tbh i dont think it is down to lack of quality. There has never been a point this season for me where our entire back line has been fit. Everyone has been injured at least once, if not more times this season. I think the only issue for me is right back, Meekings looks decent but is injury prone and inexperienced, Proctor is crap and Piermayr seems to opt on and out an awful lot. I think if we can retain Williams and Golobart and get Hogg back to full fitness our backline is more or less sorted, even retain Tokely for the sake of competition but a steady and relatively experienced right back i think is priority.

Its fairly obvious that you havent seen Golobart in a while then Jay_7. He was arguably one of our best players up until he got injured and is probably the reason that our defence is struggling now. Had Tudur Jones not been injured he wouldve been a key player for us this season, id happily bet money on that. Im not going to stand up for all his signings as it wouldnt be worth the trouble. Every manager signs duds, it happens and we are hardly Man City, not all the players we bring in can be top quality. We have a budget to stick and sometimes circumstances result in us settling for what we get rather than getting what we want. The Home form was a problem long before Butcher came in. Cast your mind back to 08-09. We were already struggling at home with only 1 win when he took over. I may not agree with everything he's done and i may think he is not doing some things correctly at this present moment and time but the fact is i have faith in him and still believe he is the right man to carry this club forward. He has already achieved so much here in his time anyway and should circumstances e.g injuries galore not keep happening i believe there are still many good times ahead for us. Think its all about putting 1 very bad game behind us and recapturing the form we were showing a month ago.

Esson Piermayr, Tokely, Williams, Gillet Jones, Tansey Hayes, Foran, Tade McKay Subs: Tuffey, Meekings, G shinnie, Gnakpa, Doran, Sutherland, Winnall

Am i right in thinking that was our worst home defeat in the SPL today?

Just a horrible, demoralising performance today. We created little and defended shoddily, happended too many times this season and Rangers despite all their off field troubles cruised to that victory with ease. I dread to think how much we wouldve conceded had Rangers carried on pressing. I was actually about to walk when Williams headed home but i still couldnt see us clawing our way back, though we did come close with McGregor making some good saves from Tade but the best time to score wouldve been just after half time and unfortunately that chance went and left. We were so narrow in our approach and with Hayes been the only real outlet too much is expected from him i think. I had alot of sympathy for Billy McKay, he got next to no service but i thought he worked hardest more than anyone and whenever he had the ball with his back to goal he held it up well and looked to get it out wide, hope he gets a wee bit more of a run in the team. Time for Tokely to come back in. He's had one bad game this season and was crucified for it but since he has been dropped the defence has only deterioated so time to shake things up. Its important we put this performance out of our minds asap. We dont want to start looking down the table again but we will if we play like that. So come on guys, we know your better than this.

Not sure if its been mentioned anywhere else but heard he is back in full training next week. Would be a huge boost to have him back ahead of schedule.

Sorry didnt see Kachloul. I was going on nationalitites in post #58 racking my brain to think of others now, cant be many left Zemmama and Benjeilloun also played at TCS for Hibs i think. Also did Jonay Hernandez ever play at TCS for Dundee? He's a Venezuelan international.