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Everything posted by tm4tj
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Aye right, now feck off. Time you found out some more about one of your alleged adopted clubs. Success can be gauged in many ways, not just by winning titles and cups. Why do you think we need a new face all of a sudden. The old one aint exactly broke completely. We have issues with injuries as has been well documented, and some self inflicted alterations. I do believe we will avoid relegation, maybe just, and that is success for us. Scotts make porridge oats man for fecks sake. You really know how to annoy people you condescending arrogant and ignorant pratt, now that's personal. Worst poster is probably the most apt title for you, and thoroughly deserved if you ask me.
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Maryhill's Alternative report now published. Positive vibes
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Renegade. We seemed to post the same thing at the same time However, this Adam Rooney thing.............he is long gone, we have to move on, a la Munro and Duncan. The radio commentators made the same analagy, but in truth, I watched Rooney at Dunfermline in our first season down and he missed about six one on ones and he was castigated for this. He turned out OK. This was a nil pointer. To be honest most of us were staring at a right humping. I think we will be pleasantly surprised by our endeavour today and with a bit more fortune could have made Celtic twitchy before the end. But, that's why they are near the top and we are at present footing the table. I'll take on board Alternative Maryhill's report and make my judgement from there, should be interesting. It sounded as though we were finally getting rid of the injury crisis syndrome that is afflicting us, but fell short of going the whole hogg.
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Sounds as though there were plenty of positives judging by the radio commentary.next weekend is a much sterner test than previous years, and we managed to feck them up before, so tough games ahead. Methinks Dunfermline will be our saviours this season as they blow themselves out, but it will be close maybe. Then again, with a fully fit Hayes........... pffft, piece of cake.
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Celtic the victors on day of mass protests Plenty of plaudits for the players today. A good battling performance but ultimately the three points stayed in Glasgow. After a bright start to the game by Butchers casualties, Celtic settled into the game and eventually cruised to victory against the struggling basement side. First half goals from Joe Ledley and James Forrest set the Hoops on the road to victory despite Majstorovic being hassled by Tade from the off; he really is a disaster waiting to happen, Majstorovic that is. David Proctor was added to the injury list after a first half clash left him requiring stitches in a head gash and Roman Golobart deputised. Bit of a stalemate in the second half only disturbed by the fans vocal protests from the stands and a diving header from Richie Foran which Forster saved brilliantly, but the game just evaded the visitors as Celtic held out for a 2-0 win. Full report to come from Alternative Maryhill. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Celtic v Inverness Caledonian Thistle, 24th September 2011 Normally this would be a fixture that would be expected to generate a bit of anticipation among Inverness supporters, particularly given that only twelve league games ago Caley Thistle were dismantling Celtic’s title hopes while Neil Lennon converted his water bottle on the touchline in impotent fury. Yet twelve games is a long time in football, and this is an ICT side almost unrecognisable from that which defeated Celtic in May: injury-stricken, filled with untested players, lacking a goalscorer and coming into the game bottom of the SPL and off the back of a very poor second half performance against Dundee United. Even with Celtic looking inept against Rangers last weekend and uninspired against Ross County in midweek, very few among the ICT following were expecting anything more than defeat yesterday, and this perhaps explains why it was a pretty small contingent of CaleyAway footsoldiers that assembled in the London Road Tavern and in Celtic Park itself. By the end of the game, however, despite the anticipated defeat coming to pass, there seemed to be a little more optimism among the Caley Thistle fans, having witnessed a very positive performance from their team. 24/09/11 Celtic Park, Glasgow Celtic 2 - Ledley (28), Forrest (33) TEAM: Forster, El Kaddouri, Majstorovic, Loovens, Matthews, Ledley, Ki (Samaras 75), Kayal, Stokes (McCourt 75), Forrest, Hooper (Bangura 52) SUBS: Zaluska, Wilson, Rogne, Wanyama Booked: none Sent Off: none I.C.T. 0 - TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Proctor (Golobart 27), G.Shinnie, Piermayr (A.Shinnie 64), Tansey, Ross, Chippendale (Sutherland 56), Davis, Foran, Tade SUBS: Tuffey, Gillet, Meekings, McKay Booked: Foran (25) Sent Off: none Referee William Collum Attendance 47382 The changes made by the two managers had not been difficult to predict beforehand. Terry Butcher left Andrew Shinnie and Roman Golobart on the bench, bringing David Proctor into central defence and giving Aidan Chippendale his first start. For Celtic, the much-criticised Georgios Samaras was dropped in favour of Anthony Stokes; the injured Scott Brown and suspended Charlie Mulgrew gave way to James Forrest and Joe Ledley; and the Wilsons, Kelvin and Mark, were replaced by Daniel Majstorovic and Adam Matthews. After their poor second half performance in the old firm derby, it might have been expected that Celtic would impose themselves on Caley Thistle from the first whistle, but in fact it was the Inverness team that took the game to Celtic. In the first five minutes, Gregory Tade’s persistence and hard running twice took him through on Fraser Forster; on the first occasion he was penalised for an alleged foul on Glenn Loovens, but on the second he managed to get away a shot which was well saved by the Celtic keeper. A couple of minutes later, Richie Foran made a promising run up the right and delivered the ball into the centre, but Nick Ross was just unable to get on the end of it. ICT kept up the pressure with Aidan Chippendale putting the ball back in from the opposite wing, but this time Glenn Loovens was able to make a clearance. Although Celtic had plenty of possession in this opening period, they had very little penetration, and their first clear chance was a 20-yard shot from Gary Hooper on fourteen minutes which went wide of Ryan Esson’s right hand post. Meanwhile, their central defence looked decidedly uncertain, especially when put under pressure by Tade; Daniel Majstorovic’s failure to clear a through ball on twelve minutes would be the first of several similar errors which caused consternation in the Celtic support. Nevertheless, Celtic gradually began to put more pressure on the ICT goal. A deflected cross produced a corner, and although the ball flew harmlessly over both defenders and attackers, David Proctor received a head knock while jumping for it, and had to be taken off bleeding heavily. Caley Thistle tried to respond with Chippendale and Tade combining well on the left, but possession fell again to Celtic and after a swift counter-attacking move that anticipated the build-up to their second goal, James Forrest got in a shot that Ross Tokely did well to block. With Celtic increasingly dominating the game, Terry Butcher decided to bring on Roman Golobart, presumably having been told that David Proctor would not be fit to resume. So ICT were restored to eleven men, having played for more than five minutes with only ten; but within two minutes of being restored to full strength, they were a goal behind, when Joe Ledley fired in a twenty-yard shot low to Esson’s right after striding onto a crossfield pass from Beram Kayal. Perhaps sensing a new vulnerability about ICT, Celtic went for the quick kill and just three minutes later Tokely had to make another block to prevent a Gary Hooper shot going in. Caley Thistle rallied and quickly forced a corner, but when Chippendale’s ball in was cleared, Celtic swept to the other end, Ki sliding a diagonal pass into Forrest who burst past Piermayr and fired the ball into the net from just inside the box. Celtic 2 – Caley Thistle 0. While at this point ICT supporters might have been forgiven for expecting a collapse of Aberdonian proportions, the rest of the first half was in fact dominated by a Caley Thistle team determined not to lie down to Celtic. The Inverness team managed to win four corners in but unfortunately never really looked capable of threatening in the air from any of them: this was one area in which Majstorovic and Loovens looked very comfortable. For all Tade’s terrific workrate and pressurising, Greg Tansey looked the most likely ICT player to score, breaking late from midfield, and he sent in two shots just either side of the forty-minute mark which also, unfortunately, went just either side of the goal. The second half was comparatively uneventful. Celtic seemed content to try to retain possession and play at a slow pace, and while it might not have been particularly exciting for their supporters, ultimately the tactic worked, with ICT’s front men having run themselves almost to a standstill by around the eightieth minute. On the subject of the Celtic supporters, incidentally, it would be churlish not to mention the backing they gave their team in the second half: at one stage, the entire home support was on its feet doing the huddle; at another, the two ends of the ground were involved in some call-and-response chanting. It was genuinely impressive, and actually enjoyable to see football supporters having real fun at a game despite the fairly dull football on offer. Mind you, the ground was only ¾ full... Perhaps surprisingly, the Celtic players didn’t seem particularly lifted by the noise from the terraces. Probably their best chance came five minutes into the half, when a dangerous ball into the penalty area was scooped well over the bar by Stokes. Subsequently, much of Celtic’s probing play was well broken up by Nick Ross and David Davis, two of ICT’s more impressive performers, who both played quite deep and shielded the defence well. Equally, however, ICT were unable to build any real momentum. The replacement of Aidan Chippendale with Shane Sutherland after only fifty-five minutes might have contributed to this. Chippendale looked a little fragile at times, but there were a few pleasing flashes of creativity: neat threaded passes and intelligent overlapping runs. Sutherland, when he came on, wasn’t really able to get into the game, apart from one potentially dangerous run cutting in from the left that ultimately came to nothing. The fact that Sutherland was again brought on to play in a position that is not his preferred one was a reminder of how limited the manager’s options currently are, but if Chippendale was too tired to have carried on it would have been interesting, perhaps, to see Tade moved wide for the last half hour and Billy McKay given a chance up front; certainly, the terrific ball fired across the area by Tade after again winning possession from Majstorovic halfway through the second half suggested that he could be effective in that role. As the game entered its final stages Caley Thistle carved out one fine chance that might have made the last ten minutes interesting, when Graeme Shinnie, again mostly excellent for ICT, slung in a cross from the left which Richie Foran met with a diving header. From where we were sitting in the stand, it looked like it had been an excellent stop from Fraser Forster to keep the ball out of the net. That, however, was very much that. Foran looked exhausted, and although Gregory Tade never stopped running until the ninety minutes was up, he too was unable to make a difference. So another defeat, but it was a far closer game than many had feared it would be, and the travelling supporters showed their appreciation of the players’ efforts by staying to applaud them, a gesture that was reciprocated by most of the team. No real change, then: as so often this season, we are left reflecting on a decent showing that ultimately wasn’t rewarded. Yesterday’s performance was undoubtedly much more spirited and inventive than last week’s second half against Dundee United, and players like Davis, Chippendale and Tansey showed enough to suggest that they are up to SPL standard; yet the suspicion remains that without a player who can score regularly, surviving in the league this season will be a struggle. Next week’s home game against St Mirren is starting to assume real importance, and unfortunately a team that hadn’t scored in their three previous league fixtures emphatically found their shooting boots yesterday, putting three past Kilmarnock. Still, Killie themselves came up to Inverness in fine league form, and look what happened there. So, keep the faith, but keep your fingers crossed too. Short highlights found on YouTube
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Strangely enough, listening on the radio, we have been doing pretty well apart from losing the two goals. How odd.
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It might get worse before it gets better. Inverness have got probably the worst fixture on the back of a poor opening sequence to the season. One win in eight SPL games does not fill the fans with much confidence going into this game at Parkhead, and things could get worse before they get better. However, cast your mind back to last season when Inverness went to Glasgow late November. Celtic had hammered hapless Aberdeen 9-0 a couple of weeks earlier. It was not looking good for the Jags as Celtic stormed 2-0 ahead after 65 minutes; but Inverness were made of sterner stuff then. We were trying to preserve a long unbeaten away record, stretching back a year, and Foran and Munro managed to turn this game around as Inverness left the east end of Glasgow with a well deserved point and record still intact. Only five of that team look likely to start this weekend. This season, we seem incapable of turning anything around. Confidence is low and morale seems to be stretched, even the gaffer is losing patience with some of the displays on view and bickering with the fans will not help. We have been hit with an incredible run of injuries, and the list just seems to grow and grow. That in itself is not an excuse as every team has to deal with this, but injuries in key areas has left us threadbare given the self inflicted wholesale changes at the end of last season. News that Foran and Morrison are struggling just adds to the woe. Butcher also bemoans the fact that he is unable to field the same teams in consecutive games. It would appear that he has made more changes than Facebook and neither are popular with the masses. Another defeat will see us slightly adrift at the foot of the table, albeit a long way to go, but the goal difference is usually a bit of a give away and a great indicator as to how your team are doing. Well, at the moment we deserve to be where we are and unless something changes this weekend, then I see no reason to believe we will be in a healthier position after ten to five on Saturday. It's all doom and gloom. Out of the Communities Cup at Ayr and losing our unbeaten run at home against a poor Hibs side. Ayr have also been trounced by Partick and Morton, and therein lies part of our problem, the inability to convert the chances we are creating. Worse was to follow as Aberdeen scored their first goals for this season against us and Robbo's East Fife even showed us how to do it as they dumped the Dons out of the same cup on Tuesday night. Motherwell, Dunfermline and Dundee United have all scored three goals against us and that is the other part of the problem. Ryan Esson, last seasons CTO player of the year, will be disappointed at this, but the fault lies further upfield as our back line seems to be shipping goals like nobodies business. Roman Golobart played his part in United's killer second goal from which we never recovered, and Butcher let him know this. He never re-appeared after half time. It's not the first time the young Spaniard has been chastised, although this one was the straw that broke the donkey's back. But he is not the only one guilty of erring in the final third. Our midfield are giving the back four little help and outlets are at a premium. Lack of a battling midfielder and a playmaker makes life difficult for us and we will have to weather the storm. Changes and injuries are taking their toll and at the moment it looks like an uphill battle, Celtic possibly adding to our misery, however, we are at our most dangerous when written off. Do so at your peril Mr Lennon. Celtic meanwhile, limbered up for the big game by dumping our feeder club out of the Communities Cup at a sodden Victoria Park, Dingwall. Sloppy defending was the main difference as Celtic eased into the next round. So it would appear that County face the same issues as us, leaky defence and no recognised striker. Ayr maybe made our result look slightly better as they held Hearts after ninety minutes. Rangers provided the comedy in midweek by losing a very late goal against Falkirk in a 3-2 defeat. Anyway, I digress, back to our own issues................................... Alternative Maryhill has drawn the short straw and will tell us what to expect from this encounter............. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Got my match ticket through the post this morning. The top right hand corner bears the legend 'For It's A Grand Old Team To See'. Oh cringe. Try telling that to the Celtic supporters who sat through the tame capitulation at Ibrox last Sunday, or the one-nil home defeat to St Johnstone, or the aggregate 3-1 defeat to FC Sion, or even the stultifying cup win against Ross County in midweek. This is a Celtic team that has frequently been poor and often no better than workmanlike even in victory this season, and there are unhappy rumblings in the global huddle. On the relatively moderate and sensible Kerrydale St forum, the 'We Are All Neil Lennon' thread has dissolved into a gloomy quarrel about whether or not Lennon is up to the task of managing the club, while on the rather less moderate and sensible MonTheHoops site, one of the faithful began a thread on the County game by asking 'Would it be worth taking the loss to ensure fanny face Lennon gets the bullet?' A grand old team indeed. Yet as the cliché has it, a wounded animal is often the most dangerous, and if Celtic are desperate to make amends to their supporters for the old firm defeat, then they probably won't have a better chance than against an Inverness Caledonian Thistle team which doesn't have its troubles to seek either. Five points from eight matches isn't the worse start to a season the club has ever made, but with a defence regularly leaking sloppy goals, no natural goalscorers in the side, no emergence of a settled team and an apparent inability to maintain a high level of performance for ninety minutes, the supporters are understandably concerned. Terry Butcher can rightly claim to have been unlucky with injuries, and the loss of Jonny Hayes and Lee Cox in particular deprives the team of creativity, tenacity and SPL experience, but this alone doesn't account for the paucity of the second half performance against Dundee United last week. In contrast with the hooped masses, the ICT support remains almost unanimously supportive of Terry Butcher, but it must be hoped that there is no discontent or serious loss of confidence in the dressing room: over much of the past two and half seasons, the hallmark of Butcher's Caley Thistle has been its great team spirit, and this has been responsible in the past for claiming points from more talented old firm sides. Hope from History? On the last occasion I wrote a Celtic-ICT preview, I pointed out that despite the fame Caley Thistle had earned for two shock Scottish Cup victories over Celtic, the Inverness team’s league record against the Parkhead club was very poor, ICT having won only one fixture to Celtic’s twelve, with three games finishing in draws. Ten months on, the ratio looks slightly kinder to ICT: Celtic still have twelve wins, but ICT can now boast two, and the number of draws has increased to four. If the recent additions to the Caley Thistle team are searching for a boost to their confidence and a source of inspiration after their difficult start to the season, they could do worse than looking back at the performances of last season’s side against Celtic. November’s fixture at Celtic Park was played against a backdrop of upheaval in Scottish football that often seemed to be approaching farce. Scottish referees were on strike in protest at questions over their integrity, mostly from Celtic, and it was only the night before the game that it was finally confirmed that officials from Luxembourg had agreed to take charge. What is less well-remembered is that ICT went into the match on such a fine run of form that even the Herald predicted they would take a point from Celtic Park. When Celtic went 2-0 ahead twenty minutes into the second half, few really believed that this would still transpire, but they had underestimated ICT’s determination, as goals from Richie Foran and Grant Munro drew Inverness level. In the match report I remarked, ‘This was a performance that epitomised what Caley Thistle have become under Terry Butcher: confident, composed, classy and unable to accept that they are ever beaten.’ Five months later, this was a description that many would have struggled to recognise. Having accumulated six wins and two draws from the nine league fixtures prior to their two-all draw at Celtic Park, ICT followed that game with a run which saw only three wins gained from twenty league games. When an in-form Celtic visited the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on Wednesday May 4th for a rearranged match, it was widely felt that they would run out comfortable winners and take another step towards securing the SPL title that they were favourites to win. Instead, a Grant Munro-inspired ICT put Celtic to the sword and destroyed their title hopes; by halfway through the second half, when goals from Munro and Shane Sutherland had put ICT 3-1 up, the Inverness players were cutting through Celtic at will, and the scoreline could easily have been 5-1 rather than the 3-2 it ultimately finished as after Kris Commons’ injury-time penalty. Despite Celtic's recent uninspiring performances, a repeat of that tomorrow would probably be a greater surprise than it was last season; and yet stranger things have happened. Team News The ICT squad for tomorrow's game remains heavily depleted by injuries. Chris Hogg, Owain Tudur Jones, Aaron Doran and Jonny Hayes are definitely out; Lee Cox and Josh Meekings, although reportedly training again, are unlikely to feature; and it is being suggested that Gavin Morrison and Richie Foran are also doubtful. Foran perhaps hasn't been at his best this season, and last week came off early in the second half, presumably due to injury, but his absence would still mean a significant loss in terms of experience and potential creativity. Probably the most intriguing question will be over who is selected to play alongside Ross Tokely in central defence: will Terry Butcher give another chance to loanee Roman Golobart, replaced at half time last week by David Proctor after his fault for the second Utd goal, or will Proctor start in what many see as the utility player's weakest position? Greg Tansey, Nick Ross and David Davis are likely starters in midfield, but the other positions are less easy to predict, depending on injuries and the formation Terry Butcher chooses to play. Gregory Tade probably worked hard enough last week to retain his place up front, although many ICT supporters would like to see Billy McKay given his chance; despite again failing to convince last week, Andrew Shinnie is a contender to play in an advanced role either just behind or wide of Tade, particularly if Foran doesn't make it; and the other wide position could see Aidan Chippendale given his first start or last week's best player, Graeme Shinnie, pushed further forward with Kenny Gillet coming into the left back position. Whatever team lines up, what is certain is that it will contain several players who still have something to prove to the ICT supporters. Let's hope they begin tomorrow. For Celtic, Neil Lennon is almost certain to make changes from the team that lost to Rangers last weekend. If Georgios Samaras is started again, there will be properly mutinous feelings among the Celtic supporters, and Lennon is likely to go instead with the team's most consistently productive strike force of Stokes and Hooper, or else play Stokes out wide and give new signing Mohamed Bangura his chance alongside Hooper. Central defence is an area of genuine concern: both Glenn Loovens and summer signing Kelvin Wilson came in for strong criticism after the Rangers game and Daniel Majstorovic is widely perceived to be a bombscare, an impression his performances against ICT last season strongly contributed to; yet with Charlie Mulgrew, another possible contender for a centre half role, suspended, it is likely that Lennon will perm two players from those three unless he chooses to move Mark Wilson inside or bring in Thomas Rogne, who has not played all season. Despite an injury to Scott Brown, the Celtic manager has options in midfield and in the wide areas. Beram Kayal is an almost certain starter in the centre, and Joe Ledley seems likely to line up alongside him. Ki Sung-Yeung began the season well but made no impact against Rangers last week and may be dropped. Many Celtic supporters are arguing for the return of Kris Commons, omitted from the starting line-up since the defeat to St Johnstone, but with Commons publicly contradicting his manager on Twitter over the state of his fitness, Lennon may choose to leave him out of the squad. James Forrest, who turned in a sparkling performance in the 4-0 over Motherwell, must be a strong contender for one of the wide berths while on the other, if Commons is again omitted, Lennon might be tempted to bring in Paddy McCourt, who was by some distance Celtic's most effective player against ICT last season. Prediction Confidence cannot be particularly high at Celtic Park right now, and even on Wednesday, when the team had something to prove against Ross County, they looked lacking in imagination. If ICT set out aggressively against Celtic and manage to take something early, then another famous victory could ensue. Yet for all the criticism they have received recently, players like Kayal, Hooper and Ledley have proven in the past that they are fine players by SPL standards, while tomorrow's ICT team will almost certainly feature some players who simply have not yet shown that they are up to the required standard. With their home support expectant and the greater resources and quality at their disposal, I anticipate a comfortable win for Celtic. Celtic 4 – Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 Other SPL news The Communities Cup saw a few upsets during the week. Top slayers were Falkirk, East Fife and Ayr United, who dumped Rangers, Aberdeen and Hearts respectively out of the competition. Well done to those teams for upsetting the SPL fall guys. Good wins for Hibs, St Mirren, Dundee United and Kilmarnock, and of course Celtic who sorted County in a dirge of a game at Dingwall. Ex-Ict manager John Robertson is the man in charge at East Fife and he must be well chuffed with his second SPL scalp, having already seen off Dunfermline. ICT's conquerors Ayr United did well to put Hearts out after extra time and penalties, good luck to them also. That leaves the draw for the quarters looking like this:- St Mirren v Ayr United Dundee United v Falkirk Hibernian v Celtic Kilmarnock v East Fife These ties to be played on 25th & 26th October.
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Alternative Maryhill has put together this weeks offering for your enjoyment. Doom and Gloom
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Since when has any manager taken advice from fans? I also doubt your ticket entitles you to anything more than entry to the stadium and watching a game within the rules of the stadium. Voicing your opinion is optional. If fans can't take it, then don't dish it out. Get over it.
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No upstaging, in fact their defence looks as ropey as ours, 2-0 to Celtic.
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Not postponed, but plenty of wet folk on the terraces
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Pretty sure there was a few comments on P&B a few weeks ago regarding some naughty chants.
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I see it's Dingwall versus Glasgow on Wednesday night in the Communities Cup thing, live on the telly too. As we are no longer interested in this competition, would we rather see County put Celtic out or is there still plenty of animosity towards the feeder boys in Dingwall. Once more we have been upstaged by the wee team in the area, our inability to beat Ayr putting us in our place. Are we pleased for them or disappointed in our own ability to progress and put on a show for the world?
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Who, Butcher or Golobart?
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Defensive lapses make it difficult for Inverness Inverness shot themselves in the foot once again as Spanish defender Roman Golobart's lapse put the highlanders behind just before the interval and they never recovered from this setback. Dalla Valle had opened the scoring for the Tangerines before Nick Ross squeezed home an equaliser. Tade and Golobart combined to let Danny Swanson lift United ahead just before the break and substitute Jon Daly sealed the win with his first touch of the ball as he headed home in the 68th minute. Inverness had looked dangerous early on but they were eased out by United after a keenly fought contest saw the men from the North slump to the foot of the table. Davie will be along to tell us how we managed to lose this one 3-1 and what can we expect to see next week when we visit Parkhead. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dundee Utd 01 Pernis 03 Dixon 05 Kenneth 12 Watson 18 Gunning 06 Flood 08 Robertson 10 Swanson 11 Rankin 19 Dalla Valle (Marsh-Brown 79) 22 Dow (Daly 69) Substitutes 25 McCallum, 14 Douglas, 26 Marsh-Brown, 16 Armstrong, 17 Mackay-Steven, 09 Daly, 23 Hilson Inverness CT 01 Esson 03 Tokely 16 Golobart (Proctor 46) 19 Shinnie 02 Piermayr 08 Tansey 10 Shinnie 11 Ross 25 Davis 09 Foran (Sutherland 56) 15 Tade Substitutes 12 Tuffey, 14 Proctor, 22 Gillet, 20 Chippendale, 18 Sutherland, 21 McKay Referee:- Steve Conroy Attendance:- 6497 Yesterday’s vantage point, high in the Jerry Kerr stand at Tannadice offered a healthy away support a panoramic view of just how Inverness CT come to be at the bottom of the league. It was a dissection that was played out on the public stage that at times had the look of an execution about it. Dundee United came into this game without problems to seek in terms of loss of personnel and injuries, but on the back of a decent display against Rangers. Inverness were in an almost identical position, after a bright showing against Hearts and loaded with their own selection difficulties. The first 16 minutes encompassed the whole game. United started brightly, but were pushed back as three chances fell to Tade and Andrew Shinnie. Tade blasted the ball into the side netting from an acute angle and Shinnie’s diving header grazed a post. Both times, Pernis and his defence were beaten men and could offer little resistance to the crisp passing that created the chances. The optimism generated was, however rudely terminated in 12 minutes by Dalla Valle. The Fulham man drove into the space created by Inverness pressing, and Piermayr found himself exposed. The Finn created room rather too easily and drove a low shot past Esson for a barely creditable United lead. Inverness were rocked by this, but replied in typical fashion in 16 minutes. Gregory Tade’s strong play on the left caused all kinds of problems for a hesitant United defence and when he delivered a low cross on the six yard line Ross just beat Dixon to the touch to equalise. In an open game, Dalla Valle was denied by a superb Ryan Esson save and Graeme Shinnie’s direct style was paying dividends for Inverness down the right. As chances were traded, parity looked on the cards at half time until Flood dispossessed Tade in the centre circle in 43 minutes. Golobart, who had an excellent game to this point, hesitated between tackling Swanson and dropping back to allow support to arrive. Swanson didn’t, drove past him and chipped Esson from the 18 yard line. The Inverness defender looked crestfallen, and support from his team mates, so obvious in the past couple of weeks was conspicuously absent. Half Time Dundee United 2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 At half time, the main talking point aside from Jim McLean’s appearance was the arrival of David Proctor for the above mentioned Golobart. The reasons for his substitution are a matter for Terry Butcher, but he did not appear to be injured. Proctor’s introduction did nothing to shore up Inverness’ defence and it appeared that they could at times be bypassed at will. Swanson should have scored again and Gunning unleashed a thunderous drive that Esson saved well when he should have been closed down 30 yards out. Foran had departed to be replaced by Sutherland, who played manfully out wide without ever creating the chance that would have equalised for the second time. In fact the pivotal substitution came in 69 minutes, when Dow was replaced by Jon Daly. Accepted wisdom has it that you should never replace anyone just prior to a corner, but Houston did. Daly lumbered onto the field, into the six yard box and connected with a ball that evaded both Piermayr and Proctor. The sense of crushing inevitability was overwhelming at this point and in truth the game ended as a contest there and then despite quality chances falling to Tade and Shinnie. Full Time Dundee United 2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 The full time whistle was met with predictable Joy from United fans determined to celebrate recognition in Jim McLean, who took their ovation at half time. It was met with less enthusiasm from the Inverness fans and there were some unseemly scenes of bickering at the end, although the discontent was far from universal. The return up the a9 was met by rain of biblical intensity, that prompted more introspection. That this is fast becoming a team that can play passing football, but neither defend nor score effectively, in stark contrast to previous seasons is a concern. That no other team, with the possible exceptions of Hibs and Aberdeen look likely to lose points against us, is a concern. By the end of the second half of this game, there was only a barely discernable shape to the team. They looked unable to comprehend or execute the tasks allotted to them is a concern, but they were a match for United in all but the crucial areas; scoring and goal prevention. That this situation is caused in no small measure by a near catastrophic injury situation is beyond argument and it must get better as people return to the team. That is why yesterday was a matter for concern, but at the moment, no more than that. Match Highlights from Arab TV
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Report compiled by our travelling Southampton man sotonict Better late than never, that's my fault for nipping away for a few days. Mechanics sorted by Caley Jags..........just. Thanx for the reports soton, enjoy yer trip.
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Can Cans can't quite keep cup. Inverness chose to field a strong team for this North of Scotland cup final with at least six first teamers on show. Aidan Chippendale, Johnathan Tuffey, Shane Sutherland, Billy Mckay, Kenny Gillett and David Proctor all started against the cup holders in front of a healthy sunday afternoon crowd at new Mossett Park Forres. They were hoping for an upset and after only three minutes a ball was played into the ICT box and with Proctor slipping over this allowed the Forres number 8, Scott Moore to shoot just narrowly over. In the fifth minute came Inverness' first chance. A great ball was whipped in by the diminutive Andrew Greig which landed on Sutherland's head and the Forres goalie really had to work hard to keep the ball out. It really was end to end stuff with both teams squandering chances. An even better chance came in the twenty-second minute when a nonchalant ball was played upfield, Proctor and Skinner at right back couldn't cope with the presence of Lee Fraser the tall striker who found himself one on one with the keeper with 20 yards to go, but David Proctor sprinted back to save an open goal and make amends. Shane Sutherland opened the scoring with a 22nd minute strike. Kenny Gillett started the attack from deep within his own half, effortlessly sprinting up the pitch and gave it to Shane who passed it out wide to Aidan Chippendale who then crossed it back to Shane who had made great strides to make it back into the box and finish off a decent move. A minute later it was two, Shane Sutherland turned provider for Billy Mckay who looped it over the oncoming keeper, Stuart Knight. The third goal came just before the break, Andrew Greig made yet another darting run into the box and was upended by Nathan Sharp. Billy Mckay slotted the resultant penalty into the net and the game looked all but over. The half time scoreline was a bit harsh on Forres who had created plenty of chances, but unlike their visitors they could not take advantage of them. Half Time 0-3 In what was now becoming a not surprisingly quieter game, Forres were handed a lifeline when they got their first goal on 54 minutes also from the penalty spot. Aidan Chippendale seemingly being tackled, however with the tackler down, the referee somehow decided to override his initial decision and Aidan Chippendale was now the perpetrator instead, a strange set of circumstances indeed. So, we went from free kick and possible card for McPherson to penalty to Forres, the referee's assistant seemingly able to change the ref's mind. Simon Allan buried the ball low to Tuffey's right hand side. Six minutes later Kenny Gillet was disposessed in the six yard box which led to a great oppurtunity, but ultimately led to a throw in. Forres at this stage were playing with much more confidence and the crowd were fully behind them and urging them forward. The young Invernessians did well to stop Forres' flow who at one point had four consecutive corners. Chances came and went for Forres and Green, Sharp and Scott should have done better when given the opportunities In the 65th minute, Chippendale yet again beat the right back and played the perfect ball across goal which was met by Andrew Greig at the back post and he finished off excellently across Knight from eight yards. However the Can Cans never gave up and another ball into the box was met by an unmarked player, Scott Moore who with full force powered a header off the crossbar which then went vertically downwards and just over the line, and so with 15 minutes to go it was now 4-2. Substitute Duguid spurned an opportunity from eight yards as Forres pushed forward and Chippendale again showed a clean pair of heels as he raced away and curled a shot just wide at the other end. Both teams were wanting more and Forres finished the game off in style and scored another thumping goal in the dying moments to keep the away team hanging on. Lee Fraser knocking the ball past Tuffey from eight yards after good work by Moore. Forres fell just short in a highly entertaining final and certainly gave their full time opponents a run for their money, but the final score was a victory for Inverness in a seven goal bash on a Sunday afternoon, and cakes in the stand, what next. Full Time 3-4 and Inverness Caledonian Thistle take home the AJG North of Scotland Cup. Terry Butcher who was in attendance will have learnt quite a lot I should imagine and it was definitely good experience for both sets of teams, and great to see so many of the injured and fringe players getting a run out. CALEY THISTLE - Tuffey; Skinner, Gillet, Murphy, Proctor, Polworth, Greig (Watson, 86), Laing, Sutherland, McKay, Chippendale. Subs unused: Stewart, Dingwall, Whyte, Baldy. FORRES MECHANICS - Knight; G. Fraser, Allan, Grant, Sharp, MacPherson, Barron (Duguid, 64), Moore, L. Fraser, Scott, Green (Tweedie, 86). Subs unused: McNab, Davidson, Main. Booked: Moore, G. Fraser. Attendance: 565. Referee: D. Ross. Thanks to Sotonict for this report from his travels North.
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Hearts come back off the ropes to snatch a point. Inverness let the Jambo's off the hook by failing to finish them off when they were almost down and out midway through the second half. Hearts keeper Jamie MacDonald provided the comedy show straight from the Festival as he allowed Nick Ross to hassle the ball away from him for Tade to open the scoring; sheer comedy genius. Unfortunately for the homesters they could not shake off Hearts and the arrival of Templeton and Taouil gave the visitors the impetus to change the pattern and recover a point as Elliott knocked in the equaliser, via the post. Overall a draw was probably fair enough although Inverness would rue a string of missed opportunities to take all three points when Hearts were on the back foot, but the substitutions sparked Hearts into life and the late goal was always a likelihood. The visitors had a healthy crowd following them and the rain had given way to a balmy Indian summer afternoon, giving the game a pre-season feel about it and the players obviously felt the same as they settled into a rather turgid first half. There was no indication that the second half was about to become infinitely more entertaining with a couple of comedy acts on display. MacDonald and Golobart were high on the list, but they were only on the fringe as the wee lad that ran away with the orb in the middle of the second half stole the show, and the ball. It took a fair bit of persuasion to get the ball back into play and all was well again. The pre-season theme was evident prior to kick off as the Immortal Howden Ender led a few visitors astray and sotonict is testament to this. Hopefully he will recover in time to relate his thoughts of the day after his sojourn North. And a borrowed iPhone is all he needs to get his report to press........................... 10th Sep 2011 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium I.C.T. 1 - Tade (50) TEAM: Esson, Piermayr, Tokely, G.Shinnie, Golobart, Ross, Morrison, A.Shinnie (Chippendale 82) , Davis (Tansey 65), Foran (Sutherland 85), Tade SUBS: Tuffey, Gillet, McKay Booked: Foran (33) Sent Off: none HEARTS 1 - Elliot (81) TEAM: MacDonald, Hamill, Grainger, Webster, Zaliukas (Taouil 66), Black, Obua (Jonsson 78), Stevenson, Mrowiec, Elliott, Novikovas (Templeton 46) SUBS: Hamilton, Sutton, Smith, Robinson Booked: Webster (33), Black (37) Sent Off: none Referee Willie Collum Attendance 4106 Inverness were unlucky not to come away with a second consecutive home win against their capital city opponents In what was an at times, scrappy affair, Inverness more than matched the visitors who hadn't won away from home so far this season. Terry Butcher named one of his deadline day signings in the team lines and he looked to have slotted in straight away. I'm sure there will be more to come from Dave Davis. The Shinnie brothers were working tirelessly all over the park, infact it was Graeme who stopped an Andy Webster shot on the goal line after he had broken free from a corner. Ian Black was his usual 'competitive' self and picked up a yellow card in the latter half of the first period. Invermess I believe could have done well to pick up on the former ICT players ability to see the red mist, but as the game wore on he looked to play more football, instead of bullying, so maybe he's learning! Both sides cancelled each other out and the first half finished goalless, and bereft of entertainment. The highlanders came out with a bit more of a buzz in the second half and got a fortuitous lead when under slight pressure from Nick Ross, the Hearts keeper slipped up allowing the ball to rebound back to Gregory Tade who went for placement rather than power and slotted it into the far side of the goal. Andrew Shinnie was unfortunate to flash a ball just wide as Inverness pressed forward, the wrong foot sending the cross agonisingly wide, and Tade might have had a hat-trick on another day, but McDonald made amends for his blooper on a couple of occasions. The whole game had taken on a better pace now and there was alot more flowing football and neat through balls being played. Hearts striker Arvydas Novikovas looking a more constant threat, however the defence of Golobart, Tokely, Shinnie and Piermayr were not letting any serious chances get through. As the game slowly drew to a close, it looked inevitable that Hearts would grab an equaliser (both sides only had three attempts on target each), and the Hearts manager will be purring contently after both his substitutes worked in their favour. It was then no surprise after 81 minutes when Stephen Elliott rose highest and he glanced the ball first off his head then agonisingly off the inside of the upright, and the game was level. As the game panned out both teams looked happy enough with the draw and the crowd of 4,106 went home in a more optimistic mood after the second half showing. One small mention to finish off, Aidan Chippendale looked an exciting prospect after coming on with only 10 minutes remaining. His first piece of the action was to sprint from box to box like Usain Bolt; he could cause some SPL defences problems with his turn of pace. Cheers for the report soton, hope yer heids OK and you enjoyed yer day out. tm4tj man of the match was relatively easy to select. Andrew's brother Graeme, (see what I did there), has not looked back since his return from illness. Once again Graeme Shinnie was immense and Kenny Gillet will need to bide his time if he wants to play at left back for Inverness. Overall it was the game of two halfs and both sides will be pleased with their point. Inverness looked to have the game firmly in their grasp until Hearts eventually woke up and believed they could get something from it. Decent debut's for the new loanee's and our back four did well, despite Roman doing some more Flamenco faux pas, but he cannae help it. Dundee United at Tannadice next up for Inverness and I believe McGonagall will be chatting to wee Davie. No match highlights found.
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Maroon Platoon heading North. Back to league business this weekend after the break for international matches saw Scotland's fast fading hopes of reaching the group stages of the European Championships hanging by a very thin thread. In keeping with the international games, Heart of Lithuania visit Inverness on Saturday for a more sedate affair, yes folks, it's back to the bread and butter of the SPL. Last time out Inverness kick started their season with a gutsy 2-1 defeat of Kilmarnock whilst Hearts were strolling to a comfortable Edinburgh derby win over Hibernian, a result that lifted Inverness into tenth place in the league and dropped Hibernian to the foot of the table. Hearts meanwhile, enjoy a more familiar position in fourth spot. Inverness boss Terry Butcher does not have his troubles to seek as a plethora of early season injuries has seen another two new faces added to the squad after an unbelievable sequence of events saw his squad devastated with one long term absentee after another. With both wide midfielders Hayes and Doran suffering the same fate with shoulder injuries, Butcher has acquired the services of Wolverhampton's David Davis and Aidan Chippendale from Huddersfield Town, both on loans until January at least. Both of these twenty year old's offer a bit of pace going forward and are eager to grab some first team action in the SPL. Historically, Heart's hold the upper hand in this fixture winning four times out of nine in Inverness with the hosts only victory coming in september 2008 when Craig Brewster crashed home a superb late winner as Inverness won 2-1. Dennis Wyness had earlier equalised after an Ian Black own goal had given Heart's the lead that day, but substitute player manager Brewster slammed home the winner in injury time as his volley exploded behind Banks in the Hearts goal. Alan Morgan had provided the inch perfect cross for Brewster to acrobatically score the winner for bottom side Inverness, that was our first points that season. New Hearts boss Paulo Sergio reckons that Inverness are a physical side and don't play football the way he would like his own side to play. That's rich with players like Ian Black in your squad who are not adverse to kicking anything that moves. Strangely that endeared him to many of our fans, but the boot is on the other foot now and we know better than most how tenacious the wee fellow can be. He is back after serving a two week ban for his red card at Motherwell, forcing him out of the Aberdeen and Kilmarnock games. But Sergio reckons he is not an agressive player.........aye right Paulo. Recent form and league positions would suggest that Hearts will be the favourites for this game, and history backs that up. Inverness have only one win at home this season while Hearts are without a victory on their travels, but have two draws and one defeat. Both sides have scored six goals so far, but it's the defensive record of the Inverness back four that gives cause for concern, whereas Hearts have a steadier rearguard with Andy Webster settling back in nicely, and that makes it difficult for teams to get the better of Hearts as a unit. Ones to watch:- Inverness will have two new players on display in the shape of David Davis and Aiden Chippendale. They are keen to have a go in the SPL and that could be enough to keep the locals happy. Both are wide midfielders and have pace to trouble most defences so it will be interesting to see how they perform. Gregory Tade has made his mark with the Inverness fans with his energy and endeavour being shown in abundance. Last time out he added a magnificent headed goal to boost his confidence as an SPL player and the fans will be looking for more from the big striker. He showed plenty of passion for the game after scoring as he pumped his chest and gestured into the stand for everyone to get behind the team. More of the same today will be welcome. Hearts have an abundance of talented players to choose from and one man who can certainly turn a game is Arvydas Novikovas. The twenty year old Lithuanian international was on loan at Perth last season and has plenty to prove to new boss Paulo Sergio. He can be a match winner and has plenty of technical ability allied with trickery and pace, definitely one to keep an eye on. David Templeton is another tricky customer, and he's Scottish. The youngster has been in tremendous form since joining Hearts from Stenhousemuir in January 2007 for £30,000. He scored his first Hearts goal against Hamilton in 2010 and had been called into the Scotland u21 set up. Glaswegian David, signed a three year deal at Tynecastle in March 2010. Always a danger breaking forward at pace, he is another our back line will need to keep a close watch on. Latest Team News Inverness have their two deadline day loan signings fit and raring to go. Davis and Chippendale could well be thrust straight into the action to replace the shoulder twins, Hayes and Doran as Butcher reshuffles the pack once more. Greg Tansey and Billy McKay look likliest to be the first ones off the treatment table and could feature this weekend. Less fortunate are Cox, Proctor, Tudur-Jones, Gillet and Meekings. Hearts are still without Kevin Kyle, Gary Glen and Calum Elliot with Marian Kello a doubt. Good news for us about Kyle's absence as he has been a thorn in our side on numerous occasions and Calum Elliot also reserves his best for games against us. tm4tj Prediction:- A fixture that we tend to struggle in and with only the one win in nine attempts not the sort of statistic that lends itself to a confidence booster for the home fans. However, the seeds were sewn against Kilmarnock, and Hearts have struggled away from Tynecastle which might just work in our favour. Our ever changing squads due to the horrendous injury problems so early in the season does not help the teams preparations, but the injection of new faces could be the spur needed to surprise the boys in maroon. I will sit on the fence here and settle for a share of the points in a low scoring draw. 1-1 for me.
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Deary me Alex, and sub, it's no a mythical bird, but a phoenix is
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No Sherlock, Gringo Junior is Rob Wilson's real name.
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You could do the match report then soton could be an interesting account of the weekend.
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Kasabian tribute band in the Ironworks on the Saturday night. Innes bar is one gathering spot, North Stand will be yer best bet, just right of goals as you look to the pitch.
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I want my money back.
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Don't know abooot their football team, but their curry's are delicious.........or should that be curries