Sneckboy

The draw that paired us with Astra was a convoluted affair, with little transparency - the 'mini groups' for our Q2 draw didn't appear to be disclosed anywhere - although the Q1 'groupings' were publicly revealed prior to that draw. I'd forgotten all about it, but have just stumbled upon the actual groupings. For the record, we were in an unseeded group of broadly northern European teams, with the exception of Laci (Albania) / Inter Baku (Azerbaijan) ! But these, of course, were clubs that we would definitely not be playing. But, of more interest, the six teams we could have been drawn against are shown below. The Polish club won away in their first-leg, while the Hungarians have a 3-0 lead in their tie. FC Copenhagen may have been more attractive than Astra, but we could certainly have been paired with less favourable ties, logistically and from a playing perspective. There appears to be little geographical 'logic' behind these groupings!

Although much maligned in this country, he still seems to be highly regarded by UEFA - he's taking charge of the Super Cup final next month. Barcelona v Sevilla !!

Craig Dargo has 'hung up his boots' at the age of 37. He didn't feature too much for Berwick last season and he's now coaching kids in Glasgow. I'd stop short of putting him in the ICT 'legends' category, but a did a great job for us in the two seasons he was here.

Lossiemouth v Inverness CT U20s (Saturday 11th July - 1pm) Inverness CT v St. Mirren (Saturday 11th July - 3pm) Romanian Liga 1 - FC Astra Giurgiu v Concordia Chiajna (Saturday 11th July) Europa League Q2 - 1st leg - Inverness CT v FC Astra Giurgiu (Thursday 16th July) Draw for Europa League Q3 (Friday 17th July) Wick Academy v Inverness CT U20s (Saturday 18th July - 2pm) Nairn County v Inverness CT (Saturday 18th July - 3pm) Romanian Liga 1 - FC Astra Giurgiu v Targu Mures (Saturday 18th July) Europa League Q2 - 2nd leg - FC Astra Giurgiu v Inverness CT (Thursday 23rd July) Europa League Q3 - 1st leg (Thursday 30th July) Premiership - Inverness CT v Motherwell (Saturday 1st August - 3pm) Europa League Q3 - 2nd leg (Thursday 6th August)

Yes, there's just been an announcement. http://ictfc.com/news/club-news/1573-st-mirren-friendly-info

Re the trialists - from today's paper, Jordan Roberts is signing, but still awaiting 'paperwork'. JJ Hooper and Oliver Norburn will play against Forres Mechanics tomorrow, with JJ Hooper probably having to impress to have a chance of a contract! Article: Trialist forward J. J. Hooper will be given another week to prove he deserves a Caley Thistle contract. Hooper has featured in all three of Inverness’ pre-season friendly matches, scoring in 3-0 wins against Clachnacuddin and Brora Rangers. Fellow attacker Jordan Robers has agreed terms on a move to Caley Jags after the former Aldershot Town player scored in all three of his outings as a trialist. Manager John Hughes has yet to make a decision about 21-year-old Hooper, who scored 20 goals in 29 appearances for Conference South outfit Havant and Waterlooville last season. Hooper and former Plymouth Argyle midfielder Oliver Norburn will play in tomorrow night’s friendly at Forres Mechanics and Hughes said: “J. J. hasn’t been offered anything yet. We’ll keep him with us for another week. He’s doing well, but if I have to be honest I feel for him a little bit because he’s been playing up front by himself. He has been little bit behind on his fitness but he’s in attack by himself and he’s done every training session. It would be nice to get somebody up there with him just to see what he’s got when he is playing with another forward.”

Yeah, just a gimmick. Would hold some 'weight' if part of the prize was actually playing for the first-team - perhaps coming on as a sub for at least 15 minutes of a competitive game!

Hughes has confirmed it was indeed Brian Rice in the dugout - and that Russell's certainly offski. From the P&J Russell Latapy poised to leave Caley Thistle Caley Thistle assistant manager Russell Latapy is poised to leave the Highlanders. Manager John Hughes remained silent on Latapy’s destination, but confirmed the former Trinidad and Tobago manager is keen to take charge of his own club. Latapy missed Inverness’ 2-1 friendly win against Deveronvale at Princess Royal Park last night, with Brian Rice, who was Hughes’ assistant at Falkirk and Hibernian, watching on from the stands. Hughes would be keen to team up again with Rice should Latapy depart, but claimed: “It’s miles away. Russell has hinted he wants to be his own man and pursue something new. I understand that and he would go with our best wishes. There’s something happening for him, but there’s nothing concrete. That’s all I can say on it at the moment. I’ve always been mates with Brian. It just so happens Brian is over visiting me, and people have put two and two together. If Russell did go and Brian fancied it, it would be something we would certainly look at. I asked Brian to come up and oversee things and cast an eye over things, that’s why he’s up here, I don’t know how things will materialise.” Inverness once again fielded trialists JJ Hooper and Jordan Roberts, who has agreed terms with the Highlanders but is awaiting clearance from the SFA before his move can be completed. Hughes drafted in a third trialist, former Plymouth Argyle midfielder Oliver Norburn, who lasted 45 minutes before being replaced by Liam Polworth after suffering an ankle injury. The Caley Jags manager is keen to assess 22-year-old Norburn again in Tuesday night’s match against Forres.

Fort William 3-3 Inverness CT U20s Forres Mechanics v Inverness CT (Tuesday 7th July - 7.45pm) Lossiemouth v Inverness CT U20s (Saturday 11th July - 1pm) Inverness CT v St. Mirren (Saturday 11th July - 3pm) Romanian Liga 1 - FC Astra Giurgiu v Concordia Chiajna (Saturday 11th July) Europa League Q2 - 1st leg - Inverness CT v FC Astra Giurgiu (Thursday 16th July) Draw for Europa League Q3 (Friday 17th July) Wick Academy v Inverness CT U20s (Saturday 18th July - 2pm) Nairn County v Inverness CT (Saturday 18th July - 3pm) Romanian Liga 1 - FC Astra Giurgiu v Targu Mures (Saturday 18th July) Europa League Q2 - 2nd leg - FC Astra Giurgiu v Inverness CT (Thursday 23rd July) Europa League Q3 - 1st leg (Thursday 30th July) Premiership - Inverness CT v Motherwell (Saturday 1st August - 3pm) Europa League Q3 - 2nd leg (Thursday 6th August)

It's just sheer profiteering from clubs..and all are guilty - preying on the gullibility of fans wanting the 'latest' look of their team. Some fans even buy the new kit even if, privately, they think it's 'bogging'! Changing strips every year or so is ridiculous We've had 14 different strips in our relatively short time! I don't feel obliged to 'keep up' with the latest top - indeed, I've only got 4 ICT tops (only 1 fits now!) I actually like to see 'retro' tops at games.

We've got a player called Mark Lamont training with us. I assume he'll be given a run-out in one of the U20 pre-season games. His contract at Petershill is up - he was the Fans' Player of the Season, just past.

Deveronvale 1-2 Inverness CT That's all I know - awaiting RossP to fill in the details! Added fixture: I think our U20s have a game at Lossiemouth when the first-team are playing St. Mirren. Fort William v Inverness CT U20s *CLOSED DOOR* (Saturday 4th July - 1pm) Forres Mechanics v Inverness CT (Tuesday 7th July - 7.45pm) Lossiemouth v Inverness CT U20s (Saturday 11th July - 1pm) Inverness CT v St. Mirren (Saturday 11th July - 3pm) Romanian Liga 1 - FC Astra Giurgiu v Concordia Chiajna (Saturday 11th July) Europa League Q2 - 1st leg - Inverness CT v FC Astra Giurgiu (Thursday 16th July) Draw for Europa League Q3 (Friday 17th July) Wick Academy v Inverness CT U20s (Saturday 18th July - 2pm) Nairn County v Inverness CT (Saturday 18th July - 3pm) Romanian Liga 1 - FC Astra Giurgiu v Targu Mures (Saturday 18th July) Europa League Q2 - 2nd leg - FC Astra Giurgiu v Inverness CT (Thursday 23rd July) Europa League Q3 - 1st leg (Thursday 30th July) Premiership - Inverness CT v Motherwell (Saturday 1st August - 3pm) Europa League Q3 - 2nd leg (Thursday 6th August)

I don't know what the 'rules' are at part-time clubs, but I know that Brora had similar problems for their end-of-season play-offs against Edinburgh City and Montrose. Players away on pre-booked holidays, a couple were on stag weekends in Prague and Grant Munro was at his Grandparents wedding anniversary. He (Munro) stated that the date had been set-in-stone for 50 years and wasn't going to miss it!

Europa League Q1 Jason Oswell (Newtown 2-1 Valletta)

Deveronvale v Inverness CT (Friday 3rd July - 5.30pm) Fort William v Inverness CT U20s *CLOSED DOOR* (Saturday 4th July - 1pm) Forres Mechanics v Inverness CT (Tuesday 7th July - 7.45pm) Inverness CT v St. Mirren (Saturday 11th July - 3pm) Romanian Liga 1 - FC Astra Giurgiu v Concordia Chiajna (Saturday 11th July) Europa League Q2 - 1st leg - Inverness CT v FC Astra Giurgiu (Thursday 16th July) Draw for Europa League Q3 (Friday 17th July) Wick Academy v Inverness CT U20s (Saturday 18th July - 2pm) Nairn County v Inverness CT (Saturday 18th July - 3pm) Romanian Liga 1 - FC Astra Giurgiu v Targu Mures (Saturday 18th July) Europa League Q2 - 2nd leg - FC Astra Giurgiu v Inverness CT (Thursday 23rd July) Europa League Q3 - 1st leg (Thursday 30th July) Premiership - Inverness CT v Motherwell (Saturday 1st August - 3pm) Europa League Q3 - 2nd leg (Thursday 6th August)

Brilliant! But, my point, in-a-nutshell!

Believe it or not Sneckboy Romania does actually have a national health service providing free healthcare to all citizens and financed by the state. The quotes above are not directly linked, but are both related this post, which will hopefully clarify an earlier post I made. I apologise to Neil for taking umbrage over what was simply a difference of opinion on 'semantics'. I read the acronym 'NHS' as the 'National Health service (UK), and I understand that by 'Romanian NHS', you were simply referring to (the equivalent) 'Romanian national health service'. I didn't obviously, as suggested by Alex MacLeod, imply ithat Romania don't provide any healthcare provision! A similar example could be, "I'm looking forward to sending lots of postcards home, from Bucharest - using the Romanian Royal Mail" I'd reply - "There's no 'Royal Mail' in Romania...!" Then Alex, missing-the-point, would reply sarcastically, "Sneckboy, believe it or not, it IS possible to send mail in Romania!" Which clearly, wasn't my point. Yes, you can send postcards in Romania, of course, but using their 'Posta Romania' service. Not Royal Mail. Similarly, one can get health care in Romania - via their 'national health service' (small case) - known as Serviciul Național de Sănătate....which I obviously looked-up!...but it's simply not called 'the NHS'!

A recurring theme is that we are probably needing a further 'defensive' player in, possibly left-sided, to challenge/cover positions. I see our neighbours have signed Ricky Foster, who can comfortably play either full-back position. He's the same age (29) as Tremarco, but arguably more experienced and versatile. He clearly had no issue with moving to the Highlands...have we 'missed-a-trick' here?!

I think the publicity is great for Partick Thistle - You can't buy publicity like that! Worldwide viral interest. It's only a mascot - representing the club's main sponsor who are paying them £200,000. It will become a cult figure which I'm sure the fans will embrace, even in an ironic way...there are t-shirts to buy! Inverness have the embarrassment of that bedraggled looking Subway mascot, but if they're our main sponsor and paying us money.... There was a Romanian journalist on Radio Scotland the other night, being interviewed about the Astra game who admitted that prior to the Europa draw, he hadn't heard of Inverness Caley Thistle, and the only Scottish club named Thistle he was aware of was Partick - because of the mascot!

"Romanian NHS" - you couldn't make it up... "The NHS" are not some world-wide body waiting for you, to right your indiscretions and woes, or possible medical needs - it's unique to the UK (in name, certainly). Almost every country has it's own 'healthcare system'. This arrogant 'NHS will pick it up' attitude is so typical of society today - no personal responsibility. Bugs me particularly, as I work in the NHS - and can't go to the away leg! But, unlike IHE, I don't compile the 'off duty', (as we call it in the NHS)!

Not sure why my post above has been 'linked' with a previous post - as I only typed in the reply box - I didn't intend to 'quote' anyone!

Would we need to pay for him under the Bosman ruling? Show-reels are so misleading! Any player who's played enough 'videoed' matches can be made to look good - or bad, depending on what's shown. With strikers, they are simply a visual record of that player's goals - they make them look as if they literally net with every chance! There's one of Jason Oswell's goals during his time in Australia, after leaving us. Fifteen goals squeezed into a 75 second clip, making him look like a player who wastes nothing and is clinical in every opportunity. I'm sure Rothes wouldn't touch Manual Neuer as a goalie if a 'reverse show reel' was all they had to go on - duffed clearances leading to goals, indecision, and beaten time-and-again at the near post. Mistakes by the world's best 'keeper are few-and-far-between, but as every game he's played as a pro is recorded, his rare mistakes could be combined into a clip and highlighted on a YouTube vid, making him look like a bomb-scare! Surprised at you PumpFake for 'going back' on your initial observations, having seen the guy in the flesh - only to have your head 'turned' by a show-reel! The Ben Greenhalgh thread will still be around in the archives - some of the comments about our then new player, based on his video highlights, were quite 'funny'! *Funny = naive and cringe worthy.

With Shinnie and Ross now away, time for an update: Penalties taken for ICT. (Most recent: Greg Tansey (scored) v. Celtic - 19th April 2015) Match penalties Greg Tansey Y Y Y Y Y (100%) James Vincent Y (100%) Richie Foran Y (100%) Aaron Doran Y X (50%) Penalty shoot-outs Ross Draper Y Y (100%) Aaron Doran Y Y (100%) Greg Tansey Y X (50%) Richie Foran X X (0%) Combined total (* = penalty shoot-out) Ross Draper (100%) Y* Y* James Vincent (100%) Y Greg Tansey (86%) Y Y* X* Y Y Y Y Aaron Doran (75%) Y* Y Y* X Richie Foran (33%) X* Y X*

Brora Rangers v Inverness CT (Wednesday 1st July - 7.45pm) Fort William v Inverness CT U20s *CLOSED DOOR* (Saturday 4th July - 1pm) Forres Mechanics v Inverness CT (Tuesday 7th July - 7.45pm) Romanian Liga 1 - FC Astra Giurgiu v Concordia Chiajna (Saturday 11th July) Europa League Q2 - 1st leg - Inverness CT v FC Astra Giurgiu (Thursday 16th July) Draw for Europa League Q3 (Friday 17th July) Wick Academy v Inverness CT U20s (Saturday 18th July - 2pm) Nairn County v Inverness CT (Saturday 18th July - 3pm) Romanian Liga 1 - FC Astra Giurgiu v Targu Mures (Saturday 18th July) Europa League Q2 - 2nd leg - FC Astra Giurgiu v Inverness CT (Thursday 23rd July) Europa League Q3 - 1st leg (Thursday 30th July) Premiership - Inverness CT v Motherwell (Saturday 1st August - 3pm) Europa League Q3 - 2nd leg (Thursday 6th August)

Astra have already played a couple of pre-season games. They drew 2-2 away at Lokomotiva Zagreg, (4th placed in Croatia), who themselves are 'warming up' for the Europa League. Then Astra crossed the border into Slovenia to play current champs and Champions League regulars, NK Maribor (although Maribor didn't use their official pitch). Maribor 0-3 Astra !!! The opening goal was stunning - I've seen goals scored from corners before, where the 'keeper, in a crowd of bodies, has lost an inswinging corner - but this was driven in! It's just after 1 minute in the 3 mins of highlights. Astra in the red. Really hope Ryan Esson's aware of this 'party piece'!