Just got to wondering...before ICT came into being, where did your football loyalties lye.This isnt about Caley vs Thistle, Am just curious as to how many on here were actual regularly supporting (in the financial sense) Inverness football pre merger. Or, if you like...trying to to sniff out the glory hunters

Or maybe you couldnt be arsed with the standard of footie on offer pre merger?

If you came to support ICT, but have no link to Inverness...whats yer reason?

I was a keen Caley fan since late 70s

Edited June 19, 200916 yr by SMEE

My dad started taking me to Telford St. in the early 70's and by the time I was 8 i was a season ticket holder though i cant remember ever using it ( jooping in was a part of the education ) . When I was a teenager i hardly missed a game home or away and was involved in loads of memorable scraps in places like Elgin , Peterhead , Buckie and dingwall . Must admit a huge part of me died with the merger and the death of my team Caledonian . Interestingly enough I dont recall seeing a lot of folk who post on here and claim to have been Caley fans at Telford St .

A feckin Jeggie Hun - no wonder we clash !!

Indeed - I remember the sides in after school kick arounds were at one time mostly determined by which of the evil twins you followed :P

Can't say I care for either of them much these days unless it's getting scotland additional points in the euro rankings B)

Must admit a huge part of me died with the merger and the death of my team Caledonian .

Interesting view DC - I can't say I feel the same - I wasn't in Inverness at the time of the merger but still think I would have voted pro-merger if I had such a thing - especially if it meant getting an Inverness team in the Scottish League.

I also don't think either that the two clubs have died as they are both very much part of the history of the present day club but that's just my view.

Interestingly I knew a lot of Jags and Caley supporters who followed other teams such as Aberdeen, Dundee, Hibs, Hearts etc prior to the merger.

Interestingly enough I dont recall seeing a lot of folk who post on here and claim to have been Caley fans at Telford St .

Well.....in an old book (might have been the Inverness Caledonian centenary special) or In A Different League by Rod Clyne (which incidentally...i believe now is worth a princely sum), it mentions a midweek game around the 80s, where there were 82 in attendance. Me and my mate were among em! I was Caley daft. Would sometimes go down on a sunday to help clean the ground, in the hope of finding a programme from the day befores game. More often than not, i did. Would reguarly attend training on a Monday and Thursday night and go chase the balls for em, and get rewarded with half an orange with the players at the break.

I am like you DC....part of my passion for football went wen the merger came, and i dont think it will ever be recaptured to the same degree. Also got caught up in a few scraps over the years. Running battles with Buckie and Peterhead spring to mind, and yeah...Elgin was my most hated team. Funny how now i couldnt give a flying hoot about them. I hate Ross Co now

Running battles with Buckie (? at Borough Briggs) and Putridheid (away at half time ?) What was the game in the 80's ? Where were you fer the Station Square rumble with the tinks after scrapping all the way down Stephens Brae ?

Caley fan/supporter, My dad was a Celtic man still is, but in the mid 80' (Feb 86 to be exact) i was 8, my granny lived in telford gardens and we went every weekend to see them. so one day in feb 1986 my uncle said to my old man... do you fancy going to the Aberdeen Caley game (someones testamoinal i cant mind whos...) so the 3 of us went, I loved it, in the Howdens behind the goal by the railing to the right of the goal mouth, l remember almost everything about that day. who knows i may have even seen IHE lol, anyway after that my uncle took me every weekend home and away, at school you were eather a don or a hun.... or caley or thistle, i was always just a caley fan... no real big teams but i was a couple of times told to pick a side for join the crew.... it was always the dons side due to the hammering they'd given us at telford street 1986... My uncle knew a heap of people on the park and in the stands.. a couple that played for both caley and thistle at different times in there career, but we always followed caley every where up untill around 93ish when i started work... i have hundreds of old programs still got my first.... I used to go in the big gate at the side and show the lad there my old out of date blue boys card and get if free... i love everything about my football games at telford street and miss it but thats not to be talked about haha, i stayed away from ICT for about 2 years due to work and kinda not likeing sharing a row never mind a stand with a thistle fan, but then i saw the light and the fact i was watching a very sucsessful team play in my home town....(as for my dad, the last game he came with me to we sat in the main stand, celtic went in half time 2 up... he was bursting to stand up and cheer... he'd dare not!! the saw us come back and pump them 3-2... the time before that was when we went ballistic.. he swore never to watch celtic and caley with me again!!)

Edited June 20, 200916 yr by georgeios

IHE, i mind we couldnt get off the train in Forres or elgin once when we played elgin, but a load of us managed to get off at the next station and got the bus back, got to the ground late to be turned away, but then went up that hill with the monument and there was some rumbles..... I also remember the bannanas at buckie!! naughty naughty!! they were for the ref if i mind right... :P B)

Running battles with Buckie (? at Borough Briggs) and Putridheid (away at half time ?) What was the game in the 80's ? Where were you fer the Station Square rumble with the tinks after scrapping all the way down Stephens Brae ?

Nah.....the Buckie skirmish was a midweek game if i remember correctly. Loads of cops and police dogs ended up on the scene.

The Blue Toon took place in sneck too. we chased em down towards Clach Park for some reason. Ad just like to add...that i wasnt really involved, more just an curious bystander. i always did let my nose lead me into bother

great idea for a thread!! I used to go to Kingsmills park in 1977 as a 7 year old with my dad and his mates and was a season ticket holder. I always mind we started under the the first floodlight on the left as we entered the ground and then in the 2nd half we always moved to the other side of the main stand. I think this was basically to do with jags scoring goals in these ends. You would see scores of thistle 11 deveronvale 0 and such like. I also mind a player manager(Ian Cummings I think??) scoring from the half way line. Never seen that since. Glory days.... Also mind getting caught in the middle of some serious grief in a thistle Killy game which we won 3 - 0 in the scottish cup. We were so ahead of our time.... Bit of a stand off developed across from the main stand. Those who were there will remember it well. As I got older most of my mates were caley fans so Telford street became the place to go. Legendry games such as the cup game and battle!!!!! v Airdrie. Anyone mind the Airdrie casual with the pink parka? Can't wait to beat them again.... I have one or two pals that could not except the merger and still cant. I respect their views but I am Inverness born and bred and as far as I was concerned the the only way forward to achieve our dream of top level football was the merger and Ive been living the dream ever since. As a good friend of mine keeps saying " You'll never beat the caley"(or thistle....) ZOID you know who you are.

I'm kinda hoping we are going to have some fun times again at the dump and get back to winning ways but most importantly with attractive attacking football. I think we all deserve it after last seasons pile of pish. Bring it on...

Left Inverness to go to Uni in 1984 and kept wandering. Like starchief I then would go along to the games for the teams close to where I was living so Aberdeen, Newcastle United, Tranmere Rovers, Altrincham, Rot Weiss Essen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Manchester United (though on most occassions I was usually wanting the opposition to win - only the free tickets kept me going back), CSKA and Levski Sofia, Cherno More Varna, Zamalek etc have all had my support.

Ismaili for me. Partly because it's fairly near where I live but mainly 'coz it sounds like my surname, Smillie (Ismaili is pronounced ih-smiley)

SMEE your correct , Buckie was a midweek League Cup tie which we lost . We only had 1 bus through and they put the windows in on the outskirts of Buckie after the game . we also were hugely outnumbered and took a good hiding during and after the game with the Buckie polis standing back and watching !! revenge was so sweet when they next came to Telford St. and tried to come into the Howden End via the Main stand side only to be met and driven back by the young Howdenenders , happy , happy days . I also recall lots of action at Qualifying Cup finals in Elgin and Nairn .

For me Caley were and always will be the greatest football team ever. What I would give to be in the Howden End again, even on a miserable Tuesday in February against Fort William.

Caledonian FC - we have not forgotten.

"Primus Inter Omnes" indeed

Caledonian F.C. never forgotten . Always in my heart . Caley til I die .

Caledonian F.C. never forgotten . Always in my heart . Caley til I die .

Poetry

I also recall lots of action at Qualifying Cup finals in Elgin and Nairn .

The Buckie game i reffered to was in INverness...maybe it was in retaliation for that incident you reffered to DC, or perhaps the cause?

I too remember the QC finals in Nairn and Elgin. Among the leaders/characters i remember in them days, were Scobbies, Mackies (RIP) Canyon, Claud and the likes. Were you pally with them?

Edited June 21, 200916 yr by SMEE

That was the crew I jumped about with SMEE , all good lads that you could trust would have your back covered if needed . The Buckie incident was retaliation to the doing we took in Buckie , old bill kept moving us around the park and as soon as we regrouped and started singing again they would move us on again " for our own safety " .

ICT were formed when i was at the age of 2 years old. First game was Livi away, we got beat 4-3. Most of my family are from inverness, hence the reason i support them.

Take my hand, take my whole life too,

for i can't help falling in love with you!

I also loved the LSM they were always good crack, could we not look in to doing a fanzeen for the ICT?

I also loved the LSM they were always good crack, could we not look in to doing a fanzeen for the ICT?

What the feck do ya think this is ? :)

For me Caley were and always will be the greatest football team ever. What I would give to be in the Howden End again, even on a miserable Tuesday in February against Fort William.

Caledonian FC - we have not forgotten.

"Primus Inter Omnes" indeed

Talking of Fort William the league better watch out next season. Remember the slogan...From Worst to First.

In my younger days I had a soft spot for the Jags. The odd weekend on the p!ss in Sneck would see time being passed, during closed pub time, at Kingsmills. I played shinty for a few years so didn't really get to much football. I lived in central belt for a lot of years and now and again went to watch Falkirk, Bo'ness United or Linlithgow Rose. I know, the last two are sad considering there is a rivalry between the two more bitter than Sneck / County. Started to follow ICT seriously when they entered div 1.

I also loved the LSM they were always good crack, could we not look in to doing a fanzeen for the ICT?

What the feck do ya think this is ?

No where near as good, it was very unPC, and theres never a mention of COCO and his blunders! or hurch and his fopas!! I read my LSM more than the Dandy, If they ever look in to why I turned out the way I have...

Some good memories there, I think i remember them all in fact (Caley ones of course) nice one IHE.

Early early days lived in Birnie Terrace, but was too young to go on me own. Dad wasnt and still isnt inta footie. Moved house in 74 and at tender age of 9 was allowed to go to games. Kingsmills it was, and a Jaggie I still am, However that hasnt stopped me taking the amalgamation onboard, as without it we would probably still be going to Buckie and Lossie, and now Grantown, Formartine and Turriff. Saying all that hated both the old firm, but as a result of our cup game at Parkheid, have hated them more. Still remember the weegie knuckle draggers getting their wee kids to go in amongst us huddled together under order to pish on us, to the shouts of "touch him an yer deed!" Never forget the way they treated us. Was in the pile up at the Jags Killie game that flattened the linesman when the barrier collapsed when the Killie boys were getting restless. Remember our cup finals where Forres was wrecked in the Jags Elgin game, and the year before or after it was Elgins borough briggs riots when the fighting started every time we scored - beat Buckie 5-0 that day. But for all that have been every home game for last 7-8 years, and was at most games beforwe that. Grew up Thistle, Liverpool and Barca, still am aswell

Was also at the Falkirk cup game when it went ahead at the 27th attempt, got the belt from Baillie next day as was seen on the telly at the game! Also team I most hate in the world is probably Livi, formerly Meadowbank, formerly Ferranti Thistle. Cause they got one more vote to get admitted into the league when Thistle were a team and a half. Unbeaten in whole league season until last half hour of last game, mind you the league had been won ages before we lost. Remember Jimmy Calder as a striker too. Roshie, Milroy, Tichy, Lofty, Guyan, Wad, etc

Supported Inverness Thistle since I started actively following football in the late 60s much to the disappointment of my late father who was a Clach diehard.