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There will no doubt be an announcement in the local press or club website in time (Friday is it for the Courier?) however as you say probably a failure by those at the club to grasp that news breaks instantly in the new multi-media world - a sign new younger blood is needed in key roles with fresh ideas & outlook. Jut another example of being out of touch with the modern fan and their expected experience - both in and out of the stadium - its almost like the club has lost interest in us all. Maybe the lack of crowd bounce after the cup final made the club question 'why bother', afterall if you continue to try something and still see no results then it becomes disheartening and eventually give up?

At the end of last season, end of the final game we (the fans) were publicly told by the then manager we would have 11 of those players that day still at the club and be making an effort to push for promotion. While he was dismissed (rightly so) nobody has ever come out and said this was a false statement and significant costs needed cut - even original ST renewal was SPFL prices. Some will defend the club and state they cant control players staying/leaving which I partly agree with as some may be out of contract or others may be sold - this I dot have an issue with but those being released to free up wages? Over the past few seasons the club has wasted significant money on jobbers - guys like Anier, Horner, Wedderburn, Boden, McCart to name a few and then there's the crocks who have history of injuries everywhere they have been - McNaughton, Doran - how much have these guys cost us? This season seems no different except we now lack the quality from previous years - the guys brought in are poor at best - some will argue to give them time but reality is many are just not going to be good enough to get us promotion. We have no youth players coming through, signing journeymen and still have 5 keepers on our books - the club looks to be directionless. Last season the board picked the 'cheap' manager option, since then he's departed, players left or paid off and relegation - how much has that cheap option really cost us in terms of finance, reputation and also fan support? Are we watching the demise and implosion of our club, its clear its not just relegation but more behind the scenes that's falling apart. Its right what was said above - although a small club with a small fan base we are established Premiership our history shows that however right now both on and off the field we look further away from that than I can ever remember.

Agree with all of this. BBC has a pic of draper in the stand watching county tonight. Deal is all but done. Pathetic end to a horrific summer, really see very little positive for the season just now and beginning to feel we deserve more of the season ticket refund than we've been given. Perhaps the central belt media were right all along we are a small club and the behaviour over the last few months shows we have that mentality in the club.

New season tomorrow and looking at this thread interest this season is as poor as last...........oh well lets hope the starting 11 show a bit more The key to the season being a success other than sorting out a leaky defence and having a regular scorer is the Polly/Vigurs/Draper combination and how to play them to get the best out of them and the team. Between the 3 of them they are all highly capable and are possibly the strongest midfield line up in the league. Looking at IHE formation, giving Vigurs a holding role allowing Draper and Polly to push on would be my preference, then have 2 wide players with overlaps from the WB's - this is where Tremarco was excellent last year so its unfortunate he is missing. We know Mulraney can play wide (hopefully better and more consistent than last year) and a fit Doran on the other side, but in his absence I'm not sure who the best option is, but I don't think the role would suit Baird? DUtd along with Falkirk & St Mirren are probably the biggest challengers for top 4, so avoiding defeat is a must and if we can give Utd an early blow by taking all 3 points it would be a positive start however I do fear the worst based on pre-season, so if we do loose lets hope its not a thumping

Sadly TV money & UEFA have killed the game. The closed shop of the Champions League and vast TV money is creating this market and as said if the consumer stops paying then where will it all go, people are turning off in droves as the CL becomes predictable and boring with the same teams playing year on year - how many times over the last 10 years have Arsenal played Barca or Bayern for arguments sake. PSG have an average crowd of around 45k per year, that's less than even Rangers or Celtic where 20 years ago top players moved for money that even these clubs can afford (ignoring EBT's) to compete for - Cadete, van Hooidonk, di Canio, van Bronkhorst, Gazza etc etc - now the top countries with the TV money are spending like crazy and those on the outside are scraping around to survive. Teams like Rosenberg, Copenhage, Ajax, Porto who are teams that have history in the CL and won their leagues are now punted in favour of a 4th place from Spain, Germany, England or Italy - its a corrupt monopoly that's killing the game slowly.

Just because they think it's been identified the real proof will be in the coming months, while Billy may make positive noises it could just be another false dawn for him but for now he's spinning the positive media lines.

Christie & Shinnie score for the Dons in the Eurpoa League qualifier against Apollon Limassol

Hardly a shock considering we have or had players like Draper, Tansey, OFW, Vigurs, Doran, Warren, even a loanee like Billy although if Boden was towards the top of the earnings list its very surprising and raises questions on our recruitment and negotiation skills at getting VFM.

But they did, that's the point. All the press releases linked, the statements from Foran - we were told the PRIORITY was to return to the Premiership - or was it all to dupe the fans into renewing their ST. Now it looks like the priority is to slash costs and prepare for a stint in the lower leagues, there no ambition or direction coming out of the club

While your attitude is commended, not all of us are as fortunate financially so have to make choices where Football is a form of entertainment. Therefore many of us buy our tickets based on what can be classed as value for money - given the farce over pricing and still being one of the highest ST's in the league there is every right to question whether the changes will represent value on the park for the fans. If payers are being moved on now and released rather than announcements made weeks ago when it could have been we have essentially been duped through the expectation that those under contract would have been retained. When the season ended our manager at that time stated he expected almost all of the squad that day to be staying, while his tenure may have ended nobody from the club has said anything contrary to that statement indicating wholesale cuts in staff are required. I'm sure I'm not the only one looking at what I've paid out and wondering whether they board offer of discounted 2018-19 Premiership ST's was nothing more than a false ploy knowing full well they were not looking to build a squad capable of getting to that level.

If that is true then its about time the club showed fans a bit of decency - many have purchased season tickets by now and we still have ne knowledge of whether senior players have been released or not. This lack of communication just shows that since last season nothing has changed. If players finished last season still under contract we have every right to expect then to be here, if they are let go due to cost cutting then we should be told - I renewed my ST and accepted the pricing farce based on expecting to have a team capable of challenging to win the league, however the more I read the less likely I think its going to be the case.

Hugely underwhelmed if its Robbo. Sadly I see this as a step backwards by the club. Opting for an ex-manager who hasn't worked in almost 10 years, if this was another clubs such as Dundee opting for Jocky Scott or Aberdeen for Alex Smith we'd all be laughing and saying how that club lacked ambition, living in the past and opting for an out of touch manager rather than look to someone progressive. I hope there are genuine football reasons and its not a cheap option for someone who is within the circle of some kind of old boys network. Until there is official conformation I hope this is just speculation gone wild as is the claims above we are telling senior players to leave. While I'm not enthused about the squad so far, its adequate to perform in the Championship and get a play-off spot at least - releasing key players when we have time running out could be suicidal for the clubs ambitions of promotion any time soon. Tomorrow better bring some clarity as this is all starting to look like a mess on all fronts if these rumors are true.

On what basis? These guys have never worked together so there is no guarantee of a working dynamic. We are back to an inexperienced manager having to just fit into the existing regime, any new manager should be allowed the opportunity to build his own backroom team just as other have in the past - Robertson, Butcher, Hughes. If Rice stays then I'm not sure how this puts us in any better a position that this time last season.

Boiled sweets - obviously in ICT branded rustling paper

While I partially agree with comments about giving Sheerin or others similar a chance, my concern is that we don't get up first time of asking. Look at DUtd they had the 2nd biggest budget last year and went for a manager experienced in the Championship and backed him with cash, but have failed to win promotion and are quoted as getting heavily into debt. Fortunately they have a bigger fan base so will still have the biggest budget again this year but what if they fail again. ICT cannot afford more than 1 season in the Championship - we already have dropping attendances and sadly given that we never had a boost in fans when we were successful its not going to change now. The big fear is that failure to win promotion this season whether through lack of player or management investment may mean bigger budget cuts next year and moving forwards - its not inconceivable that in a few years we could be in a Dunfermline or Falkirk position where we are used to be a top team but now float about the Championship with too big a budget to get relegated and not enough to get out of the league. I'm not suggesting we blow money we don't have on players or managers, but if we are constantly paying off staff due to bad appointments or signing crocked players in the hope they suddenly perform better in a more physical league its not going to help. If we do pay compensation for Sheerin - it has to be because the analysis shows he will get us promoted, if not use that money and go after someone experienced who may have a higher salary and incentivise with performance bonuses etc - such as Hartley. This is a huge decision for the club and if its not right we could be in for years of frustration and slowly falling backwards as a club.

Looking on this forum at times makes me sad. For many there is an obsession that the club look back and take a former manager back who may have shown success in the lower leagues (Paterson, Robertson, some even Butcher) or that we have to get an ex-player. Foran was inexperienced but is Sheerin much better at this level given his lack of first team management plus the requirement for possible compensation - if he hadn't played for us would anyone be mentioning his name - while its good to try get someone out of Pittodrie rather than in, is he going to bring the success we want? Aberdeen for all their size and budget haven't exactly set the development league on fire.

Doubtful as it seems we are offering McNaughton a new deal. Hugely disappointing if that's the case, we already have plenty experience in defence and should be looking to get younger, fitter and more dynamic younger players in that we can build into a team with the longer term view of Premiership success in the future seasons - guys like Laing etc. I hope this doesn't come back next year in a more physically demanding and rough league where if he signs again ends up spending much of it out injured.

While the manager needs to be respected the days of football clubs having managers that ruled by fear is long gone, this is why the Alex Ferguson approach will never work anymore (maybe he even seen that becoming more apparent so opted it was time to get out for good) - players like employees in any walk of life have more rights than in the past. Fear, intimidation and verbal or even physical abuse is not acceptable and employment law puts the control firmly with the employee - this is perhaps never more demonstrated by sport especially football where player power can have a huge bearing - look at Chelsea, Leicester and who knows maybe on some of our performances last season even us. Managers like Alex Smith, Jocky Scott, Harry Rednapp etc who are dinosaurs of the game fail to realise this so bang on about experienced managers being over-looked, perhaps tactically they are astute but their people skills lack and man management limited - this is why they are out of the game. Yes a manager needs respect either through initially their achievements and experience as a player or over time through demonstration of their tactical, personal and employee attributes. An authoritarian only approach will not work in the modern era, so lets not be naïve enough to think intimidation is the same as passion & ability to succeed.

Wow, 2 publicly announced attempts by Dundee to get Jack Ross with St Mirren rejecting both now a sudden U-turn back to McCann after only 3 days. Even he must see that he's the runner up prize here or the cheap option.

At least the likes of DUtd have come out and said they are going to back the manager with the same or increased budgets over last year - it would be good if we could see the same to justify our pricing.

Meekings is a good player and has performed well and developed a lot in his time, however he has also been cursed with injury. I do think that a back line built around Brad, Laing and Meekings would develop and be one for the future but I expect JM to want to play Premiership level. If he has a local girlfriend he may just decide he wants to stay in the north and with Ash Taylor leaving the Dons then being honest to see him depart along the A96 wont be a surprise. Sadly his departure is our own fault - firstly for not offering decent contract or one he felt was acceptable, perhaps due to paying for duds like Anier, MacNaugton etc who probably took more than they gave in terms of value and having no contingency budget and secondly due to our failure to stay in the Premiership I doubt we would match his ambitions or offers that he will have from other teams - outwith perhaps Celtic & Rangers I would expect he makes the radar of ever Scottish team.

Hardly news worthy, they are reporting the ones that have left are either out of contract or loans are finished. No shocks in there.

I already give over £300 per season for my season ticket with arguably limited value for money - why would I just give a charitable donation to a business? Giving hand-outs doesn't do anything other than encourage spending outwith your means which means in the future another hand out is needed. If my business cant run at a profit then it will fail - nobody will just donate me money, this whole idea that football clubs should be exempt from normal business practices including balancing of the books is a bizarre one.

So after months of toiling and indecisive action we eventually opt to part company with Foran, yet on the face of it seem to have no plan of action on who to bring in. At least Dundee have decided that Jack Ross is their target after McCann left - they seemed to have a plan. Its a worry that we will no spend weeks floundering around before opting for potential options who in many ways may not be much better than RF. The new manager needs to be part of an overall change in structure, we have Rice, obviously its known there was friction between him and RF but we should have expected more on the park given his experience. We have Shearer & Kellacher who seem to be part of the furniture, yet neither want to or desire to step up in roles. Perhaps they have a place at the club still, but do we need to look at the whole structure including the development and youth teams where we struggle also and need to bring in new ideas and change things up - have we become stagnant as a club throughout.

Without going over old ground I posted weeks ago that we should have looked at the likes of Jack Ross or Darren Dods unfortunately I doubt Ross would be a viable or interested target now. While there are out of work options such as Hartley etc its whether they want the job because the club is of interest or they just need work. Having an ICT connection isn't necessary but someone the players will respect and also a manager whit a playing style that suits our club and personnel. Experience is required but also has to have ambition to drive the club and themselves forwards - not just an institutionalised dinosaur with outdated ideas.