Skip to content

Articles

Our website articles
Show all categories

Inverness CT -V- Hearts - Report

No Broken Hearts.
Inverness matched top flight Hearts in this entertaining encounter but had to settle for a share of the points as the Edinburgh side came from behind to level the game in the second half.
Aaron Doran started the scoring with a beautifully guided volley in the sixth minute and the game developed into an evenly balanced contest with both sides spurning opportunities to score again.  Inverness shaded the first half but Hearts showed why they are in contention for European football next season by coming back strongly in the second half.  A Stephen Elliot goal levelled the match and the home side were left clinging on as Ross Tokely was sent off for a second bookable offence.  In all honesty, Rossco was sucked into a tackle as two players in front of him missed their cues and Rossco ended up lunging in, yellow card and off.
Great contributions from Richie Foran who worked himself to a standstill and Lee Cox who showed up well in midfield.  Special mention to Kenny Gillet who showed why we want him here and he never shirked a tackle; some guy.  Ryan Esson showed again why the national squad are worse off without him, shame on you Levein, are you wearing the same blinkered goggles that blight the SPL and SFA.  Jonny Hayes gave glimpses of his precocious talents and has earned his season's break, unfortunately for him, it means an operation on his problem foot/ankle.
All this means promising signs for Inverness but with contract negotiations looming, it is an unsettling time for managers and fans alike.  This season has been a bonus, especially with our sprinters start, but nobody is getting carried away here, it's a long haul, and that's what we are here for.
 
16th April 2011 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium ICT 1 - Doran (6)   TEAM: Esson, Gillet, Hogg, Tokely, Duff, Cox, Hayes (Sutherland 75), Ross, Foran, Doran (Munro 78), Rooney (MacDonald 72) SUBS: Tuffey, Duncan, Innes, Morrison Booked: Hogg (26), Tokely (44), Foran (79), Gillet (86) Sent Off: Tokely (78) HEARTS 1 - Elliot (53)   TEAM: MacDonald, Webster, Bouzid, Thomson, Palazuelos, Santana, Black, Driver (Templeton 69), Stevenson, Skacel (McGowan 64), Elliot SUBS: Balogh, Glen, Zaliukas, Robinson, Mrowiec Booked: Bouzid (79), Black (89) Sent Off: none Referee Crawford Allan Attendance 4336  
Our roving reporter young ginger jaggy will spill the beans.....................
Yesterday the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium witnessed a thrilling spectacle which saw both teams looking to claim all 3 points. The first half was mainly dominated by Inverness with Aaron Doran putting us in front. Hearts had a decent spell either side of half time before levelling through Stephen Elliot. Both teams had chances to score a decisive winner but both defences did there job with each team having chances cleared off the line. To end the game Inverness found themselves down to ten men after a second booking to Ross Tokely. It didn't prove to be costly as both teams settled for a draw in what was a very entertaining game of football.
It was  Caley Thistle who threatened first with the imperious Foran getting a head on to a Hayes cross which brought out a comfortable save from Jamie Macdonald in the Jambo's goal. Foran was again in the thick of the action as he dispossessed one of the Hearts centre backs and put in a teasing cross which only needed the slightest of touches from Adam Rooney to put us ahead. The home fans though were not made to wait long for the breakthrough. Some brilliant quick attacking football saw Rooney gain some space on the right which allowed him to play a pinpoint cross onto the boot of Aaron Doran. He expertly volleyed past the despairing Macdonald to put us deservedly in front. Caley Thistle continued to press and could have had a couple more before the break. Rooney was involved in both. He first of all latched on to a Doran cross, diving in he forced a decent save from McDonald. Next up Rooney was sent through on goal but he wasn't himself and the keeper pounced on his hesitancy, Nick Ross followed up but his shot was blocked by a defender and Hearts survived. Inverness should have had a penalty when Foran was impeded by Ex Caley Jag Ian Black's elbow. Referee Crawford Allan waved away all the protests to the dismay of the home supporters. Tokely was booked for what was a trip even though it looked like the big defender had not meant it and so to see a yellow was very harsh indeed. Hearts as an attacking force were fairly limited in the first half. Suso Santana had a low drive comfortably collected by Esson, he was still to be really tested. This almost changed on half time when Stuart Duff made a brilliant goal line clearance to deny Rudi Skacel who had beaten the helpless Esson.
Half Time 1-0
The second half started much the same as the first ended. Jefferies must have been shouting at his players at half time and they came out and pushed the home side back. It wasn't long before Hearts almost equalised. Elliot got a deflection to Lewis Stevenson's header only to see Rooney, helping back, knee the ball off the line and onto his own bar. Inverness escaped, only just, but it wasn't to last long. Hearts early pressure paid off with Elliot finishing Suso's cutback to give them a deserved equaliser. Controversy plagued the equaliser as the Inverness players and fans were furious about the thrown in. The question wasn't a matter of whether it was a Hearts throw but where the throw was taken as it looked like it was taken in the wrong place. Protests fell on deaf ears, even Terry Butcher who sat in the main stand rushed down to confront the fourth official. Instead of Hearts taking the momentum from their equaliser it was Caley Thistle who looked most likely to score. Hayes and Doran were causing trouble down the Inverness flanks and it was Hayes with a tempting ball to the back post which only needed a touch but ran agonisingly wide of the far post. Hearts then looked like they had taken the lead when Suso easily out muscled Kenny Gillet to run towards the Caley Thistle goal, cutting it back to Lewis Stevenson but he saw his shot brilliantly tipped past the post by a fully stretched Esson. Next it was the home side claiming the ball crossed the line from a goal line clearance. Richie Foran found space at the back post with his header flying past the stranded Macdonald only to see a fantastic clearance by Andy Webster. The clearance was made better by the fact that it looked like Rooney would bundle it in. The replays have proved inconclusive but at the time the majority of the stadium believed it was over the line. Hearts then had a second cleared away when it looked certain to end in the back of the net. Lewis Stevenson again beat Esson but found Tokely covering behind him to clear it away comfortably from the six yard box.
The game then took a dramatic turn as Ross Tokely was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence. This tackle did deserve a yellow, but because the first was harsh he found himself having to go for an early bath. It was a shame for him as he had had a decent game in the centre of defence. The surprising thing though was it was 10 man Inverness that looked like getting the winner as Hearts huffed and puffed against a deep home side. On the break Caley Thistle looked dangerous but it turned out that both goalkeepers were not to be tested again as the game ended all square.
Full Time 1-1
Terry Butcher would have been the happier of the two managers with his players putting in a great performance with the issue of contracts now to be resolved. Jefferies wasn't particularly happy with his players but this result shouldn't make any real effect on their grip to  retain third spot in the league. As for the players every one of them had a brilliant game apart from Adam Rooney who has looked a shadow of the player that we saw earlier on in the season. Aaron Doran won man of the match with one of his best performances to date since joining on loan in January. But if I was to single out one player, it would be club Captain Richie Foran who deserved the MOM award for his outstanding display of quality and commitment.  A pleasing outcome which could have been better as we now enter the split fixtures.
Next week we will be off to McDiairmid park on easter Monday in a 7:45 ko against the Perth Saints.
By tm4tj in Reports 2010-11 ·

Inverness CT -V- Hearts - Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Capital Visitors to Highlands
The top-six fairy tail has endeth, but the games keep coming and Hearts will be looking to consolidate third place in the SPL with the hosts looking to finish with a flourish after running out of steam in the winter months.
The best of the rest is Butcher's aim now that Motherwell secured the points to keep them ahead of Inverness in the race for that last top-six spot.  Motherwell held their nerve as Inverness blew hot and cold in that last couple of months so it's congratulations to them and commiserations to the Caley Jags.
Ginger Jaggy has been checking the pros and cons of this one, and his preview is ready for your eyes.
It has been a dramatic season with major highs and major lows, now we have made it to the final fixture before the split (Celtic game still to be confirmed). This small run that we faced to gain a top six place was always going to be hard but with the Celtic postponement it allowed us to delay the inevitable that has been coming for a while since Christmas. Last week at Killie a creditable draw was not good enough and so we now face the likes of Hamilton and St Mirren instead of the Old Firm. It has been disappointing to let slip such a wonderful position at Christmas but lets reflect - it has been a wonderful season. Let's remember us as a newly promoted team that went to Parkhead, Ibrox and Tynecastle and remained undefeated. Some supporters see the bottom six now as a boring end to the season that won't bring much excitement but there is no pressure on any of the teams which may produce some exciting games – we can only hope. Let's first of all concentrate on high-flying Hearts who we entertain on Saturday.
Info on the opposition
Hearts have had a very fine season and look like finishing as 'best of the rest' behind the old firm. They started the season a little bit erratically but an amazing run of 1 defeat in 11 matches before and just after Christmas got the Edinburgh club up the top of the table and challenging the old firm. A 1-0 win at home to Rangers gave hopes that this would be a 3 horse race but it didn't last long with a 4-0 thumping at Parkhead. Since then Hearts have dropped points and have fallen back from the Old Firm but have a comfortable gap to the rest of the top six teams. Recently my best friend at university took me to Easter Road to see the derby. It was a brilliant occasion apart from being crushed by some very excited jambos. The game was brilliant for a neutral to watch and showed what a good footballing side Hearts have been this season. Even without the physical presence of Kevin Kyle they have remained on target to achieve third spot and that coveted Europa League spot.
Past Encounters
This season we have faced Hearts twice and so this will be the last fixture between the clubs this season. Our first game was a live ESPN game at 12 in the highlands. Unfortunately for the four and half thousand souls it wasn't to be a happy day as the jambos headed back down south with all 3 points. It had started so well with Eric Odhiambo putting the Caley Jags ahead. But with what has been a common feature this season we failed to hold a lead to half time. Hearts won a free kick and a wicked delivery ended up flicking Chris Innes's head and finding the corner for an own goal. The second half saw Caley Thistle bring out two magnificent saves from Marion Kello which effectively won the game. At the other end Hearts quick attacking football was too much for the Inverness  backline as Hearts scored another 2 to seal the win. Tynecastle was more one sided than that game as Hearts bombarded our goal for the majority of the game. As with the first game we took an early lead thanks to Grant Munro with his'predatory skills' from a free Kick. The equaliser was pretty swift with Kevin Kyle converting a penalty after Ryan Esson tumbled Stephen Elliot in the box. Hearts peppered our goal, how it stayed at 1-1 was beyond me even though we had a great chance on the break in stoppage time to sneak 3 points but Russell Duncan choose to shoot straight at Kello when he had options either side. It wasn't to be but a draw still made sure we remained unbeaten away for a whole calendar year, what a year that was.
Form Guide
The form guide for this match isn't great if you are of an Inverness persuasion. We managed to pick up 27 points before Christmas which gave us a great platform to mount a challenge for a top six place but since then we have only managed to accumulate a meagre 11 points which has seen us miss out on the top six. In our last five matches we have managed to pick up 4 points with the excellent 3-0 home win over Motherwell and the solid 1-1 draw at rugby park last time out. But in between that we have had below par results and performances against Dundee Utd twice and Hibs. Hearts though haven't faired much better in their last five. They have only picked up 1 more point than us with a win over St Mirren and two draws which was the derby and Motherwell last week. They have also suffered from Dundee United's rise to form losing 2-0 at Tannadice while also being beaten 2-0 at home by bogey side Kilmarnock. When it comes to this fixture though, Hearts have the upper hand winning 10 of the 18 encounters while Caley Thistle can only claim 3 victories with 5 ending up all square.
Gingerjaggies thoughts
We are looking for a strong end to the year after an indifferent 2011 so far. The top six is over for another season and now is the time to try and finish as high as possible, with players now playing for contracts. The season is now all but over and so every game is now meaningless in a sense, although there is still money up for grabs for every place you climb in the league. But Hearts I hope will be a decent game and it is a great chance for players to now show some commitment with no pressure on the result. I think it will be an entertaining game and I feel we can sneak a win 2-1.
 
***Latest Team News***
Proctor and Sanchez are the long term crocks, but news that Graeme Shinnie is back training after a long illness will be welcomed by the Caley Jags fans.  Jonny Hayes could play his last game this season on Saturday before going under the knife.  He needs a clean up operation on his troublesome ankle/foot that will see him needing plenty recovery time for the start of next season, so sooner rather than later for Jonny.
Hearts are without our nemesis, Kevin Kyle after the big lad undedrwent a hip op.  That's not a new music genre, but surgery on his hip to clean out the joint.  This will keep him out until next season.  Marius Zaliukas is available in between bans, which could ease Jim Jeffries' problems as the Jambos have doubt's over a number of players Marian Kello, Rudi Skacel, Suso Santana, Eggert Jonsson and Darren Barr.  Lee Wallace and Calum Elliot are not in the frame to appear due to injuries, which can only be good news for the home defence as Elliot scored here earlier in the season, and has made a bit of a habit of it.
 
Other SPL News
Rangers troubles have now doubled as they are facing fresh allegations of sectarian singing against their fans and there is the possibility of being forced into playing games behind closed doors next season.  Not content with challenging Rangers about alleged sectarian chanting in Eindhoven, the return leg has also been scrutinised and Uefa are set to act on these allegations.  It makes you wonder what the hierarchy in the Scottish game have been doing all these years; burying their heads in the sand when it comes to the Old Firm, but dare any of the lesser clubs step out of line, then look out.  Bullies if you ask me.
Congratulations to our dear friends from across the bridge, they have managed to take our cup back North and can look after it for the next year.  I hope they keep it clean, plenty Brasso and elbow grease should do the trick.  But, the relegation battle continues for them as Cowdenbeath draw level on points with the gudgies.
By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

Kilmarnock -V- Inverness CT - Report

Killie stalemate not enough to keep the dream alive.
Despite a hard earned point at Rugby Park, Inverness failed to keep alive their top-six aspirations as Motherwell drew with Hearts at Tynecastle to ensure they would remain in the top half.
An excellent Jonny Hayes solo goal in the tenth minute of the first half was cancelled out by Liam Kelly three minutes later and despite Kilmarnock having the lions share of the chances, Ryan Esson ensured the visitors left Ayrshire with a point.  William Gros missed a great chance to wrap up the points for Killie but a miss of Rooney like proportions meant the game finished all square.  That was his last involvement in the game as his boss had seen enough and replaced the errant Frenchman with immediate effect.
9th April 2011 Rugby Park, Kilmarnock KILMARNOCK 1 - Kelly (13)   TEAM: Jaakkola, Clancy, Hay, Fowler (Silva 88), O'Leary, Bryson, Hamill, Kelly, Rui Miguel (Dayton 70), Eremenko, Gros (McKenzie 57) SUBS: Letheren, Evans, Pursehouse, Aubameyang Booked: none Sent Off: none ICT 1 - Hayes (10)   TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Gillet, Hogg, Duff, Cox (MacDonald 86), Hayes, Ross, Foran, Rooney (Morrison 46), Doran SUBS: Tuffey, Munro, Innes, Duncan, Sutherland Booked: Duff (77) Sent Off: none Referee John McKendrick Attendance 4518 Terry Butcher tried to liven up his side and brought in Kenny Gillet, Nick Ross and Aaron Doran, with Russell Duncan, Eric Odhiambo and surprisingly Grant Munro dropping to the bench. Killie caretaker boss Kenny Shiels had no recognised central defender and also made three changes, Rui Miguel, Liam Kelly and Scotland U21 cap Ryan O'Leary for the injured Frazer Wright and Mohamadou Sissoko, with David Silva finding himself on the bench.
 
Here is Alternative to tell us how it went..............................
Bang goes the top six then; and while we might have looked like a team capable of finishing in the top half four or five months ago, on the basis of yesterday’s performance, big on endeavour but short on creativity, we aren’t quite there yet.
It was a beautiful day for football in Ayrshire yesterday, but there was a definite end-of-season feeling about the game, with only four and a half thousand inside Rugby Park, including what was probably ICT’s smallest travelling support of the season. Four and a half thousand inside a stadium with a capacity of eighteen thousand. That’s thirteen and a half thousand empty seats. And yet, four simple-minded Kilmarnock supporters, with unfortunate children in tow, still managed to sit themselves in the middle of the away section. If that wasn’t daft enough, when Killie equalised, they all jumped up and made vigorous Nescafé gestures towards us, promptly getting themselves moved. I mean, really.
Our happy few arrived at the ground via the Hunting Lodge to discover that Terry Butcher had made a few changes to the team that had performed pretty dismally against Dundee Utd three weeks previously. Eric Odhiambo, Russell Duncan and Grant Munro were dropped; Aaron Doran, Nick Ross and Kenny Gillet came in. Terry Butcher’s willingness to change his team when things aren’t working is generally a strength, but arguably yesterday’s changes didn’t really make the difference between a loss and a draw. Once again, Jonny Hayes and Richie Foran were our most dangerous and creative players: the central midfield still failed to impose itself on the game and, to me at least, Doran again looked far too reluctant to get involved, staying stranded on the touchline, not shouting for the ball and failing to make overlapping runs. Some might argue that he ‘wasn’t given the service’: but players have to be looking for the service in order to get it. Gillet, by contrast, was assured defensively and made some promising moves forward, but the preferment of Chris Hogg to Grant Munro, who has rarely let us down in central defence, seems a little harsh.
Just as they had against Dundee Utd, Caley Thistle began the game fairly brightly, with Jonny Hayes’ willingness to drop deep to try to engineer attacking moves evident from the start. Shortly after the team had forced a couple of corners, it was a move like this that brought the opening goal. Hayes pounced on some slack possession to nick the ball off Garry Hay’s toes, slalom his way between Hay and Liam Kelly and home in on goal, dragging Tim Clancy across the box before firing the ball through Anssi Jaakkola in the Kilmarnock goal. 1-0 ICT, and in the away section, the supporters began to dream tentatively again of a top six finish...
...For all of three minutes. Almost immediately, Kilmarnock’s players upped their game and began taking control of the midfield. Their equalising goal, although originating from a slack ICT header forward, was a thing of beauty; a series of quick passes in the midfield ended with an elegant chipped pass  forward from Alexei Eremenko to the unmarked Liam Kelly, and he lobbed Ryan Esson from the edge of the box.
1-1, then, and just a few minutes later Kilmarnock thought they had had gone ahead when William Gros fired the ball past Esson after another attractive passing move in which Eremenko found Gros with another perfectly weighted chipped pass. Fortunately for Caley, the offside flag had gone up against Gros. Shortly after that, Gros was again through on goals, but this time he was denied by a brave block from Esson, right at the edge of the area. As the French striker would find out in the second half, it wasn’t destined to be his day.
Killie continued to hold the upper hand, with Liam Kelly’s low shot from a Killie corner being scooped off the line by Adam Rooney, then Rui Miguel heading narrowly wide as the Ayrshire team continued to press. The closest Caley Thistle came during this period was a shot from Lee Cox that flew wide, but on thirty five minutes ICT came close to taking the lead in comical circumstances when Anssi Jaakkola fumbled a bouncing but fairly innocuous-looking Aaron Doran free kick, allowing it to spill under his body so that he had to spin and seize the ball just before it crossed the line. For the rest of the game, the Finnish keeper had to endure unfavourable comparisons with Scotland’s – and Killie’s – number three, Cammy Bell, from the away support.
The big news at the start of the second half from an ICT point of view was the replacement of Adam Rooney with Gavin Morrison. There was no evidence of Rooney being injured, and the system did switch to a 4-51, with Richie Foran being asked to play the lone striker role. Certainly, Rooney had had one of his least effective games in an ICT shirt, and the manager is entitled to try out potential combinations for next season given the likelihood of Rooney having moved on by then, but it seemed a little perplexing to remove the team’s most prolific striker with the game poised at 1-1 and an outside chance of making the top six still remaining. Morrison, to his credit, worked hard and looked neat and tidy in possession, although the bolstered midfield was able to dictate play no more than it had in the first half.
Although ICT’s players chased the game throughout the second half and worked hard to close down possession, they rarely looked like creating much and ultimately, can feel a little fortunate to have gained a point from the game. They limited Kilmarnock to just a few chances, but one, in fifty six minutes would surely have gone in on any other day. Bryson, Miguel and Eremenko combined neatly and the latter lobbed a neat cross over the heads of the ICT central defenders to where William Gros, was standing, unmarked and just two yards out. Somehow, he contrived to steer his header wide. Before he had reached the eighteen yard line on his way back from this spectacular cock-up, his number was up on the substitutes’ boards and he was replaced by Rory McKenzie.
After that, the game continued to follow much the same pattern: Killie dominated possession and played some nice football, but ICT continued to work hard and restrict their chances. There were a couple of momentarily concerning incidents, when Ryan Esson spilled a shot from second substitute James Dayton and had to scamper across his area to collect the ball ahead of the lurking Eremenko, and again when Esson had to flick a dangerous cross from Garry Hay over the crossbar at the last second. Then, just a minute from full time, Esson again showed why he is widely considered to have been ICT’s best player this season, when he beat away a fierce drive from David Silva, ensuring that Terry Butcher’s team would leave with a point.
Among the away supporters, there seemed to be a certain amount of disappointment that the possibility of top six football had ended relatively tamely and a slight frustration at the continuing inability to create clear chances which has affected the team since December, but also some recognition of the effort the team had put in against a home side that is well clear of them in the league and whose players showed again that they are capable of playing passing football of genuine quality.
And that was about it from Kilmarnock; unless you consider the return fixture at the Hunting Lodge, the abandonment of Red Card Reilly in a toilet, the recriminations in Fanny by Gaslight, the songs on the train, the wee sleep in the Horseshoe and I assume (although I was long gone by that point) the Immortal karaoke at Brechin’s. Just another Saturday: where will the post-split fixtures take us ?
By Scotty in Reports 2010-11 ·

Kilmarnock -V- Inverness CT - Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Last Chance Saloon for Top-Six dream as Butcher notches the ton.
Inverness travel to Ayrshire to take on Kilmarnock as our top-six dream is starting to fade.  Motherwell to their credit have made the most of their opportunity and appear to have all but wrapped up the last place available in the top half of the league. 
Nothing less than a win for the Caley Jags will do.  That, coupled with Motherwell dropping points in their last game before the split against Hearts at Tynecastle will keep the interest for Butcher's boys, who still have to play Celtic and Heart's in Inverness.  Defeat and the dream is over for another season; top six next year.  A tough ask for the Highlanders, but after a season in the first division, this one will still be seen as a success despite a downturn in form since before Christmas.
With last weeks game being controversially called off at a very late stage, Terry Butcher's 100th game in charge will happen this Saturday..................weather permitting at Rugby Park.  Butcher acknowledges that his first SPL win as Motherwell boss was at Rugby Park in 2002, a 4-1 scoreline that day, and a repeat of that would be most welcome.  It is a milestone for Terry & Mo, and one which the Inverness fans are largely in favour of.
For the record, that’s 81 league games and 18 cup games.  In the league games he has steered the club to 35 wins, 24 draws and 22 defeats, scoring 126 and conceding 87.  In all cup games we have won 12 and lost six, for 36 against 21.
Terry Butcher started his life as an Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager just over two years ago, and his first game was against, Glasgow Celtic in Inverness.  That game was a goalless draw, but what was important about it was the fact that we had stopped the rot, albeit briefly.  We had lost the previous nine SPL games and Mr Brewster’s reign had become untenable.  You know when you see that word, someone is about to get sacked, and this opened the door for the arrival of Terry and Mo.  So, fast forward two years and here we are this Saturday, 99 games gone and Killie will make it 100 not out.
So, we can all thank Terry and Mo this weekend for the roller coaster ride that is Inverness Caledonian Thistle and look forward to another century partnership from the management, surely worthy of a bottle or two of claret.
Since we last played Killie, manager Mixu Paatelainen has moved on to become the man in charge of the Finnish international squad.  He was head-hunted after taking Killie into the top-six comfortably and has left the team in good nick.  They are one of the season's success stories, playing attractive football and scoring freely.   Alexei Eremenko is looking like one of the leagues classiest players, spraying pin point passes like nobody's business, and his undoubted talent deserves a better audience than the SPL.  Irishman Kenny Shiels will see the Rugby park outfit through this transition period until the end of the season by all accounts, and he was in charge for the game at Perth.  The 0-0 draw secured Killies top-six place and left just one spot up for grabs.
Speaking to STV he said ""I want to try and get the attention focused on our next game, I want it to be about football and our next game against Inverness."  So, despite his team having achieved their goal, it appears there will be no let up for the visit of the Caley Jags.
Inverness boss Terry Butcher is still clinging on to the slim possibility of top-six football after the split and his team are raring to go after last weeks late call off in the early kick off against SPL leaders Celtic.  That call off was the second one against Celtic in recent weeks and both games were called off at the eleventh hour because of a waterlogged pitch, and both times the team and fans were in Inverness.  Both were to be televised and the early kick offs were part of the problem as the pitch was playable shortly after the call off.  Had the last game been a three o'clock kick off there would have been no issue whatsoever.
The Tulloch Caledonian Stadium pitch has not been the same since the SPL insisted that undersoil heating be installed to meet their requirements.  However, it appears that this is now causing more grief than ever as the drainage has altered leaving the ground staff with major problems due to the compactness of the ground and the shallowness of the heating pipes, making it difficult to get any depth when forking the surface.  All this adds up to much frustration for Tommy Cumming when the tide is high and the heavens open.  Much has been said about this already, and I'm sure more will be revealed in the future.
Just back from Barra, Alternative Maryhill will reveal the tale of the tape for this one, so let the fans see the boxers.
Kilmarnock v Inverness Caledonian Thistle, 9th April 2011
Saturday brings Caley Thistle’s second trip to Rugby Park this season, after a three week layoff from league football. Writing the preview for the corresponding fixture back in October, I began by lamenting the fact that it had been four weeks since the last away game and emphasising the keen sense of anticipation among the regular ICT away supporters. At the risk of sounding overly-negative, I’m willing to bet that there is slightly less enthusiasm for this match among the majority of those planning the trip this time around. This is partly a natural consequence of the weariness that tends to set in towards the end of a season, but also due to a marked reversal in the fortunes of the two teams since they last met in Kilmarnock.
At that time, Kilmarnock sat two points off the bottom of the league, while ICT sat fourth in the SPL table after a promising start to the season. Kilmarnock supporters would have argued even then that the table was not a true reflection of the quality of football their team had produced in the first months of Mixu Paatelainen’s management, yet despite a decent performance by Kilmarnock, Terry Butcher’s team won the match 2-1, increasing the gap between the teams, and ICT’s fine form continued for several more weeks. Now, however, it is Kilmarnock who sit fourth, with the promise that many detected in Paatelainen’s team eventually having been converted into a series of good results, while Caley Thistle, after a poor run of form since mid-December, which coincided with an injury to Jonny Hayes, sit in seventh: still a creditable position, but with the top six finish many had dreamed of looking highly unlikely in light of Motherwell’s recent results. Yet there are still some grounds for hope that Saturday’s game will bring a positive result for ICT.
Chief among these is the fact that Kilmarnock have recently lost Mixu Paatelainen, the manager unanimously credited with the dramatic improvement in the team’s fortunes, to the Finnish national team. Despite the loss of top scorer Conor Sammon in the January transfer window, the team continued its good form, with three wins, a draw and a narrow defeat to Rangers in the five matches prior to Paatelainen’s departure. The team’s first result under caretaker boss Kenny Shiels, however, was a 0-0 draw against St Johnstone which featured, by all accounts, a deeply uninspiring performance from the Rugby Park side. Shiels’ record in management, too, is patchy: promising starts at Coleraine and Ballymena United in the Irish league were followed by slumps, with Shiels eventually resigning his post at the former club, and being sacked by the latter. Shiels has already expressed his desire to become permanent manager, and the majority of Kilmarnock supporters on the Killie Kickback forum support his appointment, at least until the end of the season, but a bad result at home against a lower-placed team could begin to sway opinion, and Shiels may be feeling a certain degree of pressure ahead of the game after an unspectacular first match in charge. Also, although it might be too much to hope for, is it possible that the Kilmarnock players, who are already guaranteed a top six finish, might be slightly less motivated than ICT players still chasing the very faint hope of achieving that goal?
It is very difficult to predict how Caley Thistle will perform at any given time these days. The last five league fixtures have brought two convincing wins, against St Johnstone and Motherwell, but also three fairly abject performances in losing twice to Dundee United and once to Hibernian. Last Saturday’s scheduled league fixture against Celtic might have given us a clearer idea of the team’s confidence ahead of the trip to Kilmarnock, but after early morning rain that turned the TCS pitch into a paddy field the game was postponed, leaving in its wake an entertaining pantomime of blame-apportioning and finger-pointing from supporters on both sides. Rumours that the flooding was deliberately engineered, as the ICT board had decided after the ten-team league fiasco to resign the club’s place in the SPL and covert the club to a water polo team, and that Russell Duncan had been spotted riding a giant seahorse around the centre circle in preparation for his new role, remain unconfirmed at the time of going to press.
From a purely selfish point of view, I was secretly pleased with the postponement, as there is a chance I might make the rescheduled game, and also because had ICT managed an unlikely win, I might have found myself being burned alive in a giant wicker effigy of Neil Lennon by the enraged, naked, Celtic-tattoo-sporting population of Barra*, alongside erstwhile ICT stalwart Arbroathawayday. If there is a wider positive to Saturday’s cancellation, it is that it should have given certain ICT players additional time to regain full fitness. Terry Butcher has already revealed that Jonny Hayes’ ankle injury is an ongoing problem that will require surgery over the summer, yet for an hour at Tannadice he was our most threatening player, and hopefully he will be capable of playing most of Saturday’s match too. Meanwhile, the extra training time should have allowed Kenny Gillet to develop sufficient fitness that he can start the match: his substitute appearance against Dundee United was by far the most encouraging thing that any Inverness supporter could take out of that game and he should add strength and composure both in a defensive role and going forward. The continuing absence of Dani Sanchez deprives Terry Butcher of one of his more creative attacking options, and with Eric Odhiambo having been out of form for some time, and Aaron Doran yet to impose himself on any game, the team will probably rely heavily again on Adam Rooney and Richie Foran to present a threat. What we must hope for is that, if Kilmarnock continue to play the sort of passing game they have used for most of the season, this will inspire ICT to adopt a similar style, rather than opting for the long ball game that has crept back into the team’s performances since around December.
Predictions:
1. Killie 1 – ICT 1. There have been seven score draws between these clubs in previous fixtures: one is already overdue this season. 2. There will be an attempt to revive the ‘Jimmy Says Aye to a Killie Pie’ song, but it will peter out after two minutes. 3. By seven o’ clock in Fanny by Gaslight, no-one will care much about the result either way.
*See Davie’s Celtic preview. Despite the uncanny resemblance, this is not a reference to one J. Mackenzie
***Latest Team News***
Inverness will be be without the three usual suspects, Proctor, Shinnie and Sanchez, but the good news is that we may have a left back as Kenny Gillet could start after his long term injury.  Jonny Hayes, although nursing an ankle injury, is in the squad along with Aaron Doran.
Kilmarnock have Manuel Pascali suspended for this one.  Mehdi Taouil could well miss the rest of the season with a torn hamstring and Mohamadou Sissoko is struggling to be fit in time, but Liam Kelly returns to the squad after illness.
Other SPL News
The old firm are never far away from the headlines and Rangers have found themselves in a bit of bother over alleged sectarian singing during last month's Europa Lague match away to PSV Eindhoven.  Manager Walter Smith has challenged those singing these sectarian songs to refrain from doing so before the club receives heavy sanctions from the governing body. 
Keeping the old firm theme going, Celtic and Rangers have been playing leap frog at the top of the division, and this midweek saw Celtic take a two point lead in the race for the title after defeating Hibernian 3-1.  The previous evening, Rangers topped the league after edging past St Johnstone 2-0.
In the lower leagues:-  Jimmy Calderwood is finding the going tough at Dingwall as they plunged to only one point above the relegation play off spot after losing 2-1 at Cowdenbeath.
 
By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

Inverness CT -V- Celtic - Preview***GAME OFF***

Teaser Paragraph:
Celtic makes it 100 not out for Terry & Mo.
This weekends SPL game will be the Inverness duo's 100th game in charge of the Caley Jags since their arrival at the end of January 2009.
Left with a mountain to climb after the previous incumbent had taken Inverness to the brink of relegation that season, they almost performed a Houdini act to stave off the drop, but unfortunately Falkirk spoiled the party and they found themselves dumped into the first division.
Game off due to waterlogged pitch
They vowed to get the club back up, and said they would achieve this in one season, a feat not commonplace in the first division.  They achieved the virtually impossible and did it in style overhauling Dundee's seemingly unassailable lead to cruise to the title, and the manner in which this was accomplished saw Inverness win nine in a row; not quite the same as Celtic managed under Jock Stein, but nevertheless they finished with a flourish, crushing Ayr United 7-0 at Somerset Park and defeating a beleaguered Dundee on the final day.
Surely Terry's finest hour was that very game at Ayr.  Who can forget the sermon he preached from the summit of the main stand at Ayr.  The league was won in midweek without playing, this was merely the icing on the cake, and the dismantling of Ayr United into the bargain.  After the final whistle, a mini pitch invasion ensued and Terry climbed to his lecturn, the crowd mesmerised by his speech. He controlled the throngs of delirious ICT fans in a Monty Pythonesque style, waving his arms up and down, the crowd, like puppets on a string drawn to his charm and waiting with baited breath for his next utterance.  That was one of the great speeches of this Century, ending with, "we will show them how to party next week."  And party we did as we beat Dundee to end a glorious season.
Life back in the SPL started brightly for the management team but they knew it was going to be tough and as this season went on, we have become caught up in our own success and have struggled somewhat to keep the momentum going.  Still, 100 not out for Terry and Mo and still going strong, here's to more success.
For the record, that's 81 league games and 18 cup games.  In the league games he has steered the club to 35 wins, 24 draws and 22 defeats, scoring 126 and conceding 87.  In all cup games we have won 12 and lost six, for 36 against 21.
So, we can all thank Terry and Mo this weekend for the roller coaster ride that is Inverness Caledonian Thistle and look forward to another century partnership from the management, surely worthy of a bottle or two of claret.
Terry Butcher started his life as an Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager just over two years ago, and his first game was against, yes, you've guessed it, Glasgow Celtic in Inverness.  That game was a goalless draw, but what was important about it was the fact that we had stopped the rot, albeit briefly.  We had lost the previous nine SPL games and Mr Brewster's reign had become untenable.  You know when you see that word, someone is about to get sacked, and this opened the door for the arrival of Terry and Mo.  So, fast forward two years and here we are this Saturday, 99 games gone and Celtic back here again.
But that's enough about Terry and Mo, let's get down to the nitty gritty, the stuff we have waited a fortnight for, none of that International drivel we were subjected to last weekend when our national side watched Brazil pass a football around a park and a German almost started a world war; what's new.  A banana, that's what's new, a bloody banana.  Yes folks, it's back to SPL football at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium and if you put your clocks forward last weekend, then you should be arriving in time for this early kick off at 12:00 noon.
Your scribe this week is davie, who will provide us with this preview and his match report after the game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celtic visit the Caledonian Stadium for the third time this season on Saturday lunchtime having already won on the opening day of the league campaign and defeating Caley Jags to send them out of the Scottish Cup earlier this month. In between times, there has been another defeat and a share of the spoils in the East End of Glesga. Actually, our Manager reckons we “know them inside out” after facing them five times this season. Still, it might be near end of season but it’s never boring and always unpredictable, a bit like Alternative Maryhill’s proposed weekend to the most fervent Celtic enclave outside the east End – Barra. Enjoy, youth, they might even get ESPN there.
History, despite our annoying ability to come up with the occasional “supercaleygoballistic” performance against the Glasgow giants, is still firmly on their side in SPL encounters. 12 – 1 in wins with 4 draws indicates where the balance of power lies, but this is football, and things can change. Our 2-2 draw in November nearly evidenced that.
The Hoops last outing was at HQ against their greatest and most bilious rivals, and they came away with that runner up feeling. Confidence is still high in the League, however, and they expect to win here. They are rumoured to have Sean Maloney close to fitness and their returning internationals are reported unscathed. That leaves only the long term absentees such as Majstorovic to concern them. Still, there’s always a chance when Glen Loovens and Charlie Mulgrew are around. From the last game, that charming man Scott Brown returns, as does Mark Wilson. Both should make a difference. It’s unclear if Neil Lennon will make a difference in the main stand for the second time in a couple of weeks. His sole sojourn to trackside in Bilbao last weekend ended in, you’ve guessed it, getting sent to the stand! Better take Mr. MacBride with you this time Neil.
On our side, Kenny Gillet should continue motoring down the road to full fitness. Hayes should hirple on and only Shinnie, Proctor and Sanchez remain invalided. TB has the opportunity to meld something of a first choice team out of the available players, but they need to show more than they have of recent weeks and arrest the creeping apathy that seems to affect them at times. Still, it is rarely a hard job to motivate the troops for games such as these - he’ll not have to chase them.
Talking of chasing, we'll hopefully get another Maryhill report before the end of the season, provided he survives the prodigious drinking that is second nature to Barra. He might even make Killie next week (who’s next to say aye to the pie?) I once chased a chap around Barra, who impressed me with his “bhoys” tattoo largely on account of the fact that apart from it he was utterly naked. He had done that most un-Barraesque of things and stopped drinking too quickly, thereby losing what was left of his unpickled marbles. I was there to transport him to the nearest “caring facility” Celtic fans. You can’t take them anywhere.
The crystal testicle predicts a score draw in this fracas, 1 – 1 being not unreasonable and for which thanks would be given. Just as long as St. Mirren beat Hamilton.
Ooooohhh, go on then Davie...........chase me!
Other SPL News
Kilmarnock FC are managerless as davie mentioned above.  Mixu Paatelainen (44) has resigned his position at Kilmarnock with immediate effect to become the new Finnish national manager after nine months in charge.  He started slowly at Killie but has since guided them into the top six comfortably and has the team playing some highly entertaining football.
David Goodwillie has extended his contract at Tannadice for a further year keeping him with the Arab's until May 2013.  Twenty two year old Goodwillie is one of the emerging Scottish talents and has been targeted by Rangers already.  He has been at United since he was 14 and made his debut at the end of 2005.  As good as he is though, he was unable to stop his club tumbling out of the Scottish cup as Motherwell thumped United 3-0 in midweek, to earn a semi-final spot against St Johnstone at Hampden.
Calum Elliot has been sidelined for at least six months after knee surgery on his 24th Birthday has left him plastered.  The Hearts striker has been plagued by injuries and looks to be out until Christmas.  Happy birthday Calum.  Better news for one of our nemesis'.  Big Kevin Kyle will be resuming training after a double hernia operation, although the Hearts squad has been decimated by injuries of  Caley Thistle proportions.
Minor League News:- Jimmy Calderwood's work at County is almost complete as he has taken the club to the brink of the precipice.  A goal for the Pars in the fourth minute of time added on means that our country cousins are staring into the abyss.  With Cowdenbeath taking a point off Dundee, County are only one point ahead of the miners in the play-off position, although they have a much healthier goal difference which is worth an extra point.  Tuesday the 5th of April will be an interesting night as the Blue Brazil take on The Staggies in what could prove to be a six-pointer.
***Breaking News***
Our Prayers Have been Answered:- It has been leaked that Scottish footballs first religious threesome will officiate at an SPL match this weekend. An SFA spokesperson has not revealed which match they will be in charge of in the 12:00 kick off, but it is believed that they are being flown in from Ireland at the request of one of Scotland's top clubs in a bid to reduce the  number of decisions that have gone against them. Canon John Paul Benedictus will be the man in the middle and his junior officials will be Father Timothy O'Flaherty and Patrick O'Reilly, both who hold senior positions within the Irish referee's in gods holy trinity organisation, (IRIGHTO). The idea has been given it's blessing by both clubs in order for this initiative to be a success and the winning club will be allowed to release coloured smoke bombs at the end of the game.  Celtic will let off green plumes of smoke and Inverness blue.  This will hopefully reduce any tension that may have built up in the crowds and will help to right the image of Scottish football blighted by recent events.  A draw will see a neutral colour being released, black.
Let's hope this is a success for whichever game they are at tomorrow April 2nd.
By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

Dundee United -V- Inverness CT - Report

Tangerines squash insipid Inverness
Dundee United eased past Inverness with a goal on the stroke of half time from Danny Swanson.  He capitalised on the frailties of the Inverness defence to drill a ball home after a half clearance from Tokely, and some head tennis from his team mates.  Up to this point the game had been memorable for it's lack of adventure from either side.
The visitors were always in the game right up to the end when despite a number of forays forward, they could not get the leveller to leapfrog Motherwell into the top-six.
Hogg had the best opportunity in the first half for Inverness but keeper Pernis blocked the ball on the line with his legs and in the skirmish that followed  the keeper was awarded a free kick for the follow up challenges on him.  For United, David Goodwillie made a good turn and run forward but Esson was equal to it and blocked with his legs.  The warning was not heeded however as Swanson scored what proved to be the winner as the clock ticked towards half time.  Lee Cox had a shot on target in the second period, but overall it was too little too late for Butcher's boys as United gained their fifth win on the trot.
19th March 2011 Tannadice Park, Dundee DUNDEE UTD 1 - Swanson (43)   TEAM: Pernis, Dixon, Douglas, Watson, Robertson, Robertson, Swanson, Gomis, Daly, Goodwillie, Russell (Armstrong 84) SUBS: Banks, van der Meulen, Severin, Kovacevic, Allan, Shala Booked: none Sent Off: none ICT 0 -   TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Munro, Hogg, Duff, Cox (Gillet 68), Duncan, Hayes, Odhiambo (Doran 77), Foran, Rooney (MacDonald 56) SUBS: Tuffey, Innes, McBain, Sutherland Booked: Tokey (50), Hayes (63) Sent Off: none Referee George Salmond Attendance 6548 The scene was set, plenty of refreshment houses in Dundee for the supporters to sample their aperitif of choice, be it the Snug, Willie Frews or the Centenary on Cleppy road and no shortages of corner shops for the kerry oot.
Could Inverness stun their hosts again, in what was arguably our finest ninety minutes this season back in August, every goal a belter?  Would we see another Russell Duncan special, he only scores spectacular ones?  Or would the malaise that has been lingering around since Xmas time rear it's ugly head to spoil what should be a good day out for the travelling fans, who were moistening their throats and ready to boo David Goodwillie at his every touch of the ball.
Bright sunshine was the order of the day as both teams took to the park and a crowd of just over 6500 settled into their seats to watch the afternoons entertainment, using the word loosely.  And then the game started..........
Top Six Next Year wanted to know if the tupperware box would make an appearance, theres only one way to find out, read on and all will be revealed by our intrepid reporter.......
Inverness would make a couple of changes from the side that tumbled out of the cup on Wednesday night.  Nick Ross was missing altogether, apparently unwell, and Shane Sutherland dropped to the bench with Hayes and Odhiambo starting.  Kenny Gillet found a place on the bench after a long lay off with knee ligament damage sustained last year against Hibs, and it was good to see him eventually get some game time as a second half substitute, MacDonald and Doran also entering the fray.  At last a left back making an appearance for us.
United were still without Severin and Kovasevic who were both on the bench and longer term absentees Dods, Kenneth and Conway, while Prince Buaben was suspended.  Jon Daly filled the centre back position admirably, maybe a new career beckons for the Irish striker.
Davie will take up the story and tell it as it was .......................ooerrr, unfortunately he was seriously ill, he had man flu and was unable to attend the game and visit his mammy, get well soon davie.
With the prelude covering the notable events, the only other talking points in the second half came mainly from the Arabs, with David Robertson volleying over after good work from Daly, and the crossbar saving Russell Duncan's blushes after he headed a dangerous Swanson inswinger against his own bar.  Hayes had the best opportunity for the visitors other than Coxs' effort that was comfortably saved, when he sliced a shot wide, and at the other end Swanson should have made the keeper work but fired over, as did Johnny Russell.  A late flurry from Inverness saw Foran try his luck and Munro head into the arms of Pernis, as I said earlier, too little too late.
With our roving reporter out of commission, and the pre-amble pretty much describing the main talking points, I am going to let the fans do the talking, a few unhappy bunnies out there:-
Alex Macleod said:-  "Just home from what was a pretty rubbish game. The team selection and tactics left a lot to be desired. All in all the game was pretty scrappy. Too many needless stoppages and too many mistakes from both teams. We were lacking in ideas and any attacks we mounted came to nothing. Dundee U were no better but our big problem, and ultimately their goal, came from a failure to clear our box with any authority. We lacked communication and too many times found two or three players staring at a loose ball with nobody acting".
gdm was not happy with Eric's contribution along with a few others and he posted:-  "Was a poor game overall. Odi was indeed awful, his touch was left In Leicester when he left I think. Again the ball was being hoofed up the park and lost in the last third. I can't help but feel with the squad we have an attacking 5-3-2 formation might be worth a try.  I know it prob sounds a bit defensive but counter attack wise it could be great. Maybe I'm just fed up of the recent performances !! Had a fun day footy aside!
Roger Kettle, yes, the Roger Kettle has a view from the dark side :-  "Having left Inverness-shire for Dundee a long time ago, I kind of have mixed emotions. I became a United fan because of some friends down here and I've been lucky enough to see some great football from the likes of Sturrock, Bannon, Narey etc. Despite that, I have retained my fondness for ICT and have witnessed some truly wonderful performances from them---and a level of football that was a joy to watch. Today was dire. Neither team played well but United were playing their 5th game in 12 days. To their credit, they were also fielding eight Scottish players under the age of 23 which, these days, has to be commended. On today's evidence, the neat football that has been played by ICT over the last few seasons appears to have gone but you guys will know better than me if this is true. There also seemed to be a lack of togetherness. Foran appeared to be mumping about everything and, once again, I have no idea if this is how he always is or if this was just a one-off performance. As I said earlier, not a great game but I was disappointed in the way my old team played".
Alternative Maryhill was downbeat, but the one positive was the return of Kenny Gillet :-  "Poor game all round. I didn't think Utd were much better than us apart from a spell in the second half when they passed it around quite nicely. Very little happening in front of either goal. It was good to see Hayes back - he looked quite dangerous early on and worked hard throughout - and as gingerjaggy has already mentioned, Richie Foran had a fine game. Rooney wasn't at his best but the decision to take him off on 57 minutes, especially when Odhiambo had been so ineffective, was baffling - it removed any chances we had of holding up the ball up front, and we needed to be able to do that because for most of the second half, it was back to long balls out of defence.
One positive was that Kenny Gillet looked very good when he came on: strong and direct. On the other hand, Aaron Doran concerns me a little. Yesterday was the fourth or fifth time I've seen him, and while he clearly has a bit of ability, he looks a bit nervous about getting involved. There was one glaring example of this yesterday when Duff, I think, had the ball in the right back area and was looking for a pass. Doran was in acres of space wide left and would have had a clear run-in on goal, but didn't seem to want the ball. Maybe it's something that will develop with more game time, but I'm not sure if we can afford to give him that: we badly need attacking players who will have a go and in that regard I think I'd rather see Ross or Sutherland in the team.
Unless there's a significant improvement against Celtic, Killie and Hearts, I can't see us making top six now, and what began as a very promising season will probably peter out into one that, although decent for a newly-promoted team, will feel rather mediocre".
Caley Mad in Berks had to make do with BBC Alba last night and he was not impressed either, and not just because of the Gaelic:-  "I watched it late last night on Alba. How sad is that? In the old days we would have said it was a typical mid table end of season game. Nothing to play for. But with top 6 still up for grabs there was a strange lack of urgency about us. Dundee Utd were there for the taking, clearly below par after 5 games in 10 days. But we seemingly could not motivate ourselves to give it a real go. Had this form over last 3 months happened at the beginning of the season I have no doubt that Butcher would have been long gone by now. Our early season good run bought him time, but he badly needs to motivate the team for an end of seson push. Somehow ending up 9th or 10th will seem like a poor season, even though, realistically most of us would have settled for that at day one. Come on lads, give us just a little more to be proud of in the last few games".
Gringo_Junior is asking the question most of us want answered:-  "For me the biggest question mark - and it gets repeated time and time again - is why we continue to go for the long ball punt and not play it to feet? F-knows how many times this happened, mostly in the second half. Doing that basically took Hayes out of the game, he had made a few decent runs in the first half. It also didnt help Doran when he came on either, and also MacDonald, who struggled to leap highest against their full-backs".
Rinomac summed up the fans feelings spot on:-  " A draw would probably have been a fair result. Both teams weren't exactly great, not many clear cut chances, pretty poor game.
Odhiambo had the touch of an elephant, Rooney was isolated on his own a lot of the time and was left to run after long balls. If he did somehow manage to get to them, there was nobody in sight to help him. Bizarre decision to take him off - I would have gone with two up front as we were one goal down so where was the harm in going for it? Some baffling decisions by the referee but that doesn't mean we would have won if he had made the correct decisions.
Gillet looked good when he came on. Since both he and Shinnie have been out, we have really been lacking a left back. Munro hasn't been bad in that position, he just doesn't offer us as much going forward as these two do.
I really think that we should be playing with two up front. We played much better in the games where we moved Foran up top with Rooney. We are chasing a place in the Top 6, we need to go out and try to win games. Since this is not happening with our current tactics, and has not been happening for quite some time, it's time to try something else".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I took a bit of a liberty lifting some of the comments from the forums, but with our reporter unable to attend I hope nobody has any objections to me using their words.  It's always good to get different perspectives on how the team performed, but it looks like we are unanimous in our thoughts and are finding our recent form a bit hard to understand.  On the brighter side;  I never knew we had so many scribes in our midst.
Thanks everybody.
No game next week, but Celtic are up North in two weeks time, enjoy the break.
By tm4tj in Reports 2010-11 ·

Dundee United -V- Inverness CT - Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Tangerine Dream for Inverness.
No let up for Butcher's boys this weekend as the battle for top six intensifies.  The dream of staying in the top six is fading for Inverness while United have gone on to greater things, a far cry from the first meeting this season when the Tangerines were crushed on their own turf by the newly promoted Caley Jags.
Four superb goals at Tannadice gave notice to the SPL clubs that the boys were back in town, but more recently we have slipped a little and now find ourselves just out of the elite group, with United up to fourth and still with a game in hand on most teams.
Both clubs played in midweek and United certainly had the better fortune.  Inverness battled hard in their Scottish Cup quarter final and ran Celtic close before bowing out of the national competition after a 2-1 defeat in the Highlands.  It could have been a different outcome had the Inverness defence not hit the pause button to allow Joe Ledley to score both Celtic goals, and once again the makeshift defence has let the side down.  Rooney buried a penalty to open the scoring but Ledley levelled within a couple of minutes before nodding home unchallenged in the second half.  Nevertheless, Inverness gave an encouraging performance, much better than the recent dirge dished out against the Arabs. 
United climbed to fourth in the SPL with a 2-0 victory at a foggy Tannadice, courtesy of a late Johnny Russell brace. Peter Houston's side are on a decent run just now, with four straight SPL wins including that 2-0 win in Inverness at the beginning of March, as they play catch up.  United are, in fact, unbeaten in seven games, including their 2-2 draw with Motherwell in the Scottish Cup.  Sutton had scored twice for the Steelmen, but United levelled with goals from Goodwillie and Daly.  Goodwillie's goal was a spectacular overhead kick, eat your heart out Wayne Rooney.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
davie goes back a long way, and he recalls some stories from deep inside his memory bank.
1001 Arabian nights
 My first memory of a football match was in the enclosure at Tannadice with my grandad in 1966. The ball was hoofed into touch near us, and I threw it back to the United No.7 who gave me a broad grin and a wink. His name was Lennart Wing, and he sold me on fitba. My granda told me then that the game “wisnae the same as it used to be” and never figured out that my interest in it would continue unabated to this day past Willie Pettigrew’s sideburns, proper shorts and 80’s casuals. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. I could just as easily be telling you that I was a Hibs fan, that’s what United were christened in 1909. There was, after all, a place in Dundee called Tipperary at that time so the Erse were not uncommon. Green & white leapt into a rebranding in 1924 and Dundee United were conceived wearing black & white, their “proper” colours. This lasted until 1969, when they played Dallas Tornado on an American tour and the manager’s wife thought their shirts looked “awfy braw” They were tangerine. No replica shirts in those days, I remember pestering my mum for an orange t-shirt that was never off my back. It could have been worse, just ask Heilan Dee. Nae Alan Gilzean for me. The late 70’s and early 80’s were prime time but always pursued with less of a demented vigour than the other half of the “new firm.” I guess that’s why United don’t seem crushed by their history in the same way as Aberdeen. 1982-3 saw a league win clinched in, of all places, Dens Park. It was like finding a £50 note in the cludgie! 1987 saw a UEFA cup final appearance in a heartrending/ hilarious year when United fell at the final hurdle in every competition they entered. If they were a horse, someone would have shot them. That team, however, gave me my first ever holiday away with my mates to Barcelona. A week of alcohol intake reaching self-harm proportions culminated in a win in the Camp Nou. Even through the vodka, we knew it mattered. I fell off a flagpole in a wee town called Blanes. I still have the scars. All this good time stuff was challenged only slightly by Jim MacLean, possibly the grumpiest wee man who ever lived. I remember him threatening to punch Hamish MacAlpine at a Forfarshire Cup game at Arbroath for swinging on the crossbar. No such thing as a dead rubber for Jim. United’s inevitable slide back to the middling girth of Scottish football was always enlivened by the nuggets that they unearthed; Duncan Ferguson, aka Duncan disorderly, Ivan Golac the dysfunctional Serbian hippy, Andy Gray sexist pundit etc. The best however was Sẽnor Walter Rojas and his story is thus. Jim McLean had been sent videos of a striker playing in the Argentine leagues, whose club was looking to cash in. United decided to take a chance on the guy, only when it came to the negotiations the player didn’t fancy a move to Dundee and was going to hang around in Buenos Aires. Undeterred, his agent said he had another player just as good who did fancy a crack at the sub arctic industrial wasteland. United took a chance there and then and signed Rojas without looking at him. He fetched up and trained, looked awful, complained of the weather, food, local talent etc. and generally got on McLean’s wick. He lasted less than a month and was sent back to Argentina. He was a footballer apparently, but there is a persistently credible rumour that he was actually a basketball player. Only in the land of the Beano. In the eighties, United won something; the cup, defeating Rangers 1-0. That day saw the elevation to near sainthood of one Craig Brewster. Erudite, intelligent and resourceful he seemed to have all the attributes of the successful manager in the making. It all went to pot after that, getting better only last year when they won the cup. Again. So we fetch up here at Arabia today, scene of our generally acknowledged best display of the season, cracking goals, the lot. Kevin McCann’s gone, but the rest remain, and are on a bit of form after disposing of Motherwell in an easy-peasy-japanesey style. United are also playing well and these matches have a history of being close. After Wednesday night’s loss to Celtic, we might be a bit down but there is the real consolation that Hayes and Doran are back and will offer a better counter to Conway and Swanson than that displayed in the last game. More of the same from the rest of the troops should reap dividends, United will be cock-a-hoop at beating the Jam Tarts 2-0 the same night, a result that consolidates their 4th position and gives them serious designs on 3rd. I don’t think we should underestimate them; Goodwillie is still on a high after that goal, several are called up to Levein's sacrificial squad to play Brazil and even the returning Kovacevic has got up to speed. All 94 mph of it, apparently. There are, after a trawl of the meedja, no indications of further injury, plague or scurvy amongst either sides troops although United must be getting a bit knackered by now. Life, as Ronan Keating would say, is a rollercoaster, and a downward swing is in order. Prediction; a sneaky but satisfying 1-0 win for the Caley Jags.
Latest team news:-  As you were for Inverness.  Sanchez, Proctor, Gillet and Shinnie all sidelined but Doran and Hayes showed no ill effects after their substitutes appearance in midweek.  The Tangerines have Scott Severin on the verge of a long awaited comeback.  Peter Houston is also suffering some long term absentee's, notably Garry Kenneth, Craig Conway and Darren Dods, while Prince Buaben is suspended.
By tm4tj in Previews 2010-11 ·

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. : Terms of Use : Guidelines : Privacy Policy

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications
Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.