Leaderboard

I've spoken to a few people who are not renewing season tickets purely on the basis that with so many changes for TV they don't know if they'll get value from them. They'll still attend as many games as they can and there's every chance the club will get the same amount of money from them (perhaps even a bit more). In saying that, I've spoken to far more who have renewed and some who are getting season tickets for the first time...or returning to get a season ticket after not having one for a season or more. As has been pointed out several times, our attendances as a % of catchment area is actually pretty high...which does leave you wondering what the realistic target should be in the current economy? Another problem is that while it's great to discuss things on forums etc. those conversations are had among people who, for the most part, are doing all they can to support to the club/team. These are not the people that need convincing and the challenge is to get talking to and convincing those who are not yet a part of things. I'm also of the opinion that once a person reaches the age of about 16, if you've not "captured" them as a fan, then it becomes uneconomical to try and convert them. On that basis I think the club are doing the right thing by making it more affordable for the next generation...or for parents to bring along the next generation. The free season tickets for U12's scheme, getting out into the schools, making free tickets available to them and other youth groups...is the way to go. It's not going to put any significant additional money in the pot in the near future, but (again, IMO) it is a better investment than discounting etc for older fans. I'd like the U12's scheme to be extended up to the age of U16 as I feel there's a risk of losing future (paying) fans as 12 to 16 is a very influential age and is probably key to breaking any peer pressure that might exist with going off to "support" one of the big teams who's grounds they may never visit in their life. Get them in the habit of going to games right through to the age of 16 when they might then start earning....have an affordable 16-18 ticket category and then start leading in to adult prices from there up (making allowance for students etc). I say that in full appreciation of the fact that the club appear to have now found a healthy balance with how the club operates financially and that every layer of charging they strip out is essentially money out of their pocket and has to be carefully considered. With any luck what they are doing now will prove the concept and we pick up a few extra paying adults bringing along kids (for free) and that allows for the idea to be extended. What does anger and frustrate me is "fans" who try to scam the club by cheating on these schemes. Again, this is something the club has been working on improving over the last 2 or 3 seasons and those who were taking the p*ss (e,g, adults, sometimes groups of adults, with phantom kids buying seats in the family area) are, and continue to be, weeded out. One thing is for certain....there's no quick fix. There's also only so much that is directly in the clubs control and the SFA/SPFL need to start adopting policies which are designed to help clubs increase crowds, whilst removing policies which hinder. They also need more by the way of national campaigns and initiatives, using the power of the many instead of just leaving each club to it's own devices with everyone doing something different and no overall master plan.

Hi all just wont to wish you luck for the new season from everyone at Accy

What about all the people (particularly women) who haven't been battered due to having no Old Firm matches, which are renowned for huge spikes in violence? Is this question Rhetorical ? Do you really expect me to answer it, Or are you just showing your own views ? How am I supposed to know about violence to women, children or anybody else. I suggest you contact Glasgow home for battered wives or the Police. Lawrence, if you wonder why the "lynch mob" sometimes have a pop at you, this illustrates the reasons perfectly. You put a post on here and whilst you acknowledge it is not a popular view you provide no evidence to justify it. Then when someone responds with a valid reason why they think you are wrong and suggests you consider that point, you come sniping back with a "do you really expect me to answer it?" Well actually, I do. Renegade has provided evidence for his statement relating to a situation which is actually pretty well known. It is evidence which suggests that the longer the new club with the same old moronic support is kept away from the top flight of scottish football, the better it will be for the women of Glasgow. Of course you are entitled to air your views but please have the good grace to give some reasoned argument to support what you recognise to be an unpopular view. As I said before, whether some of us like it or not, the Rangers will be in the top division all too soon. It may not be as quick as you would like but it is arguably a lot quicker than it should have been. And it is not the wider footballing community which is keeping them out - they are being kept out because of the way they went about their business. They are lucky their assets were not split up and sold off to different parties. The new club has acquired a fully functioning infrastructure for way below market price whilst creditors of the old disgraced club are left with next to nothing. The Rangers are lucky to be in Division 2. To suggest the footballing community should somehow connive to bend the rules to allow them into the top flight at the expense of clubs who play by the rules is not only nonsense, it is offensive nonsense. I would respectfully suggest you either come up with some sound arguments to support your bizarre suggestion or withdraw it.

Mikey's funeral today was an extremely good expression of how his family, his many friends and also his ICT friends, really held him in high regard. The Humanist service was a true reflection of Mikey's life and Toni (from La Taverna in Aviemore) spoke so well and moved most of us to tears (but there was laughter too, anecdotes aplenty). Great to see so many ICT colours on show and also a white and blue football shaped wreath on his coffin. I am sure there would have been more stories told about Mikey in the Caley Club afterwards. An amazing day and a fitting farewell to Mikey.

The pavement in North America means the roadway whereas the sidewalk means exactly that , the pavement (if you get my drift). There are no streetcars there any more unless San Francisco still runs a few for the tourists but the word sounds much more exciting than trams doesn't it? I mean. Hollywood would never name a film "A tram named Desire" would they? Suspenders are almost out with hankies on heads on the Brighton beach but may be still worn in the Deep South where the residents' slow drawl matches the speed of their brains whilst they dive into muddy rivers to extract mighty mud -dwelling fish that only a navvy could lift on a good day after he has had a good sleep. or... eat countless buckets of Kentucky Fried chicken washed down with Budweiser in gallons. Oh, and men no longer wear hats in public, maybe the beautiful Stetson when on a hoss or on their ranch though and that's it. As for stadiums, the Americans never build small and some of them are beautiful and meant to hold up to a hundred thousand fans .When they do something (in Canada also) they do it in style and Yanks are outward -looking and not afraid to put their money where their mouth is and for this I have to admire them-- they sure have panache and drive, and money of course. Mind you, jazz emanated from that area so there is a lot of talent there, especially in N'Orleans. The American civil war which started at Fort Sumpter , just off the Southern coast of S. Carolina, was also a product of the intense inward -looking thinking of the Southerners, and ultimately took 600,000 lives which, at that time, was the most deaths ever suffered in any war ever fought up to that time. Needless to say, the carnage and misery wrought was "something else" and the South never recovered from it ,so unique prejudice still remains in much of that area even to this day. Believe it or not, there is a lot to be said for spelling words to reflect the way they are spoken but if you are a newbie from Great Britain you will have a hard time figuring it all out , especially when you have to decide which language to use when you write a book like www.destiniesinmotion.com because, with America being probably the largest market in the world one has to choose horses for courses and that is why the Americanised spelling is generally adopted for communication.

As was clarified by the Chairman, and has been mentioned before, if Caley Thistle were (by some miracle) drawn against Barcelona in a Europa/Champions League (qualifying/group) match, then TCS already has the necessary license (under current regulations) required to host the home leg of such a tie. All other matters in regards to suitability are nothing more than opinion.

In your first couple of sentences you are probably right. However, the "silly infighting" is nothing to do with Scottish football and plenty to do with power struggles within The Rangers. I'm quite sure The Rangers will get into the top flight again but theres only one way that can happen. Promotion through the leagues. The original company went to the wall. A new company was formed that took over the assets of the old and applied to join the Scottish league system. As is only right they started at the same place as we did when we applied. We had to work our way up and so should they.

Would you not be quicker going A20; M20; M26; M25; M40; M42; M6 TOLL; M6; A74 (M); M74; M73; M80; M9; A9; M90; A90; A85; A991; A92; As for Runrig, there was a time when I'd maybe have agreed with you but Guthro is doing a good job with them.

True, the Scotland squad worries me more.

That's me at the ferry terminal ready for a couple of beers and a wee flutter in the casino tonight :-) Alex, Runrig without Donnie is worse than Caley taking the jags to the 'Big League' ;-)

I'm of the same mind as you Laura. See you on the Black Isle

FP - valid points but lets look at Sir C's post from the entertainment value (and again I am not referring to just on the pitch). I have watched football in a number of different countries and I can quite safely say if I was given a choice of being able to attend a match anywhere this weekend then other than being at Tannadice I would chose a match in Germany. The overall football experience is a good one (yes they do have problems at some games but what country doesn't) and the bratwurst and beer element (which is part of a bigger footballing experience) is part of that. Personally I think the new stadia that have emerged in Germany although very impressive have slightly lessened the experience (I am still a lover of those vast East European style stadia you used to see on the TV in 1970/80s European ties but I understand why they had to go). Some of these mega stadia (including Dortmund's) have managed to retain standing areas that are used for specified games. As CD has pointed out the major change(s) will not be made by an individual club - although yes there are things that they can do - the major changes will have to be made by the authorities (and visionaries?) who run our national game. Now that is a big ask.

I know the plural of stadium is not "stadiums" but I couldn't be bothered to change it. Before the "correct" brigade sort me out. It would have been quicker to sort it out than post again explaining why you couldn't be bothered! Lizi, you are actually right. Stadiums is the preferred plurar throughout most of the english speaking world. Stadia is derived from latin and seldom used to mean plural of stadium according to http://grammarist.com/usage/stadiums-stadia/ Dd, it would have been quicker to do a bit of research before laughing.

Donview-- dedication spelled "incredible".

It's a friendly - Sorry, but I can't really get excited about it.

This old chestnut re the stadium only having three sides - It is certainly the case that in umpteen stadiums only 3 areas are being opened, due to cost, lack of numbers, stewarding, etc. For the past umpteen years I have followed ICT to most away games and there are many clubs where whole areas of the stadiums are left empty (from bad memory - Killie, Motherwell, St Mirren, St Johnstone, for a start). Inverness is not the only stadium to only use 3 sides - maybe the original poster complaining about our 3 sides doesn't visit many away games - he would maybe change the record. The same applies to those who complain about parking - what about the clubs who provide no parking at all for away fans - our club should be justly proud of providing parking for both home and away fans, no matter the grumbling about getting away after the final whistle (but that's another story/gripe). Get a grip, all of you, you don't know when you are lucky and, if you don't like getting wet/burned with the sun/wind in your face/whatever, then change your seat to the North Stand - simples.

What about all the people (particularly women) who haven't been battered due to having no Old Firm matches, which are renowned for huge spikes in violence? Is this question Rhetorical ? Do you really expect me to answer it, Or are you just showing your own views ? How am I supposed to know about violence to women, children or anybody else. I suggest you contact Glasgow home for battered wives or the Police. It's a well known fact that violence in the West of Scotland skyrockets when the OF play each other, so much so that just last year (or possibly the end of the one before), Strathclyde Police said they would ban OF derbys if they could. There was even a study out the other day, that said when Celtic play any match, violent crime in Glasgow goes up 3%, while when The Rangers play it goes up 10%! Scottish society would be miles better with this repulsive double act. Sources http://news.stv.tv/west-central/83607-domestic-violence-spikes-after-old-firm-matches/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-14978841 http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday-2-7506/old-firm-absence-leads-to-drop-in-domestic-violence-1-2841538 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-17535376 http://news.stv.tv/west-central/231594-call-for-old-firm-matches-ban-by-police-officers-leader/

I think its because we've become a nation of "you cant do this" and "you can't do that". German Bundesliga clubs have season tickets that are similar or lower priced than us, match tickets can be bought for 10 - 20 Euro for some games, you can stand, have a beer and a bratwurst and watch some great football with some brilliant young homegrown players. If Germany can do it and most top division clubs get 20,000 plus why is it impossible for it to happen in Scotland? It does not make any sense whatsoever. ICT crowds average around 4000, Dortmund is 80,000. As far as i'm aware their is very little danger or crowd trouble and the atmosphere in some of those German grounds is immense. Now if Dortmund can manage a large proportion of those people standing, whilst having a beer and having a good time, why on earth can we not manage the 1000-2000 people who sit behind the goal at TCS? I know i'd buy one if it was £5 quid a pint and i'd only paid £10-£15 to get in, along with a pie or a bratwurt or something. I'm also sure i just wouldn't have one. But obviously like everything it seems to come down to the behaviour of Celtic and Rangers fans. Also because of the way people carry on before and after games in public transport due to drinking and etc etc. Which is a shame becasue it doesn't matter about play-offs and rebranding and all the rest, basically its just exactally the same with Celtic boringly trudging along to the title and to be joined by Rangers in 2 years for the same boring procession. The media claiming its a fantastic fight but in reality its 2 terrible sides in European terms with infintitly more money than any team in the rest of the league. I used to have a season ticket for around 15 years, I still go to the majority of the home games but just not enough to justify my £370 for a season ticket. But as great as last season was and i'm not saying we ever would but the fact we can't ever win the league sort of puts me off and i think fans of a lot of clubs feel the same. Even though in Scottish football terms its amazing to finish 3rd or 4th in real terms its not actually winning anything which is a shame. I think thats the real reason crowds in general have slipped away from the game in Scotland. I see the brave new dawn of SPFL doesn't even have a sponsor! Changes need to happen now and before Rangers get back to the top league, becasue if they do everything will be changed for them and Celtic and their benefit. That really would be the end I think.

I actually like the stadium - yes another stand or a large pitch length billboard structure with fans painted on it (aka Borussia Dortmund's wall of noise) would be nice but once this global warming lark kicks in we will have a nice wee stadium located on the banks of Costa del Moray and cold and blustery conditions things of the past :-))))

Hope to make it, sitting at Dover waiting for the 01.00 ferry to Calais, long day ahead up to Esbjerg in Denmark. Back to Amsterdam Friday for the overnight ferry to Newcastle and should be in Dungdee for 13.00 on Saturday. Dedication or what?!?!

All the same.... just don't take the bait!!!! With all due respect I look at our stadium as a fan whereas you look at is a freeloader Let's face it wouldn't matter one hoot how many stands it has in your mind, just as long as you have a comfy press room with access to free hospitality with all your cronies Poor man's Frank Gilfeather in my opinion Dougal

We are the only top flight Club in Scotland to have three stands. There are numerous grounds in the Division 1 that are more pleasing on the eye than our gaff In 1994 we were promised an all seated modern stadia somewhere that Invernessians could be proud off. Well I'm still waiting!!!! What I find galling is the decision to construct a so called stadium on the present site was made by businessmen from a business view and not football men from a football view We deserve better Dougal

I live in Edinburgh so have lots of Jambo mates who were at the game so spoke with them afterwards. Not one person mentioned the flare. In fact I, and probably everyone else, forgot it happened until I saw this thread. No one was injured, nor were they going to be. No one remotely cares other than a few folk on here looking to be offended. It doesn't reflect anything on us or our club in any way. Try and enjoy life a bit more. Thanks.