Another...
Falkirk v ICT
Background
After season's of near misses for one reason or another, Falkirk have finally made it back to Scotland's top flight. And after moving from run down Brockville, they look to have their club in good shape to make a real fight of staying in the league. A storming season last year has seen much of that squad stay intact, with a hanful of further signings to prepare them for this seasons.
Caley were in Falkirk's position last year - the new boys widely predicted for the drop. Under John Robertson and the Craig Brewster they combined solid effort and strong organisation to end up 8th in the league and confound the pundits.
Signings
ICT missed out on Derek Adams to Livi today, and have only added Craig Dargo in the close season. He is a player who showed superb promise as a youngster at Raith Rovers, but his big move to Killie didn't translate into a good move for the player, and Dargo has done little of note in the last 5 seasons. This might well represent his last chance to really make something of his career.
Falkirk have been more active, signing 7 players. Alan Gow from Airdrie will add some flair in the middle of the park, while Mick Glennon and Steven Thompson from the Coca Cola Leagues look experienced enough to be positive signings. Others such as Kenny Milne and Craig Ireland will have a chance to prove themselves at SPL level, which they didnt really do in previous spells in the top flight.
Team News
Falkirk have very few problems, and manager John Hughes has stated he already knows his first eleven, and that he is excited by it. Expect starts for Gow, Latapy and McBreen who will all be expected to create the chances to save the club this season. Falkirk will look again to Daryll Duffy to finish these chances after his successful season last year, which culminated in an U21 call up. He may well find life tough this season, but should find joy against some of the weaker SPL sides.
Big news for ICT is the loss to injury of Juanjo, arguably their best and most creative player. He adds the flair and skill to one of the more workmanlike squads in the division, and players like Barry Wilson and Ritchie Hart will have to work much harder to provide for the front pairing.
First Game Effect
I see this as very important here. Livingston's first game after being promoted at a packed out Almondvale with 10,000 watching v Hearts had a very special atmosphere, which spurred the side on to beat the 3rd best team in Scotland(at the time) 2-1. ICT won both their first 'home game' v Dunfermline 2-0 last year, and in Inverness at their new stadium 2:0 v Dunfermline again.
Tomorrow will be a sell out at the Westfield, and with the unfurling of the First Division flag it is sure to be a special atmosphere and a very one sided crowd(ICT have 975 tickets for the game.)
H2Hs
2003/2004 Sat 01 May Inverness CT 0 - 0 Falkirk SCD1
2003/2004 Tue 02 Mar Falkirk 2-1 Inverness CT SCD1
2003/2004 Sat 01 Nov Inverness CT 1 - 2 Falkirk SCD1
2003/2004 Sat 09 Aug Falkirk 2 - 1 Inverness CT SCD1
2002/2003 Sat 10 May Falkirk 2 - 3 Inverness CT SCD1
2002/2003 Sat 08 Feb Inverness CT 3 - 4 Falkirk SCD1
2002/2003 Sat 14 Dec Falkirk 1 - 1 Inverness CT SCD1
Falkirk with the edge overall with 4 wins from the last 7, and at home as well.
Summary
Its a good game for Falkirk to start with, as ICT haven't been able to strengthen during the close season and have lost possibly their most influential player to injury. With the special atmosphere at the Westfield, I'm backing Falkirk to get off to a winning start. 2.70 looks good here, but I would avoid anything below that
Paddy Power price.
Falkirk to beat ICT - 3pts @ 2.70 with Paddy Power
SPL Weekend 30th/31st July
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and a lot of other quality info too. Looking forward to getting more involved in the weeks ahead.
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