MrCaleyjag

On 14 May 2016 at 6:27 PM, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

 Now Hughes wants to set his side lofty targets for next season."Don't tell me that a provincial club like Inverness can't go and win the Scottish Cup again, can't go and get third, get Europe," he told BBC Scotland. "I'll not accept that, that's the standards but we all need to be on board and keep driving it forward."

May be construed by some that this is another pop at the board or players not buying into his philophy or style of play or anything else he's currently at logger-heads about.

I'm afraid I don't share his optimism of a cup run/win and aiming for third place: Celtic; Aberdeen; Hearts and Rangers will all finish above us next season and he gives far much respect to Celtic and Rangers for this to change, he might as well be their PR consultant the way he goes on about them in the run up to games, it's embarrassing. This isn't even mentioning an upward Ross County who look like they're building slowly and a steady St Johnstone.

Season 2015/16 was the one to be aiming for this not 2016/17, not now with what is happening, a team should always aim to build on success but sadly we haven't and are in my opinion currently looking back at we we did rather than what we can do no matter what JH says, I genuinely believe he is a victim of his own belief's and is blinkered to the point he can't and won't think outside his own box.

It's an easy get out for JH, by distancing himself from the board and creating a divide, if his house of cards does all come crashing down all he will do is come out and say there was no vision moving forward that matched his own, that he didn't get the backing he wanted, that we didn't bring in the players he wanted etc etc.

If he had come out and said that after this season our aim should be to rebuild the squad, aim for top six and be competative for a full league season with a good strong cup run thrown in then he would get a lot more respect from me and would look realistic and in touch with the board and the fans, the above statement shows none of this in my eyes.

Oh and two months I did advocate giving him one more season as I believed he had earned it, not now I'm afraid, I genuinely don't know what to think now.

9 hours ago, caley100 said:

All a bit of over reaction, remember the huge outcry when Granty was released by Butcher? we moved on and Granty was mainly forgotten about in a playing sense, so i think the club will move on now as well without Dave the Rave.

He has been a great servant to our club and we thank him for his time and THAT goal!   best of luck Dave.

This decision is bigger than David Raven and the affinity that the fans hold for him and for what he has given the club, it's about the way the manager is running the team at the present moment and brings with it more questions than answers.

Yes eventually the club will move on, as clubs always do, however we currently have a manager who is clearly intent on pulling in one way while the board, fans and players want to pull in another. Someone has to be wrong and something will break.

I along with many others do not see this as an over reaction, it could well be the straw that breaks the camels back.

Progress is made gradually and built on, success comes from progress but sitting with 8 signed up players for next season is not progress, it's a sharp decline. Has JH got the ability to bring in and retain 10-12 players of equal or better calibre than we have currently or are letting go, I think not. Would someone else have the ability to do the same if the board lose their patience in a relatively short space of time, I think not.

My biggest fear is we'll end up with quantity and not quality ............................ we have to at all costs avoid becoming another St Mirren!

My selection

HT: 0v0

FT: 2v1

1st ICT: Draper

1st Opp: Loy

Time of 1st goal: 54mins

Caleyjags selection

HT: 0v0

FT: 0v1

1st ICT: Tansey

1st Opp: Hemmings

Time of 1st goal: 25mins

On 11 May 2016 at 7:57 PM, ictfcsince94 said:

They'll have half a chance if the pundits dinna overdo it like they do at every tournament!

Hang on you mean you didn't realise that it's only England that's playing at the Euro's?

I don't think environment comes into it, unfortunately it's symptomatic of our game as a whole and the lack of respect players show towards officials at times borders on disgusting. Yes it may vary slightly from team to team and we all like to think our players don't do it but in truth they all do.

May I just add, before someone shoots me down, yes officials at times don't help themselves and are very arrogant themselves but at the end of the day they are officials, without them the game would not be played.

I didn't see any of the game and wouldn't watch them anyway but it could all be bourne on frustration on the part of RC wanting to do well and trying to impress on one of his few first team outings but not getting the decisions.

Arrogance is good in a player if harnessed in the correct manner, the worlds best are the most arrogant and it's all formed from the hype they get and how much they are pushed by coaches to believe they are good and can be better.

I'm not sure how to look at this, bit of mixed feelings but logically if RF left, from a playing point of view, would it be a huge loss or as big a loss as it may be portrayed? He has had horendous luck with injuries over the last two seasons and not featured much, he is probably one of our highest earners and is taking up a place in the squad that someone else could potentially fill. He certainly isn't getting any younger ..........

Been touted as future coach/manager but what credentials does he have?

On the other hand his experience around the club is surely invaluable and as an ambassador for the club in his role as captain I'm sure he's displayed excellent qualities.

If he stayed I would be happy, if he left he'd go with my thanks for what he has done during his time at the club but I certainly wouldn't be downheartened from a playing perspective.

What is obvious is that from a clubs prespective it's not good that a player of his standing and experience wants to potentially leave but if it's from purely a playing point of view then fair enough and you can't argue with it. If it's for deeper underlying reasons then that's a different story.

21 hours ago, AlexJones said:

Since the result has been declared null and void, we now have a situation where Inverness will finish the season having played one less fixture than everyone else. With potential swings of hundreds of thousands of pounds at stake for final positions, the SPFL thinks this disparity isn't a problem? Give me a break. There's no way such an anomaly would be so callously dismissed if it were affecting an Old Firm club challenging for the title. A case of, "It's that lot up there, f""" them."

The result wasn't declared null and void, it still stands and will show on the record books as a Dundee Utd victory so no we will not have played one game less, they were deducted three points due to their error - it just so happens that it is the same number of points as gained from the win.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds? Hardly, if we finish 8th rather than 7th it's a difference of £52750.00, the attached explains the values to each position and how it is distributed (I checked various sites but this one explains it the best) - http://stv.tv/sport/football/1331865-spfl-sides-to-share-record-21m-prize-money-payout-in-201516-season/

Also on the back of the above if we do finish 8th rather than 7th it'll be our own fault and not that of a decision made by the SPFL for an error by an opponent. A season is played over 38 games and not just 1 game.

I think it's about time as well that we ditch the 'It's that lot up there, f'''''' them' attitude as it benefits nobody and to bemone that belief only keeps it going and fuels it more, we should be concentrating on ourselves and what we are doing rather than anyone else.

There should be clear guidelines set out in the rules stating the punishments for such offences occuring and to leave it up to a board to decide is nonsense especially in this situation as they were clearly swayed by the timing. If it stated the financial penalty along with points loss or whether the fixture should be replayed or not in black and white then there would be no argument.

I don't agree that we should have got the points, regardless of who they fielded from their squad we are good enough to beat them and the performance wasn't good enough, I would have felt slightly embarrassed had we been given them.

The deduction of three points applied to this seasons total is laughable however and has absolutely no bearing on their final standing, they're down regardless so in my opinion is should have been applied to next season making them start on -3 points.

My selections

HT: 0v0

FT: 1v2

1st ICT: Storey

1st Opp: Longridge

Time of 1st goal: 54mins

***JOKER*** - not sure if I have one left or not

Caleyjags selection:

HT: 0v0

FT: 1v1

1st ICT: Tansey

1st Opp: Imrie

Time of 1st goal: 25mins

***JOKER*** - again not sure if it's been used already

My selection

HT: 0v0

FT: 2v1

1st ICT: Draper

1st Opp: Paton

Time of 1st goal: 53mins

Caleyjags selection

HT: 0v0

FT: 2v1

1st ICT: Tansey

1st Opp: Rankin

Time fo 1st goal: 25mins

Livingston @ 2.40 please

My selection

HT: 0v0

FT: 1v2

1st ICT: Williams

1st Opp: Doolan

Time of 1st Goal: 54mins

Caleyjags selection

HT: 1v0

FT: 2v1

1st ICT: Tansey

1st Opp: Osman

Time of 1st Goal: 25mins

My selection

HT: 0v0

FT: 2v1

1st ICT: Storey

1st Opp: Boyd

Time of 1st Goal: 54mins

**Joker** (If I still have one available)

Caleyjags selection

HT: 0v0

FT: 0v0

1st ICT: Tansey

1st Opp: Boyd

Time of 1st Goal: 25mins

Dumbarton @ 2.50 please

Clyde @ 2.30 please

I'm not sure it's really a question that needs to be asked as all football teams should strive to better themselves and move forward regardless of any pitfalls or obstacles that are put in their way. I do however agree with the content of the thread and most peoples thoughts and it's good to see a thread that isn't painting everything in a dark light like it's the end of the world.

We all knew deep down that after last season there would be changes, players would move on, that it would be hugely difficult to emulate anywhere near what we did acheive but the extent was unknown and I think that's what's caught people on the hop.

It's not like the club has died or gone into administration or been chucked into the bottom league or anything, still so much to be thankful for and to build on.

It's imperative that we try and secure our more talented players on contracts past the summer that we haven't already and surely we should be looking already at targets to bring in and even be working on some as we speak. As well as this I firmly believe that we need to bring in another coach, where possible, that has good attacking coaching attributes as the exit of Russell Latapy is evident for all to see and an area that we really need to improve on. His influence where maybe not noticed last season is massively noticable now in my opinion.

With regards the board and being more transparent with the fans, that's a difficult one to be honest and not something that can be answered directly I don't think. Yes in an ideal world they could come out and make everyone involved aware of the direction of the club and what they are trying to achieve and budgets and how the finances are but then they run the risk of opening this up to the wider football community. Suddenly everyone knows you have a bit of money to spend or you want to recruit the following way or want the club to play a certian way etc, there must be areas that are kept at board/management level and this goes for all businesses.

My selection

HT: 0v0

FT: 2v1

1st ICT: Storey

1st Opp: Walker

Time fo 1st goal: 53mins

Caleyjags selection

HT: 0v2

FT : 1v3

1st ICT: Tansey

1st Opp: Djoum

Time of 1st goal: 25mins

To answer your question in the title, in one word no for two reasons: firstly it would be very foolish in my opinion to make our next appointment an unknown commodity with no experience at managing a club and secondly I think at this stage it would be a mistake to get rid of John Hughes with all that he has had to deal with this year.

I'm prepared to give him one more season then judge a little more critically and that's saying something as Caleyjag will profess as I have been a big critic this season but I also understand the reasons for our 'slump' if you want to label it anything.

I've heard little to suggest or seen little to install confidence that RF would make any difference at all, it's not the type appointment that I would welcome. Maybe given a few years experience at coaching level or assistant manager level but not just now.

I also think it's extremely disrespectful to talk about the next manager when we have one in place and to be honest we could be in a far worse position than we are just now, read my thread titled 'You're the manager, what do you do' as I'm not going to repeat myself again, you'll all be sick of it.

I think currently the team almost picks itself however I wouldn't drop Vigurs, I never thought I'd hear myself say that but he scored at the weekend, so would be harsh on that note, but also we'll be up against a strong physical team in Hearts and I just think he's offer a bit more going back and physically than someone like Roberts would.

With Williams leaving what's the benefit long-term of playing him?

Raven needs to be fit to play a Hearts team anytime which he won't be so i doubt he'll start.

On 09 April 2016 at 0:19 PM, PerfICT said:

1. Abandon possession football - we don't have the players to carry it off, it's boring for the fans and is risky at the back. Be quicker in transition and deploy pace and width. Only Barcelona have the players to go as narrow as we are.

2. As indicated in previous post: Be more pro-active with regard to contracts. By January it is too late to start offering contracts to players you want to keep - their minds will have started to wander. Make the necessary offers early and start looking to replace those not wanting to stay immediately. Return to offering longer contracts to give valuable players security and ensure a fee if they move.

3. Have 3 or 4 genuine strikers on the books. Stop recruiting midfielders and then trying to squeeze them into defensive or striking roles.

4. Assuming he doesn't have a terminal injury, sign David Raven and get Meekings back into central defence.

5. Stop sucking up to Celtic and Hibs in the media - it's unsavoury. Stop giving these mediocre teams too much respect: They're remarkably poor this season.

 

I think that just about covers it.

I couldn't agree with you any more on the point highlighted above, I don't think we have any need to do so nor do we have anything to fear from any team in Scotland. It's almost derogatory towards our own players/squad - certainly needs to be handled differently in the media and drop the Mr nice guy attitude towards the likes of Celtic, Rangers and Hibs that has been shown in the past.

On 09 April 2016 at 0:17 PM, Charles Bannerman said:

It's genuinely refreshing to see a comment like this from a football fan, which comes in welcome contrast with the alarming number of people who always seem to know far better than the manager does. I have never yet understood how all these managers have jobs while the obviously superior talents of these pitch side experts, who seemingly instantly spot the mistakes managers are constantly making, have mysteriously gone unnoticed and unrewarded.

That's exactly the sort of response I was looking for and not as a away to big myself up, the thread was meant to be thought provoking and almost a two fingers up at those who have been calling for JH's head but without any real forward thinking on any real understanding of the task involved.

It's interesting to see how few replies this has had compared to other threads especially those calling for change or ones pointing out where we've went wrong, it makes for a much better and compelling argument in my opinion if you can back up your thoughts.

So we haven't had the season so far that most of us would have hoped for, we haven't built from last season's success, we all are less than impressed with at least one thing at the club, we are all entitled to our opinions and we are all more than quailified to pass judgement on those running our club (he says tongue in cheek) but lets break it down and ask - what would you do if you were the manager?

I've sat and read almost every post for a long time and hardly passed comment and where everyone seems to have an opinion on what we should do, has anyone truly sat back and thought 'if we did do what we are suggesting how would we do it or if I were in that position what would I do'?

So for everyone that thinks we should get rid of JH or thinks the board should be performing better or thinks the recruitment policy is poor or has a belief that RF is capable of stepping up to the plate and becoming our next manager, let me ask the question - what would you do or rather how would you do the job?

Forget about saying we should do this, lets all answer on how you would do it - it's easy to sit back and say what we should do but do you actually know how you would do it? All armchair fans/football manager style pundits step forward, this could make for a very good discussion.

 You're the manager:

- what formation and style of play do you implement and why? Would it work with our current squad? Would you mould your style of play to what your squad can perform to or do make your squad mould to fit your style of play?

- how big a squad do you have and what is the breakdown of this squad in numbers for each position?

- do you build the team around one player?

- do you promote from within and bring youth through? Are you in a position to do so or is it forced upon you for a number of reasons?

- where do you recruit from? Who are your contacts? Can you afford who you are looking for? Do you build around a necleus of players and supplement with loan signings then recruit slowly to bolster already recruited talent that you can keep?

- who do you bring in on the playing staff? Specifically of all those players who you would be able to attract name some you would bring in.

- what training techniques do you install? Who do you bring in as your backroom team or do you stick with who we have? Do you run the training yourself and have your coaches oversee it or do you let them have free-rein to work within your perameters? Or do you have a mix of both?

- how many backroom staff do you have? What coaching techniques would you want them to have? How many roles can they coach in?

- what do you concentrate most on, cups or the league? Why? Do you have a preference or can you afford to concentrate on all?

- how do you juggle your budget? Do you focus on signing free transfers and use any money you have on wages or do you try and buy with the little money you have one or two players on a smaller wage?

- do you insist on having the running of everything football related or do you ask for help in the form of a Director of Football?

- do you ask for more input on less football related matters? Do you insist on being involved in deciding the budgets and what would  be the main focus on your budgets?

- for youth teams/development league level, do you oversee this yourself or bring in a team to focus on this and have them coach their way with their tactics/formations or do you insist they stick to your style of play and tactics in the hope it helps younger players step up quicker/easier and integrate better?

- do you rotate your youth between first team and youth training to help development? Do you have first team players mentor youth players on football and/or non-football related matters?

- at what point do you decide who you want to keep at the club and when do you initiate contract talks? Do you decide early and set out your stall with very little scope to diverse and change or do you let things progress and see what happens?

Now I'm no manager, nor am I at all in any way qualified to answer any of the above questions but I'm sure above are only a very few number of questions and scenarios which a football manager has to answer and deal with on a daily basis. Equally I would say it is harder to manage a club at out level with the budgets and constraints that we have than it is to manage at a higher level with a bigger budget.

Yes I'm not happy with how this season has gone, I'm at times not happy with our style of play with no substance or penetration, I'm not happy with the quality of some of the players we have and the level they are at, I'm not happy with our lack of investment from the Christie sale, I'm not happy with our recruitment policy, I'm not happy with the way we deal with players going out of contract, I'm not happy with losing players on free transfers to other SPFL clubs, the list can go on but I am still in the camp that believes JH should be given another season to show us what he can do.

Go on answer the above then pass comment on what we should do because it's all to easy to pass comment on what we should do without looking at it from the other side.

I think sometimes we all need to take a reality check, evalute where we are as a club, be realistic about what we can achieve and how quickly we can acheive it and stop jumping on the band-wagon just because it isn't quite going how we want it to.

Would we be having all these discussions had it not been for last seasons success?

Cowdenbeath @ 2.10 please

My selection

HT: 0v0

FT: 2v0

1st ICT: Storey

1st Opp: McKay

Time of 1st Goal: 54mins

Caleyjags selection

HT: 1v0

FT: 1v1

1st ICT: Tansey

1st Opp: Rankin

Time of 1st Goal: 25mins

My selection

HT: 0v0

FT: 2v0

Ist ICT: Storey

1st Opp: Moult

Time of 1st goal: 54mins

Caleyjags selection

HT: 1v1

FT: 1v1

Ist ICT: Tansey

1st Opp: McDonald

Time fo 1st goal: 25mins