absent friend

I would have thought that having our traditional defenders in place plus McGuire, Duff and Proctor -(even Barry excelled at back in the reserve game, by all accounts)- we are in a strong defensive position. Maybe the players are not playing to the top of their abilities but that is a man management thing, we have the manpower. We do not therefore require to spend on defenders, we do need one seasoned forward player, very similar to Brew, to support the younger players, with also an emphasis on attack that hits the bye line and cuts the ball back. Hitting the ball from the outfield into a defense always favours them but we have seen this week, even the best pros have problems clearing their lines from a low ball in from the bye line and this can result in an own goal. I would therefore like to see our players having the confidence to take on their defender more often but this can only happen if they have the encouragement on and off the field. This also puts some responsibility on the fans, as losing out on a tackle making for the bye line, when the ball could have been swung over earlier, is not what the fans want but appreciating the better chance, had the tackle not been successful, must also be considered.

Sums up my point - Rednapp's players come onto TV after their last win and admit they they are now playing with more effort!! Where is their PRIDE when they can admit that they accepted their wages but did not bother to play despite their manager being under the sword and the fans having paid good money to support them!! From your above contributions I can only accept that they are excused, as the manager did not motivate to a level they considered to be correct. Not in my book - they are paid to perform to the best of their ability, as a team and requiring the manager to pat their back before, during and after their performance, if they are going to give 100%, is a sad reflection on their maturity! The manager must, obviously, provide the training, tactics and man management to get a team on the park BUT once it is on there, he has little control other than his management from the sidelines. As stated earlier, his captain should have as much input on the park,IMO, but the buck stops with the players on the park if they are not giving 100%!!

The Board, Brew, Malkey, Wee Chick, Traynor etc, have all had there attacks after Saturday but it would appear that there is something strange about footballers! The staff did not work well this morning, lunch time ballocking, superb production this afternoon! This proves to me that they have no personal pride, ability to think for themselves or self motivation. Why therefore on Saturday are the players absolved from blame(ish) and The Board, Brew, Malkey, Wee Chick,Traynor etc all get attacked? Strachan can not take credit for Moloney's superb goal yesterday and if this is the case, managers can not therefore be always blamed for all of the players poor performances on the park. Why can't the players be more self motivated on the park, why can't the players boss on the park, the captain, be more exposed to criticism, as he can surely boot butt as the game is unfolding. As with any job they should always be aware of the pressure they are under, the manager is under, the club is under and indeed the fans are under and for them to require a half time talking to, to up their game, as opposed to change their game, should be so unnecessary. Where does the Buck Stop??

Was Brewster therefore tactically inept when he put Duff on for the second half not knowing if he was going to have a stinker?? I am saying that that is the way most on here would have reacted should Duff have started and had a howler, not that I personally think that. I'm sorry, I did not realise you were referring to the reaction on here in the event of....., I thought you were making a statement.

Was Brewster therefore tactically inept when he put Duff on for the second half not knowing if he was going to have a stinker?? However as they say in footballing circles 'The boy done good!' The substitution proves that the manager was wrong in the first instance by not playng Duff.

I have now changed my thoughts on the keeper situation. I thought that Fraser was getting his place until he signed his new contract and then Esson would step in. After Saturday Esson should be on the park as no team will want to sign a keeper that lost so many goals as Fraser did on Saturday - not until the memory fades a bit anyway. Fraser Will sign without any problem, probably for less money than he could have negotiated for, pre Ibrox. Anyway, the way ahead, Esson on the park for an extended run offering confidence to the back four and utilising his distribution to build up the play by involving the midfield with throw outs. This way the defense are more solid, the midfield are more creative, the forwards will be fed more scoring opportunities and Esson will be leaning on the post having a Havana moment or two! Easy.

Esson will not get a permanent place until Fraser signs on the dotted line. If Fraser is dropped/subbed at this time he could react and delay signing, this could have a disruptive reaction in the dressing room. With Brew having won the dressing room and the spirit in there being up at the moment, why take a chance.

Perhaps if you take a quick look at the league table and see the 8 teams all within 4 points of each other it will save me the effort!

So the bad is Brew but the good is possibly not him. Hang the guy! Jury is out! He took a childish Black, showed him the error of his ways and we now see the evidence of this whenever Ian plays! Where does this equal disrespect?? Being 4 points behind the fourth placed team does not indicate that he is crap manager.

Gee Whiz!! According to you guys we are sinking fast! 13th September we were 6th in the league and Dundee United were bottom in 12th place(and no doubt you were all complaining on here that we were not in the top 3 and the equivalent 'fans' on the united site would have been calling for their managers head !!) Dundee United are now in 4th place and we are in 10th place - 4 points behind. Hardly a reason for sacking the manager in my opinion. I just hope the sack him brigade are not on jury duty if I am ever up in court! I am NOT a Brew fan but I am an ICT fan and realise that in this years league, movement up and down the league will be more in evidence than normal, as each team seems to be able to take points off each other. Makes for an added degree of excitement with 8 teams bunched up together. Time left - until more than 4 points separate us from fourth place!! Bring on the HUNS!!

Brew was caught speeding at Newtonmore last night, 75mph on a 60mph road. When charged he was asked if he had anything to say in his defense ''You can't understand what it is like being a football manager, constable'' he replied ''I'd do anything right now for three points!''

I feel that we are in the strongest position, having Esson as back up. In goal or on the bench? I feel he should be given an extended run to gel with the back players in a competitive situation and then we will have the best of him. His experience will rub off on the defense, his distribution from his throw outs will create more attacks on the ground, leading to better football from the team. Why is he not being used right now? We need our current goalie's signature on a contract! Fraser must realise that he has not attracted any attention yet but if he sits where he is and gets a share of the matches, he will then have a chance to showcase himself and perhaps follow his predecessor into the higher earning bracket, in the future.

Just imagine watching, from the terracing, maybe three of the current team plus eight wannabees or over the hill exSPL players, on a cold afternoon playing against another team of 'not made it/past it players'. Relegation is really something to look forward to, eh! But wait, you can stand, mingle with the opposition and enjoy all these wee parks and guess what, it costs less!! Magic!! County meantime are playing in the SPL and we are not a bit jealous because they are having to pay FULL price to watch a sprinkling of international players in the teams they are playing and guess what, we are 6th in the 1st Division and they are only 7th in the SPL. How you must yearn for the OLD days to come back - it was not the excitement of getting up through the leagues into the SPL that was experienced, it was the thrill of attending the games played in the lower divisions. AYE RIGHT!! Water, well and dry comes to mind. Enjoy this moment as it may not last but at least we have made it and even have a chance of upsetting one half of the old firm this week. All the supporters in the leagues below us would love to be in our position as would the players and Boards of each team. Read on here the different posters stating that they long for the lower divisions where it was more friendly - no stewards etc and how they would return and support the team if we were relegated but will not turn out now - and accept it for what it is, the nostalgia of the memory of fighting the way into the big boys league. This is the anti-climax where we have to consolidate for a few years after all our success, feel our way and move forward within the constraints which are indubitably ours. The only way is up!!!

Just to inject a wee bit of fairness The goal is reported as offside We were denied a penalty by the referee who apologised to the players for his error How in the name of Heavens is that Brews fault?? He did not PICK the referee - He did not make the decisions!! Yes, you can miscall the players but he can only train them - when the whistle blows they are on their own BUT on here they have no responsibility, it is Brews fault they mistime a pass, fluff a shot etc. We have ordinary players and we expect them to play at a level they have difficulty playing up to on a regular basis. Yes they are fit, no doubt they are taught tactics but on the park........!! The up side? A wee run of luck will provide confidence and they may settle into a game. However it is the discarding of concentration when not playing 'big' teams that is causing the stupid form - blowing good and bad from one game to the next.

Standard in that the lower the market price you got the player for, the larger % the selling club will receive if he is sold on? ie Buy him for ?50k, 40% from sellon - Buy for ?75k, 20% from sellon - ?!00k, no sellon fee. If this be the case it is only a variation on a loan. The new club pays the full wages/maybe injury costs/training costs and if he is a hit - the selling club could reap a large transfer reward. If he is not a success the buying club have invested in the player to their cost. Win Win for the selling club with no offloading facility for the new club. Rooney however will not be a liability for ICT and we could end up making a few bob when he is moved on. A hattrick for the red haired lad tonight!!

It is strange when you use the word 'decaying' it makes you think of run down etc. but having just returned from Northern Italy, it was all 'decaying'. Roads through villages that would just allow a bus to squeeze through and inside was traditional homes, having their walls scraped. But they were not bulldozed for modernisation. The small alleyways in Verona with all the cafe bars - look up and all the outside walls are bulged and eroded with age BUT still standing and adding feel to the city. They have not been bulldozes for modernisation. Cars, bikes, shoppers all seem to co-exist without the need for enormous pavements or pedestrian areas at the expense of the historic city/ town/village. We have watched the heart and character of Inverness been ripped out and replaced by concrete boxes, over the years, with little resistance from the planning department. No doubt they will quote EU Reg..?.,Sec..?., but is Italy not also in the same EU and they appear to be able to ignore any EU regulations on planning, assuming that is the reason for the rape of the Highland Capital. I mourn for Eastgate of old, Inglis Street and especially Bridge Street (I would even have kept the old bridge and made the busses scrape through there too)!!

I know you have brought me to task in the past for selective editing BUT in this case to carry all the content down would be unnecessary when I just want to ask you to consider the area highlighted and ask if this could be something you could consider. Now on a broader point,....... of course, we all could have reasons for non attendance, some however will come into the 'facts fit' category and use their none attendance, not because they could not be bother getting off their butts from the front of the telly, where they could sit and enjoy the well prepared adverts, but blame Brew/weather/subs/cost/sweetie rustlers/ car park or our current place in the league, instead of being honest. Will a better run of form bring bigger crowds, possibly ( 'you only watch when your winning' comes to mind) - better weather, I am not aware of a severe change in the Sneck climate - lower prices, don't subscribe to any huge increase this year - change of manager, I suppose if we had the 'Chosen One' this would ensure 7000 at all home games, the other 3500 being the media!

The basement price that Aberdeen paid for Sone Aluka must mean that there must be a big compensation clause to the seller. This has never been made public and I feel quite rightly. Why therefore should ICT alert the footballing world of the intricacies of their players contracts?

None so blind etc...... We have lose the same amount of goals as the league leaders!! We have scored HALF the goals of the league leaders! Think I see the problem and it may not rest with the defense. We are ONE win away from Fourth place - maybe Third place in two wins!! Half full or half empty, after Saturdays performance I find it difficult to understand so much negativity from 'fans'!

CMIB ''More or less what I said on in an earlier reply on this thread. Roscoe was 'absent without leave' for the second goal. As a right back, he just must cover the far post in this sort of situation. He provided no challenge to Loovens whatsoever. Although he's been a great servant to ICT over the years, I fear he is becoming a liability these days.'' Agreed Watched the match on Santanta and at half-time the summing up was ''Celtic getting no change out of the right back, Strachan will have to change tactics in second half. Clubs would love to have a player like that in their side, a great servant to the club'' Now you may see him as a donkey, not fit for purpose or whatever BUT some on here see him through different eyes and agree with the above Santanta comments. We would be worse off without him!!" RANT OVER! I was on here when Duff was at fault for a goal and voiced my feelings that McGuire would not have allow this to happen without greater effort been made. To show that I am not biased I would now place on record that on the evidence of this weeks time on the park, considering the opposition, Duff, in my opinion, must be one of the most exciting young players coming through at this time. Young guy, played with an old head!

Will this not be reflective of their belief that he is ICT through and through and therefore will not be subject to a transfer deal, be older when the deal runs out, maybe by then younger players will be pushing for his position and therefore he will be just as easy to deal with in 2 years time. Black however is different, I bet the Board would like a 5 year deal to enhance the sizable transfer fee that will, at some time, come our way but a long term deal is just wishful thinking on my part. Fraser's agent must realise that we now have a good keeper as backup and this must dilute his negotiating strength and I feel he will sign just to keep himself in the SPL and in the shop window unless some English club has made an approach.

Donnie Mann was the locksmith if I remember correctly but I can's get a mind's eye picture of his premises. However I have a feeling that these MAY also have been in Hamiltion Street. He was definately the one I remembered when I mentioned Tinsmith/welding in the post above.

it not a Was more 'industrial' ironmongers - I seem to remember that they also did tinsmith work, angleiron welding to make frames and key cutting (before keycutting became part of the shoemakers trade!) Across the road from them was the outside stair that took you up to (??) the restaurant that sat above the curved shop looking down Academy Street or maybe even up to the Carlton lounge/dining room. I was in both of those establishments but do not remember going up that outside steps, maybe the forerunner of Health and Safety was not too happy with tipsy folk sliding down the bannister and closed it. Thinking cap back on - was the place in question not called Mann's - a locksmith or was there an ironmongers there too?

From the above remark I assume you mean all the teams except the old firm as only 10 days ago(ish) we were 4th in the league.

Well, I for one don't always understand Brews tactics especially his late subs BUT I am not seeing the training all week, don't know the players strengths and weaknesses like he does nor can I tell if they are carrying an injury. HOWEVER, this is getting like Celtic park, subs and players on the bench are due to personal conflict within the camp as can be seen from the above. If he is hooking for personal reasons it is high time that the teams below us did the same thing so that they could enjoy our, not too lofty, position but better than theirs! Back on track,..... yes we are doing better than I expected .....but then I believed all the posters, before the season kicked off, that told us we are the new Gretna and doomed to the lower leagues! Yes, I know, the season is not over yet so that saves some posting.