Ict -v- Celtic : Matchday Thread

[stevico1]

Great performance, the team had some fight about them. Considering we had a few injury problems it was brill. Zadi what can I say, the lad gave his all, had some great moments and some not so great but fair play he gave his all. Imre deserved MOM , Barrowman looked like he was interested, cant comment on Proctor as didnt really notice he was on the park. Foran looks like he is a player as does Eric. The signs are good.

[Ice_G]

Well played boys! A great start for Terry and Maurice getting the team fired up for what sounded like a real scrap. That's an excellent point to get, and I'm sure the players will take a lot of confidence out of it.

[Yngwie]

Butcher looked delighted at the end. Even though he is just a puppet for IHE.

[BornCaley]

the whole team played well, even Zadi had some good defensive clearances

Eric got in about them in the short time he was on the pitch

Well done ICT , 1 point of the tinks- I'll take that

[IanICT]

Would have loved to be in Inverness today, but watched on Setanta. Good effort and a lot of positives from Caley. A clean sheet against the Champions is no small achievement, and I have to admit I was relieved when the whistle blew - thought they might steal this one - but a great start to the Butcher regime. Keep it (and us) up, Terry.

[starchief]

Didn't look like top v bottom that's for sure. Lessons learned:

Magics (good nickname) is top drawer - 5 year contract please

Tokely can match most of them most of the time

Zadi is nowhere near the quality but great for sheer entertainment

Black is as committed as ever (as is Duncan)

Imrie can go further - knock Killie back, Board

Barrowman is just not up to the job but Rooney is

Foran looks an assured signing on the basis of the first half

Proctor doesn't have the physique for centre-back or the drive for down the right but covered well at defensive midfield

[RossP]

Just got a txt from TB - "Thanks IHE - indebted - TB " :thumb04: :018: ;)

I'd never thank anyone for giving me Tuberculosis

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

I reckon that the TB / IHE combination may just save us. It is so refreshing to see somebody on the same wavelength and who I am clearly able to communicate with in the spiritual sense. HIC

[stevico1]

I reckon that the TB / IHE combination may just save us. It is so refreshing to see somebody on the same wavelength and who I am clearly able to communicate with in the spiritual sense. HIC

IHE you might have a few kidded but not me, I know you have brewster down there in your front room having a few drams using his expert opinion telling you when subs should be used

[CaleyD]

We saw the fight and spirit last week....we added to that this week with some nice, dare I say it, intelligent football. Butcher hit with a late blow in having the Board pull Cowie from under his feet and injuries/fitness meant he didn't have his full arsenal at his disposal, but he put together a starting 11 that worked well and (for the most part) complimented each other.

If we can go out and put on a performance like that with a weakened squad then I'm thoroughly looking forward to what we can do as players start to come back and get fit.

Message to the Club Board.......THAT's what we've been crying out for during most of the season. That's why we fans have been on your case. You almost fecked things up today with messing about on the Cowie situation, so I'm not sure how much you've learned, but we will survive despite you...not because of you.

Bring on the Arabs!!!

[HumbersideDude]

INVERNESS CT CELTIC

Possession

44% 56%

Shots on target

4 2

Shots off target

8 5

Corners

3 4

Fouls

18 15

Stats seem to suggest we more than matched the "champions"

Well done lads onwards and most certainly upwards

[alimci]

Great performance. Fantastic.

IHE, great decisions, even though I was a bit wary of your starting lineup.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Didn't look like top v bottom that's for sure. Lessons learned:

Magics (good nickname) is top drawer - 5 year contract please

Tokely can match most of them most of the time

Zadi is nowhere near the quality but great for sheer entertainment

Black is as committed as ever (as is Duncan)

Imrie can go further - knock Killie back, Board

Barrowman is just not up to the job but Rooney is

Foran looks an assured signing on the basis of the first half

Proctor doesn't have the physique for centre-back or the drive for down the right but covered well at defensive midfield

Was going to do a Smileymometer but - as I agree with all of that - especially the Zadi comment :thumb04: - I will just add that :

Esson looks solid - Munro was more like his old self - Duncan was immense - Imrie has to be kept both at ICT and up front - what a feckin shift !! - Eric is raw but has the pace to worry - great to have on the bench. Proctor is another squad player.

Butcher clearly tightened up the defence and compressed it - as he did with the midfield - the outlet was pace but we are still lacking up front.

Lets face it - given the side - that was a heart warming performance and I really do BELIEVE again - things can only get better.

Left back is still a problem position - I hope that Brew sticks Royster in there next week - and apologies to Lionel as you put some feckin great blocks in late doors and you showed that you may not have the skill or the awareness but you do have the heart - and for that - from IHE - Respect Dude :018:

Final txt to TB - contact Palmerston Park and get Bazza back in a player coach position.

AND FINALLY - This was all about Terry Butcher and NOT about the MUPPETS who put us in this position in the first instance.

[strathyjags]

even if cowie is away tommorrow surely he could of played today top say goodbye?! to think the fight we had and with a lot of players out with morias back and foran more fit i beleive big time

[stevico1]

even if cowie is away tommorrow surely he could of played today top say goodbye?! to think the fight we had and with a lot of players out with morias back and foran more fit i beleive big time

I think Butcher called this right, if Cowie is going for a medical to his new employers tomorrow do you think he would have been commited in the tackle as the others were today, I doubt it

Edited February 1, 2009 by stevico1

[Yngwie]

Left back is still a problem position - I hope that Brew sticks Royster in there next week

Ahem.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

even if cowie is away tommorrow surely he could of played today top say goodbye?! to think the fight we had and with a lot of players out with morias back and foran more fit i beleive big time

DOH

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Left back is still a problem position - I hope that Brew sticks Royster in there next week

Ahem.

:thumb04: :018: ;) The spirits are too strong - I will have to switch off - celestial confusion is draining.

[strathyjags]

Left back is still a problem position - I hope that Brew sticks Royster in there next week

Ahem.

you have the cheek to doh me after that comment,at least i know who the manager is

[Scarlet Pimple]

Zadi header over the bar was a life-saver. This man deserves praise. Up against tricky dicky Robson he stuck at it and when he got goingdown the left wing he was drawing the attention off other ICT players. Great performance today-maybe he needed some encouragement .

With Proctoir ...it's Proctor and Gamble ..He definitely needs to improve. Well nigh invisible tofay.

Why did ICT not man-mark individual Celtic players? They had so much room to move it is a wonder that they did not score---ICT defence was solid and superb. Helping each other out . And aggressive running Imrie --what can we say. What an example to the rest of the team.

Thought Rooney can develop into a classy player but still seems to lack a wee bit of determination and drive--still young is he?

By the trime I got into the match and got the video working I missed about first 12 minutes so could not judge Foran .

Tokely really stuck at it and basically showed more self control in the tackles today. But his physique is a presence and this is a team game after all.Esson was calm and dealt well with everything ut I have to say he really was not busy. Celtic were pedestrian at times. huffed and puffed and had some good pasing but haerdly a shot on goal...

Overall a fantastic game with great atmosphere. This is the stuff to get the crowds back.

Well done BT and good luck.

(P.S. Any player not mentioned on here --sorry , all did well. Smile)

[hislopsoffsideagain]

Just back. It's a long time since a home game has been as exciting as that! A lot of tired legs at the end and we were hanging on a bit, but a phenomenal effort and we deserved that point.

TB called it spot on tactically for me, though Proc should have been protecting Rossco more against McGeady. Foran looks a good find even if he was half a yard short of fitness. Imrie will sleep well tonight after putting in one heck of a shift. Even Djebi-Zadi had a decent game, bullying Naka out of it and only looking vulnerable when Robson went wide. Still can't be having with Barrowman though, he appeared to take one look at McManus and soiled his shorts with fear.

Star man for me today was Mihadjuks. We need to sign him sharpish, he was absolutely colossal at the back.

The great escape begins!

[+dumpmaster]

Good performance and a great work rate were shown by most today!

If only we could have played in some quality balls from corners and free kicks I think we could have taken all 3 points, but hopefully Terrence and Maurice will have picked up on this and make it a priority in training now.

Bring on the Arabs

[stevico1]

To me one of the biggest desisions Butcher made today was to play Black, like i said on another thread he wasnt outstanding but did enough to prove he was committed to the cause. For the last couple of weeks if not starting he should at least have come on in games but Brewsters ego or those instructing him wouldnt allow it. Butcher proved today he will play whoever he thinks can do the best job for the team without anyone telling him otherwise.

[Hiro]

Zadi header over the bar was a life-saver. This man deserves praise. Up against tricky dicky Robson he stuck at it and when he got goingdown the left wing he was drawing the attention off other ICT players. Great performance today-maybe he needed some encouragement .

With Proctoir ...it's Proctor and Gamble ..He definitely needs to improve. Well nigh invisible tofay.

Why did ICT not man-mark individual Celtic players? They had so much room to move it is a wonder that they did not score---ICT defence was solid and superb. Helping each other out . And aggressive running Imrie --what can we say. What an example to the rest of the team.

Thought Rooney can develop into a classy player but still seems to lack a wee bit of determination and drive--still young is he?

By the trime I got into the match and got the video working I missed about first 12 minutes so could not judge Foran .

Tokely really stuck at it and basically showed more self control in the tackles today. But his physique is a presence and this is a team game after all.Esson was calm and dealt well with everything ut I have to say he really was not busy. Celtic were pedestrian at times. huffed and puffed and had some good pasing but haerdly a shot on goal...

Overall a fantastic game with great atmosphere. This is the stuff to get the crowds back.

Well done BT and good luck.

(P.S. Any player not mentioned on here --sorry , all did well. Smile)

Great performance. Its amazing what happens when you play to your strengths. Much more organised and every man knew their job. Thought Esson, Mihadjuks and Munro were immense and hopefully thats a sign of things to come. We need a right midfielder pronto because although Proctor worked hard he's very limited and doesn't retain possession enough. Barrowman was a changed man, worked hard and held the ball up really well - all he needs is goals now. Big Zadi was frighteningly erratic - some brilliant defending and charges forward mixed with some classic headless chicken/bombscaremoments.

Final word for Imrie who was fantastic and thoroughly deserved MOM. Add a final ball to his play and we'vegot a great talent.

[CaleyD]

One HUGE improvement I noticed today.....we weren't "ball chasing". For weeks now there's been far too many occasions where you could throw a 15 yard circle around 8 or 9 of our players when we didn't have possession.....that's gone, and when we lost the ball we had 2 or 3 players pressing and everyone else was dropping back to build and bolster the defensive line and rebuild our shape. Just as importantly, nobody was above covering and supporting anyone else....Foran, Imrie, Black and Duncan filing in spaces at the back one minute and supporting up front the next. That's the type of discipline that's going to save our season.