Leaderboard

'Like a rat deserting a sinking ship' - If people leave a company because they know that it's about to have serious problems, or turn their back on a person about to be in a similar situation, they are said to be like rats deserting a sinking ship 'The grass is always greener' - This idiom means that what other people have or do looks preferable to our life. The complete phrase is 'The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence'. "Strike while the iron is hot" - Act decisively and take your opportunities when they arise "Out with the old in with the new" Dependent on your perspective all of the above could relate to what is happening at Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the moment - possibly a mix of all four. I am really concerned that the club is losing its "identity" and the "togetherness" spirit that has served us well for many years. We appear to be becoming a mercenary operative and keeping issues behind closed doors which can only lead to further disdain and conspiracy theories. There is no doubt that the reasons for some to leave are clearer - Tansey, Tuffey - but there does appear to be a certain current of discernment with others. Again I can appreciate that we will always be a feeder / selling club, have to survive on a limited budget BUT this is bordering on the ridiculous this season. The release of some of the local youngsters is also becoming more and more confusing It is clear that, again irrespective of individual views, that we will have Terry and Mo in charge this year but that concerns me if we amass a band of untried / untested loanees, journeymen, the injury prone and the unknown. We are after all a SPL club. How are we supposed to feckin consolidate ? It also gives the dynamic duo the "excuse" for next season and the season afterwards.

Wow! What a gorgeous day it's been today. Not a cloud in the sky and temperature in the mid 20s. It's been just great getting out early, doing a bit of morning shopping, out for lunch and then doing some much needed odd jobs in the garden before enyoing a drink or two on the patio and having my tea outside listening to the sounds of the birds. Thank God we don't have summer football. I have been spared the choice between enjoying myself and parting with my hard earned cash to watch 22 footballers play even worse than usual because it's too hot for football.

The "suggestion" in regard to Foran, Tokely et. co were MINE. If you are criticising me then I have raised doubts about Rosscoe, periodically over the last 3 seasons,but I have also praised him when he has regularly turned in performances to prove me wrong. I dont actually think now that he will manage a full season - but hey this is the fourth pre season that I have had that "fear". I have rarely criticised Foran apart from individual poor performances and his indiscipline. I have always praised him for his effort and committment. I still feel that he is more useful out wide on the left or in the attacking "hole" as he was often used in the SFL. I felt that some of his poorer performances were becos he was being played out of position and I did not agree with the favouritism shown to Foran and Tansey, a partnership which did not click. In essence the mere presence of experienced "professionals" like Esson, Tokely and Foran is essential when we are looking at blooding youngsters and untried at SPL players alongside them. I have always tended to laud Ross and again his main problem was that he was played all over the place, in and out of the team and never given a run in a favoured role. I have also been one of the main supporters of Sutherland and Morrison - who I also feel have been in the same position as Ross - and have been both used as bit players - especially Morrison. Why we needed to bring in the likes of Gnapke and others when we had those three - who could have been really tested and blooded - beats me. Finally Sutherland is a bit in the Rooney mould and that is what we should have been concentrating on. He aint exactly the daintiest or skillful of individuals but he knows where the goal is and isnt scared to have a go - not the kind of opportunities that he had wide on the wing or trying to play in intricate feckin patterns with the equal in Tade. In conclusion, as fer Proctor, I criricised him as a player but not as a person or for his committment. He always seemed to amke a mistake that got punished. But again his self confidence was shot by the inane persisitence of playing him as a feckin centre back. It appeared to me that his position was as a midfielder, especially a holding midfielder, and that he would always be a useful squad player if played in that type of substtute role. As I have alluded to before I appear to have been a season behind everybody else - i was looking for the experimentation and consolidation last season. There was an outside chance but the constant chopping and changing fecked that up and - in my personal opinion - has fecked off quite a few of the players who are now voting with their feet.

What I would wish to stress is that I would prefer to watch a team with a sprinkling of yoof in it, preferably local yoof, mixed in with the journeymen and the experience - that is why I would have felt that Esson, Foran AND Tokely were essentials to keep on board. We could have / should have blooded quite a few last season instead of all the dodgy loanees. In my book the likes of Morrison, Ross and Sutherland (centre feckin forward) should be "shoe-ins" for next season and with the three aforementioned, the ones on contracts or resigning we have the core squad and then we look at where the deficits are - centre half, holding midfielder and goalscorer and then utilise the journeyman and loanee market.

It's true we struggle financially, but that doesn't excuse Butcher's random jumble sale/revolving doors philosophy. He is not helping, and his style of play is depressing fans. We were a better, more committed team not so long ago, when the finances weren't that much better.

type in eticketing.co.uk and select SPL then ICT, I havent provided a link seeing as a payment card is involved. Nothing in life is free so I would imagine it would save the club money if you either turned up at the Stadium or just phoned them up and paid for it over the phone. I have tried the MFR link on the HN article in the opening post but cant find anything for ICT You can renew online or buy new seats, if you want to change seats you need to contact the club direct. Thanks, Have tried that and it says season tickets on sale soon, ICTfc club site states available to buy online but seems pretty well impossible which seems pretty poor in this day and age as most other clubs seem available, even the renewal letter stating to try mfr.co.uk and quote reference number doesn't seem to work I just went to the stadium, so canne help you. You would think it would be as easy as possible to help folk, but hey ho. You'd be best just phoning them bud.

The existing Club have received punishment...opinion will differ on whether that is seen as just or not. I also agree that any new company should not be subjected to punishment....but they should also not be allowed automatic entry to the SPL. If they want to be treated as a continuation of the existing club and argue their right to a place in the SPL, then they must accept ALL that comes with arguing that case. This idea of taking "all that's good" and just casting off the bad stuff and stuff they don't like is ludicrous. Life does not, and should not, work like that. Where's the moral compass in all this? Has society become totally bereft of the concepts of accountability? If "Rangers" want to walk away from all the bad crap then they have to walk away from everything and that includes a league membership and position which was gained by foul means. If they don't, then they have to accept accountability and punishment for what has happened. In no other business would a case of "Business not liable for the actions of it's owners/directors" be admissible, let alone argued. I honestly find it totally incredible that the SFA and/or SPL (and its member clubs) are even giving the slightest consideration to allowing a NewCo (New Club) direct entry to the countries top league. Put a cross on the calender because this could be the event that officially marks the moment the world went mad.

For me, the sanctions matter not a jot and only serve to cloud the issue. It's not even about the NewCo being founded off the back of the demise of an existing club/business. The bottom line is that we have a system in place whereby new teams should start from the bottom an earn their place in the top league. Allowing a new team to bypass that setup for whatever reason, but especially financial reasons, makes the whole thing a farce. If you want to talk about precedents then ICT is the biggest of them all. We were a NewCo entering the league setup and we had to start from the bottom. Could you imagine the response we would have got had we requested entry straight in to the SPL? I am an ICT fan, I will always be an ICT fan. ICT are not the Board, they are not the current decision makers...and if those people were to support the admission of a NewCo straight in to the SPL then my disappointment would be with them. I would then find myself in a position I have found myself in the past whereby I have to decide if my disappointment at the people running the club outweighs my desire to attend games and all the other stuff that is a part of my being a supporter. I honestly have no idea where my feelings would sit on that as I appreciate that Club Boards probably face one of the hardest decisions they've ever had to make. Sell out and ensure their club books balance a little easier for a few seasons until they can hand over the reins (nobody wants to risk failure on their watch), or take a stand and face the hard work that comes with having the courage of your convictions. My biggest fear is the damage that would be done to board/fan relations. We've had situations in the past which have done damage there, situations which we have never fully recovered from. It's taken years to reverse some of the feelings in that regard, but IMO real progress has been made in the past couple of years. The above is a scenario that has been played out at every club at some point in time to varying extents, but I dread to think what the league would become if it was a scenario played out at the majority of clubs at the same time and to the potential extent which is being indicated by fans views. There's a very real possibility that if the SPL allow a NewCo to walk straight in to the league then TV, Sponsorship, Sanctions etc could be the least of their worries. We could end up with a league full of teams which would, quite literally, pull themselves apart. Clubs exist because of the fans, not despite them. Not something that can always be said of those who ru(i)n the game in Scotland.