DoofersDad

I completely fail to understand why the youngsters are not given the experience of being on the bench and soaking up the match day atmosphere. Apart from becoming familiar with the match day atmosphere from the perspective of being involved as part of the squad, they would learn from what is said in the dugout. I too have heard the financial argument used (appearance bonus rather than win bonus) but if that is given as a reason, then why not also stick to just 5 subs when there are more than 5 first team squad available? But whatever the reason, what message does this give to the youngsters we are supposed to be developing and encouraging? It tells them that the club thinks they are no way good enough to be considered for any game time regardless of how dire our injury situation becomes. Our injury situation is unusual but should be seen as an opportunity for the club to demonstrate some positive encouragement to the youngsters. If the lads' contracts specify that being on the bench means an appearance bonus is payable and the club is too mean to pay them, then I'll pay to see a full bench on Saturday. Send me the bill, but for goodness sake give these youngsters a seat on the bench rather than a kick in the teeth!

Not many positives to take out of the game but it was good to see Greg Tansey getting a goal - and a good one at that. For me, Tansey is at his best when he comes forward in support of the attack playing a sort of Frank Lampard / Stevie Gerrard role. Not only is he capable of scoring from outside the box, the presence of players making those sort of runs pulls defenders out to block and creates that little bit more space for the front men. I don't understand why Tansey is played so deep and is only allowed the freedom to come up the park when we are chasing the game. Liam Polworth is another player with a good shot on him and who should be encouraged to shoot. Polworth was another of the positives on Tuesday. Certainly he misplaced a few passes but he saw an awful lot of the ball and some errors were inevitable. In general he looked as solid as I have seen him and played some pretty good balls, in particular a beautifully weighted ball that put Storey through and which should have resulted in a goal.

Perhaps they are used to watching Strathspey Thistle. Hopefully they'll come again and see some proper football.

HT 0-2 FT 1-3 ICT Tansey Opp Boyce Time 18 mins

Any chance of getting back on topic? Had to laugh this week at Pete Wishart's cringe worthy performance in opposing the English votes for English laws proposals. OK, I quite accept the Tories proposals are half baked and provide a bit of ammunition for the SNP, but what a load of indignant nonsense spouted forth from him! People like Wishart seem incapable of making a point without drawing on some perceived sense of massive grievance. In this case it is that Scottish MPs are being seen as second class MPs because the UK Government is taking steps to limit their input into matters that are none of their business. What he and the rest of the SNP rabble at Westminster seem to forget is that the UK Parliament and the UK people in general have quite happily afforded the Scottish people the respect they deserve by listening to their desire for a devolved Parliament and seeing that it is delivered. What this has resulted in is an increasing range of issues which are decided in the devolved parliament and which MPs from other UK Countries now have absolutely no say in at all. Rather than acknowledging and being grateful for that, Wishart thinks it is fair game that Scots MPs should throw that respect back in the faces of the rest of the UK electorate by interfering and voting on the very same issues affecting England when they are debated at Westminster - not only does he think it is fair game, he gets apoplectic when measures are proposed to prevent such inappropriate interference. If English MPs showed the same level of disrespect they would be proposing that English MPs should be entitled to veto legislation passed in Holyrood! There is also the argument from the SNP rabble that if the English don't want the Scottish MPs to vote at Westminster on issues like Health, which are devolved in Scotland to the Scottish parliament, they should argue for a devolved English parliament. But the English electorate don't want a devolved English parliament and that is something the SNP should respect in the same way that everyone else has respected the fact that the Scots do want a devolved parliament. Wishart's pathetic outburst is not only disrespectful it is also a cause of serious embarrassment to fair minded folk in the Scottish electorate.

Injuries are an issue but yesterday was much more about tactics and the style of play. As usual it was all about keeping possession. We keep possession at the back and try to work the ball forward by playing balls to the feet. We rarely create anything because the slowness of our build up allows the opposition to get men between the ball and the goal. We also keep it narrow and try to play through the middle. Even when they had a player sent off we kept it narrow rather than trying to stretch them. Tremarco was often wide in acres of space but far too often if the ball ever did get to him it was played to feet so that defenders had plenty of time to get wide and cover. Tremarco would then often cut inside and simply give the ball to someone else rather than take on the defender. What should be happening in these situations is that the ball should be played well in front for Tremarco to run onto and to take the ball into the final third. Getting into the final third gives players good options particularly if players like Tansey, with good shots on them, are providing support - but with Yogi, keeping possession is far more important than taking risks in the final third and therefore we create few chances and even less excitement for the fans. I can't blame the players for the lack of ambition because this is obviously the way they are told to play. St Johnstone did what most teams do against us - because we lack a cutting edge they kept it tight defensively and looked to exploit defensive frailties. The sending off made them even more negative still and they were clearly settling for the draw. However, the inevitable defensive error gifted them a win which the didn't really deserve. Despite our dominance of possession and their going down to 10 men, their keeper must have had the easiest pay day of his career. The net result of this is that we were subjected to a particularly boring game of football. We didn't even have the half time pitch watering to entertain us. I would have had more fun had I stayed at home and done the ironing.

HT 1-0 FT 1-1 ICT Christie Opp O'Halloran Time 28mins

Yes, you are absolutely right. I was confusing Miles with Dani Lopez in my earlier post.

HT 0-1 FT 1-2 ICT Storey Opp Magennis Time 21

Very impressed with him. He's provided the spark to get our season up and running. We would love him to stay but what with the way he is playing and the form Swindon are showing at the moment I would imagine you would want him back. We can but hope that there are reasons behind the scenes which lead to him staying.

Just looked up D D's profile.............. doesn't give his age but I think he is catching up with us Scarlet. No, I'm not catching up with you two - I'm staying the same respectful distance behind you. We all get one year older every year but perhaps you are losing count?

We need to get a significant number of players signed up on extended contracts but it is more difficult to do that if there is a lack of clarity on who the manager will be next season. Personally, I think the Dundee Utd saga has indicated that Yogi wants to move on to a higher profile club. I am actually disappointed that the club did not give Utd permission to talk to Yogi, after all, if he would rather be here than there, then why would he talk to them in any case? If the club want to retain Hughes he needs to be made an offer soon and with a deadline for signing. If he signs, then players will know what they would be signing up for in a contract extension. If he doesn't sign then the club can take steps to make an early appointment to minimise the period of uncertainty.

Hmm. Not exactly impartial stuff. The interesting point is that since the referendum, polls have shown a remarkable consistency and all this hype that the momentum of the independence movement is surging forward to an inevitable conclusion is shown to be false. For all the continuing austerity and the SNP's success in delivering a Conservative Government to blame for everything, the independence juggernaut is actually struggling to make any further progress. This explains the increasing desperation of the SNP leadership to find some excuse to get a referendum as soon as possible. They know the not only is it getting harder to convince new people to the merits of independence but that the more people think about the issues, the more they realise that Scotland is better off as part of a wider UK. The latest nonsense is Sturgeon's ludicrous response to the quite reasonable statements by the leaders of the Scottish Labour and Lib Dem parties that their members should be free to campaign for independence if that is what they believe in. What scares her so much is that people will increasingly come to the realisation that you can actually have some sympathy or even strong support for the concept of independence, but at the same time be a member or supporter of a party which actually has a coherent political ideology beyond the single issue of independence. People will start to leave the SNP when they come to realise that other parties have much more to offer in terms of providing effective Government. Sturgeon's panicked response is to suggest that because Dugdale and Rennie are opening their doors to pro-independence supporters, it is logical for them to support Sturgeon's call for an early referendum. There is absolutely no way that follows! What Dugdale and Rennie, as responsible leaders, will actually do is to respect the result of the referendum. Sturgeon should follow their lead. At least all this continuing nonsense about another referendum deflects attention from the SNP's record in Government and the fact that they have no constructive plans to use the additional powers that actually have already been devolved to the Scottish Government, let alone the ones which soon will be. We can now expect the SNP to turn their attention to the EU referendum. Whilst wishing to remain in the EU, the SNP will be hoping for a vote to withdraw as this will give them the excuse for a 2nd indy referendum. Don't, therefore, expect the SNP to cooperate with the wider UK campaign to remain in the EU.

HT 2-1 FT 2-2 ICT Storey Opp Gardyne Time 6 1st Yellow Raven

I was surprised at just how poor the Dons were. Shaky at the back and offering little going forward. Can't see them mounting a meaningful challenge to Celtic on that kind of form. We were excellent in the first half and looked much more positive than we often do. I think Storey's intelligent running off the ball gives Christie more scope and as a result, Christie had a really good game until getting himself unnecessarily and perhaps harshly sent off. Second half was not as good and we seemed happy to soak up pressure and be far less positive. Knowing that Aberdeen needed to press us, I would have liked to see us try to take the game to them. Polworth was perhaps the one player to struggle today and taking him off earlier and bringing Mutombo on to provide a dual threat with Storey might have been interesting. As it was, we barely had a sniff of a chance in the 2nd half but managed to hang on to win a game we could have won rather more convincingly on the day. But all in all it was a great performance and gives encouragement for the rest of the season. Next up, the clash between the two sides in the division with the longest unbeaten runs!

Yup.. Obviously been brushing up on his shot stopping.

HT 1-0 FT 1-1 ICT Mutombo Opp Rooney Time 18

We'll only keep the 4 game unbeaten run going if the game is postponed! Instead, let's keep the unbeaten run going and turn it into a 5 game unbeaten run.

Perhaps it is a BBC journalist who has moved over to Sky?

HT 0-0 FT 0-2 ICT Mutombo Opp Sheerin Time 54

Not sure that is irony - it is just a bit OTT in expressing some points that most would surely agree with. Most people in Scotland outside of the OF are heartily sick and tired of the dominance of the two big Glasgow clubs over the years and it is a pretty dismal prospect to think that next season The Rangers will likely be in the top flight and may well be title contenders. So it really is good for Scottish football that a resurgent Aberdeen are themselves beginning to look like genuine title contenders. Of course I want ICT to win the league but if it is not to be us then I would be absolutely delighted if it was Aberdeen rather than Celtic. As for the former ICT players who now play for the Dons - well, good luck to them! Why on earth would they not want to move on to a club with more prospects, more money and a bigger fan base? We should be proud that our club has developed and brought these players on, grateful to them for the contribution they have made to this club and glad they didn't go to Celtic instead.

No it shouldn't. As you correctly state, Sneckboy has expressed the figures as games per red card and even if a red card is infrequent, the measure is still one of frequency. So, someone might ask "How frequently did Andy Barrowman score for us?" to which you might correctly reply "Very infrequently".

I get to very few away matches but hope I may be able to get to a few more in future. When I have gone I have sometimes combined the trip with something else so have traveled by car or train, although have occasionally traveled on the club bus. On those rare occasions I have always found them to be an excellent way of getting to the games. I like the convenience of being dropped off close to the ground and I have always found a friendly, welcoming atmosphere on board, helped by the folk "in charge". £20 seems a very fair price to me and I would certainly recommend the buses as they are currently run to anyone wondering whether to go or not. Personally I think it is important that the buses drop folk off close to the ground at a reasonable time before the game but without folk having to hang about for more than an hour before kick off. I appreciate that many folk like a drink or two before a game but equally, there's many that don't. I'm happy either way but the priority for club buses must be those who simply want to get to the game and then get home. It would be quite wrong to expect them to hang around for an hour or so just because others want a drink or two. The buses need to cater for families, older folk, folk with some level of disability and others who simply want to watch the game and go home. If people want to engage in activities in addition to the game then it is up to them to make their own arrangements.

HT 1-1 FT 2-2 ICT Storey Opp Mckay Time 12

It is interesting that Corbyn has now said that he will sing the anthem in future. Clearly someone has had a word in his ear. The trouble with people who obstinately defy convention because of their principles is that they become so focused on their own point of view that they lose sight of how their behaviour is viewed by others. It was appropriate to sing the national anthem because the point of it being part of the ceremony was to actively demonstrate the participants' allegiance to their country and their respect for those who gave their lives in fighting for their country. The words are irrelevant in this context. The anthem (however inappropriate the words may be) is the symbol of the nation and failing to sing it is seen as failing to show loyalty and respect. I happen to think the National Anthem is dreadful both from a musical sense and in the words. What Corbyn could usefully do is to put a motion to the House that the Anthem is no longer appropriate and that it should be replaced by something rather more inclusive and rousing. The only thing the anthem has in its favour is that it is marginally less awful and inappropriate than "Flower of Scotland". The anthem faux pas is a symptom of why Corbyn is a liability for the Labour Party. Whilst I can respect his principled position on a number of issues, he clearly does not get that those in positions of responsibility constantly have to compromise in order to engage with those of widely different viewpoints and to move forward. There is a gulf between him and the parliamentary party as a whole but he would be wrong to assume that means they are any less passionate than he is about social justice. Its all very well being principled, but politics is less about principles and more about understanding what is possible. Had the labour party elected the other Miliband last time round, we would probably now have a Labour Government.