bdu98196

Would imagine so - if rumours are true Sow was on £5k pw & Pawlett £3k at their parent club, add in the likes or Reynolds and while its on paper a strong squad/team and they may not need to pay all that money per player they will all be on a lot more than most clubs in the division are paying anyone. As we have seen over the years plans and spending like this are only sustained for as long as the investor is interested or has funds - otherwise its just a short term gamble that's a step away from administration!!!

Storey to haunt us

Cutting costs for another year at this level If nobody will give compensation for Polly I'd expect a pca announced within the next few days elsewhere

Dutd are supposed to have got Sow and with their other recruitment will make them significantly stronger now coupled with the strength of County I wouldn't be surprised if the ICT board are already cutting costs to plan for next year still in the championship.

I'm assuming this is a fishing trip?

Maybe all those moaning about it could just record it on the Friday night, then sit down at 3pm Sat to watch it and to make them feel better send the £22 that they haven't spent to the club as they are worried that it will suffer. The clubs have all agreed to this including ICT - lets not forget that.

Austin and Oakley dud it tail end of l season, glad they are getting a chance

Fully agree, moan if its not on TV, then moan when it is. There's lots of clubs and their fans who would love the chance to even see their club on TV and the minor windfall it generates. We are in the position where next to every league games are on Saturday at 3pm yet I don't see the fans running out to fill the stadium then and doubt they would have for the cup either!!!

Somewhat skeptical as it states a fee involved unless we are swapping or offloading some deadwood in return. Afterall we couldn't find money to pay compensation for HL players in the summer.

The whole semi final, but best moments were Tansey stepping up to bury that penalty like a boss 'Hand of Meekings' just for the complete meltdown of all Celtic fans. Glorious.

It wont be any time soon we will have even as little as £5k to pay a fee for someone. Based on our current position that's probably about 2 months wages paid to an experienced or more senior player in our squad (there may be the odd exception who gets more but wont be many these day s - many will be on less).

Because we have no money to sign them unfortunately. Its the same reasons we only bring in players cast off from other clubs and are out of work - no compensation and players desperate for clubs. We failed last few years to sign a couple of HL players but couldnt get the compensation monies together. Plus some HL players with a full or part time job & football money make more than we can offer on a full time footy salary - most folks with family and commitments wont and cant afford take less money even ifs its just a short term gamble as a stepping stone to potential success

Pele also had a much higher budget than most of the teams around him at his time in the lower leagues, couple the excitement of a new team and entering a new league both investors and fans came out. Examples of ICT, County and Livi all progressing fast wasnt just down to the clubs management but the ability to sign higher caliber players whether from HL or elsewhere in SPFL. Pele built a team signing some of the top guys in the HL - we even paid 5 figure transfer fees for some and were a full time team in Scotlands 3rd tier. Yes it was an exciting period for the club but given the budget constraints, lack of fans and feel good factor we are in a worse position that we were then. Whats needed is realism and looking forwards as neither Pele or the money are coming back.

Pele is irrelevant to the progress and next season. Why are so many fans wanting to look in the past.

Never heard them called Kilby by anyone on the West coast - its just E.K.

^ have to agree, our creativity is stifled this season by not having a strong midfield enforcer type to protect Polly and Doran to be more free and expressive. The effectiveness of Polly could have been more if given the support around him. I have been critical on occasion however I think based on the team this season his stats have been good, the problem is that he is being restricted and trying to provide defensive cover as well as create but its not his game or strength so can at times play in a way open to criticism. Right now he is doing too much in a game and more often not his primary skillset due to the circumstances.

Its not just about scoring goals its about creating chances. Unfortunately (my opinion) is that unless we have wingers who can get the ball into the box with decent crosses or someone in the middle to play through balls we will struggle. Our last prolific striker Billy McKay scored goals as he was dynamic and had movement & pace to run onto balls and create his own space. Others such as Ofere & Fisher were more dominant in the air and physical so would attack cross balls from the likes of Tremarco/Williams/Christie etc Right now we are struggling to create, so no matter who we sign they will have a hard time getting goals. Personally I think Austin is our most pacy & mobile guy up front which is why him & Oakley worked well at the tail of last season - hence why I think they can do so again. White for all his exploits is too similar to Oakley and lacks the dynamic input. Right now I don't think another striker or forward is the solution. Either a midfield enforcer (a-la Draper) to allow space and time for Polly or if he leaves Doran (he can play more central) to be the creative spark or find another creative player which given our budget wont be likely.

None of this historical manager chat is relevant or productive and its been done to death. This has little to do with the topic of January signings and TBH is the regurgitated huff we should expect if we were in the Premiership and had no games or anything to show interest in for a few wks - right now there's more interest in deciding who shafted the club the most between Butcher, Hughes and Foran than there is about upcoming games.

We dont have the money to pay off Robbo - he would have to just be given gardening leave and paid out over time like Foran (who we are probably still paying for) . Its likely Robbo is on more than a lot of the squad and if we cant get rid of them then there's no chance the board will get rid of the man they wanted and has personal ties. Promoting from within? I'm not sure there will be many calling for Kellacher to take over!!!!

No. He just signed a new contract. Whether results improve or not, the board have installed him for the long haul, which means rebuilding the team in a financially stable manner. AJ was sacked because he went from a team which made the play-offs last season and was backed financially with a budget that allows for a number of experienced Premiership players so as a team are sitting below where that squad should be on paper.

To summarise Managers fans like at ict - robbo & pele Managers disliked - butcher & hughes Used to be liked until getting the job now despised - foran Can we all now move on from going over the same old ground about our management history please. Whats done is done now let's focus on where we are now and what team is needed to move forwards and provide success and stability which right now is around robbo.

God more striker stats. White and Oakley will be too immobile together and if robbo thought they were going to be the next shearer and Sutton they would play together. Regardless of thoughts on white our best pair is Austin and Oakley and its proven as shown last season but no point playing 2 up front if we can't create chances.

So which is it?

The longterm plan should be to give up on chasing promotion for both club and fans and spend the next year or two slowly reducing the number of 'journeymen' jobbers at the club and bring through more youth. If it all clicks and we make play-offs then great, but focus on Championship consolidation, more attractive football and a team that shows signs of excitement coming back. From that core of younger players it will hopefully reduce the wage bill and allow for the introduction of select quality additions rather than quantity to supplement and strengthen to aim towards getting premiership status back. If Dunfermline, Falkirk, Morton and even DUtd cant just steamroller this league and get out then we cant expect to either - some have been here years. Even the likes of PT have shown that its a hard league and not to be underestimated. Next season needs to be about realism and that needs to start from the board level right the way through.

Not disagreeing but it's long term unsustainable to perform consistently at that level. It will peak and trough as the better players are or the club does the more income is needed to remain at that level.