Matchday Thread: ICT v Hearts

[Pedz4king]

It all started going wrong when kyle came on. i thought we could have possibly won the game until he came on. I thought the ref was horrible i have never seen worse decisions for corners, eggert jonsson should have been sent off and same with the winger who hit proctor on the knee. I'm not too sure if sutherlands 'goal' was offside.

I don't like proc playing right back, he's a better centre mid and i would like to see duncan start next week instead of cox, i didnt notice cox until the second half.

I thought ross, eric, hayes and rooney all played well today and hopefully they will keep it up for st mirren where we should pick up 3 points.

[hislopsoffsideagain]

Just back from a match that was as damp as the weather. It's not often I have a big rant against our own players, but after that load of keystone cops defending today, I feel entitled to vent a bit.

I can cope with players having bad games - which is why I politely applauded David Proctor at the end, even though he had a stinker - it was distressing to see how easily Templeton skinned him. But as for Munro and Innes - well, boys, you took one look at Kevin Kyle when he came on, and you wet your pants. The number of 50-50s and high balls towards him that our centre-halves refused to contest - well, I lost count after only a little while. Innes apparently can't do anything except tug shirts; Munro, meanwhile, should take a look at Rossco, who at least made Kyle work to win the ball when he moved to the centre.

In short, Grant and Chris - I would feel quite comfortable about accusing the two of you of being cowards. Either grow a pair, fast, or prepare for a deserved period warming the bench.

Further up the pitch, we created plenty of chances but, Eric's goal aside (he needs new boots, by the way), we were poor in the box. Rooney worked hard as usual. I thought Nick Ross was as good as anyone today. But it was an off day for Jonny Hayes.

As you can tell, I'm absolutely fed up. Hearts won that game by being slightly less bad than us.

[kencar]

Another home defeat to add to growing the collection and considering Hearts weren't any great shakes they run out comfortable winners in the end.

Poor team selection cost us dearly. Tokely at left back with a fit Golabek on the bench was crazy and that's down to Butcher

Proctor was abysmal and the sooner he is out of the team the better. As soon as Templeton got the ball he s**t himself and ran away. Hopeless.

You had to feel sorry for Esson with that defence in front of him. Still at least we got lucky that the clueless ref didn't give them a couple of penalties, the one in the second half looked a stonewaller.

I think it must be obvious even to the most optimistic ICT fan we are in a relegation dogfight already and its going to be a long hard slog this season

[AJS]

On the creativity front i thought we did more than Hearts but just did not finish them when we had the opportunities. Hearts only real chances were their goals.

Defending was shambolic, Munro and Innes couldnt cope with Kyle's presence, Ian Black going of was the worst thing that happened to us. Proctor was awful as well, Templeton beat him almost everytime. Come January some younger, pacier defence cover is required.

The positives i take from today was the performance of Nick Ross who i thought was outstanding, looked a major threat at times today. Stuart Duff also looks a good addition to midfield. He provided some superb passes today and wasn't afraid to get forward.

[Johnboy]

I think it must be obvious even to the most optimistic ICT fan we are in a relegation dogfight already and its going to be a long hard slog this season

Relegation dogfight? Surely not...

I thought we were unlucky to concede a goal right on the stroke of half-time. We had more than enough chances to take a least a point from this one.

Things can only get better. Once we get McCann, Gillet and Richie back and fit again, the results will come.

[TSTtiger]

First half, we were pretty good and should have gone in one up at the break but for some poor defending of a free kick resulting in Innes putting the ball in his own net.

It became clear fairly early on that our defence was not having a good day, Proctor was being absolutely screwed down the right and we seemed to just back off any Hearts players making runs towards goal.

Tokely and Esson were fine i thought but this looked like a defence thrown together at the last minute.That said, Hearts were equally poor at the back and this gave hope that we may still go on to win it but they took their chances and we couldn't.

I thought Nick Ross had one of his best games in a Caley shirt, especially first half and fully deserved the M.O.M award.

Need to see the offside goal again as i'm not convinced it was but by then it was looking like it wasn't to be our day.

The referee had a bit of a nightmare all round, Duff should have walked for a second bookable offence as should one of the Hearts players for fouls on Hayes and probably should have given Hearts a penalty as well.

We can't have too many complaints about the result but it could have been oh so different.

[Libero]

I think it must be obvious even to the most optimistic ICT fan we are in a relegation dogfight already and its going to be a long hard slog this season

Relegation dogfight? Surely not...

I thought we were unlucky to concede a goal right on the stroke of half-time. We had more than enough chances to take a least a point from this one.

Things can only get better. Once we get McCann, Gillet and Richie back and fit again, the results will come.

completely agree johnboy. we are 5 games into the league and sitting in 8th, dont think its really time to start worrying about relegation quite yet.

we were shwon today that you cannot get away with missing your chances. we showed some nice attacking play in spells but in the SPL you need to score when your on top or you will be punished. like we were today.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Interesting comments from peeple who were at the game so here is the ESPN view from a totally feckin sober IHE !!

ESSON He wasnt at fault at any of the goals and always looked to distribute quickly - and usually did - appeared to be giving some great defensive "shouts" and did well in the wet conditions

PROCTOR Hopefully Terry and Mo are now convinced that he is a valuable squad player who can play "well" in a number of positions but he quite simply is NOT a right back - in some fairness Templeton is a mega talent but Proc was lost.

GRANTY I dont agree with the criticism as AGAIN I felt that he was the only player in the back for who was actually "thinking" about the game. Innes was given the job of marking Kyle - TB probably didnt have an alternative but moving Granty to left back midway through the second half was tactically inept.

INNES Sorry but he wasnt match fit but probably had to be pitched in as what were the alternatives. The lack of match fitness shone through in the second half

ROSSCOE : Well as most of us knew before he is NOT a left back and he probably isnt a SPL right back either - central defender for this season only. He looked totally lost and was at fault for the second and third goals. He was feckin spent.

HAYES: Is it me or is he the most frustrating ****. He can be a typical winger one minute and then goes out of the game fer ages plus he doesnt track back - and when he did he was paul Scholes esque in a late tackle.

COX As usual runs his legs off and was probably one of the few who gained pass marks. Unspectacular but moderately effective - has taken over the Duncan role clearly

DUFF : Never one of my favourite transfer rumours or buys but this boy actually looks the part. He works put he can play a pass as well. Could be the buy of the season

ROSS: Suffers from the apparent obsession to hit Hayes. Let the boy of his leash and play him on the right - a feckin definite fer the Under 21 squad - Don Cowie in the making.

ERIC Shocking game - he simply should NOT be played at home - feck me he clearly even doesnt know what kind of stud to use in wet conditions. He simply does not have a first touch or a pass - all he has is pace - and his goal could go down as the flukiest in SPL history.

ROONEY: Playing the lone striker at home is unacceptable. He simply did not get the ammunition but he could have scored a couple of goals if he had more experience. He will be a vital cog in the future though.

FORAN OK Hearts were 3-1 but his mere presence appeared to buoy the team and the atmosphere. Greta to see him back and his presence will be a big, big factor this season.

SUTHERLAND: Still not convinced that he and Rooney can play together but that pairing is worth having a look at. From the TV there was nothing wrong with the goal

GOLLY Only on fer a short time but way behind the SPL pace.

Terry and Mo: Todays tactics deserve a thread of its own

BRINES: Poor game all round - missed some clear decisions - including the disallowed Sutherland goal, some terrible tackles and over ruling the linesmen.

And isnt Craig burley a total feckin horses' erse.

Overall there were positives and negatives - we are evidently going to struggle when we have important players out but we have to be more radical in regard to our tactics

[Jay_7]

Today has just shown that we do not have sufficient strength in depth in our squad.

Without Gillet and McCann, and with Munro and Innes playing like that we are absolutely abysmal at the back.

Tokely is way beyond his best. He may well have been on the left today but that is no excuse what so ever for being as slow as that.

Proctor is not a defender. How many times does Butcher need to see him get roasted by opposing attackers before he figures that out?!

So we've established that we can't defend... Can we attack? Only until the final ball needs to be played. What the f**k are we doing in training if we're not practising defending or attacking?! :irritated: It's f**king basics that we're messing up out there!

Good to see Butcher has learnt something though, Duncan is not an SPL player. Great shout replacing him with Duff - who for me, was a competitor for MoM today. Nick Ross had a great game and only just edged out Duff.

Good to see Foran back, but did anyone else think he looked no where near fit enough? Couple of nice touches and passes but as soon as he needed to do anything energetic at all he was not his usual self. He's got at least 2-3 weeks before he's back to being competitive I reckon.

[ICTPaisley]

No chance are we in a relegation battle. I can take enough from todays game to believe we can beat St Mirren next weekend, Tightening it up at the back is all thats needed and im confident the goals will be there next week, Rooney was unlucky a few times and just appeared to be having an off day infront of goal.

Next weekend will give us a better idea of where we are. Losing to Hamilton could be down to a bad day but our second attempt is next weekend against St Mirren, if we lose that also then we may start worrying.

[Johnboy]

IHE obviously on the wind up with his comments on Rossco and Eric - they were two of our best players today, along with Nick Ross and Duff.

[Jay_7]

IHE obviously on the wind up with his comments on Rossco and Eric - they were two of our best players today, along with Nick Ross and Duff.

Aye, right you are! What game were you at?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

IHE obviously on the wind up with his comments on Rossco and Eric - they were two of our best players today, along with Nick Ross and Duff.

No wind up - had a double voddie typing my post but - on the box - Rosscoe and Eric were hapless and dire. Rosscoe was hooked back in to central defence becos he was struggling. All the commentators on ESPN commented that Rosscoe was "sleeping" for the second goal and well out of position for the third. As fer Eric he was a figure of ridicule. Two of my English mates watched the game and said that Eric was the most amusing sight that they had seen in years - and felt that he fell on his erse more than Todd feckin Carty on Dancing On Ice.

The goal was unbelievably BAD.

[TSTtiger]

IHE obviously on the wind up with his comments on Rossco and Eric - they were two of our best players today, along with Nick Ross and Duff.

Aye thought Eric played better than either Ronney or Hayes today and Rossco was our best defender despite playing left back but just shows how everyone see's some things different!

[ICTPaisley]

IHE obviously on the wind up with his comments on Rossco and Eric - they were two of our best players today, along with Nick Ross and Duff.

Tokely played pretty poor today but he was out of position. Eric was good i thought and can't see any reason why people would think he had a poor game.

Im guessing Innes is out now so its going to be a very out of form defence against Celtic on Wednesday.

Golabek---------Munro-------Tokely--------Proctor ????????????? I can't see McBain going in at left back or Cox at right back.

[Johnboy]

Eric's goal was a feckin masterpiece.... an incredible first touch and then a superb finish....It was a work of art... a thing of beauty.....

One of the best goals I've ever seen at TCS....

Wtf was wrong with it?

[TSTtiger]

IHE obviously on the wind up with his comments on Rossco and Eric - they were two of our best players today, along with Nick Ross and Duff.

Tokely played pretty poor today but he was out of position. Eric was good i thought and can't see any reason why people would think he had a poor game.

Im guessing Innes is out now so its going to be a very out of form defence against Celtic on Wednesday.

Golabek---------Munro-------Tokely--------Proctor ????????????? I can't see McBain going in at left back or Cox at right back.

swap golly and proctor and that'll probably be it.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Eric's goal was a feckin masterpiece.... an incredible first touch and then a superb finish....It was a work of art... a thing of beauty.....

One of the best goals I've ever seen at TCS....

Wtf was wrong with it?

I'll give you a green feckin dot fer that.

[Johnboy]

Eric's goal was a feckin masterpiece.... an incredible first touch and then a superb finish....It was a work of art... a thing of beauty.....

One of the best goals I've ever seen at TCS....

Wtf was wrong with it?

I'll give you a green feckin dot fer that.

Jeeesus.... what did it look like on TV?

I'm p1$$ed off, 'cos I set my Sky+ to record this one... Trying to watch it now and it says the recording failed.

That might have something to do with the fact I don't subscribe to ESPN...

[TSTtiger]

IHE obviously on the wind up with his comments on Rossco and Eric - they were two of our best players today, along with Nick Ross and Duff.

No wind up - had a double voddie typing my post but - on the box - Rosscoe and Eric were hapless and dire. Rosscoe was hooked back in to central defence becos he was struggling. All the commentators on ESPN commented that Rosscoe was "sleeping" for the second goal and well out of position for the third. As fer Eric he was a figure of ridicule. Two of my English mates watched the game and said that Eric was the most amusing sight that they had seen in years - and felt that he fell on his erse more than Todd feckin Carty on Dancing On Ice.

The goal was unbelievably BAD.

Aye but did Tokely not go centre defence because Innes was injured and Golly came on to cover left back.Its a wee bit different to being hooked to centre half cos he's struggling.If that was Butchers thinking Proctor would've been subbed in the first half.

Anyway, if there's one thing we can take from this its that Butcher doesn't have much faith in Golabek if he can't get a start today given he is our only back up left back.

[WYNESS101]

Ref was shocking today

Defence was shocking today.

Why does TB put Tokely at LB when he could have put in Golly or Mcbain? Mcbain/Golly Munro Innes Tokely i wold have played something like that. Time to drop proctor me thinks just not pulling his weight.

MOTM - Stuart Duff

[tm4tj]

We are suspect at the back, but decent enough going fprward but need to be more clinical when in the box, simples.

Nick Ross had his finest game for ICT, able to beat his marker at will. Nothing wrong with Rossco's contribution overall, but Granty, Innes and especially back off boy Proctor were grim. Eric did keep slipping, but he turns so quick maybe not surprising on a greasy surface. We must have created as many if not more chances than Hearts, but whereas they profited from sloppy defending/marking, we never really got the break of the ball in the box. Good defending or just bad positioning?

Still, the resulkt flatters Hearts a little.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

IHE obviously on the wind up with his comments on Rossco and Eric - they were two of our best players today, along with Nick Ross and Duff.

No wind up - had a double voddie typing my post but - on the box - Rosscoe and Eric were hapless and dire. Rosscoe was hooked back in to central defence becos he was struggling. All the commentators on ESPN commented that Rosscoe was "sleeping" for the second goal and well out of position for the third. As fer Eric he was a figure of ridicule. Two of my English mates watched the game and said that Eric was the most amusing sight that they had seen in years - and felt that he fell on his erse more than Todd feckin Carty on Dancing On Ice.

The goal was unbelievably BAD.

Aye but did Tokely not go centre defence because Innes was injured and Golly came on to cover left back.Its a wee bit different to being hooked to centre half cos he's struggling.If that was Butchers thinking Proctor would've been subbed in the first half.

Anyway, if there's one thing we can take from this its that Butcher doesn't have much faith in Golabek if he can't get a start today given he is our only back up left back.

Nope - Tokely and Granty switched just before the third goal becos Rosscoe was shattered and being slaughtered.

[Pedz4king]

IHE obviously on the wind up with his comments on Rossco and Eric - they were two of our best players today, along with Nick Ross and Duff.

No wind up - had a double voddie typing my post but - on the box - Rosscoe and Eric were hapless and dire. Rosscoe was hooked back in to central defence becos he was struggling. All the commentators on ESPN commented that Rosscoe was "sleeping" for the second goal and well out of position for the third. As fer Eric he was a figure of ridicule. Two of my English mates watched the game and said that Eric was the most amusing sight that they had seen in years - and felt that he fell on his erse more than Todd feckin Carty on Dancing On Ice.

The goal was unbelievably BAD.

Aye but did Tokely not go centre defence because Innes was injured and Golly came on to cover left back.Its a wee bit different to being hooked to centre half cos he's struggling.If that was Butchers thinking Proctor would've been subbed in the first half.

Anyway, if there's one thing we can take from this its that Butcher doesn't have much faith in Golabek if he can't get a start today given he is our only back up left back.

Nope - Tokely and Granty switched just before the third goal becos Rosscoe was shattered and being slaughtered.

I would say it was because munro was getting slaughtered in the air by kyle and granty is a left footed player

[MissICT]

oh boy!

I have to say that they disappointed me. started of soo well then I don't know what happened. We just seemed to lose it. I'm gutted and very annoyed.

On the upside I got my picy with the cup and I was with good company. As for my predation I think that us just scraping relegation is starting to sound a lot more realistic.