ICT -V- Rangers : Matchday Thread

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Did anyone else find it ironic when the Gers fans chanted 'thats why we're champions' just after their second penalty?

The referee was a joke but we shouldn't let that distract us from our own shortcomings. Rangers were woeful today but we hardly put them under any pressure at all. The defense isn't organized (Grant Munro?), the midfield is lacking bite (Russel Duncan?) and our forwards aren't getting into goal scoring positions (Rooney).

Tudor Williams looks the part but his workrate is seriously lacking, hopefully just a lack of match fitness otherwise we might have another Barrowman on our hands.

Hogg needs to start using his head. Far too many needless fouls and aimless clogs into touch or empty space. Is he better than Grant Munro? I'm not convinced.

Esson has been a rock but he needs to be more vocal in organizing the defense like Tuffey.

Foran needs to stop bitching all the time and get on with the game.

End of rant.

Good post which necessitates a response !!

1. Munro, Duncan and Rooney have moved on - but we evidently miss their "style" in those positions and - unfortunately - this places a lot of hig expectation on poor wee McKay - who clearly isnt a centre forward. My frustration with this is why Terry has not persisted with Sutherland,

2. I really do not think that Tentpole is fully fit and it has been said that he missed pre season - but that again asks why not persist with Ross or even Shinnie.

3. Very good point about Esson - would love to know why he has become so refrained.

4. Hogg is another who has needed to be pitched in - not fully fit - and will have to assume the "leader" role. He did that role well at Hibs and I suspect that Hogg/Aldred will be the first choice combination this season.

[Yngwie]

If the ref was biased, why didn't he give Rangers penalties in the first half when it would have been justifiable to do so?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

He wasnt biased - he was "influenced" by negative feedback at half time. My feeling is that refs should be left alone until the final whistle - but with tha advent of live TV, replays and the fourth official - that kind of thing seeps in - plus watch McCoist at half time - if I was him I would be on a wind up of "dont have to ask me about the decisions you missed - just feckin watch it on TV and feckin weep"

[Council Juice]

As much as it pains me to say, and after a day and a few pints to reflect on it, I think Rangers edged the game. They had a goal incorrectly chopped off and a good penalty shout missed (Though it took a replay for me to see it so hard to say to the ref to get it 1st time even if he is much closer).

However neither penalty was anything like a penalty. Ross Tokely made an immense tackle and if your saying you can't make any sort of minimal contact with a player whilst winning the ball they should outlaw sliding challenges. It wasn't a clear goalscoring opportunity either so no red.

You have to wonder if the ref having made some stinking calls in the 1st half, hasn't had a little look at replays at half time, which I do believe he is not meant to do as it may influence future decisions. He seemed at great effort to point to the spot for the 2 penalties.

The ref was a joke. It was one of the poorest refereeing performances I've seen in a long time.

On a more positive note, I thought Shane Sutherland did well in difficult circumstances when he came on. He seemed to offer us an outlet up front. I do hope he gets more opportunities soon. Shinnie seemed to cope well at left back. And Peirnayr again seemed solid. Our defence is, against our will, being chopped and changed too much to allow for it to gel properly so hopefully it shall stay steady for the next few games.

Nick Ross, I feel has done well when coming on in the last 2 games and might merit a start in the next game. He wasn't great against Hibs but I think he's picked up from that.

[Govan Jaggie]

Apart from the first 5-10 mins of the Second Half we weren't in it. That is why it is so frustrating that this is when the ref chose to intervene in the result of the game. As soon as Ross put in his tackle I was shouting what a tackle it was but the prat in the yellow decided go on Rangers have this on me. The second was also not a penalty. You see the Rangers player not even looking at the ball seeing where Tom was then falls like he has been shot. He then gets MOTM!

We were poor but Rangers fans must be very worried about their season also. How many saves did Ryan have to make?

[Council Juice]

Apart from the first 5-10 mins of the Second Half we weren't in it. That is why it is so frustrating that this is when the ref chose to intervene in the result of the game. As soon as Ross put in his tackle I was shouting what a tackle it was but the prat in the yellow decided go on Rangers have this on me. The second was also not a penalty. You see the Rangers player not even looking at the ball seeing where Tom was then falls like he has been shot. He then gets MOTM!

We were poor but Rangers fans must be very worried about their season also. How many saves did Ryan have to make?

Not a truer word spoken. Ref was dire.

[davie]

Despite all the criticism here of slow reactions after the second penalty, it has to be noted that Rangers had encroached into the area before the kick was taken. Hogg and co. were probably still wondering wtf was going on at that point, and there seems little point in having extra officials such as linesmen or 4th officials if they contribute nothing to the game by pointing things like that out to the trumpet in the middle. At one point, Malpas was looking for reasons for yet another dodgy decision and the 4th official was clearly replying "don't blame me, it's not my decision" If that's the extent of his input, get shot of him. Or, give him a monitor from the TV feed so that he can take another 15 seconds to decide that the referees display of unbridled twattery should'nt result in another penalty. Mind you, such is the institutional favour shown to the OF in this league, I doubt it would ever be allowed to happen. And before anyone starts, it's not a conspiracy, it's just incompetence. It's so bad that I know of people who are seriously thinking of not bothering anymore, there is little point in watching teams playing on what seems to be far from a level playing field.

[Scarlet Pimple]

Which allows me a operfect opportunity to harpo on again about the ABSOLUTE necessity of introducing real-time video so that the refs can cede the decision to two indpendent observers sitting inn the box looking at a TV to decide if an infringement did happen or not.

In Candian ice hockey they have it all down to a tee.

Any decision involving a goal (or indeed any other challenged infringement) which is the subject of controversy etc is immediately referred "upstairs" to the guys in the booth in the rafters who review the video from all sides plus from a camera lodged in the back of the net AND one suspended right over the goal line of the net. When the decision is finally signalled by the ref no one seems to ever have a complaint recognising that the booth vieres are neutral and the process could hardly be fair

I suppose expecting the Scottish League officials to seriously consider stepping into the 21st century technological age is something of a pipedream. But any rational person can see that in this League you have two super teams whose financial impact on the league , Scottish football and the SPL far outweighs their actual importance to many teams and fans and so the chances of their getting favoured treatment at the hands of officials on the pitch is much higher than otherwise it might be.

If this is correct, there is fat chance that thse two teams will ever support any such motion to be put forward by the beaks, even if it is pointed out to them that their doing so will go a long way to lifting these prevailing suspicions about bias by refs .

So the English fellow who tried to change the size of the SPL down to 10 teams will continue to be happy and quiet as the controversy continues to swirl around his curly top. Maybe he could spend some time in thinking about getting rid of penalties altogether. Now that would be be the biggest boon to this game since I watched Caley at Telford Street lisping at the feet of my faither "Dad, who's that funny little man who runs around with a toy in his mouth but never gets a kick at the ball"?

[gingerjaggy]

seen the highlights didnt look a bad performance and the pens were just so pathetic i cant even get angry at them. The first hand ball no but the second one yes we were lucky but refs should not feel they have to make amends if they see it and dont give it then that is it just feel, not gutted but exasperated i mean what is the point i will still go and watch matches but the admission money is to see a professional performance by everyone and im sorry but the refs dont live up to any standard or consistancy

[Renegade]

Having just the seen the highlights there, I think Euan Norris must have been on drugs. The Tokely one wasn't even a foul, far less a sending off and Aldred and the Rangers man simply run into each other - if those were given in every game we'd have a highlights reel of nothing but penalties every week. I think Jelavic was hard done by in the first half mind, if he is offside for his disallowed goal then there must have been only a couple of inches in it. The Hogg hand ball is simply accidental, though the Tokely/Aldred one could have been given. I think it is also interesting to note that the decisions that went Rangers way were the ones right in front of their own fans - make of that what you will, but there's no denying the cowardice that permeates the referees whenever one part of the two-headed monster comes to town.

Also the note, why does Hogg stop running when Esson saves the second penalty? Had he kept going then it could have been enough to boot it away.

All in all, a cagey game ruined by a referee, but ICT hardly managed to get into the opposition penalty area and some aspects tactically need to be addressed.

Edited August 14, 2011 by Renegade

[Libero]

Waited a couple of days to calm down and watch the highlights before attempting to post my reaction.

With regards to our play i thought, whilst no where near our best we played reasonably well in spells. We created a couple of good chances for Doran and Foran and had restricted them to a couple of half chances. Very close call for offside for the Jelavic 'goal' and ive seen them go either way. We were very fortunate in the first half with the double hand ball incident involving Jones and Tokely however Norris proceeded to completely lose the plot in the second half. IMO both 'penalty' incidents were wrong. The first one was a solid tackle which took the ball and man the ball, however if you cant tackle nowadays without touching an oppostion player then the game has descended into a sorry state. Definitely the wrong call for the first one and i hope that we appeal the decision. The second was soft and more of a coming together of bodies with the rangers player definitely making the most of it. Unfortunately its an all to frequent part of our game now

Even more baffled by the media who claimed rangers deserved to win. Fair enough they had more of the ball but they didnt really create much with it. I really dont see how the referee gifting two penalties equates to a deserving win

That is the poorest rangers team i have seen up here in a long time, going to be a long season for McCoist if they continue to play like that

It seems we have had a lions share of poor refereeing calls and bad luck with regards to injuries. Our luck really needs to change. And soon!!

[Alex MacLeod]

Which allows me a operfect opportunity to harpo on again about the ABSOLUTE necessity of introducing real-time video so that the refs can cede the decision to two indpendent observers sitting inn the box looking at a TV to decide if an infringement did happen or not.

In Candian ice hockey they have it all down to a tee.

Any decision involving a goal (or indeed any other challenged infringement) which is the subject of controversy etc is immediately referred "upstairs" to the guys in the booth in the rafters who review the video from all sides plus from a camera lodged in the back of the net AND one suspended right over the goal line of the net. When the decision is finally signalled by the ref no one seems to ever have a complaint recognising that the booth vieres are neutral and the process could hardly be fair

I suppose expecting the Scottish League officials to seriously consider stepping into the 21st century technological age is something of a pipedream. But any rational person can see that in this League you have two super teams whose financial impact on the league , Scottish football and the SPL far outweighs their actual importance to many teams and fans and so the chances of their getting favoured treatment at the hands of officials on the pitch is much higher than otherwise it might be.

If this is correct, there is fat chance that thse two teams will ever support any such motion to be put forward by the beaks, even if it is pointed out to them that their doing so will go a long way to lifting these prevailing suspicions about bias by refs .

So the English fellow who tried to change the size of the SPL down to 10 teams will continue to be happy and quiet as the controversy continues to swirl around his curly top. Maybe he could spend some time in thinking about getting rid of penalties altogether. Now that would be be the biggest boon to this game since I watched Caley at Telford Street lisping at the feet of my faither "Dad, who's that funny little man who runs around with a toy in his mouth but never gets a kick at the ball"?

Very interesting ramblings there Scarlet but the SPL has little or no say in what technology can or can't be used during games. FIFA are the people who need influenced on that count.

[absent friend]

Apart from the first 5-10 mins of the Second Half we weren't in it. That is why it is so frustrating that this is when the ref chose to intervene in the result of the game. As soon as Ross put in his tackle I was shouting what a tackle it was but the prat in the yellow decided go on Rangers have this on me. The second was also not a penalty. You see the Rangers player not even looking at the ball seeing where Tom was then falls like he has been shot. He then gets MOTM!

We were poor but Rangers fans must be very worried about their season also. How many saves did Ryan have to make?

I read so many offerings stating that we were not in it!!

If this be the case ... why did it take two 'iffy' penalties to beat us???

If the score was 5-0 I would accept 'we are rubbish' offerings BUT maybe you are all saying 'we are rubbish' and maybe you also feel that Rangers were as well!!

I, for one, have high hopes for a good result at Aberdeen .. even if you call my team RUBBISH!!

[Sir C the 3rd]

The 2nd penalty highlights what is wrong with football now. It is absolutley not a penalty, the slightest of contact sends the largest player on the football pitch crashing down. I remember watching Italia 90 and commentators nearly laughing at the antics of Jurgen Klinsmann. Nowadays though that is completely accepted as part of the game.

The diving, cheating and constant greed of the players is now killing the game. They may all shake hands at the end of the game but its far from an honourable game anymore!

[TinRoofMan]

I see on the Highland News website that a Rangers fan got banned from all UK football grounds for sectairian singing...

Clicky clicky

[dermas]

No point in moaning about referees, its the same every week.

Lets face the fact that we were playing an incredibly poor Rangers team and we couldn't do much against them. McGregor had virtually nothing to do for the whole 90 mins. Defensively I though we were ok, Rangers didn't create much. But last seasons team would have beaten Rangers, and by a few goals i think. We are despratley short up front and we don't look like scoring.

In regards to appealing. I'm sure we will and I'm sure the card will be recinded.......not much use now though is it!

I am 100% with you Sir C the 3rd. We were desperate up front . We simply have nobody in attack. Rangers were very poor , but we were simply dire. Dons may have got gubbered against Hearts , but would not be surprised if we get a drubbing at Pittodrie at the weekend. Itsjust not happening in Inverness just now!!! You have your work cut out Terry and Maurice.........I am very cocerned !!!

[tm4tj]

That's grand, let's all hit the panic button three games into the season.

I don't believe we were as bad as some people are making out. Remember, we were playing the team that will either win this league or finish runners up. Yes we are short of a proven goal scorer, but we know that Foran can score and nobody complained when Hayes scored against Rangers last season. Penalties apart, we merited a draw, our gameplan to hold what we had then hit on the break could have worked but for some poor decisions.

We can't be judged until halfway through the season when we have played some reverse fixtures. Judging us against the old firm is not the benchmark.

We have injusries, but probably only three of the six would merit a start, so not as disastrous as it seems on the face of it. We are still getting to know one anothers style and a few more games against oppostion in our own league will give us a few pointers.

No need for me to dust down the Brewster Out banner yet.

[Scarlet Pimple]

How could we have someone showing up with the ball in attack if we continue to sit back against a superior ball-playing team like the 'Gers? who had the bulk of the play by far?

If we are relying on this strategy of "fall back and mop up what comes at us", then our team will fail.

It's Rangers, if anything, that does not have "anyone " in attack. We have a forceful player in Tade, Jonny Hayes, Foran etc--all they need is to get the ball more frequently.

We could have reduced the tempo of Rangers' game by

[Scarlet Pimple]

man-marking their players which would , at least, have harried them into not making such great passes and how else could Caley Thistle have got the ball off them if they did not, or could not get close enough , to tackle them as they gotthe ball.