Kingsmills

I'd be happy with 10 points out of a possible 18. In my opinion that would keep us in contention in this very competitive league. The way I think we will acieve that total is very close to RIG's prediction apart from the fact that I think we might scrape a win against County next time around.

I agree.

As someone old enough to remember the likes of Law, Bremner and Baxter wearing the dark blue with disctinction followed later by Dalglish, Souness and Miller what's happening now is just too depressing for words. Back in those days you could make a credible case for a Scotland/England select having a majority of Scots. Now we don't have a single player with the ability to make the England squad far less the starting XI. It may be partly about money but that's far from the whole explanation. The likes of Portugal, Serbia and Croatia hardly have the richest FAs in the world but are not toiling like we have been for years.

Or maybe not on the evidence of yesterday's score line !

My understanding is that if running the team had been the only "pressure" on Charlie, he would have done fine (he had some pretty good results as boss) ..... but before you condemn him, just remember there was a ****load of internal politics going on at the same time and the pressures on him were not all related to running the team. Tough though it was to walk away from the post he wanted, he made the right decision at the time, and if he were to express an interest in the future (when there was less internal strife), I personally would have no qualms about giving him another shot. Having said that, all this talk of replacing Butcher is a waste of time anyway. We cannot afford to get rid of him even if we wanted to, and as I have said before (and I said about Charlie and Brewster when others began to call for their heads after 5 minutes), you need to give them time. Am i happy we have lost two league derbies so far this season, or that we have dropped points in games we might think we should have won, no of course I am not and TB may well prove to be the wrong man for the job but in my eyes, the jury is still out on that one. seems like we have two levels of discussion on here these days ...... "we did great, won a game and everything is great ...... BUT <insert problem/complaint here>" or "we lost, sack the manager, terminate contracts, blame Mike Smith (deprecated), sack the board" I know times are tough, we have lost games, we are all hurting, and we want ICT to be top of the league, but man oh man oh man, lets get back to being "supporters" because all we are looking like at the minute is gurning brats who turn on each other and our managers at the drop of a hat. Being a supporter doesnt mean we have to agree with everything, or that we cant be pissed off or raise concerns at how things are being run .... we can still moan or highlight deficiencies where they exist (and there are plenty to choose from), but every so often it would be great to see us support the team ..... some people do not seem capable of that. ICT's greatest era was in the 1st division where club, team and fans combined to form an awesome unit that made us impressive, hard to beat, and something we could all be proud of. The club have lost a lot of that ethos, but so have we and just reading the boards over the last few days (and responding very little - for me) I have wondered if we will ever get that back. Whether it is missiles being thrown at the game, or abuse of fellow ICT fans on here, this is turning into a very different club and set of fans than the ones I was once proud to be a part of. It's not often i've found anything to respond to on the forum in recent times, but you have hit it on the nail Scotty. Charlie, the ethos and primarily the gurning Barstewards. How I long for the days when our fans were united and most threads were interspersed with genuine humour. I can recall the days and weeks leading up to that first division title, presenting our case for promotion to all SPL members and the unity which held us in such high esteem. Whoever is at the helm at the end of the season one thing is for sure, a major reality check is needed..........second only to the club doing it's bit to get the youth of Inverness embodied into the club and not the teachings of the old infirm. Couldn't agree more with both Scotty and Donview. I still think that of all former ICT players Charlie has the best credentials as a potential manager. Charlie aside, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bobby Mann being a successful manager.

Before the season began I thought we would finish 2nd behind Dundee. That remains my view.

Dundee have to be favourites given their resourses but the fact is that there are still 7 clubs who could realistically top the division come May. A very tight and interesting league indeed.

A must for all ICT fans. If Pele can control his demons he still has the potential to be a very successful manager perhaps even one day back at ICT.

Our wage bill has been slashed since last season but it's still higher than anyone elses in the division bar Dundee. That includes Q.O.S., Partick and Ross County all of whom have comprehensively beaten us recently.

For the reasons stated Butcher and Malpas will see out their contracts until the end of the season. For that reson alone, there's no point in doing anything other than getting behind them. As for next season, if Steve Paterson is stable from a health point of view, he would be my preferred candidate.

We were the poorer team without doubt. County had more talent and definateley more passion. Added to that their coaching team seemed much more technically adept than ours. Bulvitis is a shadow of the player that his fellow countryman Pavels was last season. That said, we are still only 7 points of the top but we must improve or we will finish the season mid table. On yesterday's showing, County are much more lekely to be playing SPL football than we are which is pretty galling given that our wage bill, despite being slashed from last season, is still 50% higher than theirs.

He will be a very dangerous player at first division level.

The first genuinely entertaining home match for many a long month.

Of course they don't Johnboy why do you think FIFA ruled in Marius favour. So an appeal would be a complete waste of time (and money) Especially the latter !

Can this get worse !!! Return to Sender comes to mind !!! IHE do you really think it is the quality of the player that is the issue here, Marius went onto play in the Euros, came on a free transfer and was sold for close on 500k Euros. So whether he was bought on he strength of a DVD is not why the club is where it is now with the whole thing What I am alluding to is that Marius was TOTALLY unfit when he arrived - even then the muppets persisted in playing him from the off - he could have cost us dearly but we had the likes of Black, Cowie, Rankin and even Bazza to make up for his weaknesses. Given his past history of injury it was a HUGE gamble and every angle should have been considered. The details of his contract in that respect surprise me - we were actually giving him a chance - his agents did a great feckin job in retrospect - but that is where the mismanagement started. I can actually see the muppets drooling at a DVD !!! He did eventually look the part - obviously not suited to frenzy of the SPL - but he really came too when the chance of the Euros became a possibility. And when the Euros arrived Marius was never going to stay - if he did it was going to be a BIG mistake - but again his agents did a feckin great job. Good luck to Marius - I believe what he says - and he is entitled to whatever is stipulated - What I am pointing out is that this affair has been mismanaged by ICT throughout and the evidently seasoned agents of Marius have outfoxed and amateurish opponent. And - CC didnt want him - and look what happened to him. B) Can't argue with a word of that.

My understanding is that there was no dispute about the terms and enforceability of the contract which was in fairly standard form. The dispute was whether the player or tghe club had instigated the transfer and clearly the player's version of events has been found to be more credible and reliable than that of the club. I agree with those who feel that the club should now draw a line under proceedings and pay what's due rather than throwing good money after bad. An expensive lesson.

Although we could do with a goalscorer Imrie is not the answer and is much more effectively deployed in midfield especially given how slow, inexperienced and lightweight all of the midfielders brought in over the close season are. Odhiambo looked to have some promise before he got injured last season and might just be the creative spark we need in the forward line when he's fit again.

I'd be surprised if we take more than 3,000 to this game. Sensible ticket allocation and sensible pricing in my view.

10,700 or thereabouts.

Can't see it being a sell out. I would imagine Dundee will take about 5,000 and ourselves about half of that.

A poor performance won by a fluked goal. Only Esson and Foran looked the part in my opinion.!

There might just be hope for Scottisdh football after all.

While Perth would be the obvious venue for a Dundee v ICT/County final, would it not have to be played at an SFL ground ?

It's far less important than the league, the Scottish Cup or even the CIS Cup but a win against County would be a confidence booster and a place in the final, especially against Dundee, would be a very welcome boost to the coffers.

There is a cash gate. I understand that ticket sales are fairly slow.