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Diabolical Dons look up to ICT after record loss. Inverness pop along the A96 on Tuesday evening for a midweek fixture at Pittodrie. Aberdeen are in the undesirable position of looking up the league table to their Highland opponents who have put together an impressive opening round of results to sit in the top half of the SPL. Aberdeen fans see the glory days of the eighties as a distant memory while Inverness fans see their teams fortunes get better and better. Long gone are the Alex Ferguson years, when Aberdeen were not only a force in Scotland, but humbled the mighty Real Madrid to win the Cup Winners Cup in Gothenburg, 2-1 after extra time. Invergordon lad Eric Black opened the scoring only for a Juanito penalty to take the game into extra-time. John Hewit scored what proved to be the winner after 112 minutes. That was on May 11th 1983. They followed this up by defeating Hamburg SV to lift the European Super Cup in December with a 2-0 aggregate win. The goals scored at Pittodrie after a goalless first leg were scored by Neil Simpson and none other than one Mark McGhee. From hero to zero I suppose. Talking about Pittodrie. Allegedly, the name is derived from the Pictish words for 'dung heap'. It would appear that Pittodrie was a dung hill created by the cities police horses. I'll let you make your own jokes up about that one. The ground was first used in 1899 when Dumbarton were thrashed 7-1. Another little fact that they like to keep quiet, Aberdeen FC as we know it today, was an amalgamation of three clubs. Aberdeen, Victoria United and Orion. The amalgamated clubs first game at Pittodrie in 1903 resulted in a 1-1 draw with Stenhousemuir. (I think Scarlet Pimple was there with The Mantis and Johnboy) So, there you go, and here are we still debating the merger when it has all been done before. Cup Winners Cup team in 1983 included some great names, including ex-County boss Neale Cooper now managing at Peterhead. Dream on Team :- Jim Leighton, Doug Rougvie, John McMaster, Neale Cooper, Alex McLeish, Willie Miller, Gordon Strachan, Neil Simpson, Mark McGhee, Eric Black - Subs John Hewit & Peter Weir. Anyway, as Michael J Fox once said to me, back to the future.......................... Last time out Saw the home form of Inverness improve, unfortunately for them, Motherwell are an exciting team to watch these days and their away form is as equally impressive as the Highland sides form. A highly entertaining game saw Motherwell open a gap in third spot after holding on to defeat Inverness by two goals to one. Esson had clawed a Gow header out of the net but the ball had crossed the line, before Nick Blackman scored a crucial second after his shot deflected off Munro under the challenge. The ball looped agonisingly over the head of a stranded Ryan Esson to send Well on their way to victory and they withstood a late charge from ICT after Stuart Duff had scored a superb first time rocket from 25 yards to make it game on. Chances came and went, at both ends but it was Motherwell who coped best and held on to that third place behind the Old Firm. Aberdeen maybe would rather not discuss their present plight after suffering a record SPL defeat. With Paul Hartley being sent off, they were humiliated at Parkhead as Celtic made it nine in a row.............goals that is. The phone calls to the ref must have made all the difference as Celtic were awarded three penalties on their way to this crushing defeat for the Dons. Bet that makes Mr Lennon feel better. Hooper and Stokes claimed hat-tricks as Celtic brushed Aberdeen aside. Ref Muir brought Aberdeen's miserable effort to a halt by blowing the whistle just after the ninety minutes to save further embarrassment and I wonder how much longer the suffering Aberdeen fans will allow the demise of their club to continue before Mr McGhee will be brought to task. It's the only time I ever see the word untenable used, and if it's in the same sentence as Aberdeen and McGhee then surely it's Taxi for Mark. In fact, the Aberdeen board have a hastily arranged meeting for Sunday, hot on the heels of the Dons 107 year record defeat. What on earth could they be talking about? Did I hear the word untenable? Well, I kid you not, it appears that Mr McGhee is still in charge, at least for this game, but he is drinking in the last chance saloon as the Aberdeen board look for positive results to erase the memory of last weekend. Previous games These two clubs have met 16 times in the SPL. The stats favour Aberdeen in these fixtures with Inverness having only 2 victories in the 16 attempts. The Dons have come out on top in 8, with the points being shared 6 times. However, the pendulum could be swinging in favour of the Highlanders with a home win already secured over Aberdeen this season. Aberdeen have scored 20 goals and the Inverness reply is 13. The highest aggregate score for a single game was the Don's 3-4 victory in an enthralling encounter at Inverness in March 2008. That day, a dramatic injury time winner by Chris McGuire took all three points East against ten man Inverness. A see-saw match saw Aluko put Aberdeen in front, but a Bus og and a superb Russell Duncan effort put the home side in front before Barry Nicholson squared it. Russell Duncan was needlessly red carded at half time. Lee Miller headed the Dons ahead early in the second half, but 10 man Inverness levelled when Roy McBain scored around the hour mark. ICT almost held out until the sucker punch four minutes into injury time kept the Dons' top six hopes alive. Great game, just the result that spoiled it for the home fans, and the news from the dressing room was that Grant Munro was red carded after the whistle. Aberdeen also dumped Inverness out of both cup competitions during this SPL sequence, 4-1 at Pittodrie and 2-1 at Inverness in the Scottish Cup. So, the stats are heavily against Inverness, but the recent turmoil at Aberdeen suggests all is not well. The Don's will be hurting after last weeks thrashing in Glasgow and will be out to show their own fans that all is not lost, while Inverness will be looking to extend their long unbeaten away record. Shaping up to be an interesting evening, one way or another. ***Latest Team News*** Russell Duncan has joined Blumenshtein, Proctor, Innes and Gillet on the injured list. The defensive midfielder suffered a late groin injury forcing him to pull out of the Motherwell game at the eleventh hour. On the bright side, Lee Cox will be back in the squad after showing no ill effects in a bounce game against a Dundee United eleven last Monday. Inverness finished the game against Well with a youthful blend on the park. Richie Foran looks to be struggling to shake off a stomach strain although the introduction of Shane Sutherland last week sparked some life into the ICT attack and he was unlucky not to score with a terrific turn and shot. Gavin Morrison could start if Cox needs more time and Shinnie surely won't have such a handful to contend with. The young ones will take great inspiration from starlet Nick Ross who has been selected for the next Scotland U21 squad to play Northern Ireland. Well done Nick. Aberdeen have plenty to ponder coming into this one. Red card captain Paul Hartley is suspended after his sending off at Parkhead. Mr McGhee reckons the sending off changed the game, really. Nikola Vujadinovic and Andy Considine may well miss this one, adding to longer term injured players, Fraser Fyvie and Peter Pawlett. Lots of decisions for the gaffer to consider after a performance like that. Does he show faith in the players who showed so little passion for the game or does he make drastic alterations throughout the team? Questions Questions................... Squads:- Aberdeen (from): Langfield, Diamond, McArdle, Robertson, Folly, Aluko, Young, Jack, Vernon, Magennis, Maguire, Mackie, Ifil, Howard, Velicka, Hansson, Fraser, Shaughnessy. Inverness (from): Esson, Tokely, Munro, McCann, Cox, Shinnie, Duff, Hayes, Ross, Foran, Rooney, Odhiambo, Sutherland, Golabek, McBain, Tuffey, Morrison, Sanchez. tm4tj Prediction McGhee's response to the drubbing at Parkhead has been well documented. "It's only three points" Whilst that is true, try telling that to the Red Army who are not best pleased. He has also been quoted as saying "I've gone from legend to idiot". That may be true as well, however 17 wins from 58 matches does not sit well on your CV. This may well be the ideal time for Inverness to put the boot in where it hurts, but surely the Dons players owe McGhee and the fans one after that debacle. I'm not so sure that this will be an easy game, for either side. Aberdeen are under massive pressure to perform, Inverness will be looking to keep the unbeaten away run going. In the first encounter at Inverness, the Red's defence looked all over the place, Celtic confirmed this last weekend. If Aberdeen don't tighten up their back line, then Inverness could take all three points. However, I'm a reasonable guy, and I doubt they will be so benevolent two games in a row. With that in mind and considering the future of Aberdeen Football Club is at stake, then I reckon we might have to settle for a point.

Steelmen win thriller Motherwell won the battle to retain third spot in the SPL winning by the odd goal in three. Gow and a deflected Blackman effort put Well on their way to victory in an entertaining match. A crisp Stuart Duff strike reduced the deficit in the last quarter, but it was too little too late again as the Manager of the Month curse left Butcher's men pointless despite a late surge which almost earned them a point. But it was not to be as Motherwell held on to ensure they remained the best of the rest. Referee's are in the spotlight just now, and it is no wonder when you see some of the baffling decisions being dished out. 6th November 2010 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 1 - Duff (74) TEAM: Esson, Tokely, Munro, Shinnie, McCann, Duff, Hayes, Ross, Odhiambo (Morrison 52), Foran (Sutherland 69), Rooney SUBS: Tuffey, Golabek, Cox, McBain, Sanchez - Booked: none MOTHERWELL 2 - Gow (33), Blackman (43) TEAM: Randolph, Saunders, Hammell, Reynolds, Craigan, Hately, Humphrey, Jennings, Sutton (Fitzpatrick 77), Blackman (Murphy 73), Gow (Forbes 84) SUBS: Hollis, McHugh, Hutchinson, Page - Booked: none Referee Mike Tumilty Attendance 4054 Davie got the short straw and his forfeit is todays match report Beer and football. After a couple of weeks absence, those two inseparable goodies returned to be sampled at or around Tulloch Caledonian stadium. Fans turned out in their thousands, and a week that saw Terry Butcher manager of the month and awarded a doctorate would surely culminate in Caley sitting proudly in third place in the SPL. As is so often the case, these things never go to plan. Within five minutes, it had turned to fear and bootball as the claret and amber set out their stall. For such an archaically described side, there was nothing old fashioned about their play as they employed a system that spread play wide to Humphrey and Blackman who provided quality ball to Sutton etc. Such was the ease that they did this with in the first half that Caley fans grudgingly found much to admire about them. Ryan Esson could not have shared their point of view, being called upon to muster the first of several excellent stops from Sutton within the first ten minutes. The pressure continued, the aforementioned Humphrey's being the first SPL player this season to cause Shinnie such grave concern as he was ripped apart down the right. It wasn’t all one sided, however, and Foran passed up a glorious chance on twenty minutes. It heralded a spell of Inverness pressure that culminated 5 minutes later in a scrambled clearance from a Hayes corner. That was about as good as it got in the first half, as in 32 minutes, Gow drifted into the six yard box to power a header low to Esson’s left. The keeper somehow clawed the ball back out, but the stand side linesman had signalled a goal which the ref concurred with. It will be interesting to see a replay, as it seemed a goal from a North stand vantage point but if it was a save, it was of the Gordon Banks/ Pele variety. Whatever, there were no complains about 0-1. Things were to get worse however, as in 42 minutes, Blackman clattered into a challenge come shot with Munro, all of thirty yards out. The ball squirted upwards off both, over Esson and came to rest in the Caley net. 2-0, and the seeds of defeat were sown. Half Time 0-2 As ever, half time brings an opportunity to reflect, ignore reality and substitute it with hope. This Inverness fans duly did, until the second 45 restarted in a carbon copy of the first. Butcher responded with the first change of the game, Morrison coming on for Odhiambo in 51 minutes. A change of shape was evidently called for, with Foran playing up front with Rooney. An almost immediate improvement commenced, with Motherwell being pushed back for the first time in the game. Half chances came and went, Foran being pulled up for offsides and Hayes going reasonably close. For all that Caley huffed and puffed and Rooney and Foran created space, it was hard to see where any end result would come from. Foran was pulled on 68 minutes, and looked slightly miffed as he trotted standwards. Shane Sutherland arrived, but his fireworks were a day late. They were effective though, as he produced a great meandering run and pass to put Rooney in on 65 minutes. The finish deserved better. It looked as if pressure would come to naught when, of all people, Duff unleashed a tremendous howitzer of a shot from near 30 yards in 74 minutes that buried itself happily beyond Randolph. Game most definitely on. Inverness started their best period of the game after that, with equalising opportunities falling to Rooney and Hayes. Nick Ross went close and Inverness pressed until the 90 minutes had come and gone. In truth, their goal had come too late to haul a result out of the fire. So the match finished 1-2, and the overwhelming opinion from around the north stand was that it was a close affair against the best footballing side to visit these parts this season. In the end, what separated the sides was a fluke of a goal that on another day would have landed in the car park. Man of the match was most definitely Ryan Esson (again) How many goals has he prevented this year? I'm sure though, he would trade all manner of MotM awards for one little bit of well deserved recognition from the national side. C'mon, Levein, there's a friendly coming up against the Faroes. Do the right thing. At least we don’t support Aberdeen.

Well up for it Motherwell are up in the Highland capital this weekend for a clash which could determine who will be third in the SPL come tea time on Saturday. Both clubs have made a positive start to the season and Well boss Craig Brown will be looking to avenge last seasons Scottish Cup defeat at the hands of Caley Thistle. Terry Butcher, one time Motherwell manager, will be looking to get the home record matching the magnificent away form shown by his insurgents and keep Inverness in the top half of the league. A win would cap a great week for Doctor Butcher, who has received an honorary degree of doctor of sport from Southampton Solent University. The 77 times capped Doc, is a regular guest lecturer on Solent’s applied sport science courses. A fitting award for our leader who has done his share of raising the profile of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, on and off the park. In fact Terry's all gold, and his week just got even better, as news of him being awarded Clydesdale Bank Manager of the Month for October filters through. Maybe he should by some lottery tickets as well. Last weekend saw Inverness extend their unbeaten away run with a deserved draw at Ibrox. Out of the blue, Maurice Edu had opened the scoring after flumoxing everyone in the stadium, including himself, but there was no questioning the quality of the strike as he half volleyed a stunning sixteen yard shot, right out of the meat of the bat beyond the reach of an outstretched Esson. It had to be something special to get past the in form keeper and it was. But, Inverness are nothing if not resilliant these days and after weathering the expected onslaught, we started to carve open the Gers rearguard with astonishing regularity, mainly through the dynamic Jonny Hayes and the equaliser was coming. Alan McGregor made an outstanding save from a Foran header but he could do nothing to stop super sub Eric Odhiambo squaring the match inside the last ten minutes. Terry Butcher could not lavish enough praise on his squad after the point gained and will be looking forward to a taste of claret & amber. Motherwell's last game was a Lanarkshire derby defeat at home to ICT's bogey side, Hamilton. The steelmen missed an opportunity to level the game when Tomas Cerny saved Tom Hateley's spot kick. The diminutive Nigel Hasselbaink had scored the decisive goal via the post to earn Accies a vital three points and stop Motherwell from creating a gap in third place. Craig Brown was disappointed with the first half performance although the second half showing from Well gave him cause for optimism this week, but he would like to see their dominance and possession turned into goals. Ginger Jaggy has been researching this one and here are his views prior to the match. Well what a Halloween that was, and hopefully Christmas can come early this Bonfire weekend, as Inverness Caledonian Thistle look to scale the dizzy heights to third place; I hope we don't get a nose bleed. Motherwell the current tenants of third place travel North to face our very own ICT who are in fine fettle this season. A lot of people might have looked on this game as a bounce back, had we been beaten by Rangers in Glasgow, which would have been no disgrace, but we defied the odds and returned to the Highlands with a hard earned point last weekend. That was one of the most accomplished performances by a Caley Thistle side, and ranks with performances of yesteryear, like Feb 8th2000, and Celtic in the SPL at 2-0 down to win 3-2, and of course the numerous victories and draws that we have managed to take from Ibrox in the past. We seem to be making a habit of nicking points from the Old Firm. Halloween weekend was a great day out for everyone connected to Caley Thistle. Rangers were looking to equal their best start to a season in 112 years. And it looked as if it would happen as they took an early lead thanks to Maurice Edu. At this stage most teams would fold and Rangers would stroll to victory. But we are made of sterner stuff these days. With the tactics spot on from Terry and Mo, we gave it a go, and in the second half played with no fear as we looked to take something away from Glasgow. In the end, super sub Eric Odhiambo gave us a fantastic point and meant that we became the first team in Scotland to take anything from Rangers this season. It could have been even better, Richie Foran had a wonderful header brilliantly saved by Allan McGregor and then right at the death a great chance for Jonny Hayes was spurned as he lost his composure at the vital point. We could have won but it still was a superb point. Head to head Now to this week and our opponents Motherwell who make the trip up North on Saturday. Motherwell are currently one point ahead of us. They have played some effective football this season and deserve to be in the top six, but we all know Terry Butcher would love to get one over his old club and move us ahead of them in the table. This will be a difficult game as Well will be smarting after their surprise home defeat to Hamilton last week; they won’t want a repeat of that this weekend. Craig Brown has built up a very good young team, even with the loss of super striker Lukas Jutkiewicz who was outstanding for them last season while on loan from Everton. This season Jamie Murphy has been on fire for Motherwell so he will be one to watch, alongside John Sutton and ex Falkirk and Rangers forward Alan Gow. Another one to keep an eye on is midfielder Chris Humphrey who has been a revelation in the centre this season. Last weeks 1-0 defeat did come as a shock but they will be tough opponents in Inverness as their away form is also formidable. Our home form has improved with us being unbeaten in two games after defeat in our first three. Last season we beat Motherwell at home in the Scottish cup 2-0, the memorable moment was a wonder strike by Dougie Imrie to make it 2-0. That ended up being his last goal and game for Caley Thistle before he made the move up to the SPL with Hamilton. Motherwell is leading the head to head records as well. The teams have met 18 times in the SPL with Motherwell having the upper hand with 10 wins to our 6. There has been 2 draws where the last one came in the bottom six crunch match at Fir Park when we lead for so long and whichwould have all but made us safe from relegation. As it was we conceded and the rest is history. Form this season Coming into this game both teams are on an impressive run of form. Caley Thistle has one of the best squads we have ever assembled and that is shown in our performances and results this season. From our first 10 matches we have picked up a creditable 15 points from a possible 30. We are 5 unbeaten going into this game, which means we never lost during the month of October. I'm sure this will lead to more recognition for Doc Butcher, (sorted). We are also still 11 months unbeaten away from home which is a wonderful achievement (if only our home form was as good, we would be sitting pretty). Motherwell has also made a great start getting 16 points from 30, and apart from their blemish at the weekend were also on a good run. They recorded 3 wins and two defeats, the other loss being at Ibrox. This region of the table is something they have become accustomed to, and they finished there three seasons ago. At the end of the season Motherwell will be looking to challenge for one of the European places alongside Hearts and Dundee United (I would say us but let’s not get too carried away). But one thing for sure this game is shaping up to be a cracker. ***Latest Team News*** Doctor Butcher has no fresh injury worries to contend with. His biggest problems now will be who to leave out of the starting eleven. Eric Odhiambo staked his claim for a start with his goal at Ibrox, but he is aware of the situation and is prepared to bide his time. At only 21, he has time on his side and realises the contributions others have made to the cause this season, but he is also eager to impress and he may get a start in the home game. The same will apply to Youngsters Shinnie and Ross who have had a baptism of fire in the SPL. It's tough decisions ahead for Terry Butcher when his treatment table list shortens. Cox, Blumenshtein, Innes, Proctor and Gillet are all still short of fitness for this one. Craig Brown was disappointed to lose last week and may freshen up his eleven. Promising Scotland U21 star Jamie Murphy has been struggling but would add some urgency to the attack alongside Nick Blackman and Chris Humphrey. John Sutton could push for a start, he was a sub last weekend. Keith Lasley is desperately trying to make this one. He pulled his hamstring a couple of weeks ago against Dundee United and is keen to get back on the park. Striker Esteban Casagolda has not recovered from his knee injury and is unlikely to feature. Prediction This will be a difficult game for us to continue our good early form in the SPL this season. Motherwell will be smarting from last weeks shock defeat in the Lanarkshire derby, but generally have been in excellent form this season. Inverness has been a revelation this season, especially away from home. The victory over Aberdeen was a boost, and will have given the boys confidence at home. The St Johnstone result will also have helped because we didn’t play well, especially in the first half, but managed to secure a draw and maybe create some momentum at home. The draw at Ibrox was massive and will give the team confidence wherever they play. I believe we will sneak this one as I think the boys are on a roll and will want to fight hard for that third spot and improve on the erratic home form. Inverness 2-1 Motherwell, is the vision in ginger jaggies crystal balls.