DoofersDad

HT 1-0 FT 2-0 ICT Mckay Opp McLean Time 32

What a spectacularly poor post. There is categorically no "uncomfortable truth" with our crowds. There were 6614 at the game, of which 3052 were Aberdeen fans. That means that 3562 people made the effort to be there and support their team, a fact that delights me. The club were so grateful for the support at dingwall that they released a statement thanking the fans who made the trip. The assertion that there are some people only go to games against county is frankly ridiculous. If it's not, please give me some evidence and I'll target these people as the ones we need to get along to TCS regularly and make the noise that you snipe about. It is difficult sometimes to create a vast amount of noise in such an open stadium but I don't think that it makes the people who turn up, pay their money and support the club and less than valued. What does make it difficult is the constant carping about how poor our support is from people who ought to know better. So do us a favour DD and give it a rest for a wee while eh? You've made your point. Charming! I write a post praising the support on Thursday and saying it would be great if that kind of support could also be given to the team at routine home games - and I'm told to give it a rest!

In among the bitter nonsense there can be the occasional uncomfortable truth which we can be reluctant to own up to. Whilst we did see a bit of an increase in the home attendance against Aberdeen it was still disappointing for a "winner goes 2nd" match against North rivals. It is also true that our fans were pretty quiet on that occasion. We get large numbers of noisy support OTB and it does seem to be the case there are some who reserve their support for ICT for games against County. If the some of the vocal support generated in Dingwall could be transferred to routine home games it would make a massive difference to the atmosphere which in turn would have a positive effect on the team and attendances. After a large and noisy turnout at Dingwall, are we going to revert to a sub 3,000 crowd on Sunday with just occasional bursts of support from time to time.?

Great to see a much more positive game plan with us looking to get forward with pace and width. The result was a much more exciting game and plenty of goal scoring opportunities. I thought everyone played pretty well and looked comfortable with the positive approach. A great away support as well - whilst disappointing not to have sold all the seats there was great vocal support which was clearly appreciated by the players. County were disappointing both in the quality of their play and in their attitude. They were always a nasty side under Adams and it is disappointing that under the new manager not much has changed. They were lucky the referee was in a charitable mood and only game them 5 yellows.

I would also support tougher sanctions but as a club we need to be aware of the old saying about glass houses and stones. After the game in Perth, John Hughes clearly felt the referee made the wrong decision but he was at pains not to criticise Graham for his actions (although he probably accepted that there was some contact at that point). This was not just Hughes being unwilling to criticise individuals publicly (a trait I very much admire in him), it was a more general point about players forcing the referee to make a decision. What he said was words to the effect that if one of his players felt contact in the box he would expect them to go down and force the referee to make a decision. My view is that you should make every effort to stay on your feet. I am really not sure there is a great deal of difference between going down when there is no contact and going down when there is minimal contact when it would have been easier to stay on your feet. It's all very well to say that referees should be asked to make a decision but they have a split second to make a decision and are often not at the best angle to see. It is inevitable that referees will often get it wrong. I am therefore all for any process that allows for retrospective action which either condemns or reprieves a player. Incidentally, such a process would also be very effective in those difficult situations where players "buy" penalties by deliberately tripping over a defender - often where a defender pulls out of the tackle but the attacker makes a slight change of course and goes over the defender's leg in any case.

Dad of Doofer want's more Hoofer ???.......... The teams style of play is mostly fine we just can't find the net !!! imo. Want I want is for us to take fewer risks at the back and more at the front. If you take risks at the back and lose possession at the back you are immediately exposed to a goal scoring threat. If you take risks at the front and keep possession then you create goal scoring opportunities. I am sure nobody is advocating "hoofball" with a tactic of aimless punts up the park in the hope that opportunities present themselves but I also think a tactic focussing so strongly on possession is equally futile. It is not how much possession you have that counts, it's what you do with the ball when you have possession that matters. To my mind we haven't got the balance right and it worries me when I hear the manager giving interviews suggesting that we shift the balance in the opposite direction.

scarlet, I think sometimes its difficult for John to give the composed and rational explanation you are looking for 5 minutes after the end of the match. If it sounds like he's still composing his thoughts, that's because he is. This is especially true of the BBC interviews, which can be quite adversarial. The you tube ones are better (I would say that) because he's generally chilled a bit by then and knows we aren't just after a bit of controversy. His analysis on the game there is quite clear. I think you are being a bit over-defensive on Yogi's behalf here. Firstly, whilst the you-tube videos can offer a more considered perspective, very few poeple will see them. It is the more immediate post match interviews that have the mass audience and the impact and if a manager can't compose himself for an interview which is an integral part of the job then perhaps someone else should do the interviews. Most managers cope pretty well with interviews most of the time even when they are adversarial. But if you listen to Hughes' interview you will find that it is about the most non adverserial interview you could imagine. The interview lasts nearly 5 minutes in which Hughes is asked only 3 very bland questions. At no time does the interviewer make any attempt to interupt.

I think that's right? I think it seems narrower due to the stands being much nearer the pitch? We had the same debate last year. Whether the pitch is bigger, smaller or the same size the fact is we beat them 3-0 and played them off the park with one of the best performances I've seen from any ICT team. Same again would be good. By the way, I understand that County still have plenty tickets for sale and are surprised that ICT shut up shop early for New Year and didn't want more tickets once the original 1,000 were sold.

HT 0-1 FT 1-2 1st ICT Mckay 1st Opp Carey 1st goal 21 mins yellow Raven Shots 20

I think that's a bit unfair. Doran is perhaps less prominent than he used to be but that is more a consequence of the passing style the manager wants the team to play. I would love to see him run onto balls and take defenders on more but he seems to be playing rather deeper these days although he always puts in a great shift appearing all over the park. For example, it was Doran who raced back to cover Tremarco when he and Meekings went for the same ball. Doran actually got back and would have cut out a convential cross but McGinn was clever enough to cut it back to through his legs. Meanwhile, Murray was bursting into the box and Shinnie made no effort at all to cover him. At the other end, it was Doran who moved the ball on for Mckay and who then made space for himself in a good shooting position. Mckay went for goal but the lay off to Doran would have been the better option. It was certainly not his best game for us by a long chalk, but his work in midfield in pressing the opposition was a big factor in why Aberdeen got so few chances during the game whilst his involvement in our build up play contributed to us creating more chances than usual. He deserves to keep his place as much as anybody. Having said that, I am reminded of a point made earlier in the season, by Yngwie I think it was, about what a poor record we have had this season when Doran is in the starting line-up. The last 2 matches would seem to reinforce that perception.

We've played better and we've played worse. Apart from the goal we were generally pretty impressive defensively against a very talented Dons attack, although we always look vulnerable when we pass the ball around at the back. I was impressed with Christie's work rate and the way he shies away from nothing - some good balls from him too. On another day we could have won that. What does worry me was the manager's post match interview. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/scotland/30619234. What a confused and rambling interview that is. Of particular concern is that he talks about the need to be braver on the ball in terms of playing the passing game rather than playing it long and goes on to say that if you lose games playing that way, then so what! I'll tell you what - it's more important to win matches than play pretty football. The fact is that we create more chances and certainly more excitement when the ball is played long and yet the tendency to play the ball long is what the manager seems to be criticising the team for.

Same team for me. What's more important than the team is the tactics. County will close us down hard and pressure us all the time and we need to focus on getting the ball forward quickly into the spaces.

BBC reporting that despite Dundee Utd losing today they remain 2nd, but that if Aberdeen win at inverness they will go second. What they fail to mention is that if Inverness win at Inverness it is Inverness who will go 2nd. If Inverness win it will no doubt be about Aberdeen losing and missing the opportunity of going 2nd rather than ICT winning and actually going 2nd.

HT 1 - 1 FT 1 - 3 ICT Tansey Opp Rooney Time 14 Yellow Raven

Going a bit of topic DD I was once told that there is a spring or well on Glentruim Estate just west of Newtonmore that the Laird claimed was the center of Scotland. Your geography is quite good! Which means that the real Central Belt Old Firm rivalry is between Newtonmore and Kingussie! Or perhaps in footballing terms, Strathspey Thistle and Fort William.

Has returned to Bromsgrove Sporting which is the club from where he came to us. Sporting play in the Midland Football League Division 1 which is English non league level 6. Was last at some Swedish Club so he has certainly tried his luck all over the place.

That's a great accolade and he will be under some pressure to live up to the billing. I am sure he will be well advised but what concerns me is that in order to show what he is capable of, his type of "vision" player needs really good players around him who are on the same wavelength. When he came on as a sub on Saturday he got a fair bit of the ball was generally pretty ineffective. He played square balls or played the ball back but offerred little penetration - but it wasn't his fault. As discussed elsewhere, the team were not firing on all cylinders and there was precious little movement in front of him. He was continually looking up and scanning in front of him but sadly finding no players creating space to play the ball into. If other players at the club can up their game, get on Ryan's wavelength and keep moving to create exploitable space then Ryan can develop here for another season or two and put himself in the public's eye. If not, then Ryan may well be best moving on. Of course, if he does move on, being ranked in this list should seriously up his price tag. Hopefully he will be able to repay the club which has nurtured him by ensuring he is in contract when he goes so that the club benefits from a large transfer fee when the time comes.

That's interesting. It looks from the link that there is absolutely no obligation on likely Highland League champions to apply for SFL membership. There is clearly no contingency for the opportunity to be passed onto the runners up which is a real shame. It may be that in introducing the new pyramid structure there was the understandable assumption that all teams would jump at the opportunity of playing at a higher level, but if clubs are not wanting to apply for whatever reason (and Brora may well have a very good reason) then there is the danger that we will continue with the stagnation at the bottom of the SFL. Because of their Geography and their very limited catchment area, Brora may well feel that the interests of the club are best served by aiming to be the best in the Highland league and aspire to occasional cup runs. I think that is fair enough but by adopting that strategy within the current rules they could block other teams in the Highlands who could be competetive in the SFL from having the opportunity. If Brora do win the title and chose not to apply for SFL membership I certainly hope that there is a rule change to allow the HFL runners up a chance next season. I do, hoever, hope that Brora do apply for membership of the SFL and do their bit to change the Southern bias of the league structure. As Charles points out the concept of a "central belt " is a falacy, The geographical centre of Scotland is roughly the Newtonmore area and currently only 5 teams in the top 4 divisions are located north of that centre (and Aberdeen only just). If Elgin get relegated and are not replaced by a team from the North then the imbalance gets greater.

.... in which case, you are just off topic

HT 0-1 FT 1-3 ICT Mckay Opp O'Halloran 1st goal 28 mins

Can I suggest a public flogging of these young scallywags at the next home game? Should help boost gate receipts. P.S. (just in case someone thinks I'm being serious)

I am glad you have noted that the manager recognises there are issues to address. His comments were honest and constructive.

Typical negative happy clapper knee jerk reaction to a question that deserves a reasoned answer. Fact is that of the 6 matches we have not won in the league this year 4 have been against teams currently in the bottom 6. In addition we went out of the league cup to a lower league side and were minutes from being knocked out of the Scottish Cup by the the team currently bottom of the premiership. So there is actually evidence that suggests supposedly weaker teams do relatively better against us. Asking why that might be is therefore not only a perfectly reasonable question, it is an important question. My own view is that the better teams rely on the strength of their quality to assert their style of play on the game. Lesser teams don't feel they can do that and feel the way to beat us us to stop us playing our game. Hence they press us hard high up the pitch and the tactic clearly worked very well for Partick at the weekend. When teams do that we find it hard to respond. It is a weakness which both County and Partick have exploited and we can expect others to do so as well. It's a weakness which needs to be addressed if we are to maintain a top 3 slot. Of course we all understand we are 2nd in the league and of course we are delighted about it. Of course we all appreciate the team is doing well - but if it was possible for the team to do even better than they currently are, would you not want that as well? I honestly think that with the squad of players at our disposal we can do even better than we are at the moment, but we will only do that if we can identify and address areas of relative weakness. The OP has identified an area of relative weakness and we should all be grateful to him for raising it..

You couldn't make it up. You have to laugh but unfortunately the comedy of it all hides a real sickness at the club that tarnishes Scottish football. The club don't want him, he doesn't want to be at the club but they are paying him £3/4million for 12 months to do a job he is sh*te at. There are far better managers at far better clubs getting paid far less than him. Most clubs are desperately short of funds and yet so much of the money that comes into the Scottish game ends up being drained away in the Ibrox cesspit.

It was interesting what Yogi was saying in one of his post match interviews about players not doing in the match what they have been doing in training. He was also talking about possibly mixing it up a bit and giving at chance to others who are champing at the bit. We can only conjecture at who might not be delivering on match days what they practise on the training ground but any change might not be the obvious ones. Indeed there may not be any changes at all and his words (which will be a lot stronger when he talks to players individually) might be intended as a spur to his preferred starting line up. Hughes also said that he needs to look at himself and reflect on whether a formation which has been successful has become too predictable. Whether there are changes or not, we need a better performance and to get back to winning ways.