DoofersDad

I was thinking the same as the OP. But I think I have to be philosophical here. This time last season the team was playing very poorly and County were running away with the 1st Division. We were fearful of how poor the side would be with some of our better players heading out the door at the end of the season and the general view was that County would probably do significantly better than us in the coming season. Given their recent run, they are now doing better than anyone expected but they are still behind us! Considering what our expectations for the season were at the start of the season, to finish 3rd or 4th would be a brilliant acheivement and we should be thrilled regardless of what our neighbours do. If they end up ahead of us, then credit to them, even if they've not been playing such attractive football. Yes, it will stick in the craw a wee bit just as it wrankles that they have reached a cup final and we've not, but for 2 Highland teams to be sitting so high in the league must be good for the future of the game in the North and must be to the long term benefit of ICT. So in answer to the question - yes, a great season if we are 4th and County are above us, but a brilliant season if we are 4th and they are below us.

Pork pies! My favourite

Should be OK. We have our own Butcher.

Just a wee side point, but can you tell me how Celtic are able to get 16 points out of 5 matches? Ah! Someone has noticed my deliberate mistake Well spotted! Should be only 75 as they have just 5 and not 6 games before the split. I think it might be still be enough though!

Just as well he was an Emperor and not a footballer - would never have got all of that on the back of his shirt

Another factor is surely the style of play this season. Both Raven and particularly G Shinnie get down the flanks a lot and this leaves us a bit exposed at times. The team passing game also brings the defensive midfield a bit further forward so the cover tends to be looser than previously. I think sometimes when we have conceded some of the defence is just getting back and they can be a bit out of position. But who's complaining as long as we score more at the other end?

All our top strikers have had barren spells and often it takes a significant run in the side for things to click. Billy is a classic example of that - pretty poor return last season but he's developed the confidence this season and is now setting club scoring records. What should be disheartening for Shane is not the criticism some give on this forum, but the fact that he has never had a decent run in the side in a strikers role. Yes, he has tended to sky a few but he has the confidence to hit the ball hard. He has strength and can turn defenders well and has the makings of a very useful striker. What he needs is the confidence that a run in the side will give and that little bit of extra composure which comes with that so that he gets his foot over the ball more. If he does read this site he will know that there are a lot of folk who think he could be a very good striker indeed for ICT.

Lots of ways of analysing this but if the current form over the last 6 games was translated into the next 6 games (or 5 for those teams with just the 5 stil to play the league would look like this Top six 78 points Celtic (and already champions 2 or 3 games ago) 52 County 48 ICT 48 St J 46 Kilmarnock 45 Motherwell Bottom six 44 Dundee U 43 Hibs 42 Aberdeen 34 Hearts 34 St M 16 Dundee (and relegated) This is actually quite encouraging given our current poor run of results. Teams are all taking points off each other and even if a couple of sides go on really good runs the rest will all be losing a lot of points. Just 4 points from the next 6 games could see us still in the top 6, but 6 points from the next 2 games should really guarantee a top 6 finish. County's currrent form is very impressive with 14 points from the last 6 games and therefore the 2 games against them become huge games. A win against United on Wednesday and a draw at the sand pit on Saturday would make it an excellent week. It feels very uncomfortable with just 4 points currently separating us in 2nd place and Dundee United in 9th. Anything could happen, but realistically for us not to finish top 6 would require us to drop to Dundee standards. I really can't see that happening and I am sure fans of the other clubs in the race would much rather be in our position than theirs.

After the Barnsley fiasco the club issued a statement to say that Terry had made a commitment to stay at the club till the end of of this contract - which is the end of next season. If any other club does come sniffing I would expect the Board to tell then to feck off in no uncertain terms. Should the Board give permission for Terry to speak to any other club that would signal to me that there is a mutual agreement that his contract be terminated early. I certainly don't expect that to happen. I therefore feel that any speculation that he might be a target for any other job should simply be ignored as it only serves to undermine the unity and sense of purpose (the togetherness) that the club needs to maintain in order to finish as high as possible in what is an incredibly tight league.

He usually misses from a lot closer than that!

Heaven forbid a bit of humour on this site eh. Let's not forget these guys were trying to earn a living so as long as you can all accept people laughing at the your work performance then that's fine. Sorry but not my idea of humour Lighten up - it's Friday. If you put yourself up to public scrutiny in the entertainment business then you can expect to get criticism if you fail to entertain. And you can expect those you failed to entertain to find their own entertainment at your expense. It goes with the territory. But where, I wonder do you draw the line? If, in an individual game, someone has a mare of a game should we not mention the fact for fear of offending them? Should we ban negative book / film / theatre / album / restaurant reviews? After all all those authors, actors, directors, musicians, chefs etc are just trying to make a living. It is fair comment to say that you should make fun of others if you aren't prepared to have others make fun of you. But I think the point here is that most of the folk on this forum are quite happy to take a joke at their own expense. In any case, if they have any sense at all, I very much doubt that any of the illustrious players mentioned here access this site these days. Andy Barrowman doesn't - apparently someone sent him the link once but every time he tried to click on it with the mouse he missed.

Wouldn't argue much with that. That's a team that would struggle against Fort William.

I think it would be worth it just for the entertainment value of the stadium announcer (and Chick Young) trying to pronounce names such as Jędrzejczyk and Rzeźniczak. Some Pole dancing as half time entertainment whilst we're at it might bring in a few more.

I really don't understand why Pepper is not getting a chance, even as a sub for a decent 20 - 30 minutes. When he came on in a few games early in the season he did really well and I can't recall anyone doing anything but praise the lad. We now have our captain (a midfielder out of contention whilst A Shinnie and Ross both seem to be struggling over 90 minutes. And whilst Pepper gets overlooked, Roberts who has failed to live up to early season promise gets used in just about every game. In those circumstances I simply cannot understand why Pepper cannot get on the park. Against Kilmarnock insult was added to injury when Butcher put on a defender to shore up a tiring midfield whilst Pepper remained on the bench. He then sees Polworth preferred against Motherwell. Poor lad must be wondering what he has to do to get a game. I also agree with IHE about Roberts who, I think, has the potential to be a very good player. But he has not done well of late and clearly does not have a support of the fans in general. and has been getting a lot of stick. He really should be rested for a while.

What messing with the defence??. No subs made to that area, only Devine coming on to strengthen the midfield where we were starting to come under pressure. Had we won the game, that substitution would haver been viewed as correct. As someone ahs already said, it was not the timing or number of subs, just we couldn't take our chances, end of story (and a blatant penalty!) If you look at the highlights I think you will see that I am correct. When the break takes place OTJ is tracking back but you can see him actually look round to assess the bigger picture. He probably sees Perez following up but, crucially, he also sees Devine in front of Perez and therefore makes the decision to follow the ball to either block the route back or to be an outlet should we gain possession. Devine, however, seems totally oblivious of Perez and just trots back slowly letting Perez get into the danger zone at the edge of the box completely unmarked. Warren, Meekings and G Shinnie were all doing their jobs properly (as they had done all evening) and had 3 Killie attackers closely marked. It was only when the ball came back out that Devine seemed aware that Perez was there and as a result was too late with the challenge. Unquestionably in my opinion, Devine was at fault for the goal. Devine had come on for Andy Shinnie but presumably with a remit to play more defensively than Shinnie. When we were totally dominant in the game and Kilmarnock never looked like getting close to scoring one has to question why Butcher made such a strange substitution. Not only should we have used subs earlier to put fresh legs up front and get a 2nd goal, Devine is a defender and was being asked to play out of position when there was a perfectly capable midfielder sitting on the bench. Butcher can blame the players and the small crowd all he likes but if he had not made this strange late substitution, we would have won that game and perhaps gone into the Motherwell game with a bit more confidence.

Let me know what train you'll be on from Yorkshire, son, and I'll pick you up at the station

This is probably one of the most negative posts I have read on here. Let's get this right - The weather's rubbish. Barnsley get bigger crowds than us. County are "superb" at attracting crowds. we need to improve the product from being second in the league. We are never going to have a bigger fan base. We make sarcastic remarks about "punching" that never happened, but we ought to stop moaning. Precisely how? It's a serious question. This is probably one of the most bizarre posts I've read on here for a while. The weather was rubbish on Wednesday and was a reason the crowd was so low. It's a positive thing to say to those moaning about how low the crowd was because it gives a reason which has nothing to do with the quality of football on offer. Barnsley do get bigger crowds than us but I quoted it in the context of the relative populations - again to put a positive spin on our gate on Wednesday. Their crowd and our crowd were similar as a proportion of the catchment areas. I did not say that County are superb at attracting crowds. I said that "the level of support they get relative to their catchment area is superb". That is a different thing and cannot be taken to imply that our club are not as good at attracting crowds. It simply means that for whatever reason, County get good crowds. That is a fact it would be churlish to deny. Recognising that their level of support is particularly good relative to their population means that by comparison, our is not as poor as some would make out - another positive comment from me. I did not say "we need to improve the product from being second in the league". I said that we should continue to plug away at improving the product on offer. That recognises that the club is continually trying to do just that - another positive thing to say. If you are criticising me for saying that we should continue to try to improve the product on offer it implies you think it would be more positive to make the product worse. I did not say "we are never going to have a bigger fan base". I said "the fan base is never going to be huge" which is clearly something very very different. In that context, I then went on to comment how well we are doing which again strikes me as a positive thing to say. As for "We make sarcastic remarks about "punching" that never happened"- well, excuse me for having a sense of humour. It was not a sarcastic comment, it was a little joke alluding to the scurrilous allegations made against Terry. How anyone could take offence at that is beyond me. Personally I think that having a sense of humour and having some light hearted banter on this forum is a positive thing. Your final point draws attention to the fact that I'm suggesting people should stop moaning. Personally I would have thought that suggesting people stop moaning was a positive thing to say. You conclude by asking what you say is a serious question when you ask "precisely how?" we ought to stop moaning. To be honest, I'm not really sure what this is supposed to mean. How do you stop moaning? Well - don't moan! I don't know what else to say. And whilst claiming my post was so dreadfully negative, you conveniently ignore what I would have thought was a very positive suggestion that the club invests in some serious market research to identify why folk don't attend and what would encourage them to come. Finally, you seemed to have missed the ending of my post in which my final few depressingly negative words are "enjoy our elevated position whilst we are doing so well." Again I would have thought that reference to the team doing so well was a positive thing to say. I have to say that I really can't remember when I have seen a post so misquoted and so misinterpreted. No doubt there have been many much more positive posts than mine but I would have thought it was an objective post with a positive spin. I cannot see how it could be construed as negative and to claim that it is "probably one of the most negative posts I have read on here" is complete and utter nonsense. I have no issue with people disagreeing with me and pointing out I am talking rubbish when I am talking rubbish (and I do from time to time!) but it really is not helpful to constructive discussion on this forum when posters are serially misquoted and misinterpreted in this way.

If I had my way, those sitting in the areas designated for home support who then abuse the home team and management on a match day should be removed by the stewards and dumped into the areas designated for the away support. The only people who benefit from their ill considered behaviour is the away team so they might as well sit there. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but in my view, this is the place to express it. I certainly don't agree with everything the manager does and have been very critical of him at times. But at least on the website you can make your point in a civilised way and debate the issues. Offering constructive criticism is actually a supportive thing to do because it allows those that the criticism is aimed at to consider a different point of view. And just a brief word on booing. Someone said on another thread that the booing of Philip Roberts when he came on a sub was more to do with expressing displeasure at the fact that a substitution was being made at all. Some will saying that booing at the end of the game on Wednesday was directed at the referee. What complete b*llocks. When you are on the park and hear booing, that's all you hear. You don't get a little message with it saying that it is directed at someone else. It's ignorant and only serves to anger those who we should be supporting. No doubt there are those who will say that we pay good money to be entertained and if those being paid don't deliver the goods then we have every right to boo. I understand that point of view but what purpose does it serve? Will it help them play better next time? No. Will it encourage them to stay at the club? No. If the performance doesn't warrant staying to cheer them of the park then just stay silent. The lack of applause will make it clear to them that they've let the fans down - that's quite enough without having abuse hurled at them.

I wonder when there was a lower home crowd for a team sitting in 2nd place in the top flight of Scottish football? Probably about 1872. It's disappointing, but being a miserable weekday night with Real Madrid v Man U on the box it is perhaps not too surprising. We should have a bit of perspective here. Maybe Terry is regretting not going to Barnsley but they recently had a midweek match against Millwall and got a crowd of around 7800. That maybe sounds a lot to us but the Metropolitan District of Barnsley has a population about 3 times the size of Inverness and surrounding area. So relative to our population the crowds aren't particularly poor. We may compare ourselves to County but we should hold our hands up and recognise that the level of support they get relative to their catchment area is superb. We have a lot going against us. The ground is unattractive to spectators and poorly sited - but there's nothing we can do about that at the moment. And people have unrealistic expectations. They see the best of the English Premier league and European competitions every week and then come to the TCS and expect the same. Unfortunately fans are not going to get football consistently at that quality although what they do get is often pretty good. The match day experience is not great but the one thing which would improve it most is a better atmosphere, but that in turn requires more people. It's a vicious circle. We have to make the best of what we have and that means plugging away at all the publicity and improving the product on offer. I also like the Direct debit idea. You can't force people to come but you can encourage them and then the more enjoyable the match day experience the more likely they will be to return.I've said it before and I'll say it again. If they haven't already done it, I think the club would do well to invest in some properly conducted market research to identify why folk either don't go to matches or go infrequently. Find out what would make them come more regularly and then act on the findings. For me the bottom line is that the fan base is never going to be huge and unless we bring some mega rich investor on board we are never going to have the money to buy and keep the players that will bring top quality football to Inverness. We are punching above our weight at the moment (oops, sorry Terry!) so perhaps those who do go regularly should just stop moaning about those who don't and enjoy our elevated position whilst we are doing so well.

Perhaps this is one where you should really only comment if you have been to more than half the games - which I haven't. But here's my thoughts on 3 players in any case. Gary Warren has been a fantastic find. Very solid and chipping in with a few goals as well - must be near the top of everyone's lists. Andy Shinnie. Perhaps he plays better in the games I don't go to. He's never particularly impressed me. Certainly he's been solid enough and works hard enough to justify a regular slot in the side, but the creativity I've seen has come more from Doran and Draper. He's missed a good few chances when he really should have done better. He's the side's stand out player for many and whilst I respect that view, I just don't see it. Pass marks but no more from me. Billy MacKay. Has to be player of the season for me so far. Its goals that wins games and goals that the fans come to see. His tally for the season so far would be excellent for the whole season and that must be a major reason why we are where we are in the league. He also works really hard for the team and creates chances for others (remember the chance he set up for Sutherland in the semi final at Easter Road? ) For some reason his confidence seems shot at the moment - getting it back and having Billy scoring when he wants is the key to our fate for the rest of the season IMHO. A word of advice, Billy. When the ball comes to you in the 6 yard box, don't put your foot on it and do an option appraisal, just f***ing hit it.

Not good. Kilmarnock were the worst team I have seen for a long time. We were pretty poor but should have won by 3 or 4 clear goals such was our dominance, but we never really created many chances and when we did create them there was a total lack of confidence resulting in very poor efforts on goal. We kept possession pretty well on a greasy surface but there was little imagination in the play. We also worked hard and closed Kilmarnock down well (except in the last 5 minutes). But the worrying thing for me was the lack of spark in the final third where nobody really seemed to want to take responsibility. Apart from the goal and one good effort from A Shinnie nobody seemed inclined to shoot or seemed to be really wanting the ball in the box. As for Doran, he put in more effort than anyone and did a lot of good work but twice got into a good position and then just fell over looking for the foul. The reserve keeper failed to hold onto the ball a few times early on and I can't understand why we weren't queuing up to have a pop at him. Didn't understand the late subs. It was the kind of game that was screaming out for the industriousness of Connor Pepper to bring a spark to the attack. Both A Shinnie and Ross made little impact in the second half and with Pepper and either Sutherland or Roberts replacing them I am sure we would have gone on to win. Butcher may be ranting at his players for throwing away yet another lead but again he needs to accept some of the blame himself. We should have been out of sight before the substitutions were made but bringing on Devine and messing with a defence that had been untroubled for 85 minutes made no sense at all and probably cost us the win. We may still be 2nd (which is fantastic) but it is very tight behind us and unless we can get a couple of wins very soon we will struggle to stay in the top 6. And that surely has always been the season's prime target.

What's that got to do with it? If someone punched an opponent in the face when the ball was dead would the referee ignore that too?

Nice one! I look forward to seeing a long white straw emerging from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel to announce his election. He should make a refreshing change.

Wouldn't like to comment on whether money changed hands but it really was quite extraordinary. Two different players got booked and then immediately blatently fouled the players they were marking. The referee couldn't help but see that. I think there is always too much holding and pushing in the box but this was quite a different order of magnitude.There can be no question that Celtic should have had a couple of penalties and Juventus should have had 2 defenders shown red cards. I don't like Brown as a player but I have to say that when he was booked for his part of the pushing and shoving I couldn't see he was doing anything wrong - he was simply trying to find space. It was a bit like watching American "football" at times. For once the ginger whinger can whinge all he wants. ....if only Ambrose had been in the Celtic side on Saturday!

The pope made his resignation speech in Latin. My Latin is a bit rusty but I interpretted his words as "ICT have lost four in a row. Truly there can be no God after all. I quit."