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Found 5 results

  1. The Demise is complete, the Highlands are theirs. Inverness plumbed the depths of the abyss last night and relegation looks as though it will be a formality. Unbelievably, Richie Foran still believes that four wins will save us. Whilst that is a possibility, there was nothing on display to suggest that a team with only one win in twenty-three games can miraculously win four in a row. At the moment we can't even string four passes in a row. The game itself descended into farce from our point of view after a mildly promising first twenty minutes. Thereafter we capitulated and at the end were totally bedraggled and ripped apart by County who now own the Highlands. Liam Boyce has been credited with all four goals and that gives him a total of nine against us this season. When I say credited, maybe some of our players could be given assists. Ryan Esson was played into trouble by a needless pass back. He reproduced numerous Owain Fon Williams blunders all rolled into one and Boyce shut him down and scored all too easily. His second was an excellent header, the last two were penalties given away by a team that already look relegated. I'm not going to offer any more of a match report, but as I am sick to the back teeth of complaining every week like a broken record, I will let the fans do the talking and post a selection of outbursts lifted from Caley Thistle Online forum so you can get the gist of the fans feelings as our season to forget blunders to a close. Fans vent their frustration after the derby defeat, although many saw this coming months ago. I'll not put any names to these comments, but there's no many happy bunnies out there tonight............ "It's truly amateur stuff we have been playing. I watch part time football most weeks and the standard of inverness isn't much better than what i watch over here most week's. Only difference is caley have more howlers from the keeper. Deserve to be where we are." "And off goes the TV." "We are going down and completely deserve to". "This single season has put this club back 15 years. There's nothing recognisable about us anymore. At least the last time we went down there was optimism. I fear that we are another Dunfermline/st mirren". "You dont languish at the bottom of the league for so long without fully deserving to get relegated." "Acts of PURE desperation from Foran now." "Resign." "Shambles. It's like Foran is playing football manager and selecting random formations." "This is an absolute disgrace ... I am so angry ... and sad. When is enough enough Richie? Get lost right now!" "Total embarrassment. I said weeks ago we were down, 4 wins all season, is shocking. I'm sure Foran will come out with his usual sob story after this. If he had any decency he'd walk." "Switched it off. i am not watching this amateur embarrassment any longer. Foran, just GTF, i don't want to hear any more pathetic excuses or delusional fantasies from you ever again. We haven't a hope of coming back up with such an inept, utterly clueless manager. Cut out the rose-tinted rubbish about your past, man up and disappear. This is your doing, no-one else's." "Richie do you still believe our winning run is coming? Go now and take the board with you!" "How can his position be defended now? Any club in the right mind would remove the manager. This is a complete joke." "Punt all the players in the summer (along with the manager and Board)" "Any other club and his feet wouldn't touch the ground. He's been a complete and utter disaster." "Foran MUST go now! not next week or the end of the season. The man is a disgrace who has no footballing ideas. Most of ICT players were part of a good team until Foran took charge! The rebuilding must start tomorrow." "Hats off to any of our fans staying in the stadium to the bitter end, it must be excruciating being there!" "Please Richie for the love of all that is holy walk away. This is beyond brutal." "Just when you think they can't possibly get any worse they come up with another blinder. The board should have bitten the bullet months ago and kicked RF down the A9. No shape, no passion, no game plan (other than the aimless punt upfield) and not even a pale shadow of ICT teams of past seasons : even when we played in lower leagues. Everyone involved in this worst ever season in our history should hang there heads in shame." "Very very enlightening listening to Charlie Christie on the radio.........he's not holding back !!" "I believe Charlie was never convinced about Foran's credentials. Why is nobody on the board listening to a club legend who has more insight and knowledge about the game than they will ever have? Why didn't they listen to him last year? " "Foran shouldn't be made the scapegoat. The hierarchy must take responsibility for their actions or, more appropriately, inactions !!" "Been a Caley supporter from the Telford Street days 65 years ago. Honestly this is the worst performance have seen. I liked Ritchie as a player but as a Manager he leaves a lot to be desired.. The board of ICT must show they want to be in the Premier League and not the Highland League. The Board and Ritchie must go now." "Painful, board must take a long hard look at themselves. Respect to all who stayed to the end... Did not think we could ever be this poor. Only way is up....." "I can't (or can I) believe Ritchie has come out and said we just need 4 wins / 12 points - he has lost the plot as have the Board!" "There was a lot to take in and Barry Wilson was chipping in too so between them both they touched on .squad size too big, no opportunities for U20's, players wages structure, lack of proper scouting network, concern in youth for about job security, players signed without someone looking at them, an SPL club selling merchandise out of a portakabin, no crowd bounce despite cup win, Foran saying he "needs men" - Charlie rubbishing that and saying we need committed footballers. "Defending is the easy bit of the game". RF wanting a team of 11 RF's. Lack of a team shape, trying to play with a no 10 using players who aren't no10's. Losing the dressing room. Not investing transfer windfalls. What was going wrong tactically on the night. Comparison with slicker club operation at County. Some fans having unrealistic expectations. Recognition of Roy McGregor and plea for ICTFC benefactor to step forward. I sensed he was as angry as the rest of us. There was just no doubting his passion for club and disappointment. Really was a must listen." "The fight for Premiership survival is lost. Nevertheless, we can't drift for the rest of the season. Foran needs to be gone by Monday either of his own volition or at the hands of the increasingly discredited board. This season is lost and was a complete shambles. We need now to get someone who can manage in to start preparing for life in the Championship to give us any chance at all of recovery." "The club is a shambles. From top to bottom change is needed across all levels - Board, coaching, players. I have lived across the UK and in every place I have lived I've followed and supported the local team - that was until I came to Inverness. The product being sold being the stadium, the team, the vision is non existent. The engagement with the city is really poor - I coached school level for 6 years and there was virtually no engagement of any sort from the club, in fact a senior member at the club actively disengaged with the coaches. Fans are treated badly, the Board - well if they operated like that in a business world they would be sacked or bankrupt. ICT has massive potential but only with a young, fresh forward looking positive board." "We the supporters have been taken for granted by the board for long enough. The set up is a shambles from the very bottom to the very top. Tonight was an all time low in Dingwall , not just the result but the feeling that in all aspects they are streets ahead of us. Hate to say it but can only see them getting stronger in our absence from the SPL and we need serious change so Cameron and co do the right thing and go now." "What a shambles. I couldn't watch the game live as I had a commitment I couldn't get out of, so I recorded it. Just watched first half with my whisky glass covering my eyes for a lot of it. Gave up then and flicked to BBC to see the full time score. Not surprised that it got even worse. Nothing more to add. Feel sure that with this manager, no matter how much the squad might be improved, we will struggle again in the championship. I said months ago that we should bin Ritchie, get new blood in and prepare for lower league football. Even more important now that a new man is appointed quickly to give him some time in the summer to try and get some organisation and dicsipline into a new squad. Thanks anyway ICT for giving me a few years of top flight football, and of course, the brilliant cup win, and even a taste of European football, none of which I could even of dreamt of, when growing up in Inverness after second World War, and watching Caley play at Telford Street for a tanner (2.5pence in todays money) ,in the glory days of the early 50s." "Never made the game tonght due to prior engagement. Feared the worst but even my abject pessimism failed to predict the utter shambles which transpired. Enough is enough. Time for a change of direction at all levels. The incumbents have nothing to offer. We need a radical overhaul of all levels from kids to first team. On current form we will be fighting relegation from Championship next season. Unbelievable to contrast with where we were a mere two years ago. A massive missed opportunity from our non-existent board. Sad." "What can i honestly say about last night....... Absolute shambles a huge disgrace to the fans foran has to go and go now!!! If we don't change anything now we are heading for further relegations. Championship will be hugely hard. We aren't the pride of the Highlands now we are the embarrassments of the Highlands. On aspects of these so called rumours? Richie lost the dressing room weeks ago after a incident at half time don't remember what game it was but it was shocking to even hear about. Sad but people will lose jobs and budget will be drastically reduced." If you can stomach it, highlights to follow when available................... It's sort of hidden here. Talking to BBC Sport, Foran had this to say. "It's going to be harder but not impossible," said Foran of his team's chances of avoiding automatic relegation by finishing last. "But there are still 12 points up for grabs. If we get 12 points we have a great chance. Obviously it's a tough task now. "I can see some of the players are low in confidence. "The problem today is that we weren't as aggressive as Ross County. They wanted it more, they bullied us a bit. No shit Sherlock! Date: 28/04/17 Venue: Global Energy Stadium, Dingwall Attendance: 4928 Referee: Craig Thomson Ross County: 4 Lineup: Fox, Woods (Routis 64), Curran, Van Der Weg, Dow, Chow (Dykes 70), Fraser, Boyce (Tumilty 64), O'Brien, Naismith, Gardyne Subs (not used): McCarey, Franks, Malcolm, Gobern Scorers: Boyce (21, 34, pen.49, pen.60) Booked: O'Brien (10), Chow (53) Sent Off: none Inverness CT: 0 Lineup: Esson, Raven (Anier 54), McNaughton, Polworth, Vigurs (Draper 64), McCart, Mulraney, Tansey, Fisher, King (Billy Mckay 46), Laing Subs (not used): Hoban, Horner, Brad McKay, Cole Scorers: none Booked: none Sent Off: Polworth (60) a
  2. Derby Draw Disappoints Inverness The Highland derby ended in a disappointing draw as County came from behind to snatch a point with a late Alex Schalk strike. Greg Tansey's deflected strike just after the break gave Inverness an unexpected lead given the poor first forty-five, but they failed to capitalise on some early second half pressure, Billy Mckay hitting the crossbar as he tried to turn a cross home. County were menacing on the counter and Craig Curran missed a sitter when he headed wide when he should have hit the target. Overall, a draw was just about right although either side could have sneaked all three points. Inverness were dealt a blow before kick-off with the news that pacey winger Jake Mulraney was not fit. The converse for Ross County, with big stopper Andrew Davies given the go ahead to play. Richie Foran seemed to go for a formation that was designed not to concede rather than go for glory. Iain Vigurs started with Ross Draper and Carl Tremarco back after suspension. County had Aaron McCarey between the sticks. The game kicked off on a heavy pitch after Friday's constant rain and it was a cagey opening. Vigurs was looking more involved than he has been of late and he curled a ball that skiffed the top of the bar with the keeper beaten. Good effort with his right foot from twenty yards but he was injured soon after and replaced before the break by Liam Polworth. County were looking the more likely as our lack of width allowed them access to the wide areas and they flashed a couple of dangerous low crosses into the box that just eluded the strikers when a touch would have given them the lead. We were devoid of attacking intent in the first half and getting to the break all square was a bonus. Half Time 0-0 However, we exploded out of the blocks after the interval and Greg Tansey smacked a shot low towards the keepers left after indecision in the visitors ranks. The ball took a wicked deflection off County defender Andrew Davies and wrong footed Aaron McCarey in goal to find the opposite corner. We took the game by the scruff of the neck and minutes later Tansey brought out a good save from McCarey from a free kick wide on the Inverness left, the keeper tipping the ball over the bar. Ross Draper drifted a header back towards goal but it went narrowly over the bar from a deep cross as we tried to extend our lead. Carl Tremarco might feel he should have done better as well when presented with an opportunity to score. Costly misses as it turned out. County broke forward and Curran missed a golden opportunity to level matters. A deep cross found him at the back post all on his own but he contrived to miss the target from just six yards. It was Inverness that were still turning the screw though and Tansey hit a thunderous shot from twenty-five yards that McCarey did well to parry. A foot either side and he would have had no chance of touching it. From the resultant clearance, Inverness burst forward again Henri Anier setting up Billy Mckay but under pressure his close range strike cannoned off the bar, the rebound just evading Carl Tremarco's head before being cleared by a grateful County defence. Fon Williams was eventually called into serious action in the 81'st minute as he tipped over a Milan Lalkovic shot from distance. The warning was not heeded and when we failed to deal properly with a County attack, from the resultant throw in Alex Schalk latched onto the ball in the box, turned and fired high behind Fon Williams to make this feel like a defeat. Still time for substitute Dean Ebbe to try his luck from the edge of the box but his shot leaked to the left of goal and that was about it, game over and a better point for County than it was for Inverness. Full Time 1-1 So, the Highlands belong to Ross County for this season, but there will be one more derby to come and neither club are clear of the threat of relegation yet. It could be a season defining game for either club, What did we learn from that game? County are no better than us, but our poor start to the campaign and two derby losses see us in this predicament and not them. Richie Foran didn't cover himself in glory with his team selection and strategy. No width, no pace, no clean sheet and not killing the game off when we were on top all cost us dear. Why did he not bring on the substitutes earlier? We were crying out for fresh legs to further stretch the overworked visitors defence ten minutes before they equalised. Everyone could see that, County shuffled theirs effectively; we paid the price. Not a great crowd for the most crucial Highland derby ever, but those that were there gave the side plenty of encouragement. Overall, a draw was the most deserving of results. It's not the result we had hoped for but it's not a disaster. We climbed above Accies on goal difference and gained a point on Motherwell. Next game is at home to Kilmarnock and we really need to start turning draws into victories. PerfICT posted his Inverness player ratings on CTO. Can't argue with these really and like most, picked out Greg Tansey as MotM. Fon Williams: 6. Apart from a tip over the bar in the second half, I can't remember him having a save to make. Raven: 8. Had Gardyne in his pocket for most of the game. Excellent. Warren: 6. Not so exposed for pace in the 5 at the back formation, but was skinned by Gardyne a couple of times. McCart: 7. Really starting to show his potential. One absolute crunching tackle in the first half was a joy watch. Laing: 7. Solid all game. Tremarco: 8. Another excellent game from our player of the season. Unlucky not to score in 2nd half. Tansey: 9. Without doubt his best game of the season. Deserved his goal. Draper: 8. Always plays well against County and didn't disappoint. Vigurs: 7. Easily his best performance of the season. Excellent right foot shot that clipped the bar early on and good distribution. Anier: 6. Better from him, but first touch let him down quite often. Mckay: 7. Worked his socks off with fairly poor service. Really unlucky with the shot off the bar that would have killed the game. Polworth: 6. Certainly not his best game, but picked out Tansey for the goal. Also wound Gardyne up, which always deserves credit! Foran: 5. Clearly does not like playing with width up front. Did he miss a trick by not playing Cole and King, or was the formation right to nullify County's attack? Personally, I prefer the 4-2-3-1 formation, with pace out wide, but the players almost made the 3 centre halves formation work. His half time talk certainly did the trick. Referee: 6. Did well to keep his cards in his pocket for most of the game. A couple of penalty appeals for County...think he got those right too. . Full Match Available On Demand Now at http://buff.ly/2nmreVu (Site Registration Required) for only £5. Footage from SPFL website Date: 18/03/17 Venue: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 4123 Referee: Crawford Allan Inverness CT: 1 Lineup: Fon Williams; Raven, Warren, Laing, McCart, Tremarco, Draper, Tansey, Vigurs (Polworth, 42), Anier (Ebbe, 89), Billy Mckay Subs (not used): Hoban, Brad Mckay, King, Cole, Boden Scorers: Tansey (48) Booked: Tremarco (88) Sent Off: none Ross County: 1 Lineup: McCarey; Gardyne (Lalkovic, 80), Fraser, Davies, van der Weg, Naismith, Boyce, Chow, Routis (O'Brien, 78), Schalk, Curran (Dow, 85) Subs (not used): Foden, Gobern, Tumilty, Dykes. Booked: Naismith Scorers: Schalk (86) Booked: Naismith (52) Sent Off: none a
  3. So, who does own the Highlands? Ross County make the short trek over the bridge to face Inverness in a crucial showdown as both clubs fight for their Premiership survival in what has become a relegation derby with another one to come before the end of the season. Tough times for both Highland clubs. And they don't come much tougher than this. A local derby at the wrong end of the table with points needed by both clubs. The Highlands were predominantly ours, but this has been a substandard transitional season for Inverness, with County faring marginally better. This could change on Saturday. Is it a must win game? Possibly not, but it's certainly a must not lose game. Inverness took a small step forward last weekend with a scarcely deserved but crucial point at Firhill, Gary Warren scoring with the last touch of the game. It was a vital one though as his header from a deep Billy King cross found the bottom corner to cancel out Kris Doolan's opener for Partick. Foran suffered badly from a lack of available players for this one with Ross Draper and Carl Tremarco suspended and the pacey Jake Mulraney injured and Aaron Doran out for the rest of the season. It showed in his team selection so a point at Partick is not to be scoffed at given our deficiencies. County at one point this season looked good for a top-six place, but their form of late has been that of a relegation threatened side. Their good work at Tynecastle was undone as Killie came North and went home with all three points. A late Kris Boyd counter was the difference between the sides after Conor Sammon and Liam Boyce had scored earlier in the game. That turnaround and our late point at Partick means that there are only four points between the sides now. Both clubs have picked up just seven points over their last ten games, County with two wins and a draw. One of those wins was a 3-2 victory in the last derby with Liam Boyce bagging a brace and Martin Woods notching the other. We toiled that day but goals from Carl Tremarco and Alex Fisher gave us some hope although it was a case of too little too late. County also won the first derby 3-2 with Boyce claiming a hat-trick that day. Scott Boden and Ross Draper scored for Inverness in another game where we fell short of the mark. Strangely enough, we have scored two more goals than County, once more it's the defence that has been letting us down with County conceding five less than us. In truth, there's little between the sides, yet County manager Jim McIntyre is still searching for a route into the top-six. That has long been closed for Inverness as Richie Foran realised avoiding relegation is the priority. Sadly, if neither club find a bit of form going into the final games of the season, then relegation is a distinct possibility for both clubs. Thankfully, Hamilton and Motherwell are still in the mix for that unwanted position. Even a play-off game presumably against either Dundee United or Falkirk would not guarantee safety, so the battle is well and truly on to get to tenth place and avoid the dreaded drop and all the unwanted baggage that goes with it. Richie Foran will be without Josh Meekings, Ryan Esson, Aaron Doran and Lewis Horner. Kevin McNaughton came through a development game in midweek unscathed and took it in his stride. However, a frantic derby may be a bit of a risk given the circumstances. Jake Mulraney missed out last week and we could do with his electifying pace out wide. Hopefully he has recovered fully from his injury. Youngster Jamie McCart on loan from Celtic has been called into the Scotland u21 squad after some promising displays for Inverness, so congratulations to him. Jim McIntyre will be hoping to have Scott Fox back in goal for this one. Chris Burke, Tony Dingwall and Ian McShane are all out for the rest of the season. Jay McEvely will miss this weekend and Andrew Davies, Scott Fox and Martin Woods will be given every opportunity to make the derby. Alex Shalk has a broken bone in his hand but is expected to be included in the squad. So, problems for County on the injury front as well. It will be interesting to see if either boss has placed his cards on the table or will there be any surprises included in the starting line-ups. tm4tj prediction:- County are on a poor run just now and we have shown some battling qualities over the last few games that was missing earlier in the season. Injuries are still causing havoc with our team selections with Meekings and Doran out for the season and Esson struggling. It's great to have Billy Mckay back with us, but if we don't play to his strengths, then he would be as well sitting in the stand. He was isolated at Partick last week but with home advantage I expect us to get bodies forward to give him some assistance. County have won the two previous derby's, but the tide is turning at a crucial stage of the season. Liam Boyce scored his first goal of 2017 last week and if we can keep him quiet, then I will be looking for three points to bring County right down into the relegation mire. Only ten games left to save our season, and on derby day, other games of interest to County and Inverness: Hamilton visit Rangers, Motherwell host St Johnstone and Killie and Partick play each other. Fingers crossed, results favour the Highlands. Richie Foran & Henri Anier look forward to the derby............
  4. Derby Day   It's over the bridge on Saturday as dethroned Inverness take on League Cup winners Ross County at the Global Energy Stadium. It's a big day for County as they have a parade immediately after the game to show off their recently acquired silverware. Would it be rude of us to actually turn up and have the temerity to win. That would be highly unlikely given our recent demise, but it is a derby and points are now at a premium. We slumped out of the Scottish Cup on Wednesday night against Hibernian, a result as much to do with team selection as the performance on the park. Yogi mysteriously kept his fire power on the bench when we needed to score goals to progress. Baffling decision and that needs to change if we want to harbour any thought about taking points from Dingwall. County of course beat Hibernian to lift the League Cup and followed that up by drawing at St Johnstone in midweek, coming from a goal down to get a point. They achieved that by virtue of a spot kick converted by Brian Graham. Current form will show that Inverness are on the slide with only one point from our last five League games, that being the 1-1 draw at Dens Park. That goal is the only one scored during this slump and we have conceded eight. County are on a high just now, two wins and a draw in their last five and the added boost of winning the Cup last Sunday. County are in fourth place with 40 points while we languish in ninth with 33 points. How times have changed. Inverness still have half a dozen casualties but it was good to see Josh Meekings and Richie Foran do ninety minutes in midweek. Let's hope they show no reaction to that. I also hope that Jordan Roberts, Miles Storey and Danny Williams will be on the park sooner than they were against Hibs. Greg Tansey returns after missing the Cup debacle through suspension. Ross County rested a few in midweek, namely Alex Schalk, Liam Boyce and Ricky Foster and they will be contenders for a start on Saturday. Scott Fox and Craig Curran are still out. We have already beaten County twice this season although they won at Inverness en-route to their League Cup triumph, but confidence is low at the Inverness side of the Kessock Bridge and with John Hughes tinkering with team selection then it's anyone's guess what Caley Jags team will turn up on Saturday. tm4tj Prediction:- Oh my, I fear for us if we allow County to settle on their own turf. I see no reason to believe that we can change our recent pattern of creating nothing over ninety minutes and with County in party mood then we will do well to hang on in there. Heart says a point, head says we will get thumped. Meh.
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