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On 19th May 1940 Winston Churchill gave his famous World War 2 speech including - "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" He also said "We would fight them on the beaches" quite apt really.

Is that the same players who chose not to acknowledge the support before going up the tunnel. I'm surprised there has not been more comment on this. Maybe it was because there were so few of us left in the ground to witness it but frankly I was astonished at how many people left. OK, so we lost a match we should have won but the players gave it their all and after the game we were still in 3rd place with just one game to go! It was the last home game for some of the guys who are leaving and who have contributed so much to the club and it is reasonable to think that the vast majority would stay behind to acknowledge that. When Utd's 2nd goal went in there was a mass exodus - it was as though we needed a win to avoid relegation and the goal was the final nail in the coffin. Just unbelievable. Is it any wonder the players left the field in such a dejected manner. Football is a game of tiny margins and had one little thing gone our way and we had ended up winning rather than losing then it would no doubt have been joy unreserved and not a soul would have left. That would have been great, but whether we won or lost, in the grand scale of things it makes little difference to what has been achieved this season. If some players were wondering whether or not to sign new contracts I guess Saturday's mass exodus will have made their minds up for them. I can only hope that after the low of Saturday and the disrespect shown to them by at least 90% of the crowd, the players will be able to pick themselves up and demonstrate the same level of commitment on Sunday. And win, lose or draw and regardless of what happens in Perth, I really hope that the fans all stay behind on Sunday and acknowledge the team for what has been a magnificent achievement in attaining the best league position ever by a Highland team. Clinching a European place would be the icing on the cake but not clinching it will not represent failure. The players and officials have done a great job this year, now it is time for the supporters to stand up and be counted and show the team and the club some real support and loyalty.

The marchers reached skye today and have passed the half way point, having totalled 79 miles so far with 73 to go. Gringo, mrs gringo and sotonict all took a trip out to meet the troops as they arrived at 'aaron doran's castle. Weather has been atrocious but thats not detering us. Very short day of just 12 miles is planned for tomorrow...

Or another way to look at it is: Second in the EPL by some distance to their nearest rivals Beaten in teh FA CUp Final by a team that is going to be relegated from the EPL Fell at the group stages of the Champions League again Out in the 3rd round of the League Cup

I had a look yesterday and it said SS4. No reason why it can't have changed of course.

Someone asked Doran on Twitter the other day in all the arguments with fans if we was going to sign a new contract and he said: "Hopefully this week if I'm not murdered"

That puts a smile on my face for the rest of the morning .... think Adams should do one of those daily diary things where you tear off the next page and get a quote of the day...... sell it at Christmas and call it "Seethings Greetings" with both words also being individually appropriate !!! "...We are one of the best teams in the SPL this season" "We are Ross County football club, we are a wee team from the north..."

I would have thought their wage budget would be a few hundred grand more than ours. Biggers crowds, much higher league prize money last season, Champions League qualifiers this season. They were able to bring in McFadden, could we have done? They were no better than us until his arrival.

Well I reckon 16 and a half hours (excluding replays and extra time - when that eventually superseded multiple replays) through 11 rounds from the Q Cup 1st to the Scottish Cup Final and then whatever it took to get to the Cupwinners' Cup final. I don't know how long that was, but any Aberdeen fan would tell you in a flash! As for the £millions... probably about £56 for getting through the Q Cup part of it. On which subject, here's another reflection of how football in the Highlands has progressed since ICT came along. Remember the absolute joy at clubs simply getting to the Qualifying Cup "group stages" (aka the last four which meant you were in the "real" Scottish Cup)? A subsequent visit from Clyde or trip to Stenhousemuir would then be the highlight of the season. That was the situation as recently as season 1993-94 - when neither Inverness team did so since Jags put Caley out at the first hurdle before losing out themselves in the quarter finals to - I think... oops.... Ross County! So in 1993...you have to beat Ross County to get into the Scottish Cup. In 2013....you have to beat Ross County to get into Europe. You still with us Dougal?

Is that the same players who chose not to acknowledge the support before going up the tunnel. I'm surprised there has not been more comment on this. Maybe it was because there were so few of us left in the ground to witness it but frankly I was astonished at how many people left. OK, so we lost a match we should have won but the players gave it their all and after the game we were still in 3rd place with just one game to go! It was the last home game for some of the guys who are leaving and who have contributed so much to the club and it is reasonable to think that the vast majority would stay behind to acknowledge that. When Utd's 2nd goal went in there was a mass exodus - it was as though we needed a win to avoid relegation and the goal was the final nail in the coffin. Just unbelievable. Is it any wonder the players left the field in such a dejected manner. Football is a game of tiny margins and had one little thing gone our way and we had ended up winning rather than losing then it would no doubt have been joy unreserved and not a soul would have left. That would have been great, but whether we won or lost, in the grand scale of things it makes little difference to what has been achieved this season. If some players were wondering whether or not to sign new contracts I guess Saturday's mass exodus will have made their minds up for them. I can only hope that after the low of Saturday and the disrespect shown to them by at least 90% of the crowd, the players will be able to pick themselves up and demonstrate the same level of commitment on Sunday. And win, lose or draw and regardless of what happens in Perth, I really hope that the fans all stay behind on Sunday and acknowledge the team for what has been a magnificent achievement in attaining the best league position ever by a Highland team. Clinching a European place would be the icing on the cake but not clinching it will not represent failure. The players and officials have done a great job this year, now it is time for the supporters to stand up and be counted and show the team and the club some real support and loyalty. Sorry DD but I take offence to being accused of being disrespectful. The players walked up the tunnel. Nobody said they'd be back out again. The majority of people done no more than they do every home game. Left the stadium to battle out of the carparks. Others went to queue up for County tickets. I believe that had the players stayed on the pitch instead of going up the tunnel then many would have stopped to congratulate them.

Different in that McKay scores goals and Fallon doesn't!

Fair do's. Motherwell have been good this season. Let's hope McCall and his team win something on Sunday as well.

Really Dougal? Ross County 4343 Inverness CT 4038 St Johnstone 3640 Can I add that County have had Celtic at home once more than us and for years they have for whatever reason inflated their attendances. I do agree our attendance is poor but make sure you get your facts right first. As for the merger, I don't really care anymore. There are still people living in the past who need to move on. If they can't then feel free to move to Dingwall.

When I saw the "M-word" in the title of this thread, I made the very safe prediction that when I opened it up, I would find that Dougal had already emerged from the woodwork to post at least once! But anyway, let's get on with what really matters. It's actually 20 years ago this month that the whole process started which has so far culminated in the top 6 of the SPL and which may further culminate in European status for Caley Thistle in Dingwall on Sunday. It was on 20th May 1993 that INE and the clubs revealed that they were discussing a possible merged bid for national league football and then at their AGM on the 27th, the SFL voted - only because Raith Rovers director Bob Paxton cast his against his instructions - to go to four divisions of 10 by taking in two new clubs. But if it's Europe we're talking about, let's go a further year back to 1992 and the ultimately abortive Superleague breakaway scheme. Inverness was making serious overtures to that too until it collapsed - and while talks were still ongoing, I did an interview with then Clach chairman David Dowling on what national league football could do for Inverness. In the course of the interview, he speculated that one day an Inverness team might play in Europe and he was roundly ridiculed for making what at the time seemed an inconceivable suggestion. Along similar lines, Dougie McGilvray was thought to be off his rocker in 1994 when he bet Tam Cowan live on Radio Scotland that Caley Thistle would be in the Premier League within 10 years - but so it transpired.

I'm paid to do my job not get hugs and high fives every time I do something right. Too much 'love' expected in football nowadays. Players and managers are paid to compete in games and bloodywell get on with it. I can't be doing with arranged laps of honour and the like. Crowd reaction should be spontaneous but it ain't going to happen when you fanny about in front of goal all through a game and get beat at home. In the pictures I saw of the lap after the Hearts game the crowd had gone home as well, as they were gutted at getting beat and wanted to get to the pub or home. These are the same fans who stumped up hundreds of thousands to keep their club alive so they can't be faulted and I think they had every right to feck off after a derby defeat. If the team wins next week they will see massive appreciation and it will be fully deserved. If they lose, then they will still get appreciation for the season they have put in. These arranged things are a pain - "don't run on the pitch or it'll be cancelled" etc. nonsense.

Fer fecks sake fowks - we are going to feckin hammer those lowlifes.

Quite

As ever, I salute your fortitude, your courage, your indefatigability. But, like, yeah... it's only a walk

police are interviewing the victim - a red haired man in his 40s from Northern Ireland, currently living in Glasgow. Apparently, the man has stated he has been a victim on a number of occasions.