Six pointer incoming

 

Another crucial game and this time a big six-pointer as we travel up Byres Road to take on Partick Thistle who still have two games in hand over us and only one point behind. Kick-off is on Friday night at 7:45pm and it's another TV game for us, live on BBC Scotland channel.

Match/Ticket/TV/Supporters Bus 07462218717

Venue

Pld

Won

Drn

Lst

For

Agst

+ / -

Home	22	9	6	7	36	33	+3
Away	20	5	6	9	21	28	-7
Neutral	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	42	14	12	16	57	61	-4

Last 10 Competitive Meetings

3 - 3 (H)

0 - 0 (A)

3 - 1 (H)

1 - 3 (A)

1 - 3 (H)

2 - 1 (A)

1 - 2 (H)

1 - 0 (A)

3 - 2 (H)

1 - 1 (A)

Partick hold a slim advantage overall in the head 2 heads, but over the last ten meetings Inverness have a very slight edge.

The first fixture this season resulted in a 3-1 win for Inverness back in September: After a difficult first half, Inverness ran out comfortable winners against Partick Thistle in a second half goal blitz. The visitors dominated the first forty-five and Scott Tiffoney drilled the opener out of nothing as the defence backed off. Manny Duku was denied by a combination of keeper and post but it was Partick that should have scored a second, however Mark Ridgers did well to deny Brian Graham. Harsh talking at the break saw Inverness come out for the second half with the bit between the teeth and Kirk Broadfoot was the unlikely hero as his twenty yard shot evaded the outstretched fingertips of the keeper to level the score. Shane Sutherland did well to drill in the second from an angle after the keeper fluffed his lines allowing Shane to slot in from twenty yards. The third was a peach as Duku stepped over the ball and Aaron Doran fired high into the net for a brilliant goal and game over. That's five wins out of five and the run goes on...

The second encounter was 0-0 draw at Firhill at the end of October: Partick Thistle survived to earn a point after the woodwork saved them twice and keeper Jamie Sneddon denied Sean Welsh from the spot after guessing the right way. Inverness were well on top but it's only a point which means Killie pull further away at the top. Performance of the day was from Arbroath who came from two down to beat Dunfermline Athletic 4-2.

The last meeting was at the beginning of February, a thrilling 3-3 draw: Partick Thistle struck early to add to our gloom through Brian Graham but Billy Mckay squared the game after twenty minutes with a close range finish from a Carson cross. Graham scored his second with a header soon after, Scott Tiffoney once again the provider and he almost scored one for himself but for a fine save from Ridgers. Shane Sutherland equalised just on the interval with a header from a McAlear corner. With twenty minutes left Deas conceded a stone wall penalty and Graham notched his hat-trick. Substitute Cammy Harper drove into the box but Sneddon blocked his shot and moments later Pearson appeared to hit the bar with an angled drive from twelve yards and Mckay rolled one past the post. We got the draw with the last head of the ball deep into stoppage time when Broadfoot headed in a cross from McAlear.

 

Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Arbroath 27 12 12 3 39 19 48 2. Kilmarnock 27 14 5 8 34 19 47 3. Inverness CT 27 10 10 7 35 26 40 4. Partick Thistle 25 10 9 6 38 24 39 5. Raith Rovers 27 9 12 6 34 30 39 6. Morton 27 7 10 10 30 35 31 7. Hamilton Ac. 27 7 10 10 29 41 31 8. Ayr United 27 7 8 12 25 40 29 9. Dunfermline 26 4 12 10 24 40 24 10. Q.O.S. 26 5 8 13 26 40 23

It's getting very tight at the top of the table as the business end of the season gets into full swing. There's a very fine line between remaining in the play off places or dropping into the middle of the table. It's almost as if nobody wants the automatic promotion spot as the top five clubs draw their way towards promotion, not one team taking the bull by the horns, which is just as well as we are on a ten match run without a win, probably the biggest losers in the top five which will drop us out of contention soon if we don't stop the rot.

Saturday Fixtures all 3:00pm

Arbroath v Dunfermline

Killie v Accies 

Queens v Morton    

Rovers v Ayr Utd  

Partick are also back in action against Queen of the South on Tuesday night at Firhill.

Last Time Out

Inverness drew with a resurgent Hamilton Accies last Friday in an entertaining draw at The Fountain of Youth. Whilst our first two defeats were poor results, given the context of this encounter it could be seen as a decent point away from home had we not been on a run of ten games without a win. Anyway, 1-1 it finished with Josh Mullin arrowing a strike high into the net for Accies and Sam Pearson opening his account for the Caley Jags.

Partick were in action in midweek and came from behind to get a point at Gayfield against League Leaders Arbroath. An early strike from Colin Hamilton was not enough for Arbroath as Partick levelled through Ciaran McKenna on the hour.

Latest Team News

Billy Dodds has the usual suspects out injured plus two or three isolating/covid and Roddy MacGregor abducted by an Alien. Official Preview might reveal all, but somehow I doubt it.

Don't know about the Partick players, but I understand their pitch is on the treatment table!

 

Eric the Stat has this info on Parick since the January sales:

Outgoings

Harry Stone - Goalkeeper recalled to parent club Hearts in the window and subsequently loaned out to Albion Rovers FC

Shea Gordon - The central midfield player is on loan to Queen of the South for the rest of the season.

Jake Hastie - Attacking Left Wing from Rangers FC recalled and now on loan to Linfield FC.

Zak Rudden - The 22 year old Centre Forward is on loan to Dundee FC and is expected to have a permanent move to Dens Park this summer.

Incoming Players

Andy Firth - A goalkeeper who rose through the Liverpool FC U18, U21 and U23 system, was transferred to Rangers in 2019, now on loan at Firhill until end of season.

Robbie Crawford - The Globetrotting versatile Midfield player has transferred to Partick from Motherwell FC. The one time Rangers FC player has had spells in Iceland, Finland and in the USA with USL Championship club Charleston Battery.

Kyle McAllister - An Attacking Right Winger on loan from St Mirren until the end of this season.

Alex Jakubiak - The Centre Forward is on loan from Dundee FC where he has suffered a number of injuries since joining in August 2020, including a thigh tendon in a game against ICT. (Jakubiak was injured once again in bizarre fashion, suffering a dislocated shoulder during an altercation at a Dundee nightclub..... allegedly)

 

45 minutes ago, caleyboy said:

we still have a board member who is a retired journalist. Surely he should deal with communications! 

I totally agree caleyboy even a statement once a month to the fans would be better than nothing.  We have to rely on the Inverness Courier.

There is Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, even TikTok if they got IHE to do it for them  Then there is their own website, the Trust/Supporters Club, CTO, Wyness Shuffle podcast, Courier, HN ... and I am sure other outlets to get news or information out to the dwindling masses. So many options available but none taken which is a bit disappointing in this day and age. 

Chairman used to lurk here and read the site, and I got the odd WhatsApp message from him, but not sure if he is still lurking/reading posts. 

 

20 minutes ago, Scotty said:

There is Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, even TikTok if they got IHE to do it for them  Then there is their own website, the Trust/Supporters Club, CTO, Wyness Shuffle podcast, Courier, HN ... and I am sure other outlets to get news or information out to the dwindling masses. So many options available but none taken which is a bit disappointing in this day and age. 

Chairman used to lurk here and read the site, and I got the odd WhatsApp message from him, but not sure if he is still lurking/reading posts. 

 

Aye Scotty but Gordie Fyfe has still got his notebook and pencil 

When Graham Rae was Chairman he always had a brief column in the digital matchday programme which was emailed to ST holders.  I rather liked that and saw it as a good medium for communication.  It was not only issues around the forthcoming game, but about the club in general and various upcoming events.  This stopped when Graham stepped down.  It would be an easy thing to reinstate and, with a bit of imagination, widen it out to include other items of interest e.g interviews of previous players, anecdotes from fans about previous games.  It could be a good way of promoting a sense of community as well as keeping the club's most loyal supporters informed.

Have to disagree about the former chairman. He may have put things in print, or at least he had someone organise that for him ... but my experience with him, as a shareholder, as a sponsor, and as a service provider, was not in any way, shape or form in the slightest bit positive. I will leave it at that.   

I realise we should maybe let this topic go now,but it is telling that we,the fans and supporters of the club, are being treated as non entities, that is until the end of the season and then the begging letters will come out asking us to joing Caley Thistle on another wonderful adventure,buy a season ticket at the same price as last year (if you are lucky) and we promise we will do better. A club like Inverness should have a great following when you consider they could and should be drawn from far and near Inverness, the capital of the HIghlands. However, why would you come as a newby to the club, not just because they are struggling on the playing field,but why come to a club that treats their supporters with such disrespect and then rely on the morals and loyalty of these same fans to come back next season. Those running the club know about our feelings,but it is as if they don't care,which is all the harder to stomach when the 'In Box' is full of Caley Thistle Emails when the season ends and they are looking ahead to the new season. What about an Email now to all the supporters telling us what is going on behind the scenes and what plans have you in place to rectify the clear issues that are ongoing.

In relation to the playing standard. It was summed up to me today by a bar Manager in Moray: All the punters in the pub last Friday were shocked by how poor Inverness were and how far they had fallen. So it is not just us the supporters and fans that think the performances are poor,neutrals do to.So how do you explain the 'excellent' performance in the second half that the manager saw?

3 hours ago, Douglas Mackenzie said:

I realise we should maybe let this topic go now,but it is telling that we,the fans and supporters of the club, are being treated as non entities, that is until the end of the season and then the begging letters will come out asking us to joing Caley Thistle on another wonderful adventure,buy a season ticket at the same price as last year (if you are lucky) and we promise we will do better. A club like Inverness should have a great following when you consider they could and should be drawn from far and near Inverness, the capital of the HIghlands. However, why would you come as a newby to the club, not just because they are struggling on the playing field,but why come to a club that treats their supporters with such disrespect and then rely on the morals and loyalty of these same fans to come back next season. Those running the club know about our feelings,but it is as if they don't care,which is all the harder to stomach when the 'In Box' is full of Caley Thistle Emails when the season ends and they are looking ahead to the new season. What about an Email now to all the supporters telling us what is going on behind the scenes and what plans have you in place to rectify the clear issues that are ongoing.

In relation to the playing standard. It was summed up to me today by a bar Manager in Moray: All the punters in the pub last Friday were shocked by how poor Inverness were and how far they had fallen. So it is not just us the supporters and fans that think the performances are poor,neutrals do to.So how do you explain the 'excellent' performance in the second half that the manager saw?

The disregard that our current board and CEO seem to have for the fans who keep the club afloat is nothing short of disgraceful and is not a topic that should be 'let go' until it's resolved.

Customer relations is important to any company but especially so for one running what they wish to be regarded as a community club and at the moment is non existent.

It would take very little to resolve the issue but it appears that, despite previous utterances to the contrary, nobody at the top is bothered.

Poor results and performances are not the only reason why folk are drifting away from the club.

We are now playing for fourth place, at best, given Patrick’s win tonight.

To be honest on this form it is maybe best if we just missed out on the playoffs,because what are we going to do in these games that will be any different. I am still going to the game on Saturday and will continue to support the team like most of us will,but all we are all saying is don't take a liberty with our loyalty. As an aside, I was thinking we have the Manager who was a striker, the Assistant who was a striker, Kellagher who I think was a striker, we secure four strikers in the last window,but maybe, just maybe we need a coach for the defenders, someone to give them a steer and who better than Ross Tokely, surely that would be a wise move.

Edited March 9, 20224 yr by Douglas Mackenzie

41 minutes ago, Douglas Mackenzie said:

As an aside, I was thinking we have the Manager who was a striker, the Assistant who was a striker, Kellagher who I think was a striker, we secure four strikers in the last window,but maybe, just maybe we need a coach for the defenders

So it's very odd that we can't score goals!

Yes, the defence could be improved, but I still maintain that the real problem is at the other end of the pitch.  If we can't score goals, we will never win games.

Interesting!

We are fourth in the table, have scored the fourth highest number of goals in the league, and conceded the fourth lowest number of goals in the league. The three teams above us are those who have scored more and conceded less.

True, if we measure October to now it will be a much poorer picture. 

True about inability to score , but with all the emphasis on attack,how are we so poor at scoring.Perhaps it's not a problem with the strikers, it is with the service and support they  get from midfield and runs forward from defenders.Thats why I thought it might be best to lock up shop first and build from back with proper tactics,good passing,a plan and a system, rather than hoof forward and hope for best.This is where focus on defending and their roles might help.

I said on here before that it was a number 10 we needed to bring in, someone in the mould of a Scott Allan, to link the midfield to the strikers, to thread balls through and create chances. Instead, we are now reduced to lumping balls up to our small strikers, and you can see during games how frustrated Billy Mckay gets. Surely we must have some young players who can pass a ball? Where are all these fantastic young players that Robbo was enthusing about a couple of years ago? We probably released them all.

23 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

I said on here before that it was a number 10 we needed to bring in, someone in the mould of a Scott Allan, to link the midfield to the strikers, to thread balls through and create chances. Instead, we are now reduced to lumping balls up to our small strikers, and you can see during games how frustrated Billy Mckay gets. Surely we must have some young players who can pass a ball? Where are all these fantastic young players that Robbo was enthusing about a couple of years ago? We probably released them all.

I think that's where mcGregor played for the youth team and he's played there a few times but Dodds prefered playing Shane there and moving Roddy to the right, then defensive mid, then the left...anywhere but 10...Jack Brown has been moved to a ten at his club and doing really well. wish we had kept him - I see Peterhead have signed him from Rothes. Hopefully we can get him back - he was a terrier with skills