absent friend

I also see Byrne managed 80 mins in a thrilling game at Perth, so he must be match fit HOWEVER he ain't getting a game in our team with our MOM.

:thumb04: No .... does anyone else feel we are just waiting for Zadi to make a big mistake?? I think we all share this feeling due to the low opinion held when he was signed and, in fairness, his play under Brew did not move that opinion up the scale. What has happened now is amazing and we either enjoy it or sit on the edge of our seats each time he is involved in the game. I would like to think that we will see him flourish, due to coaching and confidence, into a big hearted, skilled defender with even IHE on his side. Choice on Saturday between Wilkie, Kenneth or Zadi, for the neutral and I feel Zadi would have shaded it. For us, we are still, like IHE, holding our breath at times.

Well Harry, he may not be up to speed initially but surely he will have enough grey matter to contribute to the success of ICT, provided he gets involved. Be fair, it can not be that difficult, every poster on here can do the job - at arms length!!

If the'rotting core' were instrumental in recruited TB and Co, lets hope it is more of their type that come onto the Board and we will preserve them for a long time!

Now from this I assume(I hope I am correct) that he is more prone to 'bombscare' moments than the other defenders, say, Grantie, Rossco and U Know Who(I can't spell/pronounce his name) - if this is the case why are the 'good' reporters giving him MOM? I would have thought that they would be only too aware of the sharp intake of breath by the ICT fans as Zadi provided another'bombscare' and that their reporting would reflect this. When I watched the game I was only aware of a moment of uncertainity, by him, at the half way line, when we had a throw in, when he was unsure as to go forward or back. He went back and maybe before he would have gone forward and left his berth exposed. If this is evidence of coaching then praise to them. However he intercepted many times, tackled well and can definately clear his lines. Not the finished article but Hastings must be having sleepless nights. .

I was maybe watching a different game but I thought the whole ICT team were attacking, with the exception of Esson, their break was made from a central position up over the half way line and...... it was Zadi's fault! Not the right back, central defenders BUT the left backs fault!! WHAT??? If we continue to look for fault with this guy we will find it, he is only human. Why can't we offer some support instead, 'On edge' performance - well I was 'on edge' when he cleared off the line, I was 'on edge' prior to him hoffing the ball miles up the park, for a throw in, to allow our defence time to regroup near the end. As someone remarked on here, rugby style and that was needed, no time for fancy footwork. Find your man? They were all back helping out! I was also 'on edge' waiting for him to receive MOM. Long may he have me 'on edge' Scotty! Don't know what has brought about the change in him but it sure feels good! .

On the subject of Russell being sent off - as Swanson had the ball at his feet and Russell was chasing, it is obvious that had Russell taken two more steps before the 'lunge', he would then have been alongside Swanson and doubt as to the ball/man man/ball would not have been an issue. I realise it is all now history but that two points slipping through our hands is really sore! On the issue of our now established left back, each game a possible MOM, why does IHE keep undermining the lads performance week after week? He is waiting for the big boy to make a mistake, he states, we are bottom of the league because the whole TEAM has made mistakes, every player has to hold their hands up at some time - so if IHE is expecting a team of players that will not make a mistake I would suggest maybe a visit to Old Trafford is required. Lionels the best we have in his position, at this time, if his game goes off we have Hastings or Byrne as backup, IHE says Lionel will cost us matches, well he has saved us matches with his play and clearances in the recent past. IHE is suggesting that TB is not picking his best players. Well the players I have seen in ICT shirts this past wee while are not doing a bad job, considering they were down and out when CB left. What then, if I am correct, is IHE's agenda? Is he a tinkie in the camp? Is he really a jailender in disguise? Maybe CB leaving was the last straw and he is now a convert to over the bridge! Nothing worse than the strong opinions of the newly converted and they can be so manipulative, if they wish. Beware the enemy within! .

What is the full draw?

What would the likely monetary difference be between going out against the OF away or say Hamilton at home? Is it ?500000 / ?30000? If so I will go for the OF away!! Take the ?500000 (we will win) beat the other half of the OF, another ?500000, then onward and upwards to Hampden and European football. We would have an expenditure for gloves for the Inter players when they play at Sneckie, it is only fair, so it is not all profit!. Use the ?1,000,000 for our new strikers - the defence is good (two games no goals against, what more do you want!) I was only joking about getting beat!

What you will do to try and get your crowd prediction correct!!

Brew has gone - Malkie is gone - the board have bought in a few players. NOW who will we attack? I know - let's attack our own support!

I think the appearance of boardroom politics maybe just be the fact that we, as a club, are too NICE! Did not want to sack - held on too long - tried to take the fans heat away from the problem(Brew) - Accepted situation. There is not an employer that can not be accused of making a mistake. Remember faultless is lifeless!! We are very full of life as the rest of the SPL will find out and the board will make further mistakes and just lets hope that this episode is learning for us all.

Yep, that was how it panned out with a lot of mutual bacon saving going on. Even Russel was called in a few times. Proctor never really got stuck in to the same extent as Rosco, but the whole thing seemed to work. Proctor is going to be one of those players that terryanjune will remake/remodel or dump, I think. He showed a lot when he was first here, but since coming back with his patron, things have been a good bit more quiet. I remarked on the match thread at halftime, that Setanta were even commenting on Proctor not being concerned with providing cover for Rossco. ''He is only now trotting back' was one comment. Contrast that with Imrie who chased every lost cause and showed they could be won. Either Proctor was under orders to stay upfield or needs a word!

This is the fairest summary on here. The ability of the defence must be considered as you judge him. I accept that to date his game is not what was expected but I thought this new manager said 'clean slate' - this clean slate worked for our left back! IHE said no place in SPL for poachers, well I think the top scorer in the league is just that. I would say a fault Barrowman does have, is his lack of movement as a move builds up. He appears to watch the play instead of the marking player, who has to watch the play and this should leave him able to move off his man into an unmarked position. McDonald of Celtic is probably the best in the SPL for doing just that and when you see the number of headed goals he gets, with his feet on the ground, he proves position(quick thinking) is the thing that can score goals as he cannot outjump any defender! Because of this lack of movement Barrowman always appears to be under pressure from a defender when he does get a chance. Maybe outwith the SPL the marking is less tight and he had more time/room to score. For the record this requires crosses coming into the box and there were very few of them yesterday.

Left back OK so far. Unfair much better than that! On theright Rossco not bad but Proctor leaving him exposed. Quote 'Proctor jogging back leaving Tokley on his own.' Imrie playing well, Foren(?) looks good. Next 45 - Same again!!

I agree that this is a honeymoon period and before todays match gets underway I offer congratulations to all that managed to bring about the change. We have a big mountain to climb and this will be easier under the new management than under Brew. Onward and upward!!

I wonder if his commitment to this new position is really appreciated when I read rubbish on here. On the Setanta interview last night, he even stated that his Scotland job would not have stood in his way, when considering ICT. He was so committed in the interview he left the studio guests scratching their heads. On the Scotland position they saw no problem that the two back up staff, Elvis and TB are now both full time employees, as the 'few days' the Scotland job takes up will not be a problem for them or their club work. TB discussed the 'good life' he had with his two positions but was prepared to give it all up as he wanted back into management. He, I would suggest, on the evidence of last nights interview, has more face to lose by being unsuccessful than ICT. I don't know about Malpas but he looks and sounds a winner. .

Oats, we are not on our own - I see Aberdeen are having the same problem, with their DOF, Willie Miller, saying 'no more cash in the kitty' Manager saying 'only way for non signing players is down' etc! The players they are losing are better, imo, than Cowie at this stage, so maybe re-signing players, in this financial climate, is difficult for all teams. Two things - immediate money is a big pull for a player and the days of the Rosscos/ Granties have gone, playing for the colours is not the thing any longer! That is why I think we have a big weapon in TB with his Scotland hat on - maybe sway some to stay.

I wonder if this was just too far down the 'done deal' line before TB's appointment. I feel that any quality player or one that considers themselves quality, on our books must be excited at the prospect of having the Asst manager of Scotland watching him on an ongoing basis. I would have thought Cowie came into this category and would have excelled under TB, putting on a show every week. (I think the same goes for Black and Fraser) Raised profile, better deal 2 years down the road. More likely to get a place in the Scotland set-up, from ICT under TB, than Watford maybe.

I read on Tuesday that McBain was given a one match ban. From that I assumed he would not play this week.

Don I have the new crimewatch strip on email but don't know how to then put it on here - very funny! Help!

Right now I have difficulty agreeing with the above statement. The Hearts game showed that we do have the players to hold the team in third place in the league even with 10 men! Yes, they were given the extra goal but we matched them apart from that and were unlucky not to take something from the game. Are the Hearts players relegation fodder? Don't be silly! We have the players to survive - we may even get additions to the squad, but if not, we will still survive. If Black was still committed to us, (he may be but his actions say no), we would not be in the current situation we are in - he could have turned round the last two games for us and we would not be sitting at the bottom of the league.......BUT we would still have Brewster!

Irony of ironies! Who are you to lecture us about negativity when this itself is a negative post? I backed Robbo but have already said I'll support Butcher... I await your negative response with baited breath... My take on the current managerial situation? I would have preferred Robbo a few weeks ago, when he was posting on here. He appeared to appreciate our situation and seemed enthusiastic to address it. Can't always get what we want and now the picture has changed, new face, new scenario, make the most of it! ( I do realise there are others who have, like me, accepted the new face despite....) Perhaps, however, I am the only person reading the offerings by the discontented on here who, like me, cannot change what has happened and yet still reflect the fragmentation of the ICT supporters on the Brew threads. We had a chance of welding the support back behind the new guy but tell me if you think that is likely, reading the postings. If you want positivity from the support, Butcher will have to give them an instant 6 points and all will be forgiven but maybe not forgotten, until his next defeat! Is that negative or just a fact? .

Coventry, Sunderland and Sydney fans hate him, they were all over us telling us about his 4-5-1 negative football but we had the old "You're Aussies and what would you know" superiority mentality and that Cov and Sunderland was years ago. You will probably feel the same with League 2 fans on here but he is hated by us which is a shame as he was a damn fine player and probably a decent fella. Remind us of anyone Sounds like we have another Brewster :thumb04: It's all the Boards fault - sack him now! Oh wait, they can't, he has not been appointed yet. I said on here after Brew was sacked, that this wee club will never be the same again now that it has the perceived strength of this medium. No one will be the choice of all the posters but the Robbo backers will endeavour to undermine the new manager so that they can say"See, I told you so!" It is evident already with all the negativity being posted. Get behind your team? There was a day! .

Thanks, I hope so too. I would have liked to see Robbo back at the helm, but I can't complain about the Butcher+Malpas duo. I've actually found this search for a new manager to be much less stressful than the last one (but then I was gutted that CC resigned, and I didn't want Brewster back). I think B+M can keep us up, and if the 18 month deal is true, then Butcher is at least committed at the moment. If he fails with ICT, it's a nasty blot on his CV, and I think he will want to avoid that at all costs. I have no complaints about the lack of information from the board either. Until Butcher signs on the dotted line, there is no point in saying anything. He still might fly back up and change his mind... At last, some sense! If we do get B and M we are jolly lucky. Butcher has more to lose than we do. He has his reputation on the line for the foreseeable future if things go wrong and he is sacked, whilst we could bounce back up again next season. He is a BIG name with wide contacts in the game, which maybe we could be the beneficiary of. Good loan deals coming our way? Players coming here because of his standing in the game? Current players giving their all playing for a LEGEND -well maybe not ours but an English legend. No room for sentiment - we need results! .