On a personal note, tomorrow is a sort of meeting of the football worlds for me, as both the team of my heart (Caley Thistle) and the team of my locality (the Portland Timbers) are in semifinals at home. Though I admit without pause that I’d rather be at the match in Inverness than the one in Portland, I will cheer wholeheartedly for both. I’ve been a mostly good boy, football gods. Two finals would be much appreciated. Mon the Caley.

Dundee is the most popular pick among Scottish pundits to win the league and join their rivals United in the SPL, mostly because of their strong transfer season. They picked up two former Caley men, Brian Kerr from us and Richie Hart from Ross County (spit), as well as Chris Casement from Ipswitch, all on frees. They also paid, handsomely by First Division standards, for Gary Harkins from Partick and Leigh Griffiths from Livingston. Altogether, they are probably the most improved squad in the league from last season.

But a lot of that quality is missing for the visit of Caley Thistle, and we must take advantage. If Dundee is the dragon of the First Division, they definitely look a little drowsy, if not asleep. Last week, they found themselves twice trailing Raith Rovers before fighting back for a 2-2 draw that kept them even with Caley on points and goal differential at the top of the league. This week, they’re back home, but find themselves without the services of Rab Douglas, Craig McKeown, Darren Young and Pat Clarke, with several other players either a doubt or just coming off of injuries themselves. There is an advantage here to be taken, and we must take it.

The Caley have not had much success on past trips to Dens Park, though it’s been a while since we’ve made the trek. In three matches there, we’ve lost two and drawn one, with 2 goals scored and 7 conceded. In other words, this is not Dunfermline. This is a tough, tough place to play.

Our own attack should be a bit on the mend this time around, with Andy Barrowman likely to make his first appearance of the season. Though Andy gives us another option, I’d still like to see him start on the bench, with Dani Sanchez and Richie Foran starting up front. But I’m not the manager, so we’ll see. In the back, Ross Tokely is still suspended (seems like forever now), and the back four should be unchanged in his absence.

Again, I can’t stress enough how important this match is. It basically determines the early promotion favorite. It’s not that losing takes us out of the race, or winning lets us rest on our laurels, but if we can notch away wins at both Dunfermline and Dundee in the first three weeks of the season, we have to be considered front runners. Let’s grab that title and not let go. I predict a scrappy 2-1 win for the Caley, with Foran and Coxy getting us on the board. Maybe Barrowman can make it three – we’ll just have to see. Mon the Caley.

While Tony Mowbray and the Celts take on a team that scored six goals away from home in the Premier League this weekend, we’ll be entertaining Stranraer FC in a second-round Alba Challenge Cup match in the cozy confines of Caledonian Stadium. I actually have a soft spot for Stranraer. They’re one of the oldest active league sides in Scotland, and have fallen, like so many lower-league teams, onto very hard financial times. In January, the chairman of the club gave them 50/50 chances of making it through the season, and an effort was started to raise the money needed to get them out of debt. If they were playing anyone else, I’d love to see them go through and make a dent in that debt.

But they are not playing someone else – they are playing my Caley. To make up for my heartless wish that we beat this gray lady of Scottish football to a pulp at one of her weaker moments, I do encourage anyone with a few quid burning a hole in their pockets to click over to SaveStranraerFC.com and make a donation. In fact, I’ll do you one better – I’ll donate a tenner for every Caley Thistle goal tomorrow. Least I can do for a club that’s existed for 139 years.

Mon the Caley.

On paper, our second match of this season should be one of our easiest. While we spent last season in the SPL, our visitors, the so-called “Honest Men” of Ayr United, finished last season second place in the third tier of Scottish football. Not even division winners, they find themselves in the First Division by means of a playoff win over Airdrie, who ironically are also in the First due to the open spot left by Livingston’s implosion.

It’s our home opener, our first league match at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium since that fateful day in May when we lost 1-0 to Falkirk and were sent down. Since then, we have lost a handful of players, but there has also been progress. As of today, Caley Thistle has sold more season tickets for this season than we did for the SPL campaign last year, impressive considering the lower attendances in the second tier. But those who will be on hand in Inverness tomorrow will have one thing on their mind – dulling the pain of that Falkirk loss.

Again, we should win this match, but there are a few reasons for worry. We are still without Ross Tokely in the back, serving a suspension. Our attack is without Andy Barrowman, who despite all evidence, manager Terry Butcher insists is tearing up the training grounds. More importantly, we lost Dougie Imrie for a still undetermined amount of time last week, when a harsh challenge knocked him out with an injury to his knee ligaments. A healthy Caley Thistle should take Ayr behind the woodshed … but we are not a healthy Caley Thistle.

Still, we should have enough. Imrie is out, but Richie Foran is back to take his place in the attacking half. He should be physically fit, but match fitness is something else, and we’ll see how they’ve been working him in training. Ayr had an impressive start to the season last weekend, drawing with Partick Thistle at home, and so they are not to be ignored. Like us, they have yet to find their lead scorer, with one each for Mark Roberts, William Easton and captain Chris Aitken in their three competitive matches so far.

Last week, I predicted a 2-0 win over Dunfermline, a result we were only able to halfway achieve. I’m going to predict the same scoreline here. Ideally, with Barrowman and Imrie as options, we should honestly be able to do more against this side, who were beaten in the first round of the Challenge Cup 2-0 by Albion Rovers. I don’t think they’ll have it in them to score on us in Inverness (despite I’m sure at least one serious defensive blunder), and I think we have a few goals in us, one coming from Foran on his return.

Let’s hope I’m right this time, though if I predict 2-0 every week, and every week ends 1-0, I’ll be able to live with that just fine too. Mon the Caley.

Know Your Enemy
Dunfermline went down in 2007 and have been in the First Division ever since, but are still one of the larger and better-supported clubs in Scotland, certainly in the lower tiers. This is a club with a ton of history, with two Scottish cups in their cabinet. This is a club once managed by Jock Stein, who once missed a European Cup Winners Cup final by a single goal in aggregate. Make no mistake – Dunfermline is, by Scottish standards, a big club. Today, they aren’t what they once were, not by a long shot. Still, they’re a definite rival for promotion back to the top flight, after finishing third in the division last season.

Dunfermline and Caley Thistle shared four seasons in the SPL, from 2004-2007. During that time, we made 6 league trips to East End Park, and in that time we never lost. 2 wins and 4 draws were our haul from our trips to Fife, and so we should have all the confidence in the world that this is a place the Caley Jags can go and win. Overall, our record against Dunfermline during the SPL years was very strong, with 7 wins, 4 draws, and only a single loss (at home).

Injury Report
Richie Foran and Ross Tokely are suspended for the start of the season, and Barrowman, Hastings and Odhiambo are unavailable for injury. But there are bright spots to report as well. Ryan Esson is back from injury, which is a relief. The new kid seems comfortable, but I hardly want to start the league season without our starting keeper. On the Pars’ side, there are some injury holes in their defense, with Andy Dowie and Greg Ross out, plus they’ll be without the services of Joe Cardle on the wing. Overall, injuries shouldn’t be a major factor – we’re not missing anyone vital. It’s always a shame to play without Rossco, but we’ll live. Having both Foran and Barrowman out definitely strangles our attacking options a little, but we have scorers that can step up.

Prediction
I am cautiously optimistic. It might be the pint in my hand talking, but I like the look of the side lately. If we were starting an SPL campaign, I’d say we don’t yet have the talent to finish high, but this is a strong First Division squad. Dougie Imrie has been playing very well and has the chance now to become the real leader of the Caley attack. I think he’ll pop one in tomorrow, and maybe help one of his mates to another. I’m calling it 2-1 to Caley Thistle on goals from Imrie and Robert Eagle.

It’s great to get the season started, and it’s time to make it clear where we belong. There are 36 matches in the First Division season, but there’s only one first match, and there’s nothing like putting your stamp on it. Mon the Caley.

Hopefully, the scraper against Montrose has put sufficient fire under the boys that we can do what we should, and win this match comfortably. Like Montrose, Annan are a Third Division side. We were one goal away from staying in the SPL last season. We need to approach this match as a match we should win, one that we should be embarrassed to lose. In a week’s time, we will begin a campaign to return to the SPL, and to return the Highlands region overall to the top flight. It’s time to stop fiddling around with the tiniest of minnows. We aren’t Celtic – hell, we aren’t Motherwell – but Annan is not Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Let’s remind them of that point today. Mon the Caley.

We head to St. Mirren for the start of the post-split season tomorrow. This season’s final five matches are essentially a month-and-a-half-long relegation playoff, with five of the bottom six sides in real danger of the drop. Six points separates Kilmarnock in 8th from Falkirk in 12th.

Injuries to St. Mirren make this a very shaky time for the Buddies, and a mostly healthy Inverness should be able to do some damage. Even though their home form is pretty decent, I have to think that we can manage at least a draw. Falkirk is playing Motherwell, who are going to be hard to predict in these matches. On one hand, they are the best side in the bottom half, without much doubt. On the other hand, they have nothing to play for, since they can’t advance in position above 7th, and can’t realistically drop to last and relegation. How they perform could be a huge x factor over the coming weeks.

I’m going to go out on a bit of a limb for my boys this week, and predict a 2-0 Caley win, away at St. Mirren. Along with a Falkirk loss to the Well, this would put us possibly one matchday from safety. The opposite, a Caley loss and a Falkirk win, would make the margin only a single point, and probably cause me to finally lose my full head of hair.

This is a huge weekend for the bottom five. Whoever wins their match, especially among the three tied on points at 34, can breath a huge sigh of relief. We’re all Motherwell fans this weekend as well, hoping that Falkirk won’t be able to break out of their funk. In all honesty, I hate to see the Bairns headed down, and I’d prefer to lose Killie, St. Mirren or Hamilton. But anyone, other than the Caley, will do just fine.

Right now, we stand four points above relegation-bound Falkirk. A win over them today puts us seven points safe, and more than likely jumps us above either Killie or St. Mirren, both of whom are a point above us. To have breathing room in the relegation race is something we thought we might never have again, and we need to take this opportunity.

It’s been a very mixed bag so far in the head-to-heads this season. They’ve owned us in knockouts, ending our runs in both the Scottish Cup and League Cup. In the league, we’ve been far more successful, beating them on the road and drawing at home. There’s been a goal each for Adam Rooney, Dougie Imrie and Don Cowie in the fixture, but there’s no telling where we’ll get the goals today. Foran’s been on a great run lately, and with Filipe Morais available again, he will have his shot too.

They’ve had the advantage thus far in cup matches, but this is the real knockout. We can deliver it to Falkirk and all but doom them to the drop, guaranteeing the Highlands another season of top-flight football. And I think that’s exactly what we’ll do, by another 2-1 scoreline.

Mon the Caley.

Squad available: Esson, Tokley, Munro, Mihadjuks, Djebi-Zadi, Proctor, Kerr, Black, Foran, Imrie, Rooney, Barrowman, Fraser, McBain, Duncan, Duff, Morais, Hastings.

Motherwell comes a-calling on Saturday, sitting a point above the Hibs side we beat last week in sixth place. With 50% more points than us (33-22) in the league, and considering that one blip doesn’t break the pattern of awful Caley play at home, they have to come in confident. Coming off a 1-1 draw with Celtic can’t hurt either, although we’ve managed that draw recently as well. I mean, also.

This match will also mark the addition to Motherwell’s squad of on-loan Cillian Sheridan, who has impressed this season at Celtic. Considering their dearth of goals, I’m not sure why the Hoops are dealing away a goal scorer, but its not the first question I’d have for old Ginger Baws. But that’s a separate point.

My prediction – a solid 1-1 draw, equaling the result that Celtic managed. Combine that with a Falkirk loss to Hibs, and you have a tie on points at the bottom. Come on you Hibees: Forget last week. Do us a favor and maybe we’ll do you one, beating the Well and letting you back into the top half. Sound fair?

Nearly three years ago to the day, we had our best ever visit to Dundee, returning home winners by 4-2. Late that same year, we had our worst trip, a 3-1 loss to at Tannadice. Overall, it’s been 2 wins, 3 draws, and 3 losses, so we are more than capable of taking some or all of the spoils there. Besides, what lovely symmetry would that be? 3 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses. That alone should convince the neutrals.

Then again, what really might need convincing is the weather. Tannadice, or “Tannad Ice” more appropriately, is covered in snow as I write this, and the fixture is very much in doubt. We up north like the snow, so I do hope that we can break out the yellow ball and play some football, despite the weather. I want to see how we do against the top side in Scotland outside of the Old Firm. Frankly, I’m cautiously optimistic, and the weather lately definitely suits our gritty style. And who knows – maybe we’ll get another ref that can’t see the penalty line and be saved again.

Mon the Caley.