Cold turkey cure for Boxing Day

The perfect Xmas hangover cure.  SPL football in the Highlands, the ideal present for Inverness Caledonian Thistle fans.  2010, a year that has seen Inverness remain unbeaten on league business, and a season, so far, that has seen Inverness climb to fourth place in the SPL.  It does not get much better than this for ICT fans.  With a head of steam gathering at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, we can look forward to a feast of football in Inverness with St Mirren being followed by Kilmarnock before the New Year game at Perth on the second of January 2011. (need to get used to writing that)

By the time this game comes around, you will have eaten as much turkey as you can handle.  Roast turkey dinner, turkey stir fry, turkey con carne, turkey with pasta, Turkey with white sauce, turkey on toast and turkey with ice cream and jelly.  Xmas spirit will be coming out of your ears, and grannies sherry trifle will set you up for a day on the bash.  You will grow into your new cardigan, your new best dad in the world socks look cool and the just what you wanted gadgets from poundland will come in handy supposing you never use them.  You will be smelling like a whores drawers with all your after shave, moisturisers and body sprays.  Still, they will come in handy I suppose if we ever have to go back to Dingwall.  Giant Toblerone bars; they are like Santa, you never see them unless it's Xmas, along with those blue tins of tasteless Danish cookies will be lying in wait for you when you get home, oh boy, bet you can't wait.  Never mind, theres always eBay or Gumtree for those unwanted gifts, and remember, ducks are for life, not just Xmas.

Inverness host The Buddies here on Boxing Day for a game that boss Butcher will be hoping to pick up three points from, after our last three games resulted in draws, although they were against the three top teams in the league this season.  Points have not been so easy to come by at home for Inverness, but we remain unbeaten in our last two.  Since we last played St Mirren in September, we have only lost one game in total, at home to Motherwell.  That made it one defeat in eleven games, not bad for a team that most experts reckoned would struggle to cope with the pace of the SPL.  The home performances of both sides are on a par.  Both sides have won two, while Saints have drawn 3 against our two.  Both clubs have lost four games at home.  We have both scored ten goals but Saints have lost two more than us.  What does that mean I hear you say.  It means that Saint Mirren have won nine points at home and we have only won eight.  Our away form has set it's own standards and that is the difference between these two teams, however this is a home game for Inverness to negotiate, and may prove to be more difficult than league positions would indicate.

St Mirren, on the other hand, have had a very erratic season.  A couple of exceptional results interspersed with some poor performances.  A single away victory at Tannadice with home wins over Hibs and Aberdeen see the Buddies at the lower end of the table.  Quite frankly they are struggling and look set to become embroiled in a relegation battle until the end of the season.  They dropped out of the League Cup at the hands of our near neighbours and good friends Ross County.  An exhilarating 3-3 draw after extra time saw County progress in the penalty shoot out.  They have accumulated 13 points with a -13 goal difference.  They have lost 13 goals at home.  They have scored 13 goals less than Inverness away from home.  Unlucky 13 for the Paisley men it is then.  Since Saints last played us, they have lost five, won two and drawn three of their ten games.  Their seasons away form has seen them lose five of their seven games with only that 1-2 victory in Dundee gaining them maximum points.  It's an away game for them, does that make it any easier for us?  I somehow doubt it.

Ginger Jaggy, fresh from his role as one of Santa's little helpers, has written this preview for you.

Hopefully everyone enjoyed their turkey and are ready to get back to action as we welcome relegation candidates St Mirren to the Highlands. We end the year with a home double header starting with the Buddies on Boxing Day and then on Wednesday we welcome Killie north. Caley will hope to continue the unbeaten run which is at 6 games. Our last defeat came at the hands of Motherwell well over a month ago when we lost 2-1 in Inverness. Since then we have remained unbeaten picking up 12 points from a possible 18 with us taking points off the top 3 clubs in the country.

Head to head

St Mirren are sitting in the lowly position of 9^th and are only 3 points ahead of Aberdeen at the foot of the table. The Buddies though should not be underestimated from their abysmal league position. It would be easy to be complacent with the year we have had, but as Terry Butcher keeps saying lets take each game as they come. Even though our home record has not matched the height of our unbelievable away form, we should go into this game confident of taking 3 points. We have already met St Mirren this year and their name is included as one of the teams who failed to beat us on our away run. Caley Thistle played really well in that game winning 2-1 thanks to a brace from Eric Odhiambo. The Paisley outfit's reply was a peach of a dipping volley from on loan Celtic striker Paul McGowan. That goal came 13 minutes from time and St Mirren suddenly woke up and attacked us but we held on. They will have the attacking options to cause us problems. The head to head shows that we have the better record, winning 6 out of our 13 league encounters. St Mirren have managed 4 wins against us with the last victory coming on the 13^th of December 2008 back at the old Love Street ground.

Inverness form guide

Inverness, as we know, go into this one on the back of a run of 6 games unbeaten which has included 3 draws against the top 3. Celtic at Parkhead ended 2-2 to give us the perfect anniversary present. We continued to remain unbeaten against Rangers with a creditable 1-1 draw in Inverness after an absolute pearler from Jonny Hayes and then last week we went to Tynecastle and ended with a point from a game Hearts dominated. So our form could not be better going into this encounter and with confidence sky high we will hope for a comfortable victory.

St Mirren form guide

St Mirren on the other hand has been inconsistent this season largely due to manger Danny Lennon's new arrivals from Cowdenbeath taking time to adapt to this level. They have only picked up a solitary 5 points from 18 in there last 6 matches. Their only victory in that period came at Tannadice with 2-1 victory over Dundee United. The other points they have mustered have come from a creditable draw at home to top 6 candidates Motherwell, something we never managed, and at relegation rivals Hamilton.

Ginger's Thoughts and Prediction I hope you all have a great Christmas and that everyone is ready to get back on the Caley Thistle bandwagon for the visit of St Mirren. As I have tried to point out in the preview we must not get ahead of ourselves. We have had a great year with us creating many records. But this is a potential banana skin for us. The evidence in the form guide and the difference of 14 points between the two clubs should suggest that we will win this game comfortably. I think teams will now take us more seriously with the year we have had. However, with the performance of the lads so far this season, I can see only one winner in this game and it is Caley Thistle. Terry will have the lads fired up for it and hence make sure that the players will be ready for this one.

Caley to win 2-0 says Ginger Jaggy

Thanks Ginger

Inverness squad overview from tm4tj

The Inverness injury list has been reducing slowly and Chris Innes was introduced for a few minutes last weekend.  Gil Blumenshtein is also regaining fitness and Spaniard Dani Sanchez has not really featured since his substitutes role at Easter Road when he changed the momentum of the game and set up our leveller.  David Proctor is still suffering with his hamstring.  Kevin McCann is still a wanted man by boss Butcher and we will look to securing his signature till at least the end of the season after his return from injury.  Kenny Gillet remains sidelined.

With the enigmatic Irishman Jonny Hayes sitting this one out we may find it a little difficult to prise open the Buddies rearguard.  Hayes can be a match winner for us on his day, and his stunning goal against Rangers is testament to that.  He is likely to be replaced by another enigma in Eric Odhiambo, a player who seemed to start the season like a man possessed, but he has been slowly pulled back into the pack and has only been used sparingly in recent matches.  He was also a scorer against Rangers, at Ibrox, when he came off the bench to net a deserved equaliser.  Eric has pace to burn and can twist and turn with the best of them, but his reluctance to mix it has seen him benched lately. 

Ryan Esson will keep Irish international Jonny Tuffey on the bench, and Tuffey can have no complaint as Esson has been in tremendous form, instilling confidence throughout the team with some inspirational keeping.  In the outfield, Stuart Duff has slotted seamlessly into the right back position vacated by the injured McCann, and his performances of late in that role have eased the defensive issues that we had, accompanied on the other flank by Graeme Shinnie who continues to progress under the guidance of Munro and Tokely in the heart of the defence.  In fact, the central defensive pairing have been pivotal in our unbeaten away run and are a match for most teams that try the aerial route, Rossco being dubbed Butcher mark 2 after last weeks bandages at Tynecastle.  Duncan and Cox are renewing their partnership effectively in the engine room and add a bit of bite to the midfield minders area.  What can you say about Nick Ross that has not already been said?  The lad has blossomed since his introduction to the side last season and has grown in confidence.  The only thing lacking at the moment is goals, and that will come.  His appetite for the game is immense and he does not waste many balls, simple but effective football is his trademark and his U21 recognition is fitting reward.  Captain Richie Foran is a vital outlet for us at goal kicks and a great target in the box.  His wholehearted approach to the game is inspiring and he is as effective in defence as he is up front.  Let's not forget we also have Roy McBain on standby, a bit of a utility man at the moment when required, and he has never let the side down.

Striker Adam Rooney finds himself a wanted man after his goal scoring exploits of the last few months.  We would all like to see Adam sign on again for another couple of seasons, just to augment the abilities he has shown in front of goal.  It's not always about the money, but also about making the right decisions at the right stage of your career.  He is still young, only 22, and will develop quicker on the playing field at Inverness rather than many a player who left provincial clubs to warm the benches at Ibrox or Parkhead. Plenty to think about for our talented flame haired striker, lets hope his mind is fully focussed on the job in hand this Sunday.  Shane Sutherland will be a willing deputy should Rooney decide his future lies elsewhere, although a lack of experience may lead to other options being explored, but at the moment he looks an able replacement when being introduced as a sub.

tm4tj prediction

Given our indifferent home form, and Saints poor away form, the outcome of this one may be more difficult than it would appear on paper.  It points to a bit of a stalemate and with Hayes missing, our attacking flair has been diminished, although Eric will be out to show Butcher that he can handle it.  Not the runaway result that we used to enjoy over the Buddies, but we should still have enough endeavour to overcome what will no doubt be a stubborn Saints searching for their second away win this season.  However, I will go far a narrow win for the homesters, 2-1.

Merry Xmas from all the Editorial Team at CTO.

***Latest team News***

Inverness lose Jonny Hayes after a midweek training injury on the artificial pitch.  His injury is not as bad as originally thought and Butcher hopes to have him back soon, but this weekend is too early for him.  Proctor and Gillet are still not ready for action.

St Mirren have Gareth Wardlaw suspended for this one.  He misses the first of two games this weekend.  Higdon and Dargo could team up in attack.  Dargo has been out for four months, but is training hard and desperate to get back on the park.  His contract expires at the end of the season and he will be looking to make an impact when he returns to action.

SPL News

More games off this weekend, Kilmarnock v Hearts called off on Friday due to burst pipes and frozen pitch.  Dundee United v Hamilton off after third pitch inspection revealed the area in front of the shed end remained frozen.  Motherwell are hoping their game with Rangers goes ahead and have plumbers working on the pipes as we type.

The SFL fixture list has once more been decimated and only a couple of fixtures have beaten the big freeze.  They now have a backlog of 60 matches compared to 11 at the same time last season.

Summer football anyone?