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Inverness keen to finish with a flourish After the euphoria of midweek, the mundane challenge of playing St Mirren could be less attractive for some, but Inverness will need to show the same pulsating performance if they want to gain revenge for the Christmas week defeat at the hands of the Buddies. It's easy to raise the game when the big boys come calling, but it's equally important to maintain that level of performance if you want to stay ahead of the pack, and that is what Butcher's aim will be this weekend. A heart warming display against Celtic on Wednesday evening was in stark contrast to the lethargy shown at Pittodrie the previous week. Celtic flew out of the traps but the Caley Jags took up the chase and were soon leading their illustrious opponents, albeit only for a couple of minutes. However, from the second half whistle we took the game to Celtic and went 3-1 ahead, which could easily have been five or six, such was our determination and pace on the counter. A late penalty flattered Celtic somewhat, but all credit to Inverness for the way we tackled this match. There were some fantastic performances, none moreso than Grant Munro, who could force Butcher into a rethink of his personal position at the club. A solid defensive display capped with a superb goal must have given Grant immense pleasure, knowing that he was letting nobody down, and boy did it feel good. Adam Rooney was another who gave his best display of the season, teasing the Celtic defence and chasing down everything that came his way. He opened the scoring, or to be more precise his flick cannoned off of his close marker, Mulgrew. Gillet, Duff, Sutherland, Esson and Innes all worked their socks off, in fact the whole team looked up to the task. With these guys showing this kind of form it would be pleasing if they could all be retained for next season, maybe playing for your contract has brought the best out in some players, who knows, but long may it continue. I will now hand you over to ginger jaggy to tell us what's happening this weekend......................... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We are almost there, the end of a successful season is nigh with next week's game at Hamilton bringing down the curtain on a great return to the top flight. Terry Butcher's men are almost guaranteed 7th place which could be worth as much as £80,000 more than finishing in 8th. It has been a very strange week for Caley Thistle supporters, with the doom and gloom of hearing that 10 players will be released at the start of the week. In Particular the releasing of two Caley Thistle stalwarts ex captain Grant Munro and Midfield Maestro Russell Russeldinho Duncan have shocked and confused many especially in Grant Munro's case. These two shock calls and the other eight names had left more questions than answers of what next season will be like. Many feared that this news would lead to a heavy defeat against Celtic, but as it turned out the majority of the starting eleven, who are mostly contracted or been given one for next season pulled out a performance that can only be described as sublime. It was a special evening with Grant Munro playing a colossal game at the back and then scoring a beauty past the helpless Celtic keeper Fraser Forster in the second half. Chants of Terry sign him up reverberated around the Caledonian stadium and like the majority of fans here on Caley Thistle Online we hope that the message will sink in and get Terry to change his mind, only time will tell. Celtic is Celtic though, a match which we always seem able to raise our game for even if it was meaningless for us. It will be St Mirren on Saturday that will tell us a lot about the Munro situation and also hopefully guarantee 7th in our first season back. It was a great team performance and the individual performance by Munro but if he wants to turn Terry's head he has to show that St Mirren isn't a meaningless game and perform like he did on Wednesday, another goal may help. As for our opponents it has suddenly become a bit sweaty palms at St Mirren Park. A Michael Higdon hat trick against Hamilton in Paisley put the Saints 12 clear and almost guaranteed Hamilton's relegation prior to the split. But since the split Danny Lennon's side has started looking over there shoulder with Hamilton hitting a decent period of form in their unlikely survival act. St Mirren's fears were confirmed when Hamilton turned the tables in paisley with Mickael Antoine-Curier's header the difference and now just 6 points difference in the table. So Saturday is pivotal for them which may just suit us as we can again play on the break. Head to Head Previous encounters this season stands at one each with one draw. Overall we have a slender lead with 6 victories compared to the Buddies 5 in 15 encounter between the two clubs. The first of this season was our victory in the middle of our unbeaten run back in September. Two goals from Eric Odhiambo - who is also being released - was enough that day to give Caley Thistle all 3 points in Paisley and continue our great start to the season. The first game up in Inverness was a reversal of the score line in that game in Paisley. It started so well with Lee Cox giving us an early lead on a very cold Boxing Day afternoon. The performance then went down hill and we allowed the Paisley saints back into the game which cost us the game. First Steven Thomson with a belter that beat a despairing Ryan Esson to bring the score lines level just on half time. Then in the last 5 minutes Thomson again got on the score sheet with a deflection to beat Esson who had no chance. This game was the first game we had lost in a while and contributed to the start of decline in the second half of the season. The final installment so far produced by far the best game played between these two this season. The Caley Jags really needed a win to kick start our ailing push to remain in the top six. It wasn't to be as it ended up in a 3-3 draw. Attack was definitely on top in Paisley as we took the lead through top goal scorer Adam Rooney. This was cancelled out mid way through the first half when Michael Higdon converted a 28th minute penalty. The home supporters had been barely able to catch their breaths when they were celebrating again. Thomson it was barely a minute later that scored again with another magnificent strike from just outside the box – he has been a bit of a thorn in our side this season has the ex Falkirk captain. Inverness though made almost an instant response with Aaron Doran getting his first Caley Thistle goal and making 3 goals in a crazy 6 minute period of the game. With the scores tied it was anyone's game at half time and it was us that struck first with Rooney scoring his second of the match. The scoring wasn't completed though and there was time for Darren McGregor to nod home another equaliser with 15 remaining. The game ended up all square, lets hope we get the same entertainment tomorrow but with an Inverness win of course. Form Guide The form guide has shown Caley Thistle to be on a decent run. Caley Thistle has come into this with 1 defeat in our last 5 matches. We picked up points against Killie and Hearts before the split but that was not enough to get a top six place unfortunately even though they were decent results. After the split we have completely hammered St Johnstone but that was followed up by a poor performance and deserved loss to Aberdeen at Pittordrie. But of course we come into this match off the back of battering Celtic and there title hopes on Wednesday evening. As with us on Saturday the score line was a bit flattering if you were of a Hoops persuasion. As for saints well their form has not actually been too bad. They beat the Dons 3-2 in Paisley which looked almost certain to finish off Hamilton. But a few hard matches coupled with a late spurt of form by Hamilton have dragged them back into the battle for survival. They performed valiantly against both Old Firm clubs away from home and pushed them close losing 1-0 and 2-1, but at this stage it is all about points. They got a decent point at Easter Road and with Hamilton at home to come looked good to confirm survival. But that defeat last week has made them nervously look over their shoulder even though there 6 point advantage should still be enough. GingerJaggy thoughts and predictions After Wednesday the players should be buzzing and looking to finish the season very strongly so that we can go into the next campaign ready to fight for a top 6 spot. As for St Mirren they will want to get something. A draw maybe good enough but they will play to win the game and guarantee Hamilton goes down. I was gutted to miss Wednesday but what I want from my last home game of the season is the same performance and to watch an entertaining win which I think we will get Prediction Caley Thistle 2-1 ***Latest Team News*** Richie Foran is free from suspension and should return to bolster the midfield and attack, and sometimes the defence too. Shinnie, Proctor and Hogg are still out although it was good to see Dani Sanchez on the bench in midweek. Hugh Murray, the veteran Paisley midfielder will be sidelined for a few months after damaging knee cartilage in the Hamilton match. Juve Travner is suspended after the same match. Other SPL News:- They may not have been overtaken by the Greens, but Rangers have been taken over by The Whytes. Craig Whyte has at last completed the long drawn out takeover of Glasgow Rangers . See BBC article:- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13292829.stm

[caption id="attachment_3471" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="On his way out"][/caption] Butchers Highland clearances continue as his axe falls on six more Inverness players. It looks like the revolution has started as the numbers leaving mounted to ten. Four senior players were announced yesterday, Munro, Duncan, McBain & Golabeck, and a further six names were added to the out list today. Chris Innes had already announced that he would be leaving at the end of the season for family reasons. He joined from St Mirren as a back up centre back and scored his first goal against St Johnstone a couple of weeks ago with a powerful header. Former Hibs captain Chris Hogg will not be extending his stay in Inverness, and third choice keeper Max Johnson will be leaving. Injury hit Gil Blumenshtein is off as is Eric Odhiambo. Danni Sanchez is one of the unluckiest, breaking his hand after recovering from injuries and breaking into the squad, his Spanish flair evident, but curtailed by injuries. Add to these, Aaron Doran and Alex Macdonald returned to their loan clubs and it looks like next season will see plenty of new faces at the club. Cards on the table. On the plus side, new contracts are believed to have been offered to long serving Ross Tokely, Stuart Duff, Adam Rooney, Gavin Morrison, Shane Sutherland and Kenny Gillet. Youngsters Sutherland and Morrison are offered two year deals and the rest one year only.

[caption id="attachment_2002" align="alignleft" width="272" caption="Grant Munro shown the door"][/caption] The first batch of players to be released by Inverness at the end of the season has been confirmed by the club. Four club legends who have amassed over 44 years service with the Highland club will not have their contracts renewed. Former captain thirty year old Grant Munro is a surprise choice as he has played almost every game this season until recently being benched. Local lad Munro has been at Inverness for 12 years since playing his first game against Livingstone on January 2nd 1999. Russell Duncan with over 350 appearances is another deemed surplus by the club. The defensive midfielder is another surprising choice as his tenacious battling qualities have been outstanding throughout his 10 years at Inverness. Perhaps less surprising, but nonetheless difficult to be too happy about are two of our legendary fixtures. Another former captain Stuart Golabeck has been released along with experienced midfielder Roy McBain. Stuart scored our first ever goal in the SPL at Pittodrie against Dunfermline and started the ball rolling for us in the SPL. Roy is presently on loan at Brechin and had his testimonial this year. Along with Roy, he won't mind being called a veteran, both players being 37 in November this year, but both will be leaving with the appreciation of the Caley Thistle fans ringing in their ears. It looks like a new era is dawning at Inverness as the cull continues, and more names will be released by the club in the next few days. Caley Thistle Online would like to thank all of these players for some wonderful moments over the last 12 years.

Inverness back into the top-six for Wednesday. A tea time kick off on Wednesday 4th May was the date deemed most suitable to hold this clash held over from the pre-split games, weather permitting of course. Celtic have been the unfortunate victims of two late call offs in the Highland Capital this season alone. This league encounter was originally planned for April 2nd with a noon kick off, but heavy overnight rain, coupled with an extremely high tide scuppered that one as the referee classed the pitch as unplayable less than a couple of hours before kick off. March 13th was also the date scheduled for an eagerly awaited cup quarter final tie to be played on the Sunday at 15:30. Alas, heavy overnight snow blanketed the pitch up to six inches deep but despite this being cleared, the pitch was left waterlogged. This late late call off should have set alarm bells ringing, but the lesson was not learned quick enough to avert the second call off in April. Many thought it was a late April fool prank; unfortunately not. So, the sun has been shining full on for nearly a week now, getting sick of it already, and it would appear that the pitch is in pristine condition, so any conspiracy theories can be binned for now. Oh, don't forget to tell the wife you are working late on Wednesday, it's a 6:00pm kick off; the things we do for telly. Inverness are blowing hot and cold just now and after the pleasing three goal romp in Perth, we were brought back to earth with what has been described as a waste of ninety minutes of peoples lives. Losing 1-0 to Aberdeen is in itself not a disaster, but the manner of the defeat left a bitter taste for some fans. Also the fact that the Dons had been on a less than impressive run of results and we could have been looking to take advantage of this. Minus captain Richie Foran, we seemed to lack any drive and leadership on the park and the game turned into a kick about in the sun with Peter Pawlett scoring the decisive goal. The lack of urgency shown by the Inverness players has raised a few eyebrows and the news that one man who always shows plenty of passion for these games is being released has left the fans feeling somewhat short changed. The first name on most peoples squad shortlist, Russell Duncan only got 15 minutes on the park at Pittodrie, but he showed more in that time than most had displayed in the previous 75. Russell's ten years at Inverness has seen the defensive midfielder endear himself to the fans with his tenacious style and his unselfish tidying up work that has helped the cause on many an occasion. We have forgiven him for some wayward passes, as his break up play and link play was a job for the unsung hero's of this world, and Russell is certainly one of them. Glorious moments for Russell were seen against Dundee United in the cup as he hit a thumping dipper into the roof of the net from 25 yards. A daisy cutter at Tynecastle is high on the list as well and promotion winning performances will be some of his best moments. When Russell scores, they are usually pretty spectacular, and almost collectors items as well. Thanks for your effort here and I hope you enjoyed being part of our success over the years, we have certainly enjoyed watching you. I am sure all Inverness fans will wish you well wherever you go, and I doubt you will have trouble finding a new club. This has not proved to be one of Terry Butcher's most popular decisions, and fans comments can be seen on the forum. ICT_Away commented:- "Duncan wears his heart on his sleeve & plays for the badge", says it all for me. Alternative Maryhill summed it up perfectly:- Agree completely with most of the sentiments on here: I'm really sad about this decision. Russell Duncan has certainly been our most committed, and imo also our most effective, central midfielder since Ian Black's departure and I've always been mystified at Terry Butcher's reluctance to play him. He's made an exceptional contribution to the club over the last decade and the continuity offered by having players like him, Tokely and Munro at the heart of the club has been one of the reasons I've been proud to be an ICT supporter. I'm not going to condemn Terry Butcher outright for this though, because if he can find a stable midfield partnership and the team continues to do well next season then he can claim he's made the right decision. I do hope, however, that he gives Russell the chance to say goodbye to the supporters by giving him an appearance in at least one home and one away game (hopefully the Hamilton one) before the end of the season: to deprive him of even that would be very harsh. Here here, let's stand up for Russelldinho this weekend. Your scribe this week was davie, well he penned it for the original game and he provided us with this insight for the previously postponed game.....................................I'll have to tweak it a little. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hoop Hoop Hooray.........Game on Celtic visit the Caledonian Stadium for the third time this season on Wednesday tea-time having already won on the opening day of the league campaign and defeating Caley Jags to send them out of the Scottish Cup earlier this month. In between times, there has been another defeat and a share of the spoils in the East End of Glesga. Actually, our Manager reckons we “know them inside out” after facing them five times this season. Still, it might be near the end of season but it’s never boring and always unpredictable, a bit like Alternative Maryhill’s proposed weekend to the most fervent Celtic enclave outside the east End – Barra. Enjoy, youth, they might even get ESPN there. History, despite our annoying ability to come up with the occasional “supercaleygoballistic” performance against the Glasgow giants, is still firmly on their side in SPL encounters. 12 – 1 in wins with 4 draws indicates where the balance of power lies, but this is football, and things can change. Our 2-2 draw in November nearly evidenced that. One of the Hoops latest outings was at HQ against their greatest and most bilious rivals, and they came away with that runner up feeling. That result of couse has now been superceded by the last Old Firm draw at Ibrox. McGregor saving a Samaras penalty in a nil nil scoreline. Confidence is still high in the League however, and they expect to win here. The balance of power seems to have shifted towards Celtic as the run in reaches a climax. Both sides had big wins at the weekend and Celtic are in no mood to give up the ghost as the season gets down to the business end. Crushing form side Dundee United 4-1 will give them every confidence that they can come up here and keep the pressure on Rangers at the sharp end, and with Celtic having infinitely more at stake than Inverness, then it should be mission accomplished for the Glasgow side. On our side, Kenny Gillet has continued to motor down the road to full fitness, and he has earned himself the chance to stay at Inverness. Hayes will hirple on no more this season, (ankle op completed) and Shinnie, Proctor and Sanchez remain invalided. TB has the opportunity to weld together something of a first choice team out of the available players, but they need to show more than they have of recent weeks and arrest the creeping apathy that seems to affect them at times. Still, it is rarely a hard job to motivate the troops for games such as these. On the down side, influential captain and workhorse Richie Foran will sit out the second of his two match ban. He was sadly,badly missed at Aberdeen on Saturday. Chris Hogg missed the Aberdeen game with a knee injury and is a doubt for this one, as he awaits a scan on his knee. Celtic have Cha Du-Ri and Joe Ledley missing and Glen Loovens is a major doubt with a strain. Apart from that it's a clean bill of health for Neil Lennon's side as they look to leapfrog Rangers in the race for the title. They have been picking up the pace as they enter the home straight and will be looking to take the game to Inverness and ensure that the home side don't gain any early momentum. Davie originally predicted a draw, ably assisted by his crystal testicle, "a score draw in this fracas, 1 – 1 being not unreasonable and for which thanks would be given". After he witnessed the dirge at Pittodrie I'm not convinced he has the same passion for that fashion, especially with captain courageous missing. However, Celtic often find it difficult to overcome us up here, and with that in mind, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that we could throw a vey large spanner in the works. Manager Butcher is not so confident after watching that drivel, he is looking at a "10-0" defeat if we play like that against a rampant Celtic.............steady on Terry, chin up. ***Latest Inverness News*** The cull continues:- Hot on the heels of news that Russell Duncan will be leaving, the club has released a statement and the list has been extended to Grant Munro, Roy McBain and Stuart Golabeck. No surprise that Stuart and Roy will be leaving, but the news that Grant Munro will not be having his contract renewed has come as a bit of a shock to everyone, although the writing has been on the wall in the last few weeks when Munro was benched a couple of times, and at the end of last season the captaincy was taken from him and awarded to Richie Foran. Roy is at Brechin City on loan at present and Stuart has not featured much this season. This is just the tip of the iceberg, building for the future has begun, watch this space. SPL News Hamilton have prolonged the agony by defeating St Mirren to keep alive their very slim hopes of playing SPL football next season. A Mickael Antoine-Curier header was the goal that separated the sides after Dougie Imrie provided the cross. Both sides finished the game with ten men. That leaves the Buddies only six points ahead with nine up for grabs. Emilio Izaguirre has been named PFA Scotland plsayers' player of the year in his first season with the hoops. Let's hope he has a hangover as he ran Stuart Duff ragged last time up here. Nikica Jelavic's spectacular overhead kick against Aberdeen has been named goal of the season by his fellow players in Scotland, however, we all know the real winner was Jonny Hayes' screamer against Rangers, even Celtic fans would have liked that one. Other sport's news:- It's not been a good weekend for staying alive. Eddie Turnbull, one of the famous five passed away at the age of 88. A legend at Easter Road and Pittodrie his partners in that famous five were Gordon Smith, Willie Ormond, Bobby Johnstone and Lawrie Reilly. A sad day for football, especially down Leith way. Our Henry, Sir Henry Cooper also passed away, the first man to put Cassius Clay on the seat of his pants with Henry's Hammer, a big left hook you would be better avoiding. He ultimately lost that bout but it catapulted him into the limelight. What a Brut! Also, the untimely death of Ted Lowe, the whispering voice of snooker, on the day of the world championship final. And to cap it all, Osama Bin Laden has allegedly been killed.