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Happy Birthday to Scotty. Beam me up. Site creator and maintenance man extraordinaire. If it were not for Scotty what we all do in our spare time.

Inverness all my life. Born in grant street in the late 50’s, growing up in the bught, moving in teens to new housing in merkinch, I suppose clach were my team. As young kids we would Jupe into games on a Saturday to watch whoever of the 3 that were at home. Back in those days you got in for free after half time, I was told a funny story once, might have told it in another thread, a guy went at half time for a pint to the heathmount and as he turned to his side a Brora player in full kit was standing next to him at the bar drinking a pint, muddy boots and all. I believe he had a great game second half. Don’t know how he managed it as back in 85 I was training for the Glasgow marathon. Mate and I did a 15 mile run one evening and as we neared home we passed the fluke, fancy a pint he said. We had 2 each and it was some struggle running the 400 yards home with 2 pints bouncing around in the belly. Back then clach park was the place to be on a Saturday. The shed had some characters in it. Fridge, Dundee and mapleback would roast the linesman. One Saturday, half time whistle went and mapleback was standing at the far goal line, Dundee was on the half way line, and another guy had maplebacks whippet at the railway end goal line . Dundee started legging it pissed as a fart, but the whippet passed him before the 18 yard box. Another week, streaking had just arrived in the uk. Half time whistle was just about to be blown, I saw Dundee, wearing an overcoat and wellies behind the railway end goals. As the players left the pitch he hopped over the wall and removed the coat and ran bollock naked in wellies to the far end with the tannoy announcer screaming “ we know who you are, you won’t get into this ground again” . Hilarious stuff for the fans. At 15 I was caley 2nd team regular for a couple of seasons, never going to make 1st team. Playing reserve games with 1st team players who were returning from injury or needed game time we would play mid week under the lights. A couple of experienced players turned up one night and said I am still not fully fit, ran the big bath, got in it and smoked cigars until the rest of us jumped in after training. My first game at Telford st as a skinny 15 year old I got the kit on. Top was too big and the shorts wouldn’t stay up. I had to grab the waist and fold it back and secure it with a safety pin. It was like a nappy on me. At 17 the clach manager approached caley wanting to sign me, trainer at the time hamish Munro had a chat with me and said he hoped I stayed at caley but I knew the score and headed off to clach. Turned up for training on the Monday night I entered the home dressing when a guy said who are you. Told him the story and he said he got sacked yesterday I am the new manager, Jim Fleming ex Dundee player. I said ok and turned round to walk out. He said wait, come join us. He obviously didn’t fancy me and it was 2 years as a regular in the second team. I had to sign for clach as you needed to be registered to play 2nd team games. I got asked to play for a welfare league team. Ignorant of the rules I played a cup semi final against a team who were managed by someone I knew. We beat them 2-1 but he knew I signed semi pro and complained to the welfare league. We lost the game and I got banned. So there I was nearly 19 and retired from football, I took up golf. That was me until 94. I didn’t see the point of watching highland league football as the players were guys I either played with/against in school or played with/against in the caley/clach 2nd team games v RC, Elgin, thistle, clach, caley. Was great though you being on the same park with great players with or against. After the merger my father asked one day do you fancy going to watch the new team, I said no, I play golf and then cut the grass on Saturday. Wife heard me and gave me a good talking to. So that was me, ict when at home and when ict away watch RC after a couple in the national, as old boy was Dingwall born. When he passed on 2001 I packed in the football again, didn’t think it was fair me going, him not. Wife intervened again saying my 1st grandchild wanted to go to games, so bought season tickets and that lasted a couple of years until she got fed up, but then 2nd grandchild was at an age to go and him and I saw the glory years up to the cup final win. I now take the youngest 2 grandkids of my 15. Hopefully we will see us rise up again. Got season tickets also for RC but ICT is my team.

Well, if this was a poor match, as a new fan, I look forward to seeing some good ones. The match being on TV offered me my first opportunity to see 90 minutes of ICT. Although the matches were on at the same time I watched this, without knowing the score, after seeing the West Ham v Spurs match. I enjoyed this one so much more, and not just because the result was what I wanted. Although there weren't many clear cut chances created there was always a look to advance the ball in an attacking fashion quickly - actually a pleasure to see! I thought that in the first half most of the good intent seemed to involve Callum McLeod getting forward (perhaps because he was on the side nearest the camera, but that's the way it seemed) and in the end he thoroughly deserved to get the winner and was a clear MoM for me. Alfie Stewart looked very good and was a reasonably close second. I thought Joe Chalmers sprays the ball about well, but later in the second half when he was put under more physical pressure didn't handle that so well. Liam Sole looks dangerous and exciting, but on Saturday his end product needed to be better. The defence (and keeper) worked well as a unit and although there were one or two dangerous moments for Cove, I didn't ever really feel that they were going to be able to get the better of the back 4 (plus GK). The general consensus on here does seem to be that it wasn't a great performance but the job was ultimately done. For me, it was much more of a "good watch" and I'm thirsty for more.

We've seen too many pedestrian performances over the last couple of seasons. Result was greater than the performance as most have said. The difference now is we have the pace to burn when we do decide to go with it. The final third needs tidying up though.

Some great stories here, from locals and not so locals. Thanks to those who have contributed so far.

Happy birthday Scotty and thanks for keeping the site going 🍺

I get where you’re coming from, but I think the points deduction is a fair and necessary punishment. When a club goes into administration, it’s often because they’ve been spending beyond their means. That overspending can give them an artificial advantage in the short term – signing players they couldn’t otherwise afford, competing at a level they shouldn’t be able to, and in effect “buying” success. Meanwhile, other clubs who live within their budgets and make tough decisions to stay financially stable are the ones who suffer. If there wasn’t a strong penalty like a points deduction, there would be nothing stopping clubs from gambling with money they don’t have, knowing they could just write off debts if it went wrong. The deduction isn’t about kicking a club while it’s down, it’s about maintaining fairness across the league and deterring financial mismanagement.

Nothing to see here to be honest I was a massive Jambo fan when I was young and long before Inverness had a team in the big boys leagues. When I moved to Inverness from Grantown on Spey to work for BT, I always favoured the underdog. At that time it was Clach. I even travelled to Glasgow in 1975 to watch them in a Scottish cup tie against Dumbarton when they played at Boghead. It was a pretty dreich day when we got to the station at Glasgow but were told the game was still on. Off we hopped to Dumbarton to be met by a sign at the station that the game was off. Meh! Clach eventually lost the replay 2-1. Some team Clach had back then before half went to County and the other half went to Caley. Scottish Cup (3rd Round) Wednesday, January 29th, 1975 Boghead Park. Att. 4,000 3:00 PM Kick-off McDonald Allison A. Kennedy Stuart Giles Corbett MacIntosh ⚽ McLaren C. Kennedy McLennan Stevenson As fickle as I was back then, I was nearer to Kingsmills and also took in many of their games. The big one being the 3-0 thrashing of Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup 1985 at Kingsmills Park. Inverness Thistle 3-0 Kilmarnock is a result still considered to be one of the worst in Kilmarnock’s history. Thistle were in the Highland League and Killie were struggling. The win earned Inverness Thistle a money-spinning tie at Celtic Park in the next round, where they lost 6-0. The ground was demolished in the 1990s. (Jimmy Calder, the young brickie from Grantown was a reserve striker for Thistle in that game.) Having coming out of Parkhead at the end of the game, a Glasgow cabby shouted over to me "what was the score Jimmy" 6-0 I retorted "who fur" was his dense reply??? Oddly, Caley were my least favourite Highland side but I did the odd bit of glory hunting for the big games. Anyway, when the Caley Jags entered the Leagues I would go to Inverness or Dingwall on alternative weeks before my son said that's plenty, I'm no going back to Dingwall unless we are playing them. The Jambos were relegated to second choice by now and my main focus was Inverness Caledonian Thistle. So much so, that I went on a (family) holiday to Denmark which just so happened to coincide with Craig Brewster's Caley Jags pre-season tour....... in Denmark. Talking of Brewster, enjoyed siting a banner made from the best wallpaper on the bank near the bridge with paint declaring Brewster Out. Looked good on Sky TV for the televised game that day. Caley100 and Zogg were the other perpetrators. 👀 My other son moved to Guildford with his work and when he was on the forums he was known as Guildford Caley Fan. He kept asking me how the games were going from afar and that is when Guildford Caley Fans very own match reports were born which resulted in me being asked if I could help out with doing some articles for the website. I thought hey ho, I'll just make them a wee bit bigger and they have since grown arms and legs and after something like fifteen years you seem to have drawn the short straw and are unfortunately stuck with me. He is now known as Crusher but is not a regular visitor on here now. So that's me, seen us through the highs and lows from nothing to Scottish Cup winners to administration and back (just). Always support local and since we have a team in that bracket since 94/95 that is where my allegiance lies. Met many good friends through my association with this forum. Cheers all. ps, still enjoyed yesterdays result at Ibrox though

My story is simple. Born in Lewiston. Reached 16 and struggled to find work other than family farming which didn't really appeal. I spent a year learning the noble art of stone walling on a YTS (Do you remember those?). On day release at college, I walked past the army recruitment office and found myself applying for the Queen's shilling - all these years later, I'm still taking the shilling. I've been all over the world but always found time to take in games, home and away, sometimes involving 1000 mile round trips. My dad used to take me to watch Caley at Telford Street until the merger then it was a natural progression to carrying on with ICT. My claim to fame is during my final year of my degree, I had to undertake a sports psychology study of the first team - including the likes of Bobby Mann, Charlie Christie, Barry Wilson etc. I scored a first for my project - and that was my love for the club cemented. A proper family club that I am glad to see has regained the ethos that made the club great in the first place - long may it continue!

For most on here my story is well known. However, there are a quite a few now that don't know the history, in fact, some probably weren't born when I went to my first Caledonian game. My interest in the club started back in 1978 during a motorcycling holiday. We'd entered Inverness from the North and as we came over the Caledonian canal I saw the Telford St ground to my right. Once at the B&B I asked the land lady what she knew about the club. I was then informed that Inverness actually has three teams. The penny dropped when I recalled seeing these Inverness clubs in the Scottish Cup. Anyway, I'd challenged myself to watch a game at Telford St but they were never at home when I returned. In fact I saw Thistle and Clach before the famous Caley. Bringing up a family and working curtailed long trips away and it wasn't until Jan 1990 before seeing first Caley match. This was Airdrie away. A Scottish Cup Tie that Caley should have won 2-1 if it wasn't for all that injury time. Sat 1st Sept 1990 was my first home game. A 4-0 win over Rothes. I was given a tour of the club and my eldest son and I were guests of the club. An amazing day. With the advent of the internet I found this very forum and it wasn't long before I was visiting the Caley Inn where we met @Scotty and others. I always remember him introducing himself and he mentioned to this giant of a man - [Big Stew ❤️] - that I was English. I nearly shat myself as he approached but, wow, what a man he was. Never let me buy a drink and ruined my liver. Mrs G and my two boys were with us at the time. So many friendships have stemmed from that day and some are, sadly, no longer with us. Travelling from Coventry a home game was always a weekender. Some away games could be done in a day depending how close to Glasgow / Edinburgh they were. Too date I have been to 213 games and there was only one season when I never went to a game. My record: P 213; W 97, D 50, Lost 66, F 367, A 264 There were also nine other games that I'd travelled up for. 8 were postponed and 1 when the train broke down at Beattock. And, before you ask....No...I'd don't have a figure for the total miles travelled.😂

Our latest podcast has dropped! This episode features the usual chat about recent and forthcoming matches as well as interviews with Liam Sole and Joe Chalmers which is nice. Have a wee listen!

Not sure about this one, but Robbie Thompson is also off to Brora until January I see Robbie scored on his debut for Brora. Good Luck Robbie

No mention of SPAM would be complete without this ....