Kmcalpin

Not 100% sure about that. Yes transfers are mixture of successes and failures but hopefully we get more right than wrong. At our level we're not going to pick up anyone that no-one else has noticed. Other clubs will be competing or will know about our targets. Players like Bowman and Clay will have been well known to the likes of Inverness, Hamilton, Partick, Kilmarnock and so on. At this level we can compete financially. Occasionally our manager will say player X, a right back, looks as if he might be a good squad player for us, however my main target is a Player Y, a central defender, and I'll pay more for him. We'll offer Player X say £900 pw basic. St Johnstone identify their main priority as a right back and offer Player X £1,000 pw. So Player X ends up in Perth. That doesn't mean to say we can't compete financially with St Johnstone; just that we preferred to invest more cash elsewhere in the squad.

A wee bit unfair. This term is becoming increasingly common and is usually always at the request of the buying club.

The boss has said that he wants or needs to engage in some wheeling and dealing, so that suggests that he want to move on some of those who are under contract ie Clay, Blyth and Bowman does it not? If thats not the case he may be referring to the likes of Hammell, McManus, Tait, and Heneghan. Time will tell. I think he'll have seen most of the squad in action at some point with the exception of Tait and will have had an opportunity to assess them.

Yes, you're right, but the authorities could still ask some of the same questions though ie stewarding ratios.

Interesting but a difficult comparison to make. Robinson has not had the opportunity to bring in his own players McGhee did, and also the mix of home & away games was not the same.

Am I right in thinking that Inverness fans invaded the pitch after the final whistle? if so, presumably the authorities will be investigating.

To quote Del Superwell from another thread "(Stephen Robinson) I met with the board on Friday to discuss my budget for next year. We have 13 contracted players and I’ll be trying to wheel and deal.” I think thats exactly who he's talking about. As regards the players who are out of contract he doesn't need to wheel and deal about them. That also applies to players who he's targeted to bring in. So by elimination it must apply to those who are still contracted but he doesn't want. It may also apply to Hammell. Up until recently I've not been overly impressed by Stephen Robinson, but he has kept us up and thats no mean feat. Like Well Well, I like the cut of his jib from today's comments.

I suspect many times and these are but 2 examples. 1978-79: 86 goals conceded in 36 games. 1982-83: 73 goals from 36 games.

Given the circumstances, Inverness were always going to win today the only question was by how much. If we'd gone north needing to win to stay up I'm confident we'd have done so. While it would have been great to end with 3 points the end result today was a win for us too. We stayed above Dundee; earned ourselves more cash; gave some youngsters more game time; and no doubt tested a few players into the bargain. The line up told its own story - only one striker. we fulfilled the fixture as we were required to do end of. Now firstly, for the clear out and then secondly for the rebuilding.

probably a 4-5-1 or a 4-4-1-1

Yes it would but don't forget bonuses for things like appearances, goals scored, shut outs, and points earned.

Agreed Weeyin. Every year we read rumours in the media and tales ( no doubt released by agents) our club treating out of contract players shabbily and not not talking to them or of making derisory/insulting offers to them. Cue some fans turning on the club. In reality though details of negotiations are rarely if ever released. We're better to wait until deals are signed or players move to other clubs before drawing conclusions.

They have to balance financial benefit with community benefit. Thsts a decision for councillors.

I'd like to finish above Dundee and earn the extra cash that 9th place would bring. I note Stuwell's comments about David Ferguson. He is a central defender not a right back but I'm not sure about him. His contract is due up this summer and its interesting if he'll be offered a fresh deal. It would be nice to finish above Dundee so I hope the team hasn't packed its holibags just yet.

I don't like the way we've played ie the long ball but I'd have done the same, as our central midfield has been largely defensive, one paced and not creative. So a creative build up on the ground through the middle was never really an option. The situation was made worse by having to play Cadden in a more defensive role (not sure about the alternative - Ferguson although he was played out of position on Tuesday). The test now, for me, is to see whether Robinson can bring in a creative player over the summer to the central midfield.

According to a report on the BBC website (Daily Record) Lionel Ainsworth is keen to extend his contract with us. Apologies just noticed an article on another thread.

Good to see Jim McMahon celebrate with Stephen Robinson after the final whistle blew on Tuesday night. On an aside I've watched the foul leading up to Ainsworth's goal time and again and to me its clear that Taylor caught Frear with a trailing boot. Intentional or not he did bring him down.

Brian Heron?

The referee was totally inconsistent last night and handled similar fouls in totally different ways. We were also denied a stonewall penalty in the first half at a corner when a Killie defender placed Moult? in a headlock as the ball was coming over.

My how the years pass. Is it as long as that Andy?

Yes they do.

Only others I can think are youngsters like MacMillan, Watt, Thomas, MacLean & Hastie. Of the above, we may try to move on the likes of Blyth and Clay. Hopefully Moult too will move on for a decent fee although he'll be missed.

Alan Burrows does a great job for the club. He puts in the hours and there's far far more goes on behind closed doors that we, the fans, know or appreciate. Often matters are far more complex than we imagine. So he gets my thanks. As for the groundsman.......what can I say? The pitch has been fantastic all season and looked a dream last night after a long season. Well done to him.

Absolutely Allan. He's been a great servant and ambassador for the club but his time has come.

A vital win last night which we deserved. The first half was very tense and despite a great start we finished the poorer team. Robinson was right to take off David Ferguson after 30 minutes or so but to be fair he had been hung out to dry. Cadden presumably was meant to be playing in front of him but ended up playing as part of a central midfield 3 and offered him no protection whatsoever. Other than that Cadden played well. Our two wingers changed the game. Frear is looking like a real find and he's taken some punishment in the past two games. We deservedly won the game in a good second half. I thought Lasley and Clay struggled all night and thats why Cadden was drafted into the middle to bail them out. As Melvin said earlier though, no-one can question Keith's commitment. A good crowd last night which backed the team in its hour of need. Great end to a poor season.