The Long Man

Oh, it most certainly did.

Very sad to hear this, not just about losing him when he could still do a job for us, but about the way the whole thing has been handled. Ross could have done a great job in transitioning from a player to a coach, instilling the ethos of the club in new recruits. That would be priceless. But as long as Butcher is the demagogue, there is no room for the kind of inspiration and continuity we so badly need. There is more to it than economics, Ross was flexible, Terry wasn't. He deserves a mammoth send-off and appreciation, although I suppose TB will be busy that night.

4-2-3-1 with a forward half the size of most central defenders, who we continually pump high balls up to.

Yes, I realise that, but even without the constant stream of injuries, Butcher never settles on a consistent plan or formation.

I can agree with a lot of that IHE. With Butcher I never get the sense that he is moving towards on objective, or has a clear tactical philosophy - it seems to be a constant meddling, changing, playing players out of position, misguided loyalties and grudges - occasionally it works, and then the next week it is back to square one. I find him exasperating, and questionable in his approach, and worry about the effect it has on players. Has any of our players ever given him a ringing endorsement?

It's true we struggle financially, but that doesn't excuse Butcher's random jumble sale/revolving doors philosophy. He is not helping, and his style of play is depressing fans. We were a better, more committed team not so long ago, when the finances weren't that much better.

Butcher is making the Brewster era look like the good old days.

Butcher, this ever changing carousel of second rate players scoured from the reserve squads of foreign leagues is getting me down. Give us a settled, organised team who can develop and play together. Fed up with it.

What a shocker. Saw Gordy at the Aberdeen game at Christmas and he was so glad to be back watching his team, the banter flying back and forth. He was hoping to be a regular again after the summer. A real warm-hearted gentle giant, Invernessian to the core, a Caley fan from Highland League days. He'll be sorely missed, and will always be remembered when we are at games in the future. Very. very sad.

No question, it would be Tade for me. He has more of an all-round game, especially outside the box, where he has that rare knack of being able to make things happen. He has great attitude, application and persistence. I would not like to be a defender against him. Rooney to me was more specialist, maybe more accurate, but I would take Tade in a head to head any day.

From the BBC: 1436: TEAMS FROM FIR PARK: MOTHERWELL: Randolph, Clancy, Hutchinson, Craigan, Hammell, Daley, Lasley, Hateley, Law, Higdon, Murphy. Subs: Bradley, Humphrey, Jennings, McHugh, Forbes, Page, Ojamaa. INVERNESS CT: Esson, Piermayr, Gillet, Golobart, Graeme Shinnie, Hayes, Cox, Tansey, Ross, Tade, McKay. Subs: Tuffey, Andrew Shinnie, Proctor, Morrison, Sutherland, Williams, Meekings. Referee: Bobby Madden

Scarlet, agree with you about Terry's penchant for musical football chairs, don't know how we develop a settled side with this mania for an ever rotating carousel of loanees and triallists. On the Terry front, he added to the surreal comedy of the day by doing his Basil Fawlty impersonation on the touchline as an impending defeat loomed. He seemed to be going ballistic at Meerkins who had just come on, telling him to stay back near the goalkeeper (for passes out?) and spent an absurd amount of time remonstrating with him. Poor guy looked thoroughly confused, as baffled as us at the raging nature of his 'coaching'. Five minutes later he was yelling at them to kick up the park, as the watch ticked down. He seems to combine Basil Fawlty with Tony Soprano, no wonder the players were nervy.

A comedy of errors. how many games have there been where both keepers made nearly identical schoolboy howlers which resulted in goals? Fresh air kicks by both of them balanced the game out, although as has been mentioned it seems Gillet was unlucky in as much as it was a tussle for the ball after Tuffey hashed it, and both of them hacking at it, with Gillet being punished on the last man rule. We def played the better football, Dunf's aim was merely to get behind the ball and see the game out. Foran had some effective runs at their defence, Tade threw himself around with great application, but no-one could engineer a clear effort on goal. The final irony of this slightly farcical affair was that Dunf got done because they had wasted so much time - had they not, they would have been in the dressing room before their keeper's howler. So justice was done, after some spectacularly inept efforts at timewasting - sudden need to examine socks and boots for a long time before taking goalkicks and fouls, with the best one a corner to them, where nobody went to take it, the ref telling them 'well, somebody has to take it', as they all look the other way. Definitely only a £15 game, in fact I would say a £10 game, so CaleyThistle you owe me £5.

http://ictfc.com/newsflash/347-tickets--ict-v-dunfermline

It appears that all adult tickets for the game tomorrow are £15. If so, good news.

How disappointing and frustrating. Apparently the pitch is completely sodden, the referee couldn't bounce the ball anywhere and passed some remark about the apparent lack of any drainage.

Watched it in the pub. A goal of the season from hayes. Second half we controlled the game, bar the last two minutes when we could have been gutted. Shame we didn't finish it off, but we looked in total control, passing the ball nicely, just choking in front of goal. if we take this form into Monday, with Shinnie, Tokely and Doran added to the squad it should be a great game.

A deserved result against a team we have always have difficulty beating. Aberdeen were very physical, hurtling into players, scuffing and niggling. Mackie should have had a red card for punching one of our players off the ball - hope it is reviewed. They came for a draw, made it a dull spectacle, but thanks to Davis for his power drive and shot which created the corner from which we scored. Tade was the only of our three forwards who created chances and took on the Dons defenders, though out on the right it was then difficult to capitalise on his runs. Would have been worth a go in the middle, with McKay struggling to make any impact. Top marks to Tade for going over to the home support and celebrating with them (the only ICT player to do so) after the game, delighting the kids. He was my MOTM, for his great attitude and application.

The catering company is rubbish. Fans in the main stand were told that all hot food was gone, before half time. On complaining to them, we were told "We didn't expect a big crowd today". Only on the day you would expect a bumper crowd (as there was). These people are idiots, as well as taking the mick at ?2 for a lukewarm cup of tea. ICT should run it themselves and do the fans a favour, as well as taking the profits for the good of the club. This company couldn't care less.

Wishful thinking and an over-inflated sense of self-importance?

Excellent. Thanks for doing this.

If only we had someone who can finish a move - Doran and Foran both had great chances from some really good build up play in those breakaway opportunities. Davis is a bit of a menace, but we are making life difficult for them.

Agreed. Marius did very well out of us, but tried to bite the hand that fed.

Definitely not for the faint of heart, or those of a delicate disposition, but some black comedy from the sneck music scene:

I think what it is, is that the tiny handful of refuseniks still hold a grudge to this day, and they want to believe that their denial still matters. They desperately want to have something to show for their 17 years (!) of bitterness - like a conviction that there 'thousands' of them, that their self-imposed exile in the wilderness is a great stain on the club blah blah (never mind missing out on 17 years of thrills and spills just to prove a point) - I suppose it is a bit galling that nobody really cares about your long nurtured and carefully honed sense of grievance. They used to delight in ICT's defeats and, Cassandra-like, were prone to predicting failure which would satisfy them deeply. But that hasn't worked so we are back to crying crocodile tears and lamenting the great injustice of the Telford St Clearances, and the latest wheeze - a Mickey Mouse poll. It's all a bit Victor Meldrew , though DD is right that it has lightened up this board for a while.