RossP

Just shy of 3,000 tickets sold by the two clubs - http://www.northern-scot.co.uk/Sport/Football/Ticket-frenzy-for-Elgin-cup-clash-with-Caley-Thistle-20012017.htm

Anier's last game was in November, so I doubt he'll start. Although Richie might want him closer to match sharpness ahead of some must win league games? Cole is re-signed on loan and will be a likely starter, as he was a mainstay prior to the winter break. Ebbe won't start or be near the bench I would assume. I really hope Richie used the winter break to try new formations and we don't go into Saturday with the same plans as last year. Drop Vigurs, move Polworth into the middle, start Fisher instead of Doumbouya... just those simple changes would make a huge difference I feel.

I agree. "Between 1500-2000" = I don't have a clue, so I'll take a stab in the dark. You'd think if you were ITK, a more accurate response would be given by the club than the 25% margin for error here! Elgin have a history of losing track of the number of tickets sold though I suppose...

I remember delivering the midweek extra newspaper to the ionic as a pre-teen. Total bearpit, but occasionally they'd give me a free tin of irn bru to enjoy, sat next to the nuddy calendar at the bar. Ahead of the ionic I would recommend the Old Vic or the White Horse on the west side of the high street. Both are good boozers, that are better than the ionic. The Whiter had/has a great jukebox as well. For a family friendly pub, I'd recommend the Drouthy Cobbler in the lane next to Muckle Cross (weatherspoons) - it does good food and has a great local beer selection, in bottles. Another option would be the Stable bar to the side of the Laichmoray hotel, across the road and a wee bit right of the train station. Pool table, darts and jukebox all to yourself as it's rarely got folk in it. I'd assume it's open from 12 onwards, but can't be certain.

Warren (5) and McNaughton (3) were both excellent, everyone else exceptionally poor. Ended up giving Tremarco 1 point but in hindsight it should have gone to Draper.

Delighted with the draw and a chance to cross another never visited stadium off my list. Any chance it can be on the Wednesday though? My amateurs season kicks off on the Tuesday...

Reported as 1316

That was as good an opening 45mins as I've seen us play... perhaps only rivalled by the 0-7 game at Ayr United. Arbroath came more into the game early in the second half and were unlucky not to score. They tired though and it could have been double figures had it not been for wasteful final balls and finishing. Mulraney's pace will absolutely terrify full backs. He is lightning quick! Shame his decision making for passes was often poor/slow. Really impressed by Boden and King too; excellent signings that inspire far more confidence than Yogi's last transfers (Liam Hughes and Ryan Williams). What an improvement there has been in Carl Tremarco in the last 6 months or so by the way! Amazing energy and directness, like Shinnie in his prime. Excellent performances from everyone else, but it's also worth highlighting how influential Vigurs and Tansey were today. Anytime they lost the ball they were chasing and harrying straight away to win it back; something that was rarely seen last season. When on the ball, they found the attacking 3 in dangerous areas with a variety of flicks, raking passes across the pitch and balls over the defence.

I phoned JD Inverness yesterday to see if there's any update on when they'll have the new strip in... and they said it'll likely be sometime late August.

Pushing for a place on the bench according to Richie.

That's me typed up a Preview and posted it in the Editorial forum

Is there someone already doing one? If not, I'll put a bit more effort into the above musings over the course of this afternoon and get it sent over.

Just some thoughts ahead of this weekend's game... As mentioned, ICT need to win by a greater GD than any Dundee Utd win v Dunfermline to secure top spot in the group. What's also important to consider is GD will likely decide who finishes as one of the top 4 group winners and be seeded in the next round: Group B - St Johnstone 7 points, GD +5 Game to play = St Johnstone v Stirling Albion Group D - Alloa 9 points, GD +7 Game to play = Raith Rovers v Alloa Group D - Raith Rovers 8 points, GD +2 Game to play = Raith Rovers v Alloa Group E - Partick Thistle 9 points, GD +5 Game to play = Partick Thistle v Queen's Park Group H - Morton 8 points, GD +3 Game to play = Morton v Berwick Rangers have secured one of the top 4 already, leaving 3 up for grabs. In order for ICT to qualify as a seed they may have to outscore any St Johnstone win v Stirling AND hope that one of Morton, Partick Thistle mess up. All in all, the odds are against us. With this in mind, will Richie change the formation/style further to ensure we win big? Two (our only two) strikers starting perhaps? Arbroath are missing quite a few of their more experienced starters due to suspension (Little, McCord and Jimmy Scott) - so I'll be betting big on us to win with a -1 or -2 handicap.

We brought that on ourselves by shifting our game to the Saturday (not complaining, as I'd much prefer a Sat ko). You'd like to think though that we can rack up a convincing win which is too much for Utd to match/beat. We also need to boost the GD to ensure that we are in the top 4 performing group winners to get seeded for the next round. Rangers already have one of those spots and a couple of teams are one win away from 100% points too (Alloa and Partick). St Johnstone, East Fife and Morton also are very well placed to finish above us even if we win.

I'm hoping to be in Inverness this weekend for the Arbroath game... any chance that the new strips will be available for sale at JD/Stadium by then?

He was actually signed with ICT when he was at school IIRC. Great player, but from what he was saying at a wedding we were both at in June the Doncaster deal is a done thing.

That's a very decent signing if it does come to fruition.

I have a funny feeling we will be bringing a loan signing in from Aberdeen... Cammy Smith and Peter Pawlett are both linked with loan deals to Championship teams (Dundee Utd and Hibs) and I reckon we'll sneak in.

Pictures on Twitter confirm it is Kevin McNaughton.

Is there an official release date for the new tops? Hoping to head through for the 30th July Arbroath game... so would take the car rather than travel by train if JD Sports were stocked up with the new kit

Calum Ferguson signed a one year deal with Albion Rovers today - http://albionroversfc.co.uk/calum-signs/

Blast! I was on the lookout for him all game but no sign. An enjoyable game, where it got a lot more open and end to end in the second half. The players I was most impressed by were Gilchrist and MacRitchie in the centre of defence. Macrae had some nice touches and was excellent when on the ball, but struggled physically against older and stronger players. The tiny centre mid Chalmers who came on as a sub also really impressed when on the ball but bounced off players and got wiped out regularly.

Nae bother. Looking forward to seeing the game regardless.

Season starts tomorrow v. Fraserburgh and I can't wait It will be a young team, but looking forward to getting a live football fix. Any clues last night to whether there will be any senior players making the journey too... or if the team will be in the new strip? I'll do my best to do live updates, but since my phone is acting up and a potential for poor signal it's more likely I'll get it onto my twitter feed (RossP_ICT) Either way, I'll get a more detailed report up when I get back to Aberdeen.

Positive sounds coming from that Inverness Courier article, not only re: player recruitment, but also playing style.