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Look at other Scottish attendances last weekend. Look at the enticing "offers" and the work being done across the North of Scotland. I suspect that I may not be alone that I am actually happy that we have maintained a 3000 core support, that I see more and more yoof both at the TCS and the streets of Sneck wearing ICT colours and the fact that we are maintaining our Premier League status and playing feckin entertaining football. Keep up the good work behind the scenes and let us all keep trying to encourage others - if only one individual - into the family.

People wondered why I was so scathing about who I called the Negativateers ( as opposed to Musketeers ). Well you don't have to be much of a visionary to understand the whole concept of what ICT is all about, it is doing the best you can with the limited resources available and that was precisely why I got so angry when the rumpus started over the enlistment of John Hughes. No real thought seemed to have gone into many of the comments made at that time and certainly there was very little patience shown towards the style of play that he envisaged and has now implemented so well with a squad he believes in. It is testament to him that other clubs are now trying to emulate our style of play.( albeit as yet a very poor facsimile on their part ) Mr Cameron, a true visionary, obviously saw in John the man to take our Club forward and still keep us from falling into the debt trap. How right Mr Cameron has been in his wisdom of choice and how right he is in his leadership of the Club, We have a lot to thank him for. As our remarkable Chairman has outlined in this article, the club has, with only one real glitch, progressed surely since it's conception and with his continued leadership and the backing and faith of the supporters there is no reason why higher achievement will not be forthcoming. Aye Immortal H. Ender the Roller Coaster will continue and YES let's enjoy what is happening.

Good article/interview with Kenny Cameron in the recent FC Business Magazine which you can view online at http://www.fcbusiness.co.uk/eversion/fc81/index.html (Pages 42-44).

I suggest that everybody has a read through this. It should hit home just how successful a club that we are. We will always be a small fish in a big pond and have to be a selling club to boot. But get the behind the scenes vision and structure working - as it clearly is - and the on the pitch may be a struggle at times but fer fecks sake let's enjoy what is happening in the here and now. Having said that I feel that our roller coaster ride has given us considerably more highs than lows.

The original topic on this thread was about doing something to address dwindling spectator numbers in Inverness, which then diverged into an argument about the suitability of the stadium and what a fairly beleagured ICTFC could or should do about it. Back on track, CB is right that football is now existing in an era of increased competition for peoples leisure time and what austerity ravaged money they have left after paying the bills. They can watch 5 channels of Sky Sports, ESPN, 2 channels of BT sport, occasional BBC and ITV coverage, 2 channels of Eurosport and other subscription channels like premier sports. Those are just the channels that cover football (even if only occasionally) Cast that net out into other sports and you have perfectly valid reasons as to why people might want to watch and play rugby, cricket, american football etc. They don't need to be told that football has a right to primacy over them because its the "national game". Shinty has the advantage of having a politically popular cultural association with gaelic language, and BBC Alba with SPFL coverage can be added on that basis to the above list (even if you can't understand the commentary) It's little wonder that football is haemmorhaging fans, and ICTFC are just a tiny part of that. The game and attendance at it needs sold to the public and in Scotland we are utterly, shamefully and wilfully poor at that. Our mainstream media are a disgrace in their coverage of the game - I read today that Celtic's Guidetti only looked good because of the "quality of defenders he was up against in the SPFL" in the Record. What disrespectful tripe. Willie Miller tells me that Aberdeen will "certainly finish second" so there really is no competition and therefore no point in witnessing it first hand. What arrogant, cynical nonsense. These viewpoints are, however, what informs the public's perception of football. The SPFL treat fans with contempt - witness their treatment of us last year, and their inability to attract support or investment into the game in Scotland. Police Scotland happily create a perception that disorder is still attached to football (did we really need a campaign of increased police numbers in Inverness to "prevent anti-social behaviour and disorder" because pubs were screening a TV international game with England or horses imported from Glasgow last year to control our missing crowds?) and they persist in enforcing the Offensive Communications etc. Act long after it has been discredited and found utterly inappropriate outside the OF. They mitigate against standing and being able to have a beer whilst watching a game (or even going to a game) because they, not us, can't move on from the 1970's. We are constantly subject to harrasment by under trained and overly empowered stewards who will enforce rules they have no understanding of and won't change. They will search your bags, remove things that they consider dangerous and order you seated in a manner that you won't have experienced since being at school in the 60's. If you stand, chant, sing, wave flags or create an atmosphere that will enhance a sporting contest, beware. On the other side, you have small bands of activists supporting Clubs with an income deflating faster than a Branson balloon who can't agree on a coherent way forward and are limited in their influence and voice to forums like this one and P&B with the occasional blogger making a bigger noise. These are the reasons that crowds are down, not an inability of the fans or club to provide an effective atmosphere or a match day experience that makes people decide "let's go to the football today instead of" (insert any of the above) Again, and I know I labour this point they only thing that can effect change is the fans themselves by challenging the stuff above and continuing to give their support to their clubs, ICTFC included. It really is about individual activism - take someone along with you every chance you get. That lot above won't change football in Scotland to the extent that our crowds would justify the investment need for a better stadium. It's the fans that can do that.

As they say on Wikipedia - "Citation needed". I am not in any way suggesting that this is not the case but would be interested to see the evidence which verifies this as a "fact" - along with the definition of "supporter" on which the figure is based. For instance if you were telling us that you have seen the list of Ross County season ticket holders and "700+" (another slight ambiguity) have IV1, 2 or 3 postcodes then that would be one form of confirmation.

Well, IHE that's right on. He seems to have melded the good stuff that T B left behind with his own progressive, more visionary, approach and introduced a brand new, crisper type of football. I am thankful for John Hughes that it's working a treat. And, even more importantly, that the players have adapted to with obvious flexibility and are now playing with enthusiasm and growing confidence. That's the pother benefit of JH's vision. Don't let's also underestimate the strong directives and the supportive role that JH is imparting to the players and the club because I feel sure that he is leaving a lasting impact and, perhaps, a future legacy. No T.B.-type tantrums, no anger outbursts or frothing at the mouth or against the world, emphasizing the positive aspects of any circumstance that may be seen by some as negative. Plus, his own character that really values this club and his loyalty to it - which to me is very important. If and when a manager's heart is in it and he is not just in it for his own good and advancement then the chances of a healthy and very upwardly-progressive movement is bound to pay dividends. We found out with some incredulity and to our cost that this was not the case with a former manager. And this left the acid taste of anger, resentment and deep disappointment to fester as well as a sense of disarray amongst most fans after his departure All this has silenced who Bughtmaster refers to as the naysayers and negative whiners. And let's face it ,Kingsmills, that choice of Manager was made at the behest of Mr. Cameron's direct influence and Bughtie was only connecting the dots, IMHO.

Having spent the last 8 seasons on the Toronto FC rollercoaster as well as 20 years on the ICT one, I can definitely say the ICT one is a more satisfying experience with many more high points on it despite all the money, the 22K stadium, and the 'star' players that have been trotted out here in Toronto. Watching a team that constantly tries to get as much as it can out of a meagre set of resources is way more satisfying than seeing a team spectacularly fail despite the embarrassment of riches of its owners .... As for Kenny Cameron, I am delighted to see him continue to get the plaudits he deserves. To be fair, many of our fans have known and commented for a long time about how effective he is in his role, but for those who doubt him or his abilities he continues to show them he is the real deal.

There is plenty space at the Bucht as we all know (see attached jpeg with stadium and parking translated onto it). An exact replica of our stadium and parking scenario would take up 1/3rd of the space at the Bucht as a whole. Walking times to new stadium from: Lochardil - 36min Crown - 25min Kinmylies - 38min Milton of Leys - 40min Dalneigh - 20min Culduthel - 37min Hilton - 33min Train Station/pubs - 23min Walking times to existing stadium from: Lochardil - 1hr16min Crown - 40min Kinmylies - 49min Milton of Leys - 1hr5min Dalneigh - 46min Culduthel - 1hr16min Hilton - 1hr2min Train Station/pubs - 31min It can clearly be seen that if the stadium was moved to the Bucht Park then folk could easily walk to the game and return on foot within the vast majority of the demographic of Inverness, whereas this is not possible with the current stadium where it is. You have to make football easily accessible and as it stands the logistics prove it is not.

The plan and the goal are the same but the philosophy has changed - for the better. That really is no criticism. There are some individuals on here who have quite astute tactical awareness. I shared many of their concerns and worried that Yogi would be as tunnel visioned and as arrogantly annoying as his narcissistic predecessor. Well he noted the flaws and he welded the bar accordingly.

TCS - 20 mins walk from city centre - Secure parking - Queues to get out Dundee (Utd) - 20/25 mins walk from city centre - Limited on street parking. Aberdeen - 20 mins from city centre - Secure parking - Queues to get out Hibs - 20 mins from city centre - limited on street parking Hearts - 10 mins from city centre - Very limited parking Kilmarnock - 30/40 mins from town centre - Some secure + on street parking The list could go on and on but the point is that a 20 minute walk is not a big deal. Agree, appreciate finances are tight but there may well be merit in employing someone with a successful track record in marketing and public relations on perhaps a two year fixed contract. I appreciate that someone of high caliber and and a proven record of success would command a significant salary and there might have to be a modest reduction in the playing budget as a result but it might just bear fruit. Someone confident in their ability to attract more fans and generate more income may well be happy for part of their remuneration package to be performance related and, to that extent, it could be, at least partially, self funding. I should add that this is not intended as a criticism of the initiatives the club are already taking but someone who's raison d'etre is to generate publicity and enthusiasm may just be able to bring something fresh to the table. I would imagine that the high calibre person you seek would command a salary of at least £120k a year. Add to that the employers costs and we're possibly talking £300k for the two years. Thats a reduction of around seven players in our already very small squad. So lets say we employ this person to the detriment of the team and the possibility of demotion and at the end of his term he reports back that people are no longer interested in football. We've kind of fekked up.

Wrong again!!!! Sometimes a bit of extreme audacity screams for a reply! Old fogie indeed! Thanks Scarlet!!

Are you possibly thinking about the 1993 study by Bruce Hare of Percy Johnston-Marshall and Partners which cost £5000 and was paid for by INE (Inverness and Nairn Enterprise)? Of 11 sites initially looked at in that study, seven were fundamentally unsuitable for various reasons, leaving a short list of four. Of these, Inshes was rejected because the land was too expensive and opposition from local residents was highly likely. West Seafield was rejected because of police reservations, cost of infrastructure and poor pedestrian access. That left East Longman and Stratton Farm. The latter appeared to shoot up in the estimation of Bruce Hare between his provisional and final reports. The conspiracy theory was that INE wanted Stratton Farm so they could use this as a springboard with which to launch the Golden Mile development. Stratton seemed to win the battle in the spring of 1994 but by mid summer, after a long debate between the club, which wanted East Longman, and INE, which wanted Stratton Farm, East Longman duly got the nod, the land was leased from the Common Good Fund and planning permission was sought. The rest is history.

Love the scarf, I ho ho hope Santa gets me one