tm4tj

2014 begins with a derby It's the Highland Derby once again as struggling Ross County make the short trip over the bridge to first foot neighbours Inverness on the 1st of January. That's nice! The last derby in Dingwall suffered at the hands of the Staggies floodlights as darkness fell across the stadium leaving the not only County in the shadows, but everyone else as well. Seething! That fixture still has to be replayed with the game being abandoned at half-time scoreless. County are struggling with second season syndrome, unable to reach the dizzy heights of their debut year in the top flight. The table shows that they would be sitting bottom but for Hearts being deducted 15 points before the season started. Inverness have faltered slightly in the last month, but the decline was hitting before Butcher left as other clubs started to get the hang of our style. Maybe Butcher left at the right time for him with Inverness reaching second spot, as high as could be expected. It's certainly a tough start for John Hughes and despite the lowly position of Ross County, this is a derby and nothing can be taken for granted. Young Ryan Christie was blooded against Celtic and he has plenty of talent, I'm not sure the derby is the right moment to throw him in at the deep end. However, David Raven is surely in Yogi's thoughts for a return to right back with Shinnie swapping flanks, with maybe Tremarco retaining the full back berth. Danny Williams has come in for plenty of fan criticism, but with Foran and Vincent still out our wafer thin squad has it's limitations. Ben Greenhalgh, Toby Agdestein and Liam Polworth will also be looking for some game time. The fans choice for this one would see Hughes select this favoured formation, the bring back Raven campaign is in full swing......... if only:- Brill Raven Warren Meekings Tremarco Draper Ross Watkins Shinnie Doran McKay Mihael Kovacevic will not play for personal reasons, returning to Croatia to look after his father. Derek Adams is desperate to strengthen his squad, but will have to run with the same squad that lost at Pittodrie. Adams is hopeful that Steven Saunders will be fit after a minor illness. tm4tj prediction:- Sometimes the occasion gets the better of the finer points of the game during these derby's. Few chances, plenty of blood and guts, a raft of bookings, but sadly quality goes out the window. A Charlie Christie would be handy right now, but the next best thing would be son of. Lo and behold, the saviour could be just round the corner. I wonder................. However, it may be too soon for young Ryan and I'll hedge my bets and go for a tough tackling no scoring hangover draw. Merry Xmas and have a good New Year from all at Caley Thistle Online

Early goal sinks Inverness Before you could say half past twelve, Kris Commons had the ball through Dean Brill's legs and into the back of the net to score what proved to be the winner. Inverness though, to their credit never wilted and had the better of the rest of the half but were unable to penetrate a holding Celtic defence who saw out the game relatively untroubled bar a couple of decent long range efforts. The lunch time kick off saw a sizeable crowd gather at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium to watch first take on third in the SPFL on a fine December afternoon. Celtic were quick out of the blocks and with only two and a half minutes on the clock Commons buried a ball through Brill after a one-two on the left edge of the box saw him stride forward to despatch the ball into the net. Slack defending from Inverness and a great start for the Champions. Many Caley Jags fans were left wondering if the return of Raven would have prevented the defence being opened up so easily and so early. Comedy moment was provided by Ross Draper in midfield as Crawford Allan crossed his path, the big lad brushing Crawford aside with ease, poor Crawford left to dust himself down and get off the floor to continue his refereeing, electing not to book Draper in the meantime, but his card was marked. Aaron Doran managed to get one on target after some neat build up play from the left flank and at the other end Inverness were fortunate there were no takers for Stokes inviting cut back as the ball rolled across the box and out for a throw in. Top scorer Billy McKay bottled a header when the ball reached him in the area, but he was unable to get any purchase on the ball and Forster gathered easily. Inverness were now on top but needed that goal to draw level and it almost came. Graeme Shinnie warmed the hands of Fraser Forster as he let rip after Marley Watkins won the ball back at the corner flag and fed it into Shinnie's path, and from the angle of the box his powerful shot was well saved by the big keeper. Half Time 0-1 Graeme Shinnie continued the one man onslaught on Celtic's goal and Forster once more denied him, diving low to his left to turn a 25 yard effort out for a corner. Commons almost flicked home number two from six yards, the ball going a yard wide when he should have done better, and soon after he lifted a cross onto the back corner of the bar with Brill looking on. It would have been somewhat fortuitous had it gone in but that was about as close as it got in the second half which was slowly drawing to a close with Inverness unable to get behind the Celtic defence. Best move of the match saw Commons strike from the edge of the box after a neat step over by Samaras and a touch by Stokes, but Brill was just that, diving to his left to push the ball away, Scott Brown making a complete hash of the rebound firing it well wide. Doran brought out a TV save from Forster from distance, the ball never troubling him enough as Inverness came back into the picture and from the clearance, Stokes set up Brown, who forced Brill into an equally comfortable save from the edge of the box. Hughes made a last ditch attempt to salvage something from the game and threw on the twinkle toed son of an Inverness footballing Legend. Former Inverness Thistle, Inverness Caledonian and Inverness Caledonian Thistle legend Charlie Christie was bulging with pride as his 17 year old son Ryan entered the fray, and he showed some moments of skill and almost latched onto Drapers headed ball in the last minute of the game, but the lineman had flagged for offside, maybe just as well as wee Ryan could not get over the ball and his header went amiss. Draper himself should have done better with the initial attempt as he headed Doran's cross down and across goal, missing the target, and that was that. Full Time 0-1 tm4tj MotM:- I'm going for Graeme Shinnie who did his best with a couple of fierce shots on target, but like many others feel it's only a matter of time before David Raven returns to right back, then maybe we will see the benefit of Shinnie foraging on the left. Remember we are still without Vincent and Foran and needs must.

The Bhoys are back in town Celtic are now sprinting to the title since their European adventure finished, brushing allcomers aside, and it's the turn of Inverness Caledonian Thistle to face the Tic's juggernaut as it rolls towards the SPFL trophy. We managed to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory in August as Celtic came from 0-2 down to earn a draw. It could have been oh so different had Aaron Doran not dithered on the ball inside the Celtic box allowing the defender the chance to recover. That's history now. Neither side were at their best on Boxing Day, Inverness taking a point at Firhill and Celtic edging past St Johnstone thanks to an early van Dijk goal, but missing numerous chances to increase their lead. The only domestic side to beat Celtic this season is Morton, after extra-time in the League Cup. So, there is a glimmer of hope for all the wee clubs out there. Inverness look to have gone off the boil recently, the first half against Aberdeen being a prime example where we looked like a schoolboy side at times. We do miss captain Richie Foran, and his possession and ability to engineer attacks were evidently sadly lacking at Partick. David Raven once more started on the bench Richie Foran and James Vincent miss Sunday's lunchtime fixture with Celtic. Celtic's Charlie Mulgrew is a doubt with the groin injury that has kept him out of the last three games. Derk Boerrigter, Mikael Lustig, Beram Kayal and Steven Mouyokolo remain out.

Thistle Do The two SPFL Thistles do battle on Boxing day with Inverness looking to avenge an earlier season defeat at the hands of the Harry Wraggs. That defeat came about in bizarre circumstances at the Caledonian Stadium when odd refereeing and misfortune befell the Caley Jags and Partick nicked all three points in a 1-2 reverse. Richie Foran misses out having injured his shoulder in the defeat against the Dons. He looks likely to be out for the next four games minimum. David Raven returned halfway through the Dons game and should stay at right back. Shinnie flitted across the park in that game to accommodate Raven and played ahead of Tremarco and that could be the same format for today. With James Vincent still out, Marley Watkins could return after a dead leg kept him out of the Aberdeen fiasco. John Hughes blamed trying too hard Inverness' only crime for the defeat to Aberdeen. It's early in Hughes' Inverness career and the tongues are wagging already, but come on folk, give the guy a break and let's see how it works out for Yogi. Partick Thistle left back Aaron Taylor-Sinclair faces a late fitness test to see if he has recovered from a knock. Right-back Stephen O'Donnell returns following a hip injury but Isaac Osbourne and Sean Welsh are still out. Alan Archibald is fairly optimistic about his sides chances of getting something from the game dismissing his teams recent run of results and citing decent performances as the reason for his optimism. After the Aberdeen result, here's something to cheer you up. tm4tj prediction:- I don't see this as an easy game at all and a point would not be a bad result. We are capable of getting all three points but teams are now sussing us out and with Foran out it could be a difficult day. 1-1 a distinct possibility.

Thistle Do The two SPFL Thistles do battle on Boxing day with Inverness looking to avenge an earlier season defeat at the hands of the Harry Wraggs. That defeat came about in bizarre circumstances at the Caledonian Stadium when odd refereeing and misfortune befell the Caley Jags and Partick nicked all three points in a 1-2 reverse. Richie Foran misses out having injured his shoulder in the defeat against the Dons. He looks likely to be out for the next four games minimum. David Raven returned halfway through the Dons game and should stay at right back. Shinnie flitted across the park in that game to accommodate Raven and played ahead of Tremarco and that could be the same format for today. With James Vincent still out, Marley Watkins could return after a dead leg kept him out of the Aberdeen fiasco. John Hughes blamed trying too hard Inverness' only crime for the defeat to Aberdeen. It's early in Hughes' Inverness career and the tongues are wagging already, but come on folk, give the guy a break and let's see how it works out for Yogi. Partick Thistle left back Aaron Taylor-Sinclair faces a late fitness test to see if he has recovered from a knock. Right-back Stephen O'Donnell returns following a hip injury but Isaac Osbourne and Sean Welsh are still out. Alan Archibald is fairly optimistic about his sides chances of getting something from the game dismissing his teams recent run of results and citing decent performances as the reason for his optimism. After the Aberdeen result, here's something to cheer you up. tm4tj prediction:- I don't see this as an easy game at all and a point would not be a bad result. We are capable of getting all three points but teams are now sussing us out and with Foran out it could be a difficult day. 1-1 a distinct possibility.

Xmas Brief I'll be brief here. Forget the Xmas shopping, there's something more important going on this Saturday at tea-time. Fourth take on second at the Park'n'Ride stadium on the outskirts of Inverness, a five-thirty kick off for those in doubt. The festive frolics begin in earnest this weekend as Inverness look to gain revenge against the team that ended their unbeaten start to the season with a 1-0 win at Pittodrie in August, seven games into the campaign. An excellent Scott Vernon strike separated the sides that day with the Dons always looking the likeliest to end our run, but in truth, there was little between the sides. Inverness sit three points above Aberdeen and the main reason for that is our miserly defence, the tightest in the SPFL having conceded only eleven times in fifteen games. Brill and Co are on a five game unbreached run, Kilmarnock the last side to score against us on the 2nd November. There's little to choose between the sides in the scoring stakes. Aberdeen have scored one more than us, but they have played a game more as well. Billy Mckay scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season against Hearts last week but there is more to his game than simply scoring goals. His hold up play for a short guy is simply fantastic, constantly holding off much larger defenders and his ability to link with fellow players a joy to behold. Marley Watkins being the latest talent to provide for Mckay with two assists at Tynecastle, and his pace will be a valuable asset in the heavy schedule to come. No fresh problems for Inverness with James Vincent the only one missing although reserve player Curtis Allen has left the club after an injury hit time North of the border. Cammy Smith is hopeful of making the squad for the Dons, but Clark Robertson remains out. tm4tj prediction:- Tough game to call this one. Aberdeen are on a decent run of form, only three defeats in the last sixteen games. We are on a high as well, three defeats in eighteen games. I expect defences to give little away although the extreme conditions could play a part in deciding this fixture. A draw would not be a disaster and a defeat would not end our season as we still have a game in hand over most teams. Victory would be sweet, but it might be too much to ask for given the magnitude of the task in difficult circumstances. I'll go for a share of the spoils, possibly 0-0.

That was the week that was Yes, it's been some week. Power cuts, flooding, snow, freezing conditions, no trains boats or planes, the great leader Nelson Mandela passing on and Yogi arrives in Inverness in time for the Arctic weather. Now for something completely different, weather permitting. Back to earning our crust this weekend with a difficult away trip to Paisley to face a resurgent St Mirren, only one defeat in their last eight games. It's a tough opener for new gaffer John Hughes. However, this weekend will see Duncan Shearer have more say on the team selection as Hughes begins the process of getting his erse onto the managers chair and familiarising himself with his new surroundings. He may even sit back and take stock of his new charges as they go about their business, maybe getting a better view of the bigger picture from the stand before he begins his tenure in earnest. The opening game of the season saw Inverness ease past St Mirren by 3-0. The Buddies poor start to the season continued for the next two months, with only two wins in a dozen games and going out of the League Cup to Queen of the South. They went undefeated in November, winning two and drawing two, one of which was a 2-2 away draw against the same Queens that knocked them out of the League Cup, but excellent wins at Partick and at home to Ross County have steadied the ship and Danny Lennon's side have now climbed to eighth in the table. Inverness have reacted well to the loss of Butcher to Hibernian and the Shearer-Kellacher combination has seen three clean sheets and three wins in a row. We are in fact, on a five game winning streak, the sweetest of those being a 2-0 victory at Easter Road as Butcher hob-nobbed with the Hibs directors. Eat that Terry! This run has steadied our boat as well after consecutive defeats to St Johnstone and Partick Thistle and we are now back in second place on our own with a game in hand over the teams below us. That game is the Ross County away fixture that ran out of light, something more common these days, ahem. New gaffer John Hughes and Garry Warren talk about the task in hand...............

It's Yogi. Let's hope Inverness have not made a Boo Boo as they have announced that John 'Yogi' Hughes will take over the reins at Inverness after the departure of Terry Butcher. Paul Hartley seemed to be the fans preferred choice going by polls and topics on the CTO forums, but Yogi has emerged as the winner, nearly three weeks after Butcher saw greener grass at Easter Road. It looks as though Yogi will have a job on his hands to convince a lot of the Inverness fans that he was the best option, many yet to be convinced that the board have got it right this time. Mind you, when Butcher arrived, we went through a similar phase but that seemed to pan out OK before he was taken from our grasp. Plenty fans taking umbrage at the appointment claiming John Hughes has not achieved anything as a manager. Let's take a closer look at his stats and see if we can help you make your own mind up. Yogi began his senior playing career at Berwick Rangers, where he scored 14 goals in 41 appearances as a striker. He moved to Falkirk via Swansea and Alloa (loan), and he played the majority of his games at Brockville, 134 in total. In season 1995/96 he joined Celtic before going to Hibernian for four seasons. In 2000 Hughes went West to Ayr United before returning to Falkirk as Player/coach. His managerial credits started at Brockville where he accompanied Owen Coyle in the hot seat. When Coyle left for Tannadice, Hughes was in sole charge, leading Falkirk to promotion into the SPL in 2005. Hughes kept Falkirk in the top flight for the next four years and they made a Scottish Cup Final appearance in 2009. He had been so successful, Hibernian stole him in 2009; sounds familiar. A fourth place finish and a Europa League place followed for Hibs in his opening season, but fans are fickle things, especially at Easter Road and, Butcher beware, the old mutual consent was dished out as Yogi departed the following season. Livingston were added to his CV in 2012, and in the time it takes to have a bairn, he was off to Hartlepool for the 2012/13 season. Hartlepool were in big trouble by the time Hughes arrived, 20 games without a win, and despite winning a manager of the month award, and an upturn in results (27.5%), he was sacked on 9th May 2013 as Hartlepool were relegated to Football League Two. Many will remember Yogi for something a bit more adventurous though. During a TV interview with Maurice Johnstone, Big Yogi ran behind Mo, starkers with the camera's rolling........... Well, Hughes is inheriting a team riding high in the SPFL and to be honest, the only way is down from here. The fans will need to give Hughes some time to stamp his own authority on Inverness Caledonian Thistle. It's some task considering where we are just now, but better to be there than struggling to avoid relegation with a new manager. Hughes has been here before of course, as a manager getting pelters from the home fans, but if memory serves me right, he gave as good as he got. If our board are prepared to gamble on Hughes being the next manager, then we should all get behind that decision and give him the respect that he deserves. He will live or die by the sword, and as this is a results based business, I'm sure he knows that well and will do his utmost to continue our rise to the top. The official site has this statement http://ictfc.com/news/club-news/1115-its-john-hughes