ALSY

Glad to hear that, although I'd hoped Andy might start to show his County form in this division. Blackie booked for Hearts :(

Just woke up from a wee post-prandial to this. Gawdalmighty. TBH - I cant see what other team he could have started with - Personally I would have played McBain and cant understand why he isnt even on the bench - BUT all the chopping and changing doesnt help - we should have been settled by now :( Agree absolutely about McBain - we could really do with a bit of experience and a cooler head. It's fair enough to blood youngsters who we hope may be good enough to be the future of the team, but it seems unwise to start with two players with virtually no experience when so many of the first team are unexperienced in this division already. I'd also have persevered with Sanchez - he was a bit off the boil against Airdrie, but goals against Dundee, Partick and Morton merit him a start IMO. No chance of saving this now - hopefully it's a bad day rather than the start of a downward spiral, but the poor performances are now outnumbering the acceptable ones this season. I don't see the point in getting into a "Butcher out" campaign just yet though, although I know there are those who disagree.

I'm quite surprised by your pessimism, D. I've always kind of envisaged us as a club that would spend periods in Div 1 and periods in the SPL, much like several other similarly-sized clubs, and I assumed the club was prepared for such a scenario - perhaps the reason I'm not too bothered by our current position. You're obviously closer to the club than I am and have a better understanding of its finances - are ICT doing anything unsustainable that, say, St Johnstone (probably the nearest thing to our equivalent in terms of support and expectations) didn't do when they were in the first division for several seasons?

This seems a bit unfair. For one thing, he was one of our better players on Tuesday. For another, he's barely been given a chance this season. I'd certainly start Duncan tomorrow, in place of Stratford. I don't buy this stuff about him not being good enough - he's been a pretty regular starter in our SPL team for the last five seasons; a team that, lest we forget, has one of the best records against the old firm in Scotland over the past few years, regardless of our failings against other sides. That experience could be invaluable for us this season.

Duncan deserves his chance after tonight. Left midfield is still a problem, and McBain should be given an opportunity to stake his claim. Sanchez and Foran didn't click against Airdrie but did well enough against Partick and Morton to get another chance. However, I'd put Barrowman on early if the front pairing isn't working on Saturday. So: Esson Tokely Bulivitis Munro Golabek Hayes Duncan Cox Mcbain Sanchez Foran

Eventually that became a very entertaining game. Over the whole 2 hours, the result was probably just about fair, but based on our performance in the last hour, we can feel a little unlucky not to have taken it to penalties. I understand why Butcher decided to use tonight to make a few changes, but I can't say I understand the line up he elected to play. Lionel was wide left, with Cox initially starting as a second striker behind Foran and Stratford and Duncan in the middle of midfield. Lionel, I'm sorry to report, still looked lacking in confidence and didn't really put in any effective balls, while Cox looked lost until he moved further back into midfield, after which he had an excellent game. Our distribution was terrible for most of the first half, and we didn't get Hayes into the game at all. If it wasn't for the fact that Motherwell didn't really get started until about half an hour in, we could have taken a real kicking. As it was, they scored in their first period of real pressure, after Esson had saved us twice in quick succession. The Foran incident looked right on the edge of the box, but I'd have to see it again to know if it should have been a penalty. Granty did heroically to set up a chance for Duncan, and Russell did well to create space for himself, but unfortunately dragged it wide. That was about it for us in the first half. We were brighter in the second half because Hayes got far better service and started running at the Motherwell defence. For out goal, he swung in a wicked free kick from the right and Barrowman was first to it with a solid header. Proctor got sent off very soon after, absolutely correctly, for a second booking. It was his own fault - he lost the player he was marking and lunged in trying to track back. Ironically, we had our best period of the game after we went down to ten men. Duncan moved to right back and Cox anchored the midfield. Hayes chased the ball relentlessly and Foran and Barrowman both worked well trying to create space up front and hold the ball up. The last ten minutes were really exciting, with Motherwell pressing for an equaliser, plenty of last ditch defending from us and a few dangerous-looking breaks. Extra time was more of the same - end to end, quite entertaining, both teams looking like they could score. I didn't see Motherwell's second very clearly, but Hammell hit it from left hand corner of the box and it looked like it took an unlucky deflection off Bulivitis. Our second equaliser was a looping header from Munro, from a corner as far as I remember. It was great - one of those goals that you watch all the way and it seems to go in in slow motion. Motherwell won it 3 minutes from time with a lovely shot on the turn. There were plenty of positives to take from tonight - tremendous team spirit in the second half and extra time, and good performances from Foran, Duncan, and yet again, Hayes and Munro, who have been far and away our outstanding performers this season. Barrowman worked hard and looked lively when he came on, and Cox played well once restored to his natural position. However, there are still a few concerns. Stratford regained his place and was again one of our least effective players - why not give Barrowman or Rooney a chance up front and play Cox alongside Duncan in the middle? Similarly, why play a player lacking in confidence out of position (Lionel) when there is an experienced and reliable left midfielder (McBain) available and also deserving of a chance this season? Maybe after tonight, Butcher is thinking along the same lines - will be interested to see who he starts with on Saturday.

Should make it unless anything unforeseen comes up at work.

Agree with most of what's been said on here. The ineffectiveness of the central midfield is concerning: last week they looked solid without contributing a great deal creatively, but yesterday they were overrun. I'd like to have seen Mcbain on for Cox after about an hour to try to slow things down a bit and pick out some better passes. Eagle contributed little, but I also feel he received very poor service: there were a couple of times when Rosscoe could have sent him away and opted to play the ball inside instead. I wonder how much confidence the rest of the team have in him? Thank God we've got Hayes: he was again our most dangerous player and ran his heart out. His attitude is excellent, and signing him looks like the best thing Terry Butcher has done for the club. I think some of the criticism of Sanchez is a little harsh: I was watching him closely again and thought that he worked hard trying to create space and dropping deeper to pick up the ball. Unfortunately his touch just didn't seem to be there yesterday - there was one point where he tried to release Foran with a ball through the defence, similar to last week's second goal, but weighted it far too much. It was a bit of an off-day for him, but I still expect him to be a big player for us this season. Foran's performance was more concerning, IMO, although he did make an important contribution for the goal. I think most people expected him to be our most influential player this season, but yesterday he only seemed interested in fits and starts. One encourgaing aspect of the attack was Rooney's performance when he came on: he looked really up for it and also showed some nice composure on the ball on a couple of occasions; not something I would have considered a strength of his game previously. I've mentioned after each of the past two games that I felt Bulivitis's vulnerability against strikers playing in close to him would cost us, and it almost did, big style, yesterday. He just seems unable to cope with an attackers who back into him, then turn him. This isn't necessarily a reason to drop him, beacuse he has other strengths and clears his lines excellently, but is Butcher aware of this and is it something they can work on trying to improve? Other than that the defence was pretty solid, and it's great to hear both Golly and Munro shouting and organising. Munro has been excellent all season, but looks even more composed since Golly came back into the team. Yesterday was disappointing, but I'm not letting it bother me too much, perhaps because I have never expected us to be serious challengers this season. A point away against anyone is no disaster, and Airdrie looked a lot better than Morton yesterday: strong, tidy and quick on the counter-attack. Our team can and will play better, but we should probably expect that days like yesterday, and worse, will also happen this season. What we don't need are attitudes like those of a couple of clowns sitting a few rows behind me yesterday who seemed intent on getting stuck into the players and the manager from the off. One in particular, who was telling Golly he was an "embarrassment" and that he should "f*** off back to County" from the first time he touched the ball, has no business being near a football match. And this was no young boy who doesn't know any better: this guy was in his fifties. I'm sorry: who's an embarrassment?

If Golly is the new messiah then Sanchez might just be his prophet - you can judge for yourself tomorrow if you're not too jetlagged. I've probably jinxed him now... another 6-0 coming up.

Yup. Dragging an occasional supporter from Glasgow along.

That's a very good point, Don. It's going to be full of descendants of the victims of the Glasgow clearances too. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to put a football team there? Little wonder the poor wee souls keep going into administration...

This is one of those topics that someone could write a book about, in all honesty. The main reasons cited for our comparatively low share of the potential support are: the fact that Inverness has a higher proportion of incomers and older people than most other population centres historic opposition to the merger "new team syndrome": the idea that a lot of people in the area already had a "big team" and many of those were not prepared to switch loyalties when ICT started going up the divisions. It's the last one that's most interesting in light of the population figures absent friend posted: Livingston apparently has a population of 75,000, approximately 5,000 more than Inverness, yet their home support has sometimes dipped below 1,000 in recent years. Surely that suggests that "new team syndrome" must have a pretty significant influence on a team's potential to attract local support?

Oh, jolly good. This means I can still go to this one as the schools will be on holiday. Had resigned myself to missing it when I discovered that it was going to be rescheduled. Getting back to Glasgow from Kirkcaldy by public transport at 10 pm might be a bit of a challenge, mind you... Suspect this might be one of our lower away turnouts of the season.

Because this defensive style will only hold for so long. Also, every time I've seen Stratford (both home league games and the two cup ones against Albion and Stranraer), he's been useless. McBain is far better round there. He might be getting on a bit, but he could still put in a better shift than Stratford. I'm no fan of Duncan at all, but I'd even have him instead of Stratford. Bulvitis is another one. Might have some games where he's alright but not the answer in the long run IMO. Desperately needing a Dods/Mann type in there next to Munro. Seems too clumsy for my liking and should Butcher stick with him for the rest of the season which I predict he will, I won't at all surprised to see a good number of own goals/penaltys being given away by him. Eagle's another. Exactly what does he add to the team? He might have a good cross but he can't do much else. Awfully one footed as well. ICT desperately need a right winger as well I reckon. What is Hayes? For the last two games he has played a textbook right winger's role very effectively. I suspect there's a strong streak of wind-up in your team line-up posts Renegade, but seriously, I wouldn't meddle with the team that started against Partick and Morton: as I said on the matchday thread, there's a real understanding beginning to develop between the players, and the approach yesterday was anything but defensive. I think you should look again at Stratford, by the way - he's very unflashy but he actually gets through a lot of work closing down attacking opponents and allowing Cox to play the more offensive midfield role. I do agree with you to some extent about Bulvitis - I think his positioning and tendency to get caught on the wrong side of attackers will cost us a goal or two this season, but he does bring other strengths to the team and I'm reasonably content to see him stay in there unless a clearly better alternative emerges.

I was very encouraged by our performance yesterday. Morton looked short of confidence and inspiration, but we still had to beat what was in front of us and we did so easily, controlling the game pretty much throughout. What was most pleasing was seeing the understanding that is beginning to develop between the players and seeing the strengths of some of the new players manifesting themselves more fully. Sanchez was the most obvious example of this: yesterday again we witnessed his ability to drop off his marker and create space in the box and for the third away game on the trot he bagged himself a goal by doing this. As well as this, however, yesterday he showed how well he can drop off the main striker into the "hole" and pick out passes that release the player ahead of him. He did this for Foran on two or three occasions, and Foran could have had couple more goals if he had held the line a bit better. On the evidence of the last few weeks, this idea about Sanchez being lazy is a myth, and I think he could turn out to be a very important player for us this season. Hayes was also excellent, despite a quieter spell early on in the second half. As Arbroathawayday pointed out, it's great to once again have a winger with pace who can hit the bye-line and cut the ball back. The other standout players for me were Munro and Golabek. After all the concerns that were expressed about the wisdom of resigning Golabek, it is beginning to look like an inspired piece of business. True, neither Partick nor Morton were particularly dangerous going forward, but Golly has added an authority and assurance to the defence that simply wasn't there when Lionel was in the team. Munro again didn't put a foot wrong defensively, and the desperate punts forward that he resorted to for most of the last two seasons seem to have disappeared from his game. Bulivitis again demonstrated his strength in the tackle and in the air, but I still feel that he is prone to getting pulled out of position occasionally, and I think this will probably cost us a goal or two over the season against teams with trickier forwards. I don't mean to overdo the praise - Morton, after all, were poor and our performance was by no means total football - but I went yesterday looking for causes for optimism for the season and I think I found a few. If the team takes the same approach at Airdrie next week then we should have another enjoyable game and hopefully another win.

You win.

The Norseman. Attached to the north-east corner of the ground. There will be a few of us in there shortly before 2, all being well.

Dougie was still on crutches at the Partick game, but I didn't notice whether he had a cast on. Anyone else excited about seeing what Odihambo can offer in this division? I think he looked really promising when he started at Tannadice last season, and he was one of the few threats when he came on against Falkirk on relegation Saturday. Someone with pace and skill up front could really make the difference for us this season if Terry perseveres with the passing game and the midfield gains a bit more solidity.

:D Quality. Shame on you both. Cappielow is a great Scottish football ground, the like of which we are seeing fast disappear in age age of prefab lunacy. A wooden main stand, two ends of terracing (one closed, forever), an enclosure with a holey asbestos roof, a long walk to outside toilets with a concrete pee-tray painted in club livery, and a shambolic pebble-dashed 60s inn selling cheap watery beer less than two minutes from the turnstiles. Does this sound like a shithole to you?

Not at all - five minutes or so. Is that 1717 from Cartsdyke or from Greenock Central, by the way? Cartsdyke is the station nearest Cappielow. Aiming to get the 1305 from Central, getting into Cartsdyke around 1345, if you can get through in time for that.

Roger, although we've only met once or twice, just wanted to add my condolences to you and your family.

Don't think I've ever started one of these before. So, who's up for a trip to the Costa del Clyde on Saturday? Classic Scottish football architecture at Cappielow, and the Norseman, which must be one of the handiest bars in the Scottish league, does a mean line in cheap cat's ****...

Does that mean our away match against Raith Rovers on the 3rd will have to be re-scheduled? I'd just assumed they would play the semis midweek to avoid disprupting the league programme.

Very nice, you'll be pleased to hear - one of those guys that just seems comfortable chatting away to people without appearing either self-conscious or condescending. In fact, seems like someone who is probably used to chatting to people in pubs, which makes sense if you've read his books.

Worked in a bookshop? Curses. Rumbled. I was going to say 'Fluffer' and see if anyone believed me... Didn't really anticipate that side of the business when I took the job, though. Most of them were promoting or signing books. One or two were just customers that I got speaking to.