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Move on from the merger, therefore make thread bringing up the merger? Ok.

They could merge

Bang on Fraz! But what the original poster needs to remember is that Caley Thistle is the latest stage in the evolution of organised football in Inverness which goes right back to the 1880s and possibly before. The OP was as yet unborn even when Thistle and Caley played out their latter games in the 1990s but he has to appreciate that for over a century these clubs were at the centre of the continuous thread which very many people still regard as highly important although there will be some who are not of an age to be able to do so. Thistle and Caley winning the Qualifying Cup or beating Kilmarnock or Clyde in the Scottish Cup is part of exactly the same historical thread as Caley Thistle winning the Scottish Cup. This awareness of Thistle and Caley will not survive forever and in perhaps 60 years there will be no one left who still remembers them. Active memory of them will by then have literally died out, just as there is no one left now who remembers Crown and Union which were partners in the process which formed Thistle in the 19th century. In the early 20th century it would have been just as valid for their former fans to have marked their past as that is for Thistle's and Caley's now. OCG is bang on the money with what she says too, while Sneckboy makes a fundamental point which begs the question of Deano - in the event of the formation of a Highland United would you want to ignore the act that ICT and its already proud history ever existed?

NEW SUPPORTERS CLUB BUSES RUN BY GELLIONS BAR - INFORMATION: VERY limited seats left for both confirmed buses. Book now via our Facebook or twitter page, or call 07971895858. £20 per person be be paid via our PayPAL - gellionsictfc@outlook.com, or cash to be dropped into Gellions bar. Dundee away on Saturday February 27th (3pm ko) - 51 seater bus departs Gellions Bar 09.30am Hearts away on Tuesday the 1st of March (7.45pm ko) - Mini bus TBC (this is dependant on demand, will be confirmed either way ASAP) Scottish Cup Quarter Final v Hibs on Sunday the 6th of March (2pm ko) - 51 seater departs Gellions bar Sunday AM, departure time still to be confirmed for this one! Bus for our quarter final is almost full and Dundee we have 10 seats remaining at this moment in time. Get you names in or get in touch for more info. Thank you everyone! Ross

Hibs pumped 3-0 at home by Morton. Encouraging....

Totally agree with what Sneckboy says tbh. Pre merger part of this clubs history whether folk like it or not. Although ICT through and through now I will be Caley till I die..... Get what you are saying Deano96 tho. Rehashing of the same old issues time and time again is just boring sorry.

I applaud your intentions, DEANO96, with your posts and enthusiasm - and I don't want to moan - but....at 20 years-old, you weren't born when the merger happened! I'm also not suggesting you can't have an opinion on it, but you've only ever known ICT as a club...and I can understand it must be boring and frustrating to hear us 'oldies' referring to it! Obviously, football existed before that. For many of us, brought up visiting both Telford Street and Kingsmills, it still is, and will always be, a sore point. One cannot lose their affiliation to the club they initially supported - and I'm sure you'd still fondly recollect Inverness Caledonian Thistle if they were part of a Highland United FC in future years, and It would be illogical to discount ICTs achievements (pre-Highland United merger) as having no significance to you. You must respect that supporting Inverness Thistle or Caledonian was a major aspect of 'our' growing up and was part of one's identity, in a then, much-smaller Inverness. Granted, some have embraced the club as simply 'Inverness' - but for others. it remains a 'waste' of two historic clubs, regardless of the success of the merged team. An opportunity arose; and the time was ripe to 'go for it' - a single Inverness club was always going to be successful with an application in the then climate. But in a relatively small time-scale, since the clubs merged, the goalposts have moved. Any team can now progress on merit. I've no doubt that Caledonian and Inverness Thistle would both eventually, individually, have made it into the SPFL. Just gutting!

TRAVEL FOR UPCOMING AWAY DAYS- Book your bus for one or all of the away games that are coming up soon! Call or text on 07951 309504 to book your seat. £20 adults, £10 under 14s. Dundee away on Saturday February 27th (3pm ko) - departs ICT Social Club, Greig St 9.45am / Stadium 10 am. Hearts away on Tuesday the 1st of March (7.45pm ko) - departs ICT Social Club, Greig St 3pm / Stadium 3.15pm Scottish Cup Quarter Final v Hibs on Sunday the 6th of March (2pm ko) - departs ICT Social Club, Greig St 8.45am / Stadium 9am (times approximate and TBC for this one). Thanks everyone!

Rearranged fixtures have now been announced so ammended list is as follows Sat 27th Feb Away Dundee Tues 1st March Away Hearts Sun 6th March Away Hibs SC Wed 9th March Away St Johnston Sat 12th March Home Hamilton Tuesday 15th Home Hearts Sat 19th Away Ross County Thats 7 games in 21 days. Going to be a hard set of fixtures especially with so much travel.

well done to Gellions boys for starting a bus

I'm starting to get a bit tired of this attitude that the merger is something to forget, something to cover up and something to feel embarrassed by. The merger is an interesting historical event that took place here and that's something to be remembered. Mergers are nothing new on football, but ours is one of the few that's happened (probably worldwide) in the last few decades and it's undoubtedly been a big success. That's something to be celebrated......as are the achievements of the two clubs that came before.

Yawn

Dear Mr. Dad, I'm well aware that we are part of the UK. I personally can't see independence in the foreseeable future. With that in mind, I wondered what other posters thought of the upcoming referendum. You stated in your first post that you don't know enough yet to make a decision. Well, fancy that? Neither do I. That's the only reason I hoped to find some informed opinion. It isn't any secret that the SNP have an agenda. Every party has. I thought the original post was to discuss the pros and cons of EU membership but some folk just can't stop obsessing over the bloody snp. This decision is far bigger than any political party and if folk can't rise above that........

You are perfectly free to move on from the past. We all have that's why we support the merged team but you are in no position to dictate to those of us who spent years or even decades standing on the terracing at Kingsmills and Telford Street that we should forget or ignore the past. ICT is now in our hearts us oldies just as much as the rest but young man we will continue to nurse our memories of two clubs both dating back to the 1880s there is nothing incompatible about looking to the future while, at the same time, respecting the past. By the way, this is a largely friendly forum of like minded people so nobody is likely to 'hate you' for your views as much as some of us may disagree.

You can easily get to Waverley in 40 minutes from Easter Road, espeically if you are 20! You should be jogging there and back in that time. Hibs don't have cash gates for any games, if they do have pay on the day you'll need to buy your ticket from the kiosk at the away end. The delay has been very stupid but I don't think the kick off time is that bad. Also, a formal complaint because the game is on Mother's Day? Not sure if serious...

Is that clouds in the sky or smoke lingering from Scarlet's chimney

We are blood brothers. But at least I have made an achievement - I have reduced DD's posts from 400 to 1 word - and now readable and understandable

Allies not rivals.

When are you going to have a merger with Dougal or has it already happened.

I hope the Daily Express story is not true, as I have a lot of time for both these players. But it does make you wonder if JH's concentration on signing mostly midfielders recently indicated that he knew Vincent and Williams were not going to be around next season. Pure speculation of course. Totally agree with PerfICT that we need to get Raven and Polworth signed up asap. Raven has always been one of my favourite players, and all the rumours lately about he and JH falling out are really disconcerting. It would be a good morale boost to everyone if some of these outstanding contract issues were resolved sooner than later.

MOAR BUSES

Hope there is a decent turn out and plenty of people have put themselves forward.

Well done guys, the more the merrier.

Real Ultras are always blurred fer protection reasons. That piccy could be used for other reasons in other media items - like the Stewards Weekly.

Sadly from what I could gather from my late brother they have terrible alcohol problems with the lack of daylight during the winter hours and the influence of western culture on their own I saw a lot of his photos and some of them were quite incredible one especially sticks in mind of a whale lying on the ice with all its innards hanging out and several hours later there was nothing left with pretty much every bit being used for something whether food or whatever it was the Hudson Bay Company he worked for Baffin Island / Arctic Bay

JV will forever be a legend for his cup final goal. I'd love both to stay

Have you actually seen their faces? .

Tues 23rd Feb League One Andy Barrowman (Albion Rovers 4-1 Brechin City) English League Two Alex MacDonald (Exeter City 1-4 Oxford United)

I didn't realise he was on loan at Strathspey. He'll certainly get plenty goalkeeping practice there! These are good opportunites for the young players, playing Highland League at the weekend, while still being eligible for the Inverness CT Development League games mid-week. Indeed, he was playing today against Motherwell.

Dundee 5-0 Dumbarton Quarter-finals: Rangers v Dundee (Sat 5th March, 12.30pm) Ross County v Dundee United (Sat 5th March, 3pm) Celtic v Morton (Sun 6th March, 12pm) Hibernian v Inverness Caley Thistle (Sun 6th March, 2pm)

Philip Roberts yesterday signed for Irish club Sligo Rovers. He's been without a team since being released by Dundee. http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3909/airtricity-premier-division/2016/02/22/20610292/former-arsenal-youth-philip-roberts-joins-sligo-rovers

This piece is the editorial for issue 80 of popular STAND fanzine; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster. A small number of copies of this issue are still available for a minimum £1 plus postage. If you would like a copy, get in touch at popularstand@outlook.com On being tired of football - February 22, 2016 I’ve found it hard to write this editorial, and I think it’s ultimately because I’m so tired. I’m physically tired because, as I write this sentence, it’s 1:40am Wednesday morning and this isn’t even the last thing I have to do for the fanzine before sending it to the printers, only after which can I go to bed. Ready to get up for work at 7am. But I think I’m also tired of football. Maybe, and hopefully, not the actual game, but I’m tired of so many aspects of it. I’m tired of football’s increasing omnipresence; why do Manchester United need an official tyre partner in Indonesia? Why do Liverpool need an official skincare partner, when surely a decent centre half would be of more use to them? I’m tired of leagues spending so much time rebranding themselves; as if it was the name of the competition stopping the people of Essex turning up in their hordes for Braintree Town against Gateshead. I’m tired of the Premier League’s rebrand and it only happened yesterday. I’m tired of marketing bollocks like this; ‘The identity is a huge tonal shift from buttoned up, shirt and tie, formal, reserved… to warm, human, approachable and informal.’ for what is just a f***ing logo for a football league, not a politician’s futile image makeover. I’m tired of football’s inflated sense of self-importance and finances that have now long moved beyond the realms of anything vaguely sane. I’m tired of people celebrating how much has been spent in a transfer window rather than what it has been spent on. I’m tired of the transfer window, and the indulgence of it all; something deftly summarised by Frankie Boyle’s Deadline Day tweet ‘Your club has bought some journeyman midfielder sexcase for the price of a hospital’. I’m tired of knowing that for most clubs he’ll largely be right. I’m tired of the arguments over ticket prices, particularly in the Premier League, that suggest only now have ticket prices become too expensive. I’m tired of fans complaining of ticket prices at their own club, whilst mocking empty seats at another. I’m tired of being charged £24 and upwards for third tier football, whilst the FSF puts its efforts into capping away ticket prices in the Premier League at a figure less than that. I’m tired of the way I still hand over my cash anyway, despite how tired I am of the ridiculous sums I’m being asked for. I’m tired of clubs attempts to justify these prices by telling me their tickets are cheaper than another club that I had no interest in watching. I’m tired of having to pay more on the day to watch a League match, despite it being a much less labour intensive transaction for all involved. I’m tired of the fury and rage that greets every announcement as if it is a personal affront; sometimes football matches are postponed, sometimes football matches are lost, sometimes players are sold. I’m tired of the constant search for a scapegoat. I’m tired of the childish dismissals of anything a past player or manager ever did for the club as being ‘****’. I’m tired of the twisting of the past to suit current arguments. Paul Dickov may not have been the right manager for the club, but he handed more youth team graduates debuts than any other Rovers manager since at least 1998; I’m tired of that being overlooked. I’m tired of being asked if I support a bigger club. I’m tired of the Liverpool, or Chelsea, or Manchester United fans who ask me this getting all put out when I subsequently ask them if they do. I’m tired of grown adults play-acting. I’m tired of how long a team that’s one nil up takes over a throw-in. I’m tired of goalkeepers pretending to berate their defenders, and pretending to not hear the referee soak up ten more seconds before a goal-kick. I’m tired of players who trot over to the far side of the pitch when they know they’re about to be substituted, so they can eat up as much time as possible walking to the bench. I’m tired of paying £24 or more to watch these same routines over and over again, every f***ing week. I’m tired of the banter. I’m tired of tekkers. I’m tired of the language and the slang. I’m tired of Paddy Power and the f***ing Lad Bible. I’m tired of engagement stats over information. I’m tired of retweeting praise and pretending the negatives never happen. I’m tired of new kits every year. I’m tired of people dicking about with hoops, and treating an away kit as a blank canvas. I’m tired of lazily nicking other clubs’ songs. I’m tired of pyro. I’m tired of parties. I’m tired of all this. None of it is football. None of it needs to happen. Just give me the game. And my bed. by Glen Wilson

These one-on-ones with the keeper just do not happen for us. Think the last one I have seen was courtesy of Billy Mackay. Do they do them on training ground

Could not agree more. It is an absolute joke. I can see it taking the best part of a week yet, leaving us just a few days to get air tickets (at premium prices), and match tickets sent out etc etc. It is no wonder that some 'long distance' fans just don't bother any more.

I've persuaded my wife to go to the game, only her second after the final last year! just wish we knew the date and kick off time!

You agree with Charles, Sneckboy agrees with me and Charles agrees with himself

Whether Nick is a better player than some of the other names mentioned is, I suppose, a matter of opinion. However he will always have a place in ICT fokelore history for his dramatic late equaliser against Hearts when we were down to 9 men in the League Cup semi two years ago. I'm sure we all wish him well with Dundee, as long as he has an off day when they play us.

The SFA should compel the TV companies to select their matches within 48 hours of the draw and just take their chance with replays. As wellas fans being able to make travel arrangements it might spread the TV money about a bit more evenly.

Peterhead's Shane Sutherland has landed the League One award for Player of the Month for January.

Why don't we try our very best to get him tied up on a three year deal and render that question obsolete ?

Well, you may be interested to learn the substantive news just received from the Head Office of the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners that the British Government has begun to cave in to the ever mounting pressure to treat every ex -pat pensioner that used to work in Britain and pay National Insurance Contributions the same as everyone else on their earnings, has agreed to consider a proposal put forward by the CABP and associated World bodies to phase in uprating for all those who live in ex-commonwealth countries and whose ex pat pensions have NEVER been uprated ever to combat inflation since they retired. This is not a wholesale cave-in by the U K Government but an agreement to phase in the upratings over quite a long period of time (with no back-pay to be considered for all the past years of deprivation foisted on to us however). Why would Cameron and company do this ?-- Because now his own M.P.s and some Ministers have been informed of the extent of the iniquitous conduct of past Governments and powerful forces are mounting against him. Delegates from overseas have been meeting with members of his Governments in London with the full support of the British press all of which oppose his past policies,. So he finally realises that this is a genuine issue that needs to be put to bed and dealt with so ....stay tuned.

Why's someone who's wanting join the CJT board trying to run a rival bus?

But yet in your 3 posts you haven't raised a single thing yourself. As a number of posters have pointed out, it is the SNP who have high jacked the referendum to drum up further grievance for their independence campaign. Only Alex has tried to defend the SNP position by pointing out good reasons for Scotland to be part of the EU, but he seems to miss the point that these are also reasons why Scotland is also better being part of the UK. It would be helpful if the SNP would actually accept the will of the people as expressed in the independence referendum and respect the democratic process that follows. We voted to be part of the U.K. and therefore must accept the will of the UK as a whole. Only when the SNP can show a bit of leadership for a change and honour basic democratic principles can there be any hope of having a proper debate in Scotland on the issues which matter.

Well I was actually going to steer clear of this but have to respond to some of the total bowl licks being spouted by the anti merger spewed - who react more seriously to the mention of "merger" than anyone else. I suspect the OP was more done in a light hearted manner than a serious statement. The peeple who now follow ICT after supporting the old regimes usually have banter about the old days - and it was always banter in those days as well. Many have decided to stay away. And as fer CB - well his bitterness will not affect history. But as fer Deano - feck aff ya Jeggie *******.

IHE it's hard tt get you to rise to the bait but....occasionally.....you rise to the occasion.

No you're right I wasn't, and I don't know what it was like for those who supported these teams so I can't judge how people felt about it. But unfortunately I'm one of these young a***holes that likes people to move on from the past! And it winds me up to hell when people mention this merger and more so when I say "Caley" or "the jags" and someone tells me it's "Inverness" or "Caley thistle". So as much as people will hate me for it and disagree, the club and the fans have to move on from then and only look forward! You may still feel upset or angry about the merger but like everything else in the past...its history. now I haven't meant to upset anyone about this topic but there is one or two out there who won't talk about anything other than the merger so for those people they now have these new clubs to go and watch!

For those who are still bitter about the merger all those years ago you can now go and watch Inverness thistle and Caledonian ft again as both have teams entering the summer amateur leagues! Inverness thistle is the old scotrail team and I'm not sure about the Caledonian one! So now, Inverness Caledonian thistle can look forward a great and big future without all the negative talk about 2 previous highland league team! And the fans can move on too