Caley Stan

Marius was great today. Plenty of shots on goal, one sublime piece of skill in the second half, and lots running (some of of even quite fast!). As i've said many times on this site, we should never have signed this guy, but let's get the best out of him while he's here. More performances like today and he might even win us some points away from home.

I'm not happy.

This doesn't make any (footballing) sense. Only a fortnight ago, Barry came of the bench at Love Street and looked full of hunger and energy. He definitely still has a contribution to make at this level.

Given some of the rumours that have been sweeping around this week, i find it surprising that neither the press nor the BBC have attempted to address these issues. Regardless of the rumours, the very fact that Blackie was on the bench and Marius was dropped from the squad on Wednesday should've provoked some serious questioning. Instead what we got was the shock revelation in the Courier that we are sh1te away from home (only 18 months late in picking that story up boys!), and the usual anodyne quotes from Brewster in the P&J. In fairness to the BBC, they have posted an interview with Malky in which Charles Bannerman asks why Marius Niculae was not in the squad. There was more than a hint of discomfort to be detected in his rambling response. The media in the central belt don't give a toss about what's happening in Inverness, and most clubs based down there have their affairs scrutinised to much a higher extent. It's time for the reporters in the north to start getting some answers out of the club, or at least to show that they're trying.

The club could've shown their ambition by re-signing Dods and Dargo or at least replacing them with players who displayed similar qualities. During pre-season it was clear to everyone that we needed a pacy goalscorer and a centre-half who leads and organises - instead they brought in Marius in an attempt to start toying with the transfer market. It's a classic example of what happens when businessman rather than football managers dictate which players come to a club and it's going to blow up in their faces.

COWIE COWIE COWIE COWIE COWIE COWIE COWIE COWIE COWIE COWIE COWIE This is the team we played tonight and only lost 3-1. If these players get some time to gel then i predict a bright future for ICT. Unfortunately, someone will probably sign Don Cowie in the summer and the team will fall apart before it's had the chance to fulfill it's potential.

ONE DON COWIE, THERE'S ONLY ONE DON COWIE, ONE DON COOOOOOOOOWIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE.............. ....................and there was feck all else in our team tonight.

From the P & J: CALEY THISTLE TRIO EXPECTED TO SIGN NEW CONTRACTS IN THE NEXT 10 DAYS 08:50 - 06 February 2008 Inverness expect Russell Duncan, Ross Tokely and Dennis Wyness to sign new contracts with the club next week. The trio have been innegotiations with Caley Thistle for the last three weeks without agreeing new deals at the Caledonian Stadium. But manager Craig Brewster is hopeful all three will commit themselves to the Highland club after they were offered improved terms to stay beyond the end of the season when their current contracts run out. Midfielder Duncan hadalready said he would leave Caley Jags unless they offered him a new deal in line with the higher wage earners at the club such as Romanian Marius Niculae. Tokely and Wyness are also seeking an upgrade to their deals to prevent them agreeing a pre-contract arrangement with other clubs. Brewster said: "Hopefully, we will tie all three up within the next 10 days. We are just trying to structure things in different ways. "They want more money and it is about trying to come to an agreement as soon as possible. "Sometimes it is par for the course when agents get involved that it takes a wee bit longer to talk to players about contracts. "I hope they sign and I am sure the supporters do as well."

Return of the B.E.N.I.? Let's do it in style by singing for 90 minutes at Love Street.

Calder is set to play for Huntly at home to Brora tomorrow if the game goes ahead - he's 47!

A Charles Bannerman exclusive on Through the Window. Does anyone know how much they offered?

Did anyone hear Bannerman on the radio just now? Grassa confirms the days most interesting rumour - the bacon rolls at Perth Railway Station are great!

....and Barry Wilson.

Richard Hastings is also closing in on 10 years of broken service. Will he get a testimonial?

Correct. And it's them that should be taking a slagging on this thread rather than Marius who, for all his deficiencies, gives his all and has improved over the season. If Duncan walks, i hope he holds another press conference to tell us exactly what effect this signing has had on the rest of the squad.

The win on penalties over Airdrie in 1990 is the first game i remember (thanks, Caley 100) although i do have vague memories of toddling around Telford Street before that. That cup tie was got me completely hooked on supporting Caley I'll never forget the fans streaming onto the pitch at the end to hold Hamish Morrison (was that his name?) aloft after his penalty save decided the tie. The MacRae and **** Caley strip that i received the following Christmas also had a Turnbull Sports logo on it. It was long sleeved and always made me itchy.

Brewster and Barry have never got on with each other and i understand that relations reached breaking point after Barry was first dropped from the squad for the game at Ibrox earlier in the season.

"There's no doubt that the wage structure at Caley Thistle has moved on a fair bit in recent times and I feel I should be up there". That's the quote from Duncan. "Duncan maintains that he turned down the initial offer because it did not meet his expectations and believes that any new deal should reflect a wage similar to what the top players, such as Marius Niculae, receive". And that's the line from the Courier. The Duncan story was covered by nearly all of the national newspapers and his press conference is on BBC online. Only in the Courier has the name Marius Niculae been mentioned in relation to this. Unless Russell said this to a reporter, it's a pretty stupid line for the Courier to take. Of course Marius's wages have caused disruption and of course out of conract players are going to feel they have got a right to ask for more money because of the riduculous wage Marius receives, but the Courier makes it look like Russell wants 4 or 5 grand a week and as much as i love him as a player, that's just silly.

Let's not get carried away here. While the filth might not knock 4 or 5 goals past teams on a regular basis anymore, a quick glance at the league table shows Rangers 15 points and Celtic 11 points ahead of 3rd place - and that's with a couple of games in hand over most of the chasing pack. They've got less money to spend than in the past but the same goes for the rest of the SPL. What has changed recently in Scottish football is that we've produced a good crop of young players - some of them too good for the old firm to get their filthy hands on (Craig Gordon and James McFadden) or keep their filthy hands on (Alan Hutton, maybe Scott Brown). But as we have witnessed, good young Scottish players usually want to go there and as soon as a team develops that might pose a threat to their dominance they succeed in breaking it up quickly. Caley D's prediction is brave indeed. If a non-of team wins the league in the next 5 years it will because of a surprise investment in one of the Edinburgh teams or the new firm, rather than because of a gradual levelling out between the filth and the rest.

The holding midfielder looks a bit exposed. And i'd love to see Blackie's tantrum when he's told that he's playing wide left!

From the P&J: Caley Jags face competition from four other SPL clubs in their attempt to buy Graham Dorrans from Livingston. The West Lothian club will only sell the 20-year-old forward if it receives a fee in excess of ?100,000. Inverness have already bid ?60,000 for the Scotlandunder-19 player. The Highland club will have to put in a second increased offer to secure a deal for Dorrans, who still has 18 months of his contract to run at Almondvale. The 10-goal forward, who can also play wide on either flank, is on a four-day trial at English Championship side West Brom but is thought to be keen to stay in Scotland. West Brom manager Tony Mowbray has said he isunlikely to sign the player, leaving Caley Thistle as one of his most likely destinations. Livingston chief executive Vivien Kyles said: "Inverness have put in a bid for Graham Dorrans and he is a player we would be willing to sell for the right fee. They have a fair chance of signing Graham - if they had no chance I would have told Graeme Bennett that. We have to take account of where Graham wants to go himself and he might prefer to stay in Scotland rather than go south. He is currently on trial at West Brom andhas attracted a lot of interest. Inverness are one of five SPL clubs who are chasing him,as well as West Brom and a couple of clubs from the First Division." Brewster is keen to add the versatile youngster to his squad. He said: "I like Dorrans as a player. When you want someone the buying club offers as little as possible and the player's club wants the earth and you try and get somewhere in between."

From what i've seen so far i'd fancy Ivory Coast. Marcel Desailly has pointed out that they are more European than the other teams in the tournament by which i think he means that they have a controlled passing game and a solid defence although he could just be saying that nearly all of their players play for top European clubs. Their match against Nigeria was tight for the first hour but once they scored they started to look really dangerous going forward. I'd like to see them win it and then go on and make a seious challenge at the next World Cup. With Drogba, Kalou, Eboue, Zokora, Keita and the Toure brothers this is something of a 'golden generation' for the Ivorians and it would be great to see such a team fulfill it's potential. Vive le C?te d'Ivoire.

Richie and Russell play in completely different roles. Richie is an attacking mdfielder who hasn't made the grade in the SPL. Russell is a defensive midfielder who plays every week and is irreplaceable.

BBC Gossip has this line from a Sun story: "Inverness striker Marius Niculae has been told by Romania boss victor Piturca that his recent form could lead to a place at Euro 2008". Can't find the full story on the Sun's horrible website. I'd still be really surprised if this happens for Marius. Was reading today about his injuries. He had reconstructive surgery to his left knee and he still has two pins in his right foot after a fracture of his fifth metatarsal. For all of his class on the ball, his movement around the pitch always looked hampered by some kind of injury.

Is it? Barry Wilson, Richie Hart and Markus Paatelainen couldn't even make the bench last week. Rory and Zander had to go out on loan and Caff and Morgan had to move on. The squad we have right now has an impressive depth and we are more able to cope with injuries than some of the teams around us. We can always improve the first XI though. The lack of pace in defence and attack was cruelly exposed at Easter Road and i'd like to see a defender and a striker/attacking midfielder brought in if we are serious about pushing for top 6.