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Jeez, it's so difficult coming to terms losing a mate and fellow Caley / ICT fan, Johndo seems to have been all things about our team over the years. So sorry for the family. He will be badly missed, hope he meets up with Big Stu and Bronson.

Very sad news. A genuine force of nature and undoubtedly a legendary figure in the Caley and ICT support over many decades. Saw him at Annan ten days ago with Mrs Johndo and his young grandkids. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time. Had a chuckle at Naelifts' story about his pitchside ambulance adventure in Romania. Johndo somehow made a miraculous recovery and I bumped into him in rude health back in Bucharest a few hours later. RIP Johndo

I made a late decision to attend. A draw was a fair result with few clear chances for both teams. I felt we were mainly 3/5 at the back with Bray and Strachan as wing backs in a first half of few clear chances. MacLeod was my pick in the first half, closely followed by Strachan. It’s good to see reports that Walker is ok as it looked a bad one and you never like seeing anyone stretchered off. We changed to a 4 after his injury with Gilmour in front of the back 4. In the second half, Bray was the pick with some good runs down the right and good crosses. Longstaff saw a lot of the ball, and Savage got forward menacingly a few times. The stand side linesman wrongly flagged in our best move which had Mckay one on one with the ‘keeper. Arbroath ended with 10 due to injuries and adopted a 9 0 0 formation which we just couldn’t play though. The teams were pretty even. Some of our passing was very good but we just didn’t have an end product once again.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Johndo in person but the passion in his posts on CTO were fantastic from his match day reports the last one from Annan only 10 days ago to his fun threads like Panto time a Christmas and even his passion for Olde Inverness always with a bit of humor. We will miss him on this forum and my thoughts at this sad time are with his family and friends.

Like others, I didn’t know him personally but loved his contributions on here and he was clearly a very big character. My sincere condolences to his family.

There are no words. Just absolutely shocked by this news. I knew he had had a bad turn a few weeks back but nothing other than a full recovery was expected. Awful, awful news. Thoughts are very much with his family and friends right now

It is with a heavy heart that I post this message today. Our friend and fellow supporter John MacKenzie, known as "Johndo" or Immortal Howden Ender (and likely quite a few other things to some of you) passed away this morning while waiting for surgery. More details and tributes to follow from many of us I am sure. On a personal level, I have known Johndo since I was a kid in Dalneigh. Johndo was a few years older than me, and he was always one of those you looked at as one of the cool kids. Quite apart from his role as Dad and Granddad, he was also a hardworking and dedicated mental health medical professional in real life, but outside of that stressful environment, most of us knew him more as a joker, irreverent character, and a wind-up merchant extraordinaire when it came to the football, whether that was Caley before the merger, or by embracing Caley Thistle after the merger, and inevitably becoming a lightning rod of criticism for those who didn't agree with his choice to follow the new club. Above everything else, Johndo was a friend to all who knew him. If there is a group picture of Caley Thistle fans, be it in Romania, at Hampden, or some far flung lower division ground, Johndo is probably in it, marshalling the support somewhere. I am really lost for words of tribute for him right now as I have a thousand memories going through my head ... being led astray in the Tarry on occasions when visiting in recent years, unexpectedly seeing his mug on my telly in Toronto when the fans got interviewed at Hampden, or just reading his pearls of wisdom on here and looking beyond the wind-up merchant to the deep thinker he actually was. Rest in Peace Johndo. I will miss you my friend. Will raise a large Voddie & Coke to you tonight and I know you will be having a sesh up there with Brosno, Big Stew and others.

Here y,are zoom in a bit.... and

For what it's worth, here's Dunc on a sombre night for the fans

Feels like a real punch in the gut, don't know what else to say, anyone using this forum will know he was a big part of the ICT community. A big loss at an already difficult time for club supporters Did we meet him before the Scottish Cup Final Sandy?, albeit briefly

So sad. I knew Johndo from the old Academy days, he was in the year above. I too remember the mock election Johndo won, his theme tune being Alice Coopers I want to be elected. Played football with him as well and was certainly led astray on school football trips abroad as well as in this country. Hadn't seen him for a few years but he still was a great character. RIP my friend and condolences to your family.

Agree with Robert. MacLeod looking very promising as indeed were all the Fergie Fledglings. Bray certainly stood out in the second half. Hope we get positive news on Walker today. Notice Roddy scored two more last night - guess we have to bury the past. We will not forget nor forgive. Dundee is basically a training exercise with the focus on Dumbarton. That is now two home games where the players have had great support. Let's hope we get news soon on what is happening behind the scenes.

A huge character leaving an even bigger hole that can never be filled. RIP IHE.

So sorry to hear of the loss of Johndo - thoughts are with his family at this very sad time

So sad to hear this news. Rest easy friend. Met him , purely by chance , in a bar before Hamilton play off away game and he was in great form. Condolences to his family.

I remember him as a young lad from Lochend and played football against him in the Welfare League. The last time I saw him he was being escorted from the ground by security! He will be so sorely missed. My condolences to his family.

What awful news. Such a shock. I usually only met him in pre or post match pubs, mainly at 'away' matches, all over the south of Scotland. I had left Inverness by the time Johndo had become a stalwart in the Howden End. He will be greatly missed. Condolences to his family. R.I.P. I'll raise a 'vodie' or two to you this evening.

Sad news indeed. First spoke to him in The Iona bar many years ago will be missed by many

Awful news . An absolute character who will be so sadly missed .

I remember going to one of our games at Pittodrie a decade or more ago. Taking up my seat number I didn’t know at the time who this guy was but I thought ‘I bet this guy is that Immortal Howden Ender from CaleyThistleOnline’ ! Didn’t take long to find out this larger than life character was indeed the main man!

There's nothing more that I can add to what everyone else has already said I, like everyone, am truly stunned and saddened by this news. My thoughts go out to Johndo's friends, family, and the ICT community for this massive loss. RIP IHE

Awful news - we will all miss our Johndo, such a lovable rogue, an ardent supporter of Caley and ICT. I'll miss his hugs in the North Stand and at away games. Sincere sympathy to Mrs Johndo and all his family. Lizi x

Can’t believe it. On Sunday I posted a 50 year old photo of us playing for caley A team in the investment thread. I added what I thought was a joke saying IHE photo bombed the picture. He added a smiling emoji. Condolences to his family and friends. RIP teammate

Yes, this thread, whilst sombre at the moment, should be a place we can remember the utter chaos Johndo could leave in his wake. I look at the message I got a little while ago and still cant believe it, also look at his profile to see he was still active on here yesterday, and it just doesnt compute, but when I pause for a second, rather than feel devestated (which I am), i cant help getting a small smile across my face as yet another Johndo memory pops into my head ...

Oh my goodness me. I'm shocked by this news. What a guy. Have met him on many occasions, a true Caley and ICT legend who loved the club over many years. My sincere condolences to all his family and friends. Love and respect to you Johndo may you rest in peace.

Absolute devastated to be reading this I’m in total shock. Johndo will be sadly missed by the entire ICT family a huge miss at games and on CTO it just won’t be the same without him. My heart and condolences go out to all his family and friends . RIP my friend Dougal

Such a shock and a huge loss to many. He will be sorely missed by so many. I'm sure there will be lots of stories to flow and through the sadness there will be many smiles. I'm sure that's what he would want.

I'm genuinely upset at this. As a mental health nurse, I'd known him since I was a student at Craig Dunain. Believe me, his mischief wasn't confined to football but he was an absolute professional. Life and soul, same as he was at every game he attended. This is one of these passings that really leaves a void. RIP IHE

Truly awful news. No words at moment as can't get my head round this news yet

That's very, very sad news. I was in the same year as him in the Academy, and although our paths didn't cross often, everyone knew him and he was a friend to all. Our paths did cross in the spring of 1974, when we had a mock general election. I was "chairman" of a party who shall remain nameless. Johndo was the entirety of his own party. The result was never in doubt, with him winning on an unstoppable tide of populism. I last saw him on a hot night in Romania, but he didn't look as though he would welcome conversation. He's not the first from my school year to pass away, but he was still far too young. It's a shame that he won't see the club climb out of it's current hole. My commiserations and sympathy go to his family, and to his very many friends.

Absolutely gutted to hear the news. Been friends for a long time with Johndo and I too have been led astray by him many times over the years! He will be missed greatly. Away games will not be the same without him.

Stunned at this news, I have also known Johndo since we were boys, are the same age, condolences to all the family. A larger than life character in every sense. RIP John.

I think we need to be brutally honest and acknowledge that we are looking here at a situation football has got itself into through the manner in which it pays players. There has for some time been a culture within the game of paying players at levels well above their true market value in terms of the earned income that clubs can generate. This has led to a widespread reliance on wealthy individuals effectively gifting money to clubs to allow them to continue to operate in a fundamentally loss making manner. In fact this has become so commonplace that it has generated unrealistic expectations that people should simply be there to provide these subsidies to football clubs. Ross County has been in the fortunate position of having a major benefactor in the long term which has given the club the means to rise up the leagues and (just) stay there. At a rough estimate I believe this assistance, across time, to be in the ballpark of £20 million. Should that source of funding suddenly disappear, I imagine that major problems would arise very quickly. However Caley Thistle has also had benefactors whose overall contributions I would very roughly estimate to have totalled around £10 million. At least £5 million of this came from Tullochs, who didn’t have to bother but, critics of Tullochs should note, without their assistance, ICT might well have gone out of business around 2001. If you then add all the share purchase with no prospect of any return, probable gifts and the loans that comprise the current £3M of liabilities, then it’s not difficult to see how ICT has gone through £10M of other people’s money over the years and now desperately needs millions more. Anyone connected with ICT should therefore be very careful about criticising how County has been funded because it is simply a more successful and more consistent version of what has happened in Inverness. Football needs to be aware that society doesn’t owe it a living - especially when it insists on continually living beyond its means.