Kingsmills

I remain uninspired by Hughes in isolation but have a feeling that a Hughes/Latapy combination may have potential in much the same way as Butcher and Malpas seem to be a success together but not apart.

Or how much better an offer he gets from Hibs.

Released by Bristol Rovers and currently training with Dundee United.

I see that Tansey is not in the Stevenage squad for their match this evening.

I would be happy to see him back as he would be a useful addition to the squad but, as far as a permanent deal is concerned, I don't believe he is so good that we should be splashing out on a transfer fee.

Dougal......You're an ICT fan.....

That would not surprise me in the least.

Not in the least surprised by this. A fine player and a Butcher recruit. However, if he is going to Easter Road let it be at the end of the season once his contract is up unless Hibs have a spare hundred thousand pounds just now.

I bow to your local knowledge. I worked beside 20 or so lads from in and around Inverness, down in Edinburgh from 1982-2002. That was their words/opinion, and from one of your Suits when I enjoyed Corp Hosp. at Longman, I used. One only need to look at some of the Monikers on here, and comments from my old pal Johndo for example, to see that 20yrs down the line ...... resentment still exists. Quick question. Is there really a Celtic shop in Inverness ? That'll help. Some of us do indeed have Usernames indicating that we are proud to have once supported Caley or Thistle. One or two vocal individuals apart, we are now all staunch ICT fans.

Greg Tansey, if we get him on loan, is another who has that sort of dead ball ability.

I would just leave it. Dougal is just being Dougal. Everyone else appreciates the efforts made.

I am firmly in the Nick Ross camp and thinks he gets better every season but he certainly seems to divide opinion.

What's Dean Brill like from the spot ?

I agree. Probably not a clear goal scoring opportunity.

I know it's a fiver more than last year but I fail to see how paying the same price for a national semi final as a bog standard league game is anything other than great value especially if you throw in a 300 mile round trip for a tenner.

Fair enough to have a go at folk who shout abuse at players at a game but I fail to see what is wrong with making objective criticism of players on this forum. If this forum is not for expressing opinions then what is it for? I don't think it is supportive to the team simply to praise the praiseworthy and keep quiet about aspects which are not so good. If folk feel particular players are not making quite the contribution to the team as they should be and feel there are better options, then it is surely supportive to the team to voice those views. Nick Ross has been a "promising" player for a number of years but IMHO has not lived up to that promise. He has some nice little touches but rarely makes a particularly telling contribution to the game. He has now had a long run in the team and in my view the team needs someone rather more creative and incisive and with an eye for goal. I can't see that we would be any worse off by giving Christie or Pepper a decent run in the side. If all our players were available then I would put Shinnie back to left back and play Vincent, Draper, Foran, Doran, Watkins, and Mckay. With the option of Tremarco at left back releasing Shinnie into midfield as well as the availability of Greenhalgh, Christie, Pepper, Williams and Polworth then Ross would struggle to even get on the bench. TM4J's suggestion of putting him out on loan is a sensible one in my view. Personally I feel Ross is not quite up to the standard required, but if he does have the ability to justify him being selected ahead of these other players, it is not being translated into performances on the park. A period on loan at a lower level may just give him the opportunity to shine and gain a bit of confidence. In my view that would be supportive of both him and the team. No doubt others will leap to Nick's defence and that would be good. That is what the forum is all about. Support the players on the park however bad they play, but please let's not stifle honest opinions about the players on this forum. I largely agree. It is good to be positive and supportive of the team and club as a whole when there is justification but, in some ways, it's even more important to be able to be critical when that is justified. There is a body of posters on this site who seem to feel it's their duty to be protective of the club and blind to, or as least ignoring, faults whether obvious or not. Often posts that are not syncophantically supportive are berated for being 'negative' with no discussion about whether that negativity is justified the suggestion that being off message at all is a bad thing per se. The likes of Caley D and the likes of Dougal may be at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the extremes of blind and unquestioning loyalty and constant, often unjustified carping and negativity with the vast majority of us somewhere in between but, as long as we are all respectful of other's differing view that's what makes this site worth visiting. Speaking of different opinions, I don't agree with you about Nick Ross. He is, like a number of others, not in the best form at the moment but, in my view, is now a mainstay of team and has the potential to continue to be for many years to come. We both can't be right on that but we are both entitled to voice that opinion without jumping down each other's throats for holding contrasting views.

On the other hand, the League Cup semi final is the ideal time to break that cycle.

A decent point that stops the rot but I can't see us catching either Aberdeen or Motherwell so European qualification through the league is now unlikely. All the more reason to compensate by going all out to win the League Cup or to try to qualify for Europe through the Scottish Cup. I still think we will have just about enough to stay in the top six, Can't fault today's team selection or, for the most part the tacticts, Polworth will be a player but is probably not quite first team quality yet. We are lucky to have the exremely versatile Graeme Shinnie who looks comfortable in every roll he's given. I actually thought Ross had a decent game and is being unfairly criticised but it was a poor penalty although I understand why he took it as he had slotted home the last two. However, in the absence of Vincent, maybe we should revert back to Billy. I know that he missed a couple in a row before he was relieved of the duties but he's the natural goal scorer and should maybe be given another chance. Finally, Brill is a great shot stopper but today he was lucky and not for the first time. He cost us at least a point with his howler against Partick and possibly all three and has got away with a few since. Maybe time to give our new goalkeeping coach a run. In the continuing absence of Draper and Foran, we are light in midfield, if we are going to bring in Tansey on loan it would be good if we could do so this week. He has been playing fairly regularly so will be match fit so I would slot him in straight away against the Dons. All in all, we were far from our flowing best today but we could and should have taken all three points and it was probably our most encouraging performance under the new manager.

Squirrel stating the obvious.

They can sign players aged 18 and under.

He hardly set the heather on fire during his stint with Dundee United. He's older and less match fit now.

Whilst not doing cartwheels with glee, this would be a sound move and would provide us with midfield cover which we need. If we brought in Tansey and a forward I would be very pleased with our transfer window business provided nobody leaves.

Caley D will be delighted. An overwhelmingly positive reaction to this potential appointment. Just hope it happens now.

Tough on the current regime and the young squad but they broke the rules systematically for a long time. The punishment fits the crime and nothing has changed since it was imposed. I bet their current wage bill is still bigger than ours.

An interesting appointment that has potential. Certainly more inspiring than Brian Rice.