wynthank15

DD I think you have selective memory, after the initial teething problems with our new style in the early games under JH I rarely recall us giving the ball away in the back four and due to our style of play which you refer to as keeping possession it required the entire opposition to defend their patch thereby preventing breakaway goals against us. A strikers first priority is to hit the target and yes, most go for the corners and can and do miss but a well drilled shot which is saved or hits a defender or woodwork can still offer opportunities to those following up. Further, shots which are mistimed, toe poked or deflected will more often than not end up in the net, even those with a lack of pace, a brilliant exponent of the toe poke in mid stride was willie pettigrew, keepers could never set themselves for the shot because there was no back lift. Fact is, most goals are scored inside the penalty spot and unless you can get the ball into that area frequently enough you are not going to score enough goals.

As a former player well into my 30s I think it is a given that you have to be fit enough to be able to play for a full 90 minutes and more including being able to sprint in the last few minutes of a match. If you are blessed with fast twitch muscle it is a great advantage but that starts to go when you are in your early 30s though I know a number of former players who can still shift in their 40s. The other aspect is to react quickly to developing situations and not be lazy in that reaction as this can give you a second advantage, Dalgleish who was never quick and Durrant after his injury exemplified this ability to think more quickly than the top class players around them. I used to be a supporter of Vigurs and thought he provided much needed guile to a pedestrian team under Brewster. In those days he was a very mobile midfielder trying to impress. Today he is a luxury player who doesn't put in nearly enough work for the team and relies on his few inspirational moments to get picked, that is not what a team struggling in the championship needs, we need 11 workers including a midfield general a good winger a good finisher and a commanding centre back, think back to the Patterson years for what a decent championship team should look like.

We will not get back to the premier until either a young energetic manager with scouts or a manager with great contacts can spot potential players and build a competitive squad to challenge for the title a la Butcher and his contacts.

Ridgers or OFW Hmmm let me think.

As a Glaswegian I moved to the Highlands at the beginning of the Patterson era, loved the style of play and the players which SP brought to the club, enjoyed just turning up at the gate and paying in and would still enjoy standing at a match (proper football) and enjoying the banter with your fellow fans. That all changed with promotion,I had a season ticket in the main stand , but did not enjoy it to the same extent, plus the enjoyment of winning as the underdog had largely gone. Got very excited when JH changed our style of play after a very rocky start (I knew this could be the start of something different) and possibly could be a template for ICT sides to come, players with the courage to take the ball short and protect it and then find a man, the way the game should be played. Greatest moment obviously the SCF I had a lump in my throat when I thought back to where the club had come from. Best performance was against Astra at home after we had lost our best two players, controlled football just lacking a finish and lost a dodgy goal, OFW's first serious game. Then it all turned to mush, JH sacked, his style of play abandoned and a rookie given the opportunity to take us down, no style, no system, no idea how to manage a game which is where we are now. That said, we are where we are, we have no right to be in the top flight and even that top flight is pretty poor in European terms. Unless you have a great scouting system that can spot diamonds in the rough you can't get out of the lower divisions without money. I believe this is our level for some time until a mercurial manager (SP) comes along to build the squad that can take us back to the "top" level. Enjoy your football whatever the level remember where we came from.

Lawrence as a fellow BOG resident you answered your own question. JH's team kept possession because without the ball the opposition can't hurt you. That's how he managed to get results with a huge injury list in his last season. RF had no idea and ditched the fundamentals which JH had instilled in the squad. The players may have overdone it at times but the basics were sound. Some of our support may be understanding this now

Excellent post, we can trace this back to JH's time where we had a style and system even though it was not appreciated by large parts of the support the players knew what they were trying to do and stuck by the system which won us the SC, 3rd in the league and 7th the following season which was marred by a horrendous injury list. This system was thrown overboard by the rookie Foran who had no experience as a Manager or even as an assistant, none , nil, nada. Now as last season there is no system, no understanding of how a team should play as a cohesive unit. I agree with the 2nd para also, I slated Brechin and Dumbarton as possibly worse than ICT in this league, if we get beaten by the Sons next week watch out because Falkirk will not languish long in the lower half of the league, they have a good a pool of players. Third para dead on, JR inherited a great squad from Patterson first time round and though his football at that time was a throwback to when JR played, the players he had were good enough to make it work but he was chosen this time as the cheap option having been out of the game for over a decade. If he manages to keep us in this league I would consider that a success.

Open up the west to standing only, pay at the gate £10 just like the old days. 200 people would generate an extra £2,000 less the cost of one turnstile operator and a couple of security bods. The tickets could be sold at the shop which would allow people to pay by card if they wished to. The price of seats is too expensive for those on low incomes/pensions. Some of my relations who were season ticket holders have refused to pay this seasons prices and have made the board aware of it. Creating a standing area would give the board an opportunity to rectify their pricing without upsetting ST holders and may attract back those who baulked at this seasons prices.

Keeping my eye on results against Brechin Dumbarton and QOS, if we can't beat these teams look out. Don't expect us to beat Morton hope to be proved wrong.

Utd St Mirren Falkirk Morton Livingston or Dunfermline

The CB's are simply not physical enough they were muscled off the ball by a lone striker too many times. A player sitting in front of them would help cut out long balls played of front but not Vigurs he is a ball watcher and fails to track his man, look how often a one two took him out of the game last season. For me vigurs should play behind the striker but how do you get the ball to him given the options available, a long hoof just isn't good enough. That said we played with a back 4 so one CB should drop in to cover his partner when he is under pressure. I can't blame the GK other than perhaps the first goal I don't think he had much chance with the other 4.

I think we need to lower our expectations, we are likely to be in the bottom rather than the top half of this league, JR needs time to bed in what is almost a new team, find a system that suits it and coach some of the bad habits out of players. I don't think the playing squad of any other side in this division has undergone the disruption that we have. I don't expect an instant return to the SPL we need to rebuild so that we have a team which can stay in the SPL and I doubt the current squad are capable of either.

No, it was a very poor management decision that led to where we are now. Yes we are a small club, our attendance is not even the best in the championship. I would argue that Dundee Utd, St Mirren, Dunfermline, Falkirk all have potentially larger supports than us assuming they were PL teams.

Rig, no players are loyal, they are all out for what they can earn, clearly he has had a better offer across the bridge, we know this better than most given the number who have moved on when the money is right. We need to find new hungry players who want to step up from their current earnings/standard and if they make the grade they too will move on when the price is right. I don't like the way that football has gone but I'm afraid that's the reality of it. What pains me is the situation which we now find ourselves in was entirely avoidable but we can't now cry over spilt milk, we are where we are.

Sir C don't be depressed, as I said on another topic I could have never imagined seeing ICT lift the SC. I'm happy to have experienced that even if we never get back to the PL. The club has punched well above its weight for many years and we need to get that grit back that we had in the early years. A seriously bad management decision has led to all of this. A period of rebuilding now needs to take place and I suspect it will take years. Players were happy to sign up when we were a PL team, not anymore, we need management who can find unpolished diamonds that the rest are unaware of to make any impression on this league.

Totally agree, the board leadership since the appointment of RF has been an embarrassment. It's a complete rebuilding job, but it is what it is, a new beginning, the squad which won the SC is almost completely gone. We could be years in this division or lower unless some inspirational leaders appear on and off the park.

Stop with the hand wringing, the player has done what is best for him and his family, our fate was sealed by an incompetent board who effectively sacked a good manager and appointed a rookie, a decision applauded by many on this forum. Get used to some years in the wilderness of what is not a good standard of football (even the premiership is rank look at the European results Gibraltar Luxembourg Cyprus the former whipping boys of European football) we are a footballing backwater. That said, as a long term supporter of this club I could not have dreamed that we would one day win the Scottish Cup and I will never forget that day and I don't expect to experience it again in my lifetime. Enjoy watching the game whatever the level.

I recall ICT produced a very nice understated scarf in the early 2000's I think, it was muted tartan with the ICT badge at the bottom, tried to buy one but they were sold out and apparently discontinued would like to see them reproduced. How about a high quality enamelled lapel pin, tie pin, key holder.

Our board appears to be very accident prone, firing Hughes, appointing Foran, season ticket prices, sacking Shearer by voicemail (Utterly unacceptable in any job) just what were they thinking? Re the appointment of Robertson remember he inherited a very good side which was already close as regards promotion, what I didn't like was his use of the big switch ball to the back of the box a throwback to when he himself last played I found it ironic that he succeeded where Patterson had failed, to be fair he did bring in two very good players. I hope he succeeds though I worry about him being out of the game for so long. I think an older Manager is preferable in that he should have the gravitas to get the respect of the dressing room which Foran clearly did not command. Robbo at least should be a safe pair of hands whether he gets us up or not will depend on his signings, we need to shore up a leaky defence and a misfiring front line.

I think the comment re the return to the premiership is uncalled for and exhibits the same hubris as KC after the appointment of RF and makes the board look stupid if it is not acheived. That said I think the cost of season tickets displays just how precarious the club's financial position is as I don't believe any board would take such a decision lightly knowing that it will incur the ire of the support, they would have been better admitting the financial situation rather than the clumsy way it has been handled. What concerns me more is that the board appear to be negotiating terms with players without consulting the new manager, unless, the new manager is already within the club.

I would strongly support reopening the west as a standing area, reasons: cost, choose your games based on weather and other commitments rather than paying for a ST which sometimes cannot be used, choice to stand next to people you like and are knowledgeable about the game, better for those with bad hips, don't need sunglasses in winter, don't need to deal with officious stewards being told to sit down when you need to stretch your legs/joints. When the west closed my mate and I bought season tickets in the north stand, the experience was not the same.

Punt Foran, let the new man sort out the squad.

Just listened to his interview, surely he is delusional in believing he would get another season at the helm after his performance this season. Unfortunately the interviewer didn't ask him why Fisher played on the left wing in the first half. It sounds pathetic to point the finger at three players who let him down, he's the manager, his job is to manage not whine like he had no option but to accept the situation.RF is not up to the job even in the championship.

Jack Ross or Darren Dodds for me both understand the game. Would also take Peter Houston in a heartbeat but he might be a division above by then.

I have had the feeling over the years that there are many ICT supporters who work abroad, down south and offshore. The cup final was a case in point, the two girls next to me had travelled from Toronto and Paris both born in Inverness clearly they wouldn't be regular attendees. I also feel the club has lost something from the days when you could stand on the terracing exchange banter with your fellow supporters, stand next to people you liked and didn't have officials telling you to sit down which I hate due to dodgy hips especially in winter. From a squad perspective we have also lost some of our Scottishness (if that's a word) if our national team is to improve we need more Scottish players playing in the league, I also think it creates more of a bond with the support especially with local boys, it still grieves me seeing Christie a Celtic employee playing well and scoring regularly for Aberdeen, he is the kind of star that can inspire and be a role model to young lads trying to succeed in the professional game, nowadays anyone showing any talent is gone far too quickly and the support is denied the pleasure of watching them play for our team, I find it infuriating. Money runs the game at all levels nowadays and we are pretty low in that pecking order. Speaking of money, the Chairman of StJ is on the radio just now apparently they charge £16 for an adult plus two under 12's seems pretty good.