Aww, do I have to talk about St. Johnstone as well?
Oh, all right then.
It works quite well, actually, as Inverness find themselves in roughly the same position as the Perth Saints did twelve months ago - at the end of a successful first season back in the top flight having never flirted with relegation and instead come close to the top six.
Derek McInnes was quite active in last summer's transfer market, bringing several players in from south of the border to try and take his team forward. McInnes remains a bright prospect in the management business, but the last twelve months have not really enhanced his reputation...though they have not damaged it either. But whilst his side were never in danger of the drop, they never got as close to top six status as they came last year. St. Johnstone's biggest problem is in front of goal; their total of 23 in 38 league games exacerbated by a horrendous spell in the early Spring where they scored only once in twelve matches, and that was an own goal.
I suppose you can turn that around and say that their defence deserves praise - they only conceded 43 league goals - but it made for pretty dull football, especially at their own McDiarmid Park, where half their matches had one goal or fewer in them. This wasn't helped by a pitch only slightly less hideous than Motherwell's, but it's unlikely to bring in the fans. McInnes has already acted to correct this, bringing in attacking midfielder David Robertson (Dundee Utd) and striker Sean Higgins (Dundee) for next season. But his watertight defence is likely to lose veteran defender Michael Duberry, best known down south for flattering to deceive at Chelsea and Leeds, but even at 36 a class above your average SPL centre-half.
St. Johnstone's destiny might well depend as much on McInnes' future; he turned down the manager's job at League One Brentford last week, quite possibly because he expects better offers. If (or, more likely, when) he leaves, he will be hard to replace.
There's no such danger of Terry Butcher leaving Inverness; after some bad experiences down south (including at Brentford, actually), he appears to have decided that Inverness is for him, and has started making big statements about the future of the club. He's been backing up these statements with huge decisions too, not least his decision to chuck long-serving players Grant Munro and Russell Duncan, both of whom started more than half our league games this season.
They were part of a successful side too, who showed a willingness to go toe-to-toe with anyone - they beat every team in the league except Hearts and Rangers at least once, but also lost to every team at least once too. A bit of inconsistency and naivety is to be expected following promotion, I guess, and every ICT fan would have been delighted if offered a 7th place finish nine months ago. Whilst hopes of top six evaporated with a nightmare run at the turn of the year, an excellent finish to the campaign (the highlight being the 3-2 win over Celtic, worth the entire season ticket outlay) means that Butcher has the trust of the supporters.
If St Johnstone's immediate future depends on the geographical location of McInnes, Inverness' outlook depends just as much on whether striker Adam Rooney signs a new contract with severtal clubs sniffing around; he will be hard to replace if he goes, and I can't help feeling that offers from Championship clubs might turn his head. But it seems that Caley's plan is to bring in more 'Rooneys', young players from down south who can try and make a name for themselves. It might go horribly wrong, and leave us back where we were when Butcher came in, or it might go wonderfully right and we might emulate the success of Kilmarnock this season.
So can Inverness or St Johnstone push on and become top six sides?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Come on, you didn't expect a straight answer from me, did you?
INVERNESS
League: 7th, 53pts
League Cup: 3rd round
Scottish Cup: quarter final
Star man: Adam Rooney got the plaudits for the goals, but goalkeeper Ryan Esson was supporters player of the year and deservedly so; my biased opinion is that he should be on the brink of a Scotland call-up.
Waste of Space: Young Israeli Gil Blumenshtein was labelled "Blumen-s****" by a fellow supporter within an hour of his debut; he lived up to that label whilst on the pitch, but spent most of the season "blumen"-injured.
Confirmed first team departures: Gil Blumenshtein, Russell Duncan, Stuart Golabek, Chris Hogg, Chris Innes, Alex MacDonald, Roy McBain, Grant Munro, Eric Odhiambo, Danni Sanchez
Other likely departures: Aaron Doran, Adam Rooney
Needs for next season: Probably another striker. Definitely another centre-back and right-back. Is a creative midfielder too much to ask for?
ST JOHNSTONE
League: 8th, 44pts
League Cup: quarter final
Scottish Cup: semi final
Star man: Michael Duberry can't do anything other than head the ball really far, or punt it really far - but he does these things so well!
Waste of Space: Veteran Scott Dobie, a former Scotland international, was supposed to bring experience and guile to the forward line, but he got injured early on and scored only one goal before being offloaded on loan to Bradford City.
Confirmed first team departures: Scott Dobie, Danny Invincibile, Andy Jackson, Peter MacDonald, Arvydas Novikovas, Jordan Robertson, Kevin Rutkiewicz, Collin Samuel, Graeme Smith, Cleveland Taylor
Other likely departures: Michael Duberry, Murray Davidson
Needs for next season: A proven striker and, if Duberry goes, a dominating centre-half.
L.
Oh, all right then.
It works quite well, actually, as Inverness find themselves in roughly the same position as the Perth Saints did twelve months ago - at the end of a successful first season back in the top flight having never flirted with relegation and instead come close to the top six.
Derek McInnes was quite active in last summer's transfer market, bringing several players in from south of the border to try and take his team forward. McInnes remains a bright prospect in the management business, but the last twelve months have not really enhanced his reputation...though they have not damaged it either. But whilst his side were never in danger of the drop, they never got as close to top six status as they came last year. St. Johnstone's biggest problem is in front of goal; their total of 23 in 38 league games exacerbated by a horrendous spell in the early Spring where they scored only once in twelve matches, and that was an own goal.
I suppose you can turn that around and say that their defence deserves praise - they only conceded 43 league goals - but it made for pretty dull football, especially at their own McDiarmid Park, where half their matches had one goal or fewer in them. This wasn't helped by a pitch only slightly less hideous than Motherwell's, but it's unlikely to bring in the fans. McInnes has already acted to correct this, bringing in attacking midfielder David Robertson (Dundee Utd) and striker Sean Higgins (Dundee) for next season. But his watertight defence is likely to lose veteran defender Michael Duberry, best known down south for flattering to deceive at Chelsea and Leeds, but even at 36 a class above your average SPL centre-half.
St. Johnstone's destiny might well depend as much on McInnes' future; he turned down the manager's job at League One Brentford last week, quite possibly because he expects better offers. If (or, more likely, when) he leaves, he will be hard to replace.
There's no such danger of Terry Butcher leaving Inverness; after some bad experiences down south (including at Brentford, actually), he appears to have decided that Inverness is for him, and has started making big statements about the future of the club. He's been backing up these statements with huge decisions too, not least his decision to chuck long-serving players Grant Munro and Russell Duncan, both of whom started more than half our league games this season.
They were part of a successful side too, who showed a willingness to go toe-to-toe with anyone - they beat every team in the league except Hearts and Rangers at least once, but also lost to every team at least once too. A bit of inconsistency and naivety is to be expected following promotion, I guess, and every ICT fan would have been delighted if offered a 7th place finish nine months ago. Whilst hopes of top six evaporated with a nightmare run at the turn of the year, an excellent finish to the campaign (the highlight being the 3-2 win over Celtic, worth the entire season ticket outlay) means that Butcher has the trust of the supporters.
If St Johnstone's immediate future depends on the geographical location of McInnes, Inverness' outlook depends just as much on whether striker Adam Rooney signs a new contract with severtal clubs sniffing around; he will be hard to replace if he goes, and I can't help feeling that offers from Championship clubs might turn his head. But it seems that Caley's plan is to bring in more 'Rooneys', young players from down south who can try and make a name for themselves. It might go horribly wrong, and leave us back where we were when Butcher came in, or it might go wonderfully right and we might emulate the success of Kilmarnock this season.
So can Inverness or St Johnstone push on and become top six sides?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Come on, you didn't expect a straight answer from me, did you?
INVERNESS
League: 7th, 53pts
League Cup: 3rd round
Scottish Cup: quarter final
Star man: Adam Rooney got the plaudits for the goals, but goalkeeper Ryan Esson was supporters player of the year and deservedly so; my biased opinion is that he should be on the brink of a Scotland call-up.
Waste of Space: Young Israeli Gil Blumenshtein was labelled "Blumen-s****" by a fellow supporter within an hour of his debut; he lived up to that label whilst on the pitch, but spent most of the season "blumen"-injured.
Confirmed first team departures: Gil Blumenshtein, Russell Duncan, Stuart Golabek, Chris Hogg, Chris Innes, Alex MacDonald, Roy McBain, Grant Munro, Eric Odhiambo, Danni Sanchez
Other likely departures: Aaron Doran, Adam Rooney
Needs for next season: Probably another striker. Definitely another centre-back and right-back. Is a creative midfielder too much to ask for?
ST JOHNSTONE
League: 8th, 44pts
League Cup: quarter final
Scottish Cup: semi final
Star man: Michael Duberry can't do anything other than head the ball really far, or punt it really far - but he does these things so well!
Waste of Space: Veteran Scott Dobie, a former Scotland international, was supposed to bring experience and guile to the forward line, but he got injured early on and scored only one goal before being offloaded on loan to Bradford City.
Confirmed first team departures: Scott Dobie, Danny Invincibile, Andy Jackson, Peter MacDonald, Arvydas Novikovas, Jordan Robertson, Kevin Rutkiewicz, Collin Samuel, Graeme Smith, Cleveland Taylor
Other likely departures: Michael Duberry, Murray Davidson
Needs for next season: A proven striker and, if Duberry goes, a dominating centre-half.
L.
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