The General Ross County Chat Thread

[Savage Henry]

He definitely is in there. Although the England squad doesn't have Dier or Alli, so it doesn't seem like Panini's selections are going to be adhered to.

 

Doesn't matter.  Being included in a sticker book is far more important.  As I'm sure Boyce is well aware.  

[Forfinn]

Great news that Schalk has signed on again.  Another year gives him the chance to prove how good he is on a sustained basis and then win an even better contract somewhere else next summer than he could have done this summer.

 

I think if Boyce wasn't in the frame for the Euros then McIntyre would have dropped him weeks ago in favour of Brian Graham.  He's been a passenger since he came back from injury but Jim loyally seems to be giving him every opportunity to regain his form and get in to the Northern Ireland squad.  Which is fair enough.

[clynliesh]

I do hope that we are not going to get flooded with a lot of Dutch imports. We've been there before and it don't work. Plenty of affordable quality in Div 1 and 2 in England, even the Conference. Hear Scott Boyd could be heading north on the well travelled path between Inverness, Dingwall and Brora

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

Scott Fox has signed a year extension to his contact until the end of 2017/18.

 

That should ensure purple faced weirdos in the away stand every time we play Partick.

[Biscuitty Boyce]

Delighted with this, massive fan of Fox.

[Savage Henry]

Scott Fox has signed a year extension to his contact until the end of 2017/18.

That should ensure purple faced weirdos in the away stand every time we play Partick.

I love Cerny vs Fox debates. Another two years of them is wonderful news.

[Savage Henry]

Rumours abound that Erik Čikoš is back in town with a new hairdo and the same gritty determination.

I'd be delighted if that were the case.

[yoda]

Rumours abound that Erik Čikoš is back in town with a new hairdo and the same gritty determination.

I'd be delighted if that were the case.

 

 

 

I hope it's him.

[Staggie_93]

Rumours abound that Erik Čikoš is back in town with a new hairdo and the same gritty determination.

I'd be delighted if that were the case.

Ooft be some signing that. I thought he was way too good for us at the time, make it happen Roy.

[Staggie52]

From what I can see Cikos hasn't played this season due to a contract dispute, he refused to sign a new contract. It seems he had a few offers earlier in the year including one from Scotland but they weren't good enough, not sure if that was for him or his club because he still seems to be signed to them. So he might well be available, but what would he be like after a year out?

[bunglebonce]

 

I saw the photo of Boyd, Dingwall and Curran and couldn't suss out who the fourth person was - I would never have figured it out.

 

Even if he wasn't as good as he was the last time around, he set the bar very high so could still be good competition for Fraser.  I think we ought to give the benefit of the doubt though!  Exciting times if he signs.

Edited May 8, 2016 by bunglebonce

[bunglebonce]

 

 

How much change from that over the summer, do we think?

 

Jim has already told the press that McLaughlin will "definitely" get a new contract.

[Forfinn]

I think De Vita and Dingwall will be off, which means we need two wingers.  Hopefully Curran is fit enough that we don't need to replace Goodwillie.  And if Cikos signs then we just need McLaughlin to get a new contract to complete the defence.  Would be very happy to get Gary Woods signed up again if possible.  If not, we obviously need someone else to compete with Fox.

 

Of course, it's also possible that the likes of Robertson, Boyd and Graham might be uncomfortable with their lack of game time and might ask for moves.  In which case they would need replaced as well.

 

GK

Fox

G. Woods (tbc)

 

DR

Fraser

Cikos (tbc)

 

DL

Foster

McLaughlin

 

DC

Davies

Quinn

Robertson

Boyd

 

MR

Franks

(tbc)

 

ML

Gardyne

(tbc)

 

MC

Irvine

M. Woods

McShane

Murdoch

 

SC

Boyce

Schalk

Curran

Graham

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

I heard from reliable ITK sources (drunkards in the Staggies Bar) that Boyd is free to go if he can find another club.

[Savage Henry]

I heard from reliable ITK sources (drunkards in the Staggies Bar) that Boyd is free to go if he can find another club.

 

I think that's fair. Tremendous servant, fully deserving of his testimonial season, but probably not the essential player he once was.  I hope they'll let the fans know before the last home game of the season though. 

[The Great Stagsby]

I think that's fair. Tremendous servant, fully deserving of his testimonial season, but probably not the essential player he once was. I hope they'll let the fans know before the last home game of the season though.

Last home game of the season being Wednesday, right? Am I also right in thinking that at last home games of seasons, there's hanging about after the final whistle for mingling & giving out of (County-specific) player of the season awards and suchlike?

[Defender]

I'm sure I read it on the club's Twitter or something that they'll announce POTY after the match.

[frankthetank22]

I think De Vita and Dingwall will be off, which means we need two wingers.  Hopefully Curran is fit enough that we don't need to replace Goodwillie.  And if Cikos signs then we just need McLaughlin to get a new contract to complete the defence.  Would be very happy to get Gary Woods signed up again if possible.  If not, we obviously need someone else to compete with Fox.

 

Of course, it's also possible that the likes of Robertson, Boyd and Graham might be uncomfortable with their lack of game time and might ask for moves.  In which case they would need replaced as well.

 

GK

Fox

G. Woods (tbc)

 

DR

Fraser

Cikos (tbc)

 

DL

Foster

McLaughlin

 

DC

Davies

Quinn

Robertson

Boyd

 

MR

Franks

(tbc)

 

ML

Gardyne

(tbc)

 

MC

Irvine

M. Woods

McShane

Murdoch

 

SC

Boyce

Schalk

Curran

Graham

 

Thanks for posting that Forfinn, it's good to see the squad listed like that so we can see the areas where we need to strengthen.

 

I'd be delighted if Gary Woods signs on permanently with us, does anyone know if he is a free agent from Leyton Orient this summer?  Scott Fox is without doubt our No.1 but Gary played in a good number of games (including the cup final) so he's more than just a back up, if Fox's form were to slip I'd have no doubt McIntyre would put Woods in the team.

 

I think Fraser will ultimately move into the centre of defence, whether this season or next, as I see that as his best position (playing/training with Davies and Quinn must be great for his development). I can see this being at the expense of Scott Boyd who has been a great club servant/ambassador but just isn't good enough for the top flight nowadays.

Therefore if Fraser were to get more match time in the centre, another experienced RB is essential.

 

Erik Cikos would be a good signing, hopefully he's keen to return as I thought he was destined to play at a higher level than we could offer him at the time.  (indeed he was called up and made his international debut after his loan spell with us in 2014, he also went on to play and score in the Champions League (qualifiers) for Slovan Bratislava after his loan spell with us too)

He's 27 i think now and if Jim can get him anywhere near as fit and eager to run up and down that right flank as he was two years ago then he will be our first choice RB.  I do wonder what went so wrong for him in 2015 and 2016?

 

As well as an experienced RB (Cikos or another) I think we need another LB as after breaking into the first team I'd like to see McLaughlin loaned out so that he gets a full season (or maybe even 6 months) playing regular first team football at LB, this experience after breaking into our first XI would hopefully see him return to us as a better player.  

Foster has proven to be a good first choice left back but due to his versatility (he had an amazing game on the left wing against Aberdeen), I'd like to see another LB to replace the already departed Reckord so Jim has the option to utilize Foster's versatility/pace elsewhere in the team.

 

And as Forfinn has highlighted above, wide midfielders for either side are also required as Dingwall and De Vita just haven't made any impact on the first XI this season at all.  I personally had really high expectations of De Vita after the spell he had on our left wing between February and May in 2015 but for whatever reason it just hasn't worked this season.

Tony Dingwall to me is a bit of an enigma, we all really want him to do so well and maybe he feels that pressure from the fans (of being the "local lad") but again as with De Vita, for whatever reason it just hasn't happened this season.  What age is Tony, 21/22? Maybe a loan spell is worth a go in order for him to get a good run of matches under his belt and he can get used to influencing games in the positive way we all know he can.

We've been very lucky this season that Gardyne's form has been so good and that he's stayed fit for as long as he has done.  I'd prefer him to play on the right more often, as I feel he's more of an attacking threat coming from there but as there's no real other option for the left, he's had to play there for a majority of our games.  Franks has been indifferent, it took a while for him to get a run of games and he's very right footed but he has real pace to terrify any LB. Improved consistency with his crossing would be helpful but you can say that about most wingers.

 

One last thing, Up front. Curran/ Boyce, Graham/ Schalk have looked great for us this season, we're so lucky to have these attacking options.  I don't feel we need David Goodwillie (thank you for the goal at Hearts on Saturday though) but in order to give us options for when injuries hit us I'd like to see Kyle MacLeod used as I think he's got great strength and willing and with good attacking coaching from Jim and Billy, Kyle could develop and become a top striker for us.

 

Anyway, in short, keep Gary Woods, let Goodwillie, De Vita and Boyd go, loan out Dingwall and McLaughlin and strengthen the wide areas!

Edited May 10, 2016 by frankthetank22

[bunglebonce]

Good post by Franksy. If I may add:

 

The problem with loaning players out is finding the right club. It's much more difficult in Ross County's case than a lot of teams in the league.  Tony is arguably too good for a mid-table League 2 team, but if he wants to stay at home and train FT with County - like, presumably, what Macleod does - then Elgin is his only option.  Similarly, McLaughlin is from the central belt so maybe he would be more willing to go back down for a while if he had a long term contract at County, but it would have to be to a FT club because training at County wouldn't be viable.

 

Having seen Macleod at Elgin, I am not convinced he can offer anything more than Greg Morrison does, but he does have another year on his deal to prove himself.

 

I think Franks has average pace for a top-flight winger.  He has the beating of lower league full-backs but he doesn't beat players on the outside often enough for me.  He beat Tierney once at CP immediately before being subbed, for instance, but every other time had to cut on to his left.  Tierney is arguably the best left-back in the league, but it happens a lot, particularly against top-six sides.  He wasn't really a natural chalk-on-the-boots winger before joining and has clearly worked on his game this season.

 

I think Franks can still be a very useful squad player, but it's a position I'd like to see strengthened.  I'd like to see at least one other winger come in that has enough pace to stretch teams, ideally a left-footed one to balance things up.  Lionel Ainsworth is under contract at Motherwell, but he is the kind of player I'd like to see at County.  I still wish we had Darren Maatsen, who could beat anyone for pace and had a belting right foot (even if it wasn't always accurate!).  Midge has looked burned out since after the final and we can't rely on him covering the most yards, week by week, forevermore.  It's mad to think that the club's top goalscorer post-SFL is the most dependable left-wing-back at the club.

 

I agree with pretty much everything else.

Edited May 10, 2016 by bunglebonce

[frankthetank22]

I had deliberately avoided talking about our central midfield options in my post above as it seems to be a contentious issue with a wide range of opinions.

 

I know there has been a big call for us to sign a big tough robust ball winning central midfielder (aka Ross Draper type) but with the four we currently have Woods, Irvine, Murdoch and McShane I can't see it happening, without one of those four moving on.

I also believe that McIntyre is a bit of a gambler and will (usually) always push for a winner rather than settle for a draw, I've really liked our quick attacking style and McIntyre's insistence on playing two attackers as well as two wingers, whether that be 442 or 352.  Therefore, I think he is prepared to sacrifice a holding midfield place for a potentially more dynamic central midfield, that is a bit soft when it comes to winning the ball back.

 

That said, out of the four I think Woods and Irvine are by far our best two. McShane has proven that he definitely has something but needs to impose himself a little more in games next season but he's had a good debut season in the top division.  It's Murdoch who I'm not so sure about, he's looked good in matches and like the hardest of our four midfielders yet in matches (ict & hearts particularly) he has been rag dolled and cast aside with ease, also his passing range/creativity is not in the same league as Woods or McShane.

 

If there is to be change imo it would be Murdoch out for an improved holding midfielder but I could live with who we already have.