tm4tj

Xmas cracker on the cards The SPL's two form teams meet in the capital this Saturday. Inverness will be looking to make it a calendar year without an away league defeat, and Hearts are out to extend their six game winning streak. Something must give in the Tynecastle cauldron, and Inverness gaffer Terry Butcher knows that this will be one of the most difficult fixtures for his away day marvels to take anything from. The one consolation for the fans is that this game should ease the pain of the Xmas shopping bill. Inverness will be looking to return the compliment to Jim Jeffries' side at Tynecastle after a rather flattering 1-3 scoreline in Inverness gave the Jambo's all three points in the first meeting this season. Heart's victory at Fir Park in midweek has put them within three points of second place Celtic, albeit with an extra game played, and a healthy goal difference of plus fifteen. Inverness, deservedly, find themselves rubbing shoulders with the big boys in the top half of the league at the moment. Much credit for this has to go to the away form which has lifted us to fourth position and on twenty six points, six adrift of Hearts. The weather has already claimed two SPL games this weekend as the snow returns with a vengeance. Rangers game with St Mirren was called off on Thursday after it was discovered that the plumber forgot to lag the pipes; deary me. Extensive water damage within Ibrox is the reason for this postponement. Aberdeen were saved the embarrassment of losing again by having their game with Motherwell called off because of the freezing weather. No conspiracy either, as Well have dropped their case against Brown doing a runner to the Dons, so it looks like a good move all round. The Tayside derby at Perth will have a pitch inspection before a decision will be made. All in all, an exciting afternoon's entertainment is surely lined up, one way or another, so, get your credit cards ready for a hectic weekend in Edinburgh, and look ahead to the match as our own ginger jaggy put's pen to paper for your pleasure. Our Year so Far What a year we have all had as Caley Thistle fans. At the start of 2010 we were in about the same position that we are now. The only difference was that we were fourthin the First Division and seemingly destined to continue to play in that league coming into this Christmas. But for Inverness, fairytales have come true, and there have been a few fairytales over the piece. Dundee were on their way to being crowned champions by this time last year with their dominance looking like gaining them promotion. But come May, and an unbeaten run that spanned 21 games, which included a fair chunk of what will be remembered as the away day invincibles, Inverness had turned the division on it's head. The title was celebrated by everyone of a Caley Thistle persuasion and the next challenge was to make a good start to life back at the top table of Scottish football. Remarkably, we now find ourselves here, fourth place in the SPL and within touching distance of third place and a possible dream of Europe. We have had our ups and downs, but we have to give the management of Terry and Mo and the players our greatest gratitude for the rollercoaster of a year that is 2010. There have been a few defeats, but on the road they have been invincible with two well documented stories to tell at both old firm grounds. We even managed to secure a first home league victory over Aberdeen. Ibrox was exceptional, but Celtic Park was the more difficult task; 2-0 down on the anniversary of our last away league defeat. Other teams may have wilted and shipped more goals; not our boys. Caley Thistle is made of sterner stuff and we completed the not undeserved comeback which means thet the record books state :- Inverness Caledonian Thistle were unbeaten for a year away from the Highlands on league duty. Recent form & key players This weekend we make our last visit down south for 2010 when we visit Tynecastle to play third place Hearts. The Jambo's have had a great season so far and have really picked up the pace in the last six matches. They recorded four successive 2-0 wins which included the defeat of Celtic at Tynecastle. Last weekend they thumped desperate Aberdeen 5-0 in front of new boss Craig Brown. On Tuesday night in a rearranged fixture at Motherwell, Hearts came away with a 2-1 win and that puts a little daylight between us and them. They have been on fire recently with an abundance of attacking options. The Jambo's have scored fifteen goals in the six game winning run for the loss of a solitary goal. New strikers Kevin Kyle and Steven Elliot have brought goals to the side, but two of the biggest threats have come from the flanks. Home grown talent David Templeton is having a stormer of a season at the age of only 17. He has scored 5 goals from the wing and that is aided by another 7 on the opposite side from returning hero Rudi Skacel. They will be the danger men this weekend, along with the giant, Kevin Kyle. As for us we go into the game unbeaten in our last 5, recording victories over Aberdeen, Hamilton and Hibs with two creditable draws against the old firm. 2-2 at Parkhead and 1-1 in the Highlands against the blue half last Saturday. Best striking display for Inverness was the 4-2 victory over Hearts city rivals Hibernian. Adam Rooney scored ICT's first ever hat-trick in the SPL that day and he is second top scorer in Scotland behind Kenny Miller. Over the six game period, we have scored 13 goals losing 9 in the process. Hearts have the best record out of the head to head games, winning 10 and losing 3 of the 17 encounters so far. In fact Caley Thistle have failed to record a result against the Jambo's in our last 5 matches. The last of these coming back in September with Hearts taking all three points from the Highlands with a decent 3-1 win in what was a frustrating game for the home side. Inverness will be looking for the Irish trio to complete another away day without defeat. Jonny Hayes scored a stunning goal last weekend and Adam Rooney is looking dangerous, and with Foran regaining match sharpness all looks well for Butcher's lads. The last Inverness win was at Tynecastle on the 22nd of December 2007 when we recorded a 3-2 victory. Graham Bayne scored the decisive third goal in a high octane thriller. A superb Russell Duncan daisy cutter and a John Rankin penalty had Inverness on top, but a Berra header threw Heart's a lifeline. Keeper Kurskis saw red for the Jambo's in the 87th minute then Velicka equalised in the 90th minute, also from the spot, before Bayne struck deep into time added on with a thumping drive from the edge of the box. One to remember The game that provides us with the most smugness though, is surely the Cup game at Tynecastle in 2002. Inverness went down to Tynecastle as massive underdogs but repeated the Feb8th scoreline as they sent Hearts tumbling out of the Scottish cup with another major scalp in the bag. ICT were still in the first division and were not expected to trouble Hearts, but when the chips are down, we seemed to raise our performances to match that of the SPL teams. Ross Tokely stunned the home fans when he volleyd the ball over a flailing Antti Niemi to open the scoring. Great strike from Rossco from within the box, timed at 26 minutes. On the stroke of half time, Gary Wales scored against the run of play to level the game. After the break Inverness legend Dennis Wyness sent a rasping shot into the net to restore the visitors lead and substitute David Bagan sealed the win after sprinting the length of the park before slotting the ball home. This was Hearts first home defeat in the Scottish Cup since 1982, and they had some big names on display. Craig Levein was the manager and Antti Niemi, Thomas Flogel, Andy Webster, Stephane Mahe, Steve Fulton and none other than Ricardo Fuller, now at Stoke City leading the line. The Inverness ones were less well known, but they were all heroes to us. Tokely, McBain, Munro, Golabek and Duncan remain at Inverness from that game. Personal Reflections This will be my first time at Tynecastle and I hope that we can upgrade the statistics and record a morale boosting victory just before Christmas. Various supporters from other clubs have told me that Tynecastle is one of the best away days, so come what may, Im going to enjoy it. Hopefully though we can continue our away run and pick up a result against the form team in Scotland. It will be a tough game but with both teams in good nick, we will see a cracker of a Christmas special. I am confident that we can at least get a draw from this one and I would like to say to all Caley Thistle fans, HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR AND HOPEFULLY SEE SOME OF YOU ON SATURDAY. Ginger Jaggies Prediction:- 2-1 Caley Thistle, a tight encounter but I think we can edge it. tm4tj is not so sure and would be happy with a draw, 1-1. ***Latest Team News*** Butcher has no fresh worries over his squad prior to this game. Gil Blumenshtein is back training although not ready for this one. Proctor, McCann, Gillet and Innes are still unavailable, but Nick Ross is fit again after his ailment last week saw him sent home before the Rangers game. Graeme Shinnie has extended his contract with Inverness Caley Thistle until the summer of 2013, another piece of good news to add to the extension of Nick Ross' contract earlier in the week. Terry Butcher is delighted that both of these youngsters are pinning their allegiance to Inverness and speaking on the official website he said "I'm pleased to see another local teenager earning a professional contract." "There's plenty of talent there, but they have to be ready to grasp their opportunity when it comes in the way that Nick and Graeme have done." Marius Niculae lost out to Inverness after his dispute over transfer fees was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. This reversed an earlier decision by Fifa's dispute resolution chamber, which favoured the Romanian. It is believed that the Romanian will contest this decision which could amount to £130,000 in fees plus costs. To compound his week, Dinamo Bucharest will be releasing Niculae shortly. He is contemplating moves to play in China. Jim Jeffries was missing a couple of players for the midweek game at Motherwell due to a last minute illness problem. Ex-Inverness midfielder Ian Black missed out along with Icelandic star Eggert Jonsson. Both are expected to be available for this weekend. Darren Barr and Ryan Stevenson filled their boots against Well. Lee Wallace (knee), Andrew Driver (thigh) and David Obua (groin) are working their way back to full fitness but are not ready for action. Suso Santana (knee) and Jason Thomson (ankle) are ruled out.

Game on...................... Reigning SPL Champions and current leaders in the title race, Glasgow Rangers, will be at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium for this Saturdays early kick off (12:45). Rangers bowed out of the Champions League after a 1-1 draw in Turkey saw them fail to qualify for the latter stages, but they won the consolation prize of a place in the Europa League of 32. Walter Smith is adamant that the Ataturk Stadium in Bursa was his last attempt at the Champions League as he looks to wind down his managerial career. At domestic level, and fresh from their Champions League encounter with Turkish champions Bursaspor, Rangers will be looking to exact some form of revenge for the points dropped in Glasgow, when Inverness scored a late leveller to secure a draw at Ibrox, after recovering from a defensive first half to put Rangers on the back foot in the second period. Apart from Alloa and Peterhead, every other Scottish club had last weekend off as a blanket of snow covered the landscape and caused chaos with travel plans up and down the country. The SPL took the precaution to postpone all games in midweek to alleviate the problems and given the Arctic like conditions which still prevail, this was probably the right call at the time, although many grounds would have been playable had the green light been given to go ahead with the fixtures. The blank weekend and wintery weather has meant no outdoor training for the Highlanders, although they did make use of the indoor facility at Dingwall to keep the players on their toes, but nothing compares to match sharpness. Butcher was underwhelmed by the SPL call off''s and considering the Caley Jags were looking to continue their impressive recent form, his frustration was understandable. The latest news on the weather front is that the efforts to clear the pitch at Inverness has been successful and the match will go ahead unless the weather deteriorates severely. Unfortunately the games at Parkhead and Tannadice have already been postponed, citing police advice on the grounds of safety as the reason for the early call-offs. The fate of the game at New Douglas Park between Hamilton and Hibernian will be decided by a pitch inspection on Friday. A number of SFL games have also fallen victim to the conditions. Head to Head These two clubs have played each other 16 times since ICT stepped up to the SPL. Overall, Rangers have won 8 times, ICT 3 times with the other 5 games being drawn. As is the way with Inverness, we have fared better away from home with 2 wins and 4 draws yielding a healthy 10 points, with Rangers gaining 13 points by virtue of an extra victory. The Gers are leading the goal scoring at Ibrox by 12 goals to 6, with a 5-0 trouncing being a major factor in this. All the goals in that game came in the first half with Kris Boyd scoring a 14 minute hat-trick by the 28th minute of a one sided half. Two of the main characters that day are no longer at their respective clubs, Boyd and Brewster. But, it's the home form that has been the major disappointment for Inverness with only 1 win and a draw out of 7 attempts. The draw was achieved at our surrogate home in Aberdeen as Graeme Bayne scored the opener for Inverness in the third minute before Prso equalised for Rangers early in the second half. This incidentally was Craig Brewster's first point as manager of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, the 5th of December 2004. In December 2006, Charlie Christie went one better as a thunderous John Rankin volley on the run nestled high behind McGregor to seal a marvellous comeback for the home side against Paul le Guen's Rangers. Nacho Novo had scored from the spot before Darren 'machine' Dods equalised just before half time. Inverness pressed hard for the winner and Rankin had rattled a post before his stunning injury time strike lit up the chill December evening. A goal fit to win any game, and he proved it was no fluke by repeating the feat against Falkirk the week after, possibly even bettering it. Recent Form Inverness are having their best first phase in the SPL ever. Sitting fourth today having amassed a credible 25 points from 15 games, thanks mainly to the remarkable away record of 5 wins and 3 draws, and of course, zero defeats. The home form has been erratic but a decisive victory over Hibernian could be the turning point in the fortunes at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. 2 wins, 4 defeats and a draw have frustrated Butcher and Malpas, not to mention the home support who can get edgy at the best of times. They don't come much tougher than the current SPL Champions and it is a big ask to continue the form that saw Hibs sent packing, but confidence is growing and the team are itching to get on with the task after last weeks enforced lay off. Rangers had a run out in midweek against Bursaspor, and their SPL form has seen them top the division at the moment. A fantastic opening run of 9 straight league wins came to an end at Ibrox as Inverness took the first points from Walter Smith's side this season in the 1-1 draw. The defensive first half plan from Inverness kept the score down to 1-0 courtesy of an Edu error ridden half volley. Inverness took the game to Rangers in the second half and could easily have secured all three points but for an incredible McGregor save from Richie Forans downward header. As it was, substitute Eric Odhiambo secured a point as he poked home the equaliser with nine minutes left, no more than ICT deserved. Since we broke the sequence, Hibs have been to Ibrox and stunned everyone with a tremendous 0-3 humbling of the Gers, but 37 points from 14 games has them looking down the table at the rest of the clubs. Top scorers away from home with 19 goals and Kenny Miller firing on all cylinders, this will be a stern test for Butchers charges. Team News Inverness are slowly shortening the long term crocks list. McCann, Gillet, Proctor and Innes are the ones causing most concern, although most of these guys would be seen as squad players as opposed to shoe in first choice options. Only Gillet would be knocking on the door for a start, but given the assured displays from young Graeme Shinnie, he may have to bide his time when he is free from injury. Both Shinnie and Ross have recently signed on again and that is excellent news for the Caley Jags fans. Ryan Esson is one of our most consistent performers and he will be an important player against the leagues most prolific side away from home. Stuart Duff looks composed in the right full back berth and Ross Tokely and Grant Munro are forming a formidable centre back pairing. The midfield minders of Cox and Duncan will surely start against Rangers, both of these guys did exceptionally well at Parkhead a couple of weeks ago, protecting the back four and prepared to attack when required. The providers of Hayes, Ross and Foran may well have to do a bit more defensive work than normal, but no one will roll up the sleeves more and relish this task than captain Richie Foran. Jonny Hayes' pace will be an asset on a heavy pitch and U21 cap Nick Ross gets stronger with every game played. This may well leave Adam Rooney a touch isolated, but again, this is a role he has grown into and his upper body strength has seen him out-muscle some startled defenders in the SPL. Rangers completed their Champions League duty with a draw at Bursaspor. Kenny Miller scoring a spectacular left footer on the turn to show why he is leading scorer in Scotland at the moment, although Rooney may have something to say about that. In goal, McGregor has shown that he is the number 1 for Scotland this season with some outstanding saves, notably denying Foran at Ibrox. David Weir continues to defy the age barrier and his experience has been vital for Rangers at times this year. Madjid Bougherra will give the defence a more accomplished look about it and his pace is beneficial at both ends of the park. Former Killie youngster Steven Naismith has realised his potential and looks to have benefited from his move to the Glasgow club. Another consistent performer for the champions since he joined them has been ex-Fulham player Steven Davis. The Irish international playmaker was in fine form in the last encounter at Ibrox in the first half before Inverness managed to stifle his surges forward. With Papac and Edu struggling for fitness it looks as though Kyle Hutton could continue to help out. tm4tj Prediction With the home form causing concern, this could be a difficult one to predict. Rangers look to be heading towards another SPL title while Inverness will be looking to stay in the top six for the first time. With Terry Butcher stating his allegiance to Inverness for the immediate future, this should give the players and fans a lift and hopefully keep the home form on the right track. Defeat would not be a disaster given ICT's solid start to the season, but we are capable of taking something from this one. An unchanged and willing squad will give everything for the cause and I am going to take the soft option and go for a scoring draw. I will also predict that Mark Wright will not be invited into hospitality after his claims last week against the good name of ICT fans; on yer bike Essex boy. ***Latest News*** Inverness look set to start with same side that drew 2-2 at Celtic to keep the undefeated away league record going. David Proctor has gone from 'bambi' to bovine. He has been receiving calfs blood injections in an effort to finally clear up his recurring hamstring problems. Gillet, Innes and loan star McCann also miss this one. Rangers have doubts over Edu, Lafferty and Papac, although Papac will return to the squad after suffering concussion against Hibs. He has been having headaches since the 3-0 defeat; I'm no surprised. Bougherra came through the game in Turkey without any reaction, and Whittaker looks set to take over from Foster, should Smith decide to change it. Hamilton v Hibs game now off due to pitch deemed unplayable at New Douglas Park. Craig Brown and Archie Knox look set to be announced as new Aberdeen management team after they resigned from their position at Motherwell. Killies Russian born midfielder Alexei Eremenko has won the SPL player of the month award for November. The impressive Eremenko has shown excellent distribution skills and is highly rated down Kilmarnock way. He is on loan from Ukranian club FC Metalist Kharkiv, via Finnish club FF Jaro.