Will We Stay Up?

[Renegade 2,602]

As it says on the tin folks.

[PerfICT 1,212]

If you can't beat the teams around you, you'll go down. We've had a home win against Dundee and an away victory at Motherwell + a few draws against the bottom 6. Sure, we'll have one more pop at each of them, but I have zero faith in Richie to select the right team to win any games. The frustration is that there is a good team in there, but it has only been selected on one occasion on account of injuries and the Foran tombola selection policy. I'll be there to the bitter end, but more in hope than expectation.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER 5,086]

[micaley68 43]

Will we feck!!!

[bdu98196 1,123]

We're not organised enough to stay up and aren't playing well enough. The team lacks confidence and quality with questions over the recruitment, tactics and the management teams ability to motivate and organise. We probably have a better team in some areas than our closest rivals but they have fight and bottle - we don't, as shown by the results.  

[rocky1 120]

With the ugly sisters helping their central belt cousins not a chance !( conspiracy theory again) 

[Kingsmills 5,803]

9 hours ago, rocky1 said:

With the ugly sisters helping their central belt cousins not a chance !( conspiracy theory again) 

Our demise is nothing to do with any central belt conspiracy but everything to do with naive and inexperienced management of players who are better than our current position would suggest.

[rocky1 120]

24 minutes ago, Kingsmills said:

Our demise is nothing to do with any central belt conspiracy but everything to do with naive and inexperienced management of players who are better than our current position would suggest.

My comment was a little tongue in cheek although results elsewhere on a number of occasions certainly have done us no favours . However the issues do lie with ictfc as you say.

[CELTIC1CALEY3 661]

Pschologically it might be better to write us off now...we play better in that situation. Must win puts too much pressure on players.

[TopSix 658]

I sincerely hope Richie sets up the team this weekend with players in their correct positions. We need a win. 

[caleyboy 782]

From our results this season I really have doubts about RF's ability. He should, by now, be able to identify our most potent formation and select the best players to play the system (whatever that is). I think he maybe trying to prove something but if he continues on the same route HE will take us into the lower leagues.

[Yngwie 3,895]

Somebody mentioned on another thread that it's been a terrible season for results going against us. It hasn't - in fact the opposite is the case, despite some bad ones in recent weeks.

After 31 games, we are merely one point ahead of where Dundee Utd were at the same stage (they actually had 6 wins to our 4). Utd, however, had been completely adrift for months, they were a laughing stock, effectively relegated already.

They went on to take a decent 7 points post-split, but still their final tally of 28 was 8 behind the team in 11th and 15 behind 10th.

So we are no better than they were (well, 1 point better) and yet all season there has been a whole bunch of clubs within touching distance of us, enabling Foran to talk about top 6 until a few weeks ago, whereas Utd were just talking about staying sufficiently in touch to give themselves a chance if they won all their post-split games.

So results elsewhere have been very favourable to us, preventing our dismal points tally from leaving us completely adrift, and helping to mask what a terrible, terrible job Foran has done with this side.

[+snorbens_caleyman 492]

2 hours ago, Kingsmills said:

Our demise is nothing to do with any central belt conspiracy but everything to do with naive and inexperienced management of players who are better than our current position would suggest.

So why don't our captain and senior players do something about that? Either by talking with the manager - and I do mean "with" and not "to" - or even making their own adjustments on the field of play when they can see what the problems are.

Maybe I am being incredibly naive. Or maybe they have already done these things - I am not close to the club and I don't see many matches.

But to blame absolutely everything on the manager seems a bit much, when we still supposedly have "players who are better than our current position would suggest". Presumably they can think for themselves - although I accept that whether they are allowed to is a different matter.

[Stirling Observer 454]

I am more hopeful than I was after the Hamilton debacle. Since then we seem to have tightened up at the back considerably. We were conceding 2 goals a game. Not sure what the stats are like now. Presently we are giving ourselves a chance in every game. If we continue as we are, we will finish bottom but a slight improvement going forward will see us with a good chance. A lot depends on the teams around us. Firstly we MUST beat them. If not and they pick up unexpected points we are goosed. I believe its a bottom 3 of us, Dundee and Accies. I think county will pull away, as will well to a lesser extent. Im a positive person, one bonus is; at least its exciting!

[RiG 3,609]

28 minutes ago, Stirling Observer said:

I am more hopeful than I was after the Hamilton debacle. Since then we seem to have tightened up at the back considerably. We were conceding 2 goals a game. Not sure what the stats are like now. 

Up to an including the Hamilton game we had conceded 43 goals in 23 games in the league (1.9 goals/game). Since then we've conceded 11 goals in 7 games (1.6 goals/game).

Not really much tightening up at all TBH. We have kept one clean sheet since the end of October.

[Stirling Observer 454]

I forgot to say bar the Celtic game. Which most see as a freebie given their domestic form. 

[Yngwie 3,895]

OFW seems back to his previous self after a very bad 2 or 3 months.

[Guest]

No team in British senior football have won fewer league matches than the Highlanders this season and, while they are not yet entirely cut adrift at the bottom, time is fast running out to turn things around.

Above was quoted in BBC Sport after Dons game. 

Richie is taking us down. He won't take us back up. A great player he was, a manager HE IS NOT!!!  

Time to be bold and give him his P45. Charlie Christie as interim manager until end of season. 

In 22 years we made massive strides to be where we were at. 

In 1 year we will be knocked back at least 10 years in one fell swoop with relegation. 

I'll say it again. P45 for FORAN!!

Edited April 6, 2017 by Guest

[Guest]

I'll say it again for. P45 for FORAN!!

[Charles Bannerman 989]

3 hours ago, Stirling Observer said:

If we continue as we are, we will finish bottom but a slight improvement going forward will see us with a good chance. A lot depends on the teams around us. Firstly we MUST beat them.

10 games ago, I made a guess based on other years of 33 points to avoid bottom and 36 to avoid the play offs. Based on more recent results from Motherwell and Hamilton (including Hamilton's "windfall" last Saturday), I think that may need revised to 35 and 37. That amounts to 10 and 12 points respectively from the last 7 games for the playoffs and complete safety respectively.

The first 21 games to the end of January produced 16 points or 0.76 per game. The next 10 until now produced a further 9 points, or an improvement to 0.90 per game. 10 and 12 from the last 7 games represents 1.42 and 1.71 per game for playoffs/safety. That's a very big improvement on 0.90 because games are running out. On the other hand points against Motherwell and Hamilton effectively count as double since, with wins especially important, these also reduce their options. These six pointers will be crucial.

[Guest]

Move over Rachel Riley - here comes Charles Bannerman 

[dumpmaster 10]

If you can't keep the goals out and your not putting many in..........There are consequences you may have to face,and sadly thats looking more and more likely for ICTFC.

[Guest]

Surely there were performance related clauses in RF's 4 year contract?

If not, why not? 

Even Del Boy would have planned for that!!!!

[TheMantis 1,646]

1 hour ago, Caman said:

Surely there were performance related clauses in RF's 4 year contract?

If not, why not? 

Even Del Boy would have planned for that!!!!

What, Del Boy would have suggested performance related clauses in his own contract?

[Charles Bannerman 989]

2 hours ago, Caman said:

Move over Rachel Riley - here comes Charles Bannerman 

TICK, ticky ticky,ticky, TICK, ticky,ticky,ticky, TICK (plonk,plonk,plonk).....

Countdown indeed, but not how many letters after 30 seconds - rather how many points after 38 games, and the clock says 7 left before DDE-DUM, DEE-DUM, DIDDILY-DUM...OOH!