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What the feck is going on ? The negativity on this forum is unbelievable. I suppose the Dodds Out movement are worried about success !! We are going to Hampden yet again with the potential to reach a second Scottish Cup Final which to me is dreamland. Is this any different to Dundee, Dunfermline, Hearts or Celtic?? As long as the team don’t get carried away with the favourites tag then our form will win through. I suppose to many this is a no lose situation - win and we should have beaten Falkirk - lose and we can blame Dodds. Some were talking about relegation and extinction a few weeks ago. I bet if we do win there will be significantly more going to the final. Well I will be there and I am confident of a result and yet another trip to a final. I am confident that we will be in the playoffs. Those two games are all that I am interested in and both are very important for the future of this club. I am signing off again for a while as I am getting close to another banning

I get a bit fed up with the negativity on the site lately regarding both the cup and the league. If something is possible, then I think in our role as fans we should be trying to bring out the best in our team. In my opinion, the way to do this is by showing them that we respect them as individuals and as a team and that we have faith in them to do their best to get the job done. Go Caley Thistle, give it your best shot and have a fabulous day.

Maybe for some, but I strongly disagree. While I have no desire for Dodds to continue beyond his current contract, that does not mean I don't consider and expect us to win. While it will be a tough game and maybe being favourites is an unusual position during this cup run, lets not forget that we are in good form and that Falkirk are a division below for a reason and have players at that level. Dodds needs to get his tactics right and line-up to our strengths based on availability, however motivation should be easy as for many of these players this might be their only chance of getting to a national cup final. This is our final IMO, when we get there its just a free hit and hope we dont get embarrassed on the day, but first its tie to show why Falkirk are a division below us.

I am not attending this semi final due to health issues, but will get the pies in and settle down for the build up on tv. I am quietly confident of a victory, as I think the wide open spaces of Hampden Park will suit our style. With ball carriers the likes of Henderson, Shaw, Samuels and Dan Mackay, they should be able to use their pace, as long as we don't revert to Hoofball. We also know from past experience that our ex centre backs, Donaldson and Mckay always have an error or two in them, so with Billy Mckay playing on their shoulder, I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the score sheet, they will know how tricky he can be, and will be wary. So, as I said, I'm quietly confident of a win, so hopefully I'll be in better health for the final.

Gutted i cant' make this but i am also missing potentially seeing Ipswich get promoted this weekend as I am away. Will definitely be up for the final if we are successful on sat so i just wish everyone a great day out and i am hoping i get to join you guys and more in the final on the 3rd. Mon the Caleyjags

Well said CaleyHedgehog. Your positivity has been a joy to read over the past few weeks, and many of us could benefit from following your example.

Like most people I would prefer going out as underdogs as you have nothing to lose but that’s not the case. We have to be professional and show Falkirk why we are challenging for a play of place, play to our strengths and win the game. I am going down to the game with my son and grandson aged 4 for his first visit to Hampden so hopefully he will get another visit soon

I suppose it is a little bit different in that there is simply less novelty factor than there used to be, with us having had numerous semi-finals before, and all of us have seen us go on to win the damn thing. In a pretty short space of time we’ve been spoiled by an amount cup success that most clubs can only dream of. We’ve got to remember though that this might be the last time in our lifetimes that we will get this far in the cup, so best to appreciate and make the most of it!

We’ve sold 3,700 tickets according to our CEO.

Charles has just beaten me to it! Quite a low turnout last night. 30 or so shareholders I guess. I felt the mood was generally one of the shareholders tolerating the Board for the time being but not being at all impressed with the way the club is being run at the moment. With regard to the Concert fiasco, Scot Gardiner was at pains to separate the Club from the Concert Company. He reported that the Concert Company had paid the Club an unspecified 6 figure sum for the hire of the stadium to include the use of the Club's staff in performing relevant functions. He stated that making such payments up front was standard procedure in the entertainments business. He then went on to say that as the ticketing agency for the Concert Company, the Club collected a booking fee for every ticket sold and that this amounted to another 6 figure sum. In other words, the Club made a profit of at least £200,000 whilst local business were left out of pocket and people who had a dreadful concert experience received no compensation. Meanwhile, the Chairman, who was a Director of the Concert Company which went into liquidation last year, said nothing. I have to say, that as a fan and shareholder of the Club who wants the best for the Club, this situation makes me feel very uncomfortable. On the wider financial front, it is clear that the club continues to meet its financial obligations courtesy of the Directors meeting the shortfall. This year, in addition to the 6 figure profit from the concerts, there will be the unexpected windfall of reaching the Cup SF. The CEO explained that gate money from the 2 semi-finals is shared between the 4 clubs and as a result, this promises to be the largest ever gate receipts for the club. Prize money will also be significant. Other than that, plans for future funding are somewhat vague with the CEO talking about prospects for commercial developments on the land associated with the ground as part of the Cromarty Firth Freeport zone. There was also a rather complicated motion which has the effect of increasing the maximum holding of shares available in the Club from £5M to £7.5M. It was pointed out that as the full 5M shares have not been taken up at the moment, a large investor could, in theory, buy the additional 2.5M shares and the current unsold shares and perhaps take a majority shareholding. Scot Gardiner clarified that most of the 5M shares have been taken up and that anybody buying the balance plus the new allocation would be some way off a majority holder. On behalf of the Supporters Trust, Laura asked if the Club had any thoughts on how they could capitalise on the current run of form and the interest in the Cup to bring additional support back into the fold to attend games more regularly. She referred to the disconnect between the club and the supporters. The Chairman and other Board members looked almost incredulous that there was perceived to be a disconnect! Clearly no thought has been given to this and there were comments about how all clubs fail to capitalise on the bigger crowds that cup success brings. The CEO accepted that it was a good idea but took the opportunity to say he has been used to much more active Supporters Trusts at other clubs. The Trust would be more active if only the Club engaged with and encouraged the Trust. Hopefully the Club will start to engage properly when presented with the results of the matchday experience survey which the Trust is carrying out. I know others attending who are on this forum, so please correct me if I have picked up anything wrong or if I've missed anything significant.

Apart from the standard resolutions, there was probably as much said about the current, positive football situation as about finances. The manager, among many other things, revealed that, in the light of last season’s glut of May games and this season’s injuries, he has already taken steps to lighten training in anticipation of what might potentially be an even bigger concentration this year. He also revealed that the consensus among the squad was not to visit Hampden the day before the semi, and that a meeting had been held in advance of what will be the team’s VAR debut. Oh, and approval has been given to wear the HOME strip. As regards finances, the Chairman and CEO were both keen to emphasise the Freeport/ Battery farm etc initiatives for future funding, but this appears still to be some time in the future. The Chairman gave what perhaps wasn’t the clearest of indications that, especially given the demise of the Concert Company, they have - unsurprisingly - been depending on benefactors to maintain cash flow. However the CEO did volunteer, when it was suggested that the concerts had been financially unsuccessful, that the football club did receive from the Concert Company, in advance, payment for stadium hire and booking fees… and in full as opposed to the reduced payout, reported at the time as 65%, received by at least some other creditors. The Scottish Cup pay out will not be made until participation is at an end.

I too am feeling a bit sick re this as we are favourites and if we were not to win it would be devastating. I think 3700 a good number considering the cost of travel, tickets and kick off time. I doubt them having more will have a big effect given the size of the stadium really? Falkirk have had a fairly straight forward run to this game with not having met a Premier league club. They are not on a great run of form either. However looking forward to seeing everyone and hopefully a great day out

Seeing as you have been keen to get going Robert, here's the preview so far. 2015 Revisited The last time we played Falkirk at Hampden in front of 37,000 fans, it was a history making event. I don't really need to tell you how that worked out, but for those that were on another planet, we won the Scottish Cup by beating Falkirk 2-1. Since then both clubs have underachieved and hit the skids. Falkirk are now trying to get themselves out of league 1 and we are desperately trying to keep ourselves in the Premiership play-off slot after a horrendous season littered with injuries to the whole squad. A third round struggle past Stirling Albion before we went through to the 5th round by default against Queens Park but since then have comfortably disposed of Premiership opposition in Livingston and Kilmarnock. Falkirk got here by putting six past Wick Academy before a narrow 2-1 win at Alloa. They then dumped media darlings Darvel 5-1 and in the quarter final put out Ayr United. On paper we will be the bookies favourites. That's not something we are normally comfortable with and I fully expect Falkirk will fancy their chances in this one. Be warned! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ticket & Bus info from ICTFC Supporters Club Buses Full ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 27 8 5 14 35 42 -7 Away 23 7 6 10 29 33 -4 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 50 15 11 24 64 75 -11 Falkirk are one of the few clubs out with the Premiership that have had the better of us over the years in head 2 head encounters. In the early years since we crossed swords in 1999 we always found Falkirk to be a difficult side to beat. Only 15 wins from 50 encounters is not one of our better stats. We have fared better in recent years with the Cup Final in 2015 being the pinnacle. The 0-2 home defeat shown below in the stats was the first meeting after the Cup Final win. Last 10 Competitive Meetings 0 - 0 (H) 2 - 2 (A) 2 - 3 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (H) 1 - 3 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 0 - 2 (H) Click the link below for our full report from the Scottish Cup Final, brings a tear to a glass eye..... We went in at the break a goal to the good after getting to grips with the game halfway through the first period, Marley Watkins finishing with aplomb after a seven man move. Carl Tremarco was sent packing after 75 minutes after he miscontrolled a ball and then scythed down Blair Alston as he sped goalwards. Schoolboy error from Carl that was punished five minutes later when Peter Grant headed powerfully home from the vacant left back position. However, an unlikely hero came forward and James Vincent applied the finishing touch after Jamie MacDonald spilled a Watkins shot. The rest is history. 2015 Scottish Cup Final May 30th Scottish Cup (Final) 2 - 1 N 37,149 Anyway, back to the future and another tough game is expected against a Falkirk side who will finish second in League 1 and will be looking for promotion through the play-offs. Three former Inverness players in their ranks at the moment. Defenders Coll Donaldson and Brad Mckay along with winger Kai Kennedy who will be a handful. Mckay and Kennedy scored in a 4-1 win over Alloa at the weekend. Kennedy has scored five goals in his last four games. However, League form goes out the window in cup games, especially at Hampden where the vastness of the arena with less than full stands can turn it into a training like atmosphere. The daunting task of beating one of the Old Firm at a packed Hampden does not appeal to many, but it has been done before although the bookies won't be expecting that to happen whoever teachers the final. LAST WEEK Dundee broke our run of six straight wins with a draw at the Caledonian Stadium last Saturday. They opened the scoring through Lyall Cameron before Austin Samuels levelled with fifteen minutes left. A hard earned point in a game where Dundee looked like running away with the points for over an hour. Our late comeback meant that ultimately it was a deserved point but Dundee might disagree with that. Falkirk warmed up by trouncing Alloa Athletic 4-1 at Recreation Park. Brad Mckay, Kai Kennedy and a brace from Liam Henderson did the damage. Kennedy on a good spree just now with some spectacular dead ball strikes this month. Coll Donaldson did his bit. He was booked on half time. The third goal enabled them to rest some legs ahead of this one, unlike us who had to battle hard for the full ninety plus minutes. Latest Team News David Carson is suspended for this one to add to our missing souls of Roddy MacGregor and Max Ram. Sean Welsh missed last week against Dundee with a knock but should make this one. Sutherland and Walsh will no doubt be watching from the stands. Wallace Duffy made a welcome return last week with the impending suspension of Carson for this game. Falkirk manager John McGlynn had this starting XI against Alloa: Kinnear Williamson Donaldson McKay McCann Henderson McGinn Kucheriavyi Morrison Burrell Kennedy Subs: P Morrison; Rowe, Allan, Nesbitt, McGuffie, Yeats, Wright Oliver, Lawal

A lack of hype here too which is why I started the thread! I’m looking forward to a great weekend in Glasgow.

A distinct lack of hype from the club. Can someone check they know we have a Scottish Cup Semi Final this weekend?