Eagle4Caley

Maybe we wont need the play-offs anyway Yes...I am a bit giddy

Last nights result was one of those that makes this season possibly legendary, I was at another match, with more than one eye on my phone, we went behind, I went 'ahhh!, but still had a sneaky feeling, that on a night the whole season could be defined by, we would get something Last weekend, I looked at the upcoming fixtures and realised that we could still claim AUTOMATIC promotion...highly improbable one might say, although only Cove beating Dundee away actually is. Claiming the 2nd spot is do-able [and highly desirable] And of course we could blow the whole thing I might be certifiable! BUT in a season when we beat a side that had beaten us 4 times already, and where we might get to the Scottish Cup Final despite being knocked out, virtually anything can happen...that decision to book flights/hotel for the last match of the season looking better as every match goes by

It's quite remarkable that no points againts Hamilton are the difference between us challenging for automatic promotion rather than pushing for a play-off place, and could yet cost us that too. Also remarkable that Partick just a couple of games ago looked challengers for title and yet we could catch them. Anyway great result again today, without Henderson. We could do with having Duffy back soon to give us the option of pushing Carson forward, if required to give Welsh or Allardice a breather

Nice! I have hotel booked already, just need to know day & time of match so I can sort the flights out A nice bonus, interesting to see 3 ex-Caley players in their team Let's hope Falkirk don't rename themselves Hamilton for the duration of the match!

Yes that double blow against Hamilton after a great away Cup win might have cost us a play-off place ...just hope when I come up for the last match of the season against Ayr it will be winner takes the last Play-off spot! [I feel it in my bones]. Terrific performance on Friday...especially Duffy on the RB position allowing Carson to operate as a No.10 which was so effective ...plus great wing play on both sides

Sounds like some of our best players up front and in defence had a mare after the first 25mins...not sure how this is BD's fault? Put it this way was last weeks great win and performance down to the players or BD? {or Both}

A good day all round then Sandy Sounds like it was a very solid performance I'm not sure how many times we've had Welsh AND Allardice in the same team this season, add in D Mackay and Henderson across that line and we look strong. Couldn't believe my eyes to see Deas on the bench, I imagine it'll be few games before he starts, but that would be our strongest backline back together. Just need some forwards back to help Billy Mac [I'm assume allowing Oakley to leave to find some form at Morton is linked to the prognosis on long-term injury victims returning] A definite morale booster, and technically we are unbeaten in 2023, can we build on this? Be nice to continue past the next round of the Cup. League wise it's Interesting that we are the same number of points off a relegation play-off spot as we are the top spot, are we looking down or up?

I can't decide if this is good news or bad. If we get more injuries and lose, obvs not great...it's match one would call a 'free hit' and since we weren't due to play next week, a competitive game might be good [not sure if playing on their 3G pitch is great for tender limbs?].....of course if we win tomorrow, beat Livi next week with Samuels scoring on a surprise return, and win the following match against the Accies everything will feel great! Surely that wont happen? and yes I am certifiable!

In a league where literally anybody can beat anybody, where home advantage rarely seems to be one, is a draw away from home a bad result? Especially coming back twice from being behind. I'd say that it was pretty decent, given that surely RR by dint of averages must beat us eventually! Yes you could argue that if Hamilton and Arbroath can win away etc etc, but an away point is still good in my book. We are slowly getting bodies back, we've scored 12 goals in 4 matches, we kept a clean sheet against the league leaders just recently [a team that played us off the park in the previous meeting].....are we putting on dazzling displays each week, perhaps not.... are we hanging on in there after a torrid winter with an injury crisis, yes we are! two points off the play-offs, 9 off automatic promotion {with every side above us to be played twice again] with the likes of Ayr, Dundee and Partick to be played twice again. We don't have any financial advantage over any other side in the mix, Is the likes of Henderson making a difference? I'd say yes [as was Shaw until he got injured], we've not lost since his arrival which is also helping Billy Mac [and Doran is making a contribution]. The management must be confident of seeing Samuels, Sutherland and Walsh back soon to let Oakley go, and suddenly our subs bench looks a whole lot better. Who knows we could soon see Allardyce, Welsh and D Mackay in the same midfield. Do I think Dodds is the right guy for us, I'm not sure...the guy who gave us a real buzz was Neil McCann, but he didn't want to stay, but we have Dodds, he can get us going on good runs, he needs to able to stop the bad runs quicker. I still think we have a chance this season and I'm booked with my wife to come up for the last home game of the season...I kinda of feel it will be good trip Yes...I know I'm certifiable, but I'm still loving supporting Caley {but then I support Palace too, so I know what rollercoaster experiences feel like]

Imagine if Samuels, Sutherland AND Tom Walsh all came back soon, in good fettle

From the Inverness Courier Head coach Billy Dodds felt it wasn't fair to keep Cammy Mackay as first choice goalkeeper as Mark Ridgers returned to the starting line-up, "Mark has been a model professional, because he knew I wasn't happy.... I didn't think it was fair on Cameron Mackay to keep losing goals when we had young lads in the back, [Mark] came in and had some great saves, but it was his calming influence. I am lucky I have two good goalkeepers, but it was time to put in experience" Looks like the manager/player relationship has been put back on track, which is always a positive thing, especially in a small squad. 6-1 might be a fluke result or not, although it sounds like we deserved the win, but hopefully a turning point, the new guy Henderson on the wing sounds promising [I can't believe we also had Shaw and Harper out injured], if we can add to the squad again, and maybe see Samuels and Allardice back soon... anything could happen [although we will need to beat Queens Park twice I reckon to get a sniff of the top place, if we do go on a decent run] Anyway Happy New Year!

Goals change games, it's an obvious cliche, but my goodness it's true this season, we are seriously short of anyone to stick the ball away on a regular basis. Oakley isn't a threat at all, Boyd isn't a finisher [although he has guile and effort], Mckay can't do it all his own, the big loss is Samuels who really seemed to give us a different dimension, and of course Sutherland for sheer 'hang in there' grittyness [and more effective overall, with 10 goals last season]. Shaw is a small glimmer of hope. Midfield wise with have few people who can take a long range shot, or a good pass [with Welsh almost permanently absent, along with MacGregor, and Allardice also out, we really miss Reece McAlear, and too a lesser extent Logan Chalmers who gave a balance to Samuels being on the other wing] And there is the rub, we seem to play reasonable knock-it-about football, but lack the threat or the relief of goals that gives the defence a break. Basically we are dropping points due to an 'error a game' at the moment [which with no disrespect, is not exactly a surprise with the age quality and experience we have on offer], with little to compensate down the other end Unfortunately it looks like finances won't stretch to any reinforcements come January unless we can find a gem, or a decent loan...not sure who we could even sell to raise funds. BTW if even runnning the floodlights is a problem due to energy costs why are we starting games earlier? So looks a bit grime at the moment, but given our squad situation, it was going to be thus. But ever the optimist, I look at how Morton and Dundee have got themselves into good positions after poor starts, and remember its a long season. [Ayr and Queens Park are defo the teams of the season, but will they run out of steam?]

There's no point in giving up on Dodds, I doubt he's going anywhere, and TBF, as much as one can point out bad runs, one can also point out good runs, the key question being how much does a thin squad and lot's of injuries affect the play and the results? Not to sure how bad Samuels injury is, but as a man who relies on speed, he needs to be in tip-top shape.

I'm not convinced about the BBC’s possession stats, not from the first half, where I thought we did OK, against a very direct [and I don't mean hoof] Queens Park. 2nd half it did feel like endless corners for QP though. 2nd half Queens Park basically did what they did in the first half, but much more of it, constantly running at the wings, or running cross field carrying the ball, before running straight at our Centre Backs. They got lots of dangerous crosses in, the equaliser was inevitable, and then strangely we had three decent attacks in succession, without a decent result, then Queens Park came up our end again and stuck another challenging cross in and bang that was the 2nd goal. Most of the time our final pass forward was poor, which set Queens Park off on another attack [occasionally we would get a penetrating pass in, but I think we played better against Morton!]. In some respects given the amount of defending we had to do Duffy and Ram came out of the game with some useful defending 'experience', probably beneficial in the long run! Delaney was given a torrid time on his side, but stuck to it, although he was probably relieved to hobble off, but hopefully nothing serious. Given what Dodds had on his bench, Im not sure what he could have really done, Boyd came on for the ineffective Oakley, but that made only a little difference. He could have put Hyde earlier in a 3 man midfield, but we tend to forget how little experience he actually has. Shaw did pretty well, considering and Billy was pretty decent I thought. I'd rather see Carson further forward, but some of his crosses leave a lot to be desired, when you compare what Queens Park were sending in. Gosh though, we miss Samuels, Daniel Mackay and Sutherland, speed, craft and goals/effort respectively, and that's before Allardice and MacGregor. And oh for Logan Chalmers and Reece Maclear, we're missing a few goals from last season! The match pretty much confirmed my view that we're in for a slog until the new year, when we need to get some reinforcements in, on top of some players returning. Dodds somehow has to find some goals in the team until then. Given the attendance of 600ish we seemed to have a decent percentage of that, and noisy too, it was a bit of a weird trip up, and seems not even Queens Park fans take the train from Glasgow, but it was ‘fun’ despite the result

Gosh I tried to post something on both this thread and the Morton one, and the thing kept locking up, perhaps it recognised I was writing drivel. So up for the Queens Park match, and am poptimistic for somehing out of it

Not been able to post anything on recent threads, like the Arbroath one, or the Morton one, things just stop working, maybe an issue with particular threads

How does this happen at such late notice, Stenhousemuir clearly at fault here, someone must have suddenly gone "oh sh#t!" in the last week, though how a championship team then gets to play 2nd fiddle is beyond me, I'm okay because I'm stopping overnight at Glasgow Airport but others?

The problem I have with the 'stronger midfield' suggestion, is precisely who else we were going to put in midfield? Arguably he had to hold Hyde back to replace Welsh, who was starting his first game in months, Shaw was kept back to replace Doran. The only thing he could have done was play McKay deeper. I actually felt we were passing pretty well [including forward!], and there was good movement at times [pretty much what the BBC commentary noted], there were even some good balls in, but yes the cutting edge wasn't quite there. Boyd had a pretty good game until he got sight of the goal and then it went to pot. We also pushed the full backs up quite a bit with both Delaney and Carson doing quite well [until the last 20mins perhaps] but it left an untried CB pairing exposed. It's not a reflection on Duffy/Ram who have barely played this season, let alone together, but I feel a Deas/Devine CB line-up would have seen us get something out of the game [although can you legislate for Ridgers howler?] Once Morton got two ahead it allowed them to dictate the game and defend in a 'relaxed' way, but the early signs had been good. Seeing Samuels on the bench is encouraging, Mackay needs help and those two are a good pairing. I don't think Dodds has lost his players, clearly an issue with Ridgers, which I think was a carry over from a previous game or two?

Damn, we are unlucky this season! Gutted for Deas, my only small crumb of comfort, is that the severity of the break must be at the lower end of the scale. If that sounds nuts, I remember Ian Wright [Crystal Palace] breaking his leg twice in one season [1989-90] and he came back in the same season to score twice in the FA Cup Final! My wife and I have already decided to come up for the last home match of the season, and I fully expect to see Robbie on the pitch. Meanwhile we have to cobble together a defence, does anyone know the likely return dates for Devine and Duffy? Fortunately in Delaney we seem to have found another gem, looks like we are about to find out if Max Ram is the same. We then need a left back, is the young Strachan a viable option for a couple of weeks or so? Keeping Harper in midfield on the left might be the stronger solution given a dearth of midfielder?

Given the injury list, this is a fab result especially with Partick getting thumped at home and Ayr drawing, to see us top. Really, Really hope Deas isn't out for too long, that said Delaney [in particular] and now Ram look decent signings. Harper is now having to shoulder more responsibility, at least Welsh is coming back [slowly please if possible] Looking at the way the Championship is shaping up, our optimism at the start of the season is not unfounded, if only we can get more of our squad back soon-ish. Not sure we can handle any more injuries though I'm up for the Queens Park match soon...looks like it could be a very interesting game!

Crikey with that injury list it must have a bearing...I'm still don't know what or how Welsh got his injury, was it something he played through during the play-offs. Samuels is a big blow, and we don't even know what Max can do. We need the 2021 MacGregor back

I guess I am fortunate that I am both an outsider [in the trueist sense] and a post-merger person, as I can see for some, the merger still leaves a bitter taste, which makes me a little sad, but football traditions being the way they are it's not for me to comment [or if I do I have to be very diplomatic] For an Englishman living in South London with no connections whatsoever, it's hard for almost anyone to understand why I do support Caley Thistle, but strangely the Red n Blue colours certainly swayed it [given my Palace links]. Personally I like the new away shirt and I love the nod to the past....but then I also loved the pink shirt!

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought Delaney was pretty decent!

That went well didn't it, expected a bit more after last weeks win and performance. But chastening as it is, maybe the best time to get done like that. We started slow and poor Lewis Hyde had a tough start against Tiffoney, and we couldn't control the midfield at all, but we are definitely missing Welsh [what is his injury, is it a consequence of 6 tough play-off games]. But after we went a goal down we seemed to be getting a measure of control back [or Partick were taking a breather] until Deas' uncharacteristic lapse for their 2nd goal [he completely failed to spot the run for the 1st goal; as well although so did Doran]. That nearly killed the game off, but the penalty certainly did. The first lesson for me was we need to get a proper right back into the club, Carson has had good games there in the past, although a tad unlucky over the penalty, but he needs to be in right midfield....having looked at the 4th goal again, he seemed to have to cover two players, but even with the help of Samuels their player got in a great cross which Delaney maybe should have cut out [although it was a perfect cross, so would even Devine or Broadfoot from last season cut that out] 2nd lesson, Midfield-wise we are short there in terms of experience ball winners, without Welsh or Carson there, the young guys like Hyde or Macgregor need to step up fast. 3rd lesson, was this a match that needed Oakley up front to hold the ball up, and thus bring Samuels into play. Our tactic seemed often to lob the ball forward relying too much on McKay and Samuel to outwit or outpace their defence. We did also seem to want to play the ball along the ground too at times [credit there] but didn't complete the pass enough times in dangerous areas Positives [on a bad night at the office]....Samuels, showing he can apply himself all match long to support defence and attack, not yet the finished article, but definitely a plus for us. Billy M, still going strong and still a threat [on another day he might have scored that chance]. Shaw, really impressed me, he looks like he could be the replacement for Sutherland on the wing. I saw enough of Delaney to think he will be decent, seems pretty strong, but needs game time to develop the anticipation to be ahead of the attacker recieving the ball. Oakley scoring, yes it was only a consolation, but it's always good to see someone on the score sheet. [You can tell why I've also supported Palace for so long, always find hope!] Both MacGregor & Daniel M need game time, we know what they are capable of, Doran perhaps needs to start from the bench. I thought Harper did OK in a difficult match. Allardice started OK but he was outnumbered in the middle. Overall frustrating, somewhat ruins the weekend, but not going the base my opinions on one poor game, Ive seen it too often, especially at ICT, when it gets put right over time.

I see Scott Allan is without a club, surely worth a punt if we have any money spare? He did well enough for us on loan? Thoughts? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62543432