tm4tj

Gringo goes talent spotting Gringo has been on his travels to check out the talent, the talent at Inverness Caledonian Thistle and unsurprisingly after witnessing the sombre goings on at Perth he did not spot much talent. Here are his thoughts on our progress so far. All this was penned before the Motherwell game, so maybe there is a glimmer of hope as we start the long haul off the foot of the table. And that's entertainment? We are a quarter of the way through the season already (how time flies when you’re having fun) and it’s safe to say that we (ICT) haven’t set the SPL alight with dazzling displays of fast flowing football. In fact Terry Butcher's new side have been blowing hot and cold in much the same way as the weather. Yes, we could all blame the injury crisis and, in TB’s words, it’s the worst that’s been seen in his managerial career. It’s also the worst in my ‘supporting’ career as I can’t remember a time quite like this. Having said all the excuses that exist each week we still have a great bunch of professionals in the side that have stepped up to the plate and filled in the gap left by the crocks. Unfortunately, although at the time of writing this, we are only a single point adrift it could have been so different if we could have finished off some great chances that we created. Gregory Tade surely needs some kind of coaching to help him sharpen his goal scoring skills or be forced to watch videos of Manchester City. He really does work hard and deserves the rewards his hard work creates. The defence on the other hand have always looked very shaky and during our first game of the season at Motherwell I witnessed a very inept back four who could only look around and blame each other after conceding the three goals. Not much has changed since that day as we continue to concede in every game. My latest visit to see the team was the abysmal affair at St Johnstone where I witnessed yet another shoddy display from a side that should have gelled by now. I think Terry Butcher was right in his summation of that game by stating it felt like he’d picked up some strangers on the A9 to form the team. Maybe he should change the route next time and travel via Barcelona! As the injuries subside and the guys return to field it will be interesting to see how the side will shape up. It is true that we have missed Hayes and Cox but will their return really make a big difference? At the end of the day we can create chance after chance to all eternity but it’s not going to be much use if we can’t put the frigging ball in the net. Is MacKay the answer? I have my doubts but let’s not write him off just yet – like we did with Paul Richie and others. For me Foran has had his day. He is not the striker of old and certainly didn’t show any signs of being a great captain either judging by his display in Perth. His head was the first to drop. As captain he should be inspiring the team to get back into the game and motivate them. He doesn’t do it for me. I can only base my thoughts on the two away games I’ve seen but judging by the match day thread on the forum I am not alone in my thoughts. During my compilation of the forum gossip for The Scotsman article, he is constantly mentioned and it’s mostly negative. He has, of course, set up a couple of goals so I suppose it can’t all be bad. The announcement that Terry and Mo’ have signed a new two year deal was met with delight from me as I think these two will, eventually, get us playing the way that will shock a few teams and see us challenge better in the SPL and, who knows, that elusive top six place and possibly a cup success. This announcement also coincided with our worst performance of the season so far which is akin to being voted manager of the month. Pure coincidence, surely!! When TB was appointed the manager’s job after Craig Brewster I couldn’t help feeling a little bit disappointed. I don’t think TB’s managerial record is anything to shout about (I still don’t) and definitely thought that we were jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. However, he has made me change my views. He almost saved us from relegation but the damage was already done. To bounce back at the first attempt was incredible and now we see him building ‘his’ team. I was upset when he released Granty and Russell but, with all due respect to them both, I really don’t think we’d be any better off in the league than we are right now if they’d stayed. Terry’s tactics demonstrate to me that he is no tactician. He changes the formation week in week out with the injury crisis being touted as the reason. I’d wager that if he played the guys in their correct positions we may be further up the table by now. My confidence in him is waning slightly but we’ll see what happens when he hasn’t got that same excuse in his locker. So, my report card for the season so far is a 6/10 – must do better. I’ve only made two games this season so far and both have been dire affairs. Performances like those do not inspire me to make the effort to suffer Richard Branson’s poor excuses for trains for most of the day. But it’s not only the poor performances on the field that sometimes make me think twice before travelling it’s also the way we, the fans, get treated at SPL games. We know that there are rules but surely we shouldn’t be subjected to overzealous stewards who wear the ‘Jobsworth’ badge. We are singled out because we are a small group and I firmly believe that the stewards, not only regard us as an easy target, but also as a practice session to sharpen their chucking out skills. There is absolutely no way that they’d perform in that fashion when big boys come to town. Not only is this situation a big put off to me (especially considering the amount of travelling I do to attend) but also the costs of attending games. It’s not a cheap day out anymore and the entertainment side of it is practically non-existent except for the banter in the pub or on the bus. Singing ‘1000 Green Bottles’ was a delight but someone kept miscounting and we had to start again…and again…and again, until, that is, we settled on starting at 100 and getting to the end. The end was met with a great cheer until we heard…”If one green bottle was put back on the wall…” This banter continued en route to the ground but the dire 90 mins of ‘entertaining’ football had the effect that Christmas was over, you’d opened all your presents and now you couldn’t be bothered. The journey back up the road was very subdued indeed. There was a discussion in my part of the world about the costs of attending football matches. Not only is the price of watching EPL astronomical but watching games in the Championship is also wallet busting. The discussion involved the fall in attendances and the cost was ‘voted’ the highest factor. There were quite a few guys (and girls) saying they’d never attend the likes of Villa Park or St Andrews until the price fell (which it won’t) and now go to non-league grounds at the likes of Kidderminster, Tamworth and Nuneaton to get their football fix. The high costs, of course, are attributed to the players’ wages and is a situation that is only going to get worse instead of better. Watching football on the ‘terraces’ in a few years time is going to become a pastime for Lottery winners et el. So, what of ICT for the next quarter? My gut feeling is we will continue to struggle along and we will end up in a relegation battle with either Dunfermline or Hibernian. Our next four fixtures will, I’m sure, make the picture perfectly clear. These games will not be easy for us to nick points. It will need all the players to pull together and show us what they can do. It will need the loan players, some of which are only on the books until January, to put themselves in the shop window because on current form nobody will want them. Hopefully the return of Hayes and Dorran will add that wee bit of bite back into the side. Maybe the defence will knuckle down and stop leaking goals. Maybe I’ll be totally wrong and we’ll go on a winning streak. Only time will tell of course but I’m going to give the lads a helping hand by putting money on our opponents to beat us. This would virtually guarantee us a point because I never win my football bets. Gringo

Steelmen Steal the Points Inverness were pegged back twice as Motherwell came from behind to amazingly steal the points in an entertaining game at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. Davis opened the scoring only for Hutchinson to level before the break. Andrew Shinnie deservedly put Inverness back in front but they were caught napping when Lasley equalised before Hateley's deflected free kick sealed our fate in controversial circumstances. The result belies the performance, but at the end of the day it goes down as another defeat, despite very encouraging signs from the home side. Granty24 must have gone home early as his report is ready for you to read, so read on............ Another late goal, another big refereeing call, another heartbreak and another defeat would be an accurate summary for ICT of today's proceedings with a late free-kick from Tom Hately securing an undeserved three points for the travelling Steelmen after Chris Hogg had controversially been sent off for a foul on Jamie Murphy that led to the goal that would keep Inverness rooted to the bottom of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. There were 4 changes to the ICT side that drew 1-1 with Dunfermline the week previous, with Josh Meekings, Shane Sutherland, Chris Hogg and Kenny Gillet coming in to replace Thomas Piermayr, Nick Ross, David Proctor and Graeme Shinnie respectively. 'Well midfielder Steve Jennings didn't play a part in today's match, after waking up this morning with a back problem. Inverness started very brightly indeed, and managed to beat Irish 'keeper Darren Randolph on four minutes, Tim Clancy was beaten all ends up by Gregory Tade, before chopping down the Frenchman on the edge of the Motherwell penalty area. The resulting free-kick was drilled in by Greg Tansey, but it was cleared only as far as David Davis, who executed a nice 1-2 with Andrew Shinnie before bending the ball with his right foot past Randolph and into the bottom corner from 20 yards. 29/10/11 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium I.C.T. 2 - Davis (4), A Shinnie (76) TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Hogg, Gillet, Meekings (Golobart 56), Tansey, A.Shinnie (Piermayr 85), Davis, Foran, Tade (Hayes 71), Sutherland SUBS: Tuffey, G.Shinnie, Cox, Chippendale Booked: Meekings (25), Hayes (84) Sent Off: Hogg (83) Motherwell 3 - Hutchinson (39), Lasley (77), Hateley (87) TEAM: Randolph, Hammell (Forbes 28 (Carswell 80)), Craigan, Hutchinson, Clancy, Law, Hateley, Humphrey (Daley 64), Lasley, Higdon, Murphy SUBS: Bradley, Page, Halsman, Smith Booked: Murphy (22), Forbes (58) Sent Off: none Referee Crawford Allan Attendance 3188 Greg Tansey hasn't managed to find the net since the 3-3 draw with Dunfermline in the third game of the season, he had the chance on 19 minutes, a tremendous angled ball from Meekings towards Sutherland who nodded back across goal into the feet of Tade, but he couldn't force the ball into the net and the ball fell back to Tansey, but his strike was well held. Heavily linked with a move away from Fir Park in the summer, with a host of high profile clubs in England sniffing about, was Jamie Murphy who was booked midway through the half for simulation after going down in the box, but referee Crawford Allan reached for his top pocket to book the Scotland U-21 star. Allan then had a decision to make three minutes later, a lunge from Meekings on Steven Hammell meant that the latter had to be taken off on a stretcher, with Meekings just receiving a yellow for his challenge. Meekings was certainly at the heart of everything ICT did in the opening 45, again playing a superb diagonal ball which Richie Foran headed back into Tade who layed off Tansey but his bullet was expertly tipped wide by Randolph. But the home side couldn't make the pressure count and the Steelmen grabbed the leveller six minutes before the break, a Tom Hately corner was cleared by Ross Tokely, but it only came as far as Hately, who had far too much time to pick his cross and find Shaun Hutchinson who's header was just too much for Ryan Esson to keep out and it crept into the top corner. Murphy nearly gave 'Well an unlikely half time lead, his cross taking a slight nick off Meekings before dropping onto the bar, but the whistle went and the teams went in level at the break. Half Time 1-1 Shane Sutherland was making his first start of the SPL season this afternoon and he had a huge chance on 53 minutes to double the home side's lead, Tade was given the ball at the edge of the 18 yard box, holding it up well before sliding in Sutherland, but his strike was well over the bar. Tade had a chance of his own minutes later, an exquisite 1-2 between Tade and Shinnie and the previous found himself 1-on-1 from six yards out, but his effort rattled the bar when he should have scored. Andy Shinnie was having an excellent game in the midfield and managed to put his side in front on 76 minutes, Foran played the ball into the feet of the returning Jonny Hayes who swivelled past his challenger, before leaving it to Shinnie who drove onwards before rolling the ball into the net, away from the helpless Randolph. But seconds later, 'Well were level. Lasley scored a screamer in the opening day of the season when they beat Inverness 3-0, and he did it again today, picking up the ball and picking out the top corner from 25 yards with not a challenge from a blue and red shirt in sight. 3 minutes were remaining when the home side were hit with the sucker punch, Jamie Murphy looked to have broken free of the home defence before being upended by Hogg, but the referee then brandished Hogg with a red card, despite it looking as if there were other Inverness players back to prevent it being a last-man challenge. Crawford Allan waved away the home protests, booking Jonny Hayes and giving a warning to Terry Butcher for comments to the fourth official. The double whammy was completed when Hately drilled home the free kick via a deflection off of the unfortunate Hayes. The misery was compiled three minutes into stoppage time when Davis looked to have levelled from 25 yards, his crashing drive falling just wide of the target with Randolph beaten. The full time whistle brought the likes of Shane Sutherland to their knees, a valiant performance from the Caley Jags, but again with nothing to show for their efforts. Chris Hogg will now miss the trip to Kilmarnock next week, as will Thomas Piermayr who has a suspension also. Full Time 2-3 To summarise Inverness can take great heart from an impressive performance, but the story remains the same, no points and still bottom of the SPL. Positives are the return of Hayes and Hogg, and with Lee Cox in waiting then the treatment table is getting shorter. Good performances by all in blue with Andrew Shinnie getting the sponsors MotM, no complaints from me about that and he capped a fine display with an excellent goal. Unfortunately we switched off too early and allowed Well to snatch the three points, which was three points too many if you ask me, but things are looking brighter. Killie away next week, it disnae get any easier. BBC Sport has highlights https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/scotland/15513344

McCall's Marauding Motherwell take on Butcher's Basement Boys Motherwell are the visitors on saturday in another tough SPL match for Butcher's stuttering strugglers. The Steelmen sit second in the league on merit after a fantastic start to the season, one which saw them sink Inverness 3-0 on the opening hazy day in July. That result for Inverness was a taster of what was to come as we have struggled to overcome injuries and personnel changes which have seen the spine of the team disappear and the customary Highland courage replaced by players with little heart for the battle. It has been a torrid time for the players and fans alike, with no two displays showing the same continuity and leaving the fans a little perturbed, likening the poor run of results akin to the demise of Craig Brewster (version 2). However, the shoes are still on although a few people have taken to wearing slip on's for match day and are questioning whether the manager should have had a new contract whilst the club sit bottom of the league. Personally, I believe it affords us some stability from within and once our hospital bill decreases then that should, hopefully, see us steer a gradual course away from the relegation arena. Stuart McCall on the other hand has transformed Motherwell into a well oiled machine since taking over the tenure at the end of 2010. A flying start by crushing Inverness when the season started early in July have seen Motherwell only being defeated by Celtic, Rangers and St Johnstone. McCall himself was a tenacious box-to-box player and some of his own traits are evident in the Well line up, with players like Murphy and Humphrey able to take the ball from one end of the park to the other at breakneck speed. A couple of shrewd acquisitions in the close season have seen Nicky Law and Michael Higdon join up at Fir Park. Twenty three year old Englishman Law, was signed on a free from Rotherham and has become a firm favourite at Motherwell and Higdon's aerial ability and bustling centre forward style is perfect for the wingers to aim at. Last weekend Inverness disappointed at home against what were supposed to be a poor Dunfermline squad, but it was the Pars that made most of the running and they deservedly took a point away from the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. Liam Buchanan being upended by a ridiculous tackle from Proctor, one that will give him nightmares. In his defence, he was left exposed after we lost the ball on the halfway, but there was no need whatsoever for him to lunge into the tackle. Penalty was the correct decision and that undid the first half goal by the industrious Gregory Tade, albeit against the run of play, but he finished with aplomb, or should that be a bomb, a diving header into the roof of the net. Motherwell on the other hand ended a run of three wins with a draw against an equally enterprising Kilmarnock side. Away wins at Easter Road and Tannadice had been preceded by a narrow home win over the Don's. That all brings us to where we are now, Butcher's boys at the foot of the table with nine points, and MacCall's miracles a whopping fourteen points better off in second spot. Our goal difference of minus eleven is a bit of a giveaway in contrast to Well's plus one, although it has to be noted that they have also conceded more than three goals on three occasions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Granty24 has been doing his homework for this game and here are his findings...................... Chris Hogg will hopefully make his long awaited return to the squad for Saturday's visit of the current Old Firm splitting side Motherwell. Stuart McCall's men, who are currently a single point ahead of Glasgow giants Celtic after a superb start to their season, a season that begun with a 3-0 beating of... us. Hogg will make his comeback after a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee injury that required surgery, his last appearance coming in our first win of the season against Kilmarnock on the 27th of August, but will be unlikely to start, so a place on the bench it looks like? I say, if he's fit, get him in! Jonny Hayes will not be seen tearing up the flanks on Saturday, the tenacious winger suffering an injury setback and will be out for a further few weeks. While wishing I could say the same about Aaron Doran, I can't. Hayes' fellow Irishman out for another month or so with his dislocated shoulder sustained in the win against Kilmarnock also. Still no word on Tudur-Jones? Anyway, off the injury front for now; Josh Meekings and Lee Cox are in contention for a place in the starting XI after making impressive cameo appearance's against Dunfermline in our last outing. Austrian Thomas “can't time a tackle” Piermayr will also be available for selection after picking up his sixth booking of the season, but he will miss the trip to Rugby Park next week. Questions were asked after the loss of a valuable 2 points against Dunfermline last Saturday about team selection, so will TB keep faith with the side he has in recent weeks? Or will he give starts to the likes of Billy McKay, and Shane Sutherland who have been champing at the bit to get a game over the likes of our under-performing captain, Richie Foran. The Steelmen will be without talented youngster Bob McHugh for at least 5 weeks after picking up an ankle injury and fullback Steven Saunders is still unavailable for McCall's men. Granty's Stats 'Well haven't managed to score in their last 172 minutes of SPL football, their last goal coming from Jamie Murphy in the 8th minute in their match against Hibernian on the 15th of this month. Ex-St Mirren Striker Michael Higdon has netted 4 times this season for 'Well, level with that of our top scorer Tade who also has 4. Their defence, however has been fairly impressive this season, conceding 13 goals in the opening 12 games, leaking just 1.08 goals per game. However, they have only scored 14 times so far, 5 at home, 9 away. But of our 22 goals conceded thus far, just 7 have come at the TCS. So, with Motherwell scoring more and picking up more points away from Fir Park, ourselves conceding less at and picking up more points at home, what's to expect from today? Last six P W D L F A Pts Inverness 6 1 2 3 5 10 5 Motherwell 6 3 2 1 7 6 11 The Granty24 predictor:- Always the optimist; only way to be for me! Predicting a shock on the cards here with a cheeky 1-0 to the home side, Tade netting in his 5th consecutive home game to sink McCall's boys back to 3rd in the SPL table! Top six is still a possibility, with a string of a few good results and who knows where we could end up... BELIEVE!!! Latest Team News Inverness boss Terry Butcher is adamant that Jonny Hayes needs more time to recover and Owain Tudur-Jones and Aaron Doran are also out longer term. The good news is that Chris Hogg is ready to return to the squad and could help to shore up our porous back line, Ryan Esson being the exception as none of this is down to his abilities, but more to do with being exposed by the players in front of him. Motherwell have no fresh problems. Bob McHugh has been told he may miss up to five weeks and Lee Hollis will be out after hip surgery. Steve Saunders is still out, but boss McCall has a reasonably unchanged squad to pick from. Good news for Motherwell then, their recent form should see no reason to alter a successful combination. Other SPL News:- Peter Houston has kicked off the shoogly peg syndrome. The Tannadice gaffer is under fire as his side have slumped to just above Inverness in the table. The United board have categorically dismissed reports that his job is under threat as mere speculation..............Aye right, looks to me as though the shoes are off and Housty is on his way out if the Arab's can't take care of the Pars this Saturday. He has been called to the office after this game and he better have his excuses ready. Houston won the Cup with United in his first season in charge, months after the departure of Craig Levein, United beating country bumpkins County 3-0 to lift the trophy. United have only two wins this season, one of them being against us, but things have gone pear shaped for the Arabs as they struggle to climb the league. The early kick off today is Aberdeen v Rangers (12:00) in a day with a full SPL card.

All square at the foot of the table Inverness bluffed their way to a draw with Dunfermline as the basement struggle hots up. Gregory Tade scored against the run of play in the first half, but Liam Buchanan squared matters from the spot late in the game, much to the frustration of the home support. There were very few positives to be drawn from this game as Inverness struggled to cope with a fiery Dunfermline side who showed little signs of taking over the bottom slot. The only plus that was evident was that Josh Meekings can take a mean throw in, hallelujah. Granty24 has given us this report on the battle for the bottom If there was one opportunity for ICT to climb off the foot of the SPL table, then surely it was today. Gregory Tade's 4th strike of the season with 33 minutes on the clock was cancelled out with just four minutes of regulation time to play from the penalty spot by Liam Buchanan following a poor challenge on the former ICT trialist by David Proctor on the edge of the 18 yard box. The home side sticking with the same side that lined up against both Saints, St/ Mirren & St. Johnstone in their previous 2 games, but with Josh Meekings replacing Wigan loanee Roman Golobart on the bench, Meekings would later make his competitive debut in front of the ICT faithful. The Pars made two changes to the side that was defeated by Hearts last week, with Jason Thompson and Alex Keddie replacing Ryan Thompson and Andy Dowie. Thomas Piermayr is beginning to rack up the yellow cards, his 6th of the season arriving only two minutes into the game, scything down tricky winger Joe Cardle just past the half way line, referee Steven McLean with little doubt in his mind as to the punishment the Austrian would receive. Dunfermline would have the better of the early exchanges, with Andy Kirk flashing an effort agonizingly wide of Ryan Esson's right hand post. The right hand post came under fire midway through the half, a Cardle corner was steered clear by Proctor, but only as far as Paul Burns who used the strong wind to his advantage, bending a dangerous left footed strike which had Esson beaten, but Burns was to be left disappointed as the ball cannoned off the post before trickling along the goal line before being hacked to safety. John Potter then had the chance to give the Pars the lead, the former Buddie connecting well with Cardle's corner, but Esson was equal to the challenge and beat the ball away. The ex-Dons stopper Esson had to be at his best to keep the Pars at bay, Cardle latching onto a David Graham flick on batter the shot at goal but Esson again denied the visitors, acrobatically tipping the effort over the top. With all the pressure from Dunfermline, something had to give, and it did on 33 minutes; the home side took the lead. Piermayr slipped the ball down the right flank into the path of Richie Foran, former Staggie Keddie slipped and failed to intercept the ball before Foran drilled into the path of Gregory Tade who flew onto the cross to nod past the helpless Paul Gallacher. Half Time 1-0 The second period started with both sides cancelling each other out, the quiet Greg Tansey curled a free kick just wide of the target after Andy Shinnie was fouled on the edge of the box. Shinnie was causing problems for the Pars defence, weaving his way through three players before slipping in David Davis, but the man on loan from Wolves dragged his effort just wide of the target via a deflection. Nick Ross had the chance to secure all 3 points for the home side, Tansey's shot from 25 yards rattled off Potter before falling into the path of Ross, but his effort was magnificently saved by Gallacher. With 3 games gone in the season, a Martin Hardie free kick denied ICT all three points deep into stoppage time; the Pars did it again albeit with 86 minutes played, rather than 93. A moment of madness from David Proctor, fouling Liam Buchanan in the penalty area, putting in a stupid challenge on Buchanan who converted the resultant spot kick, sending Esson the wrong way to tuck into the bottom left corner. Shane Sutherland has been pushing for a place in the starting XI all season and he nearly grabbed a vital goal that would have done no harm to his chances, with the seconds ticking away, Sutherland rattled a shot at Gallacher's goal, but the 'keeper did his job well, beating the ball clear as the game finished level as ref Steven McLean brought an end to proceedings. Full Time 1-1 (Tade 33 - Buchanan 86, penalty) So, another week at the bottom beckons for Inverness and very few plaudits being handed out. Great to see Lee Cox back in the side and Josh Meekings did his chances no harm. Gregory Tade gave another 110% for the cause and Rossco and Esson kept the Pars at bay for the greater part of the game. Richie Foran though had another shocker and Proctor will be disappointed that he made the error for the equaliser. Nick Ross and Greg Tansey never showed up in midfield, an area we have been hugely disappointing in and Piermayr and the Shinnies have had better days at the office. Davis was the most noticeable in the engine room after a slow start. This was a game that we should have taken by the scruff of the neck, instead, the visitors looked more lively early on and only Esson and the post kept them out, however, after sneaking ahead we then turned the screw but poor finishing left the door ajar and we let Dunfermline in the back door thanks to that rash challenge by Proctor. This is now beginning to look like a long hard season at the foot of the table and on yesterdays performance there is no quick remedy, we are here for the duration after snatching a draw from the jaws of victory. Starting line ups Inverness:- Esson, Piermayr, Tokely, Proctor,G Shinnie, A Shinnie, Tansey, Davis, Ross, Foran, Tade Dunfermline:- Gallacher, Keddie, Boyle, Thomson, McCann, Potter, Cardle, Burns, Mason, Kirk, Graham Crowd:- 3241 No match highlights found

Fife Flyers brought down to earth with a bump. What is being described as a pivotal game this early in the season will be fought out at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium this weekend as Inverness play host to Dunfermline Athletic. The Pars early season adrenalin fuelled rush has given way to the grim reality of the SPL. A league where only two teams has a possibility of winning in the current climate and where the fear of relegation stifles any hope of free flowing football from the other ten teams. Yes, welcome back to the SPL. Dunfermline fresh from winning the First Division raised a few eyebrows on their return to the top flight. Home draws with St Mirren and Inverness were followed by excellent away wins at Dundee United and St Johnstone which saw them floating high in the SPL, but subsequent results have taken the wind out of their sails and the crash was almost audible as the Pars struggle to keep their heads above water. One point in their next six games and dumped out of the League Cup by East Fife, (ouch that must have hurt), have seen Dunfermline settle just one point above Inverness at the foot of the table. They do have one game in hand, but that might not be a good thing as it is against Celtic. Our season has bungled along without much direction, unless you count downward as one. We have struggled to overcome a series of unfortunate injuries, but there was nothing unfortunate about the release of certain players, and that is part of the problem which we now find difficult to shake off. There appeared to be some light at the end of the tunnel after encouraging displays against Hearts, Celtic and St Mirren, but it has gone all dark again with a woeful showing in Perth. Interestingly, we are not the poorest defence in the league at the moment as Dunfermline and Dundee United are both worse off than us, but given our lack of goal scoring prowess then our goal difference shows up our frailties. Gringo has taken time out from his Prediction League to give us a few pointers as to how this game might pan out. Par for the course? Our first encounter with Dunfermline on home soil was back in October 1999 during our first season in the 1st Div. An 89th minute Martin Bavidge goal secured a 1-1 draw against a Pars side that went on to finish second in the league and reach the SPL. In fact, during that season, Dunfermline took ten points off us by winning all three of the other encounters. Revenge, if you could call it that, came in the 2006/2007 season when goals from Richard Hastings and Rory MacAllister saw ICT come from a goal down at half time to send the Pars crashing out of the SPL and back to life in the SFL. It has taken them quite a while to regain their SPL status - taking far longer than we did and much longer than their fans ever expected. Our home record against the Pars is quite good having only lost two of the eleven league encounters. We’ve always scored at home against them too and I can’t see any reason why this shouldn’t continue despite the way we squander chances. We also met Dunfermline at Hampden Park in an SFA Cup Semi Final and it was some bloke called Brewster that stopped us progressing to the final with his 67th minute equaliser. (whatever happened to him). The replay in Aberdeen was one of only five successes the Pars have had against us. They are not enjoying life back in the SPL too much at the moment having shipped 10 goals in their last three games without reply and are in the same boat as us in finding points hard to come by. Prior to the International break we managed to beat a useful looking St Mirren side at home and closed that gap to just one point behind Pars. But would the International break have upset our momentum? Those that were at St Johnstone last week would certainly think so as we produced a dire, lack lustre, couldn’t-be-bothered performance that had Terry Butcher bemoaning the fact that it felt like he’d picked up a team of strangers alongside the A9 en route to the game. There will be no A9 this week of course and hopefully the boys have been sat on the naughty step all week, gone without their fish and chips and have been watching video’s of Manchester City! We do have a few players on the brink of returning to the squad after injury and some of these could feature and, especially after last weeks performances, there should be no shortage of places to fill in my opinion. As for if there’ll be a winner at Caley Stadium on Saturday remains to be seen. We have yet to keep a clean sheet in the league and Pars haven’t scored in three SPL attempts. Make no bones about it, Pars will be up for this and so should we after last weeks dire affair. The players have a point to prove to the ICT faithful and a resounding thumping of Dunfermline could be the only way to do it. Everyone knows I like a bet on the football coupon but I will be leaving this one well alone. This has the makings of a dire 0-0 draw but this wasn’t the case in the away fixture where we shared six goals, almost winning the game had it not have been for a very dodgy free-kick! If there are going to be goals in this match where will they come from? Dunfermilines Andy Kirk has bagged three and ICT’s Gregory Tade has the same amount although Tade is probably at the head of the missed chances chart. Hopefully this will be the game that see’s ICT click and the drubbing that Terry Butcher has talked about will finally make an appearance but, for me, I have my doubts but I sincerely hope that the team bounce back and put a smile and glimmer of hope back on to our sad faces. I believe (just). Ones to look out for in the visitors ranks are former Hearts striker Andy Kirk who seems to make a habit of scoring crucial goals against Inverness. His pace could be vital for the away side as they will look to hit on the break and with our static back line that could be a problem. To compliment Kirk up front, David Graham has the silky skills and ability to drift past defenders effortlessly, à la Barry Wilson in his heyday. So, plenty pace to be had in the Pars front line. Latest Team News Inverness' under fire manager Terry Butcher still has three major long term absentees. Owain Tudur-Jones, Chris Hogg and Aaron Doran are still sidelined. Lee Cox made the bench last week with Josh Meekings and they along with Jonny Hayes are on the recovery wagon, although Hayes missed the bounce game in midweek against Dundee United with a slight groin strain which might keep him out for a bit longer. Butcher has more options available to him now, but central defence is still a problem with Hogg out and Golobart out of favour after a couple of lapses, and the gaps at the back leaving Esson somewhat exposed at times. Dunfermline have former County and Inverness striker Andy Barrowman as a doubt after an appendix operation although Jason Thomson will be available for selection after having to sit out the Hearts game last week due to the loan agreement between the clubs. Scorer of that dramatic last minute equaliser in the first game Martin Hardie will miss this one along with Nicky Phinn and the singer Kevin Rutkiewicz. Long term absentee Steven Bell is still out. The Pars have a similar problem to Inverness, how to keep the ball out of their own net and Jim McIntyre bemoaned the fact that his side gave away cheap goals against Heart's, although he thought that was the only difference between the sides, (sounds familiar).

Graeme Shinnie has been one of the success stories of this season for Inverness Caledonian Thistle. After missing much of last season with a stomach problem he has flourished since taking over from the injured Kenny Gillet and as Hislopsoffsideagain will reveal he is leading the way in the Player of the Year online poll at Caley Thistle Online. Graeme, who made his Inverness debut in a league cup game against Annan Athletic in 2009, was loaned out to Highland league side Forres Mechanics in 2010 and was a standout there. 20 year old Graeme scored a dramatic first goal for the club with an injury time winner against Kilmarnock at the end of August and has continued his form into September. The bigger picture shows that September was a pretty mediocre month for Caley Thistle, with one win and two defeats, but it was a good one for Graeme Shinnie, who is September's Player of the Month, according to the online votes. Graeme was the team's man of the match in the games at home to Hearts and away to Dundee United. Over the three games Caley played, he was picked as one of the best three players by 53 out of 66 voters. Second placed man Gregory Tade, MOTM against Celtic, got 44 votes, with David Davis third. Having also been Player of the Month for August, Graeme now has a huge lead at the top of the standings. SEPTEMBER VOTING Player Votes Graeme Shinnie 53 Gregory Tade 44 David Davis 26 Nick Ross 25 Ryan Esson 14 Ross Tokely 14 Richie Foran 5 Andrew Shinnie 5 Roman Golobart 4 Aidan Chippendale 2 Gavin Morrison 2 Greg Tansey 2 Thomas Piermayr 1 Shane Sutherland 1 OVERALL STANDINGS (to end Sept) Player Points Graeme Shinnie 31 Gregory Tade 16 Ryan Esson 10 Greg Tansey 10 Richie Foran 8 Ross Tokely 6 Gavin Morrison 3 Owain Tudur-Jones 3 David Davis 2 Aaron Doran 1 Roman Golabart 1 Chris Hogg 1 Nick Ross 1 Jonny Tuffey 1 Previous Player of the Month awards Month Player July 2011 Greg Tansey August 2011 Graeme Shinnie Thanks to Hislopsoffsideagain for compiling these stats.