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Top man, Dave the Rave - thanks for the outstanding memories! You have a right to question the finacial chaos that has ensued since the cup win - the management has been shambolic. Unfortunately, in football, mistakes tend to be compounded financially - in this case, the necessity to pay Hughes for garden leave impacted on the choice of the next manager (on account of cost), which got us relegated with falling attendances, leading to poor morale, even more player departures, poor form, early cup exits and falling attendances (repeat). I think the answer to the question "where has all the money gone?", while fair, is answered simply by the fact that the club has consistently run at a loss of ~£300k per annum for years and the books have been balanced by the various windfalls during that time (league and Scottish cup runs, Butcher compensation, Christie sale). That is a precarious existence, which will go wrong at some point. How wrong will be determined by the shrewdness of the board...ours failed that test spectacularly. The real issue is, and always will be, how do we get more people through the gate? If you look art the Scottish Prem this year, the league table almost exactly mirrors the average home attendances. The surprise should perhaps not be how far we have slid but just how outstanding our achievments were over those years when The Rave was with us. Apologies for the negative tone here - after hte game on Tuesday, I'm really quite upbeat about our prospects for this season, but I think we'll need to get used to the constant churn of players, as attendances are not going to recover significantly any time soon.

David Raven has simply spoken the truth that we have been mismanaged both on and off the pitch since the dizzy heights of that cup win and rather than building on that success we have squandered it. If that were not the case we would not be in the bottom half of the Championship and scraping the bottom of our coffers to bring in any players of any quality at all. It needed to be said and it has been by someone that most fans have a great deal of respect for. That said, there is no point in dwelling in the past. We are where we are. Fortunately, we now have a different board and a different manager and we are seeing a few embryonic green shoots of recovery. Time now to focus on cultivating those shoots without breaking the bank. We were an established Premiership club not so very long ago and there is no reason why, with hard work and a bit of good fortune, we can't be again. It won't be this season after our disastrous start but we can go a long way to laying the foundations for success in the future perhaps even as early as next season. St Mirren, who did well to avoid successive relegations last season, are an example of how things can be turned around without necessarily spending a fortune.

Totally disagree with this statement. You can't blame the players for looking to get the best deal for themselves. The Board are/were wholly responsible for the purse strings and therefore the current financial situation.

Excellent post. No apology required.

It was a joint club decision.

You are dead right. I asked that particular question myself and I think what he was particularly gratified about was the response from fans which he said was "pretty overwhelming and humbling" and that it was "pretty unbelievable the number of comments I've had." Then there was an almost embarrassed pause and exhalation before he concluded his answer with "there's not much more I can say about that...." To another question, he said that he would "always be looking out for ICT and seeing where they go from here" and that this had been "the best time I've ever had at a club." It's not that often that you get the opportunity to interview players who are leaving clubs, but without doubt David Raven has departed with great dignity.... a word which could equally be applied to his nonetheless categorical questioning of the stewardship of the two seasons following the Scottish Cup win.

Spoke to him at the stadium after the game. Rest assured he is in no doubt about the fans' respect and level of esteem in which he is held. It took him a long time to finish all the requests for pictures and just as long to say thanks to everyone who was wishing him and his family well.

And he nearly had a goal himself, he does not get credit for all the good play he has but gets plenty abuse when he makes a mistake.

https://stv.tv/sport/football/1405623-david-raven-blasts-inverness-board-before-departure/?utm_source=dlv Very well said David Raven. Thanks for everything.

No real surprise, thanks.

Alex Cooper has left to go on trial at Fresno FC

Here’s the pic of Golobart they used. One for your bedroom ceiling, Renegade.

I was one of them but have now to admit that it now appears that he bears a fair share of the blame together with Hughes, Foran and the other members of the board at the time.

maybe , just maybe, the decisions were made by a bit of a renegade chairman who seemed to be very popular with a rather large number on this forum?

The elbow to Donaldson's head by the Livi player in our box in an earlier stramash was far worse than Vigurs accidentally "catching" (still not clear) their player about waist height. That earlier incident that led to Donaldson being cut and then bandaged went unpunished, not even with a foul. Both the ref and his stand-side assistant must have seen it. It's obvious the ref had it in for Vigurs after his petulance following his first booking. If Warren's header hadn't been luckily scrambled away by Alexander just before the overhead kick it would have been 2-0 and we were set up to get all 3 points. What if? A shame the highlights didn't show the McKay header being scrambled off/behind the line in the second half plus Austin's shot heading for the top corner.

It would be good if he realises the esteem he is held in by the fans for all he has done for the club during his time here. He moves on with my thanks and best wishes for the future.

Not saying there is any bias against us by referees but do think we have been more harshly treated by referees in the games I have seen this season. Other teams appear more streetwise than us (this happened in the Premier league as well) and referees are being conned by this. You could argue that this is the players fault but referees need to be aware of this. The biggest bugbear for me however is the inconsistency of referees and until they can resolve this, and it is in their gift to do this, they will continue to get criticised.

We've scored 34 goals in all competitions this season, Liam Polworth has scored or assisted 17, from a central midfield position. He can present himself any way he wants as long as he contributes like that.

Liam Polworth is the leading assist provider in the Scottish Championship so far this season, with nine. He has 14 overall for us this season (three in the league cup, two in the challenge cup). Next in that list is Vigurs, who has four overall, two in the league, one each in the league cup and challenge cup. Something to think about when discussing his contribution.

It is very difficult not to be biased towards our own team but I haven't missed a home match this season and I have really been appalled at the difference between what has been awarded to us and what our opponents have got away with. Week in week out we seem to have had the rough end of the stick. I can sympathise with our players who mouth off at the referees, for as often as not we seem to be penalised when there is a coming together, if there is a tug at a shirt, a push, obstruction, or virtually any infringement on the field. The number of times Jake has been impeded brought down or pulled back and nothing is given seems unreal yet when we adopt similar tactics the Ref is reaching in 'his pocket before he even blows the whistle. I get irate watching from the Stand so what it must be like for those players involved on the park I dread to think. I cant 'help thinking that some sort of retro observation and decision overturning and or punishing must be implemented sometime in the future to get this wonderful game back on an even footing as it is rapidly becoming farcical at times. Okay you may say dream on, bughtmaster but there needs to be an answer to this and it is time that answer is found.

I always thought the refereeing in the top league was bad, but in the championship it's just poor performance after poor performance from the officials. I always try to be objective about decisions but this season some of them are mind boggling. When was the last time we got a penalty, when there have been plenty of claims, but all waved away? It looks like Vigures has been hard done by with the second yellow but he needs to cut out the petulance which give refs the opportunity to book him. If we can keep 11 men on the pitch, we can beat any team in this league.

Correct. Named Best Dressed Man in Britain by GQ as I recall. Sadly not. My career was cut very short due to a lack of ability.

Mmm. Has hardly set the heather on fire but, like everyone, deserves a fair chance.

Raven needs to do the maths. It's just not sustainable at that level of payments. It's not rocket science. Look at the abysmal crowds we attract. That will never ever pay for real quality. In fact, it appears that he was part of the problem with his wages.