Renegade

So according to you, Charlie Christie played the boring long ball, while Butcher plays "some of the best attacking football being played at TCS for years? O-kay.

Sounds a bit creepy TBH.

Alan Main is indeed from Elgin, but he only ever made up to 3 Scotland U21 and 1 Scotland B team appearances.

What did you use to make that?

Didn't old Citadel play in maroon?

I thought there already was a Welfare League team called Inverness Citadel.

Well it's that time again, after seeing the rather snazzy design put up by someone in the other thread, next season ICT will have a new home kit. IMO it should definitely be a return of the red and blue stripes. They stop any accusations of a pro-Caley or pro-Thistle bias, they're rather uncommon in the footballing world and most of all, they look cool. I seem to recollect on Boardroom Banter ICT said that they were thinking of running a competition to design the coming seasons shirt, after they (strangely) forgot about the away shirt competition for this seasons away kit. I take it they're no longer going to run that competition then? So what do you fancy? Post your ideas or designs here!

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. - Mahatma Gandhi I see what you did there with the "leftfield" comment aye well done, but I've never been one to follow the crowd. If I were boss, I'd try to do something interesting, effective, but at the same time not utterly nuts. For example, 4-4-2 would probably be my formation of choice (or if my FM2010 profile is anything to go by, against a bigger team, the 5-3-2). I wouldn't use things like the 2-3-5, that would just be sucidal. Say, like my stance on Lionel, to me, moving him out wide makes sense. Proctor's done it, Tokely's done it and Golabek played at left midfield for whole seasons at a time when ICT first entered the SPL. From what I can see, Lionel has more of the qualities for good than any of those aforementioned players. Actually I go to every home game, but anyway I don't to answer anyone about who I choose. Hey, dont be going all defensive on me neeb! Its good you go to the home games, i go to the away and catch as many home games as i can. Makes me no better than you. Point im making is i notice in some matchday posts, lets take Killie away in the cup last week, where everyone at the game seen Lionel have another absolute howler - and i have never been his worst critic - but you stuck up for him. If you were at the game thats when to make opinions, know what i mean? Thats all i was getting at. Fair play to ya. From what I've heard and the highlights I've seen of the Killie game, Lionel did indeed have somewhat of a blooperfest. But my stance on him has always been the same - he should never have been in a left back. It was an opinion formed after I saw him play the Celtic Reserves in last season. As I said above, from what I can see he has the qualities to be a better winger than say Robert Eagle or someone. He has speed, he tries to play a pass, he has some slinky skills - just what makes a decent winger I reckon. This also goes along with my view that Shinnie is the best left back at the club just now - stick him in at the back and move Lionel out of harms way and leave him to what he does best - attacking. It may be "leftfield", it may be against the grain, it may be "alternative" - but that's my view.

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.