Eagle4Caley

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

Especially when the home fixtures were at Aberdeen...I can't imagine what a pain that was!

I can definitely fly up to Edinburgh, it's been my gateway for trips to see us against Dunfermline, Falkirk and Livingston...looking at this September's game, Easyjet have some reasonable options on Saturday although I might be pushing it to get the last flight home on the Saturday given the hour & half train trip from Dundee [although I can see one that is just over an hour] and then transfer across to the Airport, so it probably means an overnight stay somewhere and the Sunday flights get more expensive. However Dundee seem quite popular already as a fixture for BBC Sport to show on a Friday night, & the fixture against us could be very enticing...so that means factoring that into the equation. It's all do-able, but it becomes a 3 day trip to plan. [Maybe the one in late Feb on that basis]

Yes being in the Championship makes life a bit tougher with the prospect of games moving to a Friday [so one might need to book the Friday off work] whereas in the Premiership it was a bit easier to plan for a possible TV move to the Sunday as an overnight stay was likely anyway, and a late flight home on a Sunday more likely to be available. I'd love to do a match in Dundee, but logistically quite difficult.

So I got a bit excited at the weekend, and booked my first trip up from London. Morton away in October was 1st preference, but a couple of family birthdays around the date put the block on that...so Queens Park away I thought, in November, at their redeveloped stadium next to Hampden. Flights & Hotel booked, and then casually surfing the 'net I discover that not only have Queens Park have had to play their League Cup games away from their ground as it's not ready, but it might not be ready until December, potentially giving me a trip to Stenhousemuir rather than Mount Florida! Fortunately the train journey is only 25mins and the Airport bus stops outside Queen Street station, so perhaps not too much faff, but getting the best deal to come up to watch Inverness does come with risk. And I am assuming of course the match isn't moved for TV to a Friday night [surely not!] Still I am getting to see Scotland!

Given what must be quite a small budget, I can't help but be optimistic, with the the way the squad is shaping up, we have numbers and a good balance of youth and experience, with some creativity in the side, and some strength across all areas. It is excellent to see Daniel back for the season, I was gutted when he left, and also surprised that he wasn't given more opportunities at Hibs. He and George Oakley will settle in quickly, and if Boyd hits the ground running it's fair to say that up front we seem to have lots of options for a long season, knowing that we should see Walsh and Sutherland back in the new year, in what will feel like useful & timely reinforcements. Being greedy I would love to see Chalmers back to. The midfield looks decent, as long as MacGregor, Allardice and Welsh all stay fit for long periods...Hyde will kick on I reckon. I guess there is some flexibility at RB back in Carson and Duffy, although a proper full time RB is still desirable IMV.

I wouldn't be opposed to it, bearing in mind Sutherland wont be back for some time, he's only 26, he has experience in the Scottish Leagues, and he did ok with us last time [17 goals from 63 appearances inc as subs, is not bad]. He would keep Boyd on his toes, and help bring through any youngsters, and would settle in quickly. For a season not a bad punt and probably affordable. My preference would be Lawrence Shankland...but how much cash can we find down the back of a sofa. We need numbers as well as quality, and there is quality in the squad already

Maybe he was just unhappy there...let's be fair, many of the players that we have signed have not had stellar bio's Samuels for instance was described as, to paraphrase, 'fast but not much end product', but he had a pretty good end of season. Maybe in the right team, with the right coaching?

I'm pleased about Duffy (I think he is a CB who could cover at RB], and actually think it's good news about Doran, because if he has a good pre-season and stays major injury-free for the season, I think he can still be influential. He's only 31 and he has contributed a fair few goals not so long ago. The backbone of the squad is there and pretty decent, think we need three/maybe 4 players [as long as Deas doesn't get poached] A target man up front [to support Billy & Austin] a RB so that Carson can operate as a right winger [much like Rooney at St Johnstone] a left winger [too much to hope we can get Chalmers back, but Pearson?] and left back who can play CB. Good to see Sutherland being supported and hopefully we get to see him come in in 2023 and score the goal that sends us up

i think Duffy has more of a future with us as CB, so i would keep him especially with Broadfoot gone. If Deas stayed that would be a bonus, hope he can be persuaded. Devine has been a rock this year [helped by Broadfoot's experience?] so if he and Welsh stay on that's the core of the side, and Hyde defo looks promising. With Sutherland out for a long time and Out of Contract, I'd like to see a decent tall ball winning Striker brought in, a Right back is a must to allow Carson to cover the right wing. Tom Walsh seems perennially injury prone, so we need a winger [can we get either Person or Chalmers back on a season loan?] Doran is only 31 and I think there is still more he can give us, but maybe needs to be managed to maintain peak fitness/avoidance of injuries Samuels has proved to have real potential, so it's great that he and Billy M are with us next season. Lets hope we get our business down fairly quickly, as arguably I don't see Dundee coming down as a massive threat to us [certainly less so than Kilmarnock] Cove Rangers are a bit of unknown as are Queens Park, but we have as much chance of anyone for that automatic promotion spot....Squad depth might be the key, not just quality or balance

Haven't watched the highlights yet, but TBF to Chalmers, the guy he loses, ends up in the middle of where our two CB's should be, although that was between Deas and Devine so not sure where Broadfoot was. I should have put money on bloody Stevie 'he hasn't scored in 24 games' May scoring. The absolute killer was that deflected shot. Anyway...I think a real plus from this season of this season is the re-emergence of a large crew of young/new/vocal supporters, which if they can be encouraged to keep coming next season will be both a financial and motivation boost for the team. Looking forward to next season, I'm so proud of the club, and love following it

I always thought Rooney was a crap RB but very good going forward

I here what your saying, but it would be nice to have the option of a big guy, who might hold the ball up, or knock on for guys like Samuels to play-off... and be in the middle for crosses from the wings, because for all their qualities it's asking a lot for guys like Mckay, Samuels, Hardy to take on CB's bigger and stronger for 90+mins. Let's be fair for certain games where we were under pressure like Arbroath away and St Johnstone, the ball is going to get hoofed. I was thinking how last year Todorov won so many headers for us. Obviously not always easy to get a big guy who isn't just a carthouse for the money we can pay.

Wow...what a game! After that first 45minutes, when we were lucky to not be 4 or 5 nil down. As the saying goes though you have to score when you're dominating the game, and St Johnstone didn't score enough. I can understand the line-up when you consider that neither Chalmers or Smauels have stayed on the pitch for the whole of any match, and Allardice had played less than 5 minutes in 4 months. In theory playing 3 CB's at the back using Welsh was partly to compensate for not having Devine to partner Broadfoot, and gave us 5 at the back or 4 in midfield to suit passages in play. Also with no Sutherland, a way had to be found to occupy the St Johnstone backline [although Hardy is a bit slow and weak at times]....Whatever the plan was, it didn't work in a spectacularly bad way, and I started to think it might be a blessing as there is no way that line up survives in the Premiership. Dodds therefore deserves great praise for reorganising at half time, and despite what the Sky commentators were saying, you could see we had taken back some of the control of the game from the restart. We were a completely different side in the 2nd half. Samuels made a real difference, he is probably playing the best in his entire career, a decent run in the team and he is developing some strength, control and intelligence to go with his undoubted speed. Chalmers worked hard in defence as well as being a bright spark around the front line. Going to a back 4 with Welsh back in the midfield with some complacency from St Johnstone started the process of regain parity, so for me I felt we were going to get a goal back before we actually did. Allardice added calmness when he came on, let's hope he has no reaction to the game and is available for Monday. As for McAlear, given that he has been a bit 'off-the-boil' during the run in and play-offs, those goals were sublime. Despite the Sky commentators narrative, if Samuels was offside [I don't think he was] then it was marginal, whilst McKay was already getting up from being headbutted by McCart, which may have swayed the ref's thinking not to stop the game. Davidson's moaning about the goal has more to do with realising he had perhaps thrown the tie away, especially after taking off Hallberg and Middleton when he did. McAlear's free kick really was a thing of beauty {the free kick came from another decent build up from Caley too] I would not have been surprised if we had pinched a 3rd goal [but that would be greedy of me] The 2nd leg is definitely up for grabs now, with Devine returning, meaning Deas can go to the left back position to nullify the threat of Rooney, perhaps with the help of Chalmers. Dodds will be wondering if Allardice is up for starting bearing in mind this leg could go to extra time [I'd probably start with Hyde], which if it happens might be harder on Caley than St Johnstone [legs-wise]. I suspect the strategy has to be to score first, so Samuels might also start. This leaves the likes of Duffy, Harper, Hardy and Doran to come on later along with Allardice to try and keep St Johnstone at bay. BTW great to see such a decent crowd in, for such an important game, lots of home support including the young crew on the West stand, to counteract a large St Johnstone following. We can definitely do based it on what I saw in the 2nd half and with reinforcements for the return leg, but it could feel like the longest 90mins. or 120 [Dear God no!] of our Caley lives.

Yes it wasn't great watching, but Arbroath strung 5 across the middle, the wind was terrible, and the pitch didn't run true, so even passes on the deck were difficult, and several times the ball got stuck up and players legs ruining chances [for both sides]. Yes it was the same for both sides, but Arbroath will be used to playing there week after week, which probably explains their excellent home record. I did wonder why we didn't try playing out from the back from Ridgers, but would it only work if Arbroath went for a high press, and the way the ball was bobbling around probably not the best tactic. It also rather explained why Samuels come off at half time, as he was not going to get very much out of that pitch [and let's be fair his first touch ball control needs a bit more work] Fortunately two good pitches to play on for the final, and St Johnstone will be a bit more open, which should help us.

So Duffy would be available for the 2nd leg, but Devine might also be available for the 2nd leg? I hadn't realised that. If we win any appeal and Devine can play in the first leg, then things don't seem so bad. Sutherland is the big miss I reckon as, he is the most physical presence upfront, maybe McAlear will be pushed higher up, to help out, but we may need a third midfielder in the middle of the pitch.

What a result, fantastic penalties, I was almost in tears at the end of that. Conditions terrible for a decent game, wind spoiled it, pitch poor, which fortunately also nullified any threat from Arbroath bar one chance (I think they had 24 shots but only 2 on target) fair play to them they got in our faces and we couldn't play any sort of passing game, but even running with the ball was tough the way the ball bobbled around Willie Collum is a terrible advert for Scottish referees, how he sent of Devine is beyond me, Duffy very unlucky , he was done for a bit of a lunge despite clear getting all of the ball and barely any of their player who made a meal of it. Hope we can appeal Devine because the defence has been excellent. Good news is we will have two decent pitches to play on. bad news is we will miss Shane [and Walsh], Good news is in Chalmers, Doran, Mckay and Samuels we have players who can do some damage to St Jonhstone [ if we keep the ball on the deck] Will Allardice play a part, and is there anyway we can wheel MacGregor out? As we will need everyone we have over two legs Special mention to Hardy for that great run in the 2nd half, if he had got the ball on target, that might have been goal of the season...think he will play a decent part over two games And well done Broadfoot, for MOTM performance, who must now have two black eyes! Can we keep all the players on the pitch for the next two games? and NO objects on the pitch! [Great turn out though]

Yes 0-0 isn't a bad result, as the 2nd half showed that as a team we have plenty in us to get goals, even if it didn't go our way on the night. 1st 30mins was a bit of a shambles, but I think Arbroath will rue not scoring when on top. Come Friday I think I would start with Sutherland in the middle to win and hold some ball, with Samuels alongside, Chalmers sitting deeper in the middle, Harper on the left. That gives a fresher Mckay and then Doran to come on later, or Allardice, Hyde if protecting a lead. Given how good Duffy was as CB when we beat them 3-0, I'd be tempted to play him instead of Broadfoot, who I think still does OK but can get turned too easily and probably should be told not to go forward. Feel quietly confident [in a 'whatever you do don't express any confidence out loud coz you'll jinx it' sort of way] The Pink strip is a must.

Back in London after my trip up...well worth it Firstly the pitch was awful, could have cost us in injuries, goals conceded, bookings due to mistimed tackles, so getting through the game with a win was terrific, although gutting for Walsh who had looked bright Second the support was magnificent, and some great songs, it reminded me of some of the great nights at Palace when the crowd are in full cry, awesome stuff. Overall everybody did a great job over the 90+ minutes, although I could have done without the Carson backpass [I'm blaming the pitch] Hardy did better than I expected when he came on, his reverse ball to Sutherland for the 2nd goal was great, terrific pass from Shane and great movement from Samuels [I have high hopes for him]. Generally speaking we were better in all departments, but the pitched levelled it a bit, and football can do funny things so the mantrea 'one game at a time' definitely rings true here A real bonus to see Allardice on the subs bench, he looks pretty trim, MacGregor I'm assuming rested because of a slight knock or reaction, let's hope both get the opportunity to play against Arbroath if [IF] we finish the job on Friday. Finally first time I have seen Hyde, he looks quite a 'tank' [in a strong way] another bonus from the academy