hislopsoffsideagain
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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 -
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.
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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.
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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 -
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...
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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
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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 -
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...
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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.
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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
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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 -
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.
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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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January was a disappointing month for the club, with a penalty shootout defeat to Hearts and a league loss at St. Mirren. But it did see a first Player of the month award for young defender Josh Meekings. Meekings was voted as the star man in the games against Aberdeen and Hearts, and was second to Owain Tudur Jones for the St. Mirren game. His 80 votes put him 9 clear of Andy Shinnie. Shinnie does however have the consolation of taking the overall lead in the standings for Player of the Year, moving 4 points clear of Billy McKay. Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in January: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 19/01 26/01 30/01 TOTAL Josh Meekings 43 30 7 80 Andrew Shinnie 40 29 2 71 Billy McKay 39 1 40 Aaron Doran 15 11 6 32 Graeme Shinnie 5 23 3 31 Gary Warren 8 20 3 31 David Raven 24 4 28 Owain Tudur-Jones 2 12 9 23 Ross Draper 11 2 1 14 Danny Devine 4 4 Richie Foran 2 1 3 Antonio Reguero 3 3 Shane Sutherland 2 2 Philip Roberts 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 38 Billy McKay 1 8 8 16 1 34 Richie Foran 21 10 31 Owain Tudur-Jones 3 3 2 12 5 25 Ross Draper 11 6 3 1 21 Gary Warren 5 3 1 4 7 20 Aaron Doran 3 1 6 9 1 20 David Raven 9 10 19 Josh Meekings 1 1 13 16 Antonio Ruguero 1 8 3 12 Ryan Esson 8 3 11 Graeme Shinnie 3 3 1 7 Andre Blackman 5 5 Conor Pepper 3 3 Philip Roberts 3 3 -
What a sickener. Feels like a defeat to be honest. The fact is that we only have ourselves to blame for not winning. We created more than enough chances, even without playing particularly well. In front of goal we lacked composure. For the first time since September, our forwards look short of confidence in the box. For the umpteenth time, I was left perplexed by our subs. Devine looked completely at sea in midfield. He didn't look like he had ever played there before, and Killie just waltzed through the middle of the pitch after he came on. Their goal came because Sutherland failed to track their left back when he raced forward, and in the process left Raven hopelessly exposed against Dayton. All we needed at that point was a bit of extra energy on the park - bring on Pepper for crying out loud! The referee was hopeless as usual - how he failed to give a pen for a blatant foul on McKay by Sissoko is beyond me. Sending Shiels to the stand right at the end just seemed petty as well.
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ICT v Celtic Match thread
hislopsoffsideagain replied to IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER's topic in Caley Thistle
It's always going to be hard to play against 12 men. I thought Craig Thomson's performance was flabbergasting; it was like different rules for each team. Their defenders were all over McKay and Shinnie without punishment, yet Celtic players were awarded fouls whenever one of our guys so much as breathed on them. From the moment Doran got blatantly tugged back on a counter-attack and he wouldn't even give a free-kick, let alone a yellow card, I knew there was no hope for us today. He was five yards away from Fraser's blatant handball and refused to give the penalty, and 90 seconds later Celtic scored. His decision to stop play for a Kayal 'injury' when we had an attack on was nothing short of scandalous - he signalled to everyone that there was a head knock, yet Kayal got up instantly when play stopped and had a knock to his thigh. In most countries, people like Thomson aren't even trusted to hold a pair of scissors - in Scotland we make them referees. I didn't think it was a poor performance from us today at all. Draper and Doran particularly stood out for me with excellent shifts, and our full backs both played very well. I don't know why Esson got the nod over Reguero; he looked a bit uncertain at times though I don't think he was at blame for any of the goals. The only big disappointment was Celtic's second, where we switched off after a corner was initially cleared and Gershon was virtually unchallenged as he headed home. I don't think it's unreasonable to claim that we have played well enough in the last four games to take something from each, and I just hope the players keep their heads held high because we will win plenty of games when we are playing as well as that. -
This summed up our week nicely - we had plenty of the ball but failed to take the opportunities we had, and all the breaks went to the opposition. Considering that we lost Foran and Andy Shinnie early on and our gameplan was out of the window, I thought we did pretty well. Without Andy Shinnie we lacked a killer pass which was our big problem today. We were well on top in the first half without threatening Cammy Bell - Kilmarnock spent most of it defending yet created the best chances. The first goal was just dreadful bad luck, and the second game when we were chasing it. Sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles. Contrary to IHE, I thought Nick Ross was excellent. He, OTJ and for the most part the back four played well today. Sadly, our forwards were quiet, though that might have been due to a lack of service. Roberts looks dreadfully short on confidence, nothing was coming off for him at all. Oh well, at least we have a nice easy home game next week to get us back on track...oh, wait...
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This smells of an SFA **** up - they seem to have mistakenly told Hearts that Wilson is not suspended. The subsequent explanation - or the lack of - mean that this now increasingly stinks of an SFA cover up. Either he has served his suspension or he hasn't. So far no-one has managed to define when he could have served the suspension - which implies that he hasn't done so. It sounds like the club were contacted this morning and told there was no issue - they have decided to ask the SFA to explain what happened and have not received a satisfactory answer. It doesn't sound to me like Hearts have done anything wrong, but it's increasingly likely that someone at Hampden has made an enormous error and the powers that be are hoping that, if they ignore questions about it for long enough, the problem will go away. And what do we do if it turns out the SFA made an @rse of it? Buggered if I know.
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December was a hugely busy month for ICT, with seven matches - and an undefeated month too which saw plenty of drama as the side crushed Hibs and Dundee at home, produced a Lazarus-like comeback at Dundee United (from 3-0 down in 9 minutes) and decent draws with St. Mirren and St. Johnstone. It also saw two clashes with our local rivals, with a last-gasp equalizer in Dingwall earning us a replay where, ten days later, Caley Thistle eeked out another victory. And it's no surprise that, after an incredible spell of goalscoring form, that Billy McKay was CTO's Player of the month. The first 5 games of the month saw the diminutive Northern Irishman bag an incredible 9 goals, including a prized hat-trick at Tannadice. McKay was voted man of the match twice (against Ross County at home, and against Dundee Utd), as were Richie Foran (against Hibs and against Ross County away) and Owain Tudur Jones (against Dundee and St. Johnstone). Andy Shinnie was deemed the best player against St. Mirren. McKay's 143 votes, however put him 27 clear of Jones, with David Raven, player of the month for November, coming in third. McKay also takes over the lead in the overall standings...by a whisker from Andy Shinnie and Richie Foran. There's still a long way to go, but it seems likely the winner of this season's award will come from those three. Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in December: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 01/12 08/12 11/12 15/12 22/12 26/12 29/12 TOTAL Billy McKay 35 14 32 12 44 2 4 143 Owain Tudur-Jones 8 4 4 4 46 28 22 116 David Raven 8 20 7 8 12 30 12 97 Richie Foran 38 33 4 4 8 8 95 Andrew Shinnie 3 5 38 46 3 95 Gary Warren 2 4 18 6 10 5 21 66 Ross Draper 9 13 4 1 17 4 48 Antonio Reguero 2 6 25 1 2 11 47 Aaron Doran 6 15 4 1 3 6 36 Josh Meekings 10 4 9 3 26 Graeme Shinnie 5 5 4 1 1 4 20 Matthew Cooper 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 Billy McKay 1 8 8 16 33 Andrew Shinnie 11 10 5 6 32 Richie Foran 21 10 31 Ross Draper 11 6 3 1 21 Gary Warren 5 3 1 4 7 20 Owain Tudur-Jones 3 3 2 12 20 Aaron Doran 3 1 6 9 19 David Raven 9 10 19 Antonio Ruguero 1 8 3 12 Ryan Esson 8 3 11 Graeme Shinnie 3 3 6 Andre Blackman 5 5 Conor Pepper 3 3 Philip Roberts 3 3 Josh Meekings 1 1 3 -
Editorial note: First of all, we must apologise for the lateness of this article. Our resident vote collator Hislopsoffsideagain did submit it in plenty of time, but we dropped the ball editorially. So without further ado, here is the article for our Player of the Month award for November (which will be followed closely by the December article). Aside from a 5-1 shellacking at home to Motherwell, November was a successful month indeed for ICT, producing wins at Kilmarnock, Celtic and Aberdeen as well as a draw with Hearts in Inverness. In fact, the team did so well that they managed a clean sweep of SPL awards - manager of the month for Terry Butcher, Player of the month for on-form striker Billy McKay, and young player of the month for Aaron Doran. So it may come as a surprise that CaleyThistleOnline's Player of the month for November was not McKay (who was only sixth), or Doran (who came third) but... DAVID RAVEN!!!! After a somewhat shaky start to the campaign, the English right back has been the epitome of consistency in recent weeks - and clearly supporters have been noticing. Raven picked up 44 votes in November, and was man of the match in the Hearts game. He comfortably beat fellow defender Gary Warren (30 votes) into second. No player won more than one man of the match vote this month - Andrew Shinnie (vs Kilmarnock), Antonio Reguero (vs Motherwell), Aaron Doran (vs Celtic) and Billy McKay (vs Aberdeen), so the overall standings remain close. The elder Shinnie is now the outright leader, five points ahead of Richie Foran, with Ross Draper third. It is very, very close though... Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in November: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 03/11 10/11 18/11 24/11 27/11 TOTAL David Raven 2 21 12 2 7 44 Gary Warren 3 16 1 7 3 30 Aaron Doran 1 14 7 4 26 Antonio Reguero 4 13 7 2 26 Owain Tudur-Jones 5 14 3 1 1 24 Billy McKay 8 1 1 3 10 23 Josh Meekings 15 1 3 2 21 Richie Foran 5 6 5 3 19 Andrew Shinnie 11 1 3 1 2 18 Conor Pepper 4 4 Graeme Shinnie 1 1 2 4 Ross Draper 3 3 Shane Sutherland 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 26 Richie Foran 21 21 Ross Draper 11 6 3 20 Aaron Doran 3 1 6 9 19 Billy McKay 1 8 8 17 Gary Warren 5 3 1 4 13 Ryan Esson 8 3 11 David Raven 9 9 Antonio Ruguero 1 8 9 Owain Tudur-Jones 3 3 2 8 Graeme Shinnie 3 3 6 Andre Blackman 5 5 Conor Pepper 3 3 Philip Roberts 3 3 Josh Meekings 1 1 2 -
After every game, I think "it can't get any better than this", and the team keep proving me wrong. Long may it continue! I felt we were just about the better team in the first half, though Langfield only really had to make one save, a terrific stop from a Foran header. Aberdeen looked dangerous until Hayes spurned their best chance of the game early in the second period, denied by a great Reguero stop. After that, there was only one team in it. All three goals were superb. Did Andy Shinnie catch out Langfield at his near post for the first? He seemed to have the ball pretty much on the by-line, yet he found the opposite top corner. However he did it, it was just sublime. The second might be the best team goal we'll score all year. I think it was Doran who drove from midfield, then Draper back-heeled it into McKay's path, and the wee man shimmied round a defender and stuck it in the bottom corner. I can't wait to see it again. For the third, Raven crossed, Andy Shinnie got in front of one centre-back to flick it on, and McKay was quicker off the mark than the other centre-back to pounce and smash it in. I can't think of any particular criticisms at all today. It was a great team performance. Most of the praise will go to the attackers, but the defence played very well today, with Raven and Meekings real stand-outs for me. I was worried that the three weeks without a game might have sucked our momentum away, but no sign of that yet!
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A cracking game for the neutral. Heart attack-inducing stuff for the supporters. Both teams seemed to just give up on the idea of defending, and the last 15 minutes saw each team taking a turn to attack the other. Whilst we had our share of chances, St. Mirren had two goals disallowed for offside and hit the bar and post late on. On the other hand, Craig Samson made some ridiculous saves at the other end, particularly one from a Doran header in the first half. Andrew Shinnie was absolutely awesome today, constantly finding space and driving forward. His goal was the latest in a line of very good goals we've scored at TCS this season, and might even be the best. I thought Draper had a really good game today too. The front players, as ever, looked very dangerous today. At the back, young Cooper looked a bit shellshocked at times. In the first half McGowan was beating him to every loose ball. The youngster got better in the second half and there's no doubt Warren was guiding him through the game. Not for the first time this season, Graeme Shinnie struggled when left isolated against a winger - Gary Teale appeared to be beating him at will. I don't know what was going on for their second goal - Teale given too much time and space to cross, and Stephen Thompson given the freedom of the six yard box to head home. We might not have got the three points, but it's still thrill-a-minute stuff so no arguments from me.
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Well done guys, another superb result and another entertaining mattch too. This was such an open game that I felt nervous right up until the fourth goal because both teams were throwing so many players forward. Our centre backs did look a little exposed on a few occasions. But their defence - the excellent Rab Douglas aside - is just hideous and our forwards carved them open multiple times. Another terrific performance from McKay leading the line, and Andy Shinnie was just about unplayable in the second half. You wouldn't know we were 4-1 up if you'd looked at our dugout, where the boss appeared to have come down with an acute case of Tourette's in the second half! As far as I could tell, the standside linesman, Graeme Shinnie and Richie Foran bore the brunt of his ire... And isn't it nice that Colin Nish didn't score against us for a change? We are second in the SPL at Christmas. Bloody hell.
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I was furious at missing this game for 'personal reasons' - turns out my decision to avoid the score and watch it on SkyPlus meant I was at least spared the cold weather and able to fast forward the last 20 minutes! First things first - the manager picked the wrong team. Butcher clearly remembered that Humphrey has taken Graeme Shinnie to town many times in the past and wanted Foran as extra protection on the left...but Foran offered no extra help, Humphrey ran riot, and by the time we changed it around we were two down. Not only that, but by playing Morrison and Jones in the middle we had no-one to get stuck in and make tackles - this is where Foran maybe should have started the match. When Butcher did move Richie up field, he stuck Andy Shinnie wide left where he saw virtually none of the ball. Of course, maybe Foran should have started up front - or even Sutherland - as Billy McKay has started 15 home games as an ICT player and we have won only two of those. Unfortunately when the likes of Motherwell (and Hearts last week) stop us from passing up the pitch, we can only hoof long balls, and McKay can't win them. It's not all his fault - he can't help that he is 5ft 8in. But he gets a lot more joy when we are away from home or when we are winning games and can play on the break. Aside from Doran (who ran his cotton socks off), the relatively solid Draper (relative to his fellow defenders at least) and Reguero (prior to his blunder for the fifth goal) the players were poor. Warren and Meekings have been outstanding as a partnership - but Warren was utterly bossed by Higdon today. Meekings was dreadful as well, and he will feel sick when he sees replays of his header straight to Murphy for the second goal. As mentioned above, Graeme Shinnie could not cope with Humphrey at all - the 1st and 2nd goals came because the winger got away and put in lousy crosses which we failed to clear properly (the first one was returned by the outstanding Law to set up Higdon). Sorry, Graeme, but you also fell asleep at the back post for the fourth goal as well - Cummins was your man and you lost him. In conclusion, the coaching staff didn't do their job well, the players didn't do their job well, and the crowd (in terms of numbers, volume and encouragement) didn't do their job well. So it's no wonder we got absolutely shellacked. Let's just hope it is a one-off, and not a sign that we are in a false position. But one thing is for certain - if Ross Draper has only one leg we still have to play him next week.
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Andrew Shinnie is the talk of the town at the moment after earning his first Scotland call-up...and it's not surprising that, considering his excellent recent form, he was ICT's player of the month for October. The former Rangers youth player was the star man in the away victories at Dens Park and Ibrox, scoring in both matches as well as in the derby victory over Ross County. In a closely fought race this month, he edged Aaron Doran into second place by just two votes. Taking third was Spanish keeper Antonio Reguero, who has consistently excelled after taking over between the sticks following Ryan Esson's injury. The elder Shinnie now moves into a tie for the lead in the overall standings with club skipper Richie Foran, who missed three of the four October matches with injury. Ross Draper remains third overall. Overall quantity of votes cast for each player in October: (Used to decide Player of the Month) Player 05/10 19/10 27/10 31/10 TOTAL Andrew Shinnie 11 21 5 16 53 Aaron Doran 34 8 9 51 Antonio Reguero 13 17 14 2 46 Billy McKay 17 27 1 45 Ross Draper 25 4 3 8 40 Gary Warren 18 5 11 4 38 Graeme Shinnie 12 2 12 7 33 Josh Meekings 17 11 28 Owain Tudur-Jones 9 14 4 27 David Raven 3 2 4 3 12 Richie Foran 6 6 Philip Roberts 2 1 3 Shane Sutherland 2 2 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 21 Richie Foran 21 21 Ross Draper 11 6 3 20 Ryan Esson 8 3 11 Aaron Doran 3 1 6 10 Gary Warren 5 3 1 9 Billy McKay 1 8 9 Owain Tudur-Jones 3 3 6 Graeme Shinnie 3 3 6 Andre Blackman 5 5 Conor Pepper 3 3 Philip Roberts 3 3 Josh Meekings 1 1 2 Antonio Ruguero 1 1
