Sneckboy

Tuesday 29th Sept
Inverness CT v Kilmarnock (6pm at Grant Street Park)

I would say he was 'picture perfect'!
 

It appears our 'keeper has a talent as a painter - but not the Ian Black type - but more the oil-on-canvas version.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3248315/Life-canvas-Inverness-goalkeeper-Owain-Fon-Williams-original-oil-paintings-exhibited-gallery.html

Here, he's showing his excellent work of one of our former players......Cowie!

I see where you're coming from, but it's actually the relatively new, Castle Stuart golf club, on the coast between Inverness and the airport.

Result from yesterday:
Inverness CT 0-2 Aberdeen

Totally agree, Kingsmills. I watched it on TV last night as I was interested to see how this Rangers team (pushing for Europe if they were currently in the Premiership according to their manager) matched-up against a Saints team who've lost all 4 of their Premiership away games this season. It really was a completely merited win.

Warburton's been self-raising the merits of an altogether limited Ibrox outfit. This morning, he'll be thinking, "Dough!"
But I thought their defending was pretty crumby - and when the third goal went in, Rangers were toast.

Puns aside, I look forward to the draw on Monday (why Monday?!). We're 3 wins away from holding both cups simultaneously!

The statistical facts are clearly presented. Obviously it's unfair to simply look at the number of red cards he's issued to each club. Games officiated has to come into the equation. 

This can be demonstrated as a ratio, as 'games-per-dismissal' (as I did, above), as a percentage or as a reciprocal number x 100...there are many ways to display those facts - but. the 'order' remains the same regardless of how the 'decisive' column is worded.

The column is titled as 'frequency' and not 'percentage'.

Seems to be a game scheduled for next Thursday.
Thursday September 24, 2015
Inverness CT v Aberdeen - Highland Football Academy, 2pm

Wick Academy 2-1 Inverness Caley Thistle

We took the lead through Jaime Wilson on 12 mins, but Wick went in 2-1 ahead at the break, with no further goals in the second half.

It was very much our Development side on display, with the only players to have featured at all in the first-team being Ali Sutherland and Calum Ferguson.
Wick will play Nairn or Forres in the final next month - they've never won a trophy since coming into the Highland League ranks, so good luck to them when their big game comes around.
(That sounds patronising - it's not meant to be!) 

Ian Black has signed a two-year deal at English League One club, Shrewsbury Town.

There's no doubt that the Hearts player deserved to be sent off. It's simply a red card if you aim a punch or even raise your hands aggressively towards another player's face - regardless of how 'successful' said punch was! Even a 'missed punch' is treated the same as a full-blown haymaker, as the intent was there. So, in my mind the ref got it spot on.
However, the reaction of Sho-Silva was poor. He exaggerated AND feigned injury. A disgraceful example for kids watching.
I'm not going to join the hypocrites who see any opposition players 'going-to-ground' easily to influence the referee as cheats, when ours doing the same are simply being 'streetwise'.

In a few months time, there may be an incident in our box, at a corner. where Josh is jostling with a player and for a moment possibly gets hold of his jersey. The striker goes down and gets a penalty, when he clearly could have stayed on his feet, but has dropped as he's aware 'the tug' has gone un-noticed - but needed to get the referee's 'attention'. Cries of 'cheats' on here.

There's a bigger picture though than an incident in a bog standard, Friday night Scottish League fixture. The integrity of the game and where it's now going.
This 'going down holding the face' culture is ruining football, as is diving - so, instead of condoning him because he happens to temporarily be in an ICT top, grow-a-pair, and criticise this behaviour as unacceptable - it's a cancer on the game.

The English FA are trying to clamp down on this crap. Down there, retrospective bans can be now issued to players who've tried to con the ref with simulation or exaggeration.
The first 'culprit' is a player from obscure, non-league outfit, Welling United. Ironically, where Sho-Silva's been 'learning' his trade!

Don't want to be too harsh on the boy as he's young, but he needs to learn his lesson - I suppose that's part of the reason he's up here - but, Yogi should drop him for the next game, out of principle.

Also, Shane Sutherland and Rory McAllister for Peterhead in their 2-2 draw at Cowdenbeath.

Steve Marsella? He sourced our best ever team!

I apologise - I'll fire up that in a moment!
I'll delete my post from above which showed fractional odds, to avoid confusion.

I won't pretend to know anything about him - it's just I recognised his name from somewhere in the back of my mind! On checking, it seems he was a youth player with us before joining Keith in the Highland League and subsequently Turriff United. He appears to have been on our books in 2010/11 with the number 38 jersey.
http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/scots/2010-2011/scotprm/invernessct.htm
http://www.myfootballfacts.com/Inverness_Caledonian_Thistle_Squad_Numbers.html
http://www.ictfc.co.uk.p.preprod.performgroup.com/articles/20090725/andrew-macaskill_2208839_1733177

Last night:

Highland League
Dale Gillespie (Nairn County 1-7 Brora Rangers)
Zander Sutherland (Nairn County 1-7 Brora Rangers)
Lewis MacKinnon (Fort William 1-3 Buckie Thistle)
Darren Mackie Hat-trick (Rothes 0-9 Turriff United)
Andy MacAskill FOUR GOALS (Rothes 0-9 Turriff United)

No scheduled games for us until the 29th September - but there is a game in Wick next week (Tuesday 15th September, 7.30pm) in the North of Scotland Cup semi-final.
Originally meant for the Caledonian Stadium, it's been changed to Harmsworth park, Wick. The other semi is Nairn v Forres.
As it's not a Development League game, we can play any team we choose - perhaps could feature a few of the guys returning from injury?!

The draw has been brought forward to 11am (tomorrow).

Civil Service Strollers 0-4 Kelty Hearts
Hermes 0-4 Auchinleck Talbot
Wigtown & Bladnoch 2-3 Hawick Royal Albert
Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale 2-2 Girvan
Cove Rangers 7-2 St. Cuthbert Wanderers

Draw for the 1st Round is on Tuesday at 2.30pm.

I too like "Perfsnecktive"!
But anyway, I'm just a little perplexed that his transfer has caused such a divide in opinion.
If there had been no activity in this window, regarding an approach for Ryan, I doubt there would have been too many dissenting voices questioning his calibre.
For me, he'll turn out to be the best player ever from the Highlands.

I'm looking about here, for hidden cameras.....is this a wind-up that everybody, but me, is 'in on'!?
Surely, It's okay to be disappointed at losing a quality player? - but denial is a manifestation of reluctance to accept the disappointment!
It's human nature - there would be Barcelona fans, if Messi were to leave, who would be trying to dampen their chagrin by claiming that, despite his astronomical scoring record, he was 'greedy' and 'took on too many players at times'!
 

^^^I don't tend to 'down' vote many comments, but that's deserving of one!

Something that's always fascinated me - probably because there's no definitive answer - is what one's take is, on the relative size of a club. The terms, 'big club' and 'wee club' are often heard or read about in the football community.
Some folk relate it to historical feats, longevity of a club and/or trophies won; others focus on years in 'top tier' or average attendance etc.
There's no 'correct' definition, but It's probably a combination of all of those, although I tend to look at attendances as the lifeblood of a team, particularly in Scotland, as we don't have the outrageous financial TV windfall money that the clubs in England are afforded.

For example, a club like Newcastle United has not been successful recently in terms of winning silverware, and have rarely been seen in European competitions lately - but are still a huge club (in my opinion) due to their enormous fan base.

It's difficult to use attendances as a determining factor in Scotland due to the 'skewing effect' of the Glasgow pair - two home games against Celtic and your average attendance will certainly be up, for example.

Below, is a table of average attendances over the most recent three-year period, left-to-right, season-ending 2013; to season-ending 2015.
Again, the 'Rangers effect' will have enhanced some figures, as some of those clubs will have met the Ibrox club in this time-frame. 

It should also be remembered that clubs like Dunfermline and Falkirk would 'pick up' fans if they were in higher leagues, and similarly, we would naturally 'bleed' fans too if we were to drop.

Although nothing should necessarily be taken from an extrapolated 3-year-study of only that relatively small time frame, particularly with the vagaries of the Glasgow giants' fan bases, in essence, we are certainly performing well relative to our attendances.

Punching-above-our-weight? Undoubtedly, YES! - But I hate the expression - as it diminishes much of the great work being done at the club 'behind the scenes' that we don't ever see, hear or will ever read about.

A Yo-Yo club? Absolutely, YES! When we started out in 1994, this scenario would have been a dream...sometimes being in the top flight, but other-times being in the second-tier!
We're a well-established club in the top-flight at present, indeed the top 6, but after an unprecedented period in Scottish football, sadly, normal order will soon prevail.
Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Dundee United etc ..will, over the medium-to-long-term be clubs we'll struggle to compete with over a season. It's economic reality.