As one of the younger members of the ICT fan base I don't know a lot about the merger but ive been surprised to hear that it has kept many fans from both teams away from supporting ICT? Find it quite silly TBH

You know, I've just been reflecting for the last little while on where this thread is going.... or rather isn't.

Once again we have a member of the blue phonebox brigade with much of Torvean Quarry on his shoulder posting his usual complete drivel and succeeding in promoting dissent which really isn't there.

As a fairly keen but not fanatical Caley supporter from the mid 60s, I have been happy enough to move into the ICT age with fond memories of a lot that was very good taking place at Telford Street on the part of one of the top clubs in the Highland League. I am usually quite happy to accept that without being over analytical about it. As an Invernessian I also take much satisfaction from what Thistle did and what Clach continue to do. Rather than dissect this to death, I'd prefer simply to look back with a lot of satisfaction on these great past days.

But then, instead of celebrating all of that, and the more recent achievement of ICT getting to within 90 minutes of Europe, you find yourself instead almost talking down the old days in defence against Dougal's latest irrantional rant and 20 year old hissy fit of pique.

I might ask - why do we keep rising to this rubbish? And I have to admit that I am as bad as anyone for doing so. It's just that I can't bear to see blatant drivel talked without shooting it down.

But every time someone shoots holes in Dougal's latest wafer thin gallon can of p!sh, they are actually supplying him with attention which far outweighs any fundamental support for what he (or she) is ranting on about.

Once again I have to say... is Dougal REALLY a member of the blue phonebox brigade?

Or is he actually:-

 

A - An 80 year old staunchly pro-merger retired social psychologist indulging in some later life research OR

B - A secret agent in the pay of a rival SPL club with a mission to attempt to sew discontent among ICT fans OR

C - does he just need to get out a bit more?

 

Maybe someone should start a poll.

 

And maybe we should make a pact not to rise to Dougal's nonsense.

 

 

Way to not take the bait CB. 

Edited June 4, 201312 yr by dougiedanger

It is merely becos he knows that the Merger reality differs significantly from his memories and writings.

It is merely becos he knows that the Merger reality differs significantly from his memories and writings.

Well said Ender, Bannerman should really stop posting now as he is becoming a complete laughing stock

His hatred for Caledonian Fc is quite clear probably because in them days he had to pay to get in and that's why he went to Telford St on very few occasions over the decades

Anyway the similarities with this guy in the following link are uncanny

http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=%2F#/watch?v=yfAeMtcURg0

COMICAL CHARLIE

Dougal

Edited June 6, 201312 yr by dougal

Bannerman should really stop posting now as he is becoming a complete laughing stock

 

Maybe you should heed your own advice!

 

It's a shame actually; this thread could have been quite interesting, but due to it's derailment by the regular suspects/aliases/trolls it's become less "Merger Talk" and more like "Merger Cringe".

His hatred for Caledonian Fc is quite clear probably because in them days he had to pay to get in and that's why he went to Telford St on very few occasions over the decades

Pay to get in? To Telford Street? Yerjokeenmun!!  (As we say in Inverness, but - possibly not being from these immediate parts yourself Doogie - that's an expression you may not recognise.)

When we used to go to watch Davie Reid, Bobby Glennie, Sammy Ross, Jimmy Smith and co. of a Saturday afternoon we used to avoid forking out the 9d by "joopeen in" over the gate at the left hand corner of the Howden End before collecting the empty MacKintosh's lemonade bottles from around the ground and cashing them in at the club shop beside the twin plaster footballs for 3d each.

So once the Pennny Dainties and Smiths Crisps had been bought, there was usually enough left to fund a visit to the front stall of the La Scala the following Saturday when Caley were away.

(Not enough to pay for the flea powder as well though  )

Edited June 6, 201312 yr by Charles Bannerman

What is this Telfor Street and Howdoing End that everybody is going about?

What is this Telfor Street and Howdoing End that everybody is going about?

The former pride of the Highlands ground

 

Bannerman should really stop posting now as he is becoming a complete laughing stock

 

Maybe you should heed your own advice!

 

It's a shame actually; this thread could have been quite interesting, but due to it's derailment by the regular suspects/aliases/trolls it's become less "Merger Talk" and more like "Merger Cringe".

Well said that man.The fact that some posters still think it is important to harp on about how big Caley etc were in the 80s as if that really matters now is laughable. I know IHE clearly stated IF Caley had got the financial backing, they would have progressed to where ICT is today, very debateable point in my opinion, but if they had, it would not have been becuase it was it was Caley but the fact that more people would attend to watch a higher grade of football, not because they were caley supporters

I don't see how it would be debatable becos IF Caley had been given the same financial backing then there is no doubt that the fan base would have grown much quicker and the " fairy tale" would be based on a club similar to an historical institution which would have attracted families of Gringos from the Midlands, Berkshire would be crammed full of OAP's catching the cut price flights and there would be more Supporters buses leaving Chorley than leaves Sneck.

The only reason that some people feel that this thread has turned in to a cringe is becos it has turned into a reality orientation and at least the yoof are getting to know exactly what they missed out on becos of rigged ballots.

Just worked it out. IHE is Deryk de Maine Beaumont in disguise.

My cow is not pretty but it is pretty to me - and why should I not be proud of the ancestry of Caledonian FC and extol its virtues to the extreme boundaries of vanity - if you have got it flaunt it - are you sure that you are not Lady Tremaine or perhaps Delanira from the Women of Trachis.

Pretty sure, although I do often debate with myself whether I might have just a touch of schizophrenia....

From a diagnostic perspective I would suggest that you may have a Dissociative Identity Disorder - join the feckin club !! - I also considered whether you had Possession Syndrome due to spending such a long period of time in the Jeggie culture and its belief systems. I suspect that most Jeggies have been possessed and that could be a source of the apparent delusion that they were the equals of Caledonian FC. Strangely it also appears to have affected other pre merger individuals - a prime example is Charles Bannerman - he masquerades as a Caley man but there is clear evidence from his vernacular that he has been possessed by the dead of Kingsmills and the cultural chaos of Ross- shire.

Caledonian had the biggest support in the Highland League a lot larger than Ross County yet County have always had the better average attendances than ICT while they were in the same leagues

Dougal

Now now Dougal it was established long ago why RC had higher average attendances.... 1. They count eyes, not heads. 2. Most have 2 heads as a result of in-breeding, and 3. They can't actually count. It's just widely estimated guess work.

Yes it was a fact that attendances at Inverness matches tended to be counted as non-alien individuals or Cyclops whereas the Gypos counted all the mutant breeds of Ross-shire. But my suggestion was that this would not have been the case if Caledonian and its healthy core support and family institution culture had been followed from the off - which is what Dougal was attempting to succinctly point out.

Charles B. why do you hate Dougal so much? He's different perhaps, but so are a few others, including Scarlet who is so different when he is on form that even his Daddy Pimpernel can't cope with him, so he shakes his bright and breezy head and just walks away carrying an "I surrender" flag in his right hand hoisted high. 

 

What would happen to this site if everybody who had a different opinion than yourself was thrown out at the first statement?  I welcome different opinions than my own because that's why I come on here and furthermore, if I can't justify mine without descending to acidic, viperish, vituperative put-downs, then Scarlet is in real trouble.

 

 And what difference does it make whether a poster comes from Inverness and does not understand the local vernacular that well or from Germany where, incidentally, I note that  at least one intelligent poster comes from and does tune-in to this site very well indeed? Why do you have to  go "joupeen over the gate" instead of simply jumping over it ? Is this some rite of passage from intellectualism to common-manism that you feel is necessary to convince other posters that you are just another ordinary guy in the street thus justifying your opinions and language and getting their tacit support.

 

Forgive me Charles,  but I get the impression that you only go after those in this way whom you consider to be  vulnerable and perhaps not the favorite posters on the site but when up against a stronger opponent you tend to backtrack and joke your way out of the morass that is forming around you that frankly is of your own making. No doubt in your profession, being an icon of  admiration from the students, you have a hard time adjusting to the real world in which the average man or woman has to grit it out  facing challenges from adults, not children, which tests their will and attitudes to the limit. I have always yearned for a place in cloistered academe as my glorious fantasy but, alas, alack , it has always been Scarlet's fate to have to face the rough and tumble of life's brutal realities and never wear  a mortar board and gown to earn respect.

 

As for  Dougal I don't know how he has lasted  so long on this site in the face of such unfeeling rejections of his views  and frankly I admire his persistence and his spirit. And if you study his remarks carefully enough, without allowing your emotions to get the better of you, then there are some interesting references and views expressed by same, de temps en temp.

Dougal is a burr under your saddle, Charles, and long may it continue and you should just hope that he doesn't one day come after you with such intense sarcasm and ill-considered remarks by way of riposte or we shall see at that point how long you stay in the field of battle to suffer the slings and arrows....  

I am afraid that Dougal is the target for his defence of historical opinions, events and facts. Caley and Thistle will always be part of the ICT story and there are many who may wish that they are not. At least Dougal follows ICT and did not become a refusenik. He may be a bit of a feckin erse hole but he is tolerable in my humble opinion and experience. Charles is merely a strong believer in his version of the merger and stands his ground like few others. At the end of the day it is mainly banter even if Dougal and I are rarely wrong.

Charles B. why do you hate Dougal so much? He's different perhaps, but so are a few others, including Scarlet who is so different when he is on form that even his Daddy Pimpernel can't cope with him, so he shakes his bright and breezy head and just walks away carrying an "I surrender" flag in his right hand hoisted high. 

 

What would happen to this site if everybody who had a different opinion than yourself was thrown out at the first statement?  I welcome different opinions than my own because that's why I come on here and furthermore, if I can't justify mine without descending to acidic, viperish, vituperative put-downs, then Scarlet is in real trouble.

 

 And what difference does it make whether a poster comes from Inverness and does not understand the local vernacular that well or from Germany where, incidentally, I note that  at least one intelligent poster comes from and does tune-in to this site very well indeed? Why do you have to  go "joupeen over the gate" instead of simply jumping over it ? Is this some rite of passage from intellectualism to common-manism that you feel is necessary to convince other posters that you are just another ordinary guy in the street thus justifying your opinions and language and getting their tacit support.

 

Forgive me Charles,  but I get the impression that you only go after those in this way whom you consider to be  vulnerable and perhaps not the favorite posters on the site but when up against a stronger opponent you tend to backtrack and joke your way out of the morass that is forming around you that frankly is of your own making. No doubt in your profession, being an icon of  admiration from the students, you have a hard time adjusting to the real world in which the average man or woman has to grit it out  facing challenges from adults, not children, which tests their will and attitudes to the limit. I have always yearned for a place in cloistered academe as my glorious fantasy but, alas, alack , it has always been Scarlet's fate to have to face the rough and tumble of life's brutal realities and never wear  a mortar board and gown to earn respect.

 

As for  Dougal I don't know how he has lasted  so long on this site in the face of such unfeeling rejections of his views  and frankly I admire his persistence and his spirit. And if you study his remarks carefully enough, without allowing your emotions to get the better of you, then there are some interesting references and views expressed by same, de temps en temp.

Dougal is a burr under your saddle, Charles, and long may it continue and you should just hope that he doesn't one day come after you with such intense sarcasm and ill-considered remarks by way of riposte or we shall see at that point how long you stay in the field of battle to suffer the slings and arrows....  

                                               

C'mon Bannerman, answer the man (unlike DougieDanger I can't get this device to do smilies)!!!!

Why should Charlie respond - he has his point of view albeit skewed - but it will only serve to drag this worthy thread in to disrepute and potential chaos

Reading Dougal is the equivalent of this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22832994

Everyone has an opinion, right enough!

Do ya mean that Dougal is a "shock jock" ?!! But to be fair his contributions to this thread have been as much to educate and correct rather than to interfere.

  OOOOH! There's a Moose loose aboot this hoose. And, boy, are they big beasties.

 

As Dougie Danger has eloquently depicted with his smilie  pictures which are worth a thousand words. What a brilliant post.

 OOPS!    I can't find a Smilie left in the house.

At least you have scared off the timorous wee beastie that raised yer heckles !!!

O K, IHE, may I stick to Heckling from now on?