Renegade

HT - Accies 1-1 ICT FT - Accies 2-3 ICT Accies 1st scorer - Foran Accies 1st scorer - Antoine-Curier Attendance - 2,258 1st yellow - Sutherland

Tuffey Tokely Hogg Munro Doran Duncan Ross Gillet Sutherland Rooney Foran Subs - Esson, Golabek, Innes, Odhiambo, Cox, Duff, MacDonald

Nothing to lose, so a 3-4-3 for me and going all-out-attack - Esson Tokely Munro Gillet Sutherland Morrison Cox Doran MacDonald Rooney Foran Subs - Tuffey, Ross, Innes, Golabek, Odhiambo, Duff, Sanchez

HT - ICT 0-1 Hibs FT - ICT 2-1 Hibs ICT 1st scorer - Foran Hibs 1st scorer - Riordan Attendance - 3,716

Or even better, let me be manager for the last two games! After all, there's nothing to lose!

I wonder if two of those playing will be the two Brazilian boys who were on trial with Kilmarnock last week. After all, it's not unusual for foreign players to have trials with a couple of different clubs when they are in a different country.

By no means a classic. When are ICT going to learn that the long ball simply doesn't work? Duff was the main perpetrator of this, who incidentally I thought lived up to surname today as he was rather abysmal. How Butcher's offering him a new deal I'll never know. I also thought Eric was once again terrible so I won't be sad to see him go. ICT seemed to take a step up when Rooney came and it seemed to add a bit more bite, something that was lacking when MacDonald was playing. Good to see Munro get MOTM, hopefully Butcher changes his mind about that one, and I also thought that Kenny Gillet once again produced an admirable performance.

That geezer took charge of the St Johnstone v ICT game a couple of weeks ago. I thought he was okay that night.

HT - ICT 1-1 St Mirren FT - ICT 2-1 St Mirren ICT 1st scorer - Duff St Mirren 1st scorer - Higdon Attendance - 3,527

Renegade says aye.

That's interesting as I was told a couple of months ago that Butcher and Munro had fallen out. Something about the captaincy apparently.

Esson Tokely Hogg Munro Gillet Sutherland Cox Duncan Doran Rooney MacDonald Subs - Tuffey, Innes, Golabek, Duff, Odhiambo, Ross, Morrison

HT - ICT 0-1 Celtic FT - ICT 0-2 Celtic ICT 1st scorer - Rooney Celtic 1st scorer - Kayal Attendance - 6,113 1st yellow - Sutherland

That's an apples and oranges analogy. First of all, Vigurs was young player who had only been at the club for a relatively short time. Duncan has played consistently and consistently well for over a decade. ICT weren't always noticeably better or worse, whether Vigurs played or not. It is pretty much indisputable that ICT are a far superior team when Duncan plays. Questions were asked, and rumours surfaced in early 2009, that Vigurs in training was either late, didn't turn up, or simply came across as lazy and uninterested. No-one can doubt that passion and commitment that Duncan has and continues to have for ICT.

With Duncan offski, a new battler is needed in the midfield. Who is available of that sort, I really don't know. As Hamilton look doomed, they'll probably have a bit of a clear out, so would Simon Mensing do a job? Linked to come here before and is a bit of a battler in that region. He can also play in quite a few positions too IIRC. Would he be an acquisition worth looking at?

Sorry but I don't think someone dressed as a bear in a cardboard tank with tracks drawn in felt tip pen on the side would ever set me off, whatever the circumstance. Get a grip!

HT - AFC 0-1 ICT FT - AFC 1-1 ICT Aberdeen 1st scorer - Maguire ICT 1st scorer - Rooney Attendance - 7,068 1st yellow - Cox

Well, unless Butcher has something amazing lined up (and doubt he does) then he's blown it with decision. This could well be the decision that kicks off the beginning of the end as his time as manager of ICT.

I don't think people would be that stupid. You on the other hand.......

I don't care if a players has been here 10 years or 10 minutes. If he is good he should be playing, it's as simple as that. Butcher has come out about how "all the players are playing for the future". I don't believe that. I reckon he has a good idea who he wants rid of and it won't make a difference how or even if they play. I believe Duncan falls into this category. He seems to have wanted rid of him since the moment he arrived. Again, I don't care about what a player has been like previously. I care about the team now, and where it's going, and if Butcher's serious about building his own team and making it the best it can be, then he ain't going to find a better play than Duncan to play a part in. If he thinks that a better team next season will include Kevin McCann and not Russell Duncan, then next season will be his last. Getting rid of Duncan, could potentially be one of the biggest mistake Butcher could make.

?Kevin McCann is definitely one we have always kept an eye on. He was a tremendous character as well as a tremendous player for us." - Terry Butcher

There have been very few players in the short history of Caley Thistle that are as influential and as prominent in the team as Russell Duncan. There is no doubt in my mind that the team are far superior on the field when he is present. I have no doubt about that. Sadly though, Butcher doesn't seem to see things that way. Ever since he came in, he has seemed obsessed with not playing him and signing other similar players to give him a reason not to do so. First there was Brian Kerr, then there was Stratford, there was Stuart Duff, then Duncan got back in when none of these showed to be up to the same standard (and surprise surprise about the same time after he retained his place, ICT started their meteoric rise for the title). Even now, it can be seen that Butcher would rather play Nick Ross and Lee Cox in the centre of field instead of Duncan. Now as promising and up-and-coming that these two players are, both combined don't bring the same bite, presence, experience and hunger to that area that Duncan brings. Any successful team have a player like that in the central midfield area and Duncan brings that to ICT. And this isn't the first time players seem to have disappeared under Butcher. McBain is another example. I've heard on the grapevine that he and Butcher didn't speak for months! Today somebody posts (and obviously it cannot yet be said how reliable that is) that Duncan has been told he can leave. Sadly, that wouldn't surprise me and if this is true then it would be a grave mistake on the part of Terry Butcher. It's time for him to get regain his rightful place in the ICT starting eleven because his loss would be another club's gain.

I start MacDonald then with Morrison coming onto the bench.

For me, a similar set up to the St Johnstone game but with a couple of minor changes - Esson Tokely Hogg Munro Gillet Sutherland Cox Duncan Doran Rooney Foran Subs - Tuffey, Innes, Golabek, Duff, Ross, Odhiambo, MacDonald Tokely comes back in to right back as I feel that is his strongest position and also it moves Hogg back into his strongest position. This thus, with the exclusion of Chris Innes who didn't play badly on Monday, in my opinion gives ICT the strongest four man defence it can have at this time. Rooney and Foran stay as the two battering-ram-like front line with Doran and Sutherland keeping their places on the wings. The only other change I make is the swapping of Nick Ross for Russell Duncan. While I felt that Ross and Cox both had admirable and much improved games from previous appearances in the game on Monday, I feel that ICT lack the physical bite that is needed in the middle of the park, particularly in games such as these.

HT - Saints 0-0 ICT FT - Saints 1-0 ICT Saints 1st scorer - Samuel ICT 1st scorer - MacDonald Attendance - 3,871