PerfICT

Fon Williams 4: culpable for 3rd goal and positioning also poor for 2nd. Handball at the edge of area almost cost us another . Worst game so far for him. McNaughton 5: Sad end to the match for him. Had looked OK in parts up until the injury. Warren 5: One of Gary's poorest games for us Tremarco 6: Played OK, but suspect marking for first goal. Raven 4: Very poor from the Rave. Gardyne had him skinned in the first half. Surprisingly, he seemed better when at centre half! Vigurs 4: Another of those games from Vigurs - the occasional decent pass, but laregely anonymous. Tansey 5: Much like the first few games last season, Tansey wasn't at the races. Hopefully, he'll come onto his game quickly Draper 8: Not up to his very best, but had more fight in him than anybody else and struck his goal well. Polworth 5: Not sure right midfield is his best position. Very quiet all game. Boden 6: Not a very lively striker, but took his goal well enough. Sometimes that's all you need as a striker, but I like a bit more pace and energy. King 5: The occasional decent run, but no0t enough. Horner 7: I thought he made a difference when he came on, certainly from an attacking point of view. Mulraney 7: Lively and terrifying for defenders. Perhaps went down too easily(?), but made a difference when he canme on. Doran 6: Looked OK after he came on, but will improve with match practice. Manager: 4. Has the makings of a reasonable team but seems to have failed to motivate or organise them for this game. I think he also lost the tactical battle. Needs things to start happening soon. Referee 5. Had the usual blunder or two, but not as bad as some others seemed to think.

What a nightmare for Kevin McNaughton. Achilles injuries are notoriously long term, so I doubt very much we'll see him again in an ICT shirt. It might even end his career, which is desperate for the the player. I wish him the best and hope he makes a full recovery.

NEVER MESS WITH THE BADGE

Give him his due, at least Richie tells it as it is! Can't argue with his analysis, but not "wanting it as much as them" is not an easy thing to sort. This will be a test of his man management to both up their confidence and their desire. His point about Mulraney seemed reasonable too - step up from youth football will take time. His biggest question right now is what to do in defence? Assuming Meekings is not quite ready, he could play 3 at the back, put Draper at centre half or Raven at centre half, with Horner at full back (I thought he was quite good when he came on). Tremarco could play in there, but there's no cover at left back. What about Jason Brown? Might have to play him. None of these options fill me with confidence!

What a spot-on analysis! Organisation was horrendous today. I'm still not sure what our formation in central midfield was. Draper seemed to be a striker for much of the second half! So - starting at the back: Fon Williams - worst game yet for us: Hesitant and not great distribution. Certainly at fault for the crucial 3rd. Defence: All over the place. Raven made a decent fist of makeshift centre half but was poor early on. Warren had a poor game. The marking for the first goal was non-existent - Boyce didn't even have to move to shake off a defender. Midfield: Disorganised and 2nd to everything. No desire. Vigurs had flashes but largely ineffectual, Tansey non-existent, Draper poor in possession and Polworth quiet. King had flashes, but not enough. Subs were better, but we haven't found our best formation yet. Up front: Boden did well to score, but had terrible service and lacks movement. If we'd lost 3-0, it would have reflected the game. The positive was that we managed 2 goals from a shambolic performance. Mulraney and Doran added something too. McNaughton will be out for some time, so we need to think again. Boy, do we miss Meekings-Warren!

oooft! That was painful. Can't think of a decent performance from anybody. Boden and Draper took their goals well, but were otherwise poor. We need another centre half now too. A long season ahead.

Agree, DD. Imagine the alternative: No youth development at any but the richest clubs, killing the game stone dead in all but the big centres. Only a handful of youth players might make it to the top level, but the Highland league and teams like Elgin benefit hugely from ICT's youth system. Granted, it's not a great business model to feed smaller clubs with players, but it essential for the quality of the whole pyramid to improve to get a better standard at the top. Clyde binned their youth system last year and can probably get by through cast offs from all the teams around them, but what future if they too drop their youth systems? For professional football to survive in Scotland, youth systems at the vast majority of senior clubs is essential.

yup - that's the team for me, RiG. Doran should be brought on later and I would also consider Vigurs for an appearance...just for that last-minute free kick on the edge of the area!

I can't believe we're all still discussiing this. the facts are that, despite several windfalls over the past few years (cup runs/glory, player sales, good league position), ICT have only just broken even financially. The truth, therefore, is that the club requires windfalls/player sales to survive financially and to maintain its current level of footballing prosperity. My guess is that, in a poor year with no player sales, we could expect a deficit of ~£250k and I think others on this forum have suggested the same. That is clearly unsustainable: I think Kilmarnock will testify to that as they try to service a £750k debt this year on the back of falling crowds. So, there's no mystery as to where the money has gone - it is subsidising the current playing squad and (in the case of last year) was used to bring in players to patch up an injury-ridden squad. Given our small home support, there must be a realisation that it will always be this way and a recognition that we have the financial clout of Stevenage in English league 2.

Ooooh - cheeky, Mr Bannerman. I'm not actually having a pop at Richie - he's a rookie and will make mistakes as he learns the ropes, as we all do in our chosen careers. The point of the comment was to highlight the necessity for him to not compound the error in the next game by sticking to the same philosophy. I really think he's got a decent team together, barring perhaps a finisher, now it's up to him to shape the team into a winning formula. Nobody is suggesting it's easy and I'd no doubt make a horlicks of the job, but I'm entitled to my opinion.

Foran's naivity has definitely been evident in the last two games. In my view, leaving Draper on the bench on Saturday was an error. We all make mistakes, but it is important to learn from them. To then leave him on the bench again last night was foolish......to not have him starting on Saturday would be criminal. I am not saying that Draper is our saviour, but we all know that the Draper/Tansey combination in defensive midfield has been rock solid over the past few seasons, so why on earth would you split it up? So, assuming Draper is fully fit, he must start alongside Tansey on Saturday. There are options ahead of them which could cause County problems - Doran always does well against them, so he must get some game time; Mulraney, King, Vigurs, Polworth all have differnt things to offer. Equally, County played 3 at the back last week, so we should consider playing 4-4-2 at least for some of the game. It's a steep learning curve for Richie!

Agree with Kingsmills, but would be cautious about bringing back a player with a serious knee injury into a game on an artificial pitch. I'd keep Doran on the bench and introduce him later in the game, either to make something happen if we're down, or to give hime game time if we're comfortable. No room for any complacency here.

I see that...to an extent. It depends on why he was put on the bench in the previous games. Might have been because he had a niggle and wasn't to be risked or it might have been to "save" one of our best players for more important games. If the latter, I would have thought he should have started on Saturday irrespective of how well the team had done in the previous games. Against tougher opposition, I'd certainly have him in preference to Polworth or Vigurs because of his ball-winning and ability to get beyond the strikers. Let's hope he starts tomorrow night......and on Saturday.

Anyone know why Draper didn't start on Saturday? Surely he's the first name on the team sheet, if fit. Hopefully, he starts on Tuesday and he MUST start against County: He usually has them all wound up within the first minute...

So important to make a good start. Sounds like there was nothing between the teams, but it's all about goals. More pressure on the Highland derby, with County also getting stuffed.

...now the BBC website predicts that we'll have a tough season! I'm not sure if we're all looking through ros-tinted specs or whether the so-called pundits have just not been paying attention in pre-season! Well, let's just fly under the radar like we did 2 years ago and prove these idiots wrong again. Starting today.

So, the "average" positions for teams, as predicted by the CTO jury are as follows: 1. Celtic (range: 1-2) 2. Aberdeen (2-3) 3. Rangers (1-5) 4. St J (3-5) 5. Hearts (2-7) 6. ICT (5-9) 7. Dundee (4-10) 8. Motherwell (6-10) 9. County (7-12) 10. Partick Thistle (8-11) 11. Kilmarnock (9-12) 12. Hamilton (10-12) Probably not far off the mark.....I'd take that outcome now!

....or play more with Taylor Swift

I think any football fan has to be realistic about the attack/defence balance of a team. While we would all love to have a watertight defence and an outstanding attack, the truth is that there is always an element of compromise. Richie has gone for a more direct route with genuine width and quick transition, whereas Yogi was very narrow with slow transition (and therefore more compact). While the defence might look "scary" in both instances, it is for very different reasons: last year it was because the ball was often stolen off players in the back third, while this yrear it will largely be because there are bigger spaces in front of the back four, who will be less protected. Personally, I am prepared to accept a few more goals conceded in exchange for an exciting and potent attack - compare that to Yogi's bore-fest, with an overall aim of keeping possession rather than scoring goals.

Just looked at the rules for a tie at the top: Thankfully, head-to-head doesn't count: It's goal difference, goals scored, then wins come into play and eventually, drawing lots. It's really in our hands to finish top, so let's just go and do it in style! Mulraney tore Dunfermline to shreds tonight and Vigurs was at his lethal best: classic hat-trick; left, right and header. It's shaping up nicely! A word for whoever came up with the format - it's great and distinctive from the league and Scottish Cup. Plenty of upsets and anything that eliminates RC at the group stage has to be applauded!

Please let it be Shinniesta! This hadn't crossed my mind, but there is a rumour out there.....probably unfounded, but it is good to dream!

Shame about the pens - could have done with extra point. We now need to win our two remaining games - Dunfermline will be particularly tricky - and hope for a draw between Dunfermline and Dundee United. Quite like the new format even if it didn't work for us today.

Yes, I'd go with this, assuming everybody is fit. If Meekings is still out, then McNaughton in, if Esson is out, then MacKay.

Killie schizophrenic these days? I'll be interested to see how they come both 9th and 11th! In fairness, they are the hardest team to call!

1. The Rangers - pains me to say it and I still think they're spending beyond their means, but I think they're at least as good as Celtic on paper. 2. Celtic - have some poor players (Ambrose) in a massive squad 3. Aberdeen - might do even worse if they get stretched by Europa league involvement 4. Hearts - will challenge for Europe again 5. St Johnstone - always seem to be there or there abouts 6. Us - optimistic, but I think we look more balanced on paper than last year and should be more attacking 7. Dundee - depends if they keep their strikers 8. Ross County - squad much weakened by loss of Irvine and disquiet with Davies 9. Motherwell - would miss Macdonald if he goes to Sydney 10. Kilmarnock - difficult to know where they'll finish given wholesale changes. A gamble. 11. Partick Thistle - possibly weaker than last year 12. Hamilton - surely will struggle this time