Scotty

The Demise is complete, the Highlands are theirs. Inverness plumbed the depths of the abyss last night and relegation looks as though it will be a formality. Unbelievably, Richie Foran still believes that four wins will save us. Whilst that is a possibility, there was nothing on display to suggest that a team with only one win in twenty-three games can miraculously win four in a row. At the moment we can't even string four passes in a row. The game itself descended into farce from our point of view after a mildly promising first twenty minutes. Thereafter we capitulated and at the end were totally bedraggled and ripped apart by County who now own the Highlands. Liam Boyce has been credited with all four goals and that gives him a total of nine against us this season. When I say credited, maybe some of our players could be given assists. Ryan Esson was played into trouble by a needless pass back. He reproduced numerous Owain Fon Williams blunders all rolled into one and Boyce shut him down and scored all too easily. His second was an excellent header, the last two were penalties given away by a team that already look relegated. I'm not going to offer any more of a match report, but as I am sick to the back teeth of complaining every week like a broken record, I will let the fans do the talking and post a selection of outbursts lifted from Caley Thistle Online forum so you can get the gist of the fans feelings as our season to forget blunders to a close. Fans vent their frustration after the derby defeat, although many saw this coming months ago. I'll not put any names to these comments, but there's no many happy bunnies out there tonight............ "It's truly amateur stuff we have been playing. I watch part time football most weeks and the standard of inverness isn't much better than what i watch over here most week's. Only difference is caley have more howlers from the keeper. Deserve to be where we are." "And off goes the TV." "We are going down and completely deserve to". "This single season has put this club back 15 years. There's nothing recognisable about us anymore. At least the last time we went down there was optimism. I fear that we are another Dunfermline/st mirren". "You dont languish at the bottom of the league for so long without fully deserving to get relegated." "Acts of PURE desperation from Foran now." "Resign." "Shambles. It's like Foran is playing football manager and selecting random formations." "This is an absolute disgrace ... I am so angry ... and sad. When is enough enough Richie? Get lost right now!" "Total embarrassment. I said weeks ago we were down, 4 wins all season, is shocking. I'm sure Foran will come out with his usual sob story after this. If he had any decency he'd walk." "Switched it off. i am not watching this amateur embarrassment any longer. Foran, just GTF, i don't want to hear any more pathetic excuses or delusional fantasies from you ever again. We haven't a hope of coming back up with such an inept, utterly clueless manager. Cut out the rose-tinted rubbish about your past, man up and disappear. This is your doing, no-one else's." "Richie do you still believe our winning run is coming? Go now and take the board with you!" "How can his position be defended now? Any club in the right mind would remove the manager. This is a complete joke." "Punt all the players in the summer (along with the manager and Board)" "Any other club and his feet wouldn't touch the ground. He's been a complete and utter disaster." "Foran MUST go now! not next week or the end of the season. The man is a disgrace who has no footballing ideas. Most of ICT players were part of a good team until Foran took charge! The rebuilding must start tomorrow." "Hats off to any of our fans staying in the stadium to the bitter end, it must be excruciating being there!" "Please Richie for the love of all that is holy walk away. This is beyond brutal." "Just when you think they can't possibly get any worse they come up with another blinder. The board should have bitten the bullet months ago and kicked RF down the A9. No shape, no passion, no game plan (other than the aimless punt upfield) and not even a pale shadow of ICT teams of past seasons : even when we played in lower leagues. Everyone involved in this worst ever season in our history should hang there heads in shame." "Very very enlightening listening to Charlie Christie on the radio.........he's not holding back !!" "I believe Charlie was never convinced about Foran's credentials. Why is nobody on the board listening to a club legend who has more insight and knowledge about the game than they will ever have? Why didn't they listen to him last year? " "Foran shouldn't be made the scapegoat. The hierarchy must take responsibility for their actions or, more appropriately, inactions !!" "Been a Caley supporter from the Telford Street days 65 years ago. Honestly this is the worst performance have seen. I liked Ritchie as a player but as a Manager he leaves a lot to be desired.. The board of ICT must show they want to be in the Premier League and not the Highland League. The Board and Ritchie must go now." "Painful, board must take a long hard look at themselves. Respect to all who stayed to the end... Did not think we could ever be this poor. Only way is up....." "I can't (or can I) believe Ritchie has come out and said we just need 4 wins / 12 points - he has lost the plot as have the Board!" "There was a lot to take in and Barry Wilson was chipping in too so between them both they touched on .squad size too big, no opportunities for U20's, players wages structure, lack of proper scouting network, concern in youth for about job security, players signed without someone looking at them, an SPL club selling merchandise out of a portakabin, no crowd bounce despite cup win, Foran saying he "needs men" - Charlie rubbishing that and saying we need committed footballers. "Defending is the easy bit of the game". RF wanting a team of 11 RF's. Lack of a team shape, trying to play with a no 10 using players who aren't no10's. Losing the dressing room. Not investing transfer windfalls. What was going wrong tactically on the night. Comparison with slicker club operation at County. Some fans having unrealistic expectations. Recognition of Roy McGregor and plea for ICTFC benefactor to step forward. I sensed he was as angry as the rest of us. There was just no doubting his passion for club and disappointment. Really was a must listen." "The fight for Premiership survival is lost. Nevertheless, we can't drift for the rest of the season. Foran needs to be gone by Monday either of his own volition or at the hands of the increasingly discredited board. This season is lost and was a complete shambles. We need now to get someone who can manage in to start preparing for life in the Championship to give us any chance at all of recovery." "The club is a shambles. From top to bottom change is needed across all levels - Board, coaching, players. I have lived across the UK and in every place I have lived I've followed and supported the local team - that was until I came to Inverness. The product being sold being the stadium, the team, the vision is non existent. The engagement with the city is really poor - I coached school level for 6 years and there was virtually no engagement of any sort from the club, in fact a senior member at the club actively disengaged with the coaches. Fans are treated badly, the Board - well if they operated like that in a business world they would be sacked or bankrupt. ICT has massive potential but only with a young, fresh forward looking positive board." "We the supporters have been taken for granted by the board for long enough. The set up is a shambles from the very bottom to the very top. Tonight was an all time low in Dingwall , not just the result but the feeling that in all aspects they are streets ahead of us. Hate to say it but can only see them getting stronger in our absence from the SPL and we need serious change so Cameron and co do the right thing and go now." "What a shambles. I couldn't watch the game live as I had a commitment I couldn't get out of, so I recorded it. Just watched first half with my whisky glass covering my eyes for a lot of it. Gave up then and flicked to BBC to see the full time score. Not surprised that it got even worse. Nothing more to add. Feel sure that with this manager, no matter how much the squad might be improved, we will struggle again in the championship. I said months ago that we should bin Ritchie, get new blood in and prepare for lower league football. Even more important now that a new man is appointed quickly to give him some time in the summer to try and get some organisation and dicsipline into a new squad. Thanks anyway ICT for giving me a few years of top flight football, and of course, the brilliant cup win, and even a taste of European football, none of which I could even of dreamt of, when growing up in Inverness after second World War, and watching Caley play at Telford Street for a tanner (2.5pence in todays money) ,in the glory days of the early 50s." "Never made the game tonght due to prior engagement. Feared the worst but even my abject pessimism failed to predict the utter shambles which transpired. Enough is enough. Time for a change of direction at all levels. The incumbents have nothing to offer. We need a radical overhaul of all levels from kids to first team. On current form we will be fighting relegation from Championship next season. Unbelievable to contrast with where we were a mere two years ago. A massive missed opportunity from our non-existent board. Sad." "What can i honestly say about last night....... Absolute shambles a huge disgrace to the fans foran has to go and go now!!! If we don't change anything now we are heading for further relegations. Championship will be hugely hard. We aren't the pride of the Highlands now we are the embarrassments of the Highlands. On aspects of these so called rumours? Richie lost the dressing room weeks ago after a incident at half time don't remember what game it was but it was shocking to even hear about. Sad but people will lose jobs and budget will be drastically reduced." If you can stomach it, highlights to follow when available................... It's sort of hidden here. Talking to BBC Sport, Foran had this to say. "It's going to be harder but not impossible," said Foran of his team's chances of avoiding automatic relegation by finishing last. "But there are still 12 points up for grabs. If we get 12 points we have a great chance. Obviously it's a tough task now. "I can see some of the players are low in confidence. "The problem today is that we weren't as aggressive as Ross County. They wanted it more, they bullied us a bit. No shit Sherlock! Date: 28/04/17 Venue: Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall Attendance: 4928 Referee: Craig Thomson Ross County: 4 Lineup: Fox, Woods (Routis 64), Curran, Van Der Weg, Dow, Chow (Dykes 70), Fraser, Boyce (Tumilty 64), O'Brien, Naismith, Gardyne Subs (not used): McCarey, Franks, Malcolm, Gobern Scorers: Boyce (21, 34, pen.49, pen.60) Booked: O'Brien (10), Chow (53) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Esson, Raven (Anier 54), McNaughton, Polworth, Vigurs (Draper 64), McCart, Mulraney, Tansey, Fisher, King (Billy Mckay 46), Laing Subs (not used): Hoban, Horner, Brad McKay, Cole Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: Polworth (60) a

All over bar the shouting Despite Richie Foran stating we were ready for the battle, it was Motherwell that came out determined to put us to the sword and after just eight minutes we found ourselves 2-0 down and Tremarco substituted through injury. Foran said on BBC Sport "I'm feeling positive. Three points today can change the whole picture for us." Eight minutes later that statement looked flawed. Alex Fisher deflected one in before half-time and had another couple of efforts well saved by Craig Samson. The Fish lobbed another ten minutes after the break to level matters. However a disputed Scott McDonald goal and a powerful headed finish from Allan Campbell put Well in the driving seat again. 4-2 Final score and the Championship is calling our name out loud. The fears of the visiting fans were quickly realised as Billy Mckay missed out through injury and with Gary Warren and Larnell Cole suspended and Iain Vigurs on the park, the writing was on the wall before a ball was kicked. The results this weekend have virtually relegated Inverness although Dundee are still in free fall five points above us. Old Caley Girl will have a full report for us if she hasn't jumped off the Kessock Bridge yet.................. Nope, she's still with us, and has put together a somewhat sombre report. The Grim Reaper is coming It is with a very heavy heart I start typing this match report. Yesterday was, in all honesty, a final roll of the dice to save ourselves and we failed. There is no doubt this wretched season is grinding to its inevitable conclusion. We are done, finished and down no doubt about it. Any optimism Caleyaway had at the start of the match didn’t last long. Cadden opened the scoring in 7 minutes. He danced into the box and bulleted the ball into the left hand top of the goal. It seemed to catch the wind and curl giving OFW no chance. Yet again all too easy with Cadden not shut down early by McCart. Two minutes later things went from bad to worse. Moult floated a left footed shot over the goal, the ball was fumbled by OFW and bounced into the net. Ryan Bowman could have made it 3 but for a good save by our keeper. At this point we decided to roll up our sleeves, waken up and play. A further blow was Carl Tremarco going off injured and replaced by McNaughton in 11 minutes. For the rest of the first half it was pretty much end to end stuff with Fisher giving the away fans a bit of a lift in 21 minutes with a left footed shot hitting the right hand back of the net. Owain Fon Williams had several fine saves as well. HALF TIME Motherwell 2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 The second half continued as the first had ended with both sides having chances. However in 54 minutes it looked like the great escape was on. Fisher scoring a poachers goal from outside the box into an empty net, one that Iain Stewart would have been proud of. This was the type of fight and grit we had been looking for from the players and there was hope this might, just might be the day we won the must win game. In 64 minutes Vigurs was replaced by Mulraney and unfortunately that led to us losing shape in my opinion. Vigurs had been having a solid game up till this point playing off Polworth. Two minutes later enter the Willie Collum show. Scott McDonald headed the ball towards goal and was saved on the line by Owain Fon Williams. Well we all thought it was until Mr Collum bizarrely awarded a goal!!! Our players were understandably raging and that was that. The players seemed totally deflated and that probably led to losing another goal 5 minutes later from an Allan Campbell header. Anier appeared in 74 minutes replacing Billy King and Brad McKay earned a yellow in 89 minutes. No luck again but that’s been the story of this season. A monumental task now awaits if we are to stay up. FULL TIME – Motherwell 4 -2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle OCG MotM – Alex Fisher, showing fight passion and knowing where the back of the net was. I can’t help feeling he should have been playing more and that if he had we might not be where we are now. At the end of the match he came over acknowledged the fans and gave away his top to a young away fan. Not sure what to read into that but rumours now surface that his contract will not be renewed sadly. Honourable mention to Iain Vigurs, Greg Tansey and Liam Polworth who definitely got pass marks from me. Can’t remember feeling so down as I did yesterday leaving Fir Park. Will be a while till we see it again as our fate is sealed. There will be no great escape after all. Yes Collum changed the match and in all probability that was the killer blow but we have been struggling all season. A lot of chat re Richie Foran, the players and the board from fellow Caleyawayers. Leaving that for another day as still licking my wounds from a miserable day out. Oh dear, not looking so good now as we enter the bottom-six split 5 points adrift of the nearest side, the free falling Dundee. All is not lost yet, but it would be a brave man to bet on us avoiding relegation now. Still, while there are fifteen points still up for grabs, then we can cling on to the Premiership for another couple of weeks yet. Next game is a Friday night derby at Dingwall. Not for the faint hearted I imagine. A forlorn Foran gives his match reaction........... Highlights from SPFL website Date: 15/04/17 Venue: Fir Park, Motherwell Attendance: 3696 Referee: Willie Collum Motherwell: 4 Lineup: Samson, Hammell (Jules 87), Heneghan, McHugh, Campbell, Cadden, Frear, Pearson, Bowman (Ainsworth 59), McDonald, Moult (Blyth 83) Subs (not used): Griffiths, Clay, Ferguson, Gordon Scorers: Cadden (7), Moult (9), McDonald (65), Campbell (70) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 2 Lineup: Fon-Williams, Tremarco (McNaughton 13), McCart, Laing, B.MacKay, Polworth, Draper, Vigurs (Mulraney 64), Tansey, King (Anier 74), Fisher Subs (not used): Esson, Ebbe, Horner, Boden Scorers: Fisher (21, 54) Booked: Brad Mackay (89) Sent Off: none a

On the brink Inverness are on the brink of relegation after a shambolic, hapless and gutless performance against a mediocre St Johnstone, who themselves were without two of their stalwart players after an altercation last week. As it turned out, it mattered not a jot as we slumped to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat after Larnell Cole was sent off for dissent. We crumbled thereafter. Goals from Steve Maclean, and a late Liam Craig penalty were rubber stamped by a Graham Cummins strike to complete a miserable afternoon for the Caley Jags and their supporters who chose to vent their frustration towards the bench and the unseen board who had backed the untried Richie Foran, who is probably the scapegoat in this whole sorry saga. The only saving grace after today's tripe was that only County and Accies benefited by a single point. The rest, like us, losing. We only had around 2500 home fans at this game, what incentive is that for the players to bust a gut, then again, what encouragement are the fans getting after a display like that, it's a catch 22 situation. Richie Foran speaking to BBC said "The main person who is not good enough is me. I am obviously not doing my job right and big apologies to the supporters. I believe we let them down today. "It is not good enough. I pick the team, I pick the shape, I will take 90% of the blame for that but the players need to stand up as well." Just today I hear you all shout........ In a game that was crucial to our Premiership survival barely 2500 Home fans bothered to turn up to witness another grim performance, and another nail in the Caley Jags coffin. Considering what was at stake for Inverness, we showed little urgency in the opening exchanges. We lined up with three at the back and Tremarco and McNaughton slightly ahead although it was basically a back five as St Johnstone pressed us high up the park. Mulraney made the bench but remained on it for the whole game. We started with no width and little expectation, sadly that's how at panned out. Neither side were able to carve out a clear opportunity although we had three snippets that we passed on, Billy Mckay, Alex Fisher and Carl Tremarco unable to make the keeper work as they knocked the ball wide or sclaffed their attempts. Greg Tansey showed plenty commitment and a long range effort was dealt with by Alan Mannus in the visitors goal. St Johnstone offered little to trouble Fon Williams, but when they did, he gifted them an opportunity, one they accepted gleefully as MacLean tapped in almost on the line. The keeper had dived low to cut out a cross, all he succeeded in doing was knocking the ball into the path of two Saints players who contrived to knock the ball behind him from close range. Five minutes before the break and the chilling stench of relegation was overpowering. Half Time 0-1 Undeterred we plodded on in the second period and caused the visiting defence plenty of problems, however, for all our domination until Larnell Cole was red carded in the 80th minute, we failed to make Alan Mannus work, electing to miss the target or see shots blocked by a hard working St Johnstone defence. Even the talismanic Billy Mckay failed to get shots away and found defenders protecting Mannus able to block his efforts. When we did make a breakthrough, Cole could only shoot straight at Mannus who gathered easily. We were pressing at this point without a cutting edge but the game dynamics changed drastically after 80 minutes when Cole was sent off. He appeared to have skipped past a couple of players before being brought down clumsily. However, the incompetent referee, and I use that term loosely, Stephen Finnie saw otherwise and when Cole confronted him all he got for his troubles was a yellow card. The angry Cole never gave up though and Finnie swiftly followed the first yellow with a second followed by a change of colour to red. That started the capitulation and two minutes before the end Tremarco gave away a penalty as St Johnstone broke forward. Cue mass exodus. Game and season over as Liam Craig sent Fon Williams the wrong way again. The icing went on the Perth cake in injury time when Graham Cummins wrapped up the points with Inverness, by now, in total disarray. Full Time 0-3 This was another must win game that brought us zero points and abject failure and misery. The Cole sending off was farcical, but there can be no excuse for Garry Warren getting red carded in the tunnel after the game. He obviously had something to say to the official and saw the same colour as Cole. Well done Gary, you are now out at a critical time when we are trying to avoid relegation. Not a great advert for the captain of our team and certainly not leading by example. In truth, our performance was that of a team in absolute chaos, nobody taking responsibility, nobody able to create the spark needed to ignite the fuse, nobody with the balls to try something different and the harsh reality is that we deserve to be where we are based on too many similar performances over the season. Richie's appointment not looking like the best idea right now and the players look resigned to going down. Shame on the lot of you. We needed other games to go for us and they mostly did. Only County and Accies moved further away from us and only by one point, so the position remains crystal clear at the bottom of the table. I'm afraid the only way out of this is to start winning games, anything other than a win next week at Motherwell and it's Championship for us, unless you believe in miracles. tm4tj MotM:- It doesn't matter anymore. We were well served by the departing Tansey, McCart and McNaughton who must be needing to build on his stamina after his lengthy lay off. Billy continues to work away but you can see his frustration after another fruitless day at the office. Too many passengers in a side that look as if they are already doomed. Apologies if this sounds like a broken record, but I'm afraid the record is well and truly broken. Footage from SPFL website of our humiliation Date: 08/04/17 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2961 Referee: Stephen Finnie Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Fon Williams, Tremarco, McNaughton (King 57), Warren, Draper (Polworth 57), McCart (Boden 82), W.Mckay, Tansey, Fisher, Laing, Cole Subs (not used): Esson, Mulraney, Brad McKay, Anier Scorers: none Booked: Cole (81) Sent Off: Cole (82), Warren (in tunnel after game) St Johnstone: 3 Lineup: Mannus, Scobbie, Alston (Thomson 82), MacLean (Millar 79), Shaughnessy, Smith, Coulson (Wotherspoon 70), Paton, Easton, Craig, Cummins Subs (not used): Clark, Anderson, Hurst, Hunter Scorers: MacLean (40), Craig (pen.88), Cummins (91) Booked: Alston (65) Sent Off: none a