ALSY

I really wanted my 1000th post to be more positive, but why is it when we play well, the other team must have been below par? A team only plays as well as the opposition lets them. I'm largely in agreement with Absent Friend's post. I think the 'get Brewster out at all costs' attitude is colouring how most fans are viewing the team's performance. Sunday was not all bad. It only seems so as it follows some performances which were indeed, dire. I think quite a few posts on the matchday thread acknowledge the first-half performance was good - the thing is, though, that that work was undone by a goal right at the start of the second half, which has been a recurring problem all season. I know it was a good goal, but surely we're capable of keeping the ball for longer and trying to frustrate them and take the fire out of the game again? It's the repetition of such errors, as well as slightly mystifying selections such as Barrowman as a lone striker and Cowie being played in no man's land, that frustrate a lot of us who would rather not be calling for the manager's head, but see no other way out of this.

Haven't been watching it - didn't notice it was on - but the absence of nuture groups in Highland schools, I would guess, will be down to budget allocation. My previous school ran a nuture group in S1 / S2 for the pupils with the most challenging learning needs (which often contributed to severe behavioural difficulties). It was a qualified success - the pupils in question got more support and teachers in the mainstream classes were able to work at a slightly quicker pace without neglecting such pupils. There were a few problems - trying to reintegrate pupils in S3, for example, and also the fact that a certain stigma was attached to the nuture group. On balance, though I feel it was a good thing. This year, however, due to staffing cuts, the school had to decide whether it should continue with the nuture group and consequently have to increase class sizes across the board, or ditch the nuture class and keep smaller class sizes. With regret, they chose the latter. According to my ex-colleagues, there has been a bit of a deterioration in discipline and pace of learning as a result, but they reckon they might have seen that anyway had they gone for larger class sizes instead. In other words, it's a lose-lose situation. It is particularly hard in a school like that, with one of the most deprived catchment areas in western Europe, but smaller classes and better support benefits pupils no matter what social background they come from, IMO.

Would Utd have any reason to get rid of Dods, though, as he plays in a different position to Cowie? Or do you mean that they might be keen enough on getting Cowie straight away to use Dods as the makeweight in the deal? Personally I'd have though they'd be content to sign Cowie on a pre-contract and wait for next season - and if there's any truth in the rumour that Rangers are interested in Wilkie, they'll be even keener to hang onto Dods.

Same old - game killed by a goal right at the start of the second half. Is Brewster aware of how often this happens and is he trying to address it? Frustrating Rangers in the first half worked OK - doesn't he realise he should be trying to start the second half the same way, keeping the ball rather than allowing it to get into vulnerable positions where players end up diving into challenges? It was also screamingly obvious how much the heads went down after the second goal - understandable, perhaps, but Dundee Utd, for example, wouldn't react like that, and Rangers, frankly, were nothing special today. A slightly improved first half performance, but overall, there was nothing today to suggest that we can get out of this position.

0-3. Negative goal difference now heading towards Hamilton's. Only positive is that this shouldn't give Brewster any opportunity to defend his position.

I see what you're saying, but I don't think Black got int the game at all today, and Vigurs had fallen out of it badly. As I said above, this should, in theory, give Cowie a chance to show what he can do in his preferred position and Imrie's capable of beating players when he's in the mood, even though he has less ability than Black or Vigurs IMO.

Vigurs for Rooney. Glad to see Rooney on. Vigurs was quiet second half, but showed some skill during the game. Guess we'll get a chance to see some attempt at two up front now - and Cowie has been a bit better this half when he's dropped deeper.

Imrie for Black. Normally I'd be unhappy about Black going off this early, but I'd say it's the right decision today - Black's had the quietest game he's had in ages, and we've got to get used to playing without him. Would like to see Rooney for Barrowman before too much longer as well.

How many times have we conceded goals in the first few minutes of the second half this season?

I hope you're wrong about that. I think Burke could make a big difference for them - tricky on the ball, provides natural width and we've struggled against him in the past. Smith doesn't seem to rate him, though - never understood why.

I don't agree actually, Johnboy - in terms of stopping Rangers playing, he's been our most effective player. His passing has been dreadful, though - if he could find Black, Vigurs or Mcbain more with short passes and let them build the forward momentum, I'd keep him on. Cowie has been in and ot of the game, as he has been all season, but that's probably just because he's been asked to push forward.

HT 0-0. It's been better than the last three matches, but I also think Rangers are playing in a way that suits us better - they've hardly put any high balls across the box, which is what we've struggled to deal with most recently. Couple of dodgy passes out of defence by Munro and Hastngs though. Classic Russell Duncan performance - breaks up the play superbly in midfield, but his forward passing has been criminal. Vigurs is doing well - hopefully this will convince Brewster to persevere with him now. Rangers have been pretty poor. TBH this looks like a 0-0 game, except you always get the feeling that either of the old firm will eventually score, especially given the fact we haven't kept a clean sheet since the first game of the season.

Even a stopped clock and all that... Royster on the right has just produced the best attacking move we've made for weeks!

I think the TV said: Esson Tokely Munro Proctor Hastings Cowie Duncan Black Vigurs McBain Barrowman Cowie playing off Barrowman. So the inevitable questions: if we must change strikers, why Barrowman rather than Rooney? Why Proctor in the middle again after last week rather than Duff? Imrie dropped rather than McBain? Have we finally found the winning formula?...

Scotty, Don - thanks for such considered replies. Certainly you've both had far more opportunities than me to see how different managers have coped with the more "goldfish bowl" aspects of being Inverness manager, as I've been down in Glasgow for the lifetime of the club. Guess we'll wait and see what happens!

Scotty - or anyone else with an opinion - while I agree with a lot of what you've said about Robbo, do you not worry that his obvous passion for the club has led him to a position where he may have aligned himself too closely with the fans to make a return as manager possible? I refer mostly to his decision to post on here. His politeness and patience in answering questions and his high regard for the club and its fans impressed many, myself included. However, were he to take over as manager again, would he be able to distance himself from opinions on the website? Would he feel tempted to respond to criticism in person? Would he feel more of sense of betrayal than another manager might if he was aware of criticism from the website? On the other hand, would some people who might be inclined to used the site to vent their spleens or offer opinions critical of the manager, feel unable to do so because they were worried about Robbo reading the comments and taking them personally? I think this is a very important function of any fans' site and would not like to see that aspect of this site diluted. I'd take Robbo's passion over Brewster's apparent aloofness any day, but I also feel a manager should retain a certain distance from the fans (and for me, that would include not entering into online debate with supporters). I hope, should Robbo take over, that he is able to do this, otherwise I worry that he, like Charlie Christie, will find the weight of expectations and advice affecting him so that he can no longer do the job effectively. Thoughts?

This is bad, bad news. Hamilton will be full of confidence going in against us next week. There's a very real chance we could be six points behind them a week from now, and I've not seen anything from our players recently to suggest we can claw back that sort of deficit. At least Falkirk only drew - but I can't help thinking they have a better squad than us.

Falkirk and Hamilton both leading... if it stays this way we will be 3 behind at the bottom going into tomorrow's game. Also screws up my already poor prediction league standing even further..

I'd take a home win. Yes me 2 I've got money on it.... Decent odds, I take it? 15-2 on the home win last I read.

On the truly horrible "Inside the SPL", the oracle of Setanta, Mr Scott Booth, has just tipped us for a home win against Rangers...

Have you watched the team on the park recently? The spirit that's taken us on great runs in the past is completely absent; experienced players are making simple mistakes, looking shorn of confidence and don't seem to want the ball; and several of the players that helped us on those good runs in the past are either already gone or on the way out. Fair play to you for belief and loyalty, but I think the circumstances surrounding the team are different than they were even 15 months ago.

Kerr's not a bad shout - I don't know what went wrong at Hibs (maybe, as you say, being played out of position) but he's definitely got enough ability to do well in the SPL. Attitude problem, perhaps? A touch of the Michael Stewarts, having played in the EPL? Would he want to come here and could we afford him?

From a playing point of view this makes some sense - even if his legs aren't what they were, Pressley offers the understanding of how a defence should be organised and has always been an excellent man-marker. Anyone who saw the Motherwell and Aberdeen games knows how much we are crying out for this. As a member of the coaching staff? Excellent, although Brewster may not like if if he has strong ideas of his own... As manager in his own right? IMO he's not experienced enough and it wouldn't be fair on him or us to expect him to start his managerial career successfully at a club facing relegation. However, I would be very interested in seeing him mentored, with a view to potentially taking over long term, by a more experienced figure - ideally Craig Brown.

Christ that was a shock, I knew Moggy for years, I had no idea he passed away it must of been when I was overseas. Any idea on what happened to him I think it was an asthma attack, Stevie.

Shame, IMO. He was a bit of a mercenary, maybe, but also a great prospect had he stayed clear of injury. Mind you, if he was fit enough to do a decent job for a championship club then we'd never get near him.