THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Queen of the South -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 2nd December 2017 @ 3PM, Palmerston Park, Dumfries Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Go to the Chatroom Media Coverage   AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound Open All Mics [UK Only]   LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC    VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel   TEAM LINEUPS Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC

I am hearing that the team bus got stuck for several hours behind a road traffic accident near Blair Atholl and only got going again after 11pm last night. The players were several hours without food and latterly water. Between the need to eat and for a statutory driver break, I believe it was about 3am before they got to Dumfries. I also believe that the SPFL have been totally unsympathetic about postponing the game.

Edited December 2, 20178 yr by Charles Bannerman

The Scottish Professional Football League has turned down a request from Inverness CT to have Saturday's game at Queen of the South postponed.

The Highlanders suffered significant travel problems following a road traffic accident on the A9.

Caley Thistle say they left Inverness at 13:00 GMT on Friday and only arrived in Dumfries at 03:00 on Saturday.

"The strain and the stress on our players and staff has been terrible," said Inverness manager John Robertson.

"They had to grab food at a service station at midnight as we hadn't eaten since 12:30 on Friday. We had run out of water on the bus by 20:00.

"Our thoughts are with all the families of those involved in the crash and we hope they are all okay."

An SPFL spokesman said there was "some discussion" about the situation but the conclusion was reached that the game should go ahead as scheduled.

Terrible preparation, but I would tend to agree that it is not sufficient grounds for postponement. I think we would be up in arms if one of our home games was called off because the visiting team didn't get their intended sleep and nutrition the day before.

Hopefully the adversity galvanises the team even more.

I don't see how it's "terrible preparation" to be fair, leaving at 1300 seems reasonable to me. It was a serious RTA and no amount of planning could have avoided that.

6 minutes ago, Gringo said:

I don't see how it's "terrible preparation" to be fair, leaving at 1300 seems reasonable to me. It was a serious RTA and no amount of planning could have avoided that.

Agreed. Given our very limited redourses, leaving at lunch time the day before with a view to staying overnight in Dumfries is excellent preparation.

The fact that there seems to have been a very serious road traffic accident puts a game of football into perspective.

On balance, I think that the SPFL have made the right decision. The circumstances, though far from ideal, do not justify a postponement.

Edited December 2, 20178 yr by Kingsmills

I'm not sure you guys are reading Yngwie's post in the manner it was intended. 

13 minutes ago, tm4tj said:

I'm not sure you guys are reading Yngwie's post in the manner it was intended. 

Agreed. I think that what Yngwie is describing as "terrible" is the preparation imposed on the club by circumstances and not the preparation that had been originally planned.

If the club had really insisted on economising very aggressively, the bus would have left at around 7:30 this morning with a single stop at Tesco in Perth.

(On that subject, but to digress somewhat - over the years I have never failed to be amazed at the number of clubs visiting Inverness or Dingwall, some of them allegedly cash strapped, which have still stayed at the Kingsmills!)

Edited December 2, 20178 yr by Charles Bannerman

Anyway, back to the job in hand

Ridgers, Raven, Mckay, Donaldson, Tremarco, Chalmers, Vigurs, Polworth, Mulraney, Bell, Baird.

subs: Mackay, Warren, Oakley, Calder, Seedorf, Cooper, Trafford.

Very interesting interview wit JR on Sportsound, well said John!

1 hour ago, tm4tj said:

I'm not sure you guys are reading Yngwie's post in the manner it was intended. 

9 minutes ago, AncientMariner said:

Very interesting interview wit JR on Sportsound, well said John!

Yes, he sure have Ian Blair.... and the OF..... both barrels.

Rumour has it that Queens chairman was the man blocking the idea of the game being postponed?

Early leads for Morton and Dundee United.

1 minute ago, tm4tj said:

Rumour has it that Queens chairman was the man blocking the idea of the game being postponed?

Thats according to Chic Young and we all know what a walloper he is. According to him which he claims came from the league, both clubs had to agree but QOS declined. Poor show.

Not my source.

Just win.

They want a game give it to them. 

Is it my imagination or is jrs use of the media for motivation, politics or defense very good.

 

48 minutes ago, AncientMariner said:

Thats according to Chic Young and we all know what a walloper he is. 

Agreed  

Given the circumstances in the lead up to  the game that is some result and a clean sheet again , pitty the Midden could not do us a favour losing out to Dumbarton

A welcome point in the circumstances butI still don't think the circumstances, unfortunate as they were justified either postponement or Robbo's very public whinge.

Edited December 2, 20178 yr by Kingsmills

John Robertson on Sportsound....

jr.mp3

53 minutes ago, Biggin said:

Given the circumstances in the lead up to  the game that is some result and a clean sheet again , pitty the Midden could not do us a favour losing out to Dumbarton

Perhaps Dumbarton did us a favour - lets just wait and see if there is a situation to compare this winter and again - feckin good on ya Robbo - speak yer feckin mind

Right at the end of the interview, I think Robbo makes the very valid point that, while Ian Blair refused the postponement here, the league has no hesitation in allowing Rangers and Celtic postponements in order to play glamour friendlies.

Well done Robbo named and shamed the chairman or Queen of the South and am sure the favour will be repayed if the situation arises. How poor must they be if they can't beat a team after that journey. 

Something rather awesome about a team that got relegated rather badly, faced all sorts of upheaval over the summer, with a large turnover of players with a lot of newcomers of perhaps questionable pedigree (by that I mean experience and quality) having had a terrible start to the season, and earning strong criticism from fans, questioning both players and managers competence, now completing 9 shutouts out of 10games (with the one loss aided and abetted by incompetent officials)...with the latest after a horrendous journey down. if there's such a thing, this season is becoming a bit of a mini epic, one that makes me proud to consider myself an ICT supporter.

By coincidence my other team also earned a battling draw after a difficult journey away, but just a mere 2 and half hours stuck on a train in the cold and dark!

Edited December 2, 20178 yr by Eagle4Caley

good result considering the nightmare trip the team and staff had to get down there. Shame we couldn't get the win to really shove it in their face but a draw will do me. Big game coming up next week

2 hours ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

Perhaps Dumbarton did us a favour - lets just wait and see if there is a situation to compare this winter and again - feckin good on ya Robbo - speak yer feckin mind

They didnae do me a favour - that fekkin late winner screwed up my Naps league bet!!!