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If you weren't at the match, don't let the scoreline fool you into thinking this was a close game. 3-2 flattered us; if County had won by three or four there would have been little to complain about. Other than the abysmal performance, of course... We looked completely unprepared for this game. County always press us high up the pitch right at the start..yet we didn't seem to have anticipated this at all. We barely got out of our own half in the first quarter of the game, because we kept giving the ball away or having to punt aimless long balls. All of the goals we conceded were dreadful in their own way. We may as well have not had any defenders on the park at the first goal. Gardyne was allowed lots of space and time to cross and Boyce was inexplicably unmarked about eight yards out. McNaughton had been marking him, yet ended up about three yards away from him and miles underneath the ball. The second goal might have been prevented had we not taken so long over substituting McNaughton (who took ages to limp off) that we had to play with 10 men. It was a great first touch and finish by Boyce, mind, but if we'd not been playing a defender short it probably would have been preventable. Despite the fact that McNaughton clearly couldn't continue, Foran didn't bother summoning Horner for a good minute or two afterward. Amateurish. For what it's worth, Raven (who Gardyne had on toast in the opening 15 mins) was a far better centre-back than McNaughton. The third goal, the obligatory soft-goal-conceded-from-a-set-piece (three games in a row now!) was completely deflating, coming right at the start of the second half. The long punt forward hung in the air for aeons. Any half-decent keeper, and most lousy ones, would have come for it and claimed it. Fon Williams stayed rooted to his line. Worryingly, Warren was beaten remarkably easily in the air by Boyce. Earlier, Fon Williams handled outside his box, but the ref played advantage and County inexplicably missed with the goal gaping. Had it not been for the advantage, the keeper might have seen red instead of the subsequent yellow. As for us, it sounds like our first goal was extremely fortunate, as County fans (and a few ICT ones) are saying the ref blew his whistle for an apparent finfringement before Boden scored, only to change his mind after the ball went in and he'd spoken to his linesman. The County players were absolutely incensed. The second was a great hit by Draper, but apart from a goalline clearance from Cikos shortly after, we didn't really look like scoring. Lots and lots and lots to worry about. The body language from the players was terrible. It was striking that, during stoppages from injuries, the County players were receiving instruction and encouragement from their bench, whilst our management team stood with arms folded and our players wandered away from each other with hands on hips and heads down. No-one looked like they wanted the ball except Boden, who rarely got it within about ten yards of where he was, and Tremarco, who was the only other player worth a pass mark. We had four very decent midfielders on the pitch - Draper, Tansey, Polworth and Vigurs - all of whom were really poor in possession. Anyone watching that fiasco could make the mistake of thinking that we had a rookie manager who was way out of his depth...

Hislopsoffsideagain Anyone watching that fiasco could make the mistake of thinking that we had a rookie manager who was way out of his depth... 0 Quote I think you nailed it and this was always the worry appointing a manager with no experience especially on a four year contract. As each loss mounts up the players lose confidence if they don't believe the Manager can sort it, eventually you lose the dressing room entirely. Many were calling for JH to be replaced with Foran forgetting that JH had 20 years experience in the game and could set up a team to earn points even when the squad was ravaged by injuries,it may not have been pretty but sometimes pragmatism is called for. As I said on a previous thread, the players we have should be good enough for a mid table position but the longer they go without a win the greater the pressure on the manager which is then relayed to the players. It becomes a destructive cycle.

Developing the youngsters has far more benefits than any transfer fees we might one day get for them. Over the years several youngsters have been good enough to be valuable members of the first team squad. Some, like Polworth, manage to become regular starters whilst others like Brown and Sutherland spend more time on the bench than on the pitch but are capable of doing a job if called upon. Were they not in the squad there would be a need to bring in players for cover who would only be available on higher wages. There are also the unquantifiable benefits of a youth development system in embedding the club in the wider community. The involvement of the youngsters in the club brings the club closer to the friends and families of those youngsters. It makes the community more likely to support the club. The economics of a youth development system are very hard to quantify, but what I do know is this. Stop the youth development system and you rip out the very heart and soul of the club.

Excellent analysis

Not even second to every ball today. Incredible how many managers don't seem concerned about playing with a man down for a few minutes - even when you're clearly under the cosh. Hopefully Foran's at least learned that lesson today. I know he's more laid back than Hughes but spending the entire game with his arms folded on the sideline seems a bit too laid back.

Which doesn't help the family who might have been able to take their kids to half a dozen games in past seasons who might only be able to afford half of those games this. The kids who have season tickets are already on the way to being committed fans. It's the ones who are taken along for only a few games per seasons we need to attract along on a more regular basis but the new pricing structure makes that less likely especially for families on limited budgets.

Free season tickets for u12's are a great idea, but clearly this doesn't meet the demands of fans like Cakeytiltheend. Not everyone can commit to a season ticket, either financially or just planning wise. Why not just extend it to u12's go free for all pre bought tickets, including match day sales? More chance of on the day/last minute decisions to go, parents taking a kids friend along as well, and so on.

Have to say I didn't enjoy my first and only home match of the season. We were dire to watch and the ground was devoid of any atmosphere at all.

Where to begin. The first goal was a disaster. I could see from the north stand that the marking was all wrong. And sure enough, Boyce was given the freedom of the box to score. Number two was as a result of poor organisation after McNaughton went off. We got ourselves back into the game just before half-time - great time to score, but then shot ourselves in the foot by conceding a poor third. Draper got it back to 3-2, but despite having nearly half an hour, we couldn't get an equaliser, although we created some chances. I really hope that one of Foran's talents is an ability to learn quickly. We need to work on our defending as a priority. We are very susceptible to a cross ball, and we keep letting balls bounce rather than dealing with them. There was no communication between Fon Williams and the defence, and this hesitancy led to a number of problems, We also have a tendency to try and play out of trouble rather than clearing our lines - I'd hoped to see the last of that. There was also a lack of pace and urgency to begin with. And Tansey, Draper, Vigurs and Polworth are too similar in midfield. Having said that, there were some positives. Boden does seem to have an ability to make the ball stick, and makes some good runs. I thought the three subs had good games, Horner going to right-back and Raven to centre-half actually made the defence look a bit more solid (not that that would have been difficult). Mulraney looked lively - maybe his role will be as an impact player - and Doran gave us a spark that had been missing. We actually created some decent chances today, but it won't matter if we can't keep them out at the other end. Not time to press the panic button yet. Just need to dust down that copy of "Defending for Dummies"...

13 Aug 2016 Scot League 2 S Sutherland (2) (Elgin 3 - Edinburgh C 0) National League B Greenhalgh (Chester 1 - Maidstone 3) Highland League D Gillespie (Cove R 2 - Brora R 1) A MacLeod (2) (Keith 5 - Strathspey 2)

we got battered (not footballing wise) but quite a few of those county players wouldn't have looked out of place in Rio at the rugby 7's. Tactically we were maybe too kick and rush sometimes. Couple of players maybe didn't have their best game but I'm not pushing the panic button yet. I'll wait til September.

You can't concede 3 soft goals at home and hope to take anything from the game. Defence simply not good enough. Hopefully Meekings returns soon!

Shambles at the back, playing too slowly going forward , lacking shape. OFW is not the best keeper we have and Boden is not the best forward we have. Shame to see Mcnaughton go off injured, j suspect t he may be out for a bit. Good to see Doran back on the park. The only way is up.........HOPEFULLY!!!!!!!!!!

Looking forward to Dumfries and Greenock

Probably between 5'5" and 6,3", averaging about 5,9" I'd guess

When I was in full time employment I was a season ticket holder. Now that I am retired on a very small pension decisions have to be made, do you renew your GC membership, your fishing ticket or a season ticket, my choice was the latter had to go, with the first two I can choose my times and weather, not the case with the football. Ideally, I would like to turn up to individual games pay at the gate and stand throughout the match at a barrier, being forced to sit in the cold for 90 minutes is not pleasant for anyone with joint problems. I found the experience of watching ICT in the lower leagues when you could stand very enjoyable and reasonably priced I also enjoyed having a chat with the regulars who turned up at the same spot each week, the experience in the stands was not the same and you can't choose you neighbours. I appreciate the club must balance their books but I would rather pay £25 for a days fishing or a days golf. If the club introduced a standing area at a reasonable price I would be interested.Currently I pick and choose matches usually away and weather dependent.I also agree with previous posters that the standard of the Scottish game is incredibly poor, anyone who shows some ability is off to the English lower leagues before you can spell ICT.

Can't believe that there will be no live commentary for this game. Only OAM I believe? Really disappointing that in this day and age with technology that a SPFL club doesn't offer live commentary. I know the Internet is poor at TCS. Just disappointed I guess.

creating the matchday topic (very) early as I will not be around tomorrow at kick-off time. Got a christening to go to then a birthday party so normal updates and player of the year poll etc will not be posted until later in the day ... unless one of the mods does it. look forward to getting multiple pings on my mobile during the match as the goals go in !!! at the right end hopefully.

I am putting £25 on a 0-0 draw.

Yes. As I said somewhere else, what you get for your £30 (or less in other ticket categories) actually costs around £44 to produce - mainly because of the nonsensical football wages market. Unfortunately there seems to be an assumption in paid football that much of it should be very well remunerated. Why? On what basis? If the play you produce only creates revenue to pay you £450 a week, why should you expect - and indeed get - £800? Many other sports do not have the finances to pay participants at all so don't. As a result many world class performers - who by any measurement are vastly superior performers to footballers, say, in the SPFL Premiership, actually lose money out of what they do. Footballers, on the other hand, often get paid well above even what the privileged economics of their game would otherwise dictate.

I can't believe we're all still discussiing this. the facts are that, despite several windfalls over the past few years (cup runs/glory, player sales, good league position), ICT have only just broken even financially. The truth, therefore, is that the club requires windfalls/player sales to survive financially and to maintain its current level of footballing prosperity. My guess is that, in a poor year with no player sales, we could expect a deficit of ~£250k and I think others on this forum have suggested the same. That is clearly unsustainable: I think Kilmarnock will testify to that as they try to service a £750k debt this year on the back of falling crowds. So, there's no mystery as to where the money has gone - it is subsidising the current playing squad and (in the case of last year) was used to bring in players to patch up an injury-ridden squad. Given our small home support, there must be a realisation that it will always be this way and a recognition that we have the financial clout of Stevenage in English league 2.

The more kids we attract the better. It makes up for the thousands lost post-merger.

I remember being in the Highland League. Fear fecks sake - it was practically pre season - it was away from home - playing on a tight pitch and stadium - against arguably the form team of the Cup so far who had already knocked out the holders and stuffed an equally vibrant Putridheid - it was their Cup Final - we have several new players gelling - we have a new manager looking at a new style of play backed by many, many fans - Cups always produce shocks and this was NOT really a big one. Snuff said

Such irrelevant information would be of little interest to anyone other than the odd obsessive.

Book plugging ALERT

The cheaper per match tickets were being heavily abused...and also carried a higher administration cost than a season ticket. As already highlighted, there was also demand for U12 prices/free ST to be made available across the whole stand. The only practical way to open up cheaper/free options across whole stand for kids without increasing opportunity for system to be abused further was to restrict it to free U12 season tickets. As with any system it won't suit everyone and, without individually means testing everyone wishing to obtain tickets then, you'll never find a perfect solution. Not only do the books need to be balanced, you need to ensure you maintain season ticket value. Every time you incentivise individual ticket sales or reduce the price, you devalue the season ticket. We all like to believe ST holders don't care and buy their ST to support the.club regardless....but that doesn't play out in reality. More moans and complaints come about from ST holders about individual ticket offers than anything else....and ST holder offers to bring friends for a fiver etc. are little used. So, what to do? Make Season Tickets as attractive as possible and try to make them worthwhile to those who may miss a few games over the season. Also, when the club do individual ticket offers, you hope those attracted along who end up wanting to come again seriously consider the value in the ST option and are properly "hooked".

2 Adult + 2 Kids = £60/ £70 per game. 2 Adult + 2 Kids Season Tickets = £660 or £34.74 per game. So long as you can make 10 games over the season then you're saving money....or looking at it another way, you're getting 9 games for free. Not a kick in the butt off half price football!!

This idea reminds me of this.... http://www.igf.org/ ... and even that seems to be changing its title to retain any credibility at all. The Society for the Relief of Indigent Gentlewomen of Scotland was basically set up to subsidise posh women of the upper classes who hadn't found a man to support them but who also considered it below their status to get a job. Believe it or not, people of lesser means actually paid money into this fund so that daughters of chinless wonders, many of whose ancestors had acquired their status by cheating, stabbing and fornicating their way into positions of wealth and influence, didn't have to get off their backsides and get a job. The notion is absolutely obscene! On yer bike darlin'! However it is being replicated in uncanny fashion here where ordinary working people are being asked to fork out money - which could otherwise be used to buy books, sports centre memberships or a new bike for their kids - to subsidise the wages of footballers whose salary expectations vastly exceed their crowd pulling ability. And even when folk do have genuinely spare money, would that not be much better pointed in the direction of genuine charities helping people in need. To be honest, it seems even more bizarre that the targeted group in the football context should be people who don't actually attend matches and who therefore stand to gain even less from their generosity. Let's be realistic. The 10,000 who attended the 2015 Cup Final over and above relatively regular ICT fans only had a passing interest in this club. Consequently they are looking for no more than their single day of glory so strike me as less likely than most to part with money for nothing in order to subsidise the wages of players who earn far more than they do themselves for a much shorter working week. I know this sounds a bit Thatcherite, but it's maybe time that a bit of financial Darwinism descended on football.

That's it. I'm sick of all this unrest so I demand that our football club take the name of the company that runs it. INVERNESS THISTLE AND CALEDONIAN FOOTBALL CLUBS LTD