hislopsoffsideagain

I'm not massively up for managers slagging off individual players - what does it do to confidence? Especially since Gillet has been as good as anyone this season, Tokely had come off two excellent performances against Aberdeen and St Johnstone (and for me is still a full-back filling in at centre-half), and Meekings is a young boy still learning his trade. As regards Meekings, Butcher has more experienced options (Proctor, Piermayr and Tokely himself) but keeps picking Josh, so the buck stops with the boss.

If Butcher feels the need to criticize individuals then why not start with those a bit more deserving of the criticism, such as our esteemed undroppable captain, the esteemed undroppable Tansey, or the esteemed undroppable McKay? The latter in particular is clearly so bereft of confidence anyway that you couldn't make him any less effective in front of goal by whinging about him to the media.

Or, how about for once TB says "I picked those defenders that couldn't defend worth a damn, those midfielders who can't run, can't tackle and can't pass, and those forwards who couldn't hit a cow's backside with a banjo, so the buck stops with me"?

Is it true that Butcher wouldn't speak to the media after the game?

Presumably he's trying to work out how to explain to the press that this defeat, like all of our defeats, is everyone else's fault but his.

And, of course, he'll tell them that he's going to make 42 changes to the starting lineup for next week.

That was an utter embarrassment. Hibs fans won't be able to believe their luck. They were hopeless, disorganized and couldn't put two passes together - so what does that say about us?

I'm sure there will be plenty of apologists who come on and say "we had all the possession", "we created chances", "we've had lots of players injured" - these excuses don't wash with me. Our two goals today were a penalty (which looked a bit soft from my view) and a fluke. McKay has played 1,182 minutes of football this season, all at centre forward, and scored one goal. It's more than 1,000 minutes since he last scored. I don't give a damn if he runs a lot and his link-up play is good - it clearly isn't helping the team. He may work harder than big lugs like Garry O'Connor, or Scott Vernon (Aberdeen), or Paul Heffernan (Kilmarnock), or Steven Thompson (St Mirren)...but these guys have all scored far more goals. Tade had a mare on Wednesday, and picked up where he left off; his touch was dreadful and, like McKay, he too made an arse of a one-on-one.

Our midfield were pretty dreadful today aside from Hayes (who, apart from a good ten minutes at the start, did little else until his moment of good fortune). I'm sick of watching Tansey apologize to teammates a dozen times a game for giving the ball away cheaply. Foran looked slow and his touch was rotten. These guys have started 28 and 31 league games respectively - what do they have to do to get dropped? Gavin Morrison couldn't be any worse than they are. Graeme Shinnie looked like what he was - a full-back who was out of position.

As for the defence...well, watching that would have left Alan Hansen contemplating suicide. Tokely just decided to watch and admire Hanlon's run and free header for their first. Neither of our two left-backs could stop their winger crossing for the second - and O'Connor was given all the time in the world to score. As for the third, Meekings and Tokely just stood off and watched, and even then Griffiths' shot should have been better dealt with by Tuffey. I thought Golobart did all right, but is it possible for a defender to be MOTM when his team have conceded three?

As soon as we concede a goal now, we cave in and our manager does not know what to do to turn things around. He has no plan B. His substitutions are bizarre - even though we were losing, he still took 79 mins to make one sub - and then brought two guys on in injury time. What is the point of that? It is clear to see there are no tactics - he simply chooses eleven players and a formation and leaves them to get on with it. There is no organization, and I don't believe there is much motivation either. Few, if any of the ICT team look like they want to be out there playing football.

So our last 9 games read as one win, three draws and five defeats, 6 scored, 16 conceded. Remember the end of the 2007-08 season, when we only won three of the last sixteen under Brewster? Watching Caley then felt a lot like watching them right now does. And remember what happened the season after that...

Because I was born in Inverness and my dad (a Thistle fan - I still have their last away strip) was quite determined that I would never support an Old Firm team. I tend to hold some contempt for folk who do not support their local team.

That said, I will move heaven and earth to make sure any child of mine is born somewhere with a decent team - Manchester, Milan, Barcelona...

Butcher has got into the habit recently of getting into arguments with members of the crowd behind his dugout. I get the distinct feeling that his failure to make a change for so long was sheer bloody-mindedness at the fact that everyone in the ten rows behind him kept pointing out that substitutions were needed!

After thinking for a while, I've managed to come up with 3 positives from that game...

- Tokely was flipping brilliant

- Tuffey looked assured in goal again

- It was a nice night and I got some fresh air

Everything else was absolutely dreadful. The penalty looked soft to me, and I thought the ref had a poor game, but I don't think we warranted anything from the match. It's particularly frustrating as St J weren't particularly special, but they kept the ball, looked organized and always posed a goal threat. I thoroughly dislike Sandaza (surely he should have got a second yellow for that dive/deliberate handball combo?) but I'd kill to have him in our team. How come they could get him and Sheridan, and we've only got the willing but goalshy McKay - who spurned three excellent chances tonight - and bloody Tade, who was trying in more than one sense of the word tonight. After he missed that early sitter he could do nothing right.

I felt we were second best in every area from the off - it was as if that tremendous performance at Pittodrie had never happened. Our midfield, so good against Aberdeen, was rank rotten. I've been a big champion of Jones, but he was far too slow and kept getting dispossessed. Why Tansey gets a game is beyond me. Foran has the right attitude, but not the quality - you could say the same of Sutherland as well. I suppose our defence is at least a bit more solid, though Piermayr kept giving the ball away. Shinnie had a hard time in the first half but certainly improved in the second.

This is another game which could be used in evidence against our management. Lomas had done his homework - press us high up the pitch and we quickly revert to punting high balls at McKay. Yet it was 70 minutes before Butcher made a sub - and 10 minutes before that he changed to 4-4-2, sticking Tansey on the right wing, which seemed to make us even worse. Too many times this season the tactics have been wrong, and by the time the manager changes them it's too late.

Anyway, after being briefly perked up by last weekend's result, I am descending back into depression. I've a 1 litre tub of Mackies Honeycomb Ice Cream in the freezer that's going to get demolished tonight...

Just back.

I've been hyper-critical of recent performances so I think it's only fair that this time I give oodles of credit to the players for a really gutsy display.

It did no harm to our chances that Aberdeen were absolutely hopeless today - even with the extra man they forced Tuffey into only one half-decent save in the second half. It was a significant change in shape from recent weeks - the addition of Jones very much turned it into a 4-3-3/4-5-1. Tansey played a bit further forward than OTJ and Foran but not to the extend that Nick Ross or Andy Shinnie normally would. I thought that the extra midfielder meant we were far better in possession than in recent games, and there was little sign of high balls being punted at McKay, thank goodness. We were hugely superior in the first half, especially after the goal. Tade legged it from one flank to another, played McKay through, and with the goalie hideously out of position McKay took it round him and cut it back cleverly from the by-line for Tade to stick into an empty net. A really well-worked goal, I thought. Foran was denied a second by a goalline clearance, and Tade and McKay were causing all sorts of problems. The main concern at half-time was that we only had one goal to show for our dominance - Aberdeen couldn't be any worse than in the first half.

After Meekings was sent off (no complaints - two blatant and foolish bookings), Butcher gambled on packing the pitch with defensive players and hanging on - it wasn't pretty but it worked well. Tade actually should have had another after a defensive blunder, but scuffed it wide with only the goalie to beat. But our backline dealt with everything that was thrown at them. There were no lucky breaks for the Dons, and they didn't deserve any.

I lost count of how often Golobart headed the ball in the last 10 minutes. The Spaniard had one or two 'moments' but otherwise I thought he was sensational. That was Rossco's best performance in ages too, and Graeme Shinnie had a superb game. I'm really pleased for Tuffers, who oozed confidence and had a couple of really good punches. Even those guys who didn't play brilliantly put in heroic shifts. Tade and Foran in particular looked like they were going to keel over at the end. McKay also deserves an honourable mention - he had a super game but had to be hooked after Meekings was sent off.

I can't be bothered going looking for negatives. That was a superb result and a display of real character from the ICT boys today - well done!

Don't know if this has been picked up on by someone else, but from the pictures on Alba, isn't Golobart offside when he equalizes?

McKay flicks it goalwards and Golobart is standing right on the line with no defenders or the goalkeeper obviously playing him on?

Not that I'm complaining, mind...about time we had some luck...

I quite often pop along to Victoria Park if Caley are away and County are at home.

Munro is a very good bet for the first division's Player of The Year award. Each time I've seen County play this season he has simply strolled through the game. It's a lower standard than what he would have faced this season with us, of course. But I would expect him to do a decent job in the SPL this season. Certainly County fans that I've spoken to tell me they love him.

I've never been terribly sold on Vigurs, even when he was with us. Admittedly he's scored in both the last two home games, including an absolutely brilliant free kick against Partick. But he certainly has his share of poor performances and still seems lightweight at times. I'm not convinced he can make the step up to the SPL.

Well...

More goals conceded at this point in an SPL season than in any previous campaigns.

A worse goal difference at this point in an SPL season than in any previous campaigns.

Fewer wins at this point in an SPL season than in any previous campaigns.

If this season's team were in a league table with the ICT side which were relegated in 2008-09, we would be below them on goal difference.

That can't be a good thing, can it?

I was geeky enough to waste 20 minutes working out how many points we had after 29 games in each of our previous SPL seasons...

P W D L F A PTS GD

2004-05 29 8 9 12 34 39 33 -5

2005-06 29 9 13 7 41 33 40 +8

2006-07 29 8 10 11 31 37 34 -6

2007-08 29 10 3 16 35 48 33 -13

2008-09 29 8 4 17 29 45 28 -16

2010-11 29 9 9 11 38 37 36 +1

2011-12 29 7 7 15 33 50 28 -17

Comes as a bit of a shock to discover we have the same number of points at this stage as the year we went down, and a worse goal difference to boot!

Thank the lord for Dunfermline...

I achieved the dubious honour of getting a rollicking from Malpas today, after criticizing the Tade-Gnakpa substitution. If he takes offence to me shouting "You must be joking", then goodness knows how he would cope with more vociferous and abusive and less forgiving home supports than ours.

I suppose we weren't any worse than against Rangers and Dundee United, but we were pretty dreadful again, particularly in the second half. A draw against a threadbare Killie side is nothing to celebrate, in my opinion. We started the game well but for the umpteenth game in a row we failed miserably in the final third. The freak own goal from Golobart knocked the stuffing out of us, and I thought we were rotten for long periods in the second half. How TB chose to hook Tade, who was unique amongst the attacking players in that he looked like he gave a damn, instead of the lacklustre McKay, the invisible Sutherland and the atrocious Winn-feck-all is beyond me, and since Gnakpa was absolutely brutal when he came on, I feel justified in my criticism.

About the only thing the boss got right today was throwing on Nick Ross, who provided an element of flair that we didn't have. What does Tudur Jones have to do to get a game? Tansey was utterly awful again, Foran ran a lot but achieved little, yet Jones, in a game tailor-made for a player who could put a foot on the ball and pass it around, was left kicking his heels until being brought on pointlessly in the 92nd minute. Depressingly the only player who looked comfortable on the ball in the entire team was not a forward, nor a midfielder, but Roman Golobart. After the own goal, his attitude and application were commendable.

Killie must be kicking themselves. They played for 1-0 and got caught out, yet when they started attacking again after our equalizer they created chances at will. If they had given it a go for 90 minutes they would have won with something to spare.

We needed at least a point today to stop the rot, but this result doesn't even begin to paper over the cracks. The same problems are still there, but this Kilmarnock team failed to take advantage of them.

As said above, this now has to be seen now as one point nearer to safety.

tm4tj is spot on. I'm not calling for TB's head, but the last few games have been staggeringly similar to the defeats we were suffering in late 2008, when Brewster was heading towards lame duck status. Not only are we getting beaten comfortably, we are also tedious to watch.

I also badly want Alex MacLeod to tell me now why it was that Munro got chucked...

I watched this game on SkyPlus since I was out this evening. I wish I had just gone to bed.

I suppose Butcher will see it as an improvement. After all, we gave Rangers a three goal start last week; tonight we only gave our opponents a two goal start before we bothered to turn up.

This match proves once and for all that our management team have no concept of tactics, nor a gameplan. For the umpteenth time this season we were absolutely annihilated in midfield. All our opponents know that, at the first sign of pressure, our defensive players will pump high balls towards McKay, who can't possibly win any of them. It's not coincidence that we have struggled since we lost Davis, who was always willing to take the ball into feet even with an opposing player shadowing him. Tansey is supposed to do that job, but he's not up to it - in fact he also struggles with passing, tackling and, looking at the second goal, with marking as well.

As for the idea to start with Sutherland and Tade providing width, well the mind boggles. Sure, it's not a bad idea if you push them up against the full backs and play high balls at them, but we don't do that for some reason. Both wanted to drive inside, leaving space for an overlapping full-back...except our full-backs don't go forward. So we have no width, and therefore keep punting high balls at McKay. In the final third, there is zero finesse or flair. By God, we miss Andy Shinnie.

Fair play to Meekings, who I thought dealt with Mackay-Steven relatively well. The big problem - AGAIN - was in the centre. I think Golobart lacked match sharpness. As for Tokely...I think it's fair to say that he will be put out to pasture this summer. He just isn't up to it anymore at this level.

What particularly struck me tonight was the number of moronic free kicks we keep giving away. Other teams manage to make their little nudges and shirt tugs subtle, so why can't we? If an opposing player is stuck in the corner, unsure what to do with the ball, he can be assured that one of our guys will hurtle into him and gift him a free kick. Wise up, for goodness sake.

So, in conclusion, we are in a complete and utter mess. This, for me, is the worst state we've been in since the last few months of Brew's second spell. We've definitely taken a step back this season - let's hope it only remains one step back, and things don't get worse. But I'm dreading Saturday. Surely, surely, Jones and Winnall can't be any worse than the mob we currently have on the pitch?

Jonny Hayes is out tonight, I think - or at least he's suggesting so on twitter. I think he's tweaked a hamstring?

Watching Proc play this season, I'm not convinced his normal five senses are in full working order...

Okay, plenty of difference of opinion here! Let's face it, we are all incredibly disappointed by today's result - if we weren't upset, we wouldn't be fans.

But let's not start slagging each other off over this. We all want the same thing - for the team to score goals and win games. Let's focus on that, huh?

How many changes can we make? I've gone for a relatively conservative four.

I would love to dump more members of the back four, but I'm horrified by the idea of Tokely or Proctor up against Russell. Piermayr has always looked solid when he's been in the side. Jones absolutely has to start this game, presumably at Tansey's expense. Winnall deserves a chance - he can't be any worse than the rest of them. Take your pick out of Gnakpa, Ross and Tade to play wide.

Agree with Hislopsoffsideagain. Only thing to add was that I left the game early. For those that know me that gives you an indication of just how dismal today was as I have never left a game early before.

With performances like that we can easily go down. Dunfermline will take great heart from that shocking display.

Trust me, things are bad if RiG left early. He's the sort of fan who would sit through the worst Caley performance even if someone had attached electrodes to his nether regions.

At least Butcher said the right things in the post-match interview.

The players have lost their day off tomorrow and are being dragged in for training in the morning - "If they won't run during the game, then they'll come in and do it tomorrow".

This was incredibly difficult. Can we not give negative points to some of them?

I've gone with:

McKay

Williams

Esson

It's been pretty grim being a season ticket holder this season. Only four wins, but dull tactics and mediocre performances in abundance. In the big games against the Old Firm, we've had terrible luck as well. Today was maybe the last chance the players had to produce a big performance and get their names in the papers, as well as give us a rare opportunity to cheer. Last season, against Celtic, the players rose to the occasion.

Today was the complete antithesis of that Celtic match in May.

That was the weakest and most vulnerable Rangers side I have ever seen at TCS, containing several players who couldn't even make their bench last season. And yet they ripped us to shreds whilst barely moving out of second gear. I shudder to think what they could have done to us had they played particularly well.

Not one of the Rangers goals required even a shred of guile or quality - every time it was just one half-decent pass which cut through us like a knife through butter. We were a tactical shambles. I defy anyone to explain what our gameplan was - I simply don't believe there was one. McCoist did his homework and got his attacking players to press us high up the pitch, knowing that we would end up punting high ball after high ball at our 5ft 8in centre forward. When we did get the ball in decent areas, our final ball was almost invariably hopeless in the first half; when we put in a few decent crosses in the second half, our strikers fluffed their lines.

Defensively we were an absolute joke. Could Esson have done better with the fourth? He certainly wasn't culpable for the others, and made one tremendous stop in the second half. Subbing Meekings at half-time was akin to putting down an injured animal. His positioning was terrible and he kept being caught by balls in behind him. His refusal to go beyond the half-way line also meant that Hayes was easily double-teamed whenever he got the ball. As for our other full-back, Graeme Shinnie will have nightmares about Sone Aluko, who just destroyed him. I'm not sure Shinnie managed to tackle him once. Aluko wasn't even that great at Aberdeen; it's galling that he looked so dangerous today. I love Kenny Gillet to bits, but he had a shocker today, to go with a poor performance at East End Park. Williams wasn't great, but he didn't appear obviously responsible for any of the goals we lost, and at least he got one.

It was in midfield that we really lost the game today. Foran was absolutely overrun by Edu and Davis. He got no help from Tansey, who kept giving the ball away even when he wasn't under pressure and who frankly chickened out of several 50-50 balls. What was the point of bringing on Jones with 3 minutes left? Even if he only has one leg, he should be on the pitch from the start. Hayes and Ross tried their hardest but whenever they got the ball they invariably had no support. Tade was utterly wasted out wide in the first half, and only got into it when he moved into the centre.

When McKay got announced as MOTM, I wondered out loud what he'd done to earn that - the response from a guy behind me was that "He's run about a lot". That seems to be fair,and it's a sad indictment of his teammates. To say he fed off scraps would be an understatement. On the rare occasions he got the ball, he had zero support from teammates. I was impressed by the fact he kept trying, even though he bounced off Goian every time.

When was the last time we laid down to an Old Firm team like this? It's not just the lack of quality that worried me, but the lack of fight and the lack of spirit. It's deeply concerning, especially as it's not been the first time this season. I haven't been this disillusioned with ICT since the dying embers of Brewster's second spell. We probably have enough points in the bank to hold off Dunfermline and stay up, but given our recent performances I wouldn't bet my mortgage on it.

As much as I love this club, and as much as I love the banter I get from the folk I sit with, I am seriously questioning the wisdom of renewing my season ticket. £300 a year for this dross? Pull the other one. As far as I'm concerned, the starting 11 and the coach can throw themselves off the Kessock Bridge for all I care.

First things first - I learned for the umpteenth time today never to trust a BBC weather forecast - so much for their prediction that there would be no further snow shower in the hills after midday. The trek back up the A9 was an interesting experience. I drove past the scene of that accident this morning and was horrified by the lack of any treatment to the roads.

As for the game, I guess you can either look at it as a point that keeps us from being dragged into a relegation battle, or two dropped points that significantly damage our top six aspirations.

Dunfermline were absolutely woeful in the first half, to the point that their own fans started booing them. This made it all the more horrifying that we went in behind at half-time. Our midfield were dominant in possession, but we had no cutting edge in the final third. Gnakpa had a shocker - not surprising considering the guy is not a striker. I'm inclined to defend Sutherland against criticism, as he put in a good shift, but I would agree that he didn't look like scoring today.

Their goal was a catastrophe for all sorts of reason. I thought the awarding of the free kick was a terrible decision - the forward punted the ball miles ahead and then leapt six feet in the air as Gillet ran across him. Hardie's effort crashed off the bar, and Proctor, indefensibly, headed the rebound straight to Cardle 2 yards out, who couldn't miss. Proc was under no pressure at all.

After the break, I actually felt the home side looked more likely to score than us. Esson made one particularly good stop from Kirk after another Proctor blunder (there is a theme here). The substitutions changed the game. As stated above, Tudur Jones started spraying passes around and stretching the game, but I thought McKay was just as effective - his lovely reverse pass put Hayes in down the left, and he fizzed a ball across the face of the goal that Nick Ross slammed into the roof of the net from point blank range.

TB deserves a fair bit of criticism for his selection today. It was clear from even the first 10 minutes that Gnakpa up front was not going to work - certainly there was a case for just swapping him and Sutherland around. As for his decision to play Proctor? Well, Gillet is quick, has good positional sense, and times his tackles well. But he's not big, and he needs someone who can dominate in the air to play alongside him - like Williams, Golobart or Tokely. The former two weren't available, but instead of going for Rossco he picked Proctor, who struggled against Andy Kirk, a guy who isn't any bigger than he is. I could list his every mistake today, but that would take a while - so I'm just going to say he was dreadful and that you can be certain he won't start next weekend.

The big positive today is that our midfield played very well. I thought Nick was our best performer even before the goal. Jonny had a quiet first half but was electric in the second. I was impressed by how willing Tansey was to get on the ball, and his passing was pretty good. Foran maybe wasn't as great as the rest, but moving him up front in the second half gave us far more firepower.

Credit to our support, who made an impressive racket. That attendance today is a shocker, and the home crowd were as quiet as ours at TCS.

The Pie&Bovril thread on the matter is the greatest display of schadenfreude I have ever seen

http://www.pieandbov...administration/

Anyway,I'm off to polish my grave dancing shoes.

Celebrate good times, come on...

EDIT: my own blog on the subject

You're calling me a cheat?! My feelings are totally hurt :cry:

If it makes you feel better, I could just copy and paste everything I blog onto the website...but then you poor buggers would find it harder to avoid reading it!