ICT -V- Ayr Utd : Matchday Thread

[Georgeios]

we missed Rossco and I have to say.. Missed Doogee Imire

[Libero]

we missed Rossco and I have to say.. Missed Doogee Imire

completely agree, i think both players would have given us something different today. Imrie could have definitely helped, hes not known to shy away from a blast at goal

[IcyTea]

WTF..taking Proctor off, lost our shape at the back :(

IMHO..Sanchez 2nd half...gash, Hayes looked tired after an hour, Lionel my MOTM

Far too shot shy today, Rooney, you need to find last year's form or we need to look else where.

[nude_as_the_news]

Despite all the possession, there was no real flow to our play at all. Central midfield was a non-event - Cox worked hard, but otherwise we were pretty shapeless (neither Duncan nor Stretford really imposed themselves).

As for being shot shy, I don't think the strikers got the service. Whenever they received the ball, there was still too much work to do to create space for a shot (i.e. too many Ayr players to work through).

On the flanks, both Hayes and Eagle seemed to struggle to hit the line or get any quality crosses in (Hayes tending to playing low balls that were easily cleared). Eagle seems worryingly lightweight, not holding onto the ball and not winning much when tracking back. Cox aside, the whole midfield had an off day.

Positives? I though Munro was easily the MOTM, and wonder how much it has to do with having Bulvitis in beside him. Bulvitis stayed calm today, tried to find a player with his clearances and generally seemed to care about what he's doing. Get him on a contract extension now! Nick Ross also had some nice touches when he came on.

With six new players starting, they still need more time to develop an understanding (especially players like Sanchez who are new to the Scottish game). With that in mind, shouting abuse at players in the second half (till Foran gestured for more encouragement), and the boos at full-time seemed stupid and counter-productive. Not a bad game, but a draw was pretty much what we deserved.

Edited August 16, 2009 by nude_as_the_news

[Mrs Pauliebee]

Just to add, well done to the Ayr fans who made the journey, guesstimate there were a couple of hundred of them, hope you enjoyed the day out.

Apart from the small section of Ayr "Fans" who turned up at the Social Club, abused everyone, spat on an elderly man on the bus, then attempted to kick the cr@p out of our buses as they waited for their own to turn up....disgusting! :( :024: :024:

Mrs PB

[Georgeios]

I see that TB saw the same game as most in todays NoTW, every negitive comment made on this thread was backed up by TB's comments, so If the negitive people on here being given a hard time for making there negitive comments are bing shunned for it, lets all start on TB too.....

TB strikes me as an honest man who doesnt big anyone up that he doesnt feel, and will shoot down "slap in the face" anyone, and give the kick in the bum needed, I predict big things next week now, we always do better after TB had a fit... Its a shame we cant just stay in that mindset..

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

The abuse getting directed to Kyle is getting shocking now and i dont see a good reason to why he is getting it

We have a small handful of "yobs" in the stand who are just looking for a fight

Al wager that IF, our own support turned on them in number, it would soon shut them up

Why not actually go to a game SMEE and tell them ?

[caley100]

Seesm to me there were too many changes to the team, The defence was excellent, and could have gone 3 at the back easily.

Midfield were a bit clueless at times and never got behind the Ayr defence which was going to be the only way to get a win.

Subs were mysterious, Proc was doing ok Stratford was not imposing himself in the game and seemed to jog about mostly, taking him off for Roy would have changed the game in out favour if we had gone 3-5-2 with Proc pushing up the right in support of Ross/Eagle/Hayes.

Oh.. welcome to lower league officials.. so feckin dire its scary.

[Guest birdog]

I see that TB saw the same game as most in todays NoTW, every negitive comment made on this thread was backed up by TB's comments, so If the negitive people on here being given a hard time for making there negitive comments are bing shunned for it, lets all start on TB too.....

TB strikes me as an honest man who doesnt big anyone up that he doesnt feel, and will shoot down "slap in the face" anyone, and give the kick in the bum needed, I predict big things next week now, we always do better after TB had a fit... Its a shame we cant just stay in that mindset..

:) :rotflmao:

No georgious you are wrong it is only the management team who are allowed to hold an opinion, the fans who pay good money are only there to say how good the pitch looks, how nicely the team are dressed and refrain from comment on the goings on on the pitch, unless they have anything good to say. :rotflmao: :tonguecheek:

EDIT complaints and moans about the catering team are, however, allowable.

Edited August 16, 2009 by birdog

[Renegade]

First time I'd seen most of that team, and even though they kept the ball on the deck a lot more than under Brew, it wasn't exactly inspiring. Esson was fine, Munro and Lionel looked pretty solid, felt Bulvitis was poor at the start but got better as the first half went on. Lionel was very good going forward as well. Didn't think Proctor was much good, not a patch on Tokely at the back or going forward. Eagle looked okay, Cox was good and Hayes showed some good pace but couldn't use his right foot to save his life. Not overly impressed with the latter. Stratford was garbage IMO. Sanchez looked alright but needs to stop taking so many touches. Foran wasn't in the game at all. Ross looked like a good wee player, a bit of speed as well. Need to learn when to shoot next week as this walking it into the net business will get ICT nowhere.

[NocturnalGroove]

Just to add, well done to the Ayr fans who made the journey, guesstimate there were a couple of hundred of them, hope you enjoyed the day out.

I feel we may be a better team away from home again as we were poor at trying to break down a packed defence and Ayr grew in confidence with this and even had the audacity to try and score.............humbugs.

Had a great day out, last time i was up there was the cup game where we lead 3-0 at half time and still managed to lose the game, so yesterdays journey back home was much more pleasant.

Would like to apologise for the behaviour of some of the younger fans in the caley club before the game. Myself and a fair few of the older fans were embarrased by them and id like to think that you wont hold the behaviour of some youngsters who cant handle thier drink against the majority of fans who know how to behave.

Really enjoyed my 2 pies at the game yesterday, certainly one of the better mince pies ive had at the football in a long time, think the only one that comes close to it is the ones at Peterhead.

Disappointed not to have got a programme from the game but as we arrived from the caley club at about 2:50 we were told they had sold out at 2:45.

Thought your new stand behind the goals was decent, certainly alot better than alot of other new builds where your cramped, and we got a decent view of the game.

I woulda bitten yer hand off for 2 points from our opening 2 games before the season started but felt we should have won against Partick, and felt a bit cheated by the ref after the penalty incident yesterday, although we were dominated without much threat for most of the game, although we did come into it alot more in the second half. Cant complain at 2 points though from 2 of the more fancied teams in the league.

all the best for the forthcoming season, except for when you play us

Edited August 16, 2009 by NocturnalGroove

[caleytillidie]

We should really be beating teams like ayr but 4 points out of 2 games isnt too bad. We haven't lost any ground and its 2 clean sheets.

Just a bit worried bout some of the new signings. Hayes, Eagles and Sanchez look as if they have decent ability but all 3 of them are very lightweight and are pushed off the ball easily. We need to be a lot stronger if we are to win a league like this.

[Kingsmills]

The lack of a reliable forward was our downfall last season. Hope it will not be the case again this year. Does anyone know when Barroman and Odihambo are likely to return ?

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

What does Barrowmans return have to do with our need for a reliable forward ?

[Johnboy]

What does Barrowmans return have to do with our need for a reliable forward ?

Well.... It would remind us how badly we need one....

:P

[AJS]

I think the new players just need a bit more time to gel as our whole midfield was made up of new players yesterday and there was bouts of quality from all of them, they need to make these moments more consistent and all players need to seriously toughen up. I agree about Sanchez, has the ability but needs to stop taking so many touches. Stratford needs to stay in the middle because he is good there, good range of passing. But at right back is a no hope.

We really need a right mid though. Hayes and Eagle can't use their right feet at all.

[bishbashbosh]

Just to add, well done to the Ayr fans who made the journey, guesstimate there were a couple of hundred of them, hope you enjoyed the day out.

I feel we may be a better team away from home again as we were poor at trying to break down a packed defence and Ayr grew in confidence with this and even had the audacity to try and score.............humbugs.

Had a great day out, last time i was up there was the cup game where we lead 3-0 at half time and still managed to lose the game, so yesterdays journey back home was much more pleasant.

Would like to apologise for the behaviour of some of the younger fans in the caley club before the game. Myself and a fair few of the older fans were embarrased by them and id like to think that you wont hold the behaviour of some youngsters who cant handle thier drink against the majority of fans who know how to behave.

Really enjoyed my 2 pies at the game yesterday, certainly one of the better mince pies ive had at the football in a long time, think the only one that comes close to it is the ones at Peterhead.

Disappointed not to have got a programme from the game but as we arrived from the caley club at about 2:50 we were told they had sold out at 2:45.

Thought your new stand behind the goals was decent, certainly alot better than alot of other new builds where your cramped, and we got a decent view of the game.

I woulda bitten yer hand off for 2 points from our opening 2 games before the season started but felt we should have won against Partick, and felt a bit cheated by the ref after the penalty incident yesterday, although we were dominated without much threat for most of the game, although we did come into it alot more in the second half. Cant complain at 2 points though from 2 of the more fancied teams in the league.

all the best for the forthcoming season, except for when you play us

i remember that cup game also. in those days we were usually crap first half and once pele got his half time team talk we improved second half. that day the ayr centre half, john yogi hughes, waved a clenched fist in victory to the ayr supporters while leaving the park at half time. we came out the second half and scored 4 goals in i think 17 minutes to win 4-3. oh to return to those entertaining days.

[CaleyMad]

We defo need a reliable forward... come on!

Did anyone else spot Foran sleeping on the job? (or dying)

[Georgeios]

Just a bit worried bout some of the new signings. Hayes, Eagles and Sanchez look as if they have decent ability but all 3 of them are very lightweight and are pushed off the ball easily. We need to be a lot stronger if we are to win a league like this.

Hayes is a stalky lad, the only times I saw him go down was due to the amount of pace he had his feet triped him up going like the clappers, and to be honest he could do with losing a couple of pounds, but look at W Rooney... hes our poor mans W Rooney.

The lack of a reliable forward was our downfall last season. Hope it will not be the case again this year. Does anyone know when Barroman and Odihambo are likely to return ?

We have a reliable forward... It was just the Ayr Back line knew how to play him, that and the Officals seemed to really have a problem with him touching the ball.

What does Barrowmans return have to do with our need for a reliable forward ?

Well.... It would remind us how badly we need one....

[Caley Stan]

I'm a bit late on this thread but here goes anyway.

I thought we held onto the ball well on Saturday. We were very patient against a defensive Ayr team who created virtually nothing from open play. With the exception of Narius, everyone in our team looks comfortable on the ball and Grant in particular distributed well from the back, even attempting to drive us forward at times.

But then he didn't have much choice, did he? Nobody in the midfield took responsibilty for taking the game to Ayr in an aggressive manner - they were far too happy to stroke the ball about in the hope that a space would appear. This is where we missed Imrie, Morais, even Blackie. Any of those three would've created a bit of spark. The midfield quartet concerns me greatly and on Saturday's evidence, we won't get close to challenging for the league with these guys.

HAYES - STRATFORD - COX - EAGLES..........all clearly decent footballers but how many first team games have they played between them? Very few and it shows. It's inexperienced and it's lightweight. Stratford made basic errors all afternoon, Cox didn't impose himself as we might've hoped and Eagle just ran up blind alleys. Only Hayes seemed to have the neccessary aggression and directness to create something at this level but he's clearly not fit. Sanchez wants too many touches and wasn't making decent runs - also not fit - has he ever played first team football? Richie didn't even have scraps to work with. I think we could've been more direct once it became clear that weren't going to pass through the Ayr rearguard.

This all sounds very negative but i'm not quite as down-beat as some folk on here (or the majority of a very moany Bridge End). I enjoyed watching our passing at times and if we can bring a bit of dig to the midfield (Roy?) and directness going forward (Imrie, Odi?, Andy!) then we might find it easier to break teams down.

Edited August 17, 2009 by Caley Stan

[ictchris]

HAYES - STRATFORD - COX - EAGLES..........all clearly decent footballers but how many first team games have they played between them? Very few and it shows. It's inexperienced and it's lightweight. Stratford made basic errors all afternoon, Cox didn't impose himself as we might've hoped and Eagle just ran up blind alleys. Only Hayes seemed to have the neccessary aggression and directness to create something at this level but he's clearly not fit. Sanchez wants too many touches and wasn't making decent runs - also not fit - has he ever played first team football? Richie didn't even have scraps to work with. I think we could've been more direct once it became clear that weren't going to pass through the Ayr rearguard.

Good point, perhaps we should introduce either Duncan or McBain to the midfield on Saturday.

[Georgeios]

HAYES - STRATFORD - COX - EAGLES..........all clearly decent footballers but how many first team games have they played between them? Very few and it shows. It's inexperienced and it's lightweight. Stratford made basic errors all afternoon, Cox didn't impose himself as we might've hoped and Eagle just ran up blind alleys. Only Hayes seemed to have the neccessary aggression and directness to create something at this level but he's clearly not fit. Sanchez wants too many touches and wasn't making decent runs - also not fit - has he ever played first team football? Richie didn't even have scraps to work with. I think we could've been more direct once it became clear that weren't going to pass through the Ayr rearguard.

Good point, perhaps we should introduce either Duncan or McBain to the midfield on Saturday.

Mcbain.... From this game I've been thinking..... Foran couldnt ever run on to the ball without being flagged or the ball going the wrong way and to fast for the way Foran wanted it, ayr's back line played the off side trap well, now to combat this, Foran should be the one dictating this move... so hes forward standing just off side off and the defencer see him and thinks hes safely offside as the mid field come forward Foran should be the one signaling for the ball by running around (OnSide) the Defender, this would tell the coming forward midfields that he is ready for the ball and also it would give the passing player more of an Idea of where he wants the ball played.. this would also tell the passing player that when he runs round the Defender he is On side and also stop the flag going up... I know what im trying to say, just dont think im getting it...

[ilpadrino]

...ayr's back line played the off side trap well...

Well enough to catch the incompetent officials out more often than they did Foran.

...this would also tell the passing player that when he runs round the Defender he is On side and also stop the flag going up...

Part 1: yes

Part 2: who knows? - would it have made any difference on Saturday?

[Georgeios]

...ayr's back line played the off side trap well...

Well enough to catch the incompetent officials out more often than they did Foran.

...this would also tell the passing player that when he runs round the Defender he is On side and also stop the flag going up...

Part 1: yes

Part 2: who knows? - would it have made any difference on Saturday?

fair comment lol, it makes sence in my head anyway... lol

[Mike]

Oh.. welcome to lower league officials.. so feckin dire its scary.

Is Brian Winter not a Cat 1 ref and he has had SPL games including ours.