PerfICT

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.....

If the deal is £600k and 6 months loan back (and no Stokes on loan for the season), as has been reported, this is an absolutely horrendous deal for us: best player gone in 4 months and still no decent striker. I really hate the transfer windows, but the last two have been an absolute disaster for ICT.

I agree, I would prefer he said nothing than stuff like "when the old firm come calling you do not say no". Ryan has a decision to make and comments like this will only encourage him to join Celtic, in the meantime rubbing salt in it for us. Is there any need to publicly tell Ryan that he can't say no to Celtic? Agree - I thought that was a particularly naive comment. I also wasn't very keen to hear JH say that Ryan is a Celtic fan. Honesty is one thing, but there is a real skill to effective communication and these comments in particular were not very pallitable to ICT fans. If this was a genuine club strategy, then it should have been meticulously planned before the end of last season, discussed with the player and then conducted behind closed doors while Hughes went searching for effective replacements for Shinnie, Mckay and Watkins. Now it is all too late and we're not in a position to spend any cash wisely (just panic buys). Hope the Stokes deal comes off in the short term, but please, please, please plan for next season or there will be an exodus in June which will cripple us.

Excellent point, HtG! Now that they've knee-capped the teams that were 3rd and 4th last year, they just need to decimate Aberdeen and Hearts to clear the path for another stroll to the title.

Stokes certainly sweetens this deal - there's no doubt he's a quality striker, although I don't care much for some of his antics off the field. Right now, however, he'll give us exactly what we're missing and the rest of the season will look a lot brighter.......until he gets injured, of course!

From highlights - not much in the game. Good finish from Raven after break of the ball. Poor penalty saved and criminal defending from a pretty shabby cross for the goal. Stupid foul from Mutombo for red card.

Not sure he will, though, DD. I suspect he'll play Roberts if he's now fit. There seems a real reluctance to play Ferguson or Sutherland - neither could be worse than what I've seen of Lopez tbf. A friend who is a Dundee Utd fan was at Ross County today. He had not been keen on the McKay signing but has completely changed his tune. Despite not scoring he felt McKay was their " diamond in the rough" and wished they'd had him earlier. He thinks he'd have made the difference in narrow games where they've dropped points before today (eg Dundee derby). Gutting given he was one of our own, had become available and a position we are very sadly lacking in now. Agree, but the truth is that we would never be able to match United on wages and it seems that wages was a sticking point for the deal to go ahead there.

County are not a bigger club than us - I'd say they are almost exactly the same size, based on gates. They are, however, a richer club simply because of the input of a rich benefactor. MacGregor's financial muscle has saved County in the past two seasons. We can't rely on the same rescue if we find ourselves in trouble come January. Cash is king and its killing football.

A win there would have been a bonus, but it sounds like we threw it away again. Would have taken a draw at the start, but always so disappointing to lose a late goal.

1-1 and Mutombo sent off. Shambles. BBC seem to now suggest it was Carreiro for Dundee sent off instead of Mutombo - what's going on? 1-1 FT.

Rave knows when to score important goals!

.....sounds like he's now going to United on loan in stead now. Unconfirmed as yet.

I've got to say that I've never been so concerned about our football club. Granted, I was dreaming when I thought that the Cup success would improve our gate and attractiveness to players, but I'm really disappointed that we haven't managed to solidify our position (note: not "go to the next level" which is both a horrible expression and a pipe dream) and to make reasonable signings to replace the inevitable departure of our best players. Irreplaceable? Maybe in the short term, but there must be some rough diamonds out there as Watkins and Mckay proves! Instead, we are exactly where we were: a small club on the periphery of the radar with a very small budget that appears to be pretty low down on players' wish list. The Cup victory doesn't appear to have made one iota of difference. JH clearly hasn't been sitting on his hands with respect to transfers but he is quoted to have said that he has been turned down by a number of signing targets. Why? Salary? Lack of training facilities? Location? Whatever the reason, we're now left to scrabble at the bottom of the barrel 3 days before the transfer window closes, with an injury list that could fill the first team! My disillusionment isn't really with the club - they run a very tight ship and rightly so. I think it's just with the realisation that we will eventually find our level, based on the size of the core support (~2500) and our lack of resource, and that this might well not be in the premiership (but could be in an expanded top league, if that were to ever happen). Cash is king - whether borrowed, stolen or earned - and we quite simply can't compete in that market, cup winners and European candidates or not! A miserable post, I know! On a chearier note, I will nevertheless continue to buy my season ticket to support my local team!

Away again!

...and this once again raises the issue of players' value. We sell him to Wigan for ~£150k on tghe back of a couple of seasons in which he scores >20 goals in each and, following a handful of games and no goals (I think) in 6 months at Wigan, his value has apparently gone UP by 1/3rd! While I understand that value is based on many factors, including length of contract remaining etc, I can't help thinking that ICT are seen as a soft touch in the transfer market.

Sadly, I agree. A real shame for Aaron Doran, but I think we've seen the last of him.

I see (3rd hand via Scotsman) that Dundee United have put in a 3rd bid for Billy Mckay..

Looks like he can do it against Prem teams too. A very good call ages ago, ICTRoughi, but I just can't see that we'd attract him here.

Certainly not intended to be negative - actually just trying to point the very reason that we find ourselves where we are. 5 departures + 10 injuries = a whole new team - that's all this was about. There is not a club in the country (including Celtic) that would cope with that kind of upheaval. I didn't really expect this to be a year of transition - the spine of the team is still there - but the injuries have put paid to any chance of stability. I still think Meekings will make a big difference when he returns and I believe Roberts showed promise pre-season (not even seen him feature yet!)

... only an illustration of the contrast between the start of this season and the start of last. The point is that in the space of 12 months we have lost our entire first team for one reason or another. you could just as easily put forward a team of current crocks vs fit players, which tells a slightly different story centred on misfortune.