Injuries R us.

 

After the disappointing result in midweek, we face Raith Rovers at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday in a game that kicks-off at 3:00pm. We have held the Indian sign over Raith Rovers for practically all of the last 22 years, however, they will never have a better chance to get the monkey off the back as we could well be without ten players due to injury. Mixed fortunes for both clubs over the last couple of weeks but an early opportunity to get points back on the board, and for Inverness keep in touch at the top whilst Raith strive to bridge the gap to those above them.

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MATCH/TICKET INFO

OFFICIAL PREVIEW

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Venue

Pld

Won

Drn

Lst

For

Agst

+ / -

Home	19	13	4	2	37	14	+23
Away	16	9	4	3	32	19	+13
Neutral	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	35	22	8	5	69	33	+36

It's twenty years since Raith beat us 1 - 2 at the Caledonian Stadium. Here's Ian Broadfoot's report, and apparently injuries played a big part back then as well. Injury-hit Caley Thistle lost this game because of a poor first half display. Despite this they nearly took the lead in 13 minutes when a David Bagan shot was blocked by Greig McCulloch and spun over the bar. Raith scored first in 16 minutes when Jim Calder failed to hold a Shaun Dennis cross and Jay Stein hit home the loose ball from six yards. In 21 minutes a poor headed clearance by Stuart McCaffrey was picked up by Andrew Clark and he set up Ivan Mballa and the Frenchman slammed the ball into the net from 12 yards. ICT had a penalty claim turned down in 38 minutes when Charlie Christie was brought down by Paul Browne. After the break the home side improved but Guido Van de Kamp denied them on several occasions. Paul Sheerin pulled one back in 79 minutes when he netted from close range after a good cut back by Roy McBain. Four minutes later Sheerin watched in frustration as Van de Kamp saved his low shot. As time ran out he came close twice more but Raith held on to win. 

Ahhhhhhhh, nostalgia, it aint what it used to be.

Last 10 Competitive Meetings

2 - 0 (A)

3 - 2 (A)

1 - 1 (H)

0 - 0 (H)

1 - 1 (A)

1 - 0 (H)

1 - 0 (A)

0 - 0 (H)

2 - 0 (H)

3 - 3 (A)

We missed the chance to top the table on Tuesday night but Accies did themselves a huge favour by getting temselves off the bottom rung combined with Arbroath going down to Raith Rovers. It's all getting very congested with only five points separating teams from seventh (Raith) to Partick at the top.

Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Partick Thistle 10 6 2 2 23 13 20 2. Inverness CT 11 6 2 3 14 10 20 3. Ayr United 10 5 2 3 20 13 17 4. Dundee 11 5 2 4 19 16 17 5. Morton 11 5 2 4 15 13 17 6. Queens Park 11 5 2 4 15 19 17 7. Raith Rovers 11 5 0 6 12 12 15 8. Cove Rangers 11 3 2 6 14 18 11 9. Hamilton Ac. 11 2 4 5 9 19 10 10. Arbroath 11 1 4 6 7 15 7

Full Fixture List on Saturday, all 3:00pm Kick-Offs

Arbroath v Accies 

  Ayr Utd v Cove   

    Dundee v Morton 

         Inverness v Raith Rovers

      Partick v Queens

Last Time Out

Inverness' injuries eventually caught up with them against Hamilton. Maybe we had been pushing our luck over the previous five games where we managed to take all the points. Last Saturday we struggled to impose ourseves at Cove but still came away with three points thanks to Steven Boyd's first goal for the club. However, Accies seem to have our number and turned the tables on us when Winter scored the only goal of the game despite a late flurry from the hosts. Too little too late was the order of the day.

Raith also had mixed fortunes. A 1-0 defeat at Morton was followed by a hard earned win at Arbroath. Sam Stanton struck five minutes before the break at Gayfield to tuck Raith in behind Queens Park in the table, only five points off the top.

Latest Team News

Well, what can we say. Six or seven missing before the Accies game, we found ourselves another man down before a ball was kicked in earnest when the semi-fit Wallace Duffy had to pull out to be replaced by Max Ram who in turn came off injured before the end. Daniel Mackay also came off injured in the second half. Sean Welsh had made the bench but was obviously not fit enough to kick a ball. So, I make it: Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh, Roddy MacGregor, Danny Devine, Austin Samuels, Scott Allardice, Wallace Duffy, Daniel Mackay, Max Ram, Sean Welsh. That adds up to ten players likely to be out or not fully fit. It might have been quicker to name those that are available.

Head Coach Billy Dodds said: “There’s a couple of improvements but I don’t know if they are going to be ready for the game or if it’s coming too quick. I wish the game wasn’t as quick as it was but after the game midweek it is onto Saturday now.”

 

Eck's Raith catch-up

It is always sad to hear that a youngster has had to give up his career and such is the case with Kyle Bow. A goalkeeper who was previously a Raith apprentice who signed a full-time contract in August 2021, he has had to retire from football aged 18 due to a persistent knee injury.
Latest addition to the Squad is Danish centre forward John Frederiksen who arrived at the start of October having been without a club, previously with Austrian second tier side SKU Amstetten for a season. Apparently he is about nine feet tall. Yikes!
Still on the long-term injury list for the Rovers, both with Cruciate Ligament problems are centre back Tom Lang and centre forward Lewis Vaughan.

 

 

 

Awful news, for him and for the club.

57 minutes ago, Caleyjag said:

Deas injury confirmed as a broken leg by the club.

That’s really bad news for Deas and the club. I wish him a full and speedy recovery.

https://ictfc.com/club-statement-robbie-deas-injury

Time to get Lewis Nicolson back off loan to Elgin to give us cover so Delaney can slot in to left centre half.

Harper may need to step back to left back so hopefully Welsh is fit to start games. 

Edited October 23, 20223 yr by Robert

 

The injury to Robbie looked bad yesterday. However, he did walk out on crutches to a waiting car so we can but hope the healing process will be relatively straightforward. Another blow to Robbie and the club. We wish him well in his recovery. Unless some magic money materialises we are unlikely to be able to sign a short term replacement being a player of experience.  

Anyone else shocked that he was even allowed to try to walk off the pitch? His leg was going under him. 

Same scenario as Dan Mackay on Tuesday. 

First rule assume worst until proven otherwise? 

Depending on the severity of the break and the length of any rehab might we see Deas play for us again?

12 minutes ago, old caley girl said:

Anyone else shocked that he was even allowed to try to walk off the pitch? His leg was going under him. 

Same scenario as Dan Mackay on Tuesday. 

First rule assume worst until proven otherwise? 

Due to cutbacks the club no longer have a stretcher!    They tried to unscrew the changing room door but ran out of time.   Despite our injury ravaged squad the team did very well to gain a point and keep our record Vs Raith intact!  well done.

7 hours ago, Caleyjag said:

Deas injury confirmed as a broken leg by the club.

Damn, we are unlucky this season! Gutted for Deas, my only small crumb of comfort, is that the severity of the break must be at the lower end of the scale. If that sounds nuts, I remember Ian Wright [Crystal Palace] breaking his leg twice in one season [1989-90] and he came back in the same season to score twice in the FA Cup Final!  My wife and I have already decided to come up for the last home match of the season, and I fully expect to see Robbie on the pitch.

Meanwhile we have to cobble together a defence, does anyone know the likely return dates for Devine and Duffy? Fortunately in Delaney we seem to have found another gem, looks like we are about to find out if Max Ram is the same. We then need a left back, is the young Strachan a viable option for a couple of weeks or so?  Keeping Harper in midfield on the left might be the stronger solution given a dearth of midfielder?

13 hours ago, Eagle4Caley said:

Damn, we are unlucky this season!

Really?

I'd say that we've been extremely lucky.  I posted on the Accies thread that I am of the view that the injury situation is one of our own making, and I stand by that.  Further highlighted by, and as has been pointed out by others, the fact we can't even show any kind of caution when it comes to removing injured players from the park.

All things considered, I'd say that we are VERY lucky to find ourselves top of the league.

Looking at the game specifically, and King Billy's comments after.  Why did we start with a new/different formation?  He's been banging on about how hard it has been to get players training.  Surely in that scenario you stick with what you know and what you've been working on the most?  He seemed to be shocked in his post match dithering that the players didn't just magically take to playing the 3-5-2 and he had to change it to the more familiar.  Duh!!!

The cracks are also starting to show in the 'players are good, honest, hard working laddies' p!sh that he churns out for every interview with criticism of players starting to creep in.

One last thing.  What happened between him and Ridgers?  Thought Ridgers was going to go over and lamp him at one point and it sounded like King Billy was threatening to hook him.  He even sent Cammy out to warm up in a petulant attempt to try and make some kind of point?

Glad to get another point on the board, but we're not seeing the kind of performances that will continue to draw the crowds.  Speaking to one family near me and the father was saying they are almost having to drag the kids out to games because they find it boring.  As it stands, they're probably not going to renew for next season, regardless of where we finish in the league.  Struggling to disagree with him and feeling a bit the same.

Not sure if its our fault Deas broke his leg.

The main concern is that most of the injuries occurred at the start or in pre season, which then means players coming back have had their conditioning adversely affected - leading to strain/stress related injuries on their return.

I don't think our attritional hoofball style helps with some of our lighter built players either. A very demanding physical style that would suit a team full of Oakleys.

From the financial side of things as I’m not clued up on these matters, does Robbie’s Salary get covered by the clubs Insurance and would the players also have their own Insurance.If so would that put us in a position to recruit a new player if it’s possible. 

17 hours ago, Eagle4Caley said:

Meanwhile we have to cobble together a defence, does anyone know the likely return dates for Devine and Duffy? Fortunately in Delaney we seem to have found another gem, looks like we are about to find out if Max Ram is the same. We then need a left back, is the young Strachan a viable option for a couple of weeks or so?  Keeping Harper in midfield on the left might be the stronger solution given a dearth of midfielder?

Desperately sorry for Robbie Deas. He has been one of our best players in the last two years and got my MotM vote for the Raith game.

I think we might have to recall a few of our players from loans to other clubs to help cover for others. Lewis Nicholson (?), for example, has showed up well at left back on a few occasions.   

 

Edited October 24, 20223 yr by Row S

I also thought the situation with Ridgers was strange, you really only send your reserve keeper out to warm up, if there seems to be an injury problem with the on field keeper. We had a collective,  'ooooooo' moment in the stand, when it happened, and someone stated that Dodds was trying to display a show of strength! Was it because Ridgers never saved the goal? Because it was right after we conceded, if it was, it isn't good for team morale, these are things that should be kept in house, back in the dressing room

Didn't Dodds drop Ridgers for a few games last season after a wee falling out?

56 minutes ago, RiG said:

Didn't Dodds drop Ridgers for a few games last season after a wee falling out?

He missed a few games due to Covid and Dodds stuck with MacKay for a few games afterwards, with Ridgers on the bench. I didn’t hear about a fall out.

I assumed Ridgers had taken a knock when it looked like a change may be made. 

6 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

I also thought the situation with Ridgers was strange, you really only send your reserve keeper out to warm up, if there seems to be an injury problem with the on field keeper. We had a collective,  'ooooooo' moment in the stand, when it happened, and someone stated that Dodds was trying to display a show of strength! Was it because Ridgers never saved the goal? Because it was right after we conceded, if it was, it isn't good for team morale, these are things that should be kept in house, back in the dressing room

The issue was that Ridgers launched the ball up the pitch straight to the opposition keeper and Dodds was not impressed with losing the ball so easily. Straight afterwards the goal was scored.

If that is the case it's pretty ironic given Dodds and his apparent love of hoofball.

Tonight Ayr 2-1 Partick HT

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1.	Inverness CT	12	6	3	3	15	11	21
2.	Partick Thistle	11	6	2	3	23	17	20
3.	Queens Park	12	6	2	4	19	19	20
4.	Ayr United	11	5	3	3	22	15	18
5.	Dundee	12	5	3	4	19	16	18
6.	Morton	12	5	3	4	15	13	18

7 minutes ago, tm4tj said:

Ayr v Partick tonight

....were any result knocks us off the top of the league.🤷‍♂️

Ayr 4-2 Partick

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1.	Ayr United	12	6	3	3	26	17	21
2.	Inverness CT	12	6	3	3	15	11	21
3.	Partick Thistle	12	6	2	4	25	21	20
4.	Queens Park	12	6	2	4	19	19	20
5.	Dundee	12	5	3	4	19	16	18
6.	Morton	12	5	3	4	15	13	18
7.	Raith Rovers	12	5	1	6	13	13	16
8.	Cove Rangers	12	3	3	6	16	20	12
9.	Arbroath	12	2	4	6	8	15	10
10.	Hamilton Ac.	12	2	4	6	9	20	10

It’s so tight again at this point this season.

With our injury woes, it’s remarkable we are joint top and I really hope the players go to Greenock and win on Friday to put us top again.

Is there any word on Duffy, Devine, Allardice, MacGregor, Mackay or Samuels and when we may see them again? It would be good to have some of them back for Friday. 

I see young Mr Strachan is getting praised by the gaffer after his performance off the bench on Saturday so what position did he play and is the praise merited

It's good to see the youngsters finally getting a chance albeit in difficult circumstances.

3 hours ago, CaleyTennis said:

I see young Mr Strachan is getting praised by the gaffer after his performance off the bench on Saturday so what position did he play and is the praise merited

It's good to see the youngsters finally getting a chance albeit in difficult circumstances.

Strachan came on late in the game, 88th minute, he was the sub for Deas, who it turned out had a broken leg. He only had a few minutes of the game plus injury time, but he slotted in at left back to allow Delaney to switch to left centre back, and he just safely played his passes, but he blocked a certain goal going in very late in the game. So although he had so little time, he looked quite assured and calm when on the ball.

He also had one break forward and a decent cross.

Personally I think it is too early to make him first pick at left back. It depends on how long Duffy and Devine are going to be out for, as we need Delaney at centre half until at least one of them is back.

Harper is an obvious option, but that depends on how our midfield injuries are looking.

We also have Lewis Nicolson on loan at Elgin, who looks a great prospect, so maybe need to recall him. 

Edited October 26, 20223 yr by Robert