MrCaleyjag

I agree with you regarding Macdonald and I've been encouraged by the bits I've seen of him, I do believe he brings a bit more directness to the team however that's where my agreement ends. This is not a game we want Robbo's hand twisted in to have no alternatives and we need our best players available especially given who we have out. We need the likes of Walsh, Welsh and Polly available and the use of the bench and effectiveness this season highlights this need. For me Polly is one of these players that you truly don't know what he brings to the team until he isn't there and my fear on Friday is exactly that. He doesn't get the plaudits he deserves and is an easy target for people to point the finger at. I really hope I am proved wrong and hopefully in a good way we don't miss him. I'm not sure what more White has to do either to prove his worth and a lot of ICT fans are very fickle in their outlook, he's our top scorer and brings a lot to the team. He's struggled not having an effective partner up front who can run off him which will hopefully change next season but don't forget he's still young, learning and has drastically improved this season and imo will get better. I'd rather him as an improving player already scoring goals than Austin who's not improving and not scoring goals.

I think the level of disappointment surrounding the result and the Polworth sending off coupled with the optimism most feel about Friday night is testament to how much we have progressed this season. 3-4 months ago it would have been all doom and gloom so it's good to see everyone is still upbeat and full of hope. IMHO we are more than capable of turning Utd over, if we can hit them quick and take the play to them their fans will start to slowly get on their back. Hopefully they start with Sow rather than Clark as I feel we've a far better handle on him, I'm not sure how you solve McMullan as without him playing to his potential Utd are average. Find a way of keeping him quiet or make his head go down could be key.

I suspect you're correct, I did a quick online search and couldn't find anything concrete but Dundee Utd are advertising the second leg at the same prices - I'd say this backs up your theory. Also keeps it in line with the final ticket prices as a consistent rise in price which to be honest I'd say is expected.

Completely agree with Kingsmills and it would be great to sit in two weeks time and stick our fingers up at all who don't want to see us promoted. In relation to the playoff format and the press release from the club regarding ticket money allocations, it's obvious to see why the authorities want as many playoff games as they can in the format they have. Like everything in football it's all down to money and self-preservation and unfortunately it'll never change, in fact it'll only get worse.

Echo the sentiments above and good to see us make an early singing of a player who I'm sure most of us will have heard of or have first hand experience of seeing. If Austin leaves then so be it, I'd rather have a player come in who has greater pedigree and experience that can hopefully compliment White.

While I agree on all the above and also to an extent that our crowds are our crowds so get used to it, that doesn't stop the club from trying to bring in new fans and bulk up the fan base. The fact of the matter is the club as a whole seems to severely lack on the basic fundamental skills to engage with existing fans, prospective fans, existing sponsors, prospective sponsors and the local and wider community as a whole. With every new and passing comment I read on here it is very apparent that the new CEO has a huge job to do and a lot of changes to make in order to change that culture. It needs brought back to basics, the club need to look at what we do or more so what we don't do and go from there. If we want to engage with the younger generation then we need to start with social media as the club lacks hugely in this area. They need to engage more with schools and local community groups and I don't mean with free tickets; invite schools and community groups to the club for youngsters to meet the players, have open days, host events etc. Yes it costs money but make use of the facilities and staff they have around them to negate a lot of cost. In terms of sponsorship, even though I have no business experience in the Inverness and shire area, I would say that the club are in the enviable position where they are far enough away from the central belt to not be competing with too many others clubs and businesses for money/sponsorship. Make use of the fact that we are almost removed from other clubs and promote that for the better, businesses want to know what they are getting for their money, give them more tickets (we've got enough empty seats), give them better hospitality, start advertising them better on the website, social media platforms and around the ground. Promote the club as a family club as businesses love this and want to be affiliated with other businesses that promote themselves in this way. More importantly start engaging with the current fan base better and a lot more effectively, even when it comes to season ticket renewal it would appear that we are poor at this. Yes we know that it comes around every year but it still should be advertised better. Listen to people's genuine fears and gripes they have and take on board all comments as making people feel like they are being listened to goes a long way than just taking their money. It seems like there are just too many people at the club doing just enough or the minimum or it could quite simply be that the resources just aren't there to implement any of the basics and people are stretched. For me if this is the case then that's a huge problem. It needs a fundamental review of all operations within the club and firm plans put in place to change it all. It's not insurmountable and just needs someone who is far more progressive than those that are currently there. PS: excuse the long post, it could have been a lot longer

Completely agree on the above, we are in danger of becoming like the ugly sisters from Glasgow who are more interested in each other. Do we really care that much about County to constantly looking over the bridge, surely the only time we should be interested is just before we play them. Totally agree with Kingsmills as well, possibly we can take a leaf or two from Roy McGregor's book in terms of how he connects with his fans and portrays his club publicly. Let's concentrate on ourselves first and foremost, as if our only aim is to be better than County then we'll never improve or reach where we want to be again.

You've missed the main points from my post which are borne on frustration at the number of negative posts I've read especially on this thread. In my opinion there are too many users on here who like to post jibes and criticism of players where on the whole it is unnecessary, doesn't help our cause and who are we to say they are making a mistake. We are supposed to be supporters but at times I see little support, we are a small club who progress players who then move on, it's happened before and will happen again so why do we feel the need to criticise them for doing so. This won't change so how about a little thank you and appreciation now and again. Who are we to say that they are right and wrong in what decisions they make? I was once told by an employer I'm making a big mistake leaving their company, 9 years later I'm in a job paying more than double the salary far better off than I was. Players have to make the very same decisions and live and die by them, there was once a time gone by where everyone would wish players who move on the best of luck, unless they were Maurice Johnston or similar. I'm not denying anyone their opinion, the phrase I used was possibly a little harsh and maybe could have been worded better but it was to make a point. Now that I have managed to firmly go off topic I'll bring it back and re-iterating what I've previously said by wishing Liam Polworth the very best at Motherwell and hope his decision works out.

Would someone like me to translate this? Possibly add some punctuation, correct the spelling mistakes and generally delete it all for being absolute total sh*te. By your own admission on many occasions due to personal circumstances you don't manage to get to games so what makes you so highly qualified to pass judgement on the situation and suggest it's a myth. The guy has decided to leave to further is career, end of, move on and focus on the bigger picture. If people can't offer a player who's given years of service to the club a genuine thank you then don't comment at all.

What better way to do that than move to a bigger club with more resources, playing at a higher level and a recent track record of blooding young players. Sounds a little bitter to me especially as you can say that about most players. Good luck to him and I hope his game comes on leaps and bounds.

I'll take the point happily, yes three would have been much better but I don't expect Dunfermline to win all their games and think we'll take at least 4 from the remaining games.

You could be correct in which case I'll retract my previous statement

Given our recent history with communication and keeping the fans informed, it doesn't surprise me that there's been no further formal update since August 2018. Also somewhat disappointing that the statement details the sponsors as the main organisers which is poor in my opinion, in this day in age where over-glorified testimonials for players in tops divisions are rammed down our throats, testimonials for players at our level and under should be just as important as they always were. Not only is it the fans way to say thank you and show their appreciation, it should also be a thank you from the club. While I have no doubt they'll be involved, they should be the ones driving it as they'll be at the fore front for taking the credit.

Many teams bigger than ourselves have faltered at a semi-final stage and fans left disappointed but it needs to be kept in context. We've said it before and we'll say it again on here that we are where we are and nothing that's happened before will change that, there's nothing wrong with having a lower expectation level but on this occasion I think you, and everyone else associated with the club, can be very proud of our run in the Scottish Cup this season. Personally I think we just ran out of steam against a team who had a far better physical presence than we possess and it showed from set pieces. Out with those moments of play and the penalty I'm struggling to remember them really threatening us. They did however counter our threats much better than we did of there's and that's from just being players of better quality. It mustn't be forgotten that we have a relatively young team/squad with only a couple of seasoned pro's so it'll all add to their experience and they'll learn from it as has been shown across the whole season.

Until we have mathematically secured a top four place and our players are fit and available the team pretty much picks itself along with the formation. I'm not sure the extent of Donaldson's injury from the Ayr game but I'd be surprised if he plays him with Robbo saying that the decision will be made tomorrow, be more like Rooney at right back with McKay and Mccart in cental defence. Ridgers is out though through dislocating his finger in the semi-final.

I hope there's enough frustration and anger boiling up inside the lads to help them throw in a good performance and get the three points against Morton. Securing top four at the first possible opportunity is paramount and I'm sure that'll be the message from Robbo. We want the last three games of the season to be used to blood the youngsters and get them some game time and to allow other players a rest. We also need to keep pressure on Ayr as the last thing we want is for them to gain some momentum before going into a play-off tie, we've already got the measure of them and need to keep it that way.

I've never been to a game and had any thoughts about leaving the game early, I'm there to support my team no matter what and to stand and clap them off the pitch at the end. I understand people's frustration and possible anger at performances but the last thing players need to see is supporters/fans leaving in droves. At the fore front of your mind should have been to at least show some appreciation that the team actually got that far in the first place and take pride from that. This goes for any supporter of any team by the way, I'm not purposefully singling you out.

I agree with Kingsmills, also can't say that I have thought about it anytime as identifying with the team whenever it has been or whatever team it has been. I think that most people grow and build up an affinity towards a certain first team or squad of players through how well they do or how they progress. Point in case being this season where we have been hugely constrained so have had to work with a small squad which has gradually as the season went on got better and better, introduced their own style, become grittier and more determined. Same can be said for the team that Terry Butcher put together when he took us back up to the SPL in 2009/2010 and then the John Hughes team that won the Scottish Cup/finished third in the league. Older fans will note other teams/squads before that I'm sure. For me it's always peaks and troughs and I don't think any supporter or fan can truly say they have held an identity or affinity towards their club or team all the time.

I thought that but didn't want to commit with fear of being wrong then being ridiculed lol - thanks for clarifying it. For me this is a much better way to have the playoffs and I'd go as far to say that the winner of each of these ties should play a one-off final rather than a two-leg affair. That way the most the each team would play is three games and it would focus the national interest better.

While I appreciate this is an attempt at humour and to hopefully lighten the mood of the post, I'm not sure it's needed especially given what this young lad has probably had to endure. In fact I'm quite shocked at the lack of replies to this thread given so many people had so much to say about his where about on the other recently closed thread.

Two wins from the remaining four and we're in the play-offs, Dunfermline mathematically can't then catch us so in the same way that C*unty have the league in their own hands so do we in terms of play-off qualification. Even better if Dunfermline dropped points to help us along the way. Obviously the aim is to win all four and keep pressure on Ayr and we could do with a 3rd place finish for the extra income but if you asked Robbo what his aim was I'm sure he would say finishing in the top four was priority.

Hit Mulraney within the first 5mins and he'll sh*te it and go into hiding, push him onto his weaker foot and the ball is there to be won. With Ikpeazu, let him pick up the ball deeper then press him into making a mistake, his strength is his power in winning the ball, when he is too far away from goal to power through he's not as effective. Saying that we would need to push higher up as a team unit for that to work. It would also be foolish to focus on these two players alone, we need to be solid as a team and move together, press tight and higher up and when we can hit them on the break.

Hope everyone that manages to go enjoys their day. We have got plans which were in place before we beat Dundee Utd which can't be changed so unfortunately are going to miss out but luckily they work around the game so we'll still see it.

Totally agree with you on this point but doesn't make me agree with the playoffs or the format anymore than I already do. No matter how the playoffs are set up or how they could be set up, confidence would always be with the Championship side, there's nothing even about the Championship having the play 6 games and the Premiership team having to play 2. I'm almost certain, but someone please correct me if I am wrong, that the play-offs for the Championship and League 1 are slightly different and my question is why? If I am correct then I go back to my previous point that it's all weighted towards the Premiership clubs and no one else.

I'm sure there's some humor and sarcasm in your reply but I think Gringo's post was for information and purely tongue in cheek at the end. Ross Co*nty and Ayr don't concern me, their results can be anything, I'm more interested in our own and putting Dunfermline out of sight in order to get a play-off place. Most of our feet are on the ground but there's nothing wrong with dreaming a little once in a while.