Eagle4Caley

55 minutes ago, RednBlackComeback said:

No Vigurs for Saturday. His absence will be massive. 

Step forward Charlie Trafford, and Liam Polworth, and Aaron Doran, and Connor Bell!

Wow....this is great!

Saturday is massive!

11 minutes ago, Kingsmills said:

That postponement might have worked to our advantage. With Falkirk winning tonight, Dumbarton can no longer hope to avoid the relegation play off place so might be just a little less motivated.

I was thinking just that....but we probably need to strike early

27 minutes ago, Renegade said:

With Dumbarton already calling for volunteers for the pitch I wonder if the game might be called off again tomorrow.

Sounds like Dumbarton (and perhaps ICT) could do with a 'water hog' the type of thing they use at major cricket grounds to remove surface water off the outfield

1 hour ago, caleydawson said:

 

Lastly would be polworth, I mean if he left tomorrow would anyone really care, work rate questionable, attitude questionable, good at dead balls sometimes not exactly a player people could say has done much to make fans remember him either apart from his countless complaints at his teammates for messing up or time after time losing the ball and just standing there watching it instead of getting it back.

 

Not a fan then?

9 minutes ago, bdu98196 said:

TBH at this level and a home game against a team like Dumbarton who are part time and always going to be lower end of the Championship, then for Vigurs & Polly to run the game and cigar through it is the least that should be expected. These are 2 players with a wealth of experience at Premiership level and are both along with Doran going to be high earners - too often this season we haven't seen performances at this level from these guys. While credit should be given for Saturday it'll be more worthy if this level is maintained in the final 3 games against higher quality teams. 

Credit to the players for the performance on Sat but this does not exonerate them the criticism levelled for abject performances & results earlier in the year. 

Fair point...but only up to a point, good players usually remain good players, but the mental side of things is harder to understand. I would imagine however that after the trauma (in footballing terms) of last season and the upheaval of the close season, with new players and management coming in, that it can be quite easy to lose your mojo, in particularly for Polworth, who after all is still only 23, and hasn't been a first choice pick in previous seasons and does get constant criticism from certain sections of our fan base, who look for the negatives first in a display.

As for Vigurs, sometimes being to 'go to guy' who is supposed to direct and create something every match, can become a bit much,  but if Austin turns out to be the goal poacher we have been looking for all season, then the effort/passion used in previous games will get a more effective return. Let's face it if football was that easy, guys like Raheem Sterling wouldn't miss the chances he gets, nor would Man Utd lose to the bottom team at home when the week before they had beaten the Champions-Elect away.

What a win! Loved the highlights (and the crowd came across really animated, in a good way!).... and thanks for your marks IHE. Polworth could have scored a least two GOTS there, and what a goal by Doran. It was probably a good move to sub Austin (who is starting to look like a proper goal poacher), to give others a chance and save him for Tuesday, I thought Bell looked lively when we came on. Gosh, if we could only afford to keep Doran, Bell and Vigurs (and Trafford) for next season, because I feel we are on the cusp of something good.

It's been a perfect weekend football-wise for me with my local team beating our big rival Brighton (yes really, rivals!) to stay ahead of the relegation battle, I am super-excited for next Saturday's trip up  (the weather is looking good too), we just need to get the win, in whatever way in the return against the Dumbo's, to set up a really big match for Saturday.

Not wanting to get ahead of myself but with Livingston now securing their play-off place, it could work in our favour when we play them (if we are still in contention)

58 minutes ago, Caman said:

You're definitely not talking about Crystal Palace there 

Too bloody right, I haven't enjoyed their season at all, watching players being paid £120k a week performing soooo badly (Benteke/Sakho for instance) really makes me appreciate the young Caley lads...some of them can pass the ball!

My impression is that some of these 'Roasters' are just miserable gits period, always looking for the downside, never giving credit for anything and in most cases haven't played football at any level. They also tend to forget that if these players were perfect specimens of footballing performance they wouldn't be playing for us. It's annoying, but the rest of us need to be more vocal in our support and encouragement.

I know it's easy for me to say from down here, but I've actually enjoyed watching a new team come together and gel, and young inexperienced players start to find their feet., I'm sure some of the football hasn't been the prettiest, but in the long term I have hope

10 minutes ago, RiG said:

Not his biggest fan but Mulraney changed the game when he came on along with Doran. Suddenly we actually had some width in the side and a bit of pace as well and we tried to get some crosses into the box for Oakley to attack rather than lumping long balls over the Falkirk defence. Looked like an error from Hazard who seemed to let the ball squirm under him when he dived to save it. Still, we'll take it. Smashing save from Ridgers at the end to deny some Falkirk player an equaliser. 

Super win....it helps that we actually have a plan B (and I guess Connor Bell gives us a plan C). Another clean sheet, and just the one booking! And now completely safe from any relegation play-off anxiety. Now comes the two leg battle with Dumbarton, I'll take two narrow 1-0 wins to set up a helluva game against Dunfermline. Whatever happens now we need to keep going with a great run in to emulate what St Mirren did last season and set us up for next.

12 hours ago, Charles Bannerman said:

I reckon Hawkeye is bang on, but it looks pretty complicated!

If ICT win all their games, they finish on 59 points. Against that....

St Mirren and Livingston are away and clear and If Dundee United (who don't have to play ICT) win all their games, they finish on 64 points. So it's not in ICT's hands to catch these three. However.....

If Dunfermline win all their games, except ICT, they finish on 58 points.

If Morton win all their games, except v ICT, they finish on 56 points.

If QoS, who don't have to play ICT, win all their games, they finish on 52 points.

So I agree with Hwkeye. ICT winning all their games would guarantee finishing above Morton, QoS and Dunfermline, but not necessarily DU, but that's enough for 4th. However I also agree with Hawkeye..... whether that is possible is a different matter.

 

It's all about the 'Big Mo' ... momentum.... and the squad.

People say we have a small squad (which I don't buy), but you can look at virtually every member of the squad who've played, and say that everyone of them has been capable of putting in eye-catching performances.

29 minutes ago, CaleyD said:

Have heard many people in the game (who are far more knowledgeable and better qualified to comment than me) state that they believe Polworth's all round ability is better than that of Ryan Christie.....it's just that, for whatever reason, we've only ever got glimpses of his full potential.

Some guys need a bit more man-management and guidance to stay focussed and do the right stuff consistently......perhaps Robbo is the man for that?

15 hours ago, AncientMariner said:

He could've scored all 59 goals and it still would'nt be enough for some of the Aholes who shout abuse every week. It's only when he goes, and he will, that his contribution that so many are blind to, will be recognised.

 

Yes...I was thinking only the other day, watching the latest highlights, how important to us Polworths' efforts are, and how clever he is. Being in the centre of midfield he is bound to get caught up in the odd mistake/loss of the ball. May be not quite as eye-catching as Ryan Christie was but becoming as much or more influential. (I guess RC has a 'special' status, because of his dad) We tend to rave over Daniel Mackay, but also forget that Polworth is also 'one of our own', and really starting to develop. Overall we absolutely must ensure we keep one or both of Polworth/Vigurs next year, preferably both as they make a great pairing in the middle.

49 minutes ago, Caley Mad In Berks said:

Yes, we could have done with Falkirk doing us a favour today, as realistically Dunfermline, out of the top 4, look like the only one we can catch.  I'm just starting to believe that it is possible.

It's still very much possible, especially as Dundee Utd still have to play Livingston and St Mirren (and will almost certainly be the only team Brechin beat this season!)

The two Dumbarton matches could be key for us and then we play Dunfermline (which I am up for)

A great win today and, including the cup, that's 6 games unbeaten..... Lets make that 7 against Falkirk this Tuesday

9 hours ago, Yngwie said:

Great result, just wish it counted for something a bit more!

Yes a great result...and it could count for more. A play-off place is maybe an outside possibility, but it's better to look up than down, and remember St Mirren's almost certain promotion is very much off the back of a brilliant run in the Spring last year taking them from bottom to clear of the relegation play-offs. A good finish to the season has positives all round.

My wife and I were up in Inverness over the weekend, but because she hasn't been very well recently we opted not to go to the match , so watched from our hotel room instead. We missed the first 20mins though, which appears to have been Dumbarton's brightest spell, because other than the occasional foray forward and the scare of a mistake or our defence switching off, I didn't feel we were under much threat....according to the BBC they only had 4 shots and only one on target. They sat back very deep, and made it very difficult for us, effectively neutering any threat from Mulraney (who had no space to play with) and to a lesser extent Bell. Oakley had an OK game, but funnily enough I felt Baird might have done a better job (I'm sure I am in the minority there!) It was a pretty scrappy game and many passes went astray, but in my view we were much the better side, I know from watching my other team, that playing a side that defends that deep, will effectively bring you down to their level!. I thought we were patient and tried to build from the back, Polworth and Vigurs trying to prompt along with Donaldson, Tremarco and to a lesser extent Seedorf. One thing that did impress me was the number of forward slide rule passes that were attempted and many completed. Now you might pooh-pooh that observation, but I often complain about how poor the passing of my other team is (sorry to mention them again) ...so that was something I noticed. We got progressively better in the second half (as did Seedorf!) and it was great work by Robbo to bring Doran on for Mulraney and then Mackay when he did, I felt both would change the game. Vigurs penalty was poor (for some reason I think left footers are more likely to miss a penalty anyway...just from observing many penalty shoot-outs), but I wasn't totally convinced it was one anyway, and if we had won the game from that, it would have been somewhat flat as a victory. Our winning goal was great, and probably only the second time in the match that we properly carved their defence up.

As someone else said Cup finals are for winning and we did, the players looked elated, and hopefully will give them a lift for the running in, so that we can lift any thoughts of a relegation play-off, off our backs and maybe inch towards those play-offs. Given that Donaldson only came back from injury for this game, it'll be interesting to see if Robbo starts him on Tuesday. I'm up for the Dunfermline game on the 21st April (straight after a Dumbarton double-header ) which I am looking forward to, and a lot of games will have been played by then.  I know many people have been disappointed with this season, but maybe because I don't see us play every week, I am encouraged by the green shoots that I see in some of the new players that have come in (and Doran's slow but steady return).

1 hour ago, Stirling Observer said:

I don't mind losing. Losing is a part of life. What I won't accept is player who represent my club  as employees, failing to give their all on the pitch. Last night, there were plenty of them. This is unacceptable, surely Robbo can see the players hiding. I would rather see 11 youth players giving their all and snapping into tackles, than mercenaries floating about the pitch, stealing a wage.

Imagine how I feel about my other club...with Christian Benteke basically treading water until he sod's off to somewhere like China at the end of the season....he gets £120K per week! By comparison some of Caley's player would merely be doing a bit of shoplifting....at a sweetie store!

It's one of the mysteries of football that the same bunch of players can be both inspired and up for it, in one match and insipid, half-arsed and disjointed in another

50 minutes ago, AlexJones said:

Players don't become rubbish overnight. The margins in this league are small. FWIW I think our recent slump is down to tactical decisions. During our winning run Bell was by far our best attacking player IMO and a reliable goalscorer / defender from the front. He shouldn't be out on the flank, he should be our first choice center forward. Oakley will almost certainly make it (reminiscent of a young Adam Rooney) as a top flight player one day, but he isn't mobile enough to carry a threat as a lone striker. A Bell / Oakley front partnership is our best combination.

At the other end of the park, Ravens departure and subsequent back 4 reshuffle (Warren back in as center half, McKay shunted out to full back) also set us back. Donaldson / McKay were a promising partnership, would go as far as to say they looked like 2 of the best young Scottish center halves in the country during our clean sheet marathon - hard to believe now though. Warren is still a useful squad player, and not quite ready for the glue factory just yet (am I alone in thinking he could do a job further up the park? Certainly our most dangerous player from set pieces) but Donaldson / McKay are our best combination. Our back 4 should be built around that foundation.

 Play your best players in their best positions!

 

Yes, things do seem to have unravelled at the back with the shunting of Mckay over to RB due to Raven's departure, accommodating Warren. I guess Seedorf isn't quite the finished article yet. Not surprising really.  Never really been convinced by Mckay at RB either...it'll be interesting to see whether Robbo will be tempted to drop Warren and return to the our most effective pairing once Donaldson is back fit ( I suspect Robbo is like many managers who tend to err on the side of experience regardless of real form, so it may take til the end of the season to see this one out). Tremarco is clearly one of the better LB's in the division so we should really have a pretty strong backline.

I agree with the Bell/Oakley front pairing, we should be able to rotate one of Doran/Mulraney?Elbouzedi to attack down a wing...the only question then is should Trafford be playing more?

6 hours ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

You think that having only 10 teams in the division might help us there? 

Oops...thats what happens when you typing whilst pretending to be working!

Hold on chaps....this is only the 2nd league match we played since Falkirk (and lost, I know) on the 27th January.  Before then we had only lost to St Mirren (Champions-elect) or when we had had a man sent off. We've clearly lost some momentum, and I think the Irn Bru farce has been a distraction, but we've also recently been without a key man in Coll Donaldson. I wonder if Baird going has been a surprising factor, but Austin hasn't made much of a mark due to being a bit of a sick note already. Dunfermline are hardly pushovers either. Dundee Utd away will be difficult, but hopefully by the time we get our next home game the pitch will show signs of recovery, and we have a shed load of games at home so a good pitch will suit Doran and Mulraney. We have games in hand over the guys above as well. It might be a tall ask to get into the play-off positions, but I still think there is more than enough to stay above 11th place. After last season, this one was always going to be an interesting one, but Winters gone, Spring is coming keep the faith (even after a ***** midweek loss)    COYC 

Blimey...if we still have any injured players, they should all be fit by the time we play again (hopefully that includes Donaldson, and Austin)

It'll definitely test the depth of the squad...but if we get some momentum going we actually want games to come fairly quickly.

Following on from the perverse logic of the SPFL. they should play the game at Crawley Town FC...just 15mins from Gatwick Airport, and thats just an hour and a half from Inverness, would be one of the quicker away trips

Just £42 return at the mo on Easyjet

1 hour ago, Row S said:

Game ends in farce. Definite penalty. What a dick Vigurs is!

Vigurs had to wait a long time..their goalie had been very good,  Vigurs obviously realised that if he guessed the right way, Jensen might reach it, so was trying to get it as close to the post as possible. he just screwed it wider than intended. I was surprised the ref didn't blow for full time when the kick had been taken. Can't see why the Crusader player was so upset at Polworth, he had two goes at taking him out.

A really good game (for a Neutral), after the initial opening 5 minutes Caley took control in the first half and played some good stuff, almost men against boys. We should have been 5 up.....Calder impressed me alot, as did Mulraney and Polworth. Great cross from Oakley for our second goal. Bell was surprisingly anonymous tonight.

2nd half we came out a bit complacent, and they had mixed it up....our defence was all over the place, almost Keystone Cops...their first goal was inevitable, and strangely so was our sending off, although it was a pretty soft one in two parts. We were hanging on for dear life, it was the sort of game when anything could happen...I one stage I though 4-3 to Crusaders after extra time, but we held out. And we got to see the lesser spotted Elbouzedi!

Anyway we've got to the final, let's hope we can finish the job whilst working our way up the table.

BTW what's happened to Austin, and as for Tremarco, I hadn't realised he was that badly injured, we haven't seen him for a while.

On 13/02/2018 at 11:30 AM, ictbob said:

Been hearing the rumours that we won't make it to the end of the season without going into administration.

I kinda find that surprising given that we have recently given Donaldson and Tremarco improved/extended contracts, and signed Austin

28 minutes ago, Caley Mad In Berks said:

Our famous win was just featured on BBC's football Focus in a piece about Ross Tokeley and Brora Rangers, prior to their game at Killie today.  Great to see the goals again.

Good luck to Brora, and Cove as they fly the flag for the Highland League in today's 5th round.

Yes that was nice to see...I had someone come up to me this week on the day of the anniversary talking about it, there was something on the BBC website....that was nice too