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I am still reliving the events of Saturday over and over. For me they were the culmination of a 20 year long journey that nobody could have foretold ( not even the great Seers on this site!) I grew up an Aberdeen fan:, the city of my birth and most of my upbringing. I was on the terraces during the glory years when history that will never be repeated was made by Alex Ferguson and his brilliant team. When the Inverness merger took place and election to the league was achieved I just knew that this embryonic club was for me. I started making long lonely journeys to far away places from my base in the Border country and Saturdays soon became an addiction. I remember well a conversation with my good friend Wanderer during which we decided to part with some serious money ( for us) and invest in some shares. He too had joined our merry band of supporters. I spent the first couple of years attending matches anonymously; barely speaking to anyone during the course of a game and heading home straight after. Then came visits to the Caley Inn where I first met Scotty and Big Stu, Uncle Albert and Guzz and the Gringos. We graduated to the Innes for pre match craic and here I encountered Caley 100, Caleystan, TM4TJ and his sons, Bronson, Seoras,DJS,Donview Maimie, and LG ( a special mention for you as you have been so good to me over the years) amongst others. This new social aspect to a day out increased the matchday experience immeasurably. The away days were where I first met close buddy Mantis, Yngwie,Ymip and wee Fraser, The Fly ( where he?), Maryhill, Top Six, Govan Jaggie, IHE,Big Don,ITN (Yompa) and family,Big Dougie, King Beastie, Red Card, RIG...........what a gang.! Many regular attendees with whom I chat are,I know, not on this site. I met and married Mrs Naelifts who had to buy into the cause ( I think she had to sign something). She remains the only person to ever enter the Celtic supporters Club at Parkhead wearing an ocelot coat. The story of this constantly evolving club is an outstanding one. I am just so proud today. I have been slapped on the back by so many people who know how much this all means to me. But it would not have been the same without you guys ( and others who I have carelessly omitted). Its been a privilege. As I write this however my thoughts are of Iain and Alison Coia...............how they would have loved all this And so the journey continues...........to foreign fields. Hopefully our ranks will be swelled by some new blood inspired by the efforts of our brave wee team and their manager. As someone said to me recently. .....if those shares had been in a Biotech company or similar, with a growth and success record such as ICT.......I would never have to work again;they would be worth millions! And so on to the next chapter........see y'all there!

Every single fan who was there on Saturday was welcome. It matters not at all if they have been to as many games as me or the person 3 sections along, 18 rows down and 12 seats from the end. Or if they only started supporting ICT when TB was in charge. Or when they moved to Inverness from Kuala Lumpur. They were at the cup final, they witnessed one of the greatest days in our history. My friend brought two of his friends with him, one a Don and one a QOS supporter, both hugged me and were laughing at the sheer joy on my face in the pub after (and my daft dancing!), they enjoyed the day and they were very welcome to join our support for the day. If we get more people attending games after this then great and I hope we do, but if not then we carry on enjoying supporting ICT and attending games as often as we are able to. Your post sounds a bit personal, if someone's had a go at you, tell them to go f**k themselves then watch James Vincent's goal again and smile. You're an ICT supporter, same as as the rest of us. It's fun eh!

OK, it's taken me a while to put finger to keyboard on this one. Looking back on my posts on this topic, I didn't half see-saw between rubbish and great appointment. Some notable ups and downs were: 1. Appointment - totally underwhelmed 2. Post-appointment interview - excellent! turned me around 3. Poor form at end of last season - not impressed 4. Lost league cup final and played poorly - not impressed 5. "Barcelona of the North" comment - appalled: fear of ridicule....I'll come back to this! 6. Weak endo to last season - disappointed (what could have been etc) 7. Start of 2014/15 - fantastic and playing a style of football that had similarities to....Barcelona! ...and never looked back! I know, I should have trusted Kenny Cameron - he tends to get these things right! Clearly, JH is VERY popular with the players and that is important here because guys will want to come and play for him. Against my (worse) judgement, his style of football has worked in Scotland and other teams are starting to go the same way. So - a serious helping of humble pie and an apology to all at ICT for ever doubting the merits of JH... Our Manager of the Year and Scottish Cup-winning manager! I have every faith that he will now find the right guys to fill the holes in the squad and lead us into Europe with pride. This year will be impossible to match, so let's not get too downhearted if we don't get it all our way next season. :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

A video not a pic so I'll put it here.

Not saying Aberdonians are tight....but maybe just saving themselves a months wages

Odds on for at least one more season of this wonderful Armageddon. Wish we'd thought of it years ago. Now, if only we could find a way to rid the the Premiership of that other lot what a great league we would have.....

Plus a very decent Falkirk, QoS and St Mirren who weren't that far behind Motherwell. Going to be another interesting year in the Championship.

Had just stopped and then I saw this - RESPECT

I only went to the final because I'm a glory hunter from Coventry 0.

BTW - the Dons fan did make a comment along the lines of "You guys always seem to have more fun supporting Caley..." He was talking to a drunken, grown man dressed as a cartoon bear so I'm not sure what he meant!

Don't think the players would agree.

Scenes as the City of Inverness Celebrates......

I'm sure some of the pro photographers will have a better shot, but managed to stitch this together from the photos I took at the time....feel free to use/share if you so wish.

been kinda interesting seeing the response of people asking why we cant get 14000 every week. I probably fall into the glory hunter category to many of you on here these days as I no longer have a season ticket and rarely manage to make it to games before you all start slating me let me just clarify some things :- since I last held a season ticket I have moved house into a private rent, left my job and am currently working agency work on no set pattern , have had a 3rd child , and taken on more responsibilities at the father in laws farm since the passing of my wifes grandfather. all of this adds up to a significant drain on finances and time. I would love to be able to attend every week but I find it hard to justify the best part of 300 pounds when I know I wont get my moneys worth out of it. it doesn't mean I support the club any less and the things I moved and sacrificed so that I could afford the final will make things awkward for a few weeks but that was a price I am prepared to pay as I wanted to see history. so go ahead and slate me all you want for not being in the stand for a 0-0 draw with partick but before you do have a look at my life and see what other things I might have going on , have a look and see what I have done in the past . I will be back maybe in a different level but I will also be bringing the next generation of fans with me as my son has said he wants to come and watch a game

It is getting a bit silly now. So many of our players get pinched only to end up on the bench. (Mckay the most recent example) Can we really blame the club though? I'd imagine (and hope) if the finances were available we could offer better deals to players like Watkins and Shinnie. But the only way we will ever truly progress is if attendances increase. Any players we lose i blame solely on the gloryhunting scum that live here supporting Rangers and Celtic. Its an absolute travesty that a city with a population of 80,000 and growing gets an average of 3,000 per game. On par with Falkirk and County. Just something to keep in mind if he does go. Don't blame the club or the chairman. Blame the people who can't be bothered to get up of there arse and through the turnstiles

Interesting to see if McCall does what McCoist should have done long ago and ditches Boyd, Miller etc to give youth a chance. Also who on Earth signed Mohsni? He wouldn't get a game for Uncle Roy's team.

Based on that video, some people may draw the conclusion that these so called professional athletes had perhaps indulged in a little bit of alcohol. The club's lawyers have asked me to set the record straight. The players had indulged in a lot of alcohol.

I've given an estimate of 25 years to my wife, before I stop replaying it daily . Can't wait for the club to produce a DVD of the cup run.

The European game(s) will be a great opportunity to create some kind of carnival atmosphere in the town, and with it being the height of the tourist season efforts might be made to attract visitors to the game.

£2.50 a drink? Extortion! You'll get most drinks far cheaper than that any night of the week in the ICT Social Club! Now there's another dimension. If a larger percentage of an increased fan base could be persuaded to offer their pub allegiance to one of the cheapest establishments in town, the football club would also benefit since it is the overwhelming beneficiary of Social Club profits. Isn't the social club a private members club, invitation only. with a locked door. Wasn't the club sold to a director to create extra funds. I'm not sure how this would help the club. Having x amount of people wearing ICT tops behind closed doors hardly raises the profile of the club. This degree of misunderstanding about the Social Club is worrying. The Social Club is indeed a members' club and so cheap to join (I've forgotten exactly what the annual fee is because I became a life member years ago) that you can LITERALLY recoup your membership fee through the first two nights' cheap drink. It also has a very efficient "signing in" policy which means that, for instance on match days, there is frequently a large presence there of non-member fans and people from hospitality, for whom there is sometimes also a bus from the stadium. However it's the ownership issue that tends to be the worst understood. About 5 years ago the premises were sold to then director Graeme Bennett and leased back by the football club/ Social Club board. Presumably at the time it was considered preferable to have the cash in hand and to pay rent instead. This, however, does not alter the fact that the arrangement continues to be that the Social Club is run by a board and profits are still ploughed into the football club. Graeme Bennett, apart from the rent he receives as a return for his cash up front, has no other financial interest in the social club and does not participate in its running. I would therefore much prefer to have x amount of people in ICT tops, or indeed in any other kind of top (bar the two which would need to be proscribed), either signed in or as members, drinking in there and hence making more money available to the football club. I really do think that there is not enough realisation among ICT fans that every time they use the Social Club, and at prices lower or indeed much lower than elsewhere, they are contributing directly to the finances of the football club.

Went back to work on night shift on Monday and so far have had about 4 hours sleep this week. Every time I close my eyes I see MacDonald palming the ball out and Jimmy Vincent smashing it into the net. Tired but very, very happy.

I think that's correct. Technically, Shinnie, for example, doesn't officially become a Don until 1st July.

.................. Club to win the Scottish FA Cup apparently. Welcome to the Cub :clapoverhead: :clapping: :notworthy: I hope you've all got very sore heads this morning, and memories you'll carry with you to your graves. I'd like to think a decent percentage of those who travelled to Glasgow yesterday can be attracted out to Longman on a regular basis. A League Cup Final and a Scottish Cup win with shyte crowds ---- just think what could be achieved if more of the city got behind the Club. Now onto your Eurovision debut. Having followed Motherwell all over the continent, I'd encourage you to look out your passports and follow Caley. If you think the Cup Final is the dugz bawz, seeing one's team in Europe is another level. It looks like you enter in the 2nd Qualifying Round, and will be unseeded, (a combination of your lack of history, and Scotland's poor co-efficient count). This is an excellent link to keep tabs on things, and give you a rough idea where you might be heading before the draw is actually made. It does change on a daily basis as continental leagues/cups finalise. http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/seedel2015.htm l Slainje

One funny post I came across on St Johnstone forum was them celebrating qualifying for Europe 4 seasons in a row for them to say congratulations to Rangers for qualifying for the Challenge cup 4 seasons in a row hahaha!!

Motherwell it seemed to me are a much better side than their foot of the table league position showed When I watch Rangers or even Celtic I get the impression the players are just there for the beer as the expression goes. It;s a shame really in the old days guys played for the shirt. Celtic feel it is a disaster if they don' win all three trophies in Scotland, the fans and the commentators I mean The media bias for the so called old firm is so bad, one is tempted to mute the sound on the TV Surely the broadcasters can come up with a few more neutral pundits. I love Glasgow as a city to visit, but in footballing terms, the best thing about Glasgow is Scotland surrounds it.

Devotion is loyalty to a promise, vow, person or mission. It means you are consistently trustworthy and loyal. You are willing to sacrifice to uphold your commitment. It means staying the course, even if the challenges are great, and even if you find your energy and will weakening. When you are are devoted to someone or something, the object of your devotion becomes a part of you. Your own sense of well-being depends on whether they are flourishing. This makes devotion risky -- but also profoundly rewarding. Can be linked to both - family first and football second.

I'm really, really hoping I don't get time off for the Euro fixtures.

As Saturday proved, there is a potential fan-base there which could be tapped for future growth. Although it's widely 'accepted' that we only have around 3,000-3,500 core fans, I've always thought that it's surely not the same folk who turn-up, week-in-week-out. It's probably more complex than that, with a small number of 'diehards' who are there at 80% of the games (some 100% of course), and a mixture of others who can be there when they can. I'd put myself in that bracket. This is a 'back of a fag packet' calculation of where our fans come from (with apologies for my clumsy attempt at categorising fans into 'type'). But, it perhaps demonstrates how retaining even a small fraction of the more casual fans could see us significantly increase our average attendance.

'Stand By Me' - grab that for the club anthem perhaps ? Every time I hear that from now on I'll think of when we won the Scottish Cup

I understand that players will move onto what they consider to be bigger and better things. In fact, as we grow our reputation for developing players and allowing them to move on,that should help attract replacements to the club. That said, it doesn't half cheese me off when they end up at Aberdeen.

Well...without wishing to gloat...i was one of the few ICT fans who was happy when he was appointed. The day he got the job, i was sitting in Weatherspoons with my mates (all ICT fans) and most of them were mumping and moaning about his appointment. I was saying all i can recall, was his teams playing nice football under his charge. So i was more than happy to welcome him. And here we are some 18 months on (or so) and under him, we have had two major finals, One Cup, third place finish and European footie next season. I really dont think it will get any better than that and i think it will be a long time before we see that again in Inverness. Hopefully im wrong tho

Killie are doing a home top and season ticket for £315. How about we do a limited edition cup final shirt / t-shirt with every season book?

Well done folks, the card display was excellent, great work by you all

Hard to believe but this is for real !

Great weekend Mr Dosser

To everyone involved in the card display a big thanks and well done. Having now seen it on TV (as opposed from behind a card) it looked stunning and made Falkirk's look like an amateur afterthought!

It probably comes under the "Confident Individuals" section of the Curriculum for Excellence.

I think it's safe to say that there are a few new junior ICT supporters in Dalneigh lately. The class of 2015 left nursery singing 'Oh Inverness is Wonderful' at the top of their voices today. I'm sure that's in the curriculum somewhere.