Hi all

I'm planning my first trip to watch Caley Thistle on Saturday, following an 11th hour cancellation of a long planned trip to watch the postponed game at home to Stenhousemuir last season.

When I visited the Caledonian Stadium in 2023, the people there were very accommodating and were helpful in allowing me to take photos (some of which I uploaded on my previous post) and I have followed them ever since. I love travelling to Scotland and I have visited Inverness a few times.

I'm fascinated with the history of the club and some of the more recent drama brings back a lot of memories of going through administration and fearing for the future of my own club, Port Vale, in years gone by. We have been taken over by some good owners with local connections and it seems that the same has happened with Caley.

I've thoroughly enjoyed watching Caley Thistle's fortunes this season and I will be heading up to Palmerston Park to watch the away game at QOTS on Saturday. It's actually closer to me than it is to Inverness! I then hope to get to the Caledonian Stadium later this season.

The reason for the post is to ask if anyone has any useful information about the game, see how many fans are travelling down from Inverness, etc.

Also, if anyone has any merchandise that they might want to sell then I would be interested.

I also plan to take some pictures and videos at the game.

Thanks in anticipation of any replies.

James

Welcome on board James. We will have a preview posted usually on the day before the game. On the home page you can see various articles, mostly previews and reports, which will give you an indication of what to expect in the forthcoming articles.

As we have a decent away day following in the central belt, we always have a fair crowd at Palmerston plus those travelling from further North.

Memorabilia will be up to the members on here if they have anything to offer.

Enjoy.

I don’t think it’s available on line from the club now, but you may want to phone and see if you can buy a copy of the excellent book, Milestones and Memories, which charts the club’s initial 25 years from formation in 1994.

You will find it very informative and interesting.

Further to my original post, if anyone on this forum is travelling to Dumfries on Saturday, was planning to have a pint before the game and would be interested in sharing stories about life as a Caley Thistle fan with a wandering Englishman that has a passion for Scottish football, then please let me know. I'll even buy you a pint!

Edited January 26Jan 26 by James

Welcome James. Back in the day I'd have joined at the game. Been to QotS quite a few times, its usually a great away day. Plus I get from Coventry and back the same day (just) by rail so it's, kind of, a home game for me. Not sure which pub the away fans use these days but last time I went they were allowed to us the Doonhamers Bar at the ground.

The bar at the ground used to be good. Back in the day we had a few longer than expected sessions with the home support in the bar at the ground and made a few friends who visited us in the Caley Inn for the home fixture. Haven't been there in years though as these days I plan my travel for home games.

22 minutes ago, Gringo said:

Welcome James. Back in the day I'd have joined at the game. Been to QotS quite a few times, its usually a great away day. Plus I get from Coventry and back the same day (just) by rail so it's, kind of, a home game for me. Not sure which pub the away fans use these days but last time I went they were allowed to us the Doonhamers Bar at the ground.

It's only 3 hours for me, so I should be there before midday. It's less travel and much easier to get to than a lot of the Port Vale away games down south. The next easiest away game looks to be Hamilton. I'm hoping to get up to Inverness for a home game before the end of the season though, when the weather is better

Edited January 26Jan 26 by James

13 minutes ago, James said:

The next easiest away game looks to be Hamilton.

Just in case you are not aware....don't got to Hamilton though. They currently play their home games at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld at the moment. Do you drive up or use the train? If train then the nearest station is Croy and a good 20 min walk from there. Also it's a 5.30p.m k.o on BBC Alba

Edited January 26Jan 26 by Gringo

I'm going to apologise for going off topic slightly just so I can stay in the good books of the mods etc 😛😛😛.

But welcome James, I find it interesting that there are Port Vale fans up north here because I got to meet one here in Thurso a couple of years ago in the Legion during a night out (his name is Brian btw 😀). We got talking as the poor bloke was sitting alone so I went over and spoke to him firstly asking where about in England he was from so he told me it was Stoke on Trent. I then asked if he supported Stoke or Vale to which he replied Port Vale and then told me stories about games he went to as a kid and teen etc.

We have been really close ever since, he even brought me a home strip that he found in his house that was too small for him. He is talking about taking me to a home match sometime but maybe when they improve their form 😂.

Please forgive me for going off topic guys, I just had to share that 😂.

2 hours ago, Gringo said:

Just in case you are not aware....don't got to Hamilton though. They currently play their home games at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld at the moment. Do you drive up or use the train? If train then the nearest station is Croy and a good 20 min walk from there. Also it's a 5.30p.m k.o on BBC Alba

Thanks for the info. I do normally drive up to Scotland although I booked the sleeper train for the unfortunately cancelled Stenhousemuir game last year, which coincidentally falls on the exact same date as Hamilton away this year! I may just watch this one on Alba then as I did the last game against QOTS in November (another coincidence). It was interesting to note that gaelic is still used on Alba too.

1 hour ago, CaleyTennis85 said:

I'm going to apologise for going off topic slightly just so I can stay in the good books of the mods etc 😛😛😛.

But welcome James, I find it interesting that there are Port Vale fans up north here because I got to meet one here in Thurso a couple of years ago in the Legion during a night out (his name is Brian btw 😀). We got talking as the poor bloke was sitting alone so I went over and spoke to him firstly asking where about in England he was from so he told me it was Stoke on Trent. I then asked if he supported Stoke or Vale to which he replied Port Vale and then told me stories about games he went to as a kid and teen etc.

We have been really close ever since, he even brought me a home strip that he found in his house that was too small for him. He is talking about taking me to a home match sometime but maybe when they improve their form 😂.

Please forgive me for going off topic guys, I just had to share that 😂.

Interesting story, thanks. Hopefully keeping on topic, I do feel that that the way clubs like Port Vale still feel a big part of the local community is similar to that of (hopefully still) most Scottish clubs for the reasons I alluded to at the top of this thread, amongst others. This has arguably been long since lost in the higher echelons of English football and is the main reason I have such an interest in football north of the border.

If you do ever make it to a Port Vale game with Brian, please let me know. There can't be too many people that follow both clubs

I had a thoroughly enjoyable day yesterday at my first game. Shame I didn't get to witness the win that I thought we deserved.

The Dumfries locals were generally pretty friendly and welcoming, especially the two ground staff that allowed me in to take pictures of the stadium in the morning.

The atmosphere in the away end was really good. The drummer and the rest of the young lads around him really made a difference. It's great to see the next generation of fans showing enthusiasm and travelling to games.

I hope everyone that travelled had a good journey back.

3 stand out players for me, for what my humble opinion is worth, were Liam Sole, Calum Macleod and Remi Savage.

Liam Sole was a menace to the opposition defence all afternoon and looks to be a crowd pleaser, always positive and looking to drive forward and get the ball in the box.

Calum Macleod was solid and strong all afternoon and this was all the more impressive when I learned he is only 19.

Remi Savage was dominant at the back both in the air and on the deck. He looked very sharp for a centre back and was first to the ball on a number of occasions.

I got a few pictures which I will look to upload.

Glad you enjoyed your trip up James, you can vote for the player of the year if you want as you attended the game.

7 hours ago, IBM said:

Glad you enjoyed your trip up James, you can vote for the player of the year if you want as you attended the game.

Thanks. How does the POTY work? Am I correct in thinking that you will add up all the total votes from each game at the end of the season?

It’s a bit more complicated. The player with the most votes in each game gets 5 points second gets 3 and third gets 1 point. That’s for the PotY and it’s added up for the season. For the PotM it’s total number of votes in the month.

All I have to do is put the scores in a spreadsheet that Eric Davidson created press calculate and I get the results 😃

It’s all a bit of fun but the more people vote the better it is.

James, I need the moderators to advise on this, but I believe this football forum is also one of the best in Scotland. Scotty and others do not seek credit but you would need to check stacks of forums to find anything comparable to caleythistle.com.