The Long Man

Anybody could see that he was the best attacking left backs in the country last season, and only had to watch the semifinal for the evidence, particularly the winning goal. So i am glad he is getting the belated recognition, and it will benefit Scotland. Whoever he ends up with, and he ought to be able to go a lot further than Aberdeen, he will always be one of ours.

You mean exploiting the weakness of a small club with their strong arm tactics and financial muscle to underpay for a player and diminish the opposition, instead of understanding that a healthy SPL requires a degree of fairness and respect for other clubs. Besides, Deila has shown no aptitude for harnessing what talent he has, so I am not convinced it is in Ryan's best interests either.

FFS, don't encourage them!

The whole thing is pretty depressing after the highs of last season. Celtic have been extremely cynical in waiting until the last day of the transfer window, knowing we couldn't refuse a half-decent offer, which is all it is, especially considering the fees other young Scottish players have gone for. Totally agree that we should have played hardball, even if it meant taking a big risk. At the very least we should have insisted on the loan back to be the whole season. I also hope, but probably in vain, that we insisted on appearance bonuses to up the fee, and a big percentage of any sell-on fee (Lyon apparently got 25% of Monaco's fee from Man U, for example). On the playing side, I wonder if this will work out for Ryan. Many young promising players have disappeared at Celtic, not getting the opportunities or consistency they needed. They have a pretty bloated squad already. I think he would have been well advised to bide his time and mature his game before leaving for bigger pastures. The choice would then be greater for him in terms of options of bigger clubs. I think a team with a more progressive young manager would have suited him better, without all the baggage and delusions of Celtic. Look how rubbish they were against Malmo, for instance. And can we trust Hughes to spend any funds wisely? After the rotten transfer policy of this summer, I remain to be convinced.

Reminds me of those many anonymous players who turned up under Butcher and lasted a game or two before disappearing into a black hole. Maybe they're still there.

Well I don't think he is doing us any favours. Plus he seems to be remarkably unprepared and unable to replace these players. So fail in my book. I would prefer he just shuts up about them, instead of intimating that he would be happy to see them go.

Well it is depressing enough being stripped of our best players after last season, but with Hughes having broadcast Ryan's availability, and Celtic cannily leaving it until the end of the transfer window, we will no doubt be taken for a ride yet again. We ought to be safeguarding our interests, especially by insisting on hefty sell-on fees, but I have no faith in our negotiating ability after this latest blunder.

Great! But what does it say about our forwards that it takes a defender to show them how to do it.

BBC: Neither side looking as if they are capable of finding the net this afternoon. Mutombo and Vigurs missed glorious chances for ICT. Hemmings and Stewart working hard for Dundee but no cutting edge. Game has a distinct 0-0 look about it! We can't buy a goal

Having seen the highlights I thought it was quite telling how Lopez tied himself in knots and Ryan had to take the ball off him and show him how it's done. On another note I wish john Hughes would shut up about Ryan. Over promoting him as a Scotland player - why don't you just hang a big 'for sale' notice round his neck? It only puts added, unnecessary expectation on his shoulders, when he is nowhere near ready for that, plus invites others to snap him up while he is still young and cheap. Give him time and space to develop without more pressure. An appropriate response would be, "he is a great prospect, and we are keen to develop him and protect his talents. Time will tell what level he can achieve". That is all.

From the ever excellent Twitter feed, it sounds like Lopez is grafting behind Christie, and teeing him up, as for the goal. Accident or design?

Well done, that man! Now keep your heads at the back

Inverness CT: Fon-Williams, Raven, Draper, Devine, Williams, Tansey, Polworth, Horner, Christie, Mutombo, Lopez. Subs: Esson, Wedderburn, Brown, Ferguson, Sutherland. Draper in for Warren. Polworth and Horner preferred over Wedderburn. Ferguson and Sutherland on the bench. A light midfield or a day for staking your claim to first team football?

Our most successful season ever, 4 players off the wages bill since last season, and we can't afford a decent striker? Other SPL teams are finding and affording them. What baffles me about Lopez is that if he is not match fit, who at the club has ever seen him perform at full fitness, and if not how do we know he will be good for us? My preference would be to sign two strikers, one with experience and a track record, the other a young up and coming prospect. There seems to be an almost random signing policy at the moment with the emphasis on how cheaply we can get them. Not encouraging.

I thought Williams played really well at Astra. He was consistently winning the ball and looking to create chances. Of course his finest moment was that perfectly placed across the box, which Lopez should have been anticipating and already running on to, instead of waiting and watching. All it needed was a touch and it was in the back of the net. That was very frustrating to watch, as we could all see it coming. If he hadn't have done anything else in that match that was the one moment when he needed to. What also surprised me was how good Raven was at left back, so knowing Hughes penchant for mixing it up, it wouldn't surprise me to see that again.

I hope those who were saying Astra were a poor side and we should have beaten them take note. They are a well organised team with some dangerous players, and with European experience. That we came within a whisker of getting something out of the away game does us a huge amount of credit, imho.

When Draper did come against Astra in the away tie, he looked very sharp, and very committed. Unfortunately he didn't have enough time. But he has been a great player for us and it is silly to write him off on the strength of one pre-season game. Wedderburn looks handy but it is too early to tell.

Fabulous effort DBJ, also nice to know that some less fortunate Romanians will benefit from our trip. The buses were a great crack, and who knows how we all would have managed to get back to Bucharest after 11pm without your sterling efforts. So big pat on the back. The whole trip was a great experience, with a really impressive display of support. The team really put in a shift as well, for those not there I can assure you the effort and energy and focus they displayed was tremendous. They were only undone by the bit of fortune Astra got in Inverness. They were no mugs either and we should be proud we went toe to toe with them in our first European adventure, and without our best former players. The Romanians we met were friendly and always willing to help, the beer was good, the food was excellent, the place is cheap for us and they have a wonderful country, from the Danube Delta to the Carpathian Mountains. So a resounding success. Bring some more on.

That Polish antifreeze vodka is dirt cheap.

From that handy website www.pintprice.com: Lager in Romania is €1.14 EUR The beers are back on, DBJ

I'll take a carry oot, then. Are you only drinking at the Intercontinental. Alex?

You're doing a brilliant job, DBJ and Scotty too. You've made it so much easier for us, saved us a lot of hassle trying to get there and back. And it should be a good crack on the buses with the ICT army! A great turn out already. Do let us buy you a Romanian beer or two. And if we win, as many as you like.

Lovely to see that photo of Gordy, who we remembered while at Hampden. I would also like to pay tribute to all of the dear, departed Dads who introduced us to the terraces of Telford St or Kingsmills Rd, and who would have loved to see this day. I know quite a few of us thought of them last Saturday.

Some good pics here: http://www.highland-news.co.uk/News/City-celebrates-Inverness-Caley-Thistles-historic-Scottish-Cup-triumph-31052015.htm and here: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/sport/football/inverness-caledonian-thistle/596458/party-time-inverness-caley-thistle-celebrate-scottish-cup-win/ apparently David Raven plays a mean guitar!