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I have little interest in how County do unless they are playing us. I have no issue with them doing well and having a wealthy benefactor. I certainly wish we had the same. Roy McGregor has the interests of his club and their fans at heart and I admire him for that. They certainly have a much stronger connection between the boardroom and the stands than we have in recent seasons. That said, whilst wishing County congratulations on almost certainly achieving promotion at the first time of asking, I now intend to ignore them and concentrate on our own efforts to get back into the Premiership. Not to match County but entirely for our own sakes and the same of the future of our club.

He should, nevertheless, be given a start for at least one of the final two regular league games to give those you are more effective and consistent a rest and to protect them from the chance of injury or suspension. A few of the youngsters should get a run out for the same reason.

For both clubs, it seems there are fans who get more enjoyment from the failures of the other than their own success

Would someone like me to translate this? Possibly add some punctuation, correct the spelling mistakes and generally delete it all for being absolute total sh*te. By your own admission on many occasions due to personal circumstances you don't manage to get to games so what makes you so highly qualified to pass judgement on the situation and suggest it's a myth. The guy has decided to leave to further is career, end of, move on and focus on the bigger picture. If people can't offer a player who's given years of service to the club a genuine thank you then don't comment at all.

Putting this out there to all users, not just to the editorial team ...... We are looking for more people to write articles ... be they match previews, match reports or just news and views for next season (and beyond). @tm4tj has been our stalwart on here in that role for many seasons but he is hoping to get a bit more rest and relaxation in his online life as well as his real life. His contribution to this site continues to be immense and where we have struggled to get something in place for some games he has always stepped up to the plate to either write articles himself or cajole and persuade others to do so. If you want the editorial side of things to continue in the same manner then we need more folk to ease that burden on him. It would be great if we could find someone he could mentor that could (eventually) take over in his role of "managing editor" ..... If you are a budding journalist, like to write blogs, or just have an opinion you would like published on a regular basis and it relates to ICT then we have no issues with opening up this platform to you. We recently did just that with the blogging system and now there are a few people whose independent blogs are reproduced on the site in what we hope is a win-win for all. Provided the content will not put the site in any legal jeopardy then there are few editorial constraints outside of using appropriate language and grammar. If you can type a reply to a post on here you can easily use our editorial system. its very straightforward and pointers can be given for any bits that are not clear. We would also really like to encourage some of our younger members - who often say they don't get a voice - to take up the torch as the rest of us are getting a little more 'mature' and set in our ways ... but anyone is welcome to contribute. The more the merrier as they say. I would also say that it doesn't matter if you have had any run-ins with me or the mods at any time. Anyone who knows me knows that unless your behaviour on the site was so egregious that it cant be forgiven I don't hold grudges. (you would not be reading this if you fell into that category). Life is indeed too short for that. If you currently contribute to the site positively then I don't care who you are or what history you have on the site. Its all about the here and now. If you dont feel up to writing articles or match reports then there are a few other areas where we will gladly accept help. The weekly match day routine involves updating tables, posting the POY voting poll, doing the prediction league updates (the other one, not Gringo's one), and entering match details in our stats program. The stats program itself could also do with someone casting an eye over it to keep profiles up to date, to adjust player info when they sign for other clubs etc. We also have a couple of seasons worth of data entry to complete from earlier seasons to get it fully up to date. These are all fairly basic tasks and each one only takes a few minutes, but when one person is doing everything then it all adds up ..... if anyone is willing then let us know and we can provide the relevant information and access to assist. We are also open to new ideas ... so if there is something we don't currently do and you have an idea, or better still, want to try getting something up and running, then let us know. We really do want to the site to continue as it is or improve with new ideas, and provided the income from ads trickles in and pays for (most of) our costs we are happy to continue running it, but we absolutely need some of those who appreciate the resources and information we have provided for the last 25 years to step up and give us a hand ... send me a message or reply below if you are interested. thanks. Scotty

Let's face it the Roy McGregor era we're currently in is county's golden age! Once it's over it's unlikely they'll find another figure so willing to throw money at the club the way he's done and they'll revert to being a peripheral club similar to Elgin or Petterhead (albeit with the benefit of having a derby with their larger local rival 20minutes away ......Inverness CT). We, on the other hand, are at one of our lower ebbs in our short but very successful history. We will always be the bigger club, just not always the best run! Just wait around for a while......we'll be back!

They bought a team in the summer , had an injury scare so bought half a team in January. If we had an extra couple of players we could have matched them. If Neilson was in from August his signings would have see them give more of a challenge. Ayr were in it for a long time which given their resources was excellent. If only we had a goalscorer, we would have seen a real difference...

County signed 10 players in the summer and another 5 in January. Thats why they won the league. Most of their players aren't good enough for the premier and will be freed over the summer...that's what a ruthless and rich chairman gets you. ( also helps to 'connect' with the community ). If it wasn't for the mediocrity of the challenge in the championship then County wouldn't have found it so easy. Expect their co-managers to get the sack in the next 12 months. That's not their shadow, it's just a passing cloud.

County deserved it this season, plain and simple, they battled for everything every game and even tonight they were 2 up 3 up.... Did they give up and defend and look forward to going on the **** later no they didn't they battles further and got another goal. An example of how to win a league. If we can't follow them up via they playoffs then it's game over for our club and you can red dot me all you want happy clappers but its now or never fight for the right to participate or bury the club in next few weeks, its as clear and simple as that and you all know its true

You just need to look at how the two clubs have invested in themselves since either of our promotions and you can tell who are the "Big team" now. Besides they have a millionaire chucking cash at them and we have been mis managed for goodness knows how long which I hope will change soon We still have the edge on wins in the Derbies though, so, you know... silver linings and all that.

Enjoying two small glasses of shop brand cola and perusing these posts for any mention of him.

Punctuation disagreement - Where is Charlie Bannerman when you need him the most ?

You've missed the main points from my post which are borne on frustration at the number of negative posts I've read especially on this thread. In my opinion there are too many users on here who like to post jibes and criticism of players where on the whole it is unnecessary, doesn't help our cause and who are we to say they are making a mistake. We are supposed to be supporters but at times I see little support, we are a small club who progress players who then move on, it's happened before and will happen again so why do we feel the need to criticise them for doing so. This won't change so how about a little thank you and appreciation now and again. Who are we to say that they are right and wrong in what decisions they make? I was once told by an employer I'm making a big mistake leaving their company, 9 years later I'm in a job paying more than double the salary far better off than I was. Players have to make the very same decisions and live and die by them, there was once a time gone by where everyone would wish players who move on the best of luck, unless they were Maurice Johnston or similar. I'm not denying anyone their opinion, the phrase I used was possibly a little harsh and maybe could have been worded better but it was to make a point. Now that I have managed to firmly go off topic I'll bring it back and re-iterating what I've previously said by wishing Liam Polworth the very best at Motherwell and hope his decision works out.

As we climbed the leagues, yes we did. The basic was 'reasonable' but a larger percentage of any money we got from TV and the SFA/SPFL prize fund depending on where we finished was shared with players. As our income increased, so did our wages (and contract complications) to a point in the premiership where it was a challenge. OFW is a prime example of this. His wage is always been held up as an example of the mismanagement of the "previous board" or our previous chairman but is it? My understanding of his last contract renewal is that it came about just after his stint at the Euros. The club got a decent six figure windfall payment because of this but as he was out of contract this was in jeopardy. Eventually, the club agreed a wage higher than we should have been comfortable with so that we didnt miss the signing deadline. The basic premise is that the higher wage was a way of giving him a significant share of the windfall payment which was what him or his agent wanted. Not ideal for us but somewhat of a scenario of "found money" as UEFA basically funded this contract and we pocketed a few quid out of it too. I am sure its more nuanced than that but thats my basic understanding. The biggest problem - for me - is that we got 'comfortable' in the Premiership and started to offer (low-end) Premiership wages and contracts as we thought we were becoming a permanent fixture, safe from relegation. These contracts were indeed higher than our business on its own could sustain but provided we stayed in the premiership and got the odd cup run then it was sustainable through payments and bonuses from SPFL/SFA and UEFA. Setting aside the manner of Yogi's departure as we have a whole other thread for that, the thing that further compounded this all was that we did not sack RF earlier and yes, the chairman, and the board at the time - which included our current chairman - does have to take that one on the chin. Relegation - as it did last time under Butcher - ripped a 7 figure sum from our yearly accounts and its been a mad dash since then to cut costs and try to replace some of that revenue. I really do fear how we are currently operating and if we are truly efficient and maximising revenue while minimising costs. There's a few things I have heard that do not sit well with me, and the revelation on another thread that we are putting our new CEO up in a hotel is a complete head-scratcher. If this is true I sincerely hope this is a temporary measure with a finite end date and that his appointment is also contingent on him being present in Inverness rather than commuting from Edinburgh. When it comes to signings, I think Robbo, over his two spells in charge of the club has shown he can make good decisions in managing his minimal budgets. All managers pick up the odd dud but for the most part he manages to make good choices so happy to leave it to him to try and strengthen where we need and cast off any surplus or non-performers. One area I think we might look to investigate is strategic partnerships with other clubs. I sat in a meeting with Toronto FC a few weeks ago where the president was talking about forming partnerships with clubs in Europe, or even taking a stake in some clubs, where they could act as feeders (in both directions) much like NYCFC have with Man City or that NY Red Bulls have with the various other Red Bull sponsored teams. We previously had tie-ups with various teams in England at one stage or another including Sheffield and for a while, Arsenal. Could this be an option again? Does Robbo or anyone at the club have the relevant contacts these days ..... ? Can we afford whatever the financial arrangements of such a deal were or would be ?

Ryan is scheduled to go for surgery today to address the horrible facial injuries suffered in the other semi-final. On behalf of CTO (and myself) I just want to wish him all the best for a speedy recovery and to hope that Charlie and the rest of his family are not too stressed out. Its never easy to see relatives in medical distress, especially your children !

This response makes me wonder why I ever bother to post on this forum

Ha! Frank Kelly speaking, I'm beginning to like A. Simpson. Reading, digesting and assimilating his prose is a challenge that keeps me young and there is no doubt that his heart is in the right place. Which all goes to prove that so long as your heart is in the right place there is a place for you at the Forum table at Caleythistleonline. As I have intoned in the past, always try to speak the positive and eschew the negative. Alan, that last word (eschew) has nothing to do with peanuts, it just means put it aside with a haughty sniff and forget it ever entered your mind. Whatever you do, please be very careful about taking elocution lessons because you will probably come on here with an accent like prince Charles and WE WILL NEED A REALLY GOOD INTERPRETER BECAUSE I DOUBT IF OLD CHARLIE HAS EVER been to a football ground in his life.