alternative maryhill

Like you I'm quite intrigued at how the board arrived at the shortlist and at the emergence of Telfer's name seemingly from nowhere, although if he had been given the job on the basis of promising coaching work that had gone under the radar, then it wouldn't have been all that inconsistent with previous appointments like Robertson and Brewster. I don't think the two-and-a-half year deal was all that surprising though; in fact I would have been surprised if it had been less, as it would quite possibly have sent a message, both to Hughes and the fans, that the club were hedging their bets, and wouldn't have inspired confidence (you could argue, of course, that the appointment hasn't been that well met anyway, but people who were going to criticise the appointment would have done so anyway, regardless of the length of the deal, and would probably have just pointed to the short length of the contract as support for their arguments). There's no guarantee that Hughes would have accepted a shorter contract, but even if he had, and went on to do well enough that other clubs were interested, then wouldn't he be less likely to show loyalty to a club that hadn't shown a great deal of faith in him with their initial contract offer? If it came to it, it wouldn't break the club financially to pay off a two-and-a-half year contract a year early, while it still ties the manager to the club for a decent length of time if his first couple of seasons turn out to be a success and allows for a decent period in which to negotiate a new deal. I think you're absolutely right that we won't be able to judge him fully until next year. I do think that he might be a little unlucky in that a fairly thin squad performed outstandingly in the first few months of the season and (Vincent apart) also got very lucky with injuries. Hughes is likely to preside over a period where there are natural drops in form, where players are injured and where some of the Butcher-signed replacements may be shown up as wanting, and where teams have grown better at nullifying the threats our players present. The worst-case scenario is that he also has to cope with the loss of McKay in January. At the same time, the way he responds to issues like these should give us some sense of where his strengths lie. So far there hasn't been a lot to be critical of, nor a great deal to get excited about. I was impressed by the way he team came out with a renewed sense of purpose and took the game to the opposition in each of his first three games in charge, suggesting that he's a pretty effective half-time speaker; on the other hand, the line-up and tactics for yesterday's game didn't seem right, although maybe I'm suffering from inflated expectations. The Celtic game is probably just going to be one to forget, but January and February are going to be testing times - can he win the first full derby? (Surely...) Can he take anything from the away games at Motherwell and Aberdeen and keep us up in the mix with them? Can he better Butcher and get us to our first cup final? Whether fair or not, a lot of people's opinions of him will probably be strongly influenced by those games.

I'm not sure that all we need is an enforcer, though. Foran at his best retains possession and opens up play pretty well, as well as providing strength. There was a noticeable lack of creativity or meaningful possession in the middle of the park yesterday and it meant that we built very few decent moves and more often than not the midfield was bypassed altogether. Williams offered neither strength nor creativity in that position, which meant that Draper, as Mantis pointed , was doing two jobs. I'd hope that Ross, while lacking Foran's dig, would at least give us some vision in there. I'm not sure if Devine would do that. Of course, Ross might just find himself completely outmuscled and outpassed by the Celtic midfield; there are no easy solutions for Hughes here.

We didn't get started at all yesterday, which was particularly frustrating as Partick looked like they might have wilted if we'd put any sustained pressure on them - they didn't have a great deal of presence and conceded possession in midfield relatively easily. The problem was, so did we, and in the end Partick created the far better chances and were unlucky not to win. There's no question that we missed Foran's influence, and the decision to play Williams in his place was somewhat surprising - he's eased off the ball far too easily, isn't strong enough in the tackle and seemed to be chasing the game most of yesterday. I'd hope to see Ross in there for the Celtic game, but the fact that Ross has been the first player substituted in each of the last two games (wrongly, in my opinion, in each case) makes me wonder how important to the team Hughes believes he is. Greenhalgh did pretty well when he came on and has maybe staked a claim for a place, but I'd like to have seen him replacing either Williams, with Ross dropping back, or Doran, whose performance levels are currently way below the level they were at in the early games of the season. There's perhaps an argument for resting him for a couple of games and making him fight for his place ahead of the semi-final. I think that Doran at the top of his form is unquestionably part of our strongest team, but at the moment he's a long way short of that form. The defence was pretty sound throughout, with with Meekings and Brill the standouts, but they were culpable in the hugely ineffective long ball strategy that we employed for most of the game - my one gripe with both Brill and Gary Warren is that they don't seem to look for a good out-ball properly but instead just hammer it up towards McKay or Doran. If we do that against Celtic then we'll just be inviting pressure onto us and we'll take a hammering. I am, I must confess, a bit worried about the Celtic game now - if we struggled to create anything against a hardworking but limited Partick side, then I can't see how we can hope to take anything against a side that is, it is now becoming clear, streets ahead of the rest of the league. Hopefully Hughes can look at yesterday's performance and set us up in a way that actually plays to our strengths on Sunday.

Unexpectedly busy morning for the best media team in Scotland after It was revealed that Celtic consider the club to be the fount of all knowledge. #askict

As quite a few people have pointed out, the team just seemed to freeze collectively after going a goal behind. I suppose, having gone so long without conceding, that it's sort of understandable, and the St Johnstone game earlier in the season showed that this sort of game comes along once in a while. Aberdeen, like St Johnstone, are a team capable of really fluent attacking football when they click, and they were pretty ruthless in the rest of the first half - Pawlett, McGinn and Vernon all played very well, and we shouldn't overlook that. Hopefully our performance in the second half will reassure our players that they have no need to panic when they go behind as they are more than capable of getting back into it, and will prevent any other team being able to run up such a commanding lead against us in the future. It still wasn't the most consistent or elegant performance of the season, and there were one or two players who struggled slightly to impose themselves on the game (Williams and Doran), but the determination of the team to be first to every ball was really impressive. Raven made a big difference when he came on, and I actually thought Ross had a pretty good game and, like a few others on here, would have preferred to have seen him stay on when Agdestein was brought on. Finally, I tweeted about this last night, but I think it's worth mentioning on here too. I was in hospitality for the game yesterday - a belated birthday present from my brother, an Aberdeen supporter, who accompanied me. It was the first time I had been in hospitality for a game, and it was superb: the food was excellent, the service was warm, generous and efficient, and the hosts achieved the difficult trick of making a room of 300 people seem like an intimate and friendly gathering. The last time my brother had hospitality at a game was at Old Trafford, and he told me yesterday that ICT's was far superior, in the quality of food and the quality of service, as well as being much better value. We're thinking of making this an annual thing from now on. So thank you to the club for that.

I think 'horrendous' is maybe a bit strong, but he certainly looked like he could be knocked off the ball far too easily: Watkins certainly has a great deal more presence. Williams has looked OK coming on as a sub in a few games when play is getting more stretched, and maybe that needs to be his role for now. The player who has disappointed me most so far is Agdestein. Maybe I'm being unfair, as he hasn't had much more game time than Williams, but he never seems to be able use the ball to any effect when it gets to him. Again, this isn't helped when he's thrown on as a new option and the defenders simply begin slinging high balls at him - as happened under Butcher and happened again yesterday - but if this what is going to happen to our play when he's in the team, then I'd rather he wasn't starting games. If both Draper and Foran turn out to be missing on Boxing Day, and if Raven comes back into the team as I think he should, then at least one player is probably going to end up playing in an unaccustomed position. I can see the logic in Tremarco playing as a deep midfielder, as he would provide the steel that we will lose with Foran, but against Partick, who aren't a particularly physically imposing side, I'd like to see a bit more craft in that area, so with that in mind, I'd quite like to see a line-up something like: Brill Raven Warren Meekings Tremarco Polworth Ross Doran Watkins Shinnie McKay It certainly wouldn't be the most powerful team and would almost force us to play a game based on ball to feet, but I think Partick are as good a team as any to try this approach against. Anyway, one of the strengths John Hughes has shown so far is that he's not afraid to change things, so if this isn't working, he can opt for the more physical approach and bring in the likes of Devine and Agdestein. If Draper is not suspended, then I'd have him in the above line-up in place of Polworth but would leave Ross, Shinnie and Watkins in those slightly unorthodox positions. Looking forward to this as it's just a 25-minute stroll down Maryhill Road for me, but I'm guessing it's going to be a pretty small ICT contingent.

Half one train through and straight back afterwards for me - have a thing on in Glasgow in the evening. Pity - the pre-Christmas Tynecastle jaunt that we always seem to get is one of my favourite awaydays of the year. Sounds like I'm going miss all manner of shenanigans.

Meh game. St Mirren will probably count themselves unlucky - they had by far the better chances in the first half and a combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping by Brill kept us in it. Second half was utterly unmemorable from both sides. This is no slight on Hughes - he stuck by the same team that has won us five on the bounce, and they certainly weren't terrible; for some reason, though, they were never able to take control of the game at any point. Hopefully a convincing win coming up at Hearts next weekend; the subsequent home game against Aberdeen is going to be peetty tough.

Not denying I liked the sound of Hartley better, but I don't see any point in prejudging Hughes. Most people seem to think he was treated pretty harshly at Hartlepool, and his record in Scotland was excellent until that long slump towards the end of his Hibs tenure - and we've had a couple of similar spells under Butcher, tbf, but our board stuck by him. In the short term, I can't imagine a manager who is going to be more motivated to be Hearts in the League Cup semi and get us to our first final; in the long term, once he's won us a couple of trophies and got us into Europe twice in a row, he'll return to his beloved Hibs to replace the disastrously-appointed Terry Butcher, just in time for Richie Foran to step up to the manager's job at ICT that Yogi has been keeping warm for him.

Train from Glasgow. Involves alcohol.

Great draw. Clyde handier; Stranraer more exotic. In a strange sort of way.

Dumbarton away would be lovely from a selfish p.o.v. 20 minutes away on the train, and a ground I have yet to go to. Albion Rovers away would be good too - last time I was there was 1996, the day Ross Tokely scored his first ever goal for the club. Our circumstances have changed a bit since then...

Really hope so - got to assume that he is a hugely important presence in the dressing room, and this move by the board shows their determination to try to maintain continuity despite Butcher's departure. He has been our most important, reliable and influential player of the last four years without a doubt, in probably the most transformational period our squad has ever gone through, and if he wasn't already an ICT legend, this surely confirms him as one. I suspected he'd be away at the end of the season too, so this is a really pleasant boost.

I wouldn't take all that moaning about having to travel to the Highlands too seriously - it just looked like he was getting his excuses in early and trying to manage expectations in case Kilmarnock lost the games. Pretty amateurish psychology from Shiels, but I never took it as serious disrespect towards our club. I can see a few good reasons why the ICT board would be interested in him, actually - he was genuinely driven about promoting Kilmarnock to the local population, he was committed to bringing through young players, and he coped with working within a very tight budget. At the same time, he seemed to suffer from periodic tactical brainfarts, and his public persona was beyond parody at times. Not sure if the latter would appeal much to an apparently modest and unassuming guy like Kenny Cameron, but if the ICT board could live with it, then I certainly could. An interesting name that popped up on P&B was Billy McKinlay. No idea if it was purely speculation - youngish Scottish coach looking for first number one role and all that - but having been a coach with Fulham and Northern Ireland, he has more experience than the likes of Barry Ferguson or Henrik Larsson, might have some good contacts and, if his footballing philosophy is based at all on what he was like as a player, would hopefully get us playing good passing football.

I would definitely take him too, especially with George Adams in tow, now that we've lost Marsella. He's always come across as a bitter whinger and his teams' football hasn't always been that pretty to watch, but he knows the Highlands well, is used to working on a tight budget and I think he did pretty well in the transfer window last season. It's no surprise they've struggled a bit this season having lost arguably four of their best players over summer, but I reckon he could do a decent job with our squad. Don't think there's any chance of getting him, btw, even if the board was so-minded.

Spoke very, very positively on Sportsound about the club and the squad, and didn't bite when offered the opportunity to be critical of the fanbase. Also made it pretty clear that he wouldn't be tempted by a player/manager contract at this stage, although he didn't rule out a coaching role. Less positive was his admission that he was '50/50' about where his future lies. Reading between the lines, I think he suspects there would be a contract for him at Hibs next season if he was so inclined - there was an implication that he would find it difficult to choose between linking up again with Butcher and staying in Inverness. Fair play for the honesty, but I do wonder if Butcher has already talked to him about moving south.

Reason given on Sportsound last night was that the BBC are also covering a 6 nations game live the same day. Certianly doesn't excuse the venue, though; and does it really have to be quite as early as 12.15?

Surely Kenny has to get that question into his candidate interviews: "How do you intend to incorporate the Renegade Philosophy into your formations and gameplans?" Anyone who replies with a puzzled frown is immediately ruled out...

Meanwhile, over on Twitter, Capital Caley has Barry Ferguson and Csaba Lazlo in a race to Kenny's office.

Voted Foran, in the short term at least, although it would obviously be risky. Levein is intriguing though, if he is genuinely interested - I disliked the way his Scotland sides played, but he had a decent record with Hearts and United, and he did say all the right things about building for the future. Of course, if he got the job and did well, he'd be straight out the door after the first bigger job that came along...

What a find Scaffolder07 is. Signing of the season for CTO. Enjoyed yesterday more than any other game so far this season, which is saying something. The support was tremendous - the last 5-10 minutes of sustained , defiant singing/crowing was what going to the football is all about. The players should be proud of their response to what was a potentially difficult week - they didn't just grind out a result but utterly dominated, and played some classy, on-the-deck football. Certain players looked truly liberated yesterday - it was thrilling to see Graeme Shinnie running at the midfield and Nick Ross in the hole, putting through clever through balls and linking so well with McKay. If that sort of performance is a sign of things to come post-Butcher, then, notwithstanding the amazing job he has done for us, I am optimistic and excited about the future.

^ This. Before the game yesterday I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea; by the end I was thinking 'make it happen'. Foran was at the heart of a superb team display - defensively, he got his body in front of everything and going forward, his use of the ball was superb. It was also really heartwarming to see the way he led the players over to acknowledge the fantastic away support at the end of the game. Get him signed up, Kenny.

Probably going to get the midday train through from Glasgow. Hopefully Caley Stan will be making an all-too-rare appearance at this one. @Chris - I'm assuming the Iona will be where I'm heading.

Chick Young on Sportsound now claiming that Butcher *will* be the new Hibs manager. Even by his own standards of smug self-delusion and record of making unfounded pronouncements, this is a pretty bold claim. I think there's a pretty good chance of it happening, tbh.

Only one change - Devine in for Warren. Slightly surprised, also slightly disappointed - there are several players on the bench who showed real potential in pre-season, and it would have been interesting to see how they would have got on tonight. Still, in Terry we trust. Maybe wants to give the first choice 11 the chance to show a big improvement on Saturday's game at the earliest possible opportunity.