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Are you worried ? - I feckin am


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'Like a rat deserting a sinking ship' - If people leave a company because they know that it's about to have serious problems, or turn their back on a person about to be in a similar situation, they are said to be like rats deserting a sinking ship

'The grass is always greener' - This idiom means that what other people have or do looks preferable to our life. The complete phrase is 'The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence'.

"Strike while the iron is hot" - Act decisively and take your opportunities when they arise

"Out with the old in with the new"

Dependent on your perspective all of the above could relate to what is happening at Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the moment - possibly a mix of all four. I am really concerned that the club is losing its "identity" and the "togetherness" spirit that has served us well for many years. We appear to be becoming a mercenary operative and keeping issues behind closed doors which can only lead to further disdain and conspiracy theories.

There is no doubt that the reasons for some to leave are clearer - Tansey, Tuffey - but there does appear to be a certain current of discernment with others. Again I can appreciate that we will always be a feeder / selling club, have to survive on a limited budget BUT this is bordering on the ridiculous this season. The release of some of the local youngsters is also becoming more and more confusing

It is clear that, again irrespective of individual views, that we will have Terry and Mo in charge this year but that concerns me if we amass a band of untried / untested loanees, journeymen, the injury prone and the unknown. We are after all a SPL club. How are we supposed to feckin consolidate ? It also gives the dynamic duo the "excuse" for next season and the season afterwards.

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I'm worried, but I'm not sure there's a better way for the club to be handling things with the way Scottish Football is at the moment.

ICT are not the only team suffering an exodus of players heading south, and that is as much to do with the state of Scottish Football as it is to do with the state/running of any individual club.

ICT (as with others) are fighting a battle on several fronts....most notably the lack of money, the lack of security (where the feck is Scottish Football headed?) and a growing unease amongst fans. Now more than ever the primary target needs to be stabilising the ship and preparing for the worst. Scottish football is heading for a massive slide and survival itself will be hard enough....trying to steer a course headlong into the storm by spending money you don't have and which you don't know you will have is sheer folly. Whether by default or design, ICT seem to be taking an approach of battening down the hatches and riding out the storm. It might not be pretty and it might not be exciting, but hopefully it will stop us from sinking.

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Crowds are dropping for several reasons - financial, poor product and the SPL being so uncompetitive the only hope we have of success anywhere is the cups. All this provides less income and cut backs. The whole of Scottish Football is a mess and in the last few years as a fan the most exciting thing to happen was promotion from D1 - perhaps we need to become a yo-yo club just so we can get that excitement back every few years as right now its all becoming dull and predictable.

We will just have to hope that there are some young hungry players out there that can come in and excite the team. I'd perfer to see cut backs and remain financially stable long term unless its theres a decision that somewhere that cheating is allowed without sanctions then we can sign players we cant afford and try for Europe knowing we can start all over again in a few years debt free :furtive:

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It's not really a surprise everyone is leaving. Butcher sold the club to these guys as a platform to move back to England anyway. He also put the short term deals on the table. The blame is solely his. It's clear that the current nature of his signings don't work out up here. I don't think it's unreasonable to think he could find some up and coming players in Scotland or a few players in the last chance saloon like we used to. It never failed us before anyway.

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The first weeks in june is important if players havnt signed contracts by the 31st then we will know they arnt coming back. So we will have I replace them in that first couple weeks.

I'm not worried if players don't sign butcher will have players lined up to replace them.

I expect all the players bar jonny who have been offered contracts to re-sign. Owain, and Hogg will also get new contracts Aswell.

And Tokely is in limbo I havnt a clue what he's gonna do.

If what I think will happen doesn't then I will be worried.

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Must admit Morgan Spice echos alot of my points but Butcher had no way of winning it. If he had signed most of these guys on long term deals and theyd been cack then we would be moaning about how they should have been given short term deals and built upon them if they impress and vice versa if they were quaility signings but only on 1 year deals.

I am worried becuase up until this summer we always had the core of stalwarts to rely upon and build the team around each summer but we no longer have the support following the mass exodus of last year.

There isnt really an answer to it. We can only keep what we can and hope that the new signings impress. May not fill folks with confidence but that is all that can be done.

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The first weeks in june is important if players havnt signed contracts by the 31st then we will know they arnt coming back. So we will have I replace them in that first couple weeks.

I'm not worried if players don't sign butcher will have players lined up to replace them.

I expect all the players bar jonny who have been offered contracts to re-sign. Owain, and Hogg will also get new contracts Aswell.

And Tokely is in limbo I havnt a clue what he's gonna do.

If what I think will happen doesn't then I will be worried.

Luke if you get worried I WILL be worried!

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I'd perfer to see cut backs and remain financially stable long term ....... :furtive:

The problem is that we are anything but financially stable. We are losing at least £250k a year. No matter what some feel about clubs not being dependant on cash injections from directors etc - we just cannot afford to trade as we are doing right now. We are living on the breadline - our manager has one of the lowest budgets, if not the lowest, in the SPL so he has to deal in "non-traditional" markets. We cannot expect any better than we are getting under these circumstances. Attendances will probably continue to fall because of the financial climate and the product on offer. UNLESS we get cash injections of very large amounts we should be worried.

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The first weeks in june is important if players havnt signed contracts by the 31st then we will know they arnt coming back. So we will have I replace them in that first couple weeks.

I'm not worried if players don't sign butcher will have players lined up to replace them.

I expect all the players bar jonny who have been offered contracts to re-sign. Owain, and Hogg will also get new contracts Aswell.

And Tokely is in limbo I havnt a clue what he's gonna do.

If what I think will happen doesn't then I will be worried.

Luke if you get worried I WILL be worried!

Ask me if I'm worried in June.

There's 2 things that worry me the demise of ict and armageddon.

I am worried about being worried about not having enough players next season. So in a way i am indirectly worried.

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A lot of players don't want to move north but the ones that do now have the pick of two spl clubs and I have a feeling county will be able to pay more than us as they will probably sell more season tickets than us as the are on a high.looks like tel will have to scratch about england for unknowns or loans instead of good Scottish talent.the only way to make up the short fall in budget is to get bums on seats but unfortunately I think alot of the neutral fans will be heading over the bridge.

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You lot all worry too much.

The whole of Scottish football is in decline. The players are not just leaving clubs, they are leaving the SPL. The uncertainty regarding the Rangers issues has clouded the game in Scotland and unfortunately nobody will commit to how much they will spend in pre-season as they don't know what their income will be this season. Like it or not, but no Rangers means less money all round. The good thing is it will affect all clubs equally so the status quo will be relatively preserved.

Worried, nah, whats the point, we are all in this together.

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I'd perfer to see cut backs and remain financially stable long term ....... :furtive:

The problem is that we are anything but financially stable. We are losing at least £250k a year. No matter what some feel about clubs not being dependant on cash injections from directors etc - we just cannot afford to trade as we are doing right now. We are living on the breadline - our manager has one of the lowest budgets, if not the lowest, in the SPL so he has to deal in "non-traditional" markets. We cannot expect any better than we are getting under these circumstances. Attendances will probably continue to fall because of the financial climate and the product on offer. UNLESS we get cash injections of very large amounts we should be worried.

You have the rights of it. This club cannot afford to do anything other than it has. Its not Butchers fault we are in the situation we are. Maybe the merger should never have happened and maybe any Inverness club should never have had the audacity to ever think they could compete in the top flight. The bottom line is there is just not the support to sustain the club. And County will find exactly the same problems. When we came into the SPL first time we were basing budgets on having average crowds of 4500 - 5000. We are knowhere near that.

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I really believe that being a successful club in reaching the SPL was a step too far. There is no way that our club will ever compete for the title in this league or attract the crowds that will sustain a decent wage for the players. We will forever be in the shadows of the bigger clubs who will offer our better players a better wage. Its a fact that we will have to live with. Alex is also correct in stating Ross County will also suffer sooner rather than later. We have found it difficult to attract players to Inverness so I feel County will find it harder as Dingwall doesn't really offer the same off the field entertainments as Inverness does. We'll see. We will continue to find it difficult to make ends meet and it will need a strong board to make sure that we do just that...survive.

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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.

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Jesus, take the stanley knife and sleeping tablets out of the house. Look at how many players are getting released throughout the country, that is because of most clubs struggle to survive the recession. That will also mean their are lots of decent players out there looking for clubs and the chance to be in the shop window. Its too early to tell, but St Mirren losing lots of players, St J having to completely rebuild with the two successful strikers gone aswell, Hibs and Hearts wont be playing like Real Madrid, the dandy dons are cutting back and have Grandpa Broon in charge who has only had one successful season as a club manager, Killie have problems - like their brand of footie - panic if the opposition presses them in their own half, Rangers Newco under 20s, and Arabs cutting back wont be as strong, Motherwell will still be top 6 easily, Celtic have the league sewn up by October, and then their is the caravan dwellers. ICT will be fine. I predict an 8th spot

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What I would wish to stress is that I would prefer to watch a team with a sprinkling of yoof in it, preferably local yoof, mixed in with the journeymen and the experience - that is why I would have felt that Esson, Foran AND Tokely were essentials to keep on board. We could have / should have blooded quite a few last season instead of all the dodgy loanees. In my book the likes of Morrison, Ross and Sutherland (centre feckin forward) should be "shoe-ins" for next season and with the three aforementioned, the ones on contracts or resigning we have the core squad and then we look at where the deficits are - centre half, holding midfielder and goalscorer and then utilise the journeyman and loanee market.

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And yet Foran and Tokely have been criticised all season, with posters on here urging Butcher to drop them, many saying they weren't worth a new contract - probably only Proctor has been criticised more. Amazing how so many seem to have forgotten that.

The majority of Nick Ross comments too were of the getaefeck variety, how he isn't good enough, he isn't strong enough, he needs loaned out, he adds nothing etc etc. Talk about fickle.

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And yet Foran and Tokely have been criticised all season, with posters on here urging Butcher to drop them, many saying they weren't worth a new contract - probably only Proctor has been criticised more. Amazing how so many seem to have forgotten that.

The majority of Nick Ross comments too were of the getaefeck variety, how he isn't good enough, he isn't strong enough, he needs loaned out, he adds nothing etc etc. Talk about fickle.

Really? Tbh I don't recall many people complaining about Tokes and most of the complaining about Foran was in the first half of the season after he said he was gonna score x amount of goals as was playing up front.

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The "suggestion" in regard to Foran, Tokely et. co were MINE. If you are criticising me then I have raised doubts about Rosscoe, periodically over the last 3 seasons,but I have also praised him when he has regularly turned in performances to prove me wrong. I dont actually think now that he will manage a full season - but hey this is the fourth pre season that I have had that "fear". I have rarely criticised Foran apart from individual poor performances and his indiscipline. I have always praised him for his effort and committment. I still feel that he is more useful out wide on the left or in the attacking "hole" as he was often used in the SFL. I felt that some of his poorer performances were becos he was being played out of position and I did not agree with the favouritism shown to Foran and Tansey, a partnership which did not click. In essence the mere presence of experienced "professionals" like Esson, Tokely and Foran is essential when we are looking at blooding youngsters and untried at SPL players alongside them.

I have always tended to laud Ross and again his main problem was that he was played all over the place, in and out of the team and never given a run in a favoured role. I have also been one of the main supporters of Sutherland and Morrison - who I also feel have been in the same position as Ross - and have been both used as bit players - especially Morrison. Why we needed to bring in the likes of Gnapke and others when we had those three - who could have been really tested and blooded - beats me. Finally Sutherland is a bit in the Rooney mould and that is what we should have been concentrating on. He aint exactly the daintiest or skillful of individuals but he knows where the goal is and isnt scared to have a go - not the kind of opportunities that he had wide on the wing or trying to play in intricate feckin patterns with the equal in Tade.

In conclusion, as fer Proctor, I criricised him as a player but not as a person or for his committment. He always seemed to amke a mistake that got punished. But again his self confidence was shot by the inane persisitence of playing him as a feckin centre back. It appeared to me that his position was as a midfielder, especially a holding midfielder, and that he would always be a useful squad player if played in that type of substtute role.

As I have alluded to before I appear to have been a season behind everybody else - i was looking for the experimentation and consolidation last season. There was an outside chance but the constant chopping and changing fecked that up and - in my personal opinion - has fecked off quite a few of the players who are now voting with their feet.

Edited by IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER
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rossco had a period earlier in the season when he was shakey. theres no denying it. i critised him myself, he didnt look himself to me. he had just had an injury aswell (putting rest to the claims that he is superman).

foran, we can say it he was pish at the start of the season, no denying that he underpeformed, but as a striker you also need service to feed off foran didnt have that luxury, his frustrations were justified.

but on a whole id say both had have fairly solid seasons. every centre half makes a mistake and every striker misses a chance. look at messi and robben both missing penalties recently. everyones mortal.

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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?

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

He plays 4-2-3-1 almost every weeks towards the end of the season he went with a 4-3-3 but other than that he rarely changes from that.

Hogg, a.shinnie, and Aaron doran all were injured for a huge part of the season and all wouldve been playing every week if they were fit. No coincidence with doran or shinnie in the side we win more than we lose.

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