hislopsoffsideagain

Indeed. If only a tricky, speedy attacker like Nico Williams, or Bukayo Saka, or Jamal Musiala had been involved in the tournament 🤨 Going back on topic, Hayes might be my favourite ICT player ever. The goal above was a particular highlight, but I can think of others: the way he terrorised defences in our promotion season; a late equaliser against Dunfermline in the cup where he deflected the keeper's clearance into the net and then ran off to the corner flag with his hand over his mouth; a win over Hibs where he gifted them a goal with an errant pass and almost instantly demanded the ball from the kickoff and promptly set up Adam Rooney to score; more than one occasion where he raced 70 yards at full speed to halt an opposition counter-attack. There was no messing about, no pointless tricks or showboating; just a guy who worked his ass off for 90 minutes every week, with and without the ball. We were privileged to have him for a few seasons.

Maybe the lack of information about 'new investor(s)' is necessary, for confidentiality reasons. Unfortunately the club's current custodians have not earned the right to receive any benefit of the doubt from supporters. There are still an awful lot of important questions left unanswered even from the snippets of information in the public domain. For example: - Are we getting actual new ownership - as Ferguson seems to be suggesting - or just new people investing in the club? Are these new investors current shareholders or people from outside? - The accounts state that new investors will provide funding via a share purchase. But this would either be through a purchase of existing shares (difficult when there are so many minor shareholders) or through the issuing of new shares (and can the board just do this without getting agreement from current shareholders?)? - How on earth can David Cameron have stepped down as a director in 2022, yet Companies House not be informed until a few weeks ago? And why have the club continued listing him on the website as a director since then? It's not as if the page hasn't been updated, as new directors have been added in the last two years. Has it anything to do with the fact that Mr Cameron is, along with our former chairman, a director of the Battery Farm company? And that's just the finance stuff. We still haven't got an explanation as to why Aaron Doran and other departing players were treated so dreadfully.

Dan Wagaluka

Argh, somehow I left Ridgers off the released list

https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/it-is-only-right-that-people-know-the-truth-caley-thistl-316520/ Flashback to a year ago, when Shane Sutherland complained about the manner of his release and the club made a big song and dance about how they not only offered players formal meetings to discuss their release (if they had been at the club for 2 or more years) but also that they required to by employment law; there was even a SPFL template letter to use. So, how are they doing with fulfilling this requirement this time around?

Not starting preseason till next week is not so strange when you consider our season ended a fortnight later than most other clubs'. From social media it appears that most clubs returned to training this week. However the lack of any news on signings/player releases and our manager disappearing off the face of the earth are hugely concerning. It'll be hard to do preseason without a goalkeeper, for a start.

I would normally expect a fit, active adult in their early thirties who had sustained an ACL rupture and who saw an NHS orthopaedic consultant to (after a long wait, of course!) get an ACL repair - regardless of whether they are a professional athlete or not. Having a ruptured ACL and a potentially unstable knee has ramifications for any sort of physical activity, both recreational and as part of employment - and also results in an increased risk of osteoarthritis in the knee within the next decade or two. So for Aaron to be told - by a retired orthopaedic surgeon, no less - "to try and rehab it" - well...draw your own conclusions as to why that was suggested to him as an option. Every day I think that nothing about this club and the current situation could appal me any more...and yet every day they manage to outdo themselves.

It's a disgrace. Even if we're not in a position to offer players contracts the club should be making this clear instead of leaving them in the lurch. Just another embarrassment in a very long list of embarrassments over the last few weeks. The last time we were relegated I believe the players who were released only heard about it when the club put up a list on the website - I'm not sure this is an improvement.

Hopefully there will be some clarity from the club today. At the time of writing, we have no chairman, our accounts are overdue and a major income stream from Statkraft has fallen through, while we don't know which players have been offered new contracts (or if any actually have been offered new deals) and any player recruitment is surely on hold until Keltygate is resolved. I suspect - and hope - that Alan Savage is positioning himself as the club's saviour, or at least as the figurehead for those who might step in and rescue the situation.. His youth academy gesture has got him some credit with the support, and he's publicised his disgust with the Kelty plan and with Gardiner. But the outgoing board will want some of the money they've put into the club back, and their replacements will not want to give them a penny because of the mess that they wlll have to clear up. The longer it takes to sort that out, the weaker our position will get and the more likely administration becomes.

The defence and goalkeeper can be found here. CENTRAL MIDFIELD: MATT O'RILEY (CELTIC), CALLUM MCGREGOR (CELTIC) Honourable mentions: Lyall Cameron (Dundee), Beni Baningime (Heart of Midlothian), Connor Barron (Aberdeen), Mark O'Hara (St. Mirren) I'm cheating a bit here as O'Riley could - should? - be better placed as an attacking midfielder. Anyway, he was damn good and possibly should have won Player Of The Year? McGregor is McGregor, a class above any other deep-lying midfielder in the league. This is the fifth year in the last six that I've picked him. Reo Hatate and Mohamed Diomande would be in the honourable mentions list had they played enough league matches. Cameron has quietly developed into a fine player at Dundee and kept a never-ending list of loan signings out of the team all season. I've always liked Baningime, who seems to have finally got over the knee injury that kept him out for a year and led to a slow start to 2023/24. Barron's finish to the campaign was impressive enough that he was thought to have a chance of making Scotland's squad for the Euros; it'll be interesting to see where he goes now his contract is up. O'Hara missed some action due to injuries and St. Mirren were significantly worse off when he wasn't on the pitch. ATTACKING MIDFIELD: DAN ARMSTRONG (KILMARNOCK), ABDALLAH SIMA (RANGERS) Honourable mentions: Blair Spittal (Motherwell), Matthew Kennedy (Kilmarnock), Greg Kiltie (St. Mirren), Yan Dhanda (Ross County) Armstrong was an assists machine for Killie as well as a diligent worker down the flank. Could Rangers have won the title had they not lost Sima for much of the Spring? He was their best attacking player by miles. Spittal had a career year and has earned himself a move to Hearts, as has cultured playmaker Dhanda. Armstrong's teammate Kennedy was excellent on the opposite wing. Kiltie has established himself as an important creative presence for St. Mirren. STRIKERS: LAWRENCE SHANKLAND (HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN), BOJAN MIOVSKI (ABERDEEN) Honourable mentions: Cyriel Dessers (Rangers), Simon Murray (Ross County), Theo Bair (Motherwell), Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic) Hard to argue with these two picks, even if neither plays for Celtic or Rangers. Shankland has become so much more than a poacher and may yet be Scotland's starting striker at the Euros. One shudders to think how far Aberdeen could have fallen but for their North Macedonian talisman, who will surely earn them millions this summer. Dessers got better and better over time after a rough start, though Rangers might still feel they need even more quality leading the line. Murray was the main reason County stayed up, while Bair was the most surprising success story of the season, going from being a joke at St. Johnstone to a goalscoring machine at Motherwell. Kyogo deserves at least a passing mention in dispatches, though his all-round contribution isn't what it was when Ange was in charge at Celtic. Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Indeed. I know of previous club physios who have been local and who were employed by the club - while they were in the top flight - without having previously worked with a full-time sports club at any point.

Forgive me if I'm being dumb, but can we really not find a physiotherapist locally? The last advert I could find online (from 2022) for a new club physio didn't mention accomodation then.

£200k/year on accomodation (as per Morrison's comments in that interview) sounds like quite a figure. Going rent for a 4 bedroom house (surely bigger than what is needed) in Inverness seems to be about £1300/month. So that would be equivalent of paying entire rent (not just contribution towards it) for nearly 13 houses?!

Having the team train locally saves them having to travel 135 miles there and back for home games...essentially turning all their matches into away games (except for the new derbies with Kelty, of course).

Reasons for Caley Thistle's current difficulties: Housing prices Not enough houses being built Too many tourists Inverness is too nice a place to live Definitely not reasons for Caley Thistle's current difficulties: The board being an absolute bunch of lunatics

How long do I have to keep this going before I can call this an 'annual tradition'? I'm mainly doing it because I've always done it and I'm worried the universe will implode and swallow itself whole if I stop. But I haven't yet reached the point when I can look back and laugh at the fact I included Daniel Majstorovic one year. The previous sixteen vintages, for the record: 2007/08: Allan McGregor (Rangers), Alan Hutton (Rangers), Carlos Cuellar (Rangers), Lee Wilkie (Dundee United), Lee Naylor (Celtic), Barry Robson (Celtic), Stephen Hughes (Motherwell), Barry Ferguson (Rangers), Aiden McGeady (Celtic), Scott McDonald (Celtic), Steven Fletcher (Hibernian) 2008/09: Lukasz Zaluska (Dundee United), Andreas Hinkel (Celtic), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Lee Wilkie (Dundee United), Sasa Papac (Rangers), Scott Brown (Celtic), Bruno Aguiar (Hearts), Pedro Mendes (Rangers), Andrew Driver (Hearts), Scott McDonald (Celtic), Kris Boyd (Rangers) 2009/10: John Ruddy (Motherwell), Steven Whittaker (Rangers), David Weir (Rangers), Andy Webster (Dundee United), Sasa Papac (Rangers), Steven Davis (Rangers), Morgaro Gomis (Dundee United), James McArthur (Hamilton), Anthony Stokes (Hibernian), Kris Boyd (Rangers), David Goodwillie (Dundee United) 2010/11: Marian Kello (Hearts), Steven Whittaker (Rangers), Daniel Majstorovic (Celtic), Michael Duberry (St. Johnstone), Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic), Steven Naismith (Rangers), Beram Kayal (Celtic), Alexei Eremenko (Kilmarnock), David Templeton (Hearts), Nikica Jelavic (Rangers), David Goodwillie (Dundee United) 2011/12: Cammy Bell (Kilmarnock), Adam Matthews (Celtic), Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic), Paul Dixon (Dundee United), James Forrest (Celtic), Victor Wanyama (Celtic), Ian Black (Hearts), Dean Shiels (Kilmarnock), Jon Daly (Dundee United), Gary Hooper (Celtic) 2012/13: Fraser Forster (Celtic), Mihael Kovacevic (Ross County), Gary Warren (Inverness CT), Mark Reynolds (Aberdeen), Stevie Hammell (Motherwell), Victor Wanyama (Celtic), Nicky Law (Motherwell), Murray Davidson (St. Johnstone), Leigh Griffiths (Hibernian), Michael Higdon (Motherwell), Billy Mckay (Inverness CT) 2013/14: Jamie MacDonald (Hearts), Dave Mackay (St. Johnstone), Virgil Van Dijk (Celtic), Mark Reynolds (Aberdeen), Andrew Robertson (Dundee United), Scott Brown (Celtic), Stuart Armstrong (Dundee United), Peter Pawlett (Aberdeen), Kris Commons (Celtic), Kris Boyd (Kilmarnock), Stevie May (St. Johnstone) 2014/15: Craig Gordon (Celtic), Shay Logan (Aberdeen), Virgil Van Dijk (Celtic), Jason Denayer (Celtic), Graeme Shinnie (Inverness CT), Ryan Jack (Aberdeen), Greg Tansey (Inverness CT), Greg Stewart (Dundee), Stefan Johansen (Celtic), Gary Mackay-Steven (Dundee United/Celtic), Adam Rooney (Aberdeen) 2015/16: Jamie MacDonald (Kilmarnock), Callum Paterson (Hearts), Igor Rossi (Hearts), Andrew Davies (Ross County), Graeme Shinnie (Aberdeen), Nir Bitton (Celtic), Jackson Irvine (Ross County), Jonny Hayes (Aberdeen), Kenny McLean (Aberdeen), Marvin Johnson (Motherwell), Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) 2016/17: Joe Lewis (Aberdeen), Callum Paterson (Hearts), Jozo Simunovic (Celtic), Joe Shaughnessy (St. Johnstone), Kieran Tierney (Celtic), Jonny Hayes (Aberdeen), Stuart Armstrong (Celtic), Adam Barton (Partick Thistle), Scott Sinclair (Celtic), Moussa Dembele (Celtic), Liam Boyce (Ross County) 2017/18: Jon McLaughlin (Hearts), James Tavernier (Rangers), Scott McKenna (Aberdeen), Christophe Berra (Hearts), Kieran Tierney (Celtic), Scott Brown (Celtic), Dylan McGeouch (Hibernian), John McGinn (Hibernian), James Forrest (Celtic), Daniel Candeias (Rangers), Kris Boyd (Kilmarnock) 2018/19: Allan McGregor (Rangers), James Tavernier (Rangers), Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic), Craig Halkett (Livingston), Kieran Tierney (Celtic), Callum McGregor (Celtic), David Turnbull (Motherwell), James Forrest (Celtic), Ryan Christie (Celtic), Ryan Kent (Rangers), Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) 2019/20: Mark Gillespie (Motherwell), James Tavernier (Rangers), Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic), Jon Guthrie (Livingston), Borna Barisic (Rangers), James Forrest (Celtic), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Ali McCann (St. Johnstone), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), Odsonne Edouard (Celtic), Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) 2020/21: Benjamin Siegrist (Dundee United), James Tavernier (Rangers), Conor Goldson (Rangers), Jason Kerr (St. Johnstone), Borna Barisic (Rangers), Steven Davis (Rangers), Ali McCann (St. Johnstone), Ryan Kent (Rangers), David Turnbull (Celtic), Martin Boyle (Hibernian), Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) 2021/22: Craig Gordon (Hearts), James Tavernier (Rangers), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Ryan Edwards (Dundee United), Stephen Kingsley (Hearts), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Joe Aribo (Rangers), Regan Charles-Cook (Ross County), Barrie McKay (Hearts), Jota (Celtic), Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) 2022/23: Trevor Carson (St. Mirren), James Tavernier (Rangers), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Connor Goldson (Rangers), Greg Taylor (Celtic), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Reo Hatate (Celtic), Jota (Celtic), Malik Tillman (Rangers), Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic), Kevin Van Veen (Motherwell) And here's the goalkeeper and back four - it is always a back four, for some reason - for this campaign. GOALKEEPER: DIMITAR MITOV (ST. JOHNSTONE) Honourable mentions: Jack Butland (Rangers), Joe Hart (Celtic) See how extraordinarily crap St. Johnstone were this season? Well, imagine how bad it would have been had it not been for a superhuman Bulgarian between the sticks. It seemed apt that Mitov finished the season with a huge penalty save on the final day which helped the Perth Saints escape a relegation playoff. As for the others, Butland impressed sufficiently that he nearly got back in the England picture, while Hart still looked decent in his final days as a player on the rare occasions he was actually called upon. RIGHT-BACK: JAMES TAVERNIER (RANGERS) Honourable mentions: Alistair Johnston (Celtic), Nicky Devlin (Aberdeen) That's seven years in a row I've picked Tav, a record that will surely never be beaten (because surely I won't be doing this in seven years time). It was same old, same old; a little iffy defensively now and again but more than making up for it as a creator and scorer of goals. Given he turns 33 in November, surely he is past his peak now though. Johnston wasn't too flashy but rarely looked exposed, at least in domestic games. Devlin was pretty decent at right wing-back for Aberdeen. LEFT-BACK: OWEN BECK (DUNDEE) Honourable mentions: Greg Taylor (Celtic), Alex Cochrane (Hearts) This is a rare case of me putting a non-Old Firm player in for more than just the laughs. Beck made the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, and was so impressive in the first half of the season that Liverpool took him back in January and gave him a first-team appearance before deciding to return him to Tayside. It's safe to say that he will go on to shine at a much higher level than the Scottish Premiership. Taylor often seems to get a lot of stick but he has been very good for Celtic the last few years. I struggled to come up with a third left-back but I thought Cochrane was as good as anyone else (I note I wrote pretty much the same thing about him last season!). CENTRAL DEFENDERS: CAMERON CARTER-VICKERS (CELTIC), FRANKIE KENT (HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN) Honourable mentions: John Souttar (Rangers), Lewis Mayo (Kilmarnock), Alex Gogic (St. Mirren), Joe Shaughnessy (Dundee) Carter-Vickers strolls through Scottish football, frankly. I'm surprised he isn't bored and itching to test himself at a higher level yet. This is the third consecutive season I've named him. Kent's ball-playing was almost as important to Hearts as his solid defending. I listed Souttar as one of the worst signings of the previous season and fairly had to eat my words as he not only stayed fit but was consistently Rangers' best centre-back. Mayo had a breakout season for Kilmarnock. The years-long debate over whether Gogic is best in defence or midfield seems to have been ended at last by the Cypriot's dominant performances in a back three. His former St. Mirren teammate Shaughnessy was a major factor in Dundee making the top six. I'll do the rest at some point next week. Maybe. Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Steve Clarke has till 6 June to name his Euro 2024 squad. We had a go at predicting it all the way back in November; since then UEFA have confirmed that 26 players can be named - just like at the last Euros - and we have lost Lewis Ferguson to an ACL injury. Here's who I think Clarke will pick, with my thoughts. I'm not expecting any 'October surprises' so there's no Harvey Barnes or Tino Livramento here, sadly... GOALKEEPERS On the plane: Angus Gunn, Craig Gordon, Zander Clark Missing out: Liam Kelly Notes: Gunn is obviously first choice. In November I thought Kelly was ahead of Gordon in the queue but subsequent selections have suggested it's the other way around. In fact, if anything happens to Gunn I'd imagine the Hearts veteran would get the nod ahead of teammate Clark, even though the latter has started more often at club level this season. Clark looked very uncomfortable in relief of Gunn for a f few games in 2023, which may count against him. CENTRAL DEFENDERS On the plane: Kieran Tierney, Jack Hendry, Ryan Porteous, Scott McKenna, John Souttar, Liam Cooper Missing out: Grant Hanley Notes: All being well, I'd expect Tierney, Hendry and either McKenna or Porteous to start against Germany. Cooper goes because Clarke will want another left-footed centre-back to cover for Tierney. Souttar has been consistently good for Rangers this season. Hanley has played only eight minutes of first-team football since March and hasn't stayed consistently fit since his achilles rupture a year ago, which makes it hard to justify picking him even for his leadership and ability in the air. FULL-BACKS On the plane: Andrew Robertson, Nathan Patterson, Aaron Hickey, Greg Taylor, Ross McCrorie Missing out: Anthony Ralston, Josh Doig, Max Johnston Notes: Right wing-back is the main area of worry for Clarke and everyone else, as Hickey hasn't played since November because of injury and Patterson recently picked up a significant hamstring injury. Clarke will give both as much time as possible - there's a big drop off from Hickey to Patterson and another big drop to whoever the next man up is - probably McCrorie, whose background was in central defence and central midfield but who has played on the right for Bristol City most of this season. Ralston is only a backup at Celtic but has played well for the national team previously and it wouldn't be a surprise if he was named ahead of McCrorie; certainly if neither Hickey nor Patterson can go he will be in. On the left, Robertson is undisputed first choice; whilst Tierney is the best alternative at the position, Clarke will take Taylor as Robertson's deputy so Tierney can remain in central defence. But there's enough options here that there isn't a place for Doig, who has done well in Italy, or Johnston. CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS On the plane: John McGinn, Callum McGregor, Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, Ryan Christie, Kenny McLean, Connor Barron Missing out: Lewis Ferguson, Elliot Anderson, Ryan Jack, David Turnbull Notes: The loss of Ferguson is a blow; he had been so good for Bologna that he might have forced himself into the lineup, or at least would have been an excellent option off the bench. The most likely starters are McGregor and Gilmour deep, with McGinn and McTominay more advanced. Christie has been brilliant in a deeper position for Bournemouth and could be used in any of the midfield roles too. McLean will be along as much for his experience as anything else, and is always a good player to come off the bench late in a match. It sounds like Aberdeen prodigy Barron might take advantage of the extra squad slots, though he's unlikely to get minutes. Sadly, Jack just can't stay fit, which is a pity because he and McGregor have always worked well together in front of the defence, Turnbull fell off the radar even before he joined Cardiff, and no-one is sure if Anderson even wants to play for Scotland after he withdrew from a squad last September. ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS On the plane: Stuart Armstrong, James Forrest Missing out: Ryan Fraser, Danny Armstrong, Ben Doak, Ryan Gauld Notes: I've separated these guys from the other midfielders because they are essentially attackers who won't be playing at centre-forward, but Clarke's usual tactics don't involve out-and-out wingers and McGinn and McTominay will probably be the more attack-minded midfielders. These guys will probably come off the bench if/when we are chasing games. S. Armstrong seems likely to get over a late-season injury scare. Forrest wasn't even in my mind in November but he has been absolutely fantastic in recent weeks. There has been talk of Doak getting a nod (like Barron above) but he hasn't played since December. Fraser has been in Clarke's bad books for calling off too easily in the past and hasn't done enough this season to compensate for that. D. Armstrong has been sensational for Kilmarnock this season and could be an option as right wing-back too but it would be a hell of a step up. Gauld continues to impress in the States but the folks back home never seem to notice. STRIKERS On the plane: Lyndon Dykes, Che Adams, Lawrence Shankland Missing out: Jacob Brown, Kevin Nisbet, Ross Stewart, Oli McBurnie, Lewis Morgan Notes: The question here is if three strikers is enough, but it's hard to justify any of the others with the exception of Morgan who is scoring goals like mad in the U.S. and would be the sort of in-form wild card option that Clarke should consider. As for the other rejects here, Brown has been injured for months, Nisbet and Stewart are only just back from long-term layoffs, while McBurnie is a favourite of mine who has shown flashes for Sheffield United this season and is outstanding in the air, but is probably more trouble than he is worth. Dykes, Adams and Shankland are all capable of being the front man against Germany, and all capable of contributing off the bench. None, unfortunately, is the world-class forward we desperately lack, but they are unquestionably the best three we have. If it were me, I'd find a place for Morgan, as a striker who is in form is always worth having, and possibly Doak - I think the latter has at least a little potential to contribute compared to Barron. Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

Feels like this tie is a Sliding Doors moment for the club. Win it and there is hope that, with a decent summer's recruitment and resolution of the club's financial crisis, we might start heading in the right direction again. The potential consequences of losing don't bear thinking about. I don't see us bouncing back quickly like Dunfermline or Partick did after recent relegations, and I can't see us surviving several years in League One like Falkirk have.

Here's part 1, the countdown from 25 to 11. And here's the top 10. Who will succeed Anthony Stewart as the 'winner'? 10. RILEY HARBOTTLE (HIBERNIAN)According to Harbottle, he was so strongly encouraged to join Hibs by then-Forest teammate Scott McKenna that McKenna "seemed more excited about it than I was". I wouldn't take advice from him in the future, Riley. Harbottle joined Hibs on a three year deal for "an undisclosed fee", made one league appearance (a defeat at home to Livingston) and didn't get on the pitch for them again. He joined League Two Colchester on loan in January. 9. KYOSUKE TAGAWA (HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN) If I were feeling generous, I'd say that it may have been difficult for Tagawa to acclimatise following his move from his native Japan, and that his minutes have been limited by Lawrence Shankland's outstanding form. However the fact remains that Hearts paid a fee for him, his only goal was in a League Cup game against Championship opposition and expectations for a twice-capped international should be higher than that. Tagawa has already been linked with an exit this summer. 8. JOSE CIFUENTES (RANGERS) Michael Beale pursued Cifuentes for months, spent £1.2m on him and boasted that he would take Rangers "to the next level". Within five months he was away on loan to Cruzeiro, having chosen a move to Brazil because "I didn't experience the sun for the six months I was with Rangers. It was always cold". The Ecuadorian playmaker just wasn't very good at, erm, making the play - he had just two assists in twenty appearances and missed out on a League Cup medal because he was suspended for a straight red in a league game a few days before. Rangers will hope Cruzeiro take up their option to sign him, given he still has three years on his Ibrox contract. 7. LUKE JEPHCOTT (ST. JOHNSTONE) The Welsh under-21 forward looked like a pretty good signing, just two years removed from scoring 16 goals in League One. That's 16 more than he scored in Scotland. Jephcott made eleven appearances for St. Johnstone but had drifted out of favour even before Craig Levein took charge. Levein's description of the striker as "a luxury" was not unreasonable; he is by all accounts a predator but his link-up play was so poor that his equally mediocre teammates couldn't get up the pitch to create chances for him. Jephcott completed a quarter of his two year contract before moving to Newport County in January...where he still isn't scoring. 6. NAT PHILLIPS (CELTIC) Phillips' last appearance in the Hoops will define his forgettable spell at the club - a 2-1 defeat at Kilmarnock where he scored an own goal and was just a general shambles. This was another loan move that looked decent on paper and proved anything but; Phillips was always talked of highly by Liverpool and was frequently linked with £10m moves to the likes of Burnley and Bournemouth, but you'd be lucky to get ten bob for him on the back of his performances in Scotland. Four starts and as many sub appearances later, he returned south and has had a better second half of the season at Cardiff City. 5. RHYS WILLIAMS (ABERDEEN) Career Premier League starts: seven (for Liverpool!). Career Premiership starts, or sub appearances: zero. The signing of Williams seemed to be a coup at the time, Aberdeen taking advantage of the success Leighton Clarkson had on loan last season to attract another talented youngster from Anfield. And yet Williams didn't play a competitive game for the Dons' first team, though he did appear as part of a Colts' defence that shipped five against Peterhead in the Challenge Cup, and also by all accounts had a shocker in an Aberdeenshire Shield game against Fraserburgh. He struggled with injury initially and then couldn't crack the starting lineup even with Aberdeen's poor results and hectic schedule. He was rarely even on the bench except on Conference League nights, when Barry Robson was allowed to name half the city as substitutes. Having left Scotland in January, it didn't get any better for Williams, whose subsequent loan at Port Vale lasted just sixteen days because of another injury. 4. GUSTAF LAGERBIELKE (CELTIC) Strange but true: Lagerbielke is a Baron - the eleventh Baron Lagerbielke - and is actually 254th in line to the Swedish throne, putting him closer to the crown than he is to Celtic's starting lineup. Had Cameron Carter-Vickers not picked up a knock, Lagerbielke would have been loaned to Lecce, but Brendan Rodgers insisted on keeping him for defensive cover. Even some moaning to the Italian press couldn't get the Swede the escape he desired. He'll always have that winning goal against Feyenoord in a Champions League dead rubber, but that was in one of just three appearances (all off the bench) that he's made since the end of September. This guy cost £3.5m. 3. OLI SHAW (MOTHERWELL) Shaw's loan spell was so underwhelming that it was no surprise that in January Motherwell sent him back to Barnsley. It was a surprise when, two weeks later, he returned. Rumour has it that Well tried to exercise a clause allowing them to end the loan early if there was an injury, but Shaw wasn't injured enough. And having played for his parent club earlier in the season, Shaw couldn't sign for anyone else and Barnsley didn't want him back. So Shaw is still a Steelman, one who has made eighteen appearances (all but two as a sub) and scored zero goals. Stuart Kettlewell was so confident in him that he has since signed yet another forward, Moses Ebiye. Shaw has played six minutes of first team football since his return, with his main contribution being to miss a sitter that would have beaten Hibs and put the Steelmen in the top six. 2. PAPE HABIB GUEYE (ABERDEEN) If someone other than Rangers and Celtic spends half a million quid on a striker, then he had better be good. Aberdeen splashed that sum on Gueye, who doesn't appear to be the next Han Gillhaus; heck, he's not even going to be the next Robbie Winters (you're showing your age now - Ed). Robson trusted him to start only one match (a Conference League game where he was hooked at half time). In his six other games, all sub appearances, the Dons failed to score a goal with him on the pitch. Gueye was loaned to Norwegian club Kristansund in January, and he scored his first league goal for them last weekend. It remains to be seen if his Aberdeen career will be salvageable under Jimmy Thelin. 1. SAM LAMMERS (RANGERS) Lammers has been a goal machine in recent weeks...for Utrecht, who he joined on loan in January. The Dutchman has claimed his miserable spell and lack of goals at Rangers was down to being played as a number ten rather than as a striker. That doesn't really explain the fact that he had plenty of goalscoring opportunities in games and consistently failed to take them. Two goals in thirty-one games is some return for a £3.5m striker. Rangers can only hope that his Utrecht form cons someone into paying them a decent fee to take him off their hands. A worthy victor indeed. Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.View the full article

Given he was chairman at Clach for so long, when the club had significant links with Orion, is Chisholm an ally of Alan Savage by any chance?

Absolute sickener. We had enough chances to win three games. As ever, our lack of a reliable goalscorer is killing us. Samuel works like a demon and does so much in the build up but he has only scored in two of his eleven league appearances for us. Mckay has only scored from open play in one of his last 15 games (and frankly looks like a 35 year old striker whose game was based around movement and pace that he no longer has). And Pepple will never score. If you're going to struggle for goals, you need to at least keep a clean sheet. That must be the millionth time this season that we've dominated possession but not got a goal from it, and then been hit by a sucker punch...usually involving one of the three big centre backs missing a header at some point in the build up. McAllister was absolutely terrific - apart from his finishing - especially given he hasn't played in 7 weeks and had only trained for a few days. If we are somehow going to salvage this season, we need him to stay fit.

Ah, it's that time of year again. I don't have much time for blogging these days, but I will always try and make an exception for this. The eleven previous 'winners' of our Worst Signing award: 2012/13: Rory Boulding (Kilmarnock) 2013/14: Stephane Bahoken (St. Mirren) 2014/15: Jim Fenlon (Ross County) 2015/16: Rodney Sneijder (Dundee United) 2016/17: Joey Barton (Rangers) 2017/18: Eduardo Herrera (Rangers) 2018/19: Umar Sadiq (Rangers) 2019/20: Madis Vihmann (St. Johnstone) 2020/21: Shane Duffy (Celtic) 2021/22: Matty Longstaff (Aberdeen) 2022/23: Anthony Stewart (Aberdeen) Yes, Mark Birighitti should have won last year, not least because if one of those eleven was a keeper then we could have had a proper starting XI of crap. So as is tradition, the list is split in two. This is the appetiser, if you like; a countdown of the players I ranked from 11 to 25. The main course is still to come, but folk will at least be able to work out the ten names based on who hasn't been mentioned so far. Given they have stunk up the place this season, I am surprised as anyone by the lack of Livingston players. Seems like they just signed an awful lot of 'not very good' rather than 'awful beyond belief' but I'm happy to be corrected on this... Enjoy! 25= OWEN BEVAN (HIBERNIAN), MARCEL LEWIS (DUNDEE) Hooray for loan players who never actually play! Bevan's move from Bournemouth to Hibs lasted about 30 seconds before it was cancelled due to aggravation of an existing injury. Lewis, meanwhile, remained at Dundee for the entire first half of the season without playing a single competitive first team game. He did however get a run out in Cammy Kerr's testimonial where after 70 minutes he was replaced (kind of) by Ivano Bonetti... 24. JILI BUYABU (MOTHERWELL)Signed on loan from Sheffield United on deadline day at the end of the winter window. Played 33 minutes as a sub in the defeat to Morton in the cup. Left 20 days after signing for 'personal reasons'. Maybe one day he can come back, possibly in a coaching role? 23. APHELELE TETO (LIVINGSTON)Is Teto still a Livingston player? Heck, was he ever a Livingston player? The young South African midfielder was signed even though he was denied a work permit, because it was thought he'd be eligible for one once he'd been called up for the next international U-23 squad. The only problem was that South Africa U-23s haven't played since March 2023 and don't have any fixtures scheduled...in the meantime the club announced a plan for him to go out on loan, which never happened, and by January he had to return to South Africa as his visa had expired. The plot thickens still further, as he has three years left on his contract but Livi claim that his wages are paid by his former club TS Galaxy. No, I have no idea why that would be the case either. 22. SCOTT HIGH (ROSS COUNTY) A former Scotland under-21 international (no, I'd not heard of him either) the 22 year old Huddersfield loanee managed 24 minutes of first team action across two sub appearances for County before returning south in January, meaning that he played more first team minutes for his parent club this season (45 in the English League Cup). High has subsequently moved to Dundalk where he is doing rather better. 21. DARA COSTELLOE (ST. JOHNSTONE) Costelloe has done rather better after he switched loan clubs from St. Johnstone to Dundee in January, but Saints fans are unanimous in their derision for his performances in the first half of the season. Costelloe notched up as many red cards as goals for St. Johnstone. Charlie Adam, who is Burnley's loan manager, insisted in October that Costelloe was "loving it" in Perth; Costelloe later admitted it reached the point that he received 'hate mail' from supporters. 20. CALLAN ELLIOT (MOTHERWELL) The 24 year old New Zealand international signed in January after ten months without a club; Stuart Kettlewell boasted that he could "add a lot to the team". So far that consists of five occasions as an unused substitute. Still, I like the picture there that the club used to announce his arrival, which has massive 'cover of former nineties boyband member's debut single' vibes. 19. SAM MCCLELLAND (ST. JOHNSTONE) McClelland seems to have improved Dundee United's defence since moving there on loan, but it seems unlikely that he has a future at McDiarmid Park. The Northern Irishman was one of a number of Steven MacLean signings who were quickly sidelined by Craig Levein. The Saints were winless in his seven appearances for them and his last Premiership game was at the end of September. 18. KEVIN VAN VEEN (KILMARNOCK) Van Veen's incredible 2022-23 season for Motherwell feels like it was a long time ago now. The veteran Dutch striker had lots of loan suitors in January but chose Kilmarnock where a combination of the excellent form of Kyle Vassell and Marley Watkins and some lacklustre showings off the bench have meant nothing but sub appearances (apart from a single cup start). Maybe he just needs a run of games, but he's not done enough to deserve it. And one suspects Killie are paying a decent proportion of a decent wage. Van Veen also gets marked down for his squad number; '99' is an ice cream with a flake, not a number on a football shirt, and no-one will ever convince me otherwise. 17. JAY TURNER-COOKE (ST. JOHNSTONE) Turner-Cooke's season-long loan from Newcastle was cut short in January after just six appearances, ostensibly because of a hernia. However he'd barely played since Craig Levein became manager and has not been missed. The club's record whilst he was on the pitch? Scored zero, conceded six. 16. ANDREW DALLAS (KILMARNOCK) Kilmarnock are lucky that Kyle Vassell and Marley Watkins have stayed fit as well as in form all season. Dallas came off the bench fifteen times and scored zero goals before returning to parent club Barnsley in January. He spent the second half of the season on loan at Oldham, where he hasn't scored either. Curiously, there is an ongoing EFL investigation into the paperwork (at Barnsley's end) regarding the loan move to Killie. 15. MARCO TILIO (CELTIC) Celtic fancy that they can afford seven figure sums on 'developmental players' - see also Kwon Hyeok-kyu - but they really can't. A £1.5m winger needs to be challenging for first team action from the get-go, but Tilio - whose fee was the highest ever for an A-League player - was so far away from that level that he was loaned back to Melbourne City in the January transfer window. His manager in Oz claimed Tilio "hadn't had much fun at Celtic". I imagine the feeling is mutual. The Australian's two sub appearances may ultimately be his only ones for the club. 14. CAMERON BORTHWICK-JACKSON (ROSS COUNTY) It's less than eight years since a teenage Borthwick-Jackson was starting games for Manchester United in the Premier League. The left-back said he moved on loan to Dingwall from Slask Wroclaw because he "felt wanted" by them; that feeling won't have lasted long, as Borthwick-Jackson's only four starts came in his first four games at the club and he's been stuck on the bench ever since a 5-0 pasting at Motherwell ended Derek Adams' tenure.. 13. MICHAEL NOTTINGHAM (LIVINGSTON) Unlike most names on this list, Nottingham has been a first choice for his club this season when fit, but Livi fans are unanimous in their derision for his performances, to the point that I feared a lynching if I didn't put him on this list. The 34 year old was supposed to add experience and leadership to the defence but instead has been one of the factors in their slide towards the Championship. 12. OR DADIA (ABERDEEN) Nine months before signing for Aberdeen, Dadia made his international debut for Israel, meaning that he has played once more for his country than he ever did for the Dons. Dadia rarely made the bench unless it was a Conference League game where each team is allowed a million subs and even when Nicky Devlin wasn't playing he still couldn't get in the team. Terminating his loan in January was a blessing for everyone. And as for that moustache in his signing photo...I can't get the thought of him saying "I have come to fix ze fridge" in a Dutch accent out of my head. 11. MAIK NAWROCKI (CELTIC) Nawrocki avoids the top ten on the grounds that there still seems to be a small chance that his Celtic career can be salvaged. He's also had ongoing issues with a hamstring injury and hasn't completed 90 minutes since August. Nevertheless, one would have expected a £4m centre-back to start more than six league games (at the time of writing) and certainly not to be left out at times in favour of Liam Scales and Stephen Welsh. The top ten will be up in the coming days... Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

So the folk who actually own a significant chunk of the club are the same old names from the good old days - Sutherland, McGilvray, Savage, the Muirfield Mills folk. Should they be either sticking their heads above the parapet or forcing change behind the scenes, before it all goes completely to hell?

I was wondering the same thing.

From the last info available on Companies House, I believe these are the people/groups with 50,000 shares or more: No. shares Inverness Caledonian Thistle Trust Limited 729500 Caledonian Football Club 600000 Graham Rae 382400 Former Chairman (Muirfield Mills) Inverness Thistle Football Club 300000 Orion Engineering Services Limited 275189 (Alan Savage - Former Director) Dugald McGilvray 275167 Former Chairman Iain McGilvray 191816 Orion Group UK Limited 191317 (Alan Savage - Former Director) David Cameron 175000 Director Roderick Ross 170000 Club President Richard Hillier 164900 (Muirfield Mills) Russell Cameron 102150 (Muirfield Mills) Dornoch Developments Ltd 100000 (Directors include Caroline Clayton, George Fraser, David Sutherland) Paul MacInnes 89150 (Muirfield Mills) Alan McPhee 77150 Former Director (Muirfield Mills) Emeric Innes 57750 (Muirfield Mills) George Fraser 51600 Former Director David Sutherland 50250 Former Director Gordon Allan Munro 50000 Director Caroline Clayton 50000 Anne Sutherland 50000 Catriona Ramsay 50000