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More punishment... Drat, there's no International Break for us as we just have to get on with the humiliation. A once proud club where energy and passion were part of the furniture has been reduced to playing second fiddle to Queens Park, Arbroath, Morton and Hamilton in recent weeks. What's next? Raith Rovers might beat us one day. That's maybe stretching the imagination a bit too far, but that's the direction we are heading. Injuries injuries blah de blah. Lack of quality and tactical nous might be closer to the truth. Anyway, it's getting to be a chore now almost making Xmas shopping seem more palatable. Almost I said. League leaders Ayr United visit the Caledonian Stadium looking to take advantage of our demise. It shouldn't be too difficult, everyone else has done so. However, we cling to eternal hope and unfounded optimism that one day something will change. That seems a long way off at the moment given our predicament. Saturday at 3:00pm is the scheduled kick off time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATCH/TICKET/SPORTS BAR INFO STIRLING ALBION CUP GAME ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Ayr United Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 10 10 2 36 22 +14 Away 24 11 6 7 45 30 +15 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 46 21 16 9 81 52 +29 Head 2 Head shows we have a big advantage, especially at home. However these stats are from better times and we lost out 1-2 last February. Prior to that January 2003 was our last home defeat to Ayr United. Plenty of draws in there and the odd seven goal thrashing with a Dennis Wyness hat-trick thrown in for good measure, but that's nostalgia for you. 2000 Dec 2nd League (Wyness hat-trick) 7 - 3 H 1,513 A day on which it rained goals and the score could have gone either way. Two attacking teams provided a great spectacle despite the windy conditions. Play raged from end to end then in 42 minutes Wyness made it 3-2. David Bagan set Martin Bavidge off down the right and his cross was touched home by the sliding foot of Wyness. Wyness scored number 6 with a close range overhead kick in 79 minutes after Davide Xausa had hit the ball across goal and the Ayr defence failed to clear. With 4 minutes left a Sheerin pass split the defence and found Wyness in space. The striker completed his hat trick when he rounded Nelson and stroked the ball into the empty net. It could have been eight just before the end when a Barry Robson shot came off Nelson but he managed to catch Xausa's follow up effort. The home supporters cheered their team off the pitch as the Ayr fans called for the head of manager Gordon Dalziel; an unfair reaction when they had played so well for so long. A match to remember for a long time. Report by Ian Broadfoot Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Ayr United 1 - 0 (A) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (H) 2 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 0 - 1 (A) 2 - 0 (H) Last Time Out We were overrun by Queens Park last week after taking a half time advantage through Billy Mckay. Queens upped the pace after the break and tore us a new one. Goals by Charlie Fox and a wily olde fox in Simon Murray settled the issue but it was flattering for us. 6-1 might have been nearer the mark. To be honest, it was an awful view at Ochilvew for the few. Ayr united beat Hamilton 2-3 in their last outing. Accies were looking impressive and should have taken something from the game but Ayr dug deep to find a late winner through Dempsey's spot kick. Tough on Accies who had twice levelled the game. Akinyemi had scored in each half to give Ayr the lead twice. In the middle of our wee purple patch of scraping wins earlier in the season we did somehow get the better of Ayr at Somerset Park with the only goal of the game coming from Cammy Harper's head. Ayr Pressure not enough: Ayr started the day three points ahead of Inverness. They would end the day level. Plenty of pressure from the hosts in a dominant first half but the nearest they came to a goal was a Mark Mckenzie header that came off the bar and the same player missed from six yards after being set up by Dipo Akinyemi. Inverness would be relieved to get to the interval on level terms. Cammy Harper glanced in a header just after the break to open the scoring. That's how it ended after a difficult ninety minutes but it's three wins on the bounce on the road. Ahhhh, distant memories, and that's just this season. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Ayr United 15 8 4 3 32 20 28 2. Morton 15 7 4 4 22 15 25 3. Dundee 15 7 4 4 26 20 25 4. Queens Park 15 7 3 5 23 24 24 5. Raith Rovers 15 7 1 7 19 16 22 6. Inverness CT 15 6 4 5 17 18 22 7. Partick Thistle 15 6 2 7 28 29 20 8. Cove Rangers 15 4 5 6 23 25 17 9. Arbroath 15 2 6 7 10 19 12 10. Hamilton Ac. 15 2 5 8 16 30 11 SATURDAY 19TH NOVEMBER (all 3:00pm) Cove R v Morton Dundee v Accies Rovers v Queens Partick Th v Arbroath Inverness CT v Ayr United 15 games in and Ayr United top the table with eight wins and are one of the form teams right now along with Morton and Dundee, so no surprise to see them occupy the top three places. Ayr's last defeat was at Dens Park six games back. Inverness are winless in their last five games since beating Cove at Balmoral a month ago and very few fans can see anything other than a resounding win for Ayr unless a miracle happens on the treatment table. Ayr are top scorers in the league and should be adding to that this weekend. +++++++++++++++++ Latest Team News With Billy Dodds lying low and dodging the bullets, there was only a Q&A session after the Queens Park game. "When I get my full team back, or most of my team back, I think we’ll be a force to be reckoned with." I think when we get the full quota back, hopefully we’ll get a few back soon, even if we get three quarters of the quota back then I think we’ll be a team to be reckoned with." Erm, you've already said that Billy. Let's see what he comes out with ahead of this one as the long knives come out. Still a long queue at the treatment room as far as we know with Zak Delaney being injured near the end of last weeks game at Ochilview another doubt... With Billy still dodging the bullets, here's Bazza... So, if you can't be arsed listening to it, we could have ten, yes TEN, T E N (10) outfield players unavailable. Plus an out of favour keeper. Not good to be honest. We have asked for permission to recall some loanees to fill the bench... Eric's Ayr Doo As expected, with Ayr United already having the largest squad size in the Championship, there have been no new additions since the last meeting at Somerset Park at the beginning of October. Lee Bullen has forged his team into a solid unit with goals at the sharp end. Dipo Akinyemi is responsible for most of them with 13 goals to his name from 19 games. We know enough about Logan Chalmers to know what he can do and Dario Zanatta can be a threat to any defence in this league.

Dumped in Ochilview We ended up with the short straw, a 5:30pm kick-off at Ochilview Park to face Queens Park. Ayr United, Dundee and Morton had already won prior to kick off and we needed the three points to stay in touch, so did Queens Park. The visitors opened the scoring after twenty minutes when Billy Mckay scored into the bottom corner. Charlie Fox headed the Spiders level five minutes after the interval from a corner. Patrick Jarrett hit the post and Aaron Doran volleyed just over from a Nathan Shaw cross as Inverness ventured forward. Queens took the lead through Simon Murray at the back post with around twenty minutes left. and that was the end of the scoring, but not the pressure on the weary Inverness defence. Queens Park thoroughly deserved the points in another poor performance from the Caley Jags. The stats have apparently revealed that we had less than 20% of the possession. That's incredible given we were playing Queens Park, not Real Madrid. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Billy Dodds was only able to call on a similar squad to the one which threw points away against Arbroath last week with no new players returning from injury. Queens Park had a full bench, something we can only dream about just now and a pair of Boateng's. Simon Murray was denied an early chance when one on one with Cammy Mackay, the keeper doing just enough to divert the ball for a corner. Sean Wesh headed wide before Billy Mckay put Inverness ahead when Welsh's ball into the box was driven home by Mckay. Talk about a false dawn.... There then followed a procession towards the visitors end of the pitch with Murray and Davidson working the keeper. However, for all their possession, Inverness were coping, just. Ferries saved from Mckay ten minutes before the break and we managed to get to the interval with our lead intact. HALF TIME: 0-1 A headed 'goal' by Kilday was chalked off for an infringement but the warning was not heeded. Mackay saved well from Simon Murray five minutes after the break. More pressure applied to our defence and from a corner Charlie Fox rose high to head in with little defensive objection. It was only a matter of time before the Spiders would make their superiority count. Patrick Jarrett turned in the box and hit the post as we survived a bit longer. Grant Savoury crossed to the far post and that wily poacher Simon Murray turned the ball into the net to give Queens Park a deserved lead with around twenty minutes left. Aaron Doran went close with a couple of efforts but it was mainly backs to the wall stuff and Savoury should have added another but he dragged his shot wide. Jack Thomson hit the post as the game drew to a close with Queens well on top and Inverness looking somewhat battered and bedraggled. FULL TIME: 2-1 We can count ourselves fortunate to get off so lightly. On another day we could easily have shipped six. Somethings wrong that's not right with many fans wondering if it's time for change. We are certainly in a depression and few can see a way out of it with very few prepared to roll up their sleeves. Meh! Highlights from Queens Park Match reaction from Billy Dodds: It's a Q&A session...WTF Scathing Match reaction from CTO, lots of unhappy bunnies: Enough is enough! We were absolutely garbage yet again and this situation simply cannot be allowed to continue. I get the fact that we have a depleted squad but the manner of the performances are completely uncceptable and we are categorically never getting out of this league with Dodds in charge. I would love our esteemed CEO and Manager to illuminate us as to why we chose not to bring in loanees at the end of September when we were already facing a lengthy injury list. The fact that we're also naming 16 and 17 year olds on the bench when we have a number of slightly more experienced players out on loan is a similar mystery to me. Time to go! Dodds out..... Kellacher out...... Robertson out..... Wilson out! Time for fresh ideas or I say all fans should boycott the club don't go yo any more games stop spending money. Gonna be part time next year at best anyway Just thinking, with Queens having been unable to fulfil the fixture at it’s scheduled time, maybe the team should have turned up at 3pm and played Syngenta instead - might have got a point! Absolute garbage! Total lack of cohesion. Unable to string passes together. Unable to keep possession. Unable to score more than one goal per match, and usually less. No tactics. No fight. And frankly, I don't buy this "huge injury list" thing - that's been the excuse for the last 3 seasons now. Anybody playing for ICT must have achieved a certain standard before getting in the door. The players on the pitch all have the required individual skills - they just don't seem to be working in the same direction. I've been reluctant to criticise so far, but tonight's shambles just tipped me over the edge. We never looked like winning, even when we were one-up. When I pay to see a game I expect some kind of entertainment for my money. This season I just feel I'm being ripped off! Date: 12/11/2022 Venue: Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir Attendance: 593 Referee: Scott Lambie Queens Park: 2 Manager: Owen Coyle Lineup: Ferrie; Davidson, Kilday, Fox, Robson, Thomson, M Boateng, Jarrett, McPake (Savoury 70), Thomas, Murray (Williamson 83) Subs (not used): Heraghty; Naismith, Longridge, Kenny, Bruce, Connolly, D Boateng, Scorers: Fox (50), Murray (73) Booked: none Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: C Mackay; Carson, Duffy, Ram, Delaney (Hyde 81), Shaw, Welsh, Harper, Doran (Nicolson 81), Oakley (Boyd 65), B Mckay Subs (not used): Ridgers; Strachan, Cal Mackay Scorers: B Mckay (18) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

The Queen's no at home Its the reverse fixture against Queens Park this weekend. Great I hear you say, a wee trip to Hampden at last. Not so unfortunately. We will have to make do with Ochilview Park. Yes, that's right, Ochilview Park, the home of League Two Stenhousemuir FC. Not only demotion, but we have been kicked into touch and play second fiddle to Syngenta v Edinburgh United in the East of Scotland League Two, which kicks off at 1:00pm on the same day on the same pitch. Syngenta??? Who the hell are Syngenta FC you ask. I know I know, it's a lot to take in, but here's the Official Statement on how that decision was made. Unless you want to turn up early for a double header, then our game with Queens Park will kick off at 5:30pm barring any issues with the artificial turf. The supporters bus leaves Inverness at 12:00 and priced at £20 it's a bargain. If you can't make the game, it's allegedly being live streamed by Queens Park from Ochilview Park. LIVE STREAM £15 MATCH TICKETS/INFO SUPPORTERS BUS £20 07462218717 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Queens Park Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 10 4 4 2 15 12 +3 Away 6 5 0 1 13 8 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 16 9 4 3 28 20 +8 First Competitive Meeting & Heaviest Defeat - Report below Aug 20th, 1994 League ((Div 3)) (H) 0 - 4 Caledonian Thistle 0-4 Queens Park: Caley Thistle's mid week efforts against Dundee had taken their toll and they went a goal down in 14 minutes - a McAllister header to McRitchie was short and Garry Orr took advantage with a goal from 15 yards. Four minutes later Maxwell made it two when he bundled in Edgar's corner. In 53 minutes McKenzie had rare chances for the home side but he hit the 'keeper twice. The match was over a few minutes later when a Garry Orr pass set up Graham who beat McRitchie with an angled drive. Two minutes later Maxwell headed a fourth. Match report written by Ian Broadfoot Starting XI Mark McRitchie Dave Brennan Mark McAllister Mike Andrew Mike Noble John Scott Danny MacDonald Graeme Bennett Alan Hercher Paul McKenzie Wilson Robertson Biggest Victories Jul 31st, 2010 League Cup (Rd 1) (H) 3 - 0 Nov 11th, 1995 League (A) 3 - 0 Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Ayr United 14 7 4 3 29 18 25 2. Morton 14 6 4 4 20 14 22 3. Raith Rovers 14 7 1 6 19 14 22 4. Dundee 14 6 4 4 24 20 22 5. Inverness CT 14 6 4 4 16 16 22 6. Queens Park 14 6 3 5 21 23 21 7. Partick Thistle 14 6 2 6 27 27 20 8. Cove Rangers 14 4 4 6 22 24 16 9. Arbroath 14 2 5 7 9 18 11 10. Hamilton Ac. 14 2 5 7 14 27 11 FRIDAY 11TH NOVEMBER Hamilton v Ayr United SATURDAY 12TH NOVEMBER Arbroath FC v Cove Rangers Dundee v Rovers Morton v Partick Queen's Park FC v Inverness (5:30) Last Time Out Inverness dropped more points at home, this time to bottom club Arbroath after taking a second half lead through MotM Nathan Shaw. A defensive lapse allowed Keiron Shanks a free hit on goal to equalise and that's how it ended. Enough chances squandered to win a couple of games and ended up hanging on somewhat. The Spiders last outing was a 2-0 defeat to Cove Rangers at Balmoral. Not a happy place for Queens of late. A mixed bag for the Spiders of late, Being thumped 5-0 by Ayr United but thrashing Partick Thistle 4-0 at Firhill. It's a funny old game. The first fixture between the clubs this season ended in a 1-1 draw: Queens make their point: Queens 39 year hiatus from this tier of football ended as they ventured into the Championship, and it all started well when Jake Davidson opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute. In a half of many chances, Bily Mckay levelled the score a minute before the interval. That's how it stood until the final whistle with neither side able to make the breakthrough despite numerous opportunities at both ends thanks to Callum Ferrie and Mark Ridgers and some wayward finishing. Queens Park showing they are not here just to make up the numbers and were good value for their point. Latest Team News Billy Dodds will be without the usual suspects. Long term casualties and shorter term recurring injured players adds up to around nine players unavailable. Add on Mark Ridgers who will no doubt be on the bench due to an internal dispute then it's difficult to see us pick anything up from Ochilview other than more injuries. Eric's Queen's catch up Queens Park manager Owen Coyle has sent a few players out on loan prior to bringing in some loan signings. Since our last encounter, out on loan are Max Gillies defender, Liam Brown from the midfield and front-line player Gregor Nicol. New faces in the defence are Stephen Eze, centre back, a former Nigerian International player with 13 caps for his country, has signed a 2-year contract on a free from Croatian side NK Solin FC. 16-year-old Cameron Bruce at left back has been elevated from the U18 set up to the first team. From Crystal Palace FC Youth to under 21 squads right back David Boateng has signed up on loan at Queens until the end of the season. Fellow Ghanaian and Palace youth of same surname but no relation is Malachi Boateng who can play at centre back but prefers a defensive midfield role has also joined on loan. Centre forward Irishman Johnny Kenny once a Sligo Rovers youth and U19 International is on loan from Celtic FC. Johnny has made 5 appearances for ROI at U19 level and is credited with 4 goals from those games. Queens have plenty journeymen who can cause us problems with ginger striker Simon Murray always likely to pop up around the box. Josh McPake will also be keen to impress along with a couple of Boateng's recently taken on. Coming up soon...

Defensive Lapse Inverness dropped to fifth in the table after a defensive lapse cost them all three points. Bottom club Arbroath had their task made easier with Dodds dropping Mark Ridgers to the bench. In a first half of few chances McKenna hit the post with a curling effort for the visitors with the keeper stranded. Doran curled a similar effort just over with Gaston stranded as Inverness grew into the game before the interval. Despite some home pressure, the final pass was always a touch too many and it was goalless at the break. Nathan Shaw opened the scoring after he met a flick on at the back post. Having worked hard to get ahead we gifted Arbroath a leveller after a wayward defensive header left Kieran Shanks through on goal to drill past a helpless Mackay. Gaston pulled off some tremendous saves from Harper, Duffy and Mckay and Arbroath finished with a wee flourish, but we held on for a point. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Billy Dodds was still without a raft of injured players and he added Mark Ridgers to the list by dropping him to the bench after the Morton mayhem. What a slap in the face for Ridgers, and a bigger slap in the bollocks for the paying public. Scapegoat springs to mind. Arbroath were without Tam O'Brien, Scott Binsindou and Scott Stewart. Kieran Shanks started up front with Dale Hilson on the bench. Inverness set the ball rolling shooting towards the North Stand on a sodden pitch, which became evident as the number of players losing their footing increased as the game went on. It was a slow opening to the game before Cammy Harper had a low shot turned behind for a corner, the keeper taking no chances as the ball neared his right hand post. Billy Mckay was next to have a pop but it was too easy to stop his shot from the edge of the box. A neat bit of interplay from the visitors allowed Michael McKenna to bend a shot from eighteen yards onto Cammy Mackay's right hand post, but with the keeper beaten the ball cannoned off the outside of the post to safety. Aaron Doran had a similar effort at the other end as he shaped to curl his shot goalwards with the keeper in no mans land. Unfortunately it drifted just over the bar, but that was our best moment so far with twenty-five minutes gone. Mckay then shot wide and had a header comfortably saved by Gaston in the visitors goal. Inverness were ending the half on top with George Oakley close to connecting with a Harper delivery. HALF TIME: 0-0 We opened the second half on the front foot and Mckay found the keeper with another header from a Nathan Shaw cross. Shaw was warming to the task and was one of our main threats going forward. Seven minutes after the break it was Shaw that opened the scoring when he came in late at the back post to knock home a head flick from Mckay after a great cross in from the left side. Good reward for the young wide player. We almost grabbed a second as Oakley bustled down the right and stabbed the ball across the face of the goal from a tight angle. It was kept alive by Mckay on the left who found Harper but his shot from just inside the box was well saved by Gaston. Out of nothing Arbroath equalised. We looked to have broken down a foray forward on the left for Arbroath. However, it appears to have been Carson who headed the ball into the path of Kieron Shanks who needed no prompting as he stepped onto the ball and slotted it behind the exposed Cammy Mackay. Poor goal to lose and it came when we were well on top. With twenty minutes remaining, Wallace Duffy was unlucky not to score as Gaston spread himself well to block his drive with his feet before picking himself up to spectacularly deny Billy Mckay in the top corner, tipping the ball behind. There followed a spate of substitutions from the visitors which seemed to tighten things up for them and regain some control in the middle of the park. Daniel Fosu had a header picked out of the air by Cammy Mackay as Arbroath looked for a winner in the final ten minutes. Dylan Tait saw his shot saved under the bar as we regressed with the Smokies adding to their corner count with every ball into the box making it an uncomfortable ending to the game. FULL TIME: 1-1 A game we should have won slipped out of our grasp. Missed chances, good goalkeeping, wrong decisions, passing the buck, after you Claude, one glaring error and it all adds up to points dropped and down to fifth in the table, albeit only three points away from leaders Ayr United. Disappointing result after starting the second half brightly. Shaw did well to tuck the ball in at the back post but the equaliser was avoidable as we failed to clear the ball away from the edge of the box. Shaw worked hard and took his goal well. Billy Mckay was tireless once more against towering defenders. We probably should have won after going ahead but Gaston saved the Smokies on a few occasions. Cammy Mackay was rarely tested and could do little about the goal. Date: 05/11/2022 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 1847 Referee: Calum Scott Inverness CT: 1 Manager: Billy Dodds Lineup: C Mackay; Carson, Duffy, Ram, Delaney, Shaw, Welsh, Harper (Hyde 87), Doran, Oakley (Boyd 79), B Mckay Subs (not used): Ridgers; Strachan, C Mackay, Nicolson Scorers: Shaw (52) Booked: Ram (41), Harper (85) Sent Off: none Arbroath: 1 Manager: Dick Campbell Lineup: Gaston; Oakley, Little, Hamilton, Tait, Allan (Fosu 76), Gold (Hancock 78), Jacobs, Linn, McKenna, Shanks (Hilson 69) Subs (not used): Gill; Isiaka, Corfe Scorers: Shanks (60) Booked: none Sent Off: none a

Bottoms Up After the Morton madness, it's bottom club Arbroath's turn to benefit from our problems. As if injuries were not bad enough, we appear to have a conflict at the club known as Ridgers Rift and the possibility that could add another name to the missing list. It is however mildly reassuring to note that the Smokies have injury problems of their own plus the manager player conflict known in this case as the Nick Low Law. This game is on Saturday afternoon with a scheduled kick-off time of 3:00pm at the Caledonian Stadium where we will find out if the power of management trumps fan power. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MATCH/TICKET INFO NEW DIRECTOR STATEMENT QUEENS PARK LATER KICK OFF Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 16 3 3 56 18 +38 Away 21 9 6 6 26 22 +4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 43 25 9 9 82 40 +42 Only three defeats at home from twenty two matches, although the tide seems to be levelling out over recent fixtures. The legendary Alan Hercher will be resting uneasy at our recent run given how he led the way with a twenty minute hat-trick in August 1994. CTO report by Ian Broadfoot: 5-2. Caledonian Thistle's Scottish League debut resulted in a tremendous performance and a fine victory. Alan Hercher was the hat-trick hero as Caley Thistle got their League campaign off to a flying start. Three first half goals by Hercher set the scene for a dramatic opening League 3 encounter. In the opening minutes Caley Thistle 'keeper Mark McRitchie had to look sharp to save a 15 yard drive from John Reilly. In 13 minutes Mark McAllister won a corner and Alan Hercher headed in Graeme Bennett's kick to score Caley Thistle's first ever Scottish League goal. It was not long before he also scored the second and third! Before that Arbroath came close on two occasions -the first when a John Brock header went inches past the post and the second when a 25 yard free kick almost found the net. John Scott and Mike Andrew had chances for the home side before Alan Hercher again wrote his name into the record books. In 31 minutes he shot home his second goal through a ruck of players then headed home another corner in 33 minutes. Half Time: 3-0 In the second half Arbroath came back into it and scored through Brock and Reilly - Caley Thistle bounced back and scored twice more. In 71 minutes Paul McKenzie latched onto a long McRitchie clearance and lobbed over the keeper then Wilson Robertson completed the scoring six minutes later with a high ball from 22 yards. Full Time: 5-2 This rounded off an exciting match and an historic occasion for both the club and Inverness. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 0 (H) 3 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 3 - 1 (H) Honours are even over the last six meetings with four draws and a win apiece. The last three fixtures failed to produce a goal over ninety minutes. Given our problems, it's a fair bet that goals will be hard to come by again this weekend. Gone are the days of 7-0 thrashings over the Smokies with Dick Campbell proving to be an astute leader in the face of adversity. Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts 1. Ayr United 13 7 3 3 28 17 24 2. Morton 13 6 3 4 19 13 21 3. Queens Park 13 6 3 4 21 21 21 4. Inverness CT 13 6 3 4 15 15 21 5. Partick Thistle 13 6 2 5 25 24 20 6. Dundee 13 5 4 4 21 18 19 7. Raith Rovers 13 6 1 6 16 13 19 8. Cove Rangers 13 3 4 6 20 24 13 9. Hamilton Ac. 13 2 5 6 13 24 11 10. Arbroath 13 2 4 7 8 17 10 FRIDAY 4TH NOVEMBER (7:45) Cove Rangers v Queen's Park SATURDAY 5TH NOVEMBER (3:00) Ayr Utd v Morton Inverness v Arbroath Partick v Dundee Rovers v Accies Last Time Out Our problems were there for all to see on telly last Friday as our makeshift XI shot themselves in the foot by gifting Morton a three goal start at Cappielow. To compound that the Ridgers Rift came into play as Billy hooked Mark at the interval in a sort of public hanging that appears to have been brewing over the last few weeks. Certainly there looks to be a difference of opinions on display at the very least. Mark has been our saviour on numerous occasions, but a couple of errors early on saw Morton go two ahead before David Carson headed into his own net before half time. It was a bizarre game as we dominated possession but looked fragile at the back with numerous big players missing. Up front we were as believable as Boris Johnston and Liz Truss rolled into one. The fourth goal just reinforced this. However, how necessary was the Ridgers Rift? Arbroath find themselves at the foot of the table after a poor start to the season with only two wins in their opening thirteen games. Last week they went down 2-0 to Ayr United who now top the table. They played with last years player of the championship Michael McKenna chasing shadows as a lone striker with Bobby Linn supporting when he could. The Nick Low Law saw him not on the team sheet. The previous week they beat Accies 1-0. It's been a crazy league so far with any team capable of taking the points off anyone else. They have perked up recently with draws against Queens Park and Dundee, but this was always going to be a difficult season for them after the high of the last one. Unfortunately, we like to bend over backwards to accommodate struggling teams and in fact are one ourselves just now. Latest Team News Despite our embarrassing performance last Friday, it was good to have Sean Welsh and Wallace Duffy back on the park. Max Ram is also getting up to speed and maybe Austin Samuels will be next to come off the list athough he is still a doubt for this game. Choice of goalkeeper will come down to the Ridgers Rift which is not ideal for Dodds, Ridgers, Cammy Mackay, the team, the sponsors or the supporters. Let's see what Billy makes of it now. Eric's Smokies surprises Arbroath have their own injury list to contend with. Missing recently have been defender Tam o'Brien, wide player Scott Stewart and striker Dale Hilson who was kept on the bench last week. Scott Bitsindou on loan from Livingston looked to have done his hamstring as he pulled up after an hour against Ayr United and will likely miss this game. Bin man Linn is the one constant for Arbroath, still performing well even at 76 years of age. Scot Allan will make them tick over in midfield and will need close attention. At Gayfield Park in the back line its out with the old and in with the new with defender Jason Thomson at 35 years leaving for Kelty Hearts, and Marcel Oakley coming in on loan from Birmingham U21 aged 19 years. In the middle of the park James Craigen has left for FC Edinburgh and Nicky Low out on loan to Kelty Hearts. Incomers are Scott Bitsindou defensive midfielder on loan from Livingston who went through Belgian club Anderlecht's Youth system. Central midfield player Dylan Tait is on loan from Hibernian. Scott Allan who had a successful loan spell at the Caledonian Stadium is now an ex-Hibernian player who has signed on at Arbroath on a contract until May 2024. Centre forward Luke Donnelly has vacated Gayfield to further his career at Alloa FC. Kareem Isiaka whose agent describes him as an "attacking" centre forward (is there any other kind?), it transpires he was once with Charlton Athletic FC U21 has signed a short-term contract until January. At 21 years old since being at Charlton his career has been sporadic, last at Vikingur in Iceland.