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hislopsoffsideagain

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Everything posted by hislopsoffsideagain

  1. hislopsoffsideagain
    It's a long time since I've been so frustrated after a match. Two points dropped without question. Incredibly Gary Locke told the BBC afterwards that "a draw was a fair result", even though we led 23-12 on shots, 14-3 on corners and 58-42 on possession. It's also a long time since I felt the need to give a referee a piece of my mind at the final whistle. If nothing else, Craig Thomson's decision to add on only a minute at the end was so dodgy that, to be honest, my first thought was "this is crooked". Hearts' time wasting in the second period was the worst I have seen since we had the misfortune to see Hamilton Accies up here. Jamie MacDonald took about a minute over every single goal kick. And as for that moment when Jamie Hamill picked up the ball and threw it away when Brill was about to take a free kick in the second half, well, it is impossible not to book a player for that.. Meanwhile, he let Paul McCallum commit five fouls before bothering to book him, allowed him to delay a free kick by booting the ball 20 yards away, and let him off with about half a dozen other pushes and shoves. That said, despite the referee, and the incredible negativity of a Hearts side who parked the bus even though a point is no good to them, we created so many good chances I lost count. We hit the woodwork four times in the first half. MacDonald made some excellent saves. Warren and Draper both should have done better with headers from corners. By the last 20 minutes you could see the players were getting afraid to shoot, given they'd spurned so many opportunities between them. That's only 9 points from 9 league games under Yogi, and only 2 points from 5 home matches. That said, it's hard to know what else he could have done - the team could hardly have created more today. My only beef was his decision to throw on Foran, change to 4-4-2, and go more direct. We were far more effective with the extra midfielder and I'd have preferred to see Danny Williams or Nick Ross on as the game got stretched. Given there's 10 points between us and Aberdeen, I reckon second place has gone, even with our games in hand. I'm increasingly concerned by how Hibs are steadily closing the gap on us in the top six race.
  2. hislopsoffsideagain
    Here's my thoughts, for what they're worth. At the back, we need to go with the strongest defence we have - which is, unquestionably, Raven, Warren, Meekings and Shinnie. Warren and Meekings are better players than Devine, and an established partnership too. Frankly, Shinnie is better than Tremarco at everything. Draper must play in centre mid. We badly miss his physical presence, all the more so when Foran is out. I'd much rather have Tansey than Polworth, again because he is a better player. Polworth might yet come good, but when he plays poorly (such as in Perth or in Kilmarnock), we are drastically weakened in an important area of the pitch. If Vincent is fit, then slot him back into his role between midfield and attack, where his workrate and engine have proven to be far more effective for us this season than Nick Ross' attempts to impersonate Andrew Shinnie. On the right, I tend towards Doran rather than Watkins, simply because the Doran-Raven partnership works so well and Doran is never as good when on the left. The downside is, as RiG pointed out, Watkins offers us an effective diagonal because he's good in the air. Maybe we could use Marley on the left, but I don't recall him playing there before and a cup semi final doesn't seem like the best place to experiment. So maybe Ross on the left, where he will cut inside and open up space for Shinnie to attack? But if we went with Williams' pace, then I wouldn't be particularly upset. And up front, Mckay, of course. Who else? So, in conclusion, it should be: Brill, Raven, Warren, Meekings, Shinnie, Draper, Tansey, Doran, Vincent, Ross, Mckay. Subs: Esson, Devine, Tremarco, Watkins, Williams
  3. hislopsoffsideagain
    I had to watch this on telly, which didn't make it any less stressful! It could have gone either way, and we must be grateful that Graham and Erskine both hit the post when they should have scored, while Warren got away with that last man tackle on GMS that would have given them a penalty. We'll be so much stronger when we have the midfield trio of Draper, Foran and Vincent back. I shouted "f****** hell, Polworth!" at the TV so often that I lost count - I wonder if I should put the slogan on a t-shirt. His positioning and defensive work were actually far better than I expected...but he gave the ball away so many times that it nearly made me cry. Shinnie alongside him did an excellent job filling in, but I'd rather have him at left back where Tremarco doesn't fill me with confidence at all. In my opinion, he dived for the penalty, and I wouldn't be in the least surprised to see him get a ban as a result. As stated by some already, Nick Ross is out of form just now. Neither of the penalties he had scored recently had gone in without the keeper getting at least a hand on it, so I wasn't in the least bit surprised that Ciernziak denied him. Ross would probably have offered more on the wing, where Williams had a very quiet game again. I did think our central defenders did well and the back four looked better as a unit with Raven in the side. McKay was terrific - again - I fear someone will take a punt on him during the transfer window. Doran was busy as ever, but the lack of movement off the ball from anyone other than McKay means that he seldom has the chance to play a killer pass. This result stops the rot, I guess. But I can't see us going to Pittodrie and getting a result, given our weakness in midfield at the moment.
  4. hislopsoffsideagain
    What ignorant plonker wrote that?
  5. hislopsoffsideagain
    Just to remind folk, the average Celtic first team player earns £20k/week. The average ICT first team player earns less than a twentieth of that. Some people have some rather unreasonable expectations. As Aberdeen showed in the first half last week, we are hugely vulnerable whenever the opposing midfield gets behind ours. Today, Williams and Draper were concentrating more on defending than attacking, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well they did. The flip side of course is that we offer less going forward, but we were still in the match right till the end, we tested Forster from distance a few times, and frankly Draper should have done massively better with his late opportunity. I was impressed by our instance on trying to pass out of defence, rather than hoof ball up the pitch; it was good to see Nick Ross coming very deep on occasion to try and get on the ball. I remain a champion of Doran, who continues to work hard and look for the ball. When he gives it away, it's usually because there isn't a pass on, not because he is sloppy. The only player I had a particular beef with today was Watkins, who only got behind the full back once, but on the other hand his defensive work was general excellent. Aside from Commons, Celtic's forwards were quiet, which is a testament to how well the defence played. There was one major lapse - and, unfortunately, it cost us a goal. There's a lot more to be encouraged than discouraged about. I'd be inclined to pick the same team for the derby.
  6. hislopsoffsideagain
    Things have been a little busy around the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium of late and unfortunately that meant the Player of the Year standings were not updated ... so now that it is almost time for the November award we can now publish the details for September and October !!! Apologies for the delay ! Richie Foran repeated as Player of the Month for September, narrowly pipping Billy McKay in the number of votes cast. Ross Draper and Josh Meekings were also in the running. Moving over to the September Player of the Year points calculations it was Dean Brill who made the biggest impact, coming out on top of the poll in 2 of the 4 matches to earn 10 POY points, ahead of Richie Foran (8), Billy McKay (5) and Aaron Doran (5). Into October and it was Gary Warren who was the standout in votes cast, beating out Josh Meekings to the monthly award, but Meekings got more POY points. A special mention has to go to Dean Brill who had 0 POY points going into September but managed to gain 15 points in SEP/OCT to sit third in the standings behind Foran and Meekings. 4 players have managed to garner votes in all 12 games played in AUG-SEP-OCT: Richie Foran, Ross Draper, Josh Meekings & Dean Brill Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in September: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 14/09 (A) 21/09 (A) 24/09 (A) 28/09 (H) TOTAL Richie Foran 12 3 1 31 47 Billy McKay 2 1 1 40 44 Ross Draper 6 11 1 16 34 Josh Meekings 3 6 5 19 33 Dean Brill 1 14 7 2 24 Gary Warren 2 3 14 19 Aaron Doran 8 1 2 11 Graeme Shinnie 1 4 3 1 9 David Raven 1 2 5 8 Nick Ross 1 3 2 1 7 Ben Greenhalgh 4 4 James Vincent 2 2 Daniel Devine 1 1 Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in October: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 5/10 (A) 20/10 (H) 29/10 (H) TOTAL Gary Warren 1 24 19 44 Josh Meekings 8 26 7 41 Ross Draper 10 13 8 31 Richie Foran 1 16 2 19 Dean Brill 15 1 1 17 Aaron Doran 2 4 11 17 Marley Watkins 8 4 12 Billy McKay 7 3 10 Carl Tremarco 9 9 Graeme Shinnie 1 1 5 7 David Raven 5 5 Danny Williams 4 4 Nick Ross 1 2 3 Torbjorn Agdestein 2 2 Ben Greenhalgh 1 1 Player of the Year Points ~ Current Standings : 2013/14 (Player of Month also highlighted in monthly column) Player AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY TOTAL Richie Foran 17 8 1 26 Josh Meekings 5 5 9 19 Dean Brill 10 5 15 Ross Draper 6 4 3 13 Gary Warren 4 8 12 Billy McKay 5 5 1 11 Aaron Doran 1 3 3 7 James Vincent 6 6 David Raven 1 1 Nick Ross 1 1 Carl Tremarco 1 1
  7. hislopsoffsideagain
    My own thoughts on the issue (and a plug for my blog!) http://nareystoepoker.blogspot.co.uk
  8. hislopsoffsideagain
    Rumours that he stood down because the board refused to appoint Craig Brewster as manager again are yet to be confirmed...
  9. hislopsoffsideagain
    If ICT's start to the season isn't beyond your wildest dreams, then you have some pretty wild dreams! The Caley Jags went into the international break top of the league after five games, having dropped points only to Celtic. The results have been superb, and so have the performances. Clearly one player has stood out in the eyes of the supporters so far - captain Richie Foran has led by example and was the comfortable winner of this season's first Player Of The Month award. The Irishman has taken to his central midfield role with gusto and chipped in with goals against Motherwell and Celtic as well. He earned 121 votes, 50 clear of Billy McKay in second place. Foran has also established a commanding early lead in the Player Of The Year standings, having picked up points in every game so far. He has a whopping 11 point cushion at the top already. But, of course, there is a long way to go yet... Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in August: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 03/08 (H) 10/08 (A) 17/08 (H) 24/08 (A) 31/08 (H) TOTAL Richie Foran 30 9 49 7 26 121 Billy McKay 8 10 16 37 71 Ross Draper 20 21 8 1 14 64 James Vincent 43 7 10 1 3 64 Gary Warren 3 8 30 7 10 58 Aaron Doran 22 1 6 3 22 54 David Raven 5 24 3 32 Josh Meekings 3 3 9 10 6 31 Dean Brill 14 5 1 6 2 28 Nick Ross 1 4 1 4 18 28 Graeme Shinnie 1 4 4 3 12 Torbjorn Agdestein 1 1 Player of the Year Points ~ Current Standings : 2013/14 (Player of Month also highlighted in monthly column) Player AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY TOTAL Richie Foran 17 Ross Draper 6 James Vincent 6 Billy McKay 5 Josh Meekings 5 Gary Warren 4 Aaron Doran 1 David Raven 1
  10. hislopsoffsideagain
    Thought there wasn't much between the sides in the first half, but we were clinical and Hearts' defending was catastrophic. After the break it was one way traffic, and could have been a cricket score. The Hearts players looked knackered after their midweek game, and badly missed Wilson in defence. No-one should ever let McKay take a penalty ever again! But until he messed up that one on one with the keeper I thought he had been sensational. Doran and Ross really stood out for me - both were energetic and keen to get on the ball. Doran in particular buzzed all over the park. A brilliant performance. Was it handball by Hamill? I have no idea. The referee had a dreadful game in general - Draper in particular was being pulled up for everything. By the Kilmarnock game we'll have been top of the league for six weeks!!!! We've never had it as good as this, have we?
  11. hislopsoffsideagain
    Sluggish first half, I thought, but after we scored we were absolutely rampant. It looked like Doran had been told at half-time to come in off the wing more and it worked a treat, opening an enormous lane for Raven to run in to time and again. In the last half hour we looked like we could score at will. Plenty of impressive performances today - I think in particular I should acknowledge Foran, not always a favourite of mine last season, who was magnificent in midfield. Penalty or no penalty? Tough one that. It definitely hit Van Zanten's arm, but at point blank range. The ref certainly thought about it before he gave it. My main concern is that, while the pace and drive we have going forward always makes us dangerous on the break, we don't quite appear to have anyone who can play the killer pass in the way Andrew Shinnie could, and I worry we will struggle hugely in games when we go behind.
  12. hislopsoffsideagain
    If you haven't noticed, it's on the articles page! http://caleythistleonline.com/page/index.html/_/news-2012-13/cto-player-of-the-year-201213-r1052 Many congratulations to Andrew Shinnie, who is the thirteenth winner of the website's annual award. I'm sure CaleyD will find an excuse to take a trip to Birmingham and present him with the trophy! Thanks for all your votes - we had 25% more than we did last year.
  13. hislopsoffsideagain
    Congratulations to Andrew Shinnie, who becomes the thirteenth winner of the annual CaleyThistleOnline Player of the Year award. The race to become the CTO Player of the Year went right down to the final day clash with Ross County, but Shinnie picked up points in the matches against Motherwell and Dundee United to take an ultimately decisive four point lead over Billy McKay which he didn't relinquish. Shinnie is a very deserving winner, having scored 16 goals for the club this season, won his first Scotland cap, and been nominated for the SPL Player's Player of the Year award as well. His wonderful form has earned him a three year contract with Championship side Birmingham City, where hopefully he'll make a big impact. In winning the trophy, he follows in the footsteps of Bobby Mann, Barry Robson, Stuart Golabek, Liam Keogh, Ross Tokely, Craig Dargo, Barry Wilson, Don Cowie, Ian Black, Jonny Hayes, Ryan Esson and Roman Golobart. Andrew's brother Graeme, meanwhile, was Player of the Month for May, his first such award this season. He received 76 votes, 6 ahead of his sibling, with Josh Meekings in third. Meekings' strong finish to the season means he ties for third in the overall standings with Aaron Doran. Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in May: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 04/05 11/05 19/05 TOTAL Graeme Shinnie 15 38 23 76 Andrew Shinnie 27 32 11 70 Josh Meekings 16 24 26 66 Billy McKay 39 3 42 Chris Hogg 20 8 5 33 Richie Foran 11 16 27 Antonio Reguero 5 1 19 25 David Raven 4 10 14 Aaron Doran 4 4 8 Ross Draper 4 3 7 Nick Ross 5 2 7 Charlie Taylor 4 4 Owain Tudur-Jones 1 1 Danny Devine 1 1 Player of the Year Points ~ Final Standings : 2012/13 (Player of Month also highlighted in monthly column) Player AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY TOTAL Andrew Shinnie 11 10 5 6 6 3 1 6 48 Billy McKay 1 8 8 16 1 5 5 44 Aaron Doran 3 1 6 9 1 16 36 Josh Meekings 1 1 13 1 13 6 36 Richie Foran 21 10 3 34 Owain Tudur-Jones 3 3 2 12 5 6 3 34 Ross Draper 11 6 3 1 4 4 3 32 Gary Warren 5 3 1 4 7 6 5 31 David Raven 9 10 5 5 29 Antonio Ruguero 1 8 3 8 3 23 Graeme Shinnie 3 3 1 1 8 7 23 Ryan Esson 8 3 1 12 Danny Devine 8 8 Charlie Taylor 5 5 Andre Blackman 5 5 Conor Pepper 3 3 Philip Roberts 3 3 Nick Ross 3 3 Players of the Year - All Time Month Player 2000-2001 Bobby Mann 2001-2002 Barry Robson 2002-2003 Stuart Golabek 2003-2004 Liam Keogh 2004-2005 Ross Tokely 2005-2006 Craig Dargo 2006-2007 Barry Wilson 2007-2008 Don Cowie 2008-2009 Ian Black 2009-2010 Jonny Hayes 2010-2011 Ryan Esson 2011-2012 Roman Golobart 2012-2013 Andrew Shinnie
  14. hislopsoffsideagain
    What an absolute sickener that was. I don't think there is much to complain about in terms of the performance and effort levels - we created more than enough chances in the second half and we paid for our profligacy. If we'd decided to settle for the draw we'd probably have got it, but we pushed for the winner and got our fingers burned. It's a shame, but these things happen sometimes. Part of the problem is that we lack decent attacking options off the bench (no, Shane Sutherland is not a decent attacking option) and we don't have anyone who can come on and change the game when the attacking players are tired. I thought Graeme Shinnie and Josh Meekings were immense today. I know we lost the match, but I'm staggered that barely 200 people stayed behind for the lap of honour. We're third in the SPL, for goodness sake. That was our first home defeat to someone other than Celtic or Motherwell. The players deserved a damn sight better and I felt hugely sorry for them. Someone like Jones or Doran, yet to agree a new contract, must be wondering whether they shouldn't go somewhere where the fans would give them more credit. Some idiots in the main stand even booed at the final whistle. These guys need their heads examined, frankly. Next Sunday is not going to be very relaxing.
  15. hislopsoffsideagain
    How many of the youngsters we've released over the years have gone on to become SPL players and prove the decision to release them was incorrect? Vigurs is the only one I can think of - and at the time I was told his problem was attitude rather than ability. Given the small number of youth team players who go on to make the step up, and that we seem to let go most of the under 20 side every May, I do wonder sometimes if we keep on a lot of these young lads just so we can field a team in the under 20s league, rather than because of any expectation that they'll make the step up to the first team. I bet several SPL sides are in the same boat.
  16. hislopsoffsideagain
    The race for the coveted CaleyThistleOnline Player of the Year title is still wide open as we enter the final few weeks of the campaign. Incredibly, at the end of April, no fewer than NINE different players were still in with a chance of lifting the trophy. With only three matches this month, there weren't too many points on offer - and nearly all of them were snaffled up by Josh Meekings, who continued his excellent campaign by earning his second player of the month award, earning the most votes in the matches at home to St Johnstone and at Celtic Park, and coming second to Toni Reguero in the return game in Perth. The Spanish keeper came in 16 votes behind Josh in second place, with Ross Draper in third. None of the top four players in the standings picked up a single point from any of the games, so Andy Shinnie remains just in front of Billy McKay at the top of the list with only three matches left. Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in April: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 05/04 21/04 27/04 TOTAL Josh Meekings 37 9 11 57 Antonio Reguero 20 21 41 Ross Draper 15 3 9 27 Graeme Shinnie 11 3 5 19 Owain Tudur-Jones 10 5 1 16 Richie Foran 5 2 6 13 Danny Devine 5 6 11 Aaron Doran 8 2 10 David Raven 6 1 7 Charlie Taylor 7 7 Billy McKay 2 1 3 Nick Ross 1 1 2 Gary Warren 2 2 Andrew Shinnie 1 1 Player of the Year Points ~ Current Standings : 2012/13 (Player of Month also highlighted in monthly column) Player AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY TOTAL Andrew Shinnie 11 10 5 6 6 3 1 42 Billy McKay 1 8 8 16 1 5 39 Aaron Doran 3 1 6 9 1 16 36 Richie Foran 21 10 3 34 Owain Tudur-Jones 3 3 2 12 5 6 3 34 Ross Draper 11 6 3 1 4 4 3 32 Gary Warren 5 3 1 4 7 6 5 31 Josh Meekings 1 1 13 1 13 30 David Raven 9 10 5 5 29 Antonio Ruguero 1 8 3 8 20 Graeme Shinnie 3 3 1 1 8 16 Ryan Esson 8 3 1 12 Danny Devine 8 8 Charlie Taylor 5 5 Andre Blackman 5 5 Conor Pepper 3 3 Philip Roberts 3 3 Nick Ross 3 3
  17. hislopsoffsideagain
    You could justify charging £20+ for a ticket for every game if they were all as good as this one. It really did have everything - goals, missed penalties, red cards, a late winner. If there's been a more exciting SPL game than this during the 2012/13 season, I'll be surprised. I needed to go home and have a rest after that! Our early goal opened things up completely. Amusingly, it only came about because we @rsed up a free kick on the edge of the box, but when the ball was dinked back in, Meekings had wandered in at the far side, and his square ball was turned in by McKay from about a yard out. Motherwell had a shout for a pen when Ojamaa went round the keeper and slid on his knees theatrically (there's a theme here), while Foran hit the outside of the near post from an acute angle. Andy Shinnie steered a left footed shot into the bottom corner to double our advantage though, and then took advantage of the worst attempt to play offside I've ever seen (thanks, Keith Lasley!) to race clear on the break down the right, and his centre gave McKay another tap in. It's a marker of how dangerous Motherwell are that I don't think anyone felt comfortable even at 3-0...though we could, and should, have been further ahead when Doran went clear, but he dithered in front of the keeper and the chance was lost. Then McFadden fired a lovely long range effort into the bottom corner to reduce the deficit, and at half-time the visitors were well on top. Higdon nearly bundled in a goal at the back post just seconds after the break, but soon got his goal, converting a penalty after Ojamaa went down incredibly easily (there's a theme here) under pressure from Hogg in the box. Within a minute the Estonian had got himself booked for diving after going down on the edge of the box, and Willie Collum evened things up by giving us a spot kick after Nick Ross was given a nudge in the back...only for McKay's uncharacteristically poor penalty to be saved by Randolph. Our heads dropped a bit, and it was no surprise that McFadden levelled after beating our offside trap, smacking a shot in off the post. McKay had another chance for his hat-trick but was denied in a one-on-one, while Nicky Law blazed over a golden chance at the other end. At that point, you'd have bet your mortgage on Motherwell winning - until Ojamaa picked up a daft second yellow for a late challenge on Andy Shinnie. The momentum turned again, as we went for the winner and the visitors stuck everyone but Higdon behind the ball. I didn't think we were going to nick it, but a speculative effort from Meekings was only parried by Randolph straight to McKay, who buried it to spark a bit of pandemonium. And, this time, we hung on. Pleased to see Graeme Shinnie get MOTM today, as he kept Humphrey very quiet. Good performances all round, really, and I'd be loathe even to criticize the defence despite the loss of three goals. And, if I'm being honest, it was a joy to see James McFadden in the mood as well, even against us! As for Willie Gollum...sorry, Collum and his standside assistant - good god. Horrendous, the pair of them. Two games left, and the Europa League place is still in our hands...
  18. hislopsoffsideagain
    If nobody minds (and even if some do) I thought I'd plug my article for The Terrace looking individually at each player's performances this season. I'm sure there will be differences of opinion - I look forward to them! (Disclaimer: this was written before the Celtic game) http://terracepodcast.com/1/post/2013/04/player-performance-1213-inverness-caledonian-thistle.html
  19. hislopsoffsideagain
    After a difficult February, ICT bounced back with an unbeaten month of March to consolidate a top six place, picking up two wins - including a precious derby victory over Ross County - and two draws. The battle for the much coveted (we think!) CTO Player of the Year award is still wide open, but Andrew Shinnie remains the outright leader despite adding only 1 point to his total this month. A man of the match performance at Dens Park allowed Billy McKay to close the gap, with four different players - Gary Warren, Charlie Taylor and Graeme Shinnie were the others - earning man of the match honours in March. Warren might have taken his first Player of the Month award but for a knee injury that kept him out of the Hibernian game - instead David Raven picks up his second monthly award of the campaign as a reward for his consistency, finishing 6 votes ahead of Warren and 9 clear of newcomer Taylor. As we entered April, there were still 30 points up for grabs - who will finish the season strongly and pick up the overall crown? Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in March: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 02/03 09/03 16/03 30/03 TOTAL David Raven 16 5 30 1 52 Gary Warren 28 2 16 46 Charlie Taylor 2 41 43 Richie Foran 3 2 32 3 40 Graeme Shinnie 17 2 15 34 Aaron Doran 3 6 17 26 Andrew Shinnie 12 2 4 8 26 Ross Draper 3 5 3 13 24 Josh Meekings 13 3 4 3 23 Billy McKay 8 12 2 22 Owain Tudur-Jones 7 3 3 2 15 Ryan Esson 9 4 13 Danny Devine 4 4 Nick Ross 1 1 Player of the Year Points ~ Current Standings : 2012/13 (Player of Month also highlighted in monthly column) Player AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY TOTAL Andrew Shinnie 11 10 5 6 6 3 1 42 Billy McKay 1 8 8 16 1 5 39 Aaron Doran 3 1 6 9 1 16 36 Richie Foran 21 10 3 34 Owain Tudur-Jones 3 3 2 12 5 6 31 Gary Warren 5 3 1 4 7 6 5 31 Ross Draper 11 6 3 1 4 4 29 David Raven 9 10 5 5 29 Josh Meekings 1 1 13 1 17 Graeme Shinnie 3 3 1 1 8 16 Ryan Esson 8 3 1 12 Antonio Ruguero 1 8 3 12 Danny Devine 8 8 Charlie Taylor 5 5 Andre Blackman 5 5 Conor Pepper 3 3 Philip Roberts 3 3 Nick Ross 3 3
  20. hislopsoffsideagain
    An eloquent statement from the chairman, summing up the argument in favour of voting 'yes'. That said, I thought St. Mirren's statement was a good presentation of the argument for 'no'. I'm no fan of 12-12-18, and for what it's worth I think we simply need to add in a second relegation place or a relegation/promotion playoff from the SPL to the current setup; given the obvious misgivings a lot of clubs and fans have about introducing the new setup in time for August, I think the sensible solution is to implement the things everyone seems to agree on - financial redistribution, one governing body, getting rid of 11-1 - right now, and then spend the summer debating the rest of it. That said, Kenny Cameron has so far proved to be a very able chairman and I have full trust in him. Therefore, if he says that voting 'yes' is the way forward, I'll stand behind him. To be honest, I don't think the size of the top division is the reason Scottish football is on it's knees. I think it's because fans are charged ridiculous amounts for a mediocre product - for example, £26 for a ticket for a televised home game against St. Johnstone on a cold Friday night. And they wonder why supporters aren't coming to games...
  21. hislopsoffsideagain
    St Johnstone certainly have the knack for how to stop us playing - in all three matches against them this season we've looked a bit untidy and struggled to put much together. St J looked far more comfortable on the ball but didn't create all that much - on the other hand, Andy Shinnie, Doran and Draper passed up excellent chances even though we didn't play well. I'm not sure about this fad Butcher has for playing Draper wide - we miss his energy and running in the centre of the park. Foran and Jones aren't nearly as mobile and St Johnstone's midfield ran them ragged a bit. On the bright side, I thought Meekings was absolutely terrific tonight. Devine had a rocky first half, but was excellent in the second. I think we can look back on that as a point gained which at least hinders St Johnstone's chances of catching us a bit. Hopefully Hearts do us a favour tomorrow by taking points off County.
  22. hislopsoffsideagain
    At the time, I thought the penalty decision was a shocker; having watched the Alba pictures it seems a very difficult one to call - one angle seems to suggest Ikonomou got the ball and one does not. I'm not complaining, mind! Iain Brines was just embarrassing; asking a policeman to go and have a chat with Derek Adams seems pretty cowardly to me, and he showed the patience of a saint with Vigurs' dissent and repeated fouls. I'm just grateful that we got the rub of the green with the clown's biggest decision. I've not come away from any of the derbies this season thinking we were particularly better than County, and today was the same. After we got the early goal, they dominated midfield and we struggled to get any possession. That said they created very little before Lawson's goal. It was certainly a terrific hit, but I'm flabbergasted no-one got out to try and block it, and disappointed that Esson didn't save it - I thought he had plenty of time to get across his goal and he got a hand on it. I'm not too worried about Reguero being in goal for a bit - for me, the Spaniard has looked the superior keeper this season. The back four played very well for the most part; I thought Taylor really struggled at Dens Park last week but he did an excellent job this afternoon and was probably our best player. Warren, Meekings and Raven were all good. I'm not convinced the shape of the midfield was a good idea, but as the game went on Foran had more influence in the middle of the park and Draper got into it more and more. I'll take that result - and the sour look on Adams' face - any day. Hopefully we can get through the last derby of the season - I'm certain there will be one more - with an unbeaten record for the campaign against County
  23. hislopsoffsideagain
    Aaron Doran was CTO's star man for February, becoming the sixth different player to earn player of the month honours this season. The Irish winger was voted man of the match in three straight matches, against Celtic, Kilmarnock and Motherwell, and his total of 72 votes was well clear of second placed Nick Ross. David Raven (against Killie away), Gary Warren (against Hearts) and Danny Devine (against Dundee United) were all voted man of the match once. Doran's impressive haul of points moves him into second place in the Player of the Year standings, which are extremely tight at the top but Andrew Shinnie still enjoys a narrow lead in the overall standings. It is mathematically possible for anyone who has already earned points this season to still win it (with the exception of Andre Blackman). There are a possible 40 points available from the last 8 games, and if someone went on a great run like Doran did in February, anything is possible. However, looking at it realistically, you have to consider Doran, Billy McKay, Richie Foran and Owain Tudur Jones as the likeliest challengers to Andy Shinnie, with Gary Warren, Ross Draper and David Raven not quite out of the hunt yet, but with a lot to do if they are to win .... It will be an interesting run-in Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in February: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 02/02 09/02 13/02 16/02 23/02 27/02 TOTAL Aaron Doran 1 22 23 10 7 9 72 Nick Ross 5 9 6 8 7 5 40 Danny Devine 9 29 38 Owain Tudur-Jones 9 18 3 1 1 4 36 Gary Warren 2 5 6 6 17 36 Ross Draper 19 11 2 2 34 Andrew Shinnie 4 8 4 18 34 Josh Meekings 4 5 4 4 15 32 David Raven 10 7 4 4 1 4 30 Graeme Shinnie 2 6 10 3 3 1 25 Ryan Esson 4 2 1 3 10 Billy McKay 1 3 1 4 9 Philip Roberts 1 1 Shane Sutherland 1 1 Charlie Taylor 1 1 Player of the Year Points ~ Current Standings : 2012/13 (Player of Month also highlighted in monthly column) Player AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY TOTAL Andrew Shinnie 11 10 5 6 6 3 41 Aaron Doran 3 1 6 9 1 16 36 Billy McKay 1 8 8 16 1 34 Richie Foran 21 10 31 Owain Tudur-Jones 3 3 2 12 5 6 31 Gary Warren 5 3 1 4 7 6 26 Ross Draper 11 6 3 1 4 25 David Raven 9 10 5 24 Josh Meekings 1 1 13 1 17 Ryan Esson 8 3 1 12 Antonio Ruguero 1 8 3 12 Danny Devine 8 8 Graeme Shinnie 3 3 1 1 8 Andre Blackman 5 5 Conor Pepper 3 3 Philip Roberts 3 3 Nick Ross 3 3
  24. hislopsoffsideagain
    That was as good a nil-nil as you'll see for a while. There was some really slick passing play from both teams at times, though in truth United looked more likely to win as the game went on. Jackie Mac has them well drilled already, and if they play like that for the rest of the season they are a good bet to finish second. They seemed to be playing a 4-5-1/4-3-3 and the extra man in midfield allowed them to dominate. That said, we spurned a few chances of our own - if Andy Shinnie had headed Doran's beautiful cross either side of the keeper he would have scored. As stated above, Devine was absolutely terrific, as indeed was Meekings. In fact, our back four were probably our best four players for me. The forwards showed only flashes of quality, though Andy Shinnie looked lively. Doran was getting a bit of stick, but our best chances seemed to come from his crosses. Bringing on Foran to play up front was the right move as we were forced to resort to long balls, but I'd rather have Pepper's energy than Sutherland's faffing anyday. As with almost every game we've played this season, the ref was a complete clown. Meekings got booked for a beautifully clean sliding challenge on Russell - although it was quite clear the United player was hurt in the process. I thought it was pretty unreasonable that some fans booed when he limped off later on - he'd come off worse from a few crunching (but fair) challenges and had tried to get up and get on with it rather than complaining. Not a bad result, in my opinion. Dundee United look twice the team they were when we humped them 4-0 earlier in the campaign.
  25. hislopsoffsideagain
    I thought people might find this article amusing - Scottish football website The Terrace is running a series on every SPL club's 'worst XI' from the SPL era. I was asked to do ICT's, and set 2004, our promotion to the SPL as the cut off point. I'm sure there will be disagreements with some of the picks, but I think most of them will be hard to argue with...particularly the dreaded Andy Barrowman! http://terracepodcast.com/1/post/2013/02/worst-xi-inverness-caledonian-thistle.html
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