DoofersDad

What makes you think that folk on here are not delighted that we are sitting top of the league? It is interesting you say we need to get the feel good factor back. That presumably means that you think we don't have the feel good factor at the moment - isn't that exactly what some of us are saying? And the feel good factor is not going to return just because a handful of fans stop voicing their concerns on this forum, the feel good factor will return when people are excited by what they see on the pitch. Saturday's win put us top of the league and yet we had the lowest Saturday home gate since we returned to the top flight. Why are people staying away? Why do you think that is? If you don't have an opinion then it is not exactly helpful having a pop at those who, with the clubs best wishes at heart, are offering their opinions.

Given Hughes' comments on "it's all about ball retention" it is perhaps a bit surprising that we are not actually retaining the ball better. I looked at the match stats for the 8 games we've played this season and we have had an average of 53% possession against 47% for the opposition. That's closer to 50:50 than the referendum! Stats for shots at goal and on target are 12 & 4 per match and 8 & 3 per match for the opposition. These figures suggest that we are effective at containing the opposition and restricting the number of chances they get (that's why Draper got the POTM award), but we are not dominating possession and we are not creating a lot ourselves. What concerns me is the extent we play the ball sideways and allow the opposition to regain their shape. We are most effective attacking at pace but such attacks seem a relative rarity these days despite both goals yesterday coming from Doran breaking at speed. The second was interesting because initially it looked as though Shinnie was running to provide the overlap but then he just stopped and let Doran take on two defenders on his own. It was only when Doran got trapped by the corner flag that Shinnie then made himself available again and was lucky to be gifted the ball. Can't help but think that Yogi would have wanted Doran to check when Shinnie stopped his run and knock the ball back to Shinnie in the space behind to ensure possession was retained. Of course it is great to be where we are in the league and a win is a win and all that, but apart from the two goals there was precious little to get excited about yesterday. The crowd yesterday was dreadful and it is clear that the crowds are not going to come just because we are top of the league, they are going to come back if they are entertained. The stats suggest that for all the hype, we are not actually keeping possession particularly successfully and nor are we getting much goalmouth action. Even County who are bottom of the table with no points are averaging more shots on target per game than us. It seems to me not so much that comments on here are negative, rather they are reflecting a negative style of play which happens to be successful. With the talented squad we have, I can't help thinking we could have a much more positive approach to games and still be successful.

With his yellow top and black shorts, Brill's colour scheme was the same as the match officials. I didn't think that was allowed.

No doubting we were the better side but we were hardly great. First half was thoroughly forgettable. Second was a bit better and came to life with a bit of Doran magic down the left. A decent strike from Christie should have put us in comfort zone but we gave away possession far too easily and let them come at us. Felt for Billy again today. Makes some great runs which team mates seem unable to spot. And again had a couple of low crosses which he was just unable to get on the end of. Of course it is great to top of the league but we need to play much better if we are to stay there. After 2 defeats to Partick and Glasgow's 3rd team, the win was more important than the performance, but we will need to play better to get anything out of the Dons next week.

I put us down to score in the 6th minute as it seemed clear to me that the tactic had to be up and at 'em from the start. Very disappointing to learn it was so negative. I'm sure the club could have done with the money and confidence a cup run brings. Oh well, at least the double is still on.

Stop complaining or I'll nut you harder next time!

It's about time Roy Hodgson came calling.

Great news. Hope that encourages lots more more to come and watch the guys.

You mean it's true that the club has commissioned Charles to write another book?

It just might work. There was a time when flat caps were common in the stands and crowds were good in those days.

International recognition is surely not a measure of a player's worth? Graeme Shinnie is in a different league, ability wise, to Thierry Gathuessi. Both current/former full-backs for ICT. Shinnie's not yet been recognised at full international level, whilst Gathuessi is 'international class' as you would put it! Did I mention Shinnie ??? Did he say you did? I get his point, playing for your country is irrelevant on how good you are. Quite. I expect that if Adam was qualified for Northern Ireland and Billy was from Dublin, Adam would be playing international football and Billy wouldn't.

Are you saying you know that this is the rule at all clubs (apart from Cownty of course)? With all the matchday duties that people have at clubs I can't see the motivation for providing anything but an estimate with 10 mins left because fans expect it. It also adds a level of difficulty in the case of our club as we don't have a separate gate for STs so somebody would need to do a few (admittedly fairly simple) sums. There's also the legendary situation in Scottish Cup matches where everybody, yes probably everybody, rips off the away club by underannouncing the attendance, although with computerised turnstiles I'm not 100% sure how they get away with it. I know it's the rule here and I assume at others. I can't see getting accurate figures would be too difficult. They know how many tickets they have handed out. The sum of that plus the number of season tickets sold is the number of folk who have paid to see the game and that is the offical attendance. The number of clicks through the turnstiles is the actual number at the game and from a fan's perspective, that is the figure we would like to know. Deducting the latter figure from the former would give the number of ST holders who didn't go to the game. I would imagine the club has these figures but I can't see the club making them public. It is often pretty clear that the actual crowd is less than the crowd announced. For instance when the crowd is officially half the capacity it is pretty obvious that the ground is less than half full.

Whatever the "official" attendance was, the actual attendance will have been less. Official figures are arrived at by adding the number of season ticket holders to those paying on the day. The figure relates to the number of folk who have paid to watch the game, but obviously not every season ticket holder goes to every game.

Lennon, Butcher and Locke would all be decent choices for county. Intrigued by Grant Munro at 12/1. Can't see that happening - but maybe he'll come as Butcher's deputy?

So I beat their announcement by 2 minutes then!

Just announced he's been sacked

Good point. Celtic seriously miscalculated by resting 9 of the players who faced ICT in the clash between the league champions and the league leaders last weekend.

I'm not convinced they are that far ahead of the rest as they have been. They look far more beatable than previously having already lost matches to Leiga Warsaw and Maribor - and to us, of course. With all due respect to Warsaw and Maribor, they are a far cry from Barcelona who Celtic beat under Lennon. Sure they have a large and expensive squad but will the new manager be able to get them to play consistently together as a team? What will the team sprit be when so many of these players are only involved occaisionally? How will the expectations of the fans and their reaction to failure impact on the team. I can see Celtic failing to win quite a lot of games this season. If one or two of the rest of the teams steps up and can develop the winning habit even when not playing at their best, Celtic could be given a run for their money. I certainly fully expect them to win the league but it just might be a good bit closer this year.

Can you explain just what it is about having bricks put through your windows or being in jail fending of rape attempts that you would find so rewarding? Give me your address and I can arrange the former if you'ld like but I'm afraid you'll need to look elsewhere for the latter.

I really enjoyed the game and thought we played some great stuff at times. It is great to be top of the league without having conceded - but let's not get too carried away just yet. It is easy to be blinkered by the good stuff but I thought Yogi got it spot on with his post match comments about us riding our luck a bit. Celtic hit the woodwork and Brill was by far the busier of the two keepers, indeed, the fact that so many here have marked Brill out for particular praise reflects the fact that on another day we might well have lost that game by 2 or 3. This, remember, against a severely weakened Celtic side with lots of guys probably playing together for the first time in a competitive game. By contrast we have a settled team from last year which clearly has a good understanding between them. It was also the same team that received significant criticism after a disappointing draw against Dundee a couple of weeks ago. Several fans expressed concerns following a run of disappointing performances at the end of last season and were criticised for not giving Hughes time. Now we have just a couple of decent performances and that, apparently is enough for large quantities on humble pie to be eaten! Let's enjoy the win by all means but let us also have some perspective here. Last season we got off to a flier because we had a settled squad. The same is true this year but other teams will get better as their re-shaped teams begin to gel. Let's judge Yogi on where we are at the end of the season and not on where we are just 4 games in. There were some encouraging signs on Saturday, but it is still very much work in progress.

Well, the chap with the boots got the ball closer to the car than Leigh Griffiths got to the goal. Well done to all three guys for having the guts to have a go.

Or are these trials for a new striker and the £100 is a signing on fee?

That discriminates against us lefties as the natural curve will take the ball across the target rather than into it. Guess I'll just have to strike the ball with the outside of the foot. - If only I could kick a ball that far at my age!

Actually, Butcher would be very good for them. Hibs never gave him the chance of doing what he is good at - and it would give the derby games an extra edge!

Now that I am retired and hopefully have a bit more free time, I hope to be able to get to more matches and have bought a season ticket for the first time. Unfortunately I won't be able to get to the game tonight and therefore seat 55 in row S of section D will be vacant. If you happen to have the seats either side, please PM me to say "hello". Hope to see you at the Celtic game.