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This is like some sort of demented kindergarten in here. Do we all actually support the same team or not? There are so many agendas on the go it's unbelievable (happy clappers - what un utterly demeaning thing to refer to your fellow ICT fans as- sweetie rustlers and the utterly, terminally negative and not one of you seems to have the good grace to acknowledge, let alone accept an alternative point of view. Wednesday night was a massive disappointment but for the life of me I can't see where the disaster comes into it given that we were beaten (just) by a team in fourth place that could concievably challenge for a champions league place! Aye, there were some long balls but there was also a great deal of passing going on that even Rob MacLean commented on. Both, by the way, were equally derided in the main stand by the proponents of each style. We could (should?) have scored a couple of goals in that first half and I don't really see where St. Johnstone could have pulled that back from. Does that make them worse than we thought, or us worse than we thought? I really don't know.What is evident to me is that this club is in the throes of fundamental change for an awful lot of reasons, and those will inevitably mean that we have to cast our net wider to attract the calibre of player that will keep us in the SPL. We won't find them all in the Highland League and we won't always get it right, but what I won't ever understand is the carping on here that players don't understand the "Caley Thistle spirit" (whatever that is in reality) and don't try, because they have been brought in from elsewhere. It sometimes seems that Rosscoe and Shane Sutherland sometimes only have to turn up to be lauded. That's not "spirit" it's parochialism.The closest and only thing I've seen to that lack of spirit was Gnapka a couple of games ago and he rightly suffered for it. The others that sadly lack a mitigating highland upbringing show professional pride whenever I've watched them. Others might regard our injury situation this year a a smokescreen but I fail, utterly, to see how we could have remained unaffected by the loss of Hayes, Doran, Andrew Shinnie, OTJ and Hogg. That's half a first pick outfield side! I'm no "happy clapper" but I am prepared to engage with the management, listen and try to see where they are going, as long as it's not Div. 1. I am far from convinced that they have worked it through tactically but If they were as inept as some on here would suggest, I reckon the Board might have something to say, because Div 1 is where we would be. In truth, one of the worst aspects of Wednesday night was the utter lack of support from the home fans. It was funereal from the off. How's about (and this is aimed at some on this thread) actually getting off your backside and supporting your team. Starting Sunday, because they sure as hell need you.

I find this whole "group of expatriate Invernessians" line a bit disconcerting. Why don't they come out from the shadows and tell us who they actually are? What percentage of the share capital of the club have they purchased, etc. etc.... I'm not knocking the investment but why the cloak and dagger act ? I think a degree of transparency on this deal would be appropriate and welcome to the majority of interested onlookers.

Whilst I can't really be bothered to wade into this 'happy clapper' vs 'negative realist' love in (is there any actual point being made in amonst the personal rubbish), can I just point out a couple of minor things 1. We have pretty much the lowest budget in the SPL. Dunfermline have six players earning in excess of £2k per week and Hibs will probably have even more. How many players do we have earning over £1.5k? Perhpas this may be why we struggle to attract the next Messi 2. How long does it take for the fact that Steven-MacKay turned down a contract offer to register against Butcher turning him away? 3. The problem of poor entertainment is Scottish Football wide and not unique to the TCS. Football in this country needs to change, but how does picking individual players to be ritually slagged off on this forum help? 4. Thankfully every First Division manager has noted how the football from County is slick and entertaining. My County supporting pals class it in their words as 'grim but effective'. They are also about to lose possibly their most skillful player to Dundee Utd

So predictable some posts on this forum. The posters who are usually negative are and the postive ones remain positive. The good think about some of the positive posters is that they can put things into perspective while some of the negative posters are,well just negative. The game sure wasn't pretty on Wednesday but, for those who were there, did we deserve to lose, I don't think so. We did create more chances than St. Johnstone although they played the better football but with little end product until late in the game when we were chasing a point. There are many reasons why we are in the position we are this season and injuries has to be a major cause. It is no surprise that defensively we have started to improve with a semi settled back 4 but now the problems have switched to upfront. We have arguably lost our 3 most creative players in Hayes/Shinnie and Doran. name me a team in our position who would not struggle without these players. The ones who have replaced them are just not as creative or even out and out/good strikers. I do like mackay I have to say and if we could pair him with someone, I think it could become a good partnership. Anyhow, we now can hardly score in games despite creating chances and that can be said for large parts of the season. TB has a bit of power now if some of the players want to stay as thay have to produce in the reamining games, if they don't then they have to go as simple as that. As for one poster saying County would look at us as being 12 easy points next season, or something like that, give me a break. They don't know what players they will have next season and are unproven at SPL so nobody knows how they will fair (and by the way, haven't they been getting stick recently for their stlye of play?) so am I a happy clapper or a being negative. In truth neither, just being realistic which some posters on this site don't know the meaning of that word.

As a boy living in Laurel Ave nearly all my pals were Caley supporters and we followed most of their games, then came my Techy years when I had to make myself some pocket money so had to get a job as ' message boy ' working after school and on Saturdays so didn't have the same opportunity to watch them but couldn't wait to hear how they got on. Then came National Service, most of my time in Germany, still keen to hear Caley results, demobbed my work took me all over GB, again I couldn't wait to hear the results on radio. Now retired and living in the Highlands again I think it must be an addiction because now I'm typing this and at times slating those folk who are negative about my team in this same forum. Could never understand why anyone could support any other team if they had the slightest Sneck connection. I predicted in my younger days that one day Caley would win the Scottish cup and play in the then first division maybe even win it. Still got my fingers crossed and still think they will!!! pass me my rose tinted specs please !!! ICT man and proud of it!!! :love02: :love02: :love02:

In reality our season last year was made falsely better by a good start and a good finished. We barely picked up a point from November to March. It's hardly false, our results over the season reflect the final position! Hardly matters at what points you have good or bad spells.

Reminded me of this oldie but goodie: http://www.hark.com/clips/flzpkrzhyr-armagedon

In reality our season last year was made falsely better by a good start and a good finished. We barely picked up a point from November to March.

Kingsmills Park was closest to my house as a youngster and was taken to see a Jags against (I think) Montrose Scottish Cup game in early 80's and then followed Thistle through the years. Was initially against the merger and even went to a couple of games and stood in the visitors end. Then moved away from Inverness and began to see the new team as a connection to my home and Highland Invernessian identity and slowly began to warm to them.Realised it was time to move on and how good it was/ could be/ would be top see kids with an ICT top in Inverness as opposed to one of the glasgow teams. Makes me so proud to see the see our local club in Scotland's top divisision.

Yes that's exactly why people are staying away. Nothing to do with paying top dollar to watch absolute pish on the field at all, is it? Could you please point out where I turned his performance into a negative. I'm pretty certain that I praised his performance. But let's not let little things like facts get in the way of a good ol' witch hunt for folk who disagree with you eh? May I suggest you stop trying so hard to be a smart arse? You obviously crave attention constantly... Or have you grown up now? *actual facepalm* You think negative people lack perspective yet in the very next sentence you say you didn't think we deserved to lose? Are you unstable? Injuries is a massive cop out of an excuse used by happy clappers. Isn't the point of having a squad rather than just a team so that the club can cope with injuries? Did we not have a transfer window in January to further alleviate any injury problems? You can use the injury excuse all you like but it's just not washing with this fan. Glad to hear you're so confident of beating County. I have actually taken the time to go and see them this season (in the away end with the Falkirk fans, naturally) and I actually know what I'm talking about when I say they'll see us as 12 easy points next season. Happy clapper, negative or realistic? Well from where I'm sitting, it's you who doesn't fully understand the meaning of "realistic" and you're definitely looking like a happy clapper to me. But by all means continue to drum up support from your fellow happy clappers. There's plenty to choose from on here.

I heard it was Terry's orange that he stole.

At the end of the day, ICT have been very lucky in some ways ...... we have generally had people at the helm, or in positions of extreme influence due to their own shareholdings, or control over other (company/organisational) shareholdings, who have had our club's best interests at heart. Regardless of anyone's personal opinions about Messrs McGillivray, Sutherland, Savage, Catto, Fraser, et all ... I firmly believe they have all been of a mind to try and move the club forward in their own way(s) and for the most part they have done that. If you doubt that, sit back and think for a moment and reflect on the next phrase .... Highland League to Scottish Premier League in 10 years !!!!! It is true to say that not everyone has agreed with everything each of these individuals did, that not everything they did may have been the correct decision, or that some "hard" decisions may have been unpalatable to some of our support, and that there have also been some fairly high profile personality clashes between them ... but ultimately, this club has moved forward under each and every one of them whether in a chairmanship role, a directorship or just as a major shareholder or person of influence. It is also true to say that not one of the names mentioned has got rich off the back of ICT, if anything, they probably dropped a zero or two off their personal wealth by being involved in ICT. There may have been an element of benefit in terms of local PR to their businesses, but not to the detriment of ICT. Its more of a symbiotic relationship than anything else. Look around football in both England and Scotland and you can find plenty of examples past and present where this is not the case ...... As for the group of ex-pats going under the Muirfield Mills name, I know nothing of who they are, what they are offering, or what they want in return other than what I have read on here or in other corners of the Internet, but as an ex-pat myself (and not one associated with this group I hasten to add), I know that far from waning, my support for ICT continues to grow ... I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder, and it also has the added benefit of removing some of the political bullshit that tends to fly around if you start talking about power struggles !!! CaleyD mentioned earlier up in the thread, that the motive in his opinion is unlikely to be asset stripping as we have no assets to strip, and I agree with this assessment ... If these guys are truly ICT fans who have a bit of money and want to try and continue to move the club forward then I am 100% behind that notion ... Many of us have posted about the few million we would throw at ICT if we got a huge lottery win .... these guys may be of more modest means, but in this climate, throwing money at a smaller football club (with no tangible assets) is done for love not return on investment so it is to be applauded ! I dont really give a rats ass who they are friends with, or who they may or may not have on their Christmas card list .... if their motive is the continued progressions and success of ICT then its something I can wholeheartedly get behind.

A win on Wednesday and we go above St. Mirren and Aberdeen into 8th and closing in on 7th! That has to be the aim now.

Never comment cos I cant be ersed with such selfish people.

I was going to post about worrying about what we do and letting other things take care of themselves, but I thought the following would put the point across better......