Renegade

And I see the witchhunt against me has well and truly begun... Oh the joys of the forum eh.

Think I'd rather have Shinnie at left back over Lionel or Golly just now.

Actually I go to every home game, but anyway I don't to answer anyone about who I choose.

I never said anything about playing Lionel in that formation, but he could be used more effectively. And anyway, instead their baseball forum for you somewhere? I never really said it would work, just acknowledging the fact that it did then. I did hear somewhere of Hughes thinking about using it for Man City at the start of the season, but that might of been a joke.............it probably was.

Why does every keep calling me "Rene"? Is it after Rene Higuita? Edit - For those who don't know, that's this guy -

Is it...?

Not necessarily so. The main point of the formation was that if you keep attacking, the other side would be shut out and thus couldn't play a counter attack. Also, despite having two centre backs, the two half backs in the middle, along with the central player would come back when the other team attacked essentially creating a defensive back five. It was a formation like this that helped people like Stanley Matthews and Puskas being the greats they are referred to today. But it's not just that, the idea of football at that time, was to out score your opponent, something I and many others believe football should be about. The stance now is "Don't concede". I've spoken to a few folk about this set up, one who played as a winger for Caley and Thistle and he swears that this system was by far the best, the most entertaining and the most effective. How effective would the 2-3-5 and other old formation like the W-M and the 4-2-4 today? It's hard to say. I saw a good analogy on this in a discussion on football tactics on P&B. One poster was talking about how new tactics arise in countries that are mainly isolated from the outside world. An example of this is North Korea, who, during the Asian World Cup Qualifiers often set up their team in the 3-3-3-1 formation - something that is indeed very unusual. The analogy the poster used, was that at times highly technologically advanced countries like America and Britain have trouble adapting to fighting against groups like al Qaeda, due to the fact they use far less technology and still use many old fashioned ways of living and fighting. The same could be said for football. If a team were to line up in an old fashioned formation with old fashioned tactics (in this case for arguments sake, the 2-3-5), the opposition may find it difficult to beat that team due to their lack of knowledge on how to beat that system. So there you are, but that's for another thread.

One thing that does worry about me about this managerial team, is not Butcher, it's his right hand man. Something about the blindness and sometimes plain stupidity of this club, is that we may well one day have to hear the tragic news that Butcher has gone and has been immediately replaced by Malpas. That scares me. I for one am not a particularly big supporters at all of Butcher's, but to be fair to him he do too badly at Motherwell (even more so when you the financial set up at the time), but all his good work was essentially ruined by Malpas. This little managerial gnome took Motherwell from a middle of the table SPL side, to a side that narrowly avoided relegation on the last day of the season. He also had a culpable disaster as manager of Swindon Town and was appropriately sent packing. Even the slightest thought of him getting the ICT hot seat all on his own scare the living day lights out of me, as I can almost see it coming. If you thought Brew was bad, Malpas's reign would make Brew's second spell look like a relative success and we can say bye bye to the SPL forever.

There wasn't much broken about the old 2-3-5 formation, but it's hardly every used now. So you'd drop Duncan, who's just played a couple of blinders (Motherwell & Raith) to bring Lionel in? This isn't one of your better wind ups, Ren? First point - perhaps Second point - I don't do wind ups, I post what I would do and if that's "alternative" or against the grain then so be it.

I don't why, but I've felt his way for a little while now. Don't shout me down on this, but one day Butcher will be gone. Whether that's tomorrow, at the end of the season or beyond. Whatever happened on Saturday or at the end of the season may be irrelevant. I don't wish to feel this way, I want Butcher to succeed as manager of ICT as much as the next person, but I constantly get the feeling now, that when Butcher goes and in time he will, it'll all have ended in tears.

Because sometimes things run their courses thats why. I don't always buy into this whole "If it ain't broken..." argument anyway. Man U very rarely play the same team twice in a row and I wouldn't describe them as being broken.

Eh no.

Anyone else get the feeling that the 4-2-3-1 has run it's course?

I think the red goalie top is the only one they sell. He's had a few this season mind, there's been a yellow one and a black one as well.

I'd go with - Esson Tokely Bulvitis Munro Golabek Hayes Proctor Cox Djebi-Zadi Rooney Foran Subs - Allison, McBain/Shinnie, Odhiambo, Sanchez, Duncan

Aye he's worn it a couple of times before. Rather snazzy I have to say. Has a sort of Aztec kind of feel to it.

Did Kevin McDonald ever turn out for Scotland?

In answer to the topic of the thread - no thanks.

Bulvitis is far better now than at the start of the season.

Makes you wonder what all the fuss was about. From what I've read, the song/s was sung, obviously by people who aren't the sharpest tools in the toolshed, but what was going through the policeman in questions mind? He hears people singing and thinks "Hey there's some people singing." {listens to lyrics} "What's that, something about famine! That's offensive to some people! How? I don't know!" And he goes on to say that he'd never heard of the potato famine. Come on, I find that hard to believe. And anyway, it reminds me of something that would probably happen to Officer Barbrady in South Park!

Later on in the season! A decider! Really!!

How legal is this stuff?

Nope, I ain't a policeman, named Ross or (as far as I'm aware) ultra reactionary.