H.A.M. Clan FM2008 Game Thread - A Scottish Adventure

Following on from successsful FM06 & FM07 clan games, the HAM Clan returns for a third installment.

It was decided that we would start north of the border this time in the SPL, with the Old Firm initially off limits. The starting line up was as follows:

You can follow our progress on our website - http://hamclan.gillesam.net/

Good luck lads, always nice to see an SPL clan game up and running.

Arter a random draw I was given Falkirk. Falkirk will be an interesting challenge as they are a lower mid-table team who could potentially slip into a relegation battle.

After a look at my squad I decided it was best to see how the squad perform in the first half of the season before deciding whether to make transfers in January.

We started the season against Gretna and played awfully as we lost 3-1.

We then had games against the old firm, both of which resulted in defeats, putting us bottom of the pile after three games.

Then we picked up our form with our Austrian stiker Roman Wallner picking up a hatful of goals as we beat St. Mirren and Hibernian and won two cup games against lower league sides.

Between times we lost to Motherwell and Dundee United.

As it stands we are in 10th place in the SPL with 6 points.

After a random draw i was appointed manager of Motherwell, A fairly mid-table positioned club who have had there off season every few years finishing near bottom of the league.

With no transfer budget i went on the hunt to loan some players or to sign some free transfers but had abo****ly no luck at all with the other human managers grabbing there signature at the last minute.

In the end this is what happened:

Players In:

None

Players Out:

David Nixon (On Loan)

After a few fairly good results in the friendlies we got to the 1st Match Day against St. Mirren it was a fairly one sided match with St. Mirren winning 2-0 until late in the game i managed to pull one back.

Results:

Motherwell 1 - 2 St.Mirren

Motherwell 2 - 0 Inverness

Motherwell 2 - 2 Kilmarnock

Motherwell 2 - 0 Ayr (League Cup 2nd Round)

Motherwell 0 - 2 Gretna

Motherwell 2 - 2 Hearts

Motherwell 0 - 1 Aberdeen

Motherwell 1 - 0 Alrdrie Utd (League Cup 3rd Round)

Motherwell 2 - 1 Falkirk

Motherwell 1 - 1 Rangers

Upcoming Fixture: Dundee United.

The win over Falkirk and draw with Rangers were two of my unexpected Results.

The Falkirk game seemed to be going all my way, I was leading 2-0 until the 60th minute when Falkirk scored and i feared a comeback, I managed to hold onto the lead until the 86th minute when it looked like Falkirk had equalised but were denied the goal and i went on to win the game 2-1.

As it stands we are in 7th Position with 9 Points.

I was unveiled as the new manager of my hometown team, St Mirren. I obviously had a fair idea of where our short comings were and I looked to sort these. I signed a couple of players permanently and 7 on loan. Our cause wasn't helped when we lost John Potter, defender, for 6 months with a broken leg.

My first game in charge was at home to Matt's Motherwell. After an even start Kean gave us the lead after 20 minutes. We played better for the rest of the first half but couldn't add to our lead. Motherwell were reduced to 10 men at the start of the second half. Mehmet doubled our lead with 20 minutes to go. Well pulled one back late on before being reduced to 9 men. We weren't troubled after this and we ran out 2-1 winners. Rangers away followed and this was really a case of damage limitation. We went 2-0 down after only 4 minutes and I feared the worst. We regrouped and pulled one back just before half time from a Miranda free kick. 2 late goals from Rangers meant we lost 4-1.

Harrop's Inverness were out next visitors. We went behind to a dodgy penalty midway through the first half. Mehmet equalised just before half time which was the least we deserved after dominating the first half. We had the better of the second half but couldn't find a way through and had to settle for a 1-1 draw. It was a local derby next when Morton visited in the League Cup. After going behind early in the first half Kean equalised to make it 1-1 at the break. We had plenty of chances to win the game before Fangzhuo scored with 10 minutes of extra time remaining to give us a 2-1 win.

Back to the league and we were away to Jack's Falkirk. We played poorly in this game and lost 3-1 with Kean getting our goal from the penalty spot. Celtic at home followed, another case of damage limitation. We made things even harder for ourselves when Iuliano, on his debut, was sent off after half an hour. Celtic took the lead on half time before scoring again at the start of the second half. Kean pulled one back but Celtic scored in stoppage time to make it 3-1. Dundee United away was next. We produced our best performance of the season so far. Goals in the first half from Fangzhuo & Bjarnason saw us comfortable 2-0 winners.

We travelled to Gary's Kilmarnock next. A Miranda free kick saw us go in 1-0 up. We dominated the second half and goals from Martin & Kean saw us win 3-0 up. It was League Cup next when Rangers visited. A stunning first half performance saw us go in 4-1 up with a Bjarnason hat trick and 1 from Kean. Bjarnason scored in the second half before Rangers pulled one back but we held on for a stunning result, 5-2. We looked to build on this result when we played host to Hearts. We produced another stunning display winning 5-3 with goals from Kean, Bjarnason, Miranda, Fangzhuo & Kean again. We have made a good start to the season that sees us in 5th place after 8 games.

I took over Kilmarnock and originally thought I had a decent squad,however that was the first of many judgemental errors I have made so far.Although starting reasonably well save for a 7-1 thrashing by Celtic on the opening day,things turned seriously downhill when 3 other managers teams gave some serious football lessons in two 5-1 defeats and a 3-0 whitewash.

I decided to really step up the training and a different tactical outlook has brought a slight upturn in fortunes but we are still miles away from where I thought Id be.

Getting players in is also proving very difficult,Ive decided to cut my wage bill and try to bring in cheap youngsters to build for the future as the current playing squad is short of quality,hopefully some of the players Ive pinpointed will actually end up signing.Really enjoying it though and glad to be back in the fold!

Sorry I do hope you dont mind me posting a brief message in your thread!! (I'm an ex member) Been a long time!! Glad to see the clan is still going strong! If ever there is an opening I'd love to come back! Have a nice new job that actually permits me to play reguarly now and at any time! Anyway good luck with the season to all!!

Liam

Monday's session started away to stan's Aberdeen. Kean gave us an early lead before Aberdeen struck back and went in 2-1 up. We pushed on in the second half looking for an equaliser but couldn't find one even after Aberdeen went down to 10 men and we lost 2-1. We looked to bounced back at home to CK's Gretna. 2 goals in the first half from Fangzhuo put us 2-0 up at half time. A goal late on from Bjarnason sealed a 3-0 win. It was away to toon's Hibs next. We struggled in this game and were soundly beaten 4-1, with Kean getting our consolation.

It was back to back games against Motherwell, with an away game in the league up first. We lost 3-0 but played far better than this would suggest. Poor finishing and poor defending cost us dearly. It was League Cup duty when Motherwell visited 4 days later. We played well in the first half but couldn't break the deadlock. Motherwell scored at the start of the second half before Murray equalised 10 minutes later. Just before half time in extra time Murray scored again to put us into the lead. We held on for the rest of extra time to win 2-1.

Rangers were the visitors as we returned to league duty. We struggled and went 3-0 down. Fangzhuo pulled one back to make the final score 3-1. Harrop's Inverness away was next up. A first half double from Bjarnason put us 2-0 up at half time. A Dargo strike with just over 15 minutes left sealed a 3-0 victory. Falkirk at home followed. We controlled this game from start to finish. Second half goals from Kean and Miranda saw us run out 2-0 winners.

The session finished away to Celtic. We were, as expected, out played from start to finish and lost 3-0. We have made a good start to the season. We are in the semi finals of the League Cup and are sitting in 6th place after 16 game sin the league.

At the start of the 1st session we where randomly given a team in the SPL (excluding the Old Firm) and I was given Inverness Caledonian Thistle (media prediction 9th).

With only 70k to spend and a modest wage budget there wasn’t much room for many changes but I did manage to bring in 4 young players for not much money.

Players In:

Jukka Lehtovaara – Goalkeeper – Finland (7k)

Patrik Lomski – Winger/Striker – Finland (10k)

Diego Buonanotte – Attacking Midfielder – Argentina (14k)

Charles-André Doudin – Striker – Switzerland (22k)

Players Out:

Guy Kerr – Defender/Midfield (30k)

Rory McAllister – Striker (Loan)

Alan Morgan – Full Back/Winger (free in Jan)

Results:

Lost 3-1 vs. Rangers

Lost 2-0 vs. Motherwell

Drew 1-1 vs. St. Mirren

Lost 2-1 vs. Dundee Utd

Won 3-2 vs. Hibs

Won 2-0 vs. Partick Thistle (Cup)

Won 3-0 vs. Dunfermline (Cup)

Drew 2-2 vs. Hearts

Won 1-0 vs. Falkirk

Won 5-1 vs. Kilmarnock

Won 5-1 vs. Aberdeen

Drew 1-1 vs. Gretna

Lost 1-0 vs. Celtic

Drew 1-1 vs. Rangers

Won 3-2 vs. Falkirk (QF Cup)

Drew 1-1 vs. Motherwell

Lost 3-0 vs. St. Mirren

Won 2-1 vs. Dundee Utd

Won 2-0 vs. Hibs

Best Performances:

The 5-1 wins against Hibs and Kilmarnock in consecutive games and the draw away against Rangers.

Poor Performances:

Both games against Al’s St. Mirren, Totally out played in both games.

For the 1st few games I went with a 4-4-2 formation, but after some disappointing performances I looked at the squad and decided that a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation would suit the players currently at the club, and after a few games the performances improved as did the results.

After 16 games of our 1st SPL season we are 4th in league and we are through to the semi finals of the league cup.

So nearly halfway through the season my aim for the rest of the season is to qualify for the Uefa cup either by our league position or by maybe wining a cup.

At the end of last Thursday's session I lost 1-0 to Inverness. We swiftly returned to form with a 3-1 win over struggling Hearts and a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock.

We then moved on to defeats against Aberdeen and Gretna and a 3-2 loss to Inverness in the CIS Cup Quarter-Final.

Next were the Old Firm and we managed an impressive goalless draw against Celtic before losing 2-0 to Rangers.

Then came Al's St. Mirren and our poor run of form continued with a 2-0 loss.

This then led to a fantastic 7 match unbeaten, which saw us beat Dundee United 1-0 and Hibernian 2-1, we then drew 0-0 against Motherwell, beat Inverness 1-0, a goalless draw against Hearts, a fantastic 3-1 win against troubled Aberdeen before drawing 0-0 with Kilmarnock.

This placed us in a remarkable 6th place in the SPL but with the Old Firm coming up next we must still watch out.

We owe much to striker Roman Wallner for our wonderful league position, however Benfica have made a bid for him and he has been rejecting my contract offers.

We started Thursday's session at home to Dundee United. We went behind after 2 minutes and United had the best of the first half. Bjarnason equalised at the start of the second half. We were then reduced to 10 men as Haining was sent off. We created a couple of chances towards the end but had to settle for a 1-1 draw. Another home game followed as Gary's Killie came to Love Street. A goal inside the opening minute from Kean gave us a 1-0 half time lead. The second half like the first was very even. Fortunately Killie couldn't finish and we held on to win 1-0.

It was away to Shaun's Hearts side next. A Corcoran strike on the half hour gave us a 1-0 half time lead. Hearts dominated the second half, as they had in the first, but it looked like we would hold on. Then with 10 minutes left they equalised. We held on for a 1-1 draw. We hosted stan's Aberdeen next. This was a poor, scrappy game with neither side creating many chances. Unsurprisingly it finished 0-0. CK;s Gretna away followed. Gretna took an early lead before Winters, on his debut, equalised to make it 1-1 at half time. The second half was fairly even and it finished 1-1.

Hibs at home was next. Hibs destroyed us in the first half and we were lucky to go in only 2-0. The second half continued in the same vein as the first. Fangzhuo pulled one back with 20 minutes to go. We didn't look like scoring after this and we lost 2-1. It was the Scottish Cup as we travelled to play Forres Mechanics. A good first half performance saw us go in 3-1 up thanks to goals from Martin, Bjarnason & a Miranda free kick. Second half goals from Fangzhuo, another Miranda free kick and on own goal to see us progress with a 6-1 win.

We finished the session at home to Motherwell. We produced probably the worst performance of the season so far losing 3-1, Martin getting our consolation in stoppage time. This left us in 5th place after 23 games, although that is only 8 points from bottom spot, and us still going strong in both cups.

We finished Thursday’s session in the January transfer window but with very little money to spend I am unable to transfer many players but I did bring in Jack Pelter a loan from Sunderland.

Results:

Lost 2-0 vs. Celtic

Drew 0-0 vs. Hearts

Lost 1-0 vs. Falkirk

Lost 3-1 vs. Kilmarnock

Drew 2-2 Aberdeen

Won 2-0 vs. Gretna

Lost 2-0 vs. Aberdeen (Cup)

Drew 1-1 vs. Rangers

Best Performances:

The Draw against Rangers as any result against the old firm is a good result.

Poor Performances:

The loss against Jack’s Falkirk as we total dominated but couldn’t finish.

We started the session in 4th position and we finished the session in 4th but there is only 10 points between 3rd and bottom of the league.

My aim for the rest of the season is to try and win the league cup and be in the top 6 teams when they split the league so I can not there for get relegated.

Well we are now 2/3 of the way through the first season and is progress being made,probably not lol,I felt in last weeks 2 sessions that things were starting to look up,I had managed to get more pace in the side but the fact remains there are gaping holes all over the pitch where the players simply arent good enough.For instance on the right side of midfield I have only 1 player,Mo Sylla who is okay but has been on the transfer list for ages,during the january transfer window i tried in vain to get someone in to either replace or at least cover the position but all to no avail.My defence just isnt good enough ive tried to replace some players but its so difficult to bring in better players than you already have when the wage structure is so tight,and finally i have 2 very average goalies,i made a serious error at the start of the game when i accepted an offer from Gretna(i think) for a gk i had called Chad Harpur,i just saw the fee and hadnt even seen him play,however whenever I have played against him this season hes been excellent.My midfield is probably the strongest part of the team save for the right hand problem but it always looks like they have to create 10 chances before my strikers(who are still young) can take one.

My board have given me a 2 year plan to get challenging but this looks like a long long job.

We had a nice easy start to Monday's session as we travelled to Rangers. We finished this game with 9 players and a heavy defeat. We lost 5-1 in the end with Kean getting our consolation. It was the League Cup semi final next as we played Gary's Killie. We made a bright start and Fangzhuo gave us the lead mid way through the first half. The rest of the half was fairly even and we went in 1-0 up. Killie equalised at the start of the second half before Martin restored our lead 5 minutes later. Just as it looked as if we would hold on Killie equalised with 5 minutes left to force extra time. We had a goal disallowed in the first period of extra time before Dargo scored in stoppage time to give us a 3-2 victory and a place in the final against Celtic.

Back to the league as Harrop brought his Caley side to Love Street. First half goals from Lennon and Kean saw us go in 2-0 up. Lennon added a 3rd with 20 minutes to go. We weren't really troubled after that and ran out 3-0 winners. It was Scottish Cup duty next as we travelled to Queen of the South. We dominated this game from start to finish. It took until the 64th minute before we took the lead when Fangzhuo struck. Corcoran was sent off 6 minutes from time before Kean added a second from the spot in stoppage time to give us a comfortable 2-0 win.

Back to the league and we were away to Jack's Falkirk. This was a very even game, A Falkirk goal in the first half settled it as we lost 1-0. The next installment of Mission Impossible followed as we hosted Celtic. Fangzhuo gave us the lead after 2 minutes. Celtic hit back to make it 1-1 at half time. They took the lead with 25 minutes to go. We had a couple of chances to equalised but didn't take them and we lost 2-1. Dundee United away followed. We played poorly and lost 2-0 with Kean missing a penalty.

We finished the session away to Killie. We dominated the first half and went in 2-0 up thanks to a double from Dargo. Kilmarnock pulled one back from the spot before Kean restored our 2 goal advantage. Dargo completed his hat trick with 10 minutes to go before Corcoran made the final score 5-1. This was one of our best performances of the season. We had a poor session in the league tonight dropping down to 7th but we are still going in both cup competitions.

At the end of last Thursday night's session we lost 3-0 Celtic in a tough Scottish Cup 3rd Round match.

We then went on to thrash Gretna 3-0 and collect 2-2 and 1-1 draws with Celtic and Rangers respectively.

We beat Al's St Mirren 1-0 before loosing 3-2 to Dundee Utd, draw 0-0 with Hibernian and 1-1 with Motherwell.

Thursday's session started with our Scottish Cup quarter final away to stan's Aberdeen. The first half was pretty even and it was Aberdeen that scored to lead 1-0 at half time. We were reduced to 10 men when Miranda was sent off at the start of the second half.We went 2-0 down shorly after. We had a couple of chances to score but couldn't take them and went out losing 2-0.

It was the League Cup final next against Celtic. Celtic dominated the first half hour before Lennon gave us the lead with our first effort on goal. Lennon doubled our lead on the stroke of half time. Could we hold on for a famous win? Celtic pulled one back with 15 minutes to go. It was now all Cetlic and the equalised 6 minutes later. It lloked as if we would hold out for extra time when Celtic scored with 60 seconds left. We had one chance in stoppage time to equalise but the Celtic keeper produced a stunning save. Losing the final 3-2 was no disgrace, A good cup run that made plenty of money.

It was back to the league as we looked to get in the top 6 starting at home to Hearts. Kean gave us the lead mid way through the first half. Hearts equalised just before half time. Hearts took the lead before Lennon equalised. It finished 1-1, a good point as we were out played for most of the game. Away to stan's Aberdeen followed. We played poorly for about an hour or so and went 2-0 down. Winters pulled one back for us but it wasn't enough and we lost 2-1.

It was home to CKs Gretna next. We fell behind early on before goals from Lennon and Winters turned it around and gave us a 2-1 half time lead. We controlled the second half form start to finish but couldn't score. Lennon got sent off in stoppage time but we held on to win 2-1. Hibs away was the final game before the split. We struggled in this game and lost 1-0 to a late goal. This meant we would be in the bottom 6 after the split.

The first game after the split was away to Kilmarnock. We had a shocker and lost 2-1 with Winters getting our consolation. Gretna at home followed. This was a fairly uneventful game with neither side creating any clear cut chances and it finished 0-0. With this point and other results we secured our SPL status for another season, the main objective at the start of the season.

Aberdeen away was next. We made a fast start and goals from Dargo & Murray put us 2-0 up. It didn't last long as within 10 minutes Aberdeen had levelled. The rest of the game was very even with both sides creating chances but neither could take them and it finished 2-2. We finished the session at home to Harrop's Caley Thistle side. We struggled in this game until Sheridan scored a screamer from 25 yards with 20 minutes remaining. Caley equalised before taking the lead in stoppage time only for Dargo to equalise immediately and make the final score 2-2. This leaves us in 10th place with one game to play, our lowest position all season.

Finally, a short reminder for clan members that the next session will be Thursday 29th November.

We missed out on the top half league split by a single point

and by the end of the 1st season we finished 8th, but with such a tight

season (except for Rangers and Celtic) we ended up with more

points than teams in the top 6.

At the start of our 2nd season there the board did give me a bit more money to spend than they did the 1st season but no where what they should have as the club made about 2 mil profit last season, but you have to do with what you have.

Players In:

Kieran McKenna – Spurs – Free

Sean Mackle – Hearts – Free

Charlie Barnett – Liverpool – Free

Steve McGarry – Motherwell – Free

James Wilson – Bristol City – 6k

Herold Goulon – Middlesbrough – Loan

Choco – Athletico Paraense – 80k

Players Out (Major):

John Rankin – 190k

Ian Black – Free (bosman gutted he left)

Markus Paatelainen – 22k

Garry Woods – 350k

The loss of Black is a big blow as he was my best player, but hopefully the signing of Choco will be a good one and hopefully another 1 or 2 signings will join before the end of the window.

My aim for the 2nd season is to improve on last season 8th place.

Our final game of the first season was at home to Dundee United. We didn't play too badly in this game but somehow lost 3-0. This meant we finished the season in 11th place. This was a disappointing final position as we had been playing well for the first half of the season until we had injuries to key players and slowly fell down the table.

We struggled to strengthen the squad over the summer. We only managed to bring in a handful of players plus a few loan signings. If I am being honest, the squad looks weaker than at the start of last season.

We had the worst possible fixture to start the season, away to Celtic. Celtic destroyed us in the first half and we went in 4-0 down. The second half was an improvement as we only lost 1 goal to make the final score 5-0. We looked to get our season started at home to Jack's Falkirk. We made a good start with Malone giving us the lead after 3 minutes. Falkirk got a dodgy penalty to level it after half an hour. We struggled for a bit after this until Malome scored with 15 minutes left. Both sides had chances after that but we held on to win 2-1.

It was away to Harrop's ICT next. We went behind early on before Kean equalised from the spot a few minutes later. Caley took the lead again before half time. Sissoko equalised with his first goal for the club. Caley took the lead again with just under half an hour to go. We created a few chances to equalise again but couldn't take them and we lost 3-2. It was League Cup next as we hosted Partick Thistle. Malone gave us the lead with a fine free kick. A Quinn double put us 3-0 up and cruising. Thistle pulled one back late on but we held on to win 3-1 and go through.

It was home to Matt's Motherwell next. We made another poor start and conceded an early goal. Quinn equalised on the half hour mark as we started to dominate. The second half was more of the same and Dargo gave us the lead form the spot with 20 minutes left. Well didn't cause us too many problems and we ran out 2-1 winners. It was away to new boy Tom's Dundee United next. We were really poor in the first half and went in 2-0 down. Second half we were much better and managed to pull one back when Kean scored with 10 minutes to go. It wasn't enough and we lost 2-1.

This left us in 8th place after 5 games, with a 100% home record.

Well! We are just at the end of the august transfer window in the second season,and we sit bottom of the table with 5 defeats from 5 games,which seems a little strange because in all the games we have done enough to at least take a point.

My board requested the wage bill had to be reduced and this I have done,selling off my captain James Fowler for 500k and also Willie Gibson for 100k,Gibson was an enigma for me in which he had probably the best stats of any of my players but turned up about once every 6 games.I replaced Fowler with Marcus Bean on a free and he has played very well,I maybe guilty of bringing in too many younger players with potential,who will become sellable assets in time but I feel it will get better as we are having too many good spells for it not to turn around soon.

After a slightly disappointing end to a good first season which saw us finishing bottom of the top half of the table we went into the off season knowing that we were going to lose two of our better players, striker Roman Wallner to Anderlecht and goalkeeper Robert Olejnik to Gretna.

After missing a session I missed most of the transfer window but on return I signed Bulgarian legend Daniel Borimirov on a free and loaned Gretna keeper Chad Harpur.

In our first 4 games we picked up 2 wins, one against Hibernian and 2 losses, to Dundee and St. Mirren.

Despite the scare of being 1-0 down at half time we beat Clyde 2-1 after extra time in the CIS Insurance Cup.

At the start off Mondays session we had 3 non-EU players (Lindado, Mauricio & Rafinha) waiting on a Work Permit, I felt that if we where lucky one of them would get one (and at the time I could only afford 1). I was surprised when 2 of the 3 where awarded Work Permits but even with a few sales I was still 120k away from buying both, so reluctantly I went to the board and asked them for extra transfer funds and to my surprise they said yes and not only did they say yes but they gave me 3 million pounds which is pretty much all the money the club has, so not only did I sign Mauricio & Rafinha we also had a lot more money to spend on other areas, the only problem was that there wasn't long left of the transfer window but I did manage to bring in a few more.

Players In:

Mauricio – Fluminense – 300k - Left Winger/Striker

Rafinha – Cruzerio – 300k - Attacking Midfielder

Franco Miranda – C.A.I. de Chubut – 110k - Left Wing Back

Peter Gulacsi – MTK – 26k – Goalkeeper

Alan Archibald – Partick Thistle – 22k – Centre Back

Players Out (Major):

Shane Sutherland – 100k

Graham Bayne – 100k

By the end of Monday’s session we had played 5 league and 1 cup game of the new season.

Results:

Lost 3-1 vs. Rangers

Won 2-1 vs. Kilmarnock

Won 3-2 vs. St.Mirren

Lost 2-0 vs. Dunfermline (Cup)

Won 2-1 vs. Dundee

Drew 1-1 vs. Hibs

Best Performances:

Kilmarnock Away

Poor Performances:

Hibs as we should have won

So far this season we are 4th in the table with 10 points, we have played well in every game (except the cup defeat and even that we where probable the better team) dominating possession and creating a lot of chances, but we are conceding a lot of goals and I may have to have a look at my defence in January, also in the winter transfer window I may have to sell Marius Niculae as his contract is set to expire and if he doesn’t sign a new contract I will look to bring in a new big man upfront to replace him.

Current Starting 11.

ST= Niculae

WG= Mauricio & Barnett

CM= Rafinha & Choco

DM= Duncan

DF= Miranda, Munro, Wilson & Tokely

GK= Lehtovaara

We also currently have a lot of competition especially in the midfield areas.

Thursday's session saw us start at home to Hearts during which I served a touchline ban. We struggled in the first half but managed to get in at 0-0. Quinn gave us the lead at the start of the second half. It looked as if we would hold on until Hearts equalised with 5 minutes to go to make the final score 1-1. It was away to Dundee United in the League Cup next. We produced a great first half performance and went in 3-1 up with goals from Sheridan, Haining & Quinn. United pulled one back at the start of the second. We were comfortable after that until Sissoko was sent off with 10 minutes to go. United then equalised in the 6th minute of stoppage time to take it into extra time. United scored at the end of the first period of extra time to win 4-3.

Gary brought his Killie side to Love Street next. We played poorly from start to finish. We went behind to a penalty midway through the first half. Kean equalised with less than 15 minutes to go. It looked like we would hold on for a point until Killie scored 2 late goals to win 3-1. It was home to CKs Gretna next. A good first half performance saw us go in 2-0 up thanks to a Sheridan double. A disastrous 15 minutes at the start of the second half saw us concede 3 goals. We had most of the game after this but couldn't score and lost 3-2.

Rangers away followed. We produced our best performance of the season so far. Quinn gave us the lead after 3 minutes. Rangers equalised on the half hour mark before Corcoran restored our lead. Malone & Sheridan goals at the start of the second half put us 4-1 up. Rangers pulled one back before Sheridan scored with 10 minutes to go to seal a famous 5-2 win. It was away to stan's Dundee next. From producing our best performance of the season we then produced one of our worst as we got humped 4-1, Corcoran getting our consolation.

We looked to bounce back at home to Hibs. We had a shocking first half and went in 3-1 down with Sheridan getting our goal. Kean pulled one back before we went down to 10 men after Berger went off injured. Sheridan equalised before Dargo scored twice to give us a 5-3 win. It was home to Celtic next. We went behind early on as Celtic dominated the game. It looked like this would be the final score until Sheridan scored with 60 seconds left to steal a point in a 1-1 draw.

This left us in 7th after 12 games. The squad is really frustrating. We are capable of producing some stunning performances, the win over Rangers and second half against Hibs, but we are also capable of some shocking performances, Dundee away and the first half against Hibs. If we can find some consistency we should be able to finish mid table.

Thursday's session began with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Celtic. The decent start to the season continued with a 1-1 draw against Gretna and a penalty shoot out victory against Aberdeen in the CIS Insurance Cup. Are chances of going all the way however took a blow after being drawn against Rangers in the next round.

After this an awful run began, we lost 1-0 to Motherwell, 5-2 to Dundee Utd, 4-1 to Inverness and 2-0 to Rangers.

Monday's session saw us start away at Jack's Falkirk. We went behind early on. Kean equalised after half time. We had the best of the game from then on only to concede a debatable goal in stoppage time to lose 2-1. It was harrop's Caley Thistle at home next. We made a flying start as Quinn scored inside 60 seconds. Caley equalised before Sheridan restored our lead, only for Caley to equalise on the stroke of half time. The second half was quite even and it looked to be heading for a draw when Caley took the lead with less than 10 minutes to go. Sheridan equalised making it 3-3 and salvaging a point.

After a 4 week break we resumed away to Motherwell. Our first half performance was simply unacceptable and it saw us go in 6-1 down, Sheridan getting our goal. We improved in the second half to make the final score more respectable as Kean & Murray scored, before Murray was sent off, to make the final score 6-3. We looked to bounce back at home to Dundee United. Another shocking first half performance saw us go 3-0 down before Kean pulled one back on half time. We produced a devastating 6 minutes after the break as goals from Sheridan & Kean brought us level. It looked as if we would hang on for a point until United scored with 4 minutes to go to make the final score 4-3.

Rangers were next to visit as we continued searching for a win. Quinn gave us an early lead. Rangers dominated the rest of the half and equalised on half time. Two quick goals after the break put Rangers 3-1 up. Dargo pulled one back with 20 minutes to go. It looked as if we would lose again until Sheridan scored in stoppage time to make the final score 3-3. Hearts away followed. After going behind on the half hour mark Quinn equalised 5 minutes before half time. We were shokcing in the second half. Hearts scored 3 before Sheridan pulled one back late on to make the final score 4-2 to Hearts.

This was a shocking session as we failed to win a game. We are scoring goals for fun, we are 3rd top scorers. Unfortunately we have no idea how to defend and have the worst defensive record in the league. All this left us 11th, 7 poinst clear of the bottom placed side, after 18 games.

At the end of Thursdays session we had completed 12 games of our 2nd season and my Inverness players could not have done much better, of the 12 games we had accumulated 24 points (2.0 per game) and we sit 2nd in the league with Rangers below us. In a bid to help the defence I signed U.Ehiogu on a free for the rest of the season, hopefully with a bit of training he may be able to do a job.

Results:-

Won 2-1 vs.. Gretna

Won 2-0 vs.. Motherwell

Won 4-1 vs.. Falkirk

Won 4-2 vs.. Hearts

Drew 1-1 vs.. Dundee Utd

Lost 3-1 vs.. Rangers

Mondays session didnt go as well as well as Thursdays as we only managed to get 8 points from 6 games which has dropped us down to 4th, but we have looked quite impressive even in the defeats and with 32 points from 18 games from a team expected to be fighting against relegation is still some achievement.

Results:-

Won 3-2 vs.. Kilmarnock

Drew 3-3 vs.. St.Mirren

Won 1-0 vs.. Dundee

Lost 3-2 vs.. Hibs

Drew 1-1 vs.. Falkirk

Lost 1-0 vs.. Celtic

Best Performances:

Second half against Hearts (Away) as we where 2-1 down at half time (finished 2-4).

Poor Performances:

The Hibs Loss as we where 2nil up and strolling then conceded 2 in 2mins. then lost late on.

The games so far:-

Plus points:

So far this season we have control the majority of the games having a lot of possession and creating a decent amount of good chances.

Minus points:

We do not convert enough chances and we also get caught on the break a lot.

We have a young squad of players who are currently playing very well and as the season goes on I can only see them getting better so a top 4 finish is now the aim for the rest of the season and if we can bring 1 or 2 new faces in January maybe even better.

Our session on Monday started with back to back victories against Kilmarnock and St. Mirren, both by 2 goals to 1.

Our form quickly slowed down again with 2-1 and 4-0 losses to Dundee and Rangers respectively.

Our season got better with our 2-0 win over Hibernian and 3-1 win over Gretna. Between those two results we held on till stoppage time before eventually loosing 1-0 against Celtic and drew 1-1 with Inverness.

We seem to have got over the worst of our poor form and will now be pushing for a place in the top half.

Since my last posting,things have carried on in much the same way where we continue to create endless chances including carving out 22 shots at goal away vrs Rangers but the final scoreline of a 4-2 defeat tells its own story,however as the above score also suggests defending/shutting out the opponents is not our strong point.

After the first game of last nights session ending in a comical 4-4 draw against Al`s St Mirren where we in my opinion were easily the better side but just couldnt hold onto a lead,I decided to try something,My best Defensive midfielder is Marcus Bean who came on a free from Liverpool at the start of the season,he is a very good tackler so I slotted him into my back four and lo and behold we went on to win our next 3 games and only conceded 2 goals in the process.

This was during the January transfer window where I managed to offload 2 centre backs in Ford and Shawcross and 2 strikers who were not in my plans.Incoming were veteran Teddy Lucic on a short term contract and the exciting striker Daniel Sturridge.We bumped into Celtic in our next game where we are normally 3 down in 10 minutes but this time despite conceding early we matched them thoughout and even took the lead through Lucic with 15 minutes left but Celtic showed their class to grab 2 late goals but this game showed we were on the right lines.At the end of the session we are still bottom but not as marooned as we were and we are still left in both cups,currently trying to get a couple of right backs in as are very very short in that area,Im confident that we will stay up.

Thursday's session saw us start away to Gary's Kilmarnock. This was a fantastic game for the neutrals as it finished 4-0. Dargo scored a hat trick and Sheridan scored our other goal. It was home to stan's Dundee next. We failed to score for the first time all season as we lost 2-0. CKs Gretna away followed. We went behind before Gretna scored a stunning own goal to draw us level. Gretna went ahead again before Cesnauskis equalised before half time. Second half goals form Corcoran and Dargo gave us our first win in 11 games as it finished 4-2.

It was the Scottish Cup next as we faced Celtic away. I tried a more defensive formation to try and contain Celtic. It failed miserably as we got hammered 5-0. Back to the league as we hosted Jack's Falkirk. Our defence was even worse than usual in this game as we lost 4-2 with Dargo & Sheridan getting our goals. Hibs away was next. After a first half dominated by Hibs Malone gave us the lead with 25 minutes to. We only managed to hold on for 3 minutes before Hibs equalised. Both sides had chances to win it after that but it finished 1-1.

It was the long trip north to Harrop's Inverness Caley next. We were awful in the first half and were lucky to only gon in 3-0 down. Dargo pulle done back on the hour mark before reducing the deficit to 1 with 6 minutes to go. A Porritt free kick in stoppage time sealed a fabulous comeback to rescue a point as it finished 3-3. This meant we finished the session in 10th place, 5 points clear of bottom spot after 24 games.

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Last Thursday's session began with 4 consecutive 1-0 defeats against Motherwell, Hearts, Dundee Utd and Inverness.

We then produced an incredible defensive display as we beat Rangers by a goal to nil.

An all action 4-2 win over Al's St. Mirren followed before drawing 0-0 with Dundee.

At the beginning of tonight's session I saw that Hearts who are 2nd in the table just a couple of points behing Celtic had a vacant managers position. Seeing that only managers of national reputation , the same as me had been linked I decided to apply. A day later the fans and the board issued a joint statement asking me to resign, which I rejected. After all that, eventually the job went to Craig Levein. Details of whether I eventually survive in my job coming up in the next report!

A really enoyable session last night as we moved into the final third of the season.With my team still marooned at the bottom it was vital we started to pick up points but things looked bleak as Falkirk raced into a 2 goal lead however a tactical change at half time which saw my pacey strikers splitting allowing a third deeper striker(Febian brandy) to burst through into the gap left worked fantastically well and we scored twice for a deserved point,we then visited Hearts and once again found ourselves 2 down but once again the same tactical switch brought rewards as we went 3-2 up only for us to be denied by a late equalizer.

The side was obviously showing great fighting spirit and this was needed again as Rangers visited us and went in 3-1 leaders at the break but we produced a barnstorming second half performance to run out 4-3 winners.

One of the biggest games of the season was up next as CK`s Gretna came to town as they were only a point ahead of us now after our good run,a really solid performance saw us run out convincing 4-0 victors,for some reason though things went a little awry after that as we got knocked out of the scottish cup at the q-finals stage with a very low key performance then Al`s St Mirren beat us 2-1 and with Gretna suddenly putting a little run together we found ourselves bottom again.Hibs and celtic took us apart next as things were looking bleak but in the final game of the session Daniel Sturridge who began his loan spell with 6 goals in 6 games finally grabbed a goal after a goalless 7 match run to enable us to run out 2-1 winners against Dundee which also managed to keep them near us.With just 5 games to go we are 3 points off safety and need to produce a run of at least 10 points to have a chance of staying up.

Monday's session started at home to Matt's Motherwell. Well took the lead early on before Sheridan equalised on the half hour mark. Sheridan put us in front on the hour mark. Well equalised with 10 minutes to go and then took the lead from the spot with 60 seconds left. We had no chance to equalise and lost 3-2. This turned out to be our last game of Monday's session due to technical difficulties.

We started Thursday's session away to Celtic. Celtic took the lead after 5 minutes and I feared the worst. Sheridan equalised after 20 minutes. Celtic dominated the rest of the first half and the start of the second half. Sheridan then gave us an unlikely lead with just over 20 minutes to go. Celtic threw everything at us, including the kitchen sink, but we stood firm. Then in stoppage time, in typical Celtic style, they equalised to make the final score 2-2. We were totally outplayed but thanks to some clinical finishing from Sheridan and some heroic defending we got a point.

It was Fitch's Dundee United away next. We really struggled in this game and were totally outplayed. United ran out easy 3-1 winners with Dowson getting our consolation in stoppage time. It was Hearts at home next. We dominated the first half and went in 2-0 up thanks to goals from Dargo & Sheridan. Hearts controlled the second half but we held firm and Porritt extended our lead with 20 minutes to go. Hearts pulled one back in stoppage time but we held on to win 3-1. It was Rangers away next. The first half was fairly even. Rangers took the lead with 30 minutes to go. They were reduced to 10 men 60 seconds later which gave us a chance. We created a few chances but couldn't take any and lost 1-0.

It was a big game at the bottom next as we hosted Gary's Killie. Sheridan gave us a first half lead as we played really well. Killie equalised at the start of the second half. Krebs put us back into the lead shortly after it. The rest of the game was fairly even and we managed to hold on to win 2-1. A trip to stan;s Dundee followed. We played poorly in the first half and went in 1-0 down. We went 2-0 down early onto the second half before Sheridan pulled one back. We had a goal disallowed late on as we lost 2-1.

After the international break we faced Hibs at home. Hibs outplayed us for long periods, but thanks to a goal from Sheridan with 15 minutes to go we managed to draw 1-1. The final game before the split was home to CK's Gretna. After a very even first half Dargo gave us the lead at the start of the second half. Gretna equalised a few minutes later before Dargo missed a penalty. Both sides created chances to win the game but couldn't take them and it finished 1-1. This meant we went into the split in 9th place but only 3 points above bottom.

Last Thursday's shortened session due to technical issues included just the one game, a disapointing 4-1 defeat to Hibernian.

At the start of Monday's session we drew 2-2 with bottom placed Kilmarnock before loosing to Celtic 3-0.

After beating struggling Gretna 2-1 we then embarked on a run of 6 games in which we picked up just 1 point.

We lost 4-1 to Inverness, 2-1 to Motherwell, drew 1-1 with Hearts, then lost 4-0 to Rangers, 2-1 to Dundee Utd, 3-1 to Motherwell before finally winning by beating Kilmarnock thanks to a 90th minute penalty.

What a frustrating session and a frustrating end to a very frustrating season.Just when we needed to dig some results out we lost twice to leave us 6 points adrift with just 3 games remaining,however i changed to a chelsea style 433(451) formation and that enabled us to grab a much needed 3-1 win over Dundee,the team above us Gretna got beat so the gap had closed.We then entertained Matts Motherwell and this game totally summed up our season,we dominated the majority of the game and had over twice as many shots as they did,we also somehow managed to hit the inside of the post twice but despite taking the lead we had to settle for a point,however with Als St Mirren doing us a favour by stuffing Gretna,it gave us a real chance of still staying up as we faced Gretna in the final game of the season with us 2 points adrift.

Things started well and we took an early lead but Gretna were always well in this game and they desrvedly levelled but again with half hour to go we sneaked ahead again ,as I tried to tighten things up but we arent good at that as our goals against column shows and once again we were pegged back,with just 10 minutes remaining we went all out attack to try and get the goal to keep us in the premier league but it was not to be and Gretna won it with a late penalty.

All season ive felt this team had enough to stay up at the very least but the table doesnt lie and now we are relegated,but providing I dont get sacked although I probably will,I would prefer to stay with them and try and make this team better.

The games after the split started away to Gary's Kilmarnock. If we can win this game we will almost be safe. We had the best of the first half and went in 1-0 up thanks to A Sheridan strike after 8 minutes. We continued to play well in the second half. Dargo doubled our lead before Sheridan struck again to put us 3-0 up. Killie pulled one back late on but we held on to win 3-1. It was stan's Dundee at home next. We were poor in the first half and we only managed 2 attempts on goal. Fortunately for us Dargo converted both of these chances and we went in level at 2-2. We played better in the second half but couldn't find another goal and had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

We travelled to Matt's Motherwell next. A poor first half saw us go 2-0 down before Dargo pulled one back shortly before half time. We went all out attack with 30 minutes to go. It didn't work as mason got sent off late on and we conceded late on to lose 3-1. Our final home game of the season was against Gretna. We produced a stunning display of football. Cesnauskis gave us an early lead before Sheridan doubled it 10 minutes later. Porritt added a 3rd with 20 minutes to go as we ran out 3-0 winners.

The final game of the season was away to Jack's Falkirk. If we could beat them we would finish 8th. We had a poor first half and went in 1-0 down. Dowson equalised with 15 minutes to go. It looked like it would finish all square until Malone scored an own goal with 2 minutes to go. This meant we finished 9th, 2 places better than last season. It was a strange season, our highs were higher than last season but our lows were lower than last season. If we can find a defence for next season we should be fine as we were one of the top scorers in the division.

We finished the 2nd season in 5th place in the league and there for qualified for the EURO Vase cup. Even though this is quite a achievement for a team the size of Inverness C.T. (predicted to finish 11th) i was quite disappointed as at the start of the season we where right up there with Celtic and Rangers.

Players Signed:-

E.Hazard - Att Mid/Forward - Free

C.Wang - Att Mid - Free

C.Monti - Left Fullback/Wing - Free

M.Palenik - Centreback - Free

B.McLean - Centreback - Free

B.Aguiar - Centre Mid - Free

Players Sold:-

D.McDonald - 7k

D.Proctor - Free

M.Niculae - Free

D.Cowie - Free

Even though we have lost Niculae and Cowie who where 1st team regulars we have so far signed some decent young players with Brian McLean our defence should be much stronger and with our existing younger players who will only get better every season we should be better than last season.

Squad for next season:-

GK - J.Lehtovaara - Key Player

P.Gulacsi - Backup

(happy with my goalkeepers)

DF - K.McKenna - Backup/Rotation

F.Miranda - Key Player

G.Munro - Rotation/1st team

R.Tokely - 1st team

J.Wilson - Backup

B.McLean - 1st team

R.Hastings - Backup

(1 more rightback or centreback)

MF - D.Buonanotte - Rotation

C.Barnett - Rotation/1st team

Mauricio - Key Player

Rafinha - Key Player

P.Lomski - Rotation/1st team

R.Duncan - Rotation

B.Aguiar - Rotation/1st team

C.Wang - Hot Prospect

(may need a winger as cover)

CF - C-A.Doudin - Key Player

Choco - Rotation

R.McAllister - Rotation

E.Hazard - Hot Prospect

(happy but might sign 1)

Objective for next season:-

If all goes well in the transfer market i feel with some luck we can push for 4th, 3rd or even 2nd place.

Monday's session saw us start season 3. During the close season we brought in 5 players on bosmans and 10 players on loan to strengthen the squad. We started the season at home to Will's Hearts. We were awful in the first half and were lucky top only go in 1-0 down, after a shocking mistake by Smith. The second half was only a marginal improvement as we lost 2-0, Sissoko scoring an own goal. We looked to bounce back away to CKs Gretna. This was another shocking performance and we got hammered 4-0.

Jonny's Airdrie were next to visit as we looked for our first win of the season. We played much better in the first half only to concede after 45 minutes. Beniusus equalised in first half stoppage time to make it 1-1 at the break. We continued to dominate the second half and Sissoko scored to give us the lead with 13 minutes left. Airdrie didn't threaten after that and we won 2-1. It was Partick Thistle away in the League Cup next. We produced a stunning display to run out comfortable winners. A first half double from Dargo and one from Gallagher had us 3-0 up at half time. Second half goals from Sheridan & Sissoko saw us win 5-0.

We looked to take this form into the league as we travelled to stan's Dundee. We fell behind before Dargo equalised on half time. Gallagher gave us the lead at the start of the second half before Dargo doubled our lead. Dundee pulled one back in stoppage time but we held on to win 3-2. This left us in 6th place after 4 games.

Down inthe depths of the scottish division 1 we made an encouraging start.Obviously as we had lost our premier league place,the money which was in short supply anyway was seriously cut,I therefore had no option but to sell the majority of prized assets,not that there was many of them anyway but we maaned to drag in about £1m.

My board in their wisdom have given me 20% of all transfer monies but first of all I snapped up some out of contract players who were not after very much wages and all in all I have to be pleased with my work there.

Tristan Plummer has been courted by many clubs but this was the one player I was determined not to sell(unless the money got silly),first of all he`s only 19 and so has the potential to be miles better than he currently is and secondly hes the quickest player ive seen on this game and so far Im delighted in my decision.

We have played 4 league games so far and won them all,scoring 14 goals with Plummer getting 6 and Stephen Dobbie proving a great fre signing with 7 goals,the pair of them have linked up superbly and ironically in my last game of the session,which was a Challenge cup game,I didnt play either of them and we lost our first game of the season.

The transfer window is about to shut and I do really need to flesh the squad out a bit without stretching the transfer budget as we only have 18 players in the first team squad and only 2(!) in the reserves.

Thursday's session started with a home game against Celtic. The game was over after the first 15 minutes as we found ourselves 3-0 down. We improved after that and managed to play out the rest of the game without conceding but never looked like scoring and it finished 3-0. It was away to Peter's Hibs side next. We got off to a terrible start as Hibs scored inside 60 seconds. Molloy equalised against the run of play after 10 minutes. We managed to keep it level until half time where I made some tactical changes. Corcoran gave us the lead 3 minutes after the break. The tactical changes were working as we limited the chances Hibs were creating and it looked as if we would hold on. Then with 8 minutes to go Hibs equalised. We held on from there for a 2-2 draw.

We hosted Jack's Falkirk next. We started brightly and Dargo gave us the lead after 20 minutes. Sheridan doubled our lead just before half time. Falkirk pulled one back 10 minutes into the second half. We dominated the rest of the game but couldn't find another goal and had to settle for a 2-1 win. It was League Cup duty next as Celtic came calling again. Celtic dominated from start to finish and we got hammered 4-0.

We travelled to Motherwell next. Sheridan & Dargo gave us an early 2-0 lead. Motherwell pulled one back before half time. We were awful in the second half with Motherwell scoring 3 to win 4-2. Another away day followed as we headed north to face Harrop's Inverness. We were totally outplayed in the first half and were lucky to only be 1-0 down at half time. Am own goal at the start of the second half brought us level. We continued to get totally outplayed, but looked as if we would hold on. Then with 6 minutes to go Caley took the lead. We never looked like equalising and lost 2-1.

We have made a poor start to the season. Our defence is as bad as last season and we are not scoring as many which is a bad combination. Hopefully things will start to improve or we are in for a long hard season.

At the start of the 3rd season our results/performance where not as i had hoped so after a few bad results and with our next game being a cup game against CK i decided to go back to a 4-5-1 formation even though this meant splitting up Doudin and McAllister who had been scoring alot of goals together, so far we have used the 4-5-1 four times and won three and lost one but looked quite good in all four, the only problem is the players currently at the club dont quite suit these tactics so i will have to see if the improvement continues before i decide if we need additional players if January.

Players Signed:-

Andrea Gaspari - Centre Back - Free (going to be 3rd choice centre back for this season)

Fabio Felicio - Left Winger - 400k - coming in Jan (he looks top class)

Brian Sarmiento - Att Mid/Left Wing - 80k (decent potential, will see if he can fulfil it)

Players Sold:-

D.Buonanotte - Hearts - 2.5m (the board automatically accepted the offer, but i think i would have accepted it anyway)

Results:-

Won 4-2 vs. Rangers

lost 2-0 vs. Hearts

Won 4-1 vs. Gretna

Won 1-0 vs. Queen of the South (Cup)

Drew 2-2 Airdrie Utd

Drew 1-1 vs. Gretna

Lost4-1 vs. Celtic

Won 3-1 vs. Gretna (Cup)

Lost 1-0 vs. Hibs

Won 3-0 vs. Falkirk

Won 2-1 vs. St.Mirren

Best Performances:-

not sure if was our best or worst performance as our last game against Al we had something like 20+ shots in the 1st half but we only managed 1 goal, the 2nd half was more even and Al's team equalized before we got the winner late on (we could and maybe should have been 4 or 5 up at half time and we nearly paid the price), the 4-2 win against Rangers was a very good result.

Poor Performances:-

The Celtic result was hard to take as we as much possesion and a similar amount of chances but never looked like getting anything from the game..

We are currently in 5th place in the league on 14 points from 9 games but quite a distance off the top 3 teams (1st is on 23, 2nd is on 22 and 3rd is on 21 points) but after some encouraging performances in our last few games hopefully we can close the gap.

A third of the way through the season now and we sit top of division 1 with a 2 point lead but having played a game more.Things are looking ok so far although we went out of the cup at the Q-final stage against promotion rivals Aberdeen which was a let down after knocking out the much touted Dundee United in the previous round.

Tristan Plummer and Stephen Dobbie have continued their good goalscoring exploits and at the moment things are looking promising for a return to the top flight.

Monday's session started at home to Fitch's Dundee United. We were poor again in this game and were lucky to only get beaten 1-0. It was mission impossible next as we travelled to Ibrox to play Rangers. We gave a good account of ourselves but lost 32, our goals coming from Dargo & Malone. We looked to get back to winning ways away to Hearts. Hearts had the better of the first half but we managed to go in level thanks to a goal from Dargo. We played better in the second half but lost a goal in the last 15 minutes ot lose 2-1.

Gretna at home followed. We played really well in the first half and a goal from Sissoko after 29 minutes saw us go in 1-0 up. We played well in the second half as well but conceded mid way through the half. We had chances to win but couldn't take them and ha to settle for a 1-1 draw. Away to Airdrie followed, where I had to watch the game from the stand. Beniusis gave us the lead in the first half against the run of play. Airdrie equalised at the start of the second half before we had Cesnauskis sent off. Airdrie took the lead after an hour and we never looked like scoring after that and lost 2-1.

This has left us in 11th palce after 14 games, 2 points clear of bottom spot. We are now firmly in a relegation fight as we haven't had a league win for 7 games. Hopefully things will improve on Thursday.

At the start of Thursday's session I decided to return to my favoured formation to see if we could get our season back on track. We stared the session at home to stan's Dundee. We played better in this game but late goals in each half saw us go 2-0 down before Sheridan pulled one back to make the final score 2-1. Celtic away was next. We were soundly thrashed 7-1 with Tejera getting our consolation and Sissoko getting sent off late on.

Hibs visited next as we continued our search for a win. We had a shocking first half and went in 2-1 down. We lost another goal in the second half but actually played quite well without looking like scoring and lost 3-1. It was a huge match next as we travelled to Jack's Falkirk. We fell behind early in the first half. Severin equalised with a screamer shortly after the restart. Both sides had chances after that to win. Then, with the game in stoppage time, Sheridan popped up to give us a priceless 2-1 win.

Another big game followed as we hosted Motherwell. We played well in the first half and somehow found ourselves 2-0 down at half time. Dowson pulled one back midway through the second half. We kept pushing for an equaliser until our keeper made a shocking mistake in stoppage time to make it 3-1. It was another tough game next as we hosted Harrop's high flying Caley Thistle. An entertaining first half saw us go in level at 2-2 thanks to goals from Sissoko & Sheridan. Sheridan gave us the lead for the third time only for Caley to equalise. Caley then proceeded to play us off the park only for Dowson to steal us a winner ins stoppage time, making in 4-3.

We travelled to Stan's Dundee in the Scottish CUp next. This was one of the highest scoring games I have been involved with in the clan. A Sheridan double put us 2 up early on before Dundee pulled one back. Kakuta restored our 2 goal lead before Dundee pulled another one back. Sheridan completed his hat trick before half time to make it 4-2. Dundee scored just after half time before goals from Reid & Miki Roque put us 6-3 up. Dundee pulled another back before Sheridan struck again to make the final score 7-4. This was another mixed session that finished with some good results which we can hopefully build on in the next session.

We finished Thursdays session a few days into the January and during the last 2 sessions we have do quite well, though it feels as if I lost my chance of finishing in the top 2 in my last game of Thursdays session when I lost for the 1st time in about 12 league games against Al's St.Mirren in a game that was close in the 1st half but we totally dominated the 2nd only to concede in the last few mins. (we should have won by a few goals) which leaves us in 4th place 8 points off the leaders (we may have had a chance to make up 5 points, but 8 looks to much). We also managed to bring in a few new players with the possibility of a few more.

Players in:-

Mehmet Hetemaj - Defensive Mid- 140k

Stefan Zarkovic - Attacking Mid - free (1 for the future, but as half my attacking players want to leave he may get his chance soon)

Frank Patrick Njambe – Winger - free

Results:-

Drew 2-2 vs. Dundee Utd

Won 4-0 vs. Motherwell

Won 2-1 vs. Rangers

Won 1-0 vs. Hearts

Lost 3-2 vs. Rangers (Cup) (We where down to 10 men after 10 mins.)

Drew 0-0 vs. Gretna

Won 2-0 vs. Airdrie

Drew 2-2 vs. Dundee

Drew 1-1 vs. Celtic

Drew 0-0 vs. Hibs

Won 7-0 vs. Falkirk

Lost 4-3 vs. St.Mirren (not sure how)

Won 2-1 vs. Hamilton

Best Result:-

The 7nil win against Falkirk

Worst Result:-

The loss to St.Mirren

If we can go on a run of results until the end of the season there may still be a chance of a top 2 finish, but with the moral not brilliant because a lot of my senior players now wanting to move to bigger club I cant see it happening.

Monday's session started away to Fitch's Dundee United. We were awful in the first half and went in 3-0 down. Goals from Kakuta & Reid brought us back into the game It didn't last and United scored another twice to make the final score 5-2. Rangers at home followed. Kakuta gave us the lead midway through the first half against the run of play. Gallagher doubled our lead from the spot at the start of the second half. Rangers pulled one back with 15 minutes to go but we managed to hold on for a memorable 2-1 win.

We travelled to CKs Gretna next. We produced another really poor first half performance and went in 2-1 down thanks to a Kakuta strike on half time. Sheridan equalised 15 minutes into the second half only for Gretna to score twice to win 4-2. It was Scottish Cup duty as we travelled to new boy Steven's Motherwell. Motherwell took an early lead before we threw everything at them, including the kitchen sink. It was looking as if we would be going out until Fuller equalised with 7 minutes to go. We had chances to win the game after that but had to settle for a 1-1 draw and a replay.

We finished the session at home to Hearts. Another totally inept defensive performance saw us get hammered 4-1, with Dargo getting our consolation. This meant we are bottom of the table by a point with 14 games remaining. If I can't get our defensive problems sorted we will go down

Thursday's session started with us playing Steven's Motherwell at home in a Scottish Cup replay. A good first half performance saw us go in 1-0 up thanks to a goal from Sheridan. Our second half display was even better. Goals from Dowson (2), Robertson, Reid and a second from Sheridan put us 6-0 up. Motherwell got a late consolation as we went through winning 6-1. Back to the league and we travelled to stan's Dundee. We got off to the worst possible start as we conceded inside the opening 60 seconds. The rest of the half was very even and Sheridan equalised just before half time. We had Grighini sent off at the start of the second half. Dundee retook the lead on the hour mark only for Reid to equalise 10 minutes later. Dundee scored late on to win 3-2.

We had a crucial match next as we hosted Airdrie United. We went 3-0 down, and were down to 10 men, after 35 minutes. Reid pulled one back before half time to give us a glimmer of hope. Goals from Sheridan & Kakuta brought us level midway through the second half. It looked like we would salvage a point until Gretna scored late on to win 3-2.

Celtic at home followed. Kakuta gave us the lead after 15 minutes. Celtic equalised shortly before half time. We then had Severin sent off before Celtic took the lead in first half stoppage time. Robertson equalised for us 5 minutes into the second half. Celtic retook the lead 15 minutes later. Saville was sent off with 10 minutes remaining leaving us with 9 men. Celtic scored 2 late on to make the final score 5-2. We travelled to Peter's Hibernian next. We were totally outplayed in the first half and went in 3-1 down thanks to a goal from Malone. Gallagher pulled one back from the spot before Hibs scored again. Gallagher scored again only for Hibs to score yet again. Gallagher completed his hat trick late on but it was not enough to salvage a point and we lost 5-4.

It was the Scottish Cup final quarter final next as we hosted Division 2 Ross County. We dominated the first half but went in level. Sheridan gave us the lead after 65 minutes. We were in total control of this game only to concede an equaliser in stoppage time to make the final score 1-1 and force a replay. We travelled north to Dingwall to face Ross County in the replay next. We played poorly in the first half and went in 1-0 down. Kakuta equalised on the hour mark. We dominated the rest of normal time & extra time with Gallagher missing a penalty. It looked like it would be a penalty shoot out until Kakuta struck in stoppage time to make it 2-1 and send us into the semi final.

It was back to league duty as we travelled to face Motherwell. Kakuta gave us an early lead before Motherwell equalised on half time. We then produced a stunning second half display. Goals from Gallagher, Dargo & Kouadio gave us a crucial 4-1 win. A bottom of the table clash followed as we hosted Falkirk. After a fairly dull first half Dowson gave us a lead with about 20 minutes to go. It didn't last as Falkirk equalised 8 minutes later. We had chances to win the game but couldn't take any and had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

This has left us bottom by a point with 8 games to go and in the Scottish Cup semi final.

Monday's session started wit a a tough trip to Harrop's Inverness Caley. Caley destroyed us in the first half but thanks to our keeper we managed to go in only 1-0 down. We played better in the second half and Miki Roque equalised with 8 minutes to go. 4 minutes later Kakuta gave us the lead. We managed to hold on for a priceless 2-1 win. We hosted Fitch's Dundee United next. We were poor again in the first half and went in 2-0 down. A double from Kakuta brought us level only for Dundee United to score late on to make the final score 3-2.

The final game before the split was away to Rangers, a game I wasn't expecting to get anything out of.We played well in the first half and went in level at 1-1 thanks to an equaliser from Kakuta. Rangers took the lead at the start if the second half. Robertson equalised for us with 25 minutes to go. Unfortunately Rangers scored again 2 minutes later. We had a couple of chances to equalise before Rangers sealed it with a 4th a minute from time to make it 4-2.

It was our Scottish Cup semi final next as we faced Harrop's Inverness Caley again. We went in 2-0 down after a very even first half. We never got started in the second half and Caley played us off the park in the second half as we lost 5-0. Back to league duty as CKs Gretna came visiting. We were awful in this game and got hammered 4-1, Kakuta grabbing our consolation. It was Airdrie away next. This was another totally inept defensive display as Airdrie ran through us at will. They hammered us 5-1, Sheridan getting our goal, and it could have been more.

This has left us bottom of the league by a point with 3 games to go. If we continue to play the way we have in the last 5 games where we have conceded 21 goals then we will go down. The only thing that might save us is we have still to play the 3 sides directly above us, with 2 of the games at home.

A disappointing Scottish cup final results where we lost 4nil (in a even game) to Dundee Utd was one of the only minus points to a otherwise good season in which we finished 3rd in the league and as I already mentioned got to the Scottish cup final.

Results:-

Won 2-1 vs. Hamilton (Cup)

Drew 0-0 vs. Motherwell

Won 3-2 vs. Hearts

Won 3-0 vs. Dumbarton (Cup)

Won 3-0 vs. Rangers

Won 3-0 vs. Gretna

Lost 2-1 vs. Airdrie

Won 4-1 vs. Dundee

Won 3-2 vs. Celtic

Won 1-0 vs. Queen of the South (QF Cup)

Won 3-2 vs. Hibs

Won 5-1 vs. Falkirk

Lost 2-1 vs. St.Mirren

Won 1-0 vs. Motherwell

Drew 3-3 vs. Dundee Utd

Won 5-0 vs. St.Mirren (SF Cup)

Lost 2-1 vs. Rangers

Drew 1-1 vs. Hearts

Won 2-1 vs. Hibs

Won 3-2 vs. Dundee Utd

Lost 2-0 vs. Celtic

Lost 4-0 vs. Dundee Utd (Cup Final)

We finished the last session at the begging of July and we have already signed a number of new players and I feel we still need a quality full back. But before any others come in I will be looking to sell a few with a couple more going out on loan especially in midfield as we have a lot of players who can play in that position, the only problem being I am not sure which to let go as they are all decent players. Also since my last my post the board (yet again) agreed to sell doudin for £6.5mil, which is a lot of money but unfortunately half of the fee went to his previous club.

Players Signed:-

A.Iacob - Centre Back/Def Mid - 500k from Steaue

J.Beardsley - Right Back - Free

A.Borysiuk - All Across the Midfield - Free

L.Mohellebi - Left Back/Def Mid - Free

J.Martins - Att Mid - Free

T.Reuser - Winger - Free

T.Priskin - Striker - Free

On to next season my goal for Inverness is to improve on this season which means a top 2 finish which will be very difficult as there are some good teams with the likes of Celtic, Hearts, Hibs, Dundee Utd and I cant see Rangers doing as poorly as they did this season, but with my younger players getting another season under there belt we should be right up there with them. Also the potential of the club its self has improved with the board agreeing with me by increasing the capacity of the stadium along with improving the training facilities

Thursday's session saw the conclusion to our battle against relegation. Our destiny was still in our own hands, win the last 3 games and we stay up. We started at home to stan's Dundee. Dundee took an early lead before Kakuta levelled just before the half hour mark to make it 1-1 at half time. 2 quick fire goals at the start of the second half put us 3-1 up thanks to an own goal and a Sheridan strike. Sheridan & Kouadio made it 5-1 before Dundee pulled 2 back late on. Sheridan completed his hat trick win stoppage time to make the final score 6-3. The first part of our mission complete.

It was second bottom Falkirk away next. We made the worst possible start as we fell behind inside 60 seconds. We fought back and Sheridan equalised on the half hour to make it 1-1 at half time. Falkirk took the lead with 20 minutes to go. We never looked like equalising after this and lost 2-1. This set up a winner takes all game with Motherwell, the loser getting relegated.

You could cut the tension with a knife as we faced Motherwell in the last game of the season. We had an absolute stinker of a first half and went in 2-0 down. It took until 20 minutes to go before we started to play. Sheridan pulled one back to give us a chance, Kakuta equalised in stoppage time to make it 2-2. It wasn't enough and we were relegated. We didn't deserve to stay up as our defence was awful all season, 106 conceded in 38 games is simply not good enough. If I can bring in some decent defenders we should be able to bounce straight back up.

Following our relegation from the SPL I decided it was time to have a clearout. 25 players left the club bringing in over £2.5M. We brought in 12 new players, including a new goalkeeper and defence in an attempt to concede less goals. With the players we have brought in we should be able to challenge for the title.

We started the campaign at home to Partick Thistle. We made a bright start with Sheridan giving us the leas shortly before half time. We continued to play well in the second half and goals from Corcoran and Pinau, on his debut, saw us run out 3-1 winners. It was League Cup next as we travelled to Albion Rovers. We dominated the first half and went in 2-0 up thanks to a Sheridan double. Offiong added a third as we totally outplayed Rovers as we won 3-0.

Back to the league as we travelled to Hamilton. Another good performance saw us run our 3-0 winners with goals from Cesnauskis, Kouadio & Bamba. League Challenge Cup was next as faced Albion Rovers away again. Goals from Cesnauskis & a Sheridan penalty either side of a goal from Rovers saw us go in 2-1 up. Goals in the second half from Sheridan, Stoch and Kouadio sealed a 5-1 win.

It was back to the league as we hosted Jack's Queen of the South. We controlled the first half from start to finish and went in 2-0 up thanks to goals from Sheridan and Kouadio. We strolled through the second half as we won 2-0. It was League Cup next as we hosted East Fife. We destroyed them with goals from Sheridan (2), Pinau, Cesnauskis & Offiong giving us a 5-0 win.

Back to the league and we travelled to Livingston. We went behind early on before Sheridan and Kouadio scored to give us a 2-1 half time lead. Second half goals from Sheridan and Cesnauskis put us 4-1 before Livingston pulled one back. We held on to win 4-2. It was League Challenge Cup next as we faced Partick Thistle away. After dominating the first half Offiong gave us the lead with 25 minutes to go. It looked as if this would be enough until Thistle equalised in stoppage time to force extra time. Corcoran gave us the lead before Thistle equalised from the spot on half time. We had plenty of chances to win the game but couldn't take them and it went to penalties. Our penalties were awful and we lost 3-1. This was a disappointing way to finish the session as we had made a good start to the season until this point.

By the end of Mondays session we had completed 14 league games and we sit 2nd in the table on 31 points, when it came to the 1st round of the uefa cup we came up against Portugal giants Porto we faced them at home first and they played us of the park beating us 2nil and in the 2nd leg they scored 1st to make it 3nil on agg but with 3 second half goals it finished 3-3 agg so we went through on away goals, the minnows of Inverness CT into the group stage of the UEFA by beating might Porto, it sounds unbelievable and it was mainly thanks to 2 top notch MOM performances by our Goalkeeper Leh??? and he will have to keep up that form if we are to get any further in the competition.

Results:

Won 5-2 vs. Falkirk

Drew 2-2 vs. Motherwell

Drew 1-1 vs. Omonoia (UEFA Cup)

Won 2-1 vs. Gretna

Won 1-0 vs. Celtic

Won 2-0 vs. Omonoia (UEFA Cup)

Won 3-1 vs. Hibs

Lost 3-2 vs. Dundee Utd

Lost 2-0 vs. Porto (UEFA Cup) - they where much the better team

Won 1-0 vs. Airdrie Utd

Won 2-1 vs. Kilmarnock

Won 3-1 vs. Porto (UEFA Cup) - totally outplayed but you don’t see my complaining

Drew 1-1 vs. Hearts

Won 1-0 vs. Dunfermline (Cup)

Won 4-0 vs. Dundee

Drew 0-0 vs. Rangers - played quite well but couldn’t score

Won 5-0 vs. Falkirk - we have scored 22 goals in the last 4 games against Falkirk Drew 3-3 vs. Motherwell - conceded a 92nd min. goal

Won 1-0 vs. Gretna - with a 93rd min. goal

Players Signed:

J.Mendes – Left Wing – free

J.Hobbs – Centre Back – loan

K.King – Left Back – loan

M.Charvet – Centre Back – free

M.Eikrem – Centre/Right Mid – 425k

A.Bouzidi – Def Mid – 7k

Major Players Sold:

B.Aquiar – to Dundee Utd – 525k

R.McAllister – to Blackpool – 3mil

Even though this has been a good start to the season we have not really played as well as I would like, it may be down to not putting out a settled 1st 11, this because we still have a very large squad and I am not sure what is my best team, but it may also be that half the team now wants to move to a bigger club or maybe a mixture of the 2. As I said allot of my best players want to move to bigger clubs but I want to keep them until the end of the season and see if we can get into the Champions League and if we do they may then want to stay, but even I do have to let them go I am sure that we will get decent money for them.