PerfICT

Agree with Renegade, but would consider Sho Silva for Mutombo, if fit.

We'll only keep the 4 game unbeaten run going if the game is postponed! Instead, let's keep the unbeaten run going and turn it into a 5 game unbeaten run. fair point - "extend" was the word I was looking for!

Looks like Shinnie will miss the game on Saturday now, so we'll not know what reception he'd have got! I would have liked to have had the opportunity to applaud him onto the pitch, but at the same time am delighted Aberdeen's best player this season is out! C'mon ICT, let's keep the 4 game unbeaten run going.

Will take 1-1, given the poor first half. Extends the unbeaten run!

Half time can't come soon enough.

Mckay scoring was an absolute stick-on. At least PT and Killie are losing, but we've not started. Finger out!

That's a blow bot having Silva: No options to change it up if we need to get something from the game!

Agree, RIG. Why change anything? Sho Silva to come on midway through second half to stretch the game. I thought B Mck looked really sharp in United's last game, so it will be a challenge to keep him in his box. We really need to gain some momentum and put daylight between us and the bottom two, so come on lads! posts on P&B suggest mckay is struggling for fitness - here's hoping!

wow, a "dislike" for daring to suggest that going down holding the face when it didn't really hurt is poor, irrespective of the colours a guy is wearing?! Completely agree with Sneckboy - this kind if behaviour is ruining the game of football and I can't condone it simply because the guy involved was playing for us at the time.

Alexander's reaction was interesting and shines a light on the Sho-Silva incident. He clearly saw the incident at very close hand and publicly b@ll@cked his own player, at the same time trying to pick Sho-Silva up. Alexander obviously felt Oshinawa was the villain of the piece. It was a clear red card IMO (but only after seeing the slow-mo) but Sho-Silva should not have gone to ground, irrespective of whether the red card would not have been waved if he had stayed on his feet. It was simply wrong and hopefully that is explained to him by our best professionals and it doesn't happen again - he's a young lad and will be fine with the right guidance.

Had forgotten what it felt like to wake up after a win! Trying not to get carried away, I'll start by saying that Hearts were poor. They had a spell of pressure in each half and failed to create a single clear-cut opportunity. As for ICT, it is amazing what a difference bringing back Meekings had. Not only did it mean we had a top class centre half in the team, but it also allowed Big Drapes to do what he does best in midfield. Then we added a striker with energy and Bingo! Christie had a hot and cold game, but his run and cross for the goal was pure class! Vincent was immense: great to have him back! I thought Tobi was excellent. At the time, I thought he might be in trouble for simulation, but seeing the replay he definitely got clocked on the nose. Hate players going down like a sack of tatties, but the guy threw a punch, so red card was right. I get the impression Tobi's a wind-up merchant: did you see his sarcastic applause to Paterson when he mis-controlled?! Loved his pace and power in the air. All in all, far, far more positive!

Great to hear Foran is back (wasn't expecting that) - hope he stays off the treatment table this time! More competition for the striker slot(s), but able to fill in behind if needs be.

...wot ICT247 said

Outstanding, DD: but I still don't agree with you!

Eh? Scottish Football Writers' Young Player of the Season 2014/15! Previous winners include: James McFadden, Steven Fletcher, James Forrest and Stuart Armstrong.....indeed, all of the Scottish winners (I think) have played regularly for Scotland. I would argue that these writers have been pretty accurate at spotting talent and Ryan Christie has talent. Anybody think we'll be stronger when he goes in January???

Taking stock: that was a terrible last 2 transfer windows for us. We were probably a victim of our own success, leading to the loss of quality players like Mckay, Shinnie, Watkins, Ross, Christie, but I have been underwhelemed by the new players that I have seen so far (looking forward to seeing Roberts, though) and baffled by the recruitment of so many midfielders when strikers and defenders are what we so desparately need. It is so important to secure premiership status as early as possible in order to plan effectively for next year (with decent offers for the likes of Draper and Williams, Fon Williams maybe?) so that we have the spine of the team in place before the next window comes along. Back to longer contracts, please!

Ryan Christie does not deserve any criticism whatsoever over the events of the past few days. He has a career to pursue (and a short one at that) - he deserves everything that comes to him on account of his talent and his hard work since the age of ~10. Few make it through development squads because of the dedication required and he needs to move on to fulfil his ambitions. Celtic are his employers now and he has to show loyalty to that club. We are borrowing him for a few months. I have no doubt that, when the time is right, Ryan will thank the club and the support at ICT in the appropriate manner. The issue is not with Ryan, but with the timing of the transfer. I can't help feeling that this move could have been sorted earlier in the window to allow us to re-invest the cash in quality players that we so badly need. I also think Yogi's comments around this issue has been poor - honesty sometimes needs to give way to discretion. Good luck Ryan and I look forward to seeing you on the world stage at some point either for Scotland or in the Champions League. In the meantime, please bang in a few goals before you go!

Doesn't look right.

Answer: yes.

Exactly! So, RC look over the bridge and copy our outstanding policy over the past few years, while we abandon the policy that proved to be such a success and resort to their flawed tactics re: contracts. Without huge rescue packages from Uncle Roy in the past 2 seasons, they would definitely have been relegated: we don't have the luxury of rescue packages. There is another aspect to this from the fans' perspective: personally, I like to support a team made up primarily of loyal servants and young local talent. Loyalty of players is repaid in loyalty of the support. A big criticism from County fans over the last few seasons is that they barely recognised the teamsheet from week to week, never mind from season to season. They had no connection with players that were here today, gone tomorrow. Don't go there!

Agree Ywingie...looks like an attacking midfielder - cover for Christie, if he's recalled? I don't know what's going on here, but you could argue that Vigurs could stand in if Christie is recalled. So we're still very weak up front and no cover in defence. I don't get it and I'm completely uninspired by the transfer market skills within the club. Given the short contracts everybody is on now, next June will represent a clear-out irrespective of what league we're in- that will really test the negotiating and planning skills within the club - not much hope given this year's debacle.

Agree - El Bakhtaoui should be the prime target + some backup in defence. If no sensible re-investment today, the future will look very bleak indeed.

Although the Scottish 'correspondant' on SKY Sports News was just saying that he understands that Celtic have a clause whereby they can recall Ryan 'at any time'! ....that's just pants!

Excellent deal for Ryan. Congratulations to him - very well-deserved. Poor deal for us IMO. Too late in the window to help us out of our predicament, no loan striker and the option for Celtic to recall in January makes planning impossible for JH. I doubt Celtic would take up this option unless (a) they were ravaged by injuries or (b) Ryan was tearing up trees for us. Ironically, the better he plays, the worse it might turn out for us. Disappointing.

Deal apparently done: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34106143 ...now for the all-important detail.....