hislopsoffsideagain

http://www.afc.co.uk/articles/20120713/afc-statement-_2212158_2848877

See the above statement from Aberdeen? That's what Cameron should have said.

We know there is a big financial risk. We know budgets may have to be cut. We know hard times lie ahead. So why on earth make a statement slagging off the SFL clubs?

I've lost a bit of respect for Kenny after reading his statement. SFL clubs perceived it as 'a big stick to beat them' because that's what it was - nothing more than a shameful and pitiful attempt at bullying. It seems that the rumours that the SPL clubs were fully behind Doncaster and Regan's ridiculous plan to parachute Rangers into division one are true.

The transfer window is still open for two months, so I'm trying not to panic. But calling that squad thread-bare is an understatement.

Well done, Mr Cameron.

This is the right decision in the long run.

In the short term there is no doubt that costs will have to be cut but it is the same for everyone.

I agree with RiG as well, especially as I know his reasoning behind not renewing his season ticket.

For what it's worth, I renewed my season ticket 3 weeks ago. That doesn't make me a superfan - in fact, if we bow down and let Rangers in, it makes me a bit of a spanner.

Last summer, Butcher punted quite a few players who probably wanted to stay.

This summer, he's managing to lose quite a few players that he wanted to keep.

Irony?

Whilst I wasn't sure he was up to one more season in the top flight, he showed enough at the end of last season that I thought he warranted a new deal.

I know a lot of people who haven't renewed their season tickets yet and if one or two decent signings aren't made soon I don't think they'll feel encouraged to do so.

Is it time to panic yet?

On the one hand, I felt a bit let down by his performances this season - when he arrived he had a reputation as a goalscoring midfield player who delivered a mean set piece; maybe my expectations were too high but he certainly didn't live up to them. When pushed into a more advanced position, with two midfielders behind him, he looked a lot more dangerous to me, so I suspect our system didn't help him.

What worries me is that our offer to him was inferior to that of a League One team - whether that's simply in financial terms or there are other issues I don't know. But it's a marker of how much we will struggle to attract decent players to the club.

An understandable decision by the management team, given that he's very much a fringe player (only 19 starts in the last two seasons) and the budget's been cut. He's just turned 28 and there's unlikely to be any further improvement in his ability - Butcher presumably thinks that he can unearth a youngster (a la Meekings) with the potential to be better than Proctor.

That said, I feel more than a twinge of sadness at his departure. He's spent eight of the last nine seasons at the club and made more than 150 appearances. Whilst he's had more than his fair share of bombscare moments, there's no question that he always gave 100% for the shirt. I think he played every position for us except up front and in goal, and, like many utility players, his versatility might have been a hindrance that prevented him making one position his own. No fewer than four different ICT managers - Robbo, Brew (twice), Christie and Butcher - rated him enough to keep giving him contracts, even though he was rarely a first choice; this suggests that he was a player they felt they could rely on.

I remember he joined us at the same time as Darran Thomson did - no doubt Proc has turned out to be the shrewder acquisition!

His pinnacle in a Caley shirt was surely that 3-2 win over Celtic - not just a goal, but also 'taking one for the team' by getting sent off taking down Scott McDonald when he was through on goal!

I wouldn't be surprised if County take a shot on him - a relatively inexpensive but experienced player who provides cover in a number of positions. Good luck to him, wherever he goes.

The first half was absolutely hideous - I felt embarrassed for some of the players.

It wasn't until that absolutely stonking free kick from Tansey that we really got going. As Greg stepped up I confidently announced "this'll end up in the wall or in the stand like all his other free kicks this season" - I'm not disappointed that I was wrong though! After that we stroked the ball about really well, especially with Jones pulling the strings. Much of our play in the final third was pretty disappointing though - of the attacking players, I thought only Jonny had a particularly good game. I was far more impressed with our back four, who looked very slick. Piermayr had an excellent game I thought, though I don't know if it will have been enough to earn him a new deal. I was pleased to see how keen Graeme Shinnie was to get forward from left back too. The big disappointment was Foran, who had a mare.

As said above, Tansey had an excellent game yesterday, and I thought that when he was pushed further up the pitch in the last half-hour he looked very dangerous.

The million dollar question: Do the back-to-back wins suggest we are heading in the right direction, or are they disguising the problems suggested by our horrendous form before then?

I'll put together an article when I get the chance, but I thought it was worth making it public knowledge - ROMAN GOLOBART is the twelfth winner of the CaleyThistleOnline.com Player of the Year trophy!

Congrats to Roman, who was man of the match in 9 different games and player of the month twice. After totting up the scores from the Dunfermline game, he has an unassailable 13 point lead over Graeme Shinnie.

Well done Roman, hopefully you will be around next season to try and retain your title!

:clapping: :clapping:

Oh, Terry, at a time where many Inverness fans are becoming disillusioned with you, it really is not wise to come out with something like this...

If you have to pay to maintain integrity, then surely it isn't integrity? Scottish football is far too expensive as it is without requesting fans to contribute extra.

On the other hand, I would happily pay a huge sum of money if it meant Rangers were playing at Borough Briggs next season.

I'm not going to be negative. I am going to list only positive things from tonight:

1. Andrew Shinnie showed more creativity in his cameo appearance than the entire ICT midfield has done all season.
   
2. The minutes silence was impeccably observed.
   
3. It was a nice night.
   

There we go.

You forgot the mascot at half time!

What a hideous game, between two utterly dreadful teams. Steve Paterson's ICT side from a decade ago would have walked all over both these sides. This was the sort of match which makes me think that, in the event of a goalless draw, neither team should get any points. I feel ashamed that we felt the need to take the ball to the corner flag at the end, rather than go for a winner - there are 2 games left for goodness sake, it wasn't the last match of the season. So little happened that the BBC highlights will have to show the minutes silence and the mascot's outstanding half-time antics just to make up a full 5 minutes of action.

I can't even say that we were set up to play negatively and go for a draw - we're not well organised enough to manage that. It was the same plan as last week, and the week before that, and the week before that...they say a fool is a man who makes the same mistakes over and over again, but expects different results. Well, the punting high balls at a 5'8" centre forward hasn't worked all season, but we were at it again. Doran and Shinnie looked like they had instructions to get to the byline and cross high balls - to our 5'8" centre forward who had to win a header against to 6ft-plus centre backs.

I'm pretty sure that we weren't playing on a potato patch tonight, but you'd have though otherwise given the abysmal first touches and rotten passing on display for the most part. Foran had a shocker; Tansey played one beautiful Hollywood pass to release McKay in the second half, but that hardly made up for all the much shorter passes he gave straight to opposing players. Graeme Shinnie, like every other time he has played as a wide midfielder this season, looked like a defender who doesn't know how to play as a wide midfielder. Bizarrely, our Plan B in the first half appeared to be to punt high balls at him instead of McKay! I thought Nick Ross at least showed some good touches, and I was disappointed when he was subbed. I felt McKay offered very little, and Tade caused the defenders more hassle in 3 minutes than McKay did in 87.

Our defence were solid enough, but still managed to gift a few chances. None of the back four looked comfortable on the ball for a second, and when Dunfermline pressed high up the pitch we gave the ball away very cheaply. Ryan Esson probably gets my MOTM, simply on the grounds that his handling was assured.

So that's one win in fourteen, and no wins in our last eight home games since 21st January. At least this season is over for us. But I've yet to see any reason why next season won't be just as bad if big changes aren't made.

Yesterday was the first home game I've missed all season...I went down south with a mate to watch Bolton v Swansea. Sounds like I made the right decision! I normally go to four or five English matches a season, it's increasingly tempting to double that number instead of renewing my season ticket.

I phoned my parents to ask for their take on the performance - that's the first time I've ever heard my mother swear.

Butcher really talked up Gnakpa when he was signed and I think raised our expectations far too highly; he then of course looked very slick on his debut vs St. Mirren as well. But I saw him playing at centre forward at East End Park when he was dreadful, and Butcher seems to have given up on him quickly. A shame.

Bear in mind that the arrival of Ross County at least guarantees two home sellout crowds a season - so, in terms of gate receipts, we wouldn't necessarily take a hit in the same way other clubs would.

For what it's worth, I don't just want a liquidated Rangers demoted to division 3, I want them to have to go through the ignominy of reapplying against Spartans, Cove Rangers etc...mostly for the comedy value :lol:

At the end of the match all of us will have experienced a shared redemption . Butcher (Chapter 4; verse 12)

The first commandment of Butcher:

Thou shalt never blame the manager in the event of defeat.

Hayes hits the post.

Apparently we are well on top.

So what odds that St J score first?

Sigh. It's not the first time this season that Butcher has slagged off the players, promised wholesale changes and then kept almost all the same lineup.

What does Nick Ross have to do to get a game?

Good to have Doran back on the bench at last. Winnall's absence from the matchday squad suggests he doesn't have a future at the club.

This is how things currently sit, in my opinion - this is what I think Butcher will do, mind, not what I would do!

UNDER CONTRACT FOR NEXT SEASON

Richie Foran

Andy Shinnie

Nick Ross

Gavin Morrison

Shane Sutherland

Graeme Shinnie

Aaron Doran

Josh Meekings

LIKELY TO STAY

Ryan Esson - surely will get a new deal

Owain Tudur Jones - has expressed a willingness to stay

Chris Hogg - it was stated in January that he will be offered a new contract

Greg Tansey - Butcher seems to think the sun shines out of his rear end

Gregory Tade - has probably done enough to warrant another year

Billy McKay - appears to be first choice centre forward at the moment

Kenny Gillet - solid, hard working and can play at left back or centre back

UNLIKELY TO STAY

Ross Tokely - think he will go the way of Munro and Duncan, however well he does

Jonny Hayes - surely will get a better offer from a better club than us

Sam Winnall - Butcher doesn't seem to rate him so loan unlikely to be extended

Steve Williams - hasn't established himself in the team while on loan

FUTURE UNCLEAR

Thomas Piermayr - in and out of the team

Jonny Tuffey - likely to be offered new deal, but may want first team football elsewhere

David Proctor - a long servant to the club, but certainly not a first choice any more

Roman Golobart - there may well be a chance to extend his loan, though I doubt we could sign him permanently

Claude Gnakpa - Butcher talked highly of him but has so far flattered to deceive

As regards whether Butcher has a good eye for a player, here are his signings by transfer window according to Wikipedia and Soccerbase. Apologies for those I've missed. I've listed Foran, Cox, Hayes, Duff (controversial, I know!), Gillet, Hogg, Andy Shinnie and loanees Golobart and Davis as hits. That's not very many, considering it's been three years...

January 2009 (Gatheussi, Morais and Mihadjuks were all Brewster signings)

Richie Foran - HIT at least until this season, now club captain

Eric Odhiambo - JURY OUT hugely inconsistent but certainly got a few goals. Now playing for Denizlispor in Turkey

Summer 2009

Nauris Bulvitis (loan) - JURY OUT a regular at centre back in div 1 but loan not extended beyond end of season. Now back in Latvia playing for Spartak Jurmala

Lee Cox - HIT only 18 when signed but a regular in midfield for two seasons. Left in January 2012 for Swindon Town for about £50,000

Robert Eagle - MISS flattered to deceive in midfield. Now playing for Lowestoft Town

Stuart Golabek - JURY OUT clearly not as good as he was in his first spell, but was solid enough at left back

Jonny Hayes - HIT even in the SPL, he is still our biggest attacking threat

Dani Sanchez - JURY OUT infuriating at times, but definitely showed flashes of ability. Now at Wellington Phoenix in the Aussie A-League

Dan Stratford - MISS mediocre midfield player. Back in the USA playing for West Virginia University

Stuart Duff (loan in November 2010) - JURY OUT only played a few games before returning to Aberdeen

Summer 2010

Gil Blumenshtein - MISS hopeless Israeli midfielder with more hair than ability. Now playing for Hapoel Ramat HaSharon back in Israel

Stuart Duff - HIT solid but unspectacular midfield player who gave us versatility and depth. Now playing for Kazakhstan side Kairat

Kenny Gillet - HIT missed much of last season injured but has looked good for the most part this year

Chris Innes - JURY OUT experienced reserve centre back, but clearly past his best. Now at Arbroath

Kevin McCann (loan) - JURY OUT started really well but injury-prone. Now at Livingston

Jonny Tuffey - JURY OUT certainly a good backup keeper to have around but has played only a handful of games

January 2011

Aaron Doran (loan later made permanent) - JURY OUT looked great initially, but injured for the majority of this season

Chris Hogg - HIT when fit, our best centre-back. Cruciate injury has kept him out since November

Alex MacDonald (loan) - MISS - just one goal and no better than anyone else we had available

Summer 2011

Tom Aldred (loan) - MISS struggled in his first few games, then threw a hissy fit when dropped

Aiden Chippendale (loan) - MISS didn't look anything special and his loan wasn't extended past January

David Davis (loan) - HIT added drive quality to our midfield - now a first team regular at Wolves!

Roman Golobart (loan) - HIT some dreadful blunders but several MOTM performances and in the running for CTO's player of the year

Billy McKay - JURY OUT might come good, but 1 goal in 18 games is a woeful return

Josh Meekings - JURY OUT a lot of naive defending but he is still young. Long throws are useful!

Thomas Piermayr - JURY OUT decent in patches, but rash at times and picks up a lot of bookings

Andy Shinnie - HIT after a hideous start he was in stunning form when he broke his foot

Gregory Tade - JURY OUT nine goals are a plus but is either very good or very bad

Greg Tansey - JURY OUT a regular in the team but so far has not lived up to expectations (except when playing Dunfermline)

Owain Tudur Jones - JURY OUT cursed by injury this season

January 2012

Claude Gnakpa - JURY OUT a few bright flashes but rarely looks bothered

Steve Williams (loan) - JURY OUT looked good initially but made scapegoat for Rangers hammering and out of favour since

Sam Winnall (loan) - JURY OUT but has barely got a chance since joining

I despair.

That's all.

Someone give tm4tj a hug!

As for those folk who keep saying "who would we get to replace Butcher? We can't do better than him" - look at St Johnstone who dared to give the untried Owen Coyle a chance (did very well, moved on to better things), replaced him with the novice Derek McInnes (did very well, moved on to better things), then came up with rookie Steve Lomas who seems to be doing all right...

...of course the risk is that for every Derek Adams (taking County to the SPL) there is a Scott Leitch (who took County to the second division). But Butcher increasingly resembles an old dog who can't learn new tricks. His 'let's get it up 'em' style appears increasingly obsolete in a modern world where the successful coaches are the ones who know how to set a team up.tactically, and who do enough research to know that, if you press our back line high up the pitch, we'll spend 90 minutes punting high balls at our 5'7" striker instead.