Renegade

I'd have liked to have seen him back myself.

Funnily enough, I saw on Twitter the other day that Birmingham were keen to offload him and ICT were one of the frontrunners to get him on loan. Oh well.

That also confirms GBH (surely that'll be his nickname!) is not on loan, but has signed proper.

I don't see his name on any of their squad lists. He's been on trial with Spurs and Colorado Rapids I see, so he must have something!

He's not on loan though. He was released by Arsenal and has signed a six month deal. Presumably he's being paid in money!

I see he was linked with a move to Norwich the other day, so he might be a bit of a coup. In saying that, without sounding negative, that's an awful of defenders for a fairly small squad (albeit he is a left-back where there was previously very little cover). Personally I think I'd have rather seen the money used on a winger or even another striker, than another defender. Not complaining though!

The 3-2-1-1-3 formation! Interesting

I hope he actually manages to get a game while he's here and isn't like Winnal who came and sat on the bench for a few months.

Not at all. If the team went out to win, attack and ultimately take part in an entertaining game, then I think you'd find people to be a lot more supportive, understanding and a lot less likely to turn away.

HT - Arbroath 1-1 ICT FT - Arbroath 2-2 ICT Arbroath 1st scorer - Sibanda ICT 1st scorer - McKay Attendance - 974

What rubbish. Players like Ross, the Shinnie's, McKay, Morrison, Pepper, Doran, even Draper, Foran and Sutherland could be great players in an attacking team. Saying "we don't have the players" is nonsense and saying "we'll lose more games" is also incorrect. Matches are there to be won and playing on the attack will be more likely to turn draws into wins. Remember, it's better to have one exciting win and two exciting defeats than three boring draws.

I wonder if they'll move it to the Caley Stadium? Remember what happened with Telford Street and that other game against Keith.

And I'm telling you from what I saw (a lot more than you) that he was not. Deary me!

I'm afraid that while I might hint at what I know (and that's a pretty big hint right there), in this case I have agreed not to go into it too much, but the story will probably come in the end and it IS relevant to the discussion. Whether you'd believe it though, no matter who said it or where came from, is another matter...

What do you mean by that? Are you saying that I, the Renegade am going out of my way to disagree with you? You stated, despite not being at the game, that Esson was "awful" and changed the goalposts if you will, when I showed you that this was not the case. Please take your negativity elsewhere!

Disagree

I have reason to believe that ability made little to no part in his decision at all.

Let me start by saying that in no way is this post a bash at Shane Sutherland, rather at the tactics put in place by the manager. How can Butcher not see that this is not, has not and will not work? It's utterly farcical. Before the start of the season, Butcher was quoted in the media as saying that Sutherland was "the man to replace Hayes" and "had all the attributes to be a great winger". Really, I mean really?! His balance is not the best, he's fairly slow and distribution-wise is very poor. He also has a turning circle akin to a milk float! I can think of no appearances where he's had a good game on the wing and looks more like the quintessential centre forward that he is, who gets into the box and hits the ball first time. That is the way he should be played. I know there's an argument for having an aerial force on the wing, but I've yet to ever see show us that this is part of his game. In closing, I fear that Butcher will ruin this man. It surely can't help his game and will evaporate any confidence he has left. Time to either play him in his natural position up-front or not play him at all. I'm not the only one who thinks this.......am I?

I'm just bragging while I still can!

That Andrew Greig had it happen last year as well and I think he'd had it happen more than once.

I think it's possible for people to go from being "the man for the job" to no longer being "the man for the job". Is Butcher still the man for the job? Sadly I believe the answer is no. I don't like the way the club is heading, I don't like the decisions he's made in regards to personnel, many of his signings have been poor, many of his tactics are poor and I don't think the way he is behind the scenes is always the way to go - which I believe is quite different from his media persona. In saying that, if he was to resign today, who would replace him? The regular names both on here and in the media which would be trotted out would be the likes of John Robertson, Donald Park, Charlie Christie and Duncan Shearer. I wouldn't be surprised to see a number of lower league managers named come out probably with Jim Duffy being the most prominent, as well as people such as Alan Moore of Morton. The latter I believe would do a good job, but could the club afford the compensation unless there's some clause in his contract? Probably not. Maurice Malpas would probably the most likely to get it, both for saving money and the fact he knows the squad. That though, is a thought that should strike fear into any fan. His record as a manager in his own right is quite simply atrocious and with him at the ICT helm, I'd fear the very likely to scenario of a first class ticket to Division One. The only other option would be to go down the foreign route and go for a more left field, Ivan Golac type character. This could well be a great success or a major disaster if it's not done right and any foreign managers with SPL experience who are available right now, such as Paulo Sergio would be well out ICT's price range. To quote Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead, "when one is made to pick the lesser of two evils, it means they're still picking evil" and I feel in this case this well the reality. Terry Butcher is not perfect, in fact he is anything but, and the day (maybe sooner than some care to believe) will come where he will leave this club for the final time. But he's the only choice we have for now.

To be quite honest, I think the amount of appearances Butcher (and Malpas's 800 plus for Dundee United) made in the careers is immaterial. You'd think the two of them would know something about coaching defenders, but that seems to be not the case at all. History has shown us as well, that great players usually make poor managers and vice versa and I don't think in this case, it is any different. Munro's distribution (while being poor in previous seasons) had improved dramatically since "losing" the captaincy, but that is not the issue here. Not long before he was punted, Munro was quoted in the press as saying he "never wanted to leave". Who was he replaced with? Tom Aldred - a player who couldn't wait to leave. Butcher punted experienced and dedicated players for duds and loan signings and this practice may well be set to continue, and that surely can only be detrimental to the future of the club.

Is there no player votes this week? Pepper needs my vote!

Well that might be one, but he was not at fault for any of the goals and had it not been for him, it could well have been six or seven. To say he was "awful" is incorrect.