Kmcalpin

Can't disagree with that, but hopefully Stuart McCall will have learnt something from yesterdays errors. We needed to make some significant changes perhaps 10 minutes into the second half but we are only to allowed to make 3 substitutions and I can understand why he wouldn't want to make all 3 so early. We've suffered from second half slumps in the past couple of games and got off with it but yesterday we met a team able to punish us for errors. Onwards and upwards and hopefully after next weekend we can look back and thank Killie for highlighting the error of our ways, enabling us to put things right.

Ditto. This was a team set up to beat inferior opposition but unfortunately turned out to be anything but inferior. For long spells the central midfield was simply bulldozed with Eremenko given the freedom of Fir Park. We had a reasonable first half and could have been a couple of goals up but the second period was very different. We seemed to think that the game was over at 1-0 and once again defended very deeply and invited a "poor" Killie side to have a go at us which they did gratefully. Bad decisions on and off the field cost us big time. We ought to have made changes much sooner. Ainsworth didn't look fit and all too often got in Reid's way by playing too deep. Craig Moore had a lively first half but should have been hooked early in the second half for the bigger and stronger Anier. Whatever Moorey's talents are they don't include beating 6ft + centrebacks in the air. Not sure about Fraser Kerr coming on to replace ZFA - that sent out the wrong signal to the visitors. Overall Killie looked the fitter more determined side and we simply couldn't match their workrate. They did deserve to win but am just sorry that it was by Craig Slater's goal - a lucky shot but maybe we'll get the same good fortune next week. Not too disheartened by the result - today's game was always going to be the hardest of our recent run of home fixtures. Impressed by Reid and Vigurs today. We can't be too hard on the team and Stuart McCall - we all have bad days at the office and make mistakes.

How important is he to your team?

Whilst I don't agree with all the behind the scenes machinations that go on, you are correct. Once the fixtures have been drawn up in draft, the Police would still have to be consulted before they were published. That could take a few days. They could then be published. However then the TV companies would then start chopping and changing them and even later changes announced. Its the system thats wrong, not the timing.

Good luck to them but what are they going to achieve? Runners up spot in the Premiership and the odd cup win? The investment required for them to win the Premiership would be astronomical.

Agree. One tried and trusted way of dealing with opposing dangermen is to starve them of service but that's not something we're currently good at.

Going by that site we have less out of contract than most Premiership sides!

In very broad terms similarly sized clubs. However I'd say we have a bigger budget and support wise we're about 20-25% larger.

Any idea who is out of contract at the end of the season? Lee Hollis, Lionel Ainsworth, Steve Hammell, Faddy, Shaun Hutchinson, Stephen McManus and Craig Reid. Anyone else?

Good post and pretty much how I see it. We need some more pace in the side and the Ainsworth "position" needs to be addressed. We're not too badly off for strikers with Moore and Erwin coming through.

A good win but it should have been far easier, if we'd taken our chances. I thought that Vigurs and Reid were the pick of the bunch and good to see John Sutton notch another. County were a big powerful hard working side who chased and harried everything for 90 minutes but that was about it. Parts of the game were turgid and scrappy and it was no surprise that County scored late on given that we fell into our customary habit of defending far too deeply but still leaving spaces in and around our box. Good shots from Vigurs and Moore set up our goals and the former was very annoyed with himself for not connecting with the ball properly - but it was still too much for Mark Brown to save correctly. Sorry folks - not impressed with Ian Brines as a ref - far too inconsistent and missed a lot. Still a wins a win!

Pretty much agree with that. I'd think Fraser Kerr will be pencilled in for central defence. Simon Ramsden is a solid defender, who I like, but he's injury prone and not getting any younger. Craig Reid is good in defence and on the overlap. He can also play in the centre of the defence. I'd be very disappointed if we let him go at the end of the season.

Will we get a mention on these radio programmes tonight or will it be a rehash of the usual drivel? Perm any 3 from the following: What do Gers fans think of the fact that nothing has happened in the last week? Was Wim Jansen a better manager than Willie Maley at Parkhead? Do St Mirren fans think that Danny Lennon has done enough to avoid the sack at Paisley? How good a manager is Alan Archibald - is he a great manager? Will Aberdeen do the treble? Is this the best Dundee United team for 40 years? (Cue Lorraine Kelly dominating the airwaves) Don't forget the John Hughes interview. Tongue in cheek I know. No mention of us of course.

No. To some extent I think its down to our own footballing authorities. Its extremely unlikely granted, but not impossible, that their participation would be supported by the SPFL & SFA.

Now I don't know about SPFL rules but do know that transfers within the same association used the 24 years of age threshold, but transfers between associations was 23. Do you recall the stushie that Northampton and Shrewsbury caused when we took on Coke & Humphrey? Threats of legal action and the like, because they weren't aware of this subtle difference. If the SPFL has indeed changed the internal threshold to 23 then I'll be surprised and disappointed as the vast majority of its members would be disdavantaged.

Good summing up. We never really needed to get out of 2nd gear and in the second half we concluded it was job done and we invited ICT to do their worst, which they couldn't do. Perhaps we treated them with contempt but they did little to earn respect on the night. Gunnar had 2 or 3 good saves and we took our goals very well. I thought if we had to take Faddy off at all then Craig Moore would have been the obvious replacement. Still ZFA had a good game when he came on. Stuart Carswell has all the attributes to be a good player (decent physiques, very fit) but more often than not he needs to demonstrate a bit more aggression and bite in his game - he did so in flashes last night. Inverness had plenty of possession but no cutting edge and rarely threatened. Credit to them though, after a gruelling run of games they were still full of energy at time up. A bit disappointed at some of their late and off the ball challenges though and Richie Foran was a very lucky lad to remain on the park after having been yellow carded.. Refereeing was inconsistent and bizarre at times.

So its still possible, although very unlikely, that Aberdeen, Dundee United or Inverness could win the league. However it seems we've been ruled out. Ah well I suppose it reinforces the media's view of us

He must have missed 8/9/10 games last season Greg. Probably about a 20% - 25% absence rate overall.

A tad harshly expressed but you're right. Irrespective of how well a player performs when he's of little use if he's very injury prone. Another player in the same boat is Simon Ramsden. He came to us with a questionable injury record and has been out for long spells this season and last. That said he's one of my favourite players when fit. Its unfortunate but theres limited scope for sentiment in football.

Not to my knowledge. I don't like it but accept it has to happen, given our finances.

Almost certainly giants like Ferrier, Ferguson and McFadyen from the 1920s and 30s would have achieved this. Later than this?

If he's available. We still don't know why he wasn't on the bench at Easter Road. Hopefully he is fit.

Rather than let the ICT thread drift even further off topic I thought I'd start a separate dedicated thread to the young lad. Frazzie wrote "But when is his contract up? There's no point in giving him a handful of games, paying Celtic a fee then watch him walking away.". That's very true and it could happen. However, equally possible is that he's talented, and knocking on the first team's door. If we don't give him his chance (even if only coming on late off the bench) we run the risk of him becoming brassed off and leaving at the end of his current contract. The club management will know best and we have to trust their man management skills.

He also made a blunder a few weeks ago against Dunfermline by letting a harmless shot trundle into the net. He's not ready for first team football. In time maybe just not now.

What goes around comes around I guess. I recall a few years ago we were ordered to play a cup tie at Inverness on the Monday evening after we played on the Saturday (ICT had a free weekend). They're a fit squad but yes the next week should test their stamina.