Robert

The site I see Highland League goals on is down so I have not seen them yet.

Rory McAllister for Cove and Brad Mckay for Falkirk today. 

28 minutes ago, Satan said:

If all else fails, blame the ref...

I’m not, but he played a major part.

The first goal stemmed from a poor pass (although I felt the goal was offside at the time), and the linesman flagged clearly at the second.

However, we created more then enough chances to win and would have won with better passing and more composure.

But as Alan has also said, the officials were woeful today.

The management need to channel the aggrieved feeling into a turnaround in our performances and results to keep us in contention.

After 7 games we had 19 points.

After 21 games we have 37 points.

18 points from 14 games is relegation play off form, not promotion contenders’ form. 

That felt like Caley Thistle 2-2 Officials. 

From where I was sitting, the first goal was offside, albeit the officials would not have had a decision to make if Deas (I think) had not made a wayward pass.

The linesman flagged offside for the second and we had taken the free kick before Collum stopped the game and awarded the goal.

There were only 479 there but it’s the loudest booing of officials I’ve heard in a long time, and it was justified.

True, we made enough chances to win the game but squandered them, but I left the ground and drove home really feeling the officials robbed us. What did the goals look like on the livestream?

Welsh, McAlear and MacGregor in for Duffy, Allardice and Harper. Last two not in squad, and Doran still out too.

Ridgers

Carson Broadfoot Devine Deas

Walsh Welsh McAlear MacGregor

Sutherland Mckay

16 hours ago, Robert said:

Elgin @ 2.15 please. 

I picked that before I knew about the Elgin players in the betting scandal!!

Brian Graham is the ultimate thug in my view!

Good result for us. A win tomorrow puts us in a good position, particularly if we can beat Dunfermline next week when our rivals are not playing in the league.

We have our issues with injuries and gambling, but now is the time for the team to bond and show what they are really capable on the pitch, no matter how decimated our squad is.

We are a match for anyone in this league. Now is the time to prove it on the pitch!!

Killie 1 up through a wrongly awarded penalty. Polly just on bench but Mackay on as a sub. 

It has been reported on Reporting Scotland. 14 have been charged, including Dougie Imrie and 6 current Elgin City players.

Sounds like it must have been rife at Elgin. 

Elgin @ 2.15 please. 

HT 1-0

FT 2-0

ICT Mckay

QotS Connelly

If the allegations are proved, hopefully the fact that they pre-date his time with us results in a financial penalty rather than a ban.

I know the impact an addiction can have on someone, even when they are trying to overcome and cease the behaviour. Support is critical in such a situation and I hope the club stand by him and arrange the necessary counselling.

This has maybe been brewing for a few weeks as his form has dipped recently.

That’s worrying if Allardice has a long term injury. He did seem to be struggling after picking up a couple of knocks last week prior to being taken off after the second knock.

It says this is their third and final offer. With 18 months to run on his contract, he’s surely worth more than £150k so that is grounds alone for rejecting it.

My only worry if we do reject it us if he genuinely does want the move, as indicated in the article, as we don’t need an unsettled player after the Gardyne debacle. 

If the article is accurate, Deas is keen on the move.

If he moves, we need reinforcements urgently as that will be three out and none in this window so far, with lack of strength in defence and a dire shortage of creative players the biggest concerns. 

Australia used to be seen as having a firm grip on Covid too, but they have handled the Djokovic fiasco abominably.

As for Boris, should we start a countdown??

21 hours ago, Jack Waddington said:

Is it just me or is anyone else a wee bit worried about the lack of inward transfers? Already let 2 midfielders out the door and let one youngster free, all whilst we're needing players to fill gaps in the squad...

Which youngster have we freed? We had 7 out on loan until January and only Hennem has been announced as having his loan extended. Hyde and Nicolson have returned and been in the squad recently. I’ve not heard anything about the other 4 yet. 

Harry Hennem staying at Brora for the rest of the season:

https://ictfc.com/harry-hennem-extends-brora-loan-spell

Since Scotty changed the settings, I have not had any concerns about the adverts. I use a mobile device normally and tend not to even notice them.

Keep up the good work Scotty!

Our away game at Hamilton on 26 February has been moved to the evening of Friday 25 and will be on BBC Scotland.

That must be an incentive for the players to get revenge on Hamilton given we’ve taken no points from them this season so far. 

The club’s report:

https://ictfc.com/match-report-ictfc-1-1-raith-rovers-08-01-2022

11 hours ago, Row S said:

Any word on ticketing arrangements for the QoS match?

Nothing out yet. I’d imagine we should hear tomorrow what the arrangements are for getting tickets. I’d guess they will be available from the shop from Tuesday but time will tell!

We had 478 there yesterday so not sure if there were “no shows” (quite likely with the number of people having to isolate) or whether all 500 were not snapped up. 

Austin for Kelty and Vigurs for Cove today. Oh, and an own goal for Donaldson. 

45 minutes ago, RiG said:

Where would Allardice fit in here?

I pondered that. He picked up a couple of knocks today and did not seem his usual self. If fit, he should be a first pick.

The combination of him and Carson did not work in the first half, with Carson having perhaps his poorest performance for us.

I accept that we may still be suffering a bit from the Covid outbreak, but we had a pretty strong bench today so have to assume those starting were fully fit.

It may come down to whether we play 3 or 4 at the back.

I just think we need to try something different as the current plan is not working. 

Some interesting comments which I largely agree with.

I’ve been a fan of Sutherland, but he’s not a target man, which our recent long ball game is requiring him to be. He’s been most effective playing off the main striker, although he can fill one of the wide roles also, and I like his work rate.

I’ve also said I’d like to see MacGregor in the No 10 role but with either of them, we need to get away from always playing long balls. We are not equipped for that, even when Duku is playing.

We are at our best when we move the ball quickly, but we seldom do that.

For next week, unless we have brought anyone in, I’d like to see MacGregor start supporting Mckay.

McAlear deserves a start  and we could do with Welsh’s ability to keep the ball so he should start if fully fit.

The wide positions are a concern. Harper is learning the role and has promise, but Walsh was a disappointment today. It may be worth playing Carson in the wide right role.

A big week for the management team and squad as our four rivals are playing each other, so we need to sort ourselves out and get three points against Queen of the South.