Leaderboard

Support the team despite the quality on display, otherwise you will just be a glory hunter. What the feck is wrong with everybody. I'm getting a little tired of all this crap.

Maybe it's just me.......but what qualifications do IHE or a lot of the " Butcher is an incompetent twonk" posters have re football to think they know best bar they watch (some) football matches? I'm not denying that a lot of vociferous and unhappy punters can lose managers their jobs if they shout loud enough....but are a lot of vociferous and unhappy ICT punters the majority of punters, any more representative of the majority than Islamic fundamentalists represent the majority of Muslims? Way I look at it is that we have, for an area the size of Inverness and environs, a lamentably poor support. A lamentably poor support equates to a pretty crappy income. A pretty crappy income equates to being very limited as to the signing of the calibre of players the lamentably few punters who support think they deserve, because all of the above means ICT cannot afford players who can command the sodding ridiculous wages football players, who are perceived, by the businessmen who gather the profits, to be at least decent in their job in this over-priced business which has, if we are being completely honest, less to do with the actual abilities of footballers , and more to do with the money to be made eventually by hyping them, through the media, into the stratosphere of "selling this one will make us millions". When football stopped being purely a sport with people involved because they were interested in football, and became a capitalist method of making profit, however that was achieved......the sport of football effectively died........because those who were only interested in profit pumped the money they could get into making sure they were the only ones who could afford to be in a position to achieve anything......and the clubs without that monetary input signed and played only to survive in the leagues in which they took part. Butcher has, imo, done, so far, reasonably well regarding his remit.....because I am not convinced his remit is predicated on making 100% sure that IHE et al think he puts what they think is the best team on the field so they can be entertained..I'm more inclined to think that his remit is to keep ICT in the SPL whatever that takes.and if that means games punters don't enjoy, but stop us being relegated...........then just suck it up, people. Given his constrictions re player wages etc, I'm not as inclined as others to trash Butcher, because imo, he has done the best he can within the limits placed on him. But then, I think that if you support a team, you support a team......you don't support a team because they play pretty football....you don't support a team because they do what, in your infinite wisdom, you think they should, and play a team in a configuration you consider is the best one, from the basis of no idea as to anything which has occurred from the last time you saw them playing to the next game (or even the last time you read in this forum, the opinions of other people who did see them playing. in their last game). You support a team because it is your team, warts and all. It would be really sodding good not to read posts, just two games into the season, whining and moaning and carping. What is it about Highlanders......an inferiority complex?

Funnily I was thinking about this yesterday as I also do youth work in Hilton, Merkinch and Kirkhill. I often have young people asking why I support ICT as they are 'rubbish'. Out of the young people that have an interest in footie I'd guess that around 80% support the old firm, 10% or so ICT and the rest being a mix of the Dons, Jambos etc. Throw some Clachers into the mix for the Merkinch youth club, which to be fair is their local club and some actually play for them. To say nothing for the number of EPL shirts I see too. Some of the young people have come from or have parents that have come from other places so it's not surprising if for example their dad came from Glasgow that they would support one of the OF. However many are Inverness born and bred but you would probably find that their parents, older uncles, brothers etc will support the OF and that will be passed down unless something is done to divert away from that. That's where we have to intervene getting young people down to the stadium for a game, tour meet a couple of players etc. It's never going to be easy as it's ultimately cool to support a team that wins most of the time, is on tv, in the papers and no young person wants to be slagged of due to their team getting beat much of the time. No easy solutions sadly but you have to keep plugging away! I say this from some personal experience as I supported Rangers in my younger years (as my Grandad supported them and Clach, dad had no interest in footie) and pre 94 Caley were my wee team (as my uncle Ben was a big Caley man who took me to Telford St sometimes, now a refusnik!). When I got older 17ish I basically fell out of love with football altogether and it wasn't till I was in my early twenties that I started taking notice of the ICT results and went to some away games as I was living in Glasgow. When I moved back to Inverness I bought a ST and have done so since. Anyhoo I will continue to try and spread the good word of ICT in whatever capacity I'm working!

The Board of Caley Jags Together....and I'm assuming that is who you are having a pop at....can only do so much without the help of others, and it is that which they try to encourage. Ultimately they are there to represent the fans, to take forward and try and execute the ideas they bring forward to improve things for the fans and to try and increase attendance and support as a result. They were responsible for the free tickets for schools and youth groups initiatives the club now have in place....they (the then Supporters Trust) spent several season purchasing season tickets which we made available to these groups and in doing so we proved the merits of such a scheme to the club who have since taken it on board and hugely expanded on it. They have supported Street League level football for as long as I can remember, they provided assistance with travelling for Youth level football at the club during a time or particular hardship...and continue to offer assistance as and when they can and when it is needed. They took up the fans case with the club over the summer over the whole Rangers fiasco (despite many fans letting themselves down by not following through on promises). They went to bat for the guys in (the then) section G when their was problems with over zealous stewarding. They've assisted with two very successful kids kickaround sessions this year which brought a total of near 250 kids on to the park and gave them the chance to meet and play a bit of football with the players. Many of the things the club are being praised for recently have also been driven and supported by Caley Jags Together. Individuals from within the organisation assist on matchdays with a whole host of things from selling programmes and half time draw tickets to stadium announcing, operating the clubs matchday media operations (previews, reports, videos and interviewing), as well as assisting with the website and driving it towards the product the fans want/desire. CJT members were also in there helping the club stuff envelopes at renewal time, allowing the club to get all letters out in a much reduced timescale (the result of other goings on outwith the clubs control). They sat down with the club when season ticket prices and packages were being set and advised where appropriate/relevant. And all of the above does not include the hundreds of hours put in to organising and running fund-raising events which are operated in order to provide the money which allows these things to be achieved. In fact, I could confidently say that there's not a day goes by when someone or other from CJT is not in communication with the club over something. All of the above has been achieved despite our only having maybe 15 or so "active" participants when it comes to doing a little bit more than buying a ticket and turning up at a match.....imagine what could be achieved if we had 100 people willing to do the same? I could (literally) give you a list of 100+ other things that we would love to do....but we can't do it by ourselves. There's some individuals who spend 20, 30, 40 hours (unpaid) a week (sometimes a lot more) doing stuff to help club and fans.....so please don't come on here all mouth and no action, questioning the loyalties of anyone within CJT.

Maybe some people decide not to go to games because they read certain posts about doom and gloom, poor entertainment and are reading comments that slag off those who actually try and get bums on seats??

Can I count brainwashing my baby sister into being an ict fan, as 'doing my bit'?

We have the makings of a great magazine here.

Oh fer fecks sake Luke - we will have Caley D, Oddquine and davie spouting sociology soon.

But that's where inconsistency and discrimination creep in and cause problems. Are you saying it's OK for a dad with a young child or for a "respectable" looking middle aged lady to be allowed to break the rules but not a group of perfectly decent youngsters who are wearing team shirts. If stewards use what they think is common sense and initiative it will mean that some supporters will get annoyed not just because a silly rule is being enforced but because the steward has made a judgement that the person they have targeted might just be the type of ned who will throw a bottle onto the pitch. It will be the inconsistency of approach andthe prejudices of individual stewards that will cause the agro rather than the rule itself. The rule should be "no throwing of bottles" rather than "no bottles". That way, everyone can be treated the same and with respect. Everyone knows that throwing bottles is unacceptable so no point in making it a rule. I think that plastic bottles should be allowed in the ground -that's REALLY showing respect for the responsibility of the paying customer. I realise that some eejit could throw one but the same eejit could run onto the pitch and clock somebody. The self same eejit should be then banned.

Someone said some local rangers fans who usually give us support have boycotted us. Sod them, we don't need them. Also some of the 'neautrals' are now going to see 'that lot' over the bridge. Sod them and their half hearted loyalty. We don't need these groups and need to forget about them. Our focus and priorities should be the community and youth of Inverness! We should be making sure that the youngsters of inverness are growing up supporting ICT and not the OF or 'that lot'. The club and. CJT need too work very closely on this! £16 for a concession is shocking! It was £3 for me when I was a kid only 10 years ago. I also remember when I was younger my PS used to give out 3 free tickets per year for each home game. This allowed kids who normally wouldn't go to games come more often. The club did under 12 free ST not so long ago, why not now? Lastly, I'm a part time youth worker in hilton and of the 40-50 kids who come to indoor footy on a friday night only 5 go to ICT games. FIVE!!! That's shocking, we are failing the youth of inverness and we need to encourage them along! It might mean losing money for a while giving out free tickets or charging £3 for kids BUT it will repay in the FUTURE when they keep coming back and bring THEIR kids!

I agree with the first bit but why should Butcher make him suffer? He is potentially one of our most influential players for the coming season and Butcher's job is to make sure OTJ understands that he cannot afford to react like that again. He also needs to understand that every other team in the SPL will now be primed to press OTJ's buttons. Butcher will understand from his own personal experience the dangers of misplaced aggression and far from making OTJ suffer he needs to support him and work with him to channel his aggression constructively to the benefit of the team.

Where is the benefit in me joining it? I would quite happily contact the people involved and tell them what they should be doing better. Do you really think they doing everything they can? Why are you sitting back expecting others to sort things?

What is wrong with a lot of folk on here! I agree that the attendance today was disappointing but to have a go at the very folk who are trying to change things for the fans is ludicrous. Peter Murphy and all the guys at Caley Jags Together work sooo hard behind the scenes all for no financial reward. Today there was free hospitality for fans for instance. Just a few weeks ago there was the kids kick about day with loads of kids having a fab time with the players and free stadium tours. These things don't just organise themselves. If the OP has ideas that can increase attendances then why not contact he club or the guys on the board of Caley Jags Together with ideas instead of having a go at the folk that work hardest to change things!

I went to the Killie game on Saturday with my son and decided to sit in the Main Stand for a change so that we would get a better view of the game. £42 is a fair bit to pay for a day out during a recession but seemed worthwhile. We queued at the first turnstile and asked for one adult plus one under-16 ticket - "sorry, don't take cash, try turnstile 4" was the answer when we eventually reached the front of the line. Went to turnstile no.4 and joined the queue there - "sorry, no under 16 tickets, can only give you a £21 concession". So we decided to go to the North Stand as normal. On our way to the far end of the North Stand, two very kind lads (who we'd never met before) offered us spare complimentary tickets. So we got in to the game for free! Sorry ICT - you lost our £42 on Saturday thanks to your Main Stand turnstile ticketing policies which seem to act as barriers rather than entry points to the game! We normally buy season tickets but decided to pick and choose our games this season after the shocking discipline we witnessed at home games last season - players sent off, penalties conceded and own goals scored. Well our team played a fabulous opening 20 minutes and showed some urgency after the break. Overall we were second best to Killie and fortunately got an ill-deserved 1-1 draw (although I accept that our new team will take time to gel - and some of our new guys look promising). And yes - deja vu - our team gave away a penalty (brilliantly saved by Ryan) and finished the game with 10 men after a bout of routine stupidity by one of our players! Meantime, the Main Stand was sparsely filled and the North Stand less than half full. There were 3,012 people at the match on a beautifully sunny August day. Thankfully Celtic are here next otherwise we could expect a crowd of less than 3,000. So ICT, if you want better crowds, rethink your pricing/turnstile policy - and forcefully remind our players that the ill-discipline that results in things like sendings off and penalties being conceded will well and truly scunner your fans, prevent you from winning games, disillusion your supporters and lead to lower attendances!! At least I didn't feel compelled to ask for my money back on this occasion!!

We must have the finest stewards in the SPL. Sat in the family section this afternoon I felt panic coming on when a man with his young son a few rows back produced a bottle of water. Imagine my relief when two stewards marched up the steps and removed the weapon from this pair of thugs and deposited it in the bin. Our stewards deserve great credit for applying SPL ground rules in the spirit they were intended. It might have been a hot day, but if we're to see attendances increasing we must keep our fans safe by making a public example of these hooligans who are killing the game with their dangerous behaviour.

Ah Coutts - remember getting my light blue and dark blue Derby County away top from there and a yellow and green WBA away top in what must have been the early 80s if not earlier. Saw those county strips on sale also and first thoughts were good on them and in a prominent position too to cause ultimate ICT frustration. Manager must be a county fan ;-)

It is like one of those before and after adverts - possibly fer Captain Morgans. :laugh: It reminds me of ma Karaoke fave

Finding some posts a bit depressing lately tbh! To the original poster ive reread your post a couple of times to check but as far as I can see that despite getting free tickets you have nothing good to say about your visit on Saturday at all. With regard to the turnstiles, unless they changed it on Saturday, there are normally signs above the turnstile stating if it is a ticket only gate or accepts cash. It normally states the prices as well. I also know they were training turnstile folk as well on Saturday. With regards pricing well if I go to the theatre and want to sit in the best seats well they will be the most expensive. The club offer cheaper seats in the family section and the north stand but the main stand are our premium seats. Think other clubs operate on this basis also. I do agree that football is expensive for families but it's not going to change soon. I also disagree that our point was not deserved in fact had it not been for a great save from a nick Ross shot we would have won! As for the pen and sending off well I don't think either were done to annoy the fans! This time last season was dire and we have 2 more points than then. I'm just waiting for a few weeks when the county tickets go on sale to see all the stay aways coming out of the woodwork! Then at new year there will be the moans when folk can't get away county tickets as folk haven't renewed their season tickets. Actually wonder what sort of team people think we should have on our budget? For me I want a team that tries their best to play football but not to the extent that we lose, a team that looks united and includes some local lads. I'm quite happy with the progress so far.

:lol: :lol: :lol: But there are tirades on this thread that are personalised - and the hyperbole is some posters perception of a contrary opinion. I suspect that most of the posts on this thread are heartfelt and borne out of frustration. The fundamental "wish" of most again appears to enjoy a day out at the footie and to be entertained to a degree. When the feck did we ever play cavalier football in the SPL ? Again most posters on here simply would like to see us trying to play the ball on the deck, for the players to look as if they are playing for the shirt and for the management to alter their tactical spin and selection. We ALL want the club to stay in the SPL but when you pay good money in the cause you deserve some return. Open yer feckin mind and look at it from the eyes and voice of somebody else

I'm doing exactly as I said in my text message - pub for 9am, booze, booze, booze, then the tgame then off to the Jack the Rippers to the max out my credit card. Anyone that doesn't do that isn't a real man.

Too much gurning going on, no wonder fans stay away.

If you normally buy season tickets why didnt you use your own free complimentary tickets,you would have got in first time when you decided to queue at a ticket only booth, you would have sat in the main stand as you wished to do and could have typed nice words about getting in for free. Someone kindly gave you free tickets and its still a bad day for you. It is expensive taking youngsters into the main stand but the club need the cash for the prime seats, thats why its cheap in the family section.

Stuff like that really annoys me - in general. People will turn up for the "Big" games vs Celtic and we won't see them till the 6th of October when C*unty come to play. I don't understand how people won't even bother about the small teams when there is a great chance of winning three points. Last saturday vs Killie was a good opportunity to get a good support and rally round the team and it didn't happen. I can live with excuses of work or live too far from Inverness but not for football reasons.

Soft adminstration licking creep.

Its not the (often) pish football that keeps me away but rather the pish league. Even this term without one of their precious two, the league will still be pants. Yes, we get good results occasionally and we cheer on our team but are we going to win the league? No, absolutely not. So what do we have to look forward too? A top six slot or a fight against relegation? The out side chance of a euro place? I'm not a defeatist, just a realist. IHE is also right re those over the bridge. It will be a novelty factor to them just as it was for us when we first hit the dizzy heights of the SPL...and they got to play their first game at their own ground.There are many reasons why folk don't turn up and the main one would be the costs involved. Its not cheap any more and football is fast becoming a rich man's sport...and there aren't many of those type of people around.

Sorry but do you have the slightest idea about the rules of the game. The ref doesn't think oh he had a bad injury last season so it's ok for him to assault the other player. He did the wrong thing and he was correctly punished for it the ref had an easy decision No need to get too personal ! The OP makes a valid point as to why he may have over-reacted, or let the 'red mist' get the better of him and maybe TB will take that in mitigation when any internal discussions take place in terms of disciplinary action. However, it is also correct to say, that regardless of any mitigating factors we might be able to come up with after the fact, the ref simply applied the rules the way he has to. Like last week in the case of St Mirren's Lewis Guy, he raised his hands (or head in this case) and therefore has to go ... no argument, no excuses, and no leeway for a yellow regardless of how much we as ICT fans might like to mitigate the decision and hope for it ....

Clear red card. What is abundantly clear from the photo is that Fowler would most certainly have needed a change of underwear ASAP!!

Does anyone not think that it would have been different if the opposition had been Hearts, Hibs, Aberdire etc ??

10% isn't actually a bad uptake...it's above national average. However, if you want to take them to games then all you need to do is ask.....drop me a PM or an e.mail to [email protected] and we'll see about organising ticket for you to take the kids along to a game (or two, or three).

In terms of pubs Tynecastle is a brilliant away day. THere are numerous tremendous boozers either side of the ground. Aside from Robertson or Stratfords I wouldnt' say any of them are unfriendly.Top Six is just a New Town yuppy who is too scared to go to a proper boozer. He probably wants to go to the Dome in George Street for a couple of pre-match Cosmo's. ;-)

OTJ had all his weight on that right standing foot and ankle, having just had a nightmare season with injuries, I can understand OTJ instant reaction. Should have maybe been a sending off for both players, as it was a reckless and dangerous tackle. Next time just bide your time OTJ and get him back the same way, as refs dont book players for dangerous tackles, only deal with the reactions!!!

Everyone has the right to express an opinion and would never try to stop that but I think the point Oddquine was trying to make is the constant carping that goes on here by some posters. We could win the Scottish Cup and I guarantee some posters would be on here moaning about this that or the other and that is what is beginning to sicken me about some of our support. I don't think Butcher is the new messiah and, to be perfectly honest, if no real improvement in the team this season, in terms of results and performance, I do think it will be time for a change but let's give the team a chance first before expressing some of the nonsense spouted on here. I do know IHE, although not seen him for a few years. I know he wholeheartedly supports ICT but some of his posts are so OTT that they border on farce sometimes. I am well aware IHE likes to fish at times but a little less often would be welcome!.

OTJ spent a considerable time warming up on his own I suspect because he has just come back from that very difficult injury he sustained early last season. An experienced international player should not react the way he did. However, in mitigation, the tackle on him was very dangerous and some referees would have booked or sent off the offender. A good referee would have been on the spot quicker - he watches Fowler come in sideways - if they had recognised the recklessness of the tackle. 'Our' referee stood off and watched. In his defence, he was not aware of the injury and worry OTJ has endured but he should know that the tackle was worse given the height of OTJ and angle. Fowler tackled with real intent to stop OTJ going into the box. It was a disgraceful tackle that the SFA should highlight as such even retrospectively.

Looks promising to me. We haven't got a replacement for Jonny Hayes on a good day but to be honest, he didn't have too many of those - we tended to see flashes of brilliance rather than consistent tormenting of defences over 90 minutes. I just get the sense that this team will blend together nicely and will end up having a better balance to it. We just need someone to get some confidence in front of goal.

Allow me.

It's still a work in progress but I think this team is much better than last season. I also feel Terry has bought well considering his budget. I do think that folk need a reality check re who we can buy. We are not M@S shoppers more like pound stretchers!

Throwing them is a total no no, that's stupid and somebody could get hurt but certain managers are allowed to kick water bottles on to the park when thing aren't going their way, wish I was good on the computer then I could put the link here and have another wee chuckle. It always cheers me up when I see that clip

Wikipedia, on the subject of the offside rule, states: "Offside position" is a matter of fact, whereas committing an "offside offence" occurs when a player is "actively involved" and is subject to the interpretation of the referee. Anyone see a parallel? The women steward won't understand this though. I appologise to all women posters on here, I do value your input, its often better than some men on here anyway. Saved?

In modern football it's unusual to have players for long periods of time. The night Tokely was confirmed as leaving I posted something on Twitter about it and an East Fife fan replied, saying that they have had two players in their entire history, over 100 years, who played for the club as long as he did for us. If people aren't renewing their season tickets because of that then they must be rather naive about how football is. The problem with releasing these players is that they haven't been properly replaced. When we let Grant Munro go, I thought Butcher had earned the right to make that decision. It was his responsibility to replace him with someone better and he didn't do it. That's the problem - if Grant had been replaced by a player of equal or improved standing then there would be no issue.

I have to say that I am totally hacked off with soem posters on this topis. Renegade's first post baing a classic example. We did not lose the game yesterday and the football played, especially in the first 20 minutes was really good. It didn't match that after that although there were still some examples throughout the game, Nick Ross's chance at the end being a prime example. As for OTJ's red card, it was a definite red but some of the criticsm of him on kere is unbelievable. I think the red mist descended on him after aa bad tackle, and it was a bad tackle, and he reacted. If you have played football, then you know these things sometimes happen. As i have said he deserved to be sent off but it was out of character and up till then had possibly been our best player. incidentally, his sending off did not cost us the game where i can think of a few of Tokely's that did and cannot remember Tokely getting the same flack as OTJ. As soemone said, this was the first home game of the season and the things are looking better after 2 games than they did last season but some fans/posters are still expecting us to start the season as world beaters. Incidentally, not surprised that Butcher sometimes reacts to fans in the main stand especially when after 5 minutes in, ceratin players are getting huge abuse from some home fans. After hearing this for ages at least one other fan and myself challenged them to get behind the team and they looked bemused that someone should challenge them. I think we must have some of the worst supporters ever and I genuinely mean that. As for the attendance, the people of Inverness should be ashamed of themselves after yesterday. I am tired of hearing that we have been crap at home for so long (which isn't alaways true) that they are not going to attend anymore or will pick and choose their games. A lot of the posters who post vitriolic or constantly negative posts to me are simply not worthy of being called supporters. Given yesterdays poor attendance, I again question if Inverness wants or merits an SPL team. Truly truly dejected after reading some of these posts.

I'd probably ask what the hell they were playing that but I wouldn't feel any need to grab someone like Jones did nor display any desire to plant my forehead on theirs. Boggles my mind that people are trying to excuse what happened. There is no defence for what Jones did.

Then you let the referee deal with that. You don't react by grabbing an opponent by the shirt and then go head to head with him. No matter how pissed off you may be. yes but if someone kicked you on your bad leg would you not react

People are still on holibobs. Attendances are usually a little on the low side until kids go back to school and everything has returned to normal. if after half a dozen games, the trend is continuing, then, its maybe the time to start looking into the reason behind it.

I looked at the OP last night, then thought no I'll not respond. Looked at it again and still thought the same this morning but I can't sit around here and not reply to what represents the downside of the "keyboard warrior" mentality that hides behind a user name with no accountability and then takes whatever prompted this post out on named individuals in Caley Jags Together. I, like Don, could list a myriad of achievements of the Supporter's Trust AND the Supporter's Club (not least joining together to raise the profile in a year where we really need as many supporters as we can get) I could also list a number of fundraising and fan involvement plans that are happening in the near future. Don also highlights the hours of unpaid and skilled work that the board do and for what? To be denigrated in a five minute post that took less than five seconds of brainpower to compose. Any more and you would have thought the better of it. I know that Kenny Cameron and Terry Butcher read these forums, and they must absolutely despair. As I have said elsewhere, they have responded to everything that the fans asked for last year ( better style of football, more community involvement and the right response to the RFC debacle) and still they get some fans complaining about the poor value of season tickets that they never bought, football that they can't be arsed watching and events that they can't be bothered supporting. It's a bit like watching the neds sniggering behind the bikeshed watching the motivated ones doing something. Rant over. Tell you what OP - I'm on the board of Caley Jags Together. My name's Davie Balfour and if you PM me, I'll give you my phone number so that we can talk this one through instead of sniping on the internet. Deal? dited for spelling (again)

He was a fekkin idiot and I hope Butcher makes him suffer till christmas.

I find it a tad ironic that those in the crowd are not allowed bottles of water etc for fear that they get thrown on to the pitch....especially on hot days like today when, during every break in play, those in the dugout proceeded to throw bottles of water on to the pitch!!!

Depends on what you were looking to be convinced about. For me, I was looking to see a team with a different shape and a bit more potential for this campaign....I've seen enough so far to believe we have that (both from pre-season and first two SPL games).

To the OP, I find if you take your head out of your a**e, the view dramatically improves.

Good to see the rancour and pessimism return after one game. One game in which we had the best of the first half, Killie shaded the second half and even when we were down to 10 men we could have won it. We passed the ball on the deck for the majority of the game, something that the people on these boards have shouted long and hard for. I did't see us battering the long ball up to McKay as has been alleged. If we are to play a passing game, we have to make the passes stick better and I think it might be reasonable to expect that this will happen as the team plays more than it's first SPL home game together. I, like some others can be rustrated with Sutherland, but he was direct and forceful today and to expect more might be asking too much. I respect some aspects of TB persisting with him in the position he is in, after the lambasting he took last season for chopping and changing things. As a highland lad, what reaction would there be to his being dropped after all that we have heard about the highland spirit being lacking in the side. BTW, did anyone else notice the entire defence high fiving and supporting each other when they defended well today? As spirit, that'll do for me. OTJ deserved to go. No ifs, no buts. You could see a man who's history of injury flashed before his eyes after a naughty wee tackle where the boy left his foot in. No excuse though, and I think he'll know that tonight, but does it really merit hanging him out to dry? Cammie Bell had at least three game saving stops that I saw, the one from Nick Ross topping the lot. Ross was in utter disbelief that he could have stopped that one. It's the start of the season, the quality of football is better than last year, the potential is far greater and we have a couple of points from games that we may well have lost back then. What will the reaction be if we lose to Hearts next week? I think what I found the most depressing today was the total lack of crowd and the pretty muted support. This is a club that has put a lot of effort into involving fans more, getting kids involved and making it's self more accessible for a public that by and large appears not to care less. It's a club that acted honourably in the close season at the behest of the fans and got less season tickets sold for it's troubles. What do we do about that? That's the subject that we really need to address.

I doubt we'll be allowed to include the incident in any highlights, and I'm not defending his reaction, but there was no raised hand, attempt to head butt or grabbing/holding of the player. Every time I heard mention of it after the game it grew worse and worse. Entirely right to have been red carded for acting in an aggressive manner, but it was little more than charging and getting right into the face of the guy. No need for it, stupid thing to have done....but the guy had been niggling him the entire match...and that on top of the fact that OTJ has had near career ending injuries from such cynical challenges and you can perhaps understand his reaction a little more.