PerfICT

Oh how my heart bleeds! Brown trouser time for Butcher and Co!

OK, let's try this one more time: DO NOT TRY TO SQUEEZE 5 CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS INTO THE TEAM! Brill Raven Warren Devine Shinnie Tansey Draper Watkins Christie Williams Mckay Esson, Tremarco, Polworth, Vincent,Evans, Doran?, Foran?

Game's a bogey, I'm afraid. Looks like around 70 points will be needed for Europe: that would mean us needing to win all of our remaining games. 4th might get a European spot, depending on cup winners, but we're not good enough just now to get 4th.

What's more annoying is on Skysports they are still using an image of Billy Mckay in Northampton strip in the top scorers chart. Lazy.

The realist in me says we're in a straight fight for 5th/6th. Form is difficult to turn around and top 4 all have better form just now. I like the target of best points tally - much more realistic!

Team selections are not doing Hughes any favours. You've got to admit that the goal at Tannadice and the second today had more than a touch of class about them; that's how Hughes wants to play, which is fine.....but.... the team we have built its league position on solid, no-nonsense defending and swift counter-attacking with width, giving Billy tap-ins. Slow, tippy-tappy football won't give Mckay those chances. We're too narrow and too slow and deliberate going forward. It's not needing a huge change, just playing people in their natural positions and being brave enough to drop one of the central midfielders to give balance and width. Has he got the b@lls? Not so far...

....was he not JH's first re-signing? I think Vincent has something to offer, but not out wide and not as part of a 5 man narrow midfield!

Take a bow, Ryan Christie. Other than that, we were quite flat today. So AGAIN we tried to squeeze Vincent, Tansey, Polworth, Draper into the midfield. It doesn't work: width is needed!!! Red card was a farce. Opportunity missed, given other results

Renegade is right in much of what he says. We remind me a bit of Killie a couple of seasons ago: the Shiels philosophy was to always play it out from the back and keep possession....like Barcelona! Nothing wrong with the idea, except that Barcelona have players with outstanding ability, vision and skill, meaning that they can take a pass under pressure and still find space and make a pass. We don't have players at that level, which means teams will press high up the pitch and force errors. We used exactly that tactic against Killie to enormous effect under Butcher. I don't mind a guy with a philosophy, but it takes a class manager to realise when it's not really working And to change the tune. Not quite sure Hughes has that in him, which will be his downfall eventually. A solid base, width, pace, counter-attacking football is the recipe that works for us: all of that can be achieved on the deck without the need for a hoof up the pitch.

No Tansey? Good spot! Would be on the bench or instead of Vincent - the crucial point is not to try to squeeze all of the central midfielders on the pitch at once.

....if you look at the footage, the fault with the goal really starts with Meekings; when the ball comes to him, he has time to turn to his outside and play it to Shinnie, who is unmarked. If you're going to paly this kind of football, you need players in every position with vision; they need to know what they will do with the ball before it comes to them, which means playing with threir heads-up all the time. Meekings clearly didn't know that Shinnie was in space and did the easy thing, but the pass was short and then Brill completed the shambles by trying to play it left instead of right (and off the park). To get back to the thread - I thought it was a good interview and he obviously is a motivator.

Brill Raven Warren Meekings Shinnie Draper Vincent Watkins Christie Williams Mckay subs - Esson, Polworth, Tremarco, Ross, Devine, Evans Presume Doran and Foran out. If Foran is fit, I'd play him instead of Vincent. Doran on the bench if fit.

Hate to say "I told you so", but I did! There is no need to play people out of position (Vincent), when we have players (Ross/Williams) who can do the job. Likewise, Polworth got stick earlier in the season for poor performances, but he was playing deep alongside Draper - this is a specialist role and not one that everybody can adapt to. Last night, we saw what he's capable of in his natural, more advanced position. Brill's ****-up was a shambles - should have gone the other way (into touch if necessary!) Meekings did leave him short, though. Watch Christie's role in the build up to the goal - great movement and always looking for it. These guys are definitely deserving of their chance, and we now have the opportunity to experiment with them in the remaining games to get the system right. europe is a goner, I'm afraid,

FT 2-1. Delighted for Polworth. Ironically, Foran's injury might solve the problem of who to play down the middle: now get some pace out wide.

2-0....and that, ladies and gentlemen is it for this season. Best we can hope for is keeping St J at bay for 5th. I'm afraid JH has not quite found the right balance yet: too many central midfielders and no pace

Not sure the Draper/Tansey/Foran/Vincent combo quite works: too much solidity and not enough pace. But, the hope will be for solid start and maybe go for it later.....?

....was loving the Hibees on Sportsound last Saturday slating the style of play that they have inherited with Butcher, let alone the results. Did they not know what they were getting? Petrie not done his homework? Butcher has always indicated that his philosophy is to base the team on a stout defence and then get the ball forward as quickly as possible.......HOOF! I think there'll be some brown pants around Easter Rd before the end of the season and I have no sympathy, given the attitude of many Hibs fans after they poached Butcher and Co.

Everybody seems to know whats needed yet nobody seems able to suggest how thats achieved Where does your funding come from? Gate reciepts at the moment account for less than half the total operating costs. They are also pretty much in line with what other clubs charge. The directors took the responsibility of pricing the PT game at a level they thought would boost crowds. Didn't happen. What more can they do without making losses? ...and reducing the cost + other incentives didn't have any impact on Saturday! I don't think cost is actually the issue here - I think it is the competition for supporters' time. As I said on another thread, midweek games in the face of champions league competition are a farce and should be scrapped, or at least forbid them on champions league nights. The next question is how to get the Saturday gate up. I don't think pricing is the core problem here, nor is it the product on the pitch, which has been better than ever for ICT, whatever way you measure it. Match day experience could definitely be improved and better marketing would not go amiss. However, summer football (much as I hate the concept) has got to stand a chance - if nothing else, the weather is better and there is no English/European football to compete with. might even get more telly money.

Brill Raven Meekings Warren Shinnie Draper Vincent Watkins Tansey Williams Mckay Esson, Devine, Foran, Ross, Christie, Polworth, Evans

Poor result, but by most accounts, not a bad display, particularly in the second half. I think we all need a reality check. The fixture pile-up and disappointments of successive cup defeats have taken their toll and have meant that Hughes has had to continually tinker with the set-up (not particularly successfully it must be said). It was a mistake to play the guys that played 120 min on Sunday again last night, but I understand the temptation. Sadly, I don't expect things to get much better over the next few games because he'll have to keep tinkering to deal with the fixture pile-up. Do you go with your best XI every game despite exhaustion or rest players? I think the best XI and formation currently: Brill Raven Warren Meekings Shinnie Foran Draper Watkins Christie Doran Mckay But Tremarco, Vincent, Ross, Williams will all have to be used to get us through this gruelling schedule. Fourth is as good as it is going to get realistically, I'm afraid. Fifth is more likely.

and I thought I was the only one! You could tell that the sheep were terrified...and then....that!

Outstanding news!

Anyone noticed that there'll be the usual stramash regarding post-split fixtures if St J end up in 6th? Based on the season so far, we'd be due to play Celtic, Aberdeen, Dundee United and St J at home, with only Motherwell away. However, one of the home matches will be switched to being away - so which will it be? From a financial perspective, we'd probably want to play Celtic, Aberdeen and Dundee United at home and switch the st J game, but from a league position perspective, I wonder whether it would be better to "sacrifice" the Celtic game? Thoughts? Not that we have any say in this; you can be sure that the ultimate decision will be to our detriment.

Well, you can't fault the club - now it's up to the supporters to, well.....support! Excellent gesture!

And moving completely off topic - midweek games should just be abolished. It is harder to find a reason to go to a Tuesday/Wednesday match than not (poor transport options, A9, school night, crap weather, Champions league, Alba "nearly live", pub, sports activities etc etc). I know these are re-arranged matches and there's no space in the schedule for a team as successful as ICT , but there has to be a recognition of these issues, which are more acute for us, but relevant to all the clubs. Anyone ever thought of increasing the league to 16 and only playing each other twice? Plenty of time to fit the cup games on Saturdays and allow for poor weather! So, I take my hat off to all supporters (ICT or other) who manage to get to any games midweek - I can't and won't be able to until children are off the books (does that ever happen?) SPFL needs to recognise that they are competing for our time and cash......in midweek the competition is too strong!