alternative maryhill

Is it 99 already? I was having a chat about this in the pub with a fellow exile when we were watching the scores come in and was putting it around 93 or 94. I was making the point that the 100 was attainable now and that would be a great motivation for him in the next few weeks, so in a way I'm disappointed that the milestone is so close. Still, well done Dennis, and I'm sure he'll be thinking about being 120 by the end of the season when he gets his hat-trick at Rugby Park next week.  :004:

I'm getting fascinated by this.

I've been to every away game this season but haven't been to a game at TCS for a couple of seasons. After every home game I come on here to find out how we played and inevitably the top post is not about the game but is a complaint about the stewarding.

So to my question: is it really that terrible? Is it noticably more picky and repressive than the stewarding at any other SPL ground? It certainly sounds like it - I can't remember being aware of too much heavy-handedness at other SPL grounds (except Tannadice 2 seasons ago) and I've usually had a few fair scoops before kick-off. 

Don't think we much in the way of new personnel, what we do need is for the players we have to develop a bit more consistency and confidence, and that will come (hopefully) with a better run of results. This is the deepest squad we've ever had and there are players on the bench and in the stand that we've barely seen yet - Watt, McDonald, Proctor, Kerr coming up through the reserves, Wood out on loan etc. From what I've seen in this season's four away games and from what I read about yesterday, central defence is still an issue. Would like to see what Watt can do but if we still look shaky by January then maybe we should be loooking for someone else and either selling Caff or returning McGuire to Dunfermline. Would also have said we need compettion for Hastings at left back but it looks like Morgan's back in contention under Brewster. Midfield has been our strong point again this season and Markus when fit will provide an alternative to Wilson. I think the strikers will come good - sounded like it was starting to improve yesterday - and we do have the luxury of being able to try out diferent formations. I was thinking yesterday that Buchanan looked like he would have been a great signing, but ultimately he didn;t want to come to us. Shame CC wasn't a bit more decisive when we had him on trial in January. As for GK, I don't think Brew will be looking for anyone else having got Malkowski. Not a signing that inspired confidence but maybe we can do for him what we did for Dods, Dargo etc. Then watch as he b*ggers off to one of our rivals for no fee.

Sounded like he had far more of an influence than Niculae today. May have been distored by the rdio commentators but it seemed as if Niculae wasn't really up for it while Wyness kept pushing and finally got his reward.

Thank f :003:ck for that.

Cowie sounded like he was everywhere on the radio - by far the brightest thing about this season. On the other hand, McGuire sounded like he had a mare - poor judgement, failing to try to make up for his errors and carping on at the referee all afternoon. Will be interested to hear what people who were at the game thought.  

Was just coming on here to enquire about that. That's a bit of a pain in the @rse - I probably won't know until Friday if I've managed to clear enough work over the week to find the time to go on Saturday. Also not sure yet if anyone else from my bit want to go or not - quite often we decide last minute. Last season - or perhaps it was the season before? - myself and two mates got restricted view tickets on the day no bother. Why the change? Are we likely to sell out our allocation?

Anyway, looks like I won't be going - first away game I'll have missed this season yet it'll be the closest to my house.  :008:

Not a great performance today but the spirit was good and the result was tremendous.

Thought McLeish got his wide players wrong - Teale couldn't cross and didn't hit the bye-line once and McCulloch was anonymous apart from when he came inside as a support striker. Great subs though, and encouraging that he was prepared to change it early (something Brewster could learn from). Both Fletcher and Brown looked inspired at times but must have been getting dragged out of position covering the defence in the second half because Lithuania seemed to get an awful lot of the ball. O'Connor looked pish.

Anyway, Ferguson to come in on Wednesday, presumably, and it would be great to see McFadden start too, but what formation do we play and who should be dropped? 

First post since Saturday - hangover only just receded - and timely as we seem to be spiralling off-topic.

Think Brewster did OK in the time he had. McGuire's not my idea of an ideal replacement for Dods - he's not as dominant and perhaps closer in style to Caff or Granty than Dods (Scott Wilson, had he been available, would probably have been a better signing) - but I thought he did well when he came on on Saturday and looked aggressive, confident and up for it. I'd like to see him start ahead of Caff against Celtic. Leaving aside the positional mistakes both Caff and Granty have mad this season, Caff has really frustrated me because he's been the worst offender at resorting to the long ball. In all four games I've seen this season, we've looked decent when we've played the ball on the deck through the midfield then completely lost the momentum when we've started punting it upfield. McGuire's a decent ball-playing centre-half and might be a better link to the midfield.

As for the others, Proctor lacks a bit of presence but isn't bad going forward, and we badly need cover at right back; and Malkowski? Well, we do have a good record of resurrecting the careers of players that have failed to make it at other SPL clubs (sound of straws desperately being clutched...)

Surely to God not. What's the point in having a youth system if we get rid of our most promising players without giving them a decent chance as subs or at least putting them on loan at a high enough level to really gauge their ability? Sutherland seemed to have a decent pre-season and certainly impressed me at Victoria Park. It's not like our other options in his position have made themselves indispensable this season.  

Not heard anyhing apart from the player-manager rumour, but if there's any truth in this it at all it wouldn't a bad short-term fix. We badly lack experience and organisation at the back and he would provide both. His legs may not be up to Champions League football, but he would still do a shift in the SPL. Everyone assumed Dods was finished with top-flight football before he joined us from St Johnstone. Incidentally, isn't Pressley originally from Elgin?

Amoruso? Good Lord. Lock up your Bailey's...

If TomCaleyJag's information is true, though, it's interesting. We're pretty well off for young players at the moment (although admittedly not in defence) and since Dods went we're in need of a bit of experience. Sancho and Schemmel would both be worth a look - and presumably Sancho wouldn't be too far out of our price range having played at Dundee, unless he was one of the players the Marrs had on ludicrous wages. Maybe Heilandee has an insight?

Garry Wood pulls one back for Montrose against Falkirk - good night all round for ICT strikers.

3-1 Marius again.  :003:

Eek. 2-1. All set up for a nervy finish. Wonder who was at fault this time?

2-0 Wyness. A relief to see two strikers off the mark this season, regardless of the opposition.

Sorry Beachcomber - just dug out my copy and in fact only the first verse is there. It goes *ahem*

Bring it on home

Bring it on home

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Bring it on home

Bring it on home

We play to the final whistle

Caley are the jags

We play in red and blue

Caley are the jags

We're doing it just for you-hou...

Joni Mitchell eat your heart out...

Time for a serious volte-face. I was banging on on several threads before the weekend that Brewster should not play for us but should concentrate on coaching our 5 strikers. After Saturday, I think he should definitely be picking himself, if only because he's going to be the only forward we have who is high in confidence. Not necessarily against Arbroath - I'd like to see Niculae with Macdonald to give Deano a chance to feel properly involved - but certainly against Hibs. It would be a shame to deprive Gerx13 of the chance to see Brewster 2 weeks in a row...

That's some agency you're running, Caleyboyz...

Seriously, Malky Mackay would be a tremendous signing as a replacement for Dods, but we could never afford him. Unless, of course, there was a coaching role going...

Charles, you'll be honoured to learn that when my best mate bought me a copy of "Against All Odds" for Christmas almost ten years ago, he transcribed the full lyrics of "Bring it on Home" onto the title page. If it comes up for auction fifty years hence, perhaps someone will think you're responsible for the song as well as the book...

Ah weel. Sounds like Hibs have just equalised: maybe the Dons will manage to feck it up after all. Brewster's popularity would be even lower if it was between us and them for relegation and he'd got the goals that ultimately kept them up.

*Sob*

I wasn't a fan of Brewster's style of play and am not very happy with his his reappointment, but playing devil's advocate for a moment:

When Brewster was manager previously we had far fewer options up front and he was justified in playing himself. Since then, Bayne has grown into his role as an SPL target man and has scored vital goals; we have forwards that clearly possess a lot of skill in Niculae, Wyness and MacDonald; we have a forward that apparently shows great potential on the training pitch in McAllister; and we have Wood who can come in from loan.

This could be the opportunity for Brewster to prove himself a manager and a coach. If, as a striker of gretat experience, he can't get the best out of the deepest squad of forwards we have ever had, then he probably won't succeed. If he can, then we may see the record of "Brewster the Manager" improve.

I'm deeply disappointed with the appointment and particularly with the way the board have behaved over the whole process, but Caley Thistle have been far, far too big a part of my life over the last dozen or so years for me to start boycotting games. Couldn't have gone tomorrow anyway, but hopefully I'll be at Easter Road - it's been a while since I've made the first two away games of the season and I'm on a roll.

Cool. Did your spiritual leaves give you any idea who would be playing wide left then?

There's no way I'll give the team any less backing as a result of this appointment - there are too many players in that squad that have given heart and soul for us over the years. I also hope that when Brewster does make his second debut in the dugout, he isn't booed. Indifference, fine, but booing may unsettle the players and wouldn't do us any favours in the eyes of outsiders.

Having said that, I'm embarrassed and disappointed that the board hasn't had the courtesy to at least offer Neil Warnock an interview. It's unlikely we'll ever get a manager of that stature expressing interest in the club again (unless it's someone like Craig Brown whose stock has fallen far, far further than Neil Warnock's has). It's enough to make you want to write to the guy, point out the support he had among the ICT fans and apologise for our board's failings.

As for Brewster, I think he can keep us up (which must now be our priority), but it'll probably be in 11th, and 11th the season after that, ad infinitum. Hopefully he's learned from his time at Aberdeen. I don't have any real issue with the manner of his leaving but I never liked the football we played under him. I'm prepared to give him the benefit to some extent. However, I really hope he doesn't start picking himself again - we have 5 strikers (6 including Wood) and the best thing Brewster could do for them is to use his knowledge and experience as a striker to coach the best from them.