tm4tj

10p Game After the pay what you want, comes the 10 pence game. It would appear that the clubs don't need money these days. This is a remarkable gesture from Hamilton Accies in recognition of their former player and manager Alex Neil who moved on to Norwich recently. As a tribute to him, the Accies have reduced prices to the number he wore, 10, hence the 10p admission prices. The midweek games saw Inverness walk all over a poor St Johnstone while Hamilton felt the full force of the unpredictables, Patrick Thistle who routed the Accies 5-0. These results have seen a 5 point gap open up between the teams as Inverness remained in 3rd place due to United drawing with St Mirren with Hamilton in 5th. Inverness were the victors in the two previous games this season, winning 2-0 at New Douglas Park and 4-2 in the return game at Inverness. Richie Foran is out, but still an important part of the set up, working behind the scenes. Choices for Hughes who, if any, he brings in after a convincing win in midweek. Martin Canning is the man tasked with keeping Hamilton at the top end of the table, not an easy job following behind the local legend. Short preview this week due to technical problems. My laptop is in thirty bits. Not good. Tm4tj prediction is brief as well. I am tipping Inverness to pile more misery on Accies recent form and take all three points back North.

Pay What You Can It's innovation time at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium this Tuesday night as the club introduce a Pay What You Can strategy as the January purse strings tighten on us all. This is the first time a Premiership club has tried this and credit to the Caley Jags board for recognising the plight of the football fan in trying times for fans and clubs alike. See the full story on the official sight right here at http://ictfc.com/news/club-news/1456-pay-what-you-can-v-st-johnstone It's the turn of Scottish Cup holders St Johnstone to visit the Highland capital having already defeated us 1-0 in a typically dour encounter in Perth when the fall guy Brian Graham tricked Willie Collum into awarding a penalty. The same player scored from the spot and has since been handed a two game ban for his cheating and the bungling Mr Collum demoted through the ranks for a couple of weeks for his misinterpretation of the laws, not just for this game, but a series of game changing blunders. The last six encounters have resulted in four wins for Inverness and two for Perth. Both defences have conceded 21 goals, but it's in attack where Inverness hold the advantage with 30 goals against St Johnstone's 19. That is the main reason we hold a nine point advantage over the Perth men. However, the recent reverse at McDiarmid Park in December was in the middle of a three game losing streak which we seem to have rectified by winning our last three games. Since beating us, St Johnstone have beaten Dundee United before losing to Aberdeen and Hamilton and then triumphing over our Nemesis, Partick Thistle on Saturday. Captain Dave Mackay and Steven Anderson were the scorers David Raven and Greg Tansey are both suspended for this one with Raven being unable to carry out his punishment at the weekend due to the Tannadice game being off. Bringing Devine in at centre back and moving Meekings to right back is an option as that is where Josh originally plied his trade. This should open the door for a fit Marley Watkins and James Vincent to return with young Ryan Christie raring to go as well. Plenty of options for Hughes. St Johnstone are without injured midfielders Chris Millar and Murray Davidson and former Scotland international James McFadden is suspended but Lee Croft and Brian Easton are available. tm4tj prediction:- with a full strength squad I would have had no hesitation in promoting a home win as the safest bet. However regular first choice defender David Raven and midfielder Greg Tansey are under disciplinary suspensions which will weaken the side, although Hughes has plenty of options for replacements. Danny Devine has deputised with seamless ease previously and he could fill the void. I still believe Inverness have enough at their disposal to take all three points, but St Johnstone always seem to make it difficult for teams to break them down. Marley Watkins extra pace has been missed recently and he could return to add a bit of width to our attack. Michael O'Halloran is a threat for the visitors and could unsettle a makeshift defence, but it's a home win for me, however be prepared for a tense struggle.

Game off Oh dear. Once again the old problem of calling games off too late reared it's ugly head. United allegedly had the heaters on since Thursday morning but amazingly there were still pockets of ice around the threadbare goal areas. Many Inverness fans had already left, some as far as Perth before the decision to call the game off was officially announced after a second pitch inspection. Some buses made it to Bruar, little consolation if you ask me. This has been posted on the official United site stating the reasons and a reduced offer for tickets when the game is eventually played. January 17, 2015 A Club spokesperson said: “Naturally we’re very disappointed the game can’t go ahead due to the sub zero temperatures we have experienced overnight. Despite taking every precaution and our undersoil heating being on since first thing on Thursday morning, there are patches of the pitch that are a safety hazard for the players particularly in and around the goalmouth areas. We don’t want to take any chances with player safety and as such, while we wanted to give the game as much chance to happen as possible, we also wanted to give fans adequate notice to save unnecessary travel. “We have also decided that, as a good will gesture in appreciation of the effort being made by supporters at this time of year, we will let supporters of Inverness and Dundee United attend the rescheduled fixture for £5.” However, some choice quotes have been doing the rounds:- £15 to go to Bruar and back...money well spent, said AJS on twitter, however, it got better for him......To Bruar and back for a pish and a Subway. Rare away day experience....... Pointless journey. F*%*!n shambles. Hoping Tuesdays on now. Bev tweeted.........not a happy supporters bus heading north. What a shambles......we didn't even get a toilet stop......... Paul was not too happy..........Doesn't take a genius to know that #ICTFC against #DUFC isn't a local derby. Either make a decision early or don't. It's not rocket science. Gringo was grumpy as well.......Nice one SPFL. Let the ICT fans and team travel down the icy A9 for a couple of hours and then.....and only then....call the game off. You really are a fecking joke. Anon.........absolutely disgraceful that a basic need cannot be fulfilled I can understand IF the heating failed. It that doesn't seem to be the case, who is doing the ground staffing for United, Stevie Wonder? And the final complaint was .....The SPFL were willing to risk fans travelling on the notorious A9 in these conditions. Tells you all you need to know about where we come. Anyway, fair play to United for reducing the prices for the next one, but could it have been averted in the first instance, and, if in doubt, could it have been called off sooner.

GAME OFF Tannadice is the venue this Saturday with United hosting third equal Inverness in the weekends top game, where only goal difference separates the sides. At the other end of the spectrum, Ross County have St Mirren as visitors in the ongoing relegation battle. Inverness picked up an excellent three points last Saturday when a Billy Mckay double helped the 10 men to overcome Kilmarnock. David Raven had been sent off just after the break and Inverness did it the hard way, coming from behind to win convincingly by 1-2, despite the numerical disadvantage. Mckay's two goals were well worth the long trek for the Inverness fans, his tenacity, interplay and invention worthy of a bigger stage. United had to wait until Monday night for their game when they ousted Hamilton at New Douglas Park in a five goal thriller. United saw a two goal lead dwindle away before Sean Dillon headed the winner to take them above Inverness in the table. Stuart Armstrong and Mackay-Steven had put United in the driving seat before the Accies drew level, but it was United that took all three points. So, excellent away wins for both clubs that keeps them on the heels of Aberdeen and Celtic. Inverness are on a three game winning run after losing the previous three. United have two wins and a draw in their last three games, including a thumping 6-2 derby win over the Dark Blues. Over the last ten games, United have accumulated nineteen points, one more than Inverness. United are top scorers in the league with forty-two goals which is twelve more than the Caley Jags whereas our defence has conceded seven less than United's. The first encounter this season saw Inverness win 1-0 in the Highlands thanks to an early Marley Watkins strike. In truth though, the score was kind to United who managed to keep it to one goal. Billy Mckay missed a few chances that day, I'm not so sure he is in the same mood right now after his clinical display at Rugby Park. United's Gary Mackay-Steven is a talented youngster and has been attracting attention from none other than Celtic who are allegedly preparing a package, but it has been reported that United would take no less than £250K to let the 24 year old Thurso lad leave Tannadice. Sheffield United have already been told to take a hike with their £80K bid. John Hughes will be without the suspended David Raven. Marley Watkins and James Vincent missed the trip to Kilmarnock, but look to have recovered from their minor knocks. Maybe a gap in the market for Danny Devine to come into the defence although Ross Draper has covered there before and Josh Meekings was originally played at right back. Over to you Yogi. Incidentally, Ibra Sekajja has left the building and signed for Livingstone. Jackie McNamara is without centre-backs Callum Morris and John Souttar as well as striker Mario Bilate. However, United should have signed the powerful former Motherwell striker Henri Anier in time for him to be included in their squad for this game. Anier scored nine times for Motherwell in forty appearances and will sign a two and a half year deal. It looks as though Gary Mackay-Steven has signed a pre-contract agreement with Celtic and will join the Scottish Champions in the summer. I wonder if that will affect his focus for the remainder of the season? Full back Mark Wilson has left the building. tm4tj prediction:- This is one of the toughest fixtures on the calendar. However, if you want to mix it with the big boys, this is the right end of the table to be at. Tannadice is not an easy place to get anything from and when United are in full flow they are a joy to behold. The addition of Anier will add strength to an already impressive strike force which is the leagues top scorers. The United front men are backed by an equally impressive midfield who are not afraid to get in amongst the goals. Their defence is suspect though and are more akin to a mid-table side and that is where we will find any joy that comes our way. We will miss David Raven who has been a regular contributor, but Yogi has choices and that could be important who he decides will fill Raven's boots. With Watkins and Vincent at his disposal, we can also boast a decent attacking force, and Christie will be champing at the bit to test his skills with United's engine room. The winner of tomorrow's game will jump into second place in the table, and that's incentive enough for Inverness to take all three points in a tight affair. By the way, on this very day in 1931 Dundee United recorded their biggest ever win by beating Nithsdale Wanderers 14-0. Jock Bain scored a hat-trick and Tim Williamson bagged five. On the same day, Inverness Caledonian Thistle were erm, unheard of. We were there in spirit though in the shape of Caledonian FC and Inverness Thistle. The Motherwell v Killie game has been postponed due to damage at Fir Park.

Keep off the Grass It's off to Rugby Park on Saturday as Kilmarnock host Inverness on their plastic pitch in a fifth versus seventh premiership match. They played Celtic on it on Monday and a furore broke out when Celtic were denied permission to train on the pitch prior to the game. Meh! Pitches have moved on since the original ones were installed in the eighties. Stirling Albion were the first to try it out at their then ground at Annfield in 1987. There are now 12 stadiums where grass is no longer used, Hamilton being the only other one in the Premier division. The state of the art 3G surfaces are reckoned to be as good as it gets and might be the way forward in our harsh winters. Water on the surface makes for a great game apparently. That shouldn't be a problem this weekend. Last Sunday, Inverness eventually saw off St Mirren thanks to a piece of magic from Billy Mckay, the striker flicking home an incisive cross from MotM David Raven half way through the second half. That win was on the back of an excellent derby triumph at Dingwall which broke a run of three defeats over the Xmas period. Kilmarnock had picked up some form recently with wins over Hamilton and St Mirren, but suffered defeat on Monday when Celtic won 2-0. Prior to beating Hamilton, Killie had gone nine games without a win, losing eight of those games. Our last few visits to Rugby Park have thrown up mixed results. Three wins and three defeats including that remarkable fireworks display when we won 3-6 in 2011. Nobody saw that one coming, but it was a game that will stick in the memory banks for a long time. We had a Shinnie hat-trick that day, but it was brother Andrew that did the damage, along with a brace from Gregory Tade and a single from Jonny Hayes. Killie's scorers were Dean Shiels (2) and Paul Heffernan. Worth noting that none of these scorers play for the clubs now. Some positive news for Inverness fans with Greg Tansey signing on for another couple of seasons, but we await deals for Shinnie, Watkins, Mckay, Meekings and Raven. Shinnie, Watkins and Mckay look to be the difficult ones to secure, but there is more hope for Meekings and Raven to be tied up. In the earlier game in August, Inverness ran out comfortable 2-0 winners. Aaron Doran opened the scoring in the second half and Greg Tansey scored with a superb long range shot that cannoned off the bar/post and Samson, with the keeper actually being credited with scoring the goal. That was a similar game to our last home game, the match taking a while to ignite, but overall a deserved three points. Marley Watkins missed the St Mirren game with a knock but that was our only worry. Richie Foran is out long term. That gave Nick Ross the chance to shine with Ross Draper returning to the bench after suspension. Carl Tremarco carried on at left back with Graeme Shinnie foraging around in midfield. I would expect a similar squad to face Killie. Allan Johnstone has the experienced (and sturdy) Alexei Eremenko to call upon. The Russian playmaker is built like a brick shit house, but his ability on the ball is unquestionable. With former Aberdeen player Josh Magennis on the books, Killie are not short of target men.Craig Slater returns to the squad after his suspension. His over exuberant celebration for scoring the winner against St Mirren saw him picking up his second yellow and subsequently missed the Celtic game. The referee as you might have correctly guessed for that chastising sending off was once more the incompetent Willie Collum. Enough said. Killie are reported to be lining up a bid to entice Kris Boyd back once more. Boyd is now out of favour at troubled the Rangers and if Killie can come up with a package, the proven scorer could find himself playing for the Rugby Parkers once more, the possibility of him lining up against us is a real prospect. tm4tj prediction:- I thought we might have to settle for a point at Dingwall, but a surprising return to direct football saw us emerge with an easy 3-1 victory. We reverted to type against St Mirren but still took the points, although the performance was a bit below par. It's not easy to work out which approach we will use, but my guess is it will be somewhat cautious and I wont be expecting fireworks this time, although a point won't be too shabby. We are capable of taking all three, but let's not be greedy as Killie are also capable of turning on the style and we have suffered at their hands before.

Buddy Hell A great start to the New Year for Inverness with the derby win and hot on the heels of that is the visit of County's relegation threatened contenders, St Mirren. St Mirren's form guide makes for distressing reading. Only one win in their last ten league games and that was a couple of weeks ago at Dens Park. That's a hell of a run. The result of this is plain to see as they languish one point above an equally poor Ross County, and along with Motherwell, these three teams look set to battle for the relegation spot this season unless a drastic turnaround after the transfer window occurs. The Buddies have only won three league games this term and sit second bottom on 11 points with Inverness doing somewhat better on 35 points after 11 wins. Our record was tarnished in recent games with three defeats on the spin until the derby game saw us trounce County 3-1 in Dingwall. The recent cup pairing saw us take the game to a replay after a 1-1 draw in Paisley thanks to a second half equaliser from defender Josh Meekings after Marc McAusland had opened the scoring in the first half. It was a different story in the replay as Inverness swept St Mirren aside and the 4-0 scoreline flattered the visitors. Warren, Tansey, Williams and Shinnie scored that night but it could easily have been doubled as Inverness swamped the Buddies. We have seen off a few St Mirren gaffers in our time, and soon after this crushing defeat the hapless Tommy Craig was removed from office. Gary Teale has been in temporary charge since then and three games later they won their first game in eleven attempts beating Dundee 3-1. Kenny McLean scored a brace and Stevie Mallan added the other. Teale has secured McLean's eligibility to play in this game, and that's a bonus for them as he is their talismanic goal threat and would be a big miss if excluded. It's no coincidence that the same man that gifted Brian Graham the penalty for St Johnstone was the man involved with McLean's 'red' card. Yes, the incompetent Willie Collum, but thankfully he will not be at Inverness on Sunday. It's high time the authorities punished the inadequacies in our refereeing system. Bring back the men from Luxembourg, a breath of fresh air that was! Bobby Madden is the man in charge on Sunday. Oh well! However, a word of caution for Inverness. The only thing that is predictable about these games is that they are unpredictable. Go back to 13th December and another side from the West came North and embarrassed us in a 4-0 hammering. Partick have the knack of getting under our skin and irritating the hell out of us and that setback seemed to knock our confidence for a game or two. We have also been turned over by a lowly St Mirren side before around this time of year, Boxing Day 2010 springs to mind when they came North expecting nothing and went home with a 2-1 win under their belt. It had all looked rosy as Lee Cox scored early, but a double from Steven Thompson clinched a deserved win for the Paisley side. So, beware the underdog. Ross Draper has served his two game ban and will be included in the squad for the visit of St Mirren. Mind you, he is not guaranteed a starting slot given the excellent team performance at Dingwall on New Years day. Richie Foran, as is the norm these days is still out. On the red card theme Kenny McLean will be available as his club are appealing the punishment he was given by the aforementioned Willie Collum; another fine mess Willie! McLean was dismissed during the 2-1 defeat at home to Kilmarnock when he appeared to move his head towards Ross Barbour. And to complete the theme, striker Steven Thompson is also available after completing a ban. Marc McAusland could feature, despite receiving seven stitches when he suffered a head wound against Killie, but Ellis Plummer, has returned to Manchester City after bringing his one-year loan switch to an early conclusion. He had been out since September with a groin injury. tm4tj prediction:- You can't argue with the statistics that point to a win for Inverness but St Mirren are now in a dog fight at the bottom, and every dog has it's day. The cup result was overwhelmingly in our favour. I doubt the same will happen in the scrap for League points. Kenny McLean is the main goal threat along with Steven Thompson, but as long as we have our defensive caps on, then I won't be arguing with the stats. Home win, maybe 2-1. So, there you go, an Inverness v St Mirren preview without Ross Tokely being mentioned.......................................Oh damn, spoiled it, my bad.

New Year Derby Day It's derby time and Inverness head to Shadowland to first foot the Global Energy Stadium on New Years Day for the second meeting this season, the first ending in a 1-1 draw in early October. The frost has set in this month and Inverness have hit the skids. Ross County seem to be frozen and haven't shifted much, but Inverness are on the slide and moving in their direction with three defeats on the trot and zero goals in those games which has seen us drop from second to fifth with St Johnstone about to overtake us. Happy Days! It's four games since Inverness scored and won a game, beating Dundee at Dens by 2-1. Mckay and Christie were on target that day, but it was a less than convincing performance. Since then, three straight defeats, all winnable games, have seen us slide towards County in the table and confidence amongst the fans is low. Yogi's passing game has been well and truly sussed out and plan B has yet to materialise. The mystery against Aberdeen was why he chose to go with Tremarco at left back when Shinnie has operated there to good effect all season. James Vincent was overlooked for central midfield, a position many feel is his favoured slot. Another damning feature of that game was the reluctance to change it or make early substitutions when all around could see we were struggling to make headway. Whatever his reasons, he needs to sort it rapidly or we could be staring at four in a row. County will be buoyed by their point at Parkhead where they ground out a no scoring draw. Unfortunately for them, they still hit the bottom with St Mirren winning. However, they always seem to up their game when they see us coming and get in our faces, similar to Partick Thistle and we all know the result of that. Ross Draper misses his second game for his sending off at Perth and Richie Foran is still sidelined; so what's new? I'll tell you what's new, the transfer window is about to open and the rumour mill is in full swing. Shinnie, Watkins, Mckay to name three have been noticeably off the pace in the last few games and it's just possible that the transfer speculation is getting to them. One or two have done it all before and Greg Tansey knows where the grass is greener. Others like Nick Ross have not progressed into Yogi's thoughts and might be better elsewhere and Hughes will start hunting in earnest at the prospect of losing some of our top players. For the Staggies, there will be no Dingwall in Dingwall as the aforementioned Tony is out injured. Graham Carey and Michael Gardyne are both struggling to shrug off injuries. Jackson Irvine is a possibility along with Filip Kiss. He's never heard of Tain and he comes from sunny Spain, ohhh Reguero. The former Inverness keeper has been in the nets in recent games displacing another former keeper, Mark Brown. They say that nostalgia aint what it used to be, but we could do with some of this on the 1st. tm4tj prediction:- It's all adding up to a severe dose of unpredictability. I'm not brimming with confidence after our last three games and would bite your arm off at the offer of a point to help us get back on track. We need to be more clinical in front of goal and a direct approach might suit the County pitch better instead of faffing around at the back and gifting goals like nobodies business. If we can keep out County's eager attack, then my best bet is a goalless draw. Happy New Year. Here's wee tune to cheer you all up.................