ICT V St Mirren : Matchday Thread

[tokelyisvictorious]

Not too bad a day, we should have won but certain players didn't perform and we couldn't finish chances.

[hislopsoffsideagain]

Fair enough, to be honest I don't know anyone who wasn't shouting at McGuire...

I love the idea that people think I'm posh though! There's not exactly a prawn sandwich brigade...

[ictchris]

The only reason we didn't win is because I didn't attend.

I can therefore offer 100% assurances that we will win at Tynecastle and Cappielow.

[RiG]

No i never! I only did if we were losing, or at Rory, or Brewster, or Duncan, or McGuire!

And I never shouted any abuse today until Tokely completed messed up! At least I voice my opinion unlike the posh main standers who are to scared to raise their voice even a little during a game!

You know, sometimes it's better to bite your lip than to just shout filth and abuse at players. If you are going shout at them shout some encouragement instead of spouting vitriol.

[CaleyP]

how i thought they rated today

Fraser - 5 - didnt have much to do but when we needed him i think he could have done better.

Tokely - 5 - to many misplaced passes today...not the tokely we like to see

Mcguire - 5 - just seems to hesitate to much...thus leading to the middens first goal

Duff - 6 - not his best game so far but still put in a solid performance

Vigurs - 6 - again not his best performance but played the ball on the deck and played some nice passes to put wood and rooney through on goal a few times

McBain - 5 - worked hard as usual but didnt get on the ball enough

Black - 7 - worked his balls off and again good passing but unfortunately still cant find a forward pass...lacks vision to see a through ball to the strikers at the moment

Cowie - 5 - just wasn't in the game today whatsoever...need more from him as he's such an important player

Rooney - 8 - worked hard, made lots of runs, unlucky with his great strike that hit the bar, well converted penalty

Wood - 7 - again worked very hard, faught for everything. just needs a little composure in front of goal

subs

Imirie - 3 - didnt really have much of the ball, lost to many times when he did have. put in one good cross

Wilson - 3 - not much to say, didnt really get into the game

Barrowman - 3 - again didnt get into the game

Edited September 13, 2008 by CaleyP

[kencar]

We will win the next home game !!!

Last season, when I turned up in April, ICT hadn't won at home since beating Gretna just after the new year and performances had been atrocious. I managed to get to one game all season ... against Kilmarnock and saw ICT clinically finish them off with Marius getting a great goal and Dougie Imrie scoring his first for the club in a 3-0 romp.

Ironically enough, the next home game is against .... Kilmarnock !!! I will be there again so here's hoping I bring the same sort of luck as I did that day. ICT to win 3-0 with Wood, Barrowman and Rooney on the scoresheet through the game

Anyhoo ... off to Toronto FC V Columbus now to see if I can bring them any luck as they too have been atrocious for a couple of months ... both home and away !!!

I sincerely hope you are right as the only legitimate home win I've seen in 2008 is us beating Kilmarnock ( the 2 wins against the Stevie Wonder netball team of Gretna don't count)

[Shooter]

Need at least two or three quality defenders in the January window, as, or any defender better than we currently have, definitely the weakest link of the team. Constantly hearing on the radio how bad we are at the back and defensive errors in the goals we lose! just not good enough! :thumb04:

[tokelyisvictorious]

i hate to say it but roscoe can be a liability in defence sometimes. perhaps move him to midfield and put proctor at right back (after his injury).

[Kingsmills]

The only real positive was Rooney who looks like he has the potential to be a really potent striker although I'm still not convinced that he's 100% fit. I suppose the otcome might well have been different had his effort right at the start of the second half gone in.

That said, it was the third dire home performance of the season. How come, if the team is meant to be so fit, that we can't sem t competein the second half of home matches on our large pitch which our super fit player ought to be able to increasingly exploit as the game goes on ?

[Guest neksor]

Tokely was atrocious and he was directly responsible for allowing the cross that scored. His passing was mostly to St Mirren players and he had no constructive play. His tackles, as always, were lunges which allowed the opposition to move on whilst Tokely is left on the ground. He cannot police his own area yet constantly moves towards the centre leaving lots of room for anyone who can run at him.

Any visiting manager will know by now that a nippy winger will skin Tokely on most occasions.

He really is the weak link in the defense and needs to be moved on.

neksor

[Joonya]

Dismal performance by both sides. before the penalty I seriously thought we'd be heading to a boring 0-0 draw.

What made the game worse for me was the 3 substitutions...

Why was rooney taken off and not wood. I thought Rooney and Black were our best players. Had rooney not hit the bar, we would surely have gone on to all 3 points. He needed someone like barrowman alongside him, as - like someone else said - wood didnt seem to know wether to pass or shoot when the ball landed at his feet. Even Barry Wilson seemed off the pace and out of the game.

[CaleyD]

Also the group(including alex macleod again) infront of us in Section G, shouting at us, then giving us abuse when we shouted stuff at the players! O Alex, that was us in the car, whilst you were standing waiting for your lift or whatever!

Nobody was "Shouting at you" to start with, what they were doing was asking you to get the drum going to assist with the songs and chants that WE were trying hard to get going. You ***** and moan that nobody joins in with you and when others ask you to join in with them....well, you ***** and moan about that too!!! Alex shouted up asking you to get the drum going and someone shouted back telling him to "F Off" or something to that effect.

As far as I can tell you've become nothing more than an attention seeking annoyance, both to the Stewards and those around you. I use to happily to back you lads when you were getting grief from Stewards or "Sweety Rustlers", but it seems that there's one or two little upstarts among the group that are bringing the rest down, and it scares me to death that we have trainee police officers among them too...what is the world coming too???

Your turning into the whinging moaning fans that you spend all your time on here complaining about.

Caleystan, it wasn't even me that shouted it! But before all that, we didn't like getting shouted at to sing, then someone said something back to Alex which resulted in us getting given the finger! What a joke! Also you's weren't shy at shouting abuse today either!

Also again, us getting abuse for not starting songs, there was like another 3200 ICT fans in that ground today and your getting on at about 10 lads for not starting songs?! Get a grip, aye Section G was set up for that, but you can't expect 10 of us to get an atmosphere alone!

I'm not McAllisters biggest fan, but if he were to jump the barrier and come up to smack you guys in the mouth for the abuse you dish out to him then I wouldn't stand in his way. It's one thing to tell a player to get the finger out when they are on the pitch and not performing, it's quite another to start with the mindless crap some of you lot come away with when the lad is warming up.

The group I was a part of did indeed have a bit of banter with Imrie...something along the lines of "You angry Dougie? going to come on today and score?"...heck I even shouted to let him know that we still loved him when he appeared to have "thrown us a look".

Anyway, on to the game.........

I pretty much agree with comments that we were the better of two poor teams in the first half and we didn't look like losing a goal. I actually think the back 4 performed reasonably well, especially McGuire and Duff who I both gave points to in the PotY.

Duff had obviously been told that he was to man mark Mehmet, which he did to great effect by winning just about every 50/50 ball and a good few more besides. This is part of the reason Falkirk never looked likely to open the scoring in the first 45 minutes.

We also seemed to have forgotten trying to play the offside trap which we are so awful at, which meant we weren't getting caught out with the line going forward as someone was slipping in behind. Being able to concentrate on his own game seemed to benefit McGuire a great deal also and for the first time in a while he looked to be playing with real purpose.

Rossco.....I've said it before and it was obvious again on Saturday.....we don't get the best from him when Wilson isn't in front of him. We all know that Ross can make some great forward runs and we know he is slow to get back...Barry knows that more than everyone given the time they've played together and he filled the void by being the man to do the leg work to get back and cover for Ross till he recovered his position and other players just aren't doing that. As for his booking...that's typical Ross, one of his "moments" where concentration just seems to break and he lets go with something wild. Had that made contact then he would have been looking at a deserved straight red.

Hastings....he seemed to still be in "Canada" mode and positioning himself centrally, leaving a huge hole at the back left.

Across the middle....Can we have the old Cowie back please? His performance on Saturday was dire. I don't think playing him wide does him any favours, but he can play there and can do better than he did. Perhaps he needs to sit out a couple of matches to regain his hunger for the game. Black was his usual solid self, no wonder the lad gets so frustrated, because at times he must feel like he's doing the job of all 11 men out there. McBain, an absolute workhorse which we aren't making proper use of due to problems elsewhere in the squad/tactics. And Vigurs....the lad has an obvious natural flare and with time and a little proper coaching he may well prove to be one of the best youngsters to ever come through at ICT. I think it was his inexperience that let him down on a couple of occasions on Saturday, that and the fact that there's nobody out there giving any kind of direction. Some of the runs he made looked good, but he left us exposed a few times on both sides of the park.

Up front, Rooney looked to be doing a bit better than previous reports had hinted at. A few times he picked the ball up from the edge of the centre circle and carved a path for himself through the middle. He seems to be starting to cotton on to the physical nature of the game up here and realising that he has to take the ball himself sometimes as we don't do the tippy tappy stuff that he was used to down south. Wood, or is it Graham Bayne reborn? A grafter and a man who can win balls...but didn't really show anything beyond that. His first touch on most occasions was terrible, and he has the turning circle of an oil tanker.

We nipped ahead on the stroke of half-time and had we continued the second half like we played for most of the first that could very well have been the final score, but we didn't and it wasn't. The first thing I noticed after the break was that Duff was no longer man-marking Mehmet...a fact which contributed to the loss of the first goal when Duff was more interested in watching the ball than seeing what his man was up to. Fraser could, and should have been out quicker to have claimed it, but I don't think we can blame McGuire.

Then came the start of the substitutions....first one (Imrie on for Vigurs) seemed to make sense and Imrie might have had a chance had Wood not been blundering about in front of him (I'll put it down to inexperience). From there it got a little more confusing....Rooney, who had made the best of the chances presented during the game was substituted for Barrowman and McBain who had been covering a lot of ground trying to mop up loose balls and cover for Vigurs the whole game was replaced by Wilson....the guys coming on, no problem...but the guys going off were a complete mystery to me and those around me.

Our missed chances....Rooney hitting the bar was unfortunate and the move leading to it was worthy of more. Black (I think) was behind Wood for the rebound and screaming for him to leave it as he was placed to hit in on the Volley but Wood tried to bring it down and then you can make up your own mind as to whether he was shooting or trying to play it back into the path of Rooney.

Wood did have one decent strike I can recall, and it was on the one occasion where he actually managed to turn with the ball without the need for a 10 yard clear zone.

All in all a very disappointing outcome, although some small individual flashes of what players are capable of. What's really disappointing is that I can't remember the last time we lost a goal that wasn't the result of a mistake....look back through the replays and we probably conceeded 10 goals that were identical to the first one we lost yesterday. As to the second one, Ross screwed it up out wide....but where were the central defenders? They should have been in there ready to cover.

We are beating ourselves at home every time, as we did last season. We might have the "inexperience" excuse just now, but it wasn't the reason last season, which means that there's other fundamental issues which we have to be looking at as the cause.

[roby]

No i never! I only did if we were losing, or at Rory, or Brewster, or Duncan, or McGuire!

And I never shouted any abuse today until Tokely completed messed up! At least I voice my opinion unlike the posh main standers who are to scared to raise their voice even a little during a game!

All this crap about shouting abuse at players. We all pay our money and are entitled to our opinion . I sat there yesterday and watched our so called goalkeeping coach shouting instructions to Rooney,while one of the players he is supposed to be coaching was yet again costing us the points .Players are quick to accept the praise when its going so also have to accept the critisism.By the way i am one of the main standers who does raise their voice and i can assure you our opinion is very seldom welcomed from our coaching staff or players families and friends.

[MissICT]

what a game?

we can't get the wins at home !

[MacBandy]

Tokely was atrocious and he was directly responsible for allowing the cross that scored. His passing was mostly to St Mirren players and he had no constructive play. His tackles, as always, were lunges which allowed the opposition to move on whilst Tokely is left on the ground. He cannot police his own area yet constantly moves towards the centre leaving lots of room for anyone who can run at him.

Any visiting manager will know by now that a nippy winger will skin Tokely on most occasions.

He really is the weak link in the defense and needs to be moved on.

neksor

Spot on!

[gordyfromsneck]

By the way i am one of the main standers who does raise their voice and i can assure you our opinion is very seldom welcomed from our coaching staff or players families and friends.

Hey that's OK then! You must be right.

As a "sweetie rustler" I find some of the so-called fans that post on here deeply scary. I wonder what they think they are trying to achieve. Are they tough in their big group...shouting abuse at someone more interested at trying to do the right thing, than banter with some sweary wee boys.

Have a think. Why the heck are you there?

[Guest Glasgowlatic]

Hi Newbie here ! :thumb04:

Have just moved up to the Inverness area so I'm now seeing more home games instead of the occasional away central belt games. I'm sure I've not seen as much as Caley as many of the posters on here but here are my thoughts. Bearing in mind the only other time I've seen ICT play this season was the the top of the table clash ( ) V Hamilton Accies.

Strange feeling at full time. I wasn't too down-hearted. Yes, it was a sickener in that we lost a game we shouldn't have. I feel we didn't get the run of the ball yesterday. If Rooney's shot had dipped under the bar - game over. A bit of luck in a couple of goal mouth incidents in the 2nd half really could have won the game. It was one of those days. Also, when we stopped doing the predictable lump the ball up to Rooney to knock it back and played the ball on the ground we looked so much better.

Positives - a team that played better (although had no luck), I thought Vigurs looked really promising (although the guys who pointed out he didn't do his defensive duties have a very good point), Rooney looks fantastic (fitness issue resulting in substitution?).

Negatives - the defence was bad. Only Duff can take credit for keeping the dangerous Mehmet quiet. No luck.

All in all. I thought it was a decent game

I think supporters should be supporters and cheer the team on whatever. However, I do agree with the point that you pay good, hard earned money and should be able to express your opinion.

[dead_ball_specialist]

"How come, if the team is meant to be so fit, that we can't sem t competein the second half of home matches on our large pitch which our super fit player ought to be able to increasingly exploit as the game goes on ? "

True. We used to run teams off the park and totally dominate the closing stages of games when Brewster was in his first spell in charge. He even had the likes of Golly fighting fit. Perhaps we've gone backwards on that front, or maybe the other teams have just caught up???

Whenever we have a lay off for internationals I always used to expect us to be the sharper team when we returned based on Brewsters repuation as a tough trainer, but the last few times this has happened we've come back rusty as our results in those games reflect.

It might also be that we're playing a much more negative game now (flooding the midfield, lazy long balls, full backs rarely overlapping, hardly any movement in the midfield etc) so we don't wear our opponents out as much as we used to when we were a free flowing attacking team.

[FortressICT]

Very good point about the fitness. With Brewster supposed to be so good with getting the players fit.

What I think might be wrong in training, which is now showing on a Saturday afternoon;

- Brew is working the players to hard in training, fitness wise, pushing them to their limits. Which then means they will be really tired and unable to play 100% all the way through a game.

- Brew working too hard on fitness in training, will mean that the lads aren't getting enough "football" training, ballwork etc. Which I think they really do need!

Thats just a thought, might not be true at all and that we just have a pathetic team, bit harsh, ok just a pathetic RB, possibly the worst in SPL history!

[caley100]

Very good point about the fitness. With Brewster supposed to be so good with getting the players fit.

What I think might be wrong in training, which is now showing on a Saturday afternoon;

- Brew is working the players to hard in training, fitness wise, pushing them to their limits. Which then means they will be really tired and unable to play 100% all the way through a game.

- Brew working too hard on fitness in training, will mean that the lads aren't getting enough "football" training, ballwork etc. Which I think they really do need!

Thats just a thought, might not be true at all and that we just have a pathetic team, bit harsh, ok just a pathetic RB, possibly the worst in SPL history!

What a load of Shyte.

[absent friend]

Now I only saw the Santanta highlights BUT

Rossco - he passed the ball, from well within the opposition half, where he was obviously assisting the attack, to gain us the penalty,so this lambasted player did nothing of merit??? The winger skinned him on the half way line and left him for dead - now that's a new trick - I have never seen a winger beating a back for speed before - like only every game I have ever watched! Now the resultant cross passed across the rest of the defense, was missed kicked at right angles by Hamilton and then tapped in - BUT only Rossco, way out on the wing, was at fault! AYE RIGHT!! The defense was a shambles and at no time during this passage of play attacked the ball or moved to block the shot.

Duff - load as much praise as you want onto the young lad but he was at fault 100% for the 2nd goal - he lost out on the duel for the ball and we payed the penalty - far too weak! Munro would have hoofed it out of the danger zone, one way or another.

[RiG]

McGinn didn't skin Tokely on the half way line. Tokely was at least half way inside his own half when McGinn went by him. But I agree that someone else in the defence should perhaps have taken control of the situation. If you look at the highlights Hastings is marking Brady and he has to leave him to cover Hamilton (or Mehmet) in the area. Imrie is still dawdling back and he could have covered the now unmarked Brady. I am doing this from memory too but it would seem that we didn't have enough folk back or turned on in defence to combat the increasing St. Mirren numbers in our box.

absent friend - do you mean Duff was at fault for the 1st goal rather than the 2nd?

[absent friend]

absent friend - do you mean Duff was at fault for the 1st goal rather than the 2nd?

My memory is not that good either and it was late last night when I saw the highlights.

The non rossco one! But he could also have been one of the culprits for the other one, as all the defenders appeared to be in a shambles when the ball came over.

I take your point about the half way line in my rant but I was trying to emphasis his inability to be involved with the final marking if he was stuck out on the wing.

Finally, I am a Gemini and we are allowed to exaggerate - so whats a few yards in a rant.

[caley100]

I think the first goal was a mare' for the defenders, Mcguire got well beat by Gary Mason for the long ball from Howard, Duff neither kicked or headed the ball as it came past him and Hastings was caught on the wrong side of Baldy b'stard as he stabbed it past a slooooooowy coming out Fraser.

Another game for the defence to forget.

I'm getting fed up of these mistakes week in week out.... :thumb04:

[FortressICT]

Cheers for that caley100! That is my opinion, is this not a opinion forum?!

If someone said that about one of your posts you would go mental.

Edited September 15, 2008 by roscoe23