PerfICT

That is good news! Stability is what we need right now and that should hopefully encourage some of the out-of-contract players to follow suit. Draper, Fon Williams, Polworth, Williams to name a few!

Decent performance today. We matched Celtic in all but finishing, but unfortunately that's what the game is about. Subs didn't really work for us - Mutumbo was particularly poor. Celtic were there for the taking today.

Hughes reiterated on Sportscene last night that negotiations are ongoing. My concern is that he said "hopefully, something will be sorted out in the next couple of weeks"....which I'm sure is what he said a couple of weeks ago! Needs to be resolved ASAP.

I'm with Sneckboy on this - even if it doesn't include the Christie transfer fee. The previous year's accounts showed a very modest profit, despite the league cup final appearance. This year's profit is on the back of the Scottish Cup triumph and sale of Billy Mckay. The implication is that, in the absence of any transfers or cup victories, the club will lose substantial amounts of money in any given season. No doubt that fact is as clear as day to KC and the team (Sunshine Band??) and underlies the cautiousness in the transfer market.

Here's the article - as usual, more guesswork than substance... http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/618826/Ryan-Christie-Celtic-knee-injury-Inverness-Scottish-Premier-League

According to the Express, Ryan Christie has returned to Celtic for treatment on his knee - he is apparently out for ~4 weeks. The article implies that he's returned to his parent club early - have we seen the last of Ryan Christie in a Caley Thistle shirt? If so, it is a shame we didn't get a chance to give him a proper send-off and I wish him the very best of luck in his career - hopefully, he'll make it to the very top for club and country!

sounds like we need to add Christie and Williams to the list....unbelievable! At least there's no game next week.

you've got to take your hats off to the guys: Despite continuing to be dealt a shabby hand, they can still pull out a result like that! Rollercoaster of a season.

From the highlights, neither of those were penalties. Rave got the ball. Hope we appeal.

superb effort against the odds. Great to see GW back, just in time to make up for Raven's suspension.

Roughie's team for me too. When is this injury crisis going to ease???

I don't like his comment saying that he has no control or influence over our bad form. We might as well call it a day then and not bother if our manager can't influence the squad. I really think this is unwise to discuss with the media. If he takes the new contract - fine. If he doesn't, we now know that it's because he doesn't think the playing budget is high enough and one interpretation of what he says about the players is that, if he goes, so will most of those out of contract. Blackmail? Possibly. I still think that, if he turns it down, he's a lame duck and we will only have 4 players signed for next season come May. To my mind, he's therefore backed himself into a corner: either sign the contract or leave to allow a new manager to sign the guys who want to stay and to start replacing those who want to leave. BIG decisions for Yogi AND KC ahead - let's hope they both make the right ones. Personally, I think the best outcome would be for Yogi to stay with a bigger budget for next year negotiated. The only other alternative is the door.

Time to reflect. Yogi's hands are tied with respect to the number of fit players he has - for that, he has my sympathy. He has no option but to play guys out of position and make do. In addition, he has virtually no options to change things when it's not working out during a game. HOWEVER, it is his job to adopt a system that best suits the players he has and to recognise and rectify when things aren't working. For example, Vincent up front didn't work on Saturday, but he persisted with this tactic last night and.......it didn't work again! Contrast that display from Vincent with the one away at County where he played in midfield and was fantastic. We do not have 2 fit senior strikers at the club, so he cannot play 2 up front unless he's willing to go with Sutherland, who I thought looked decent last night. Vigurs in for Williams just eliminated the only player with any pace in the team - Williams made a difference when he came on. The diamond in midfield didn't really work either. The passing game when you're 2-0 down in a cup with players playing out of position is (a) suicidal and (b) ineffectual. I understand that the club bought into the philosophy when Yogi came, but he needs to mix it up with the longer ball occasionally, otherwise we are too predictable. Everybody now knows to press us high up the pitch and eventuually we'll cough it up in a dangerous position. Much as I hate us losing to County, I'm not concerned about being out of this cup. League points are, however, vital and we have another opportunity on Saturday to take something from the game. If the group that played last night are all we've got, then so be it. But Yogi needs to play them in a formation that they are all comfortable with and be prepared to go long if needs be to cut out the leakiness at the back. The strikers did well off balls into the channels for the last 20 min, so keep doing it! Equally, there is no point to passing the ball amongst the back 5, only for Fon Williams to eventually hack it away under pressure anyway - may as well do that off the bat and reduce the risk! Learn from the mistakes, Yogi, or we're in really deep trouble.

The lack of urgency tonight was just not good enough. Time after time, we shot ourselves in the foot at the back: County were rubbing their hands every time we had possession. Finally, once the game was all but gone, we actually started to get in behind and, with a bit of luck could have taken it to extra time (probably undeserved). Vincent up front doesn't work and Vigurs was poor (Williams made a difference). Who was marking Irvine? Sooooooo poor! We NEED to be more direct on Saturday or we'll be lucky to get 0-0.

We'll just need to see how this one plays out. I'm surprised that this has been leaked while negotiations are ongoing - there are now only 2 scenarios: 1. Yogi signs a new contract 2. He doesn't! The problem with (2) is that he immediately becomes a lame duck for the rest of the season. By this, I mean that he will have no interest in maintaining and strengthening the squad for next season because he'll not be here. For that reason alone, I hope a deal is done, preferably out of the public eye.

An interesting statistic from this weekend: We had more possession against St J than Celtic had against Dundee United, only they created over 20 chances and scored 5. Statistically, we apparently created 8 (although I can only really remember 2 or 3) and scored none. Statistics can always be misleading, but this one is not: Having the ball is an important aspect of the game, but using it effectively is much more important. Likewise, this is an entertainment business and what we saw on Saturday was anything but entertaining. Injuries are a major issue without question, but a massive improvement is required for Tuesday...and more importantly, for league business on Saturday.

Dire. We have no penetration when we're faced by 2 banks of four. St J played a sensible containing game for 10 men: We didn't look like breaking them down if we'd played for 3 days! Christie had an off day, Vincent looked like he was pushed up front which didn't suit him. Williams was quiet, Polworth was a in bursts and at least fizzed a shot past the post. Total chaos for the pen - schoolboy defending to let the ball bounce - identical to the late concession against Dundee. This is really concerning for the season. We need to start scoring and, in case there is any doubt, our 2 top scorers could be away in January. Never great when 0-0 is the best we can hope for.

Draper will be a big miss, but Vincent's return will be a boost (excellent at County and really missed last week). Think Yogi will go with Tremarco at the back and Williams further forward. Presume he'll bring in Wedderburn if Draper doesn't make it. Jeez, we are really going to lack pace today! I see where IHE is coming from with Sutherland, but I can't see it happening. I presume Sho Silva still injured?

Sorry to report medievalmickey, but it looks like Miles Storey isn't a Swindon player after all - here's a snippet from this week's BBC preview of our upcoming match on Saturday: "Christie has also been on scintillating form and his return is timely for manager John Hughes, who also has the impressive Miles Storey to call upon. The striker, on loan from Newport County, has scored four goals in his five appearances so far and has yet to taste defeat since joining the Highlanders." So, you must be wrong in your assertion that he is a Swindon player because the BBC never get it wrong.......

United have had a shocker here. The only facts in this case are that (1) United indicated that compensation would never be a barrier to getting their man (2) Tommy Wright was be their first choice (3) John Hughes was their 2nd choice (4) Mixu gets the gig, apparently because they weren't prepared to pay compensation for Hughes (last bit is gossip, rather than fact). He was, at best, 3rd choice. Once you break cover and ask for permission to talk to managers in post, you need to be certain that you're going to get them! Excellent work by the board - first for putting the compensation clause in the contract and second for standing firm on it. I'm not so certain that we've come out of this unscathed, however. Assuming that JH was keen on the United job, he will need a sweetener by way of a contract extension and perhaps some loosening of the purse strings to help retain players and strengthen the squad. I'm sure these negotiations are underway, but rightly, they should be behind closed doors and an announcement made only once there is an outcome.

Well, at least Yogi's not going to Motherwell as they are about to unveil McGee.......or are they? The journos have been given the right runaround over these managerial posts. all guesswork and no fact.

Wow. Still messy then. Apparently Jim Spence has also said that it isn't a done deal yet and that there are still 3 candidates....shambles.

By the way....would love to know the real truth behind all of this: who was actually interviewed? Was JH eventually given permission to speak to United? If so, did they decide on Mixu after or before speaking to Yogi? Did they want Mixu all along or is he 3rd/4th choice? We'll never know....

Brilliant. Can somebody now lock down the "IF Yogi leaves" thread. The OP for this thread was spot-on, though. Time to be pro-active with Yogi and the out-of-contract players that we need to keep, assuming they want to stay. If they don't, then start scouting and identifying targets now, so that we're not in the position that we were a month ago without a recognised striker and poor defensive cover. I know you can't mitigate for every eventuality, but it doesn't take a lot of foresight to see what the risks are and do your level best to prevent them from becoming reality. Stability is a strength.

Storey isn't ours anyway. However, point taken that he could well raid us for the likes of Draper, Williams etc.