Jaggernaut

There is a reason that this is Dodds first job, at his age, as a number one, he has no tactical awareness, he can't see what the rest of us see when things aren't working, he makes the wrong subs, wrong formation and wrong tactics. The thing is, that if we get rid of Dodds, I think the club would install Wilson or Kellacher as interim boss, and that's just adding to the problem, because they are all part of the problem. Today, It looked like these players had never met before, I lost count of the number of times we passed the ball to Dundee, and all the times the supporters were screaming shoot, when they had a sight of goal, only for them to pass it wide. For me, his time is up, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the same coaching team till the end of the season.

Shaw had definitely been the best of a bad bunch.

Another hard watch. We huffed and puffed but never looked like scoring. Far too many balls played high into the box, for their number 5 to mop up everything, yet we continued to do it right to the end of the game, why Dodds wasn't screaming at them to stop it is beyond me! It was a good goal that won it, but it was preventable, and he nearly did it again a few minutes later, it's something I was screaming was us to do all first half, cut in from the wing and hit it, but we don't do that. I just don't see where wins are going to come from at the moment.

This is such sad news. I always liked his contributions and opinions on this site, and had recently missed his views on all things related to the club. I often wondered if our paths ever crossed, at the wonderful park whose name they both shared, and being a fellow Jaggie since 1970, who knows? RIP Kingsmills

It definitely wasn't worth getting there, a very poor display and no atmosphere, only 700 odd attendance.

Saw Status Quo in the End of the Road Tour 1984 at the Caird Hall Dundee, what a gig!, but I couldn't hear for a week after it and I think that's why I have Tinnitus now, so maybe that's why I shout so much this season, because of the ringing in my ears,....or maybe there's another reason!

It was a potential banana skin, and my pre-match warning about Dale Carrick nearly came true, as he got their two goals. Shaw again was my MoM, but too many players were off the pace and never looked comfortable throughout the game. But we're through, so please can we have a home tie against a team we can beat, or one of the big boys and earn some money.

A much better performance than most of our recent outings, but that wouldn't be hard. I wonder if our performance had anything to do with the rare appearance of Lionel Nessi??? He emerged from the tunnel like some heroic returning warrior, and inspired the team to a wonderful point! Thankfully Dodds played five in the middle, something that should have happened weeks ago, and with Carson installed back in the middle, next to Welsh, where he belongs, we were much more solid in there and harder to play through. Devine at the back made a huge difference, and it was significant that they scored their second after Danny had hobbled off the pitch. Shaw again was my man of the match and he gave their left back a torrid time. But how we miss the talents of Logan Chalmers, he turned the game for them, and had the beating of Harper at left back, I've said it on here many times, Harper is not a left back, he is a midfielder all day long, but I know he had to go back to fill in for the injured Delaney. My pick of the players were Shaw, Devine and Welsh, but a word must also go to what must be our most frustrated player, Billy Mckay, who gets endless high balls pumped up to him, only for the CBs to head them right back, note to team.....Billy is not a six foot target man, and hasn't a hope of winning those balls, so why do you persist game after game after game doing what doesn't work. We play our best football on the deck, with quick passing moves, that's where our two goals came from. Two shots on target and two goals, just think what we could achieve if we had more shots on target! Three points out of a possible eighteen is not a good return, but it is a point I didn't think we'd get before the game, so, hopefully all the players come through, unscathed and are fit for the Cup game, as we are going to need that sort of performance to get to the next round.

Watching ICT so far this season, has been one devoid of any excitement. There have been previous seasons where we have been beaten, but put up a hell of a performance in the process, and I remember in one game, playing Hearts off the park and coming away with a point. But I can't think of one performance this season that has got me off my seat. We go to the matches now saying things like 'I'll take a point now', and that's what I feel for tomorrow's game, and I'm sure most supporters would think the same. When the chips are down, and our backs are against the wall, we have to set up to be hard to beat, be compact and not be so open. If we do manage to get ahead in this match, our game management must be so much better than it has been in previous games, because if they score first, there is no way we are scoring more than one going by our average goals per game ratio. So, I really really hope for a win, but I will take a point right now.

Kane Hester and Dario Zanatta. Hester knows where the goal is and I've been an admirer Zanatta for several years. One to score and one to create.

A defeat would only mean six games without a win, so I would say we have to have another five winless games for the club to even consider relinquishing Dodds from his post, going by what Scott Gardiner said on one of the Wyness Shuffles, regarding last seasons winless run. So, suck it up, sit tight and I won't say enjoy the ride, I'd say try to get through it and endure it, it ain't gonna be pretty!

They say you get what you pay for, and let's be honest, Dodds was the cheap option. Lived locally, knows the hierarchy and helped out McCann last season. It's as plain as the nose on your face that Dodds is no tactician. Some of his formations, lineups and substitutions are baffling to most supporters, and not having a plan B is criminal, but then again, most supporters I talk to say he doesn't have a plan A. If we can get through this season still being in this league, it will be a bonus. 2 points out of the last 15 is relegation form. A good coach would know how to set a team up not to get beat when times are rough and play to our strengths, but maybe there are things going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. The Ridgers situation could be the tip of the iceberg. Dodds handled that abysmally, surely the club can't be happy with him throwing Ridgers under the bus on live TV? Has he, or is he losing the dressing room, because some of the performances have been woeful. If a lot of supporters hadn't have bought season tickets, I think you'd see a even more depressing attendance at games. I can't see anything changing soon, so expect this to the bitter end of the season, and then? Who knows.

Whatever did happen in the dressing room should have stayed in the dressing room. Dodds was very unprofessional in his interview, he created the narrative and made all the supporters who heard it think, what went on in there? In my opinion, I think Ridgers will be at ICT longer than Dodds will.

Yes, I know of his reputation, and it may put many clubs off, but Sutherland was also involved in the betting scandal. He scores goals regularly and knows where the goal is. When I watch the Elgin highlights I see the positions he takes up, and he's a natural scorer, always in the right place at the right time, something all good strikers need. I certainly would've taken a punt and dealt with whatever transpired in the future.

I could never understand why we never took a punt on Kane Hester, he was the strike partner of Sutherland at Elgin, and in my opinion was the more natural striker of the two. I wasn't overly impressed when we re-signed Sutherland, but he went on to have a good season and I'm the first to admit that he won me round with his displays. I still think if we have any aspirations of getting promotion this season, we need someone to score goals, so If it was up to me, I'd try and get Hester in the January transfer window. At the moment, we are lucky to be looking at scoring one goal a game, and if we ever go behind, I just don't see us scoring two. Oakley was taken in as a striker, but his goal rate is not good enough for a team thinking of promotion.

I said to my son yesterday that there wouldn't be a lot of goals in the game, as we struggle to score one, and if Arbroath scores first, we would be lucky to get a goal back, but I could never see us scoring two. Far too many times, we seem to want too much time to get a shot off, it should be shoot on sight, but going by the pre-match shooting that they do, their shooting at goal is one thing that needs a lot of work.

It was a better display than the Morton fiasco, but that wouldn't be hard. Dodds again plays the wrong system, he is a clueless tactician. He went with Mckay and Oakley up front again! That obviously didn't work against Morton, so why persist with it? Mckay works his socks off, as he does constantly, and was unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions, but I just don't think Oakley gives us enough to justify his place in the eleven. What we needed was more in midfield, and I was surprised to see Boyd dropped to the bench, as he looked quite bright against Morton. We played our best football when we got the ball down and passed it at pace, our goal came from such a move, but too many times we reverted to Hoofball, and you could see Mckay's frustration when the CB kept beating him in the air. Carson did slip up for their goal, but I still think Dodds is at fault for this, he has never replaced Rooney, and that's a few seasons now. Carson is a combative box to box midfielder, who was put in at RB when we had no cover there, and because he played quite well, Dodds seems to think that we don't need to look for a RB now! With Allardice out, the midfield needs to be strong and flexible, and we do miss Carson playing on his actual position, it must be frustrating for him. Shaw was my MOTM, his best game for ICT, I thought Delaney again stood out, and Welsh gives us that cool head in the middle of the park. I have said on many occasions that Dodds was the easy choice for the club, just as Robbo was. The criteria for the managers job seems to be, are you a coach? Do you live locally? You're hired. So, are there any other coaches about who live in the area? And does anyone know when Dodds contract runs to?

I think that needs more than hope! A few minutes of excitement will do to start!

I have suggested numerous things over the years, and nothing has changed, so I won't be participating with suggestions anymore. What I do now is, I come to the games, watch the game, go home and repeat.

Does Dodds ever think that it might be his tactics that are questionable? Playing 442 when we have so many first team players our is practically suicidal. Surely first and foremost, we have to set up not to get beat, that means protecting the rookie back four, and having more in midfield to get a handle on the game. Playing two strikers for the whole 90 minutes was the wrong choice in my opinion, but Dodds must have been happy with it as he kept it for the entire game. Let's be realistic, Arbroath will be fighting for their survival in this league, and will throw everything at us, so let us not throw caution to the wind and be stronger, with more numbers in midfield.

Yes, I agree, I have said for ages now that we need to control the midfield first and foremost, if we have any chance of taking anything from games. Playing 442 when you have most of your first choice players out is football suicide, and so it turned out. We needed five in the middle, to try and protect the novice back four, and runners to support Billy Mckay when we attacked. But one of our failings is keep turning back when we receive the ball, it let's the opposition time to get into shape and behind the ball, Morton on the other hand recieved the ball and immediately were on the front foot, putting us under pressure.

If I remember correctly, Scott Gardiner said on a podcast that they could tell when the online program was accessed, and not enough people accessed them to justify to keep producing them.

Well another game where we could have played till midnight and never scored. Again, wrong tactics for me from Dodds. You have to control the midfield, that means playing one up top with midfield supporting. Playing Oakley with Bill Mckay just doesn't give us enough. And I really thought his subs were bad, and as for his interview after the match, that is just unprofessional, creating something that should have been kept in the dressing room, now we all want to know what happened! I'm starting to get the feeling that Dodds is losing the dressing room, if he hasn't lost it already. I don't see these players wanting to run through brick walls for him, there's no zip and no passion.

Yes, I saw him! Is he moonlighting? Or has he been transferred to Dalneigh without telling the supporters? We need answers from the club.

I feel if we have players fit, Welsh and Mackay hopefully, then we must start with our strongest eleven. Even if these players can only give us a half, it's better to try and get a foothold in the game and then defend it, than going behind and take these players off the bench and try to rescue the game. For me, it's all about tactics and the way the team is set up and desire. Poorer teams have come to Inverness when we have been playing well and beaten us, so there's no reason that we can't beat teams when we are under strength. I remember Inverness Thistle being third bottom of the Highland League and not playing well, being drawn against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup, nobody gave the Jags a chance against Killie, but they produced an outstanding performance and blew Kilmarnock away, nobody saw that coming, and maybe it was that fact that let them play with freedom, but they were well set up and the desire shown through. If we can take something from the game, and keep chipping away at games with our patched up team until we get some of the players fit again, our full first team could really mount a serious challenge for the title, as no team looks like running away with the league this year.