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Signed back on here with an extra S on my name to pay my respects to my great friend, my best friend - Bronson... aka Simon Macdonald. You gave me many laughs mate. You were an absolute rock for me when I went through my own separation. You pulled me back up. You had my back. You held me up. You were a true, true friend & one of very few people I trusted with my life. We had a brilliant night on Friday. Laughing, smiling, joking, drinking, talking about the future. I am so, so, sorry from the bottom of my heart that I never saw the signs from you. I'm sorry I never saw your pain or your turmoil. I just saw Simon, laughing, smiling, joking.... My heart is hurting like hell for you. I am riddled with guilt I never saw your internal pain & my own pain is growing each day that I failed you in your own time of need. RIP Simon. It was an honour to call you my friend.

Although this is not (yet) posted on the official site I am posting it here as the source is pretty legit (Nicola McAlley). Assuming this is indeed legit then a huge pat on the back to the club for doing this. This is a tremendous idea and one they should be praised highly for. GOOD JOB !!!

An honour to play with Herchie and proud to call him a pal, played with his heart on his sleeve, a real winner and leader, I'll never forget you! RIP Big Herch.

I will be there in spirit as a paid up Trust member. Just my Tuppence worth, but it is time for everyone to put aside the distrust that comes with this type of situation and make it clear to whoever represents US when it comes to any talks with the club that the current situation is untenable. The Trust should be the conduit to organising or requesting an EGM if the current board remain invisible and ineffective. We cannot have a CEO, board and SLO who won't talk to fans. In the case of the SLO that's his feckin job FFS. We cannot have a sporting director who spends more time in Dingwall than the team bus or directors seats at whichever location we are playing. You were supposed to be an important cog in the wheel. If you are not there then it's stealing a wage. We can't have a manager and coaches who see something isn't working so try the same thing again and again to see if they get a different outcome. That's the definition of clueless. Teams.know how to play us, we don't have a clue how to play a pub team. Dodds has to go. He could reclaim some dignity by resigning rather than getting sacked. No package required or requested. His backroom team need to go with him. Gardiner needs to go. Too many day to day issues, problems and ill will for his position to be anything other than untenable. I know many examples of situations where suggestions have been made to the club, even at their own request just before COVID, but these suggestions or money making leads were completely ignored seemingly because they were not his idea. No idea how true that opinion is other than personal knowledge of one really good lead given to him - by me - that was never followed up on. Ross Morrison may have been a supporter of the club long before he was chairman, and seems like a decent guy when I have encountered him, (or.passed.him that lead) but he is making the same mistake with Gardiner that Kenny C did with Richie Foran. Too much faith and misplaced trust. Time for eyes to be opened and difficult conversations to take place. If he can't show SG a P45 then he needs to award himself one. This is the lowest point our club has been at on its 30 year existence and if we want it to reach any more milestones the rot has to stop NOW.

Amid all the doom and gloom, let’s take a moment to praise Billy on scoring his 102nd goal for us and becoming our all time record goal scorer. Its a shame goals 101 and 102 came in defeats, but he continues to show his value and commitment to the club. His work rate is immense and he is a great role model for our younger players. The achievement is well deserved and I hope there are many goals in him during the rest of his time with us. Well done Billy!

It is with heartbreak and sorrow that I must announce the passing of well-known ICT supporter, my great friend for many years, and the best man at my wedding Stewart Anderson. Stewart, his brother Ross, another friend Calum, and I sat directly above the tunnel from the second season of ICT at the Caledonian Stadium and even if you didn’t know him, you likely knew of him or encountered him. It will always be an unforgettable sight to have seen the big man in full swing shouting “encouragement” to opposition players, managers, and referees! Those tickets changed hands over the years as paths crossed and uncrossed or personal circumstances changed, but always within people who were a part of that group with Stewart at or near the centre. The banter and ‘encouragement’ on a Saturday afternoon were all just football. Away from the stadium, Stewart was the proverbial gentle giant, a 6’5” teddy bear dedicated to family and friends who was also hardworking and conscientious. He would never knowingly do you any wrong and would give you the shirt off his back to help you if needed. I had the privilege to know Stewart for nearly 30 years. It started through football but transcended into far more areas of our lives. Stewart became a close friend before I moved to Canada, and when I did, he was the best man at my wedding, his dad Blair was our piper, and his mum Mary and brother Allan were also in attendance. He gave a speech at the reception that made even the ministers blush (we had two ministers – a husband and wife team from Nova Scotia who were very broad minded). I think I still have the handcuffs and blow-up sheep somewhere! Over the years we had some memorable times in Scotland at ICT games both home and away, starting or ending in either the Caley Inn or the Innes Bar. He came to Toronto a couple of times after the wedding and we had a fun time travelling through the Rockies from Vancouver to Edmonton, then to Calgary and back to Toronto. Another time he came to Toronto then with us to Cuba where he celebrated mine and my wife’s 5th anniversary in style, looking and feeling equally happy as he relaxed with a Pina Colada and a Cuban cigar at the beach in Varadero or sipping a Mojito in Hemingway’s bar in Havana. He also came with me to a couple of Toronto FC games that year and managed to get an entire pub singing “Bridge and Castle”! (see video). He made friends here in Toronto who still ask for him after all this time. Friends who I will now have to break this tragic news to and who will feel the pain like everyone else. Stewart was a bit of a technophobe, who just about managed to work his way around Facebook, so you won’t find him as a previous poster on the site. However, you will find many on here who knew the big man, respected, and loved him, and will miss him dearly. I am seldom lost for words, and even though I have a thousand stories I could relay about fun and crazy times with the big man, I am honestly and truly at a loss for more to say right now other than that I am thinking of his parents Blair and Mary and his siblings Blair, Ross, and Alan. I offer them my sincere and heartfelt condolences which I know will barely make any dent in their loss, but hopefully at some point, they can take comfort in knowing that my feelings are reciprocated across thousands of people whose lives Stewart has touched over the years whether from his travels, work, family, or football and every one of us sings the same song about his warmth and generosity. To Stewart, what else can I say but ‘Jeezo Big Man - Rest in Peace. I love you. I cherish all the happy memories we had together. I even cherish the times we disagreed. It made our friendship stronger, and you truly were the best man, not just my best man. You were one of a kind and I will miss you dearly. I and many others in several countries will raise a ‘peedy’ to your memory and look back on your life with great pride to have known you and been a part of it. Rest in Peace my friend. //Scott.

Pathetic attacks on the team and manager on here. Tactics may or may not have been correct. We were on top before the first goal for quite a period and if Tom Walshs strike had gone in it would have been a very different game. To sit deep against ( Scottish International) passers like Scott Allen giving them time on the ball like he got in the second half after the sending off would have been catastrophic imho. Our forwards troubled the hibs defence , we scored 2 goals and could have scored 4 but for some superb goalkeeping from marciano. Our defence played to their level with some great last minute tackles from brad mackay Rooney ,and tremarco. Mchattie gave away a silly penalty and showed some inexperience but thats who we are. A team of developing players getting better under robbie rather than worse under Foran. Midfield were outclassed by a great hibs side coached by jack ross who made the most of their forwards amazing movement. Ridgers was a rock. Hibs are the form side in the premier league since Jack Ross took over moving from one point of the bottom to sixth place and too hear the same tired refrain of its all Robbos fault is disappointing to say the least. I think yesterdays game and the match against other premier league teams this season shows that even after losing Mcart and Coll we can challenge the premier league teams in the playoffs especially if we have our best team on the pitch. We missed Sean Welsh yesterday but I see hope not despair that promotion is possible. So support the team rather than attack the people working to that success.

It is with great regret and deep sadness that I post this note to pay tribute to Ken Thomson, former director of Inverness Caledonian Thistle who passed away earlier today (Friday). Personally I am happy and privileged to have been able to call Ken a friend as well as someone who always tried to do his best at Caley Thistle, sometimes under very challenging circumstances. A man who also liaised with us here at CTO to foster the excellent collaborative relationship we had with the club in recent years. Many people will have known him not only from the football world where he came to the club around 1999/2000 but also from the shinty world where he was president of the Camanachd Association in the early 90s. He was elected president in 1990 but served his time in that association well before coming president. He was on the executive committee in 1978 at the age of 24, and was also a former president of the Camanachd Referees' Association, a former secretary of the North of Scotland Shinty Association, and an organiser of the Aviemore Indoor Sixes. He was goalkeeper for Aberdeen University in the 1973 Sutherland Cup-winning team before turning to refereeing, and also sponsored Strathglass, the club from his home village of Cannich. Ken was an extremely important part of our relationship with the club. I would go as far as to say that he was the primary architect of the bond we forged over nearly 20 years. In the same season where Super Caley went ballistic, Ken reached out to me and we met a few times to discuss how the fledgling (5 year old) CaleyThistleOnline site could help the club communicate with fans and act as a two-way conduit directly with, and to, the board as the internet became a more and more important communication tool. He recognised the significance of the internet before many others did and was open minded enough to embrace it and ourselves and not worry too much about keeping things as insular as they had been for the first few years the club existed. He may have been more AOL than iOS when it came to operating the technology but he understood the importance. In modern day terms he was a supporters liaison officer (SLO) before anyone had ever coined the phrase or even thought supporters were that important ! He was instrumental in helping setup "Boardroom Banter" both times we ran it. He was the man responsible for the live chat sessions we had with the likes of Graeme Bennett and others and he helped us facilitate a number of events where club officials and fans mingled in social settings in the Caley Inn, Caley Club, Innes Bar and even on away trips at times. Over the years he dragged along the chairman, other directors, chief execs and other folk to these get togethers and I believe his input helped forge a bond with many supporters that can never be broken. There are not too many clubs that were as open as Caley Thistle during his time on the board and he is to be applauded and lauded for that. Goodnight my friend, you will be missed, but you will never be forgotten.

Quite frankly never seen anything like this in football. Liam Polworth has come through the ranks at Caley, 25 assists last season, clearly the only one with the ability to unlock a defence and yet the abuse he gets from some sections beggars belief. It hardly matters what kind of game he's having either. So many "supporters" seem worryingly ready to rail on him at the slightest thing. This isn't in my head, hear it all around me every home game. Yesterday as an example, Mackay came on and took a touch that would've resulted in an outcry had it been Poli. But because it was Mackay? Total silence. Get behind your players and learn something about the game you're supposedly watching, you know who you are, absolute disgrace. You only need to listen for a while to the people talking ***** about Poli to realise they don't have much of a clue how the majority of the game works, really seems like they're there to vent. I for one really hope he stays unlike that wee lemon Daniel ict or whatever his name is on Twitter who's going about delighted at the prospect of losing our only playmaker to a premier league club. That wee crew are such a stereotype, are more or less only at games for the homoerotic camaraderie, know **** all about football and I hope they see this: nothing wrong with your reasons for being at the football, that's your business, but when you're dishing out that kind of abuse expect it to come back and bite you. Aside from that lengthy rant, we've got a very good side here if they could up the tempo at key moments and were able to add a player who can finish consistently. Still hoping Austin can be that player myself. Roll on Tuesday.

Hi everyone, I attended my first Caley game last weekend on a complete whim as I was visiting close to the area. My hometown is Blackpool and I support Blackpool (I loved seeing Nathan Shaw score that third goal as a product of our academy) but as life has taken me around a bit I now live in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, not far from Leeds. I also follow Pontefract Collieries home and away because of this. 8th tier of English football. I wanted to join the site to firstly say I really enjoyed the hospitality of your club. We spoke to a few locals around the city before and after the game and they were very welcoming us of foreigners. Secondly, the football was brilliant. Now, I know I may come in to some criticism for this but it was like watching lower league English football but with an immaculate pitch. However that is EXACTLY what I want to see in a football match. Lastly, and my only criticism of your wonderful club would be the home atmosphere. I expected booming when the third goal went in last week but it fell flat. Even at 2-0 up it was very quiet. I’d love you to create more of an atmosphere. Get that drum banging and get singing guys!! It’ll make a massive difference to your results! I’ll be forever keeping my eye out for your results now. Hope you manage to string a few wins together and get up the table. Come on Caley. Cheers

Gardiner/Morrison will be hoping that takes the heat of them for a bit. We can't let it. The club is rotten to the core and whilst Dodds needed to go, so do the aforementioned.

It is with great sadness that we let everyone know of the passing of one of our site moderators 'Kingsmills'. Colin had been a member of the site for many years, definitely someone you would consider one of the originals. He was also a moderator on the site for much of his time here. Like all mods, he had his fair share of run-ins with some posters but as far as I am concerned always handled things pretty fairly. To my knowledge, I had never met Colin in person as I had already moved to Canada when he became a mod and we never (knowingly) crossed paths at the stadium but in email or PM dealings with him it was always pleasant. Condolences and respects to his family and friends.

Whoever will be at the helm next season we owe Neil McCaan and Billy Dodds a huge Thank You for getting us to where we are now .They did a great job in the short time they were here . Wishing them All the Best for the future ....Hoping the managers position can be announced soon .

3 hours old and already in the strip Northstandfan super proud of you and my new grandson. Future Northstander sorry if it’s not appropriate for this part of the forum but just had to do it.

I don’t understand fans staying away because they don’t trust the Board. Most fans don’t give a stuff about the Board - they, like me, go to watch football and support the players of ICT. It’s like saying you’re never going to buy in M&S because you don’t like their board members.

The team has just equalled the club record for the number of league games undefeated (22) and moved back into the play off places. It's a great achievement. Yet some of the "support" choose to boo the team at the end and to hurl abuse at our leading scorer who happened to score the 2nd equaliser tonight. It can't exactly encourage players to want to play for us if that is the kind of "support" fans give. Of course the recent draws are frustrating and we've lacked penetration going forward, but you don't go 22 games unbeaten if you are a poor side. The players themselves were clearly gutted not to have got a win from the game tonight. Perhaps if some of the folk who were constantly on the players' backs all night had shown a bit of support instead, then the players may have felt less pressured and played better as a result.

I'm finding myself in agreement. Talks a great game but what has he actually achieved, other than alienate a lot of local businesses from wanting anything to do with the club after the concert fiasco? All that orange kit and 12th july nonsense was the final straw for me, the club should never have let itself be lowered to that level! Seems like the chairman has given him free rein of the club to run it as he likes? Might his final act have been, what's becoming blatantly obvious, the mad decision to award dodds another 2 year contract?

If he had his dream job as Sporting Director of Hearts, do you think their fans would acquiesce to his continued employment by the club if he was commentating on Hibs games every time Hearts were playing away? Enough is enough. Time for the broom of change to sweep through the club.

I hope after reading and hearing what the man went through with his illness people get off his back. He genuinely wants to help our team do well and he's if nothing else not short on effort as well as being our current top scorer this season. Let's for once try and get behind all our players at the business end of the season, we still have a great chance of the playoffs and his goals are going to be crucial.

A big Thank You to the Clubs new Supporters Liaison Officer, Scott Young, who chose a very positive way to meet ICT fans in the away end at Dundee. Before ko he went along the rows of fans, chatting to all and sundry. I don’t know if everyone knew who he was but I think it was a great gesture and, well done to him.

As a regular subscriber to ICT PPV I wanted to congratulate the club on providing an excellent product. Iain Auld is a very talented commentator and by far the best one I have listened to online. He has a fluidity and professional sounding commentary that really is top class. Ross Tokely is also superb and every comment he makes I find I agree with - his tactical insights and passion as an ICT fan make our PPV a joy to watch. The camera angles and replays are good with only a few minor glitches. Well done Iain, Ross and ICT!

Tragically Bronson is not the first site member of ours to have passed away over the 25 years the forum has been active, and unfortunately he wont be the last, but the news this weekend seems to have affected a lot of us deeply as we have known him a long time even if we all had different degrees of closeness to him. I have been thinking about things a lot since I heard about this and would like there to be something positive to come from his passing. The Bronson Legacy referred to in the title of this post if you will. I do not know what fits, how best to phrase it, or even if we are able to do something lasting and beneficial on the site but FFS we need to look out for each other somehow .... I have seen comments on Facebook and elsewhere where members of our site have posted the offer to be there for others who might need to talk. I also hold my hands out and say the same thing to anyone on this site whether we know each other or not and whether we have crossed swords or are best of buddies. If you need to talk, I am here. If you need to vent, I am here. If you need a second, third or fourth opinion, I am here. I am no expert or psychologist, but I can do two things quite well ... listen and give an opinion. Many of us are the 'strong silent type' and that stoic Highland reserve is how I used to deal with things as well. It's a man thing, it's a Highland thing, and it's most definitely a Highland Man thing. Over the last two years my personal life has been less than perfect. 2018 started (on Jan 1st) with the suicide of someone I knew from the Toronto FC supporters group who didn't realise how much he was loved and revered (and still is). After watching an uncle die from Prostate Cancer, I was then diagnosed and treated for cancer myself and will live with some side effects forever but the crucial thing is that I will live. I also lost my mum in June 2019, two days after returning to Canada from our last visit to see her. Through it all I had the support of friends on both sides of the Atlantic, family and colleagues and this helped. I was in a dark place a few times but someone was always there with encouragement or a quick word. Its amazing how even asking how someone is doing can be uplifting and bring you out of that slump. It also helped me shed that stoic reserved approach. I now view life as too short and bottling stuff up is less of an issue now. I now participate in Movember each year and one of the key cornerstones of this is mental health (along with Prostate and Testicular cancers). I have talked openly about my cancer and told colleagues at work that if anyone is scared to go for testing or wants to know what happens after a diagnosis, I am here. The same applies for trying to remove the stigma over talking about mental health. I have added the MikeysLine link to our site pages over the weekend and there are a couple of other links below to sites that may help or form the basis of some small thing we can do for our little community here .... because thats what we are, a community, and community means looking out for each other even if/when we dont always get along. Please use this thread for comments, links or brainstorming anything you think we can do here. https://uk.movember.com/mens-health/we-need-to-ask https://letstalk.bell.ca/en/ways-to-help

Ridiculous that people call for Robbo's head. Can you imagine the budget of Hibs compared to ours, especially these days. Who exactly would you replace him with? People forget we've got to a cup final, quarter final, and are well in contention to be promoted to the premier league. Totally clueless.

Personally, I'm so sick of this constant and unending talk of 'the board' on here. I support my team, have since I was young and always will. As long as nothing is going wrong financially, I care not one jot who the board are or how/what they communicate with me. I just want them to pick the correct manager, support him as well as they can within budget, and that’s pretty much it. The only real disconnect I have with the club at the moment is with this site, and the few helmets who take every opportunity to bleat on about perceived issues with the board and seem to think they’re speaking for us all. I go to games, and it’s good crack watching the team (well sometimes…) and seeing folk I know, few beers etc. Come on here however, and it’s always the same few folk constantly whining, and for a fans forum it doesn’t reflect any actual match going fans I know or have met. Personally, I have no interest in events like this or anything to do with our supporters’ group solely because of individual posters on here who seem to be running or involved with these things (see ridiculous SLO debacle for reference). It’s very clear they have personal issues with those running the club, and seem hell bent on proving points and highlighting any negativity to further their own egos over and above actually supporting the club. You can say that events like this are not attended because of a disconnect with those running the club, but maybe the reason fans don’t turn up is because a lot of us are just happy to go to games and have no idea what it is you guys actually want? That’s the case for me anyway, it’s not apathy, I just find this all incredibly boring. I’m even bored with my own post here, this is what CTO has driven me to and I feel ashamed.

I really don’t see the problem here. The bottom line is that if his contract needs to be honoured, it will be. But as part of a process of urgently necessary cost cutting, an alternative option is being sought. The financial reality is that each and every means of cutting costs has to be pursued. There is, unfortunately, no room for sentiment when the future of the club is at stake. I don’t know the intimate details of Gary’s current contract but would guess that it was, a la Foran, a fairly long one given under the previous boardroom and managerial regimes in the Premiership. We need to thank Gary for his huge contribution (for which he has been remunerated) and regret the earlier failure which has made it necessary to try to terminate his engagement.

Just to let you all know that Eric Davidson (ictewd) passed away this morning 1st March 2023. He was admitted to the hospice on Friday and he said "at least I will get WiFi in there and will try and do team lines etc as it will give me something to do". Unfortunately he was unable to manage anything and passed away this morning. Eric was a keen follower of rugby in his younger days and would have been a regular at the Barrel Vault. Eric was not a prolific poster on here, but did a tremendous amount of work in the background. He was a quiet unassuming man and after joining BT he did some studying to make his way to being a precision tester at BT, and a good friend since the 70's and along with Iain (IBM) has been working behind the scenes to help keep the site stats ticking over. Typical of Eric, he was happy to work in the background whilst others would get the glory and went about his CTO business in a dilligent and professional manner. I will miss him greatly for his contributions on here, probably unnoticed by many. More importantly, he will missed by all who knew him. Condolences to all friends and family, especially his wife Anne. x

I want to take a few moments to say a huge public thank-you to 3 specific forum members who have been toiling behind the scenes to update our entire stats program during the course of the pandemic. Its mind-numbing and repetitive work but it helps us immensely. Step forward: @IBM @ictewd and last but not least @tm4tj We are now at a stage where, if you go into any of the sub-menus from the main menu items shown below, the data you are presented with should be complete. This was a truly gargantuan task with every ICT game needing to be entered, team lines added, checking for yellow/red cards, substitutions and all sorts of other data. It also involved going through every single season and entering ALL the results for every team from that division for every season so the league table in the match report area showed the weekly table within a tab in the match stats .... If you want to check how it works ... go back to the fixtures page for season 2009/10 and relive Dundee's bottle crashing by viewing the table for each week as the season progresses ... its fun : https://caleythistleonline.com/team/fixtures.html/. Ross Tokely, for years had the wrong number of appearances in our stats as some of the earlier seasons had incorrect or missing data. Not anymore. He is rightly at the top of the charts with his 589 appearances and 36 goals. 36 goals! That makes him our 10th top scorer of all time ... With Dennis Wyness now showing his 101 goals as the top scorer ... These stats have all been checked against Ian Broadfoot's stats which are and will forever remain the gold standard for ICT data, so I know the guys have done a tremendous job when it matches with those stats. A big benefit of having all this data up to date is the TM4TJ can have confidence to use our own stats in the previews and reports instead of having to go searching multiple sources to verify any information, which has meant that more recently he has had these online either in real-time or barely 10 minutes after the match has ended. I cannot thank these guys enough for all this effort, because I know how much it takes to keep it up to date. Separately to the stats stuff, TM4TJ has also spend a s***load of time going back many years and entering and updating match reports which is why you might see them on your feed as new items every so often. Whilst I have not been completely active in the data entry process, I have been around in the background tweaking and adjusting the coding within the stats program and trying to see if I can pull more data out of the database using my somewhat limited PHP/SQL skills. This work will continue because the guys - after taking a well-earned break - are hoping to go through the player data and get the player profiles entered/updated and up to date. We ask for volunteers all the time but this time around we hit the jackpot with @ictewd and @IBM. If anyone else wants to get in on the act and help us to enter player data or other info or offer help with other stuff, then please let myself or @tm4tj know. Those people who keep an eye out for EX-ICT scorers for example may want to help with highlighting a player's other clubs in their profile. I also know TM4TJ is always looking for people to help with articles, and I would be especially keen to hear from anyone with PHP/SQL skills, especially if you have knowledge of converting PHP5 to PHP7 as that's another project I have in the works for the stats as they were originally written in the earlier version. Once again THANK YOU guys. It truly is appreciated.

Billy Ferries, Gordon Connelly, Neale Cooper, Alex Smith, Owen Coyle, Liam Boyce, Stuart Kettlewell, Richie Brittain, Sandy Ross, Steven Ferguson, Chris Somerville, Deek Adams, Jamie MacPherson, Brian Grant, Steven Hutchison, Ian Maxwell, Don Cowie Sr, Don Cowie Jr, Kenny Gilbert, Brian Irvine, Iain Vigurs, Michael Gardyne, Mark Hateley, Alex Bone, Deek Adams, Dick Campbell, Julian Broddle, Billy Herd, Willie Furphy, Derek Holmes, Jimmy Calderwood, Deek Adams, Willie McStay, The Jailender, Scott Leitch, Uncle Roy, Coll Donaldson, Hector MacLennan, Deek Adams, Jim McIntyre, Darren Henderson, Tony Dingwall, Tony Bullock, Karim Boukkra, Conor Gethins, Mark Perry, David Winters, Brian Graham, Scott Morrison, Deek Adams, Ross Draper… Your boys took one hell of a beating!

Best of Luck Greg - Thanks for the great memories ?

Well it is part and parcel of my job and has been for 45 years. Taking calls two nights a week at the moment. BUT calling a NHS run Mental Health "Crisis" Line is not the whole answer unless you are in Mental Health Services, have a recognised diagnosis and the "Risk" level is deemed "High". I am mainly sought to action Section 136 presentations or MHA Assessments. Of course that is usually urgent and needed. But it is often life events, loss and potential loss that eats away - leading to guilt, hopelessness, worthlessness and helplessness - and often when we "bottle" it up another kind of bottle is a coping mechanism. Many people who call want to maintain strict confidentiality and often anonimity, many are still put off by the stigma and most just want to talk and be consoled. Primary Care Mental Health has been overloaded and waiting lists are "ridiculous". I have heard good and bad feedback from the large number of helplines available. Over the years I have found that it is usually the ones who have perfected the "cover" or act impulsively, that often choose the suicide route. I bet that word made people shiver. Should I have used it ? To me the only way to ask about "suicide risk" is to be direct and blunt. Not at all easy but I would say - Ask the question. Well I am now off to an assessment. A young 19 year old who made a serious attempt at the weekend. The aim will be to establish the risk and to try and establish the precipitators. But as Gringo succinctly pointed out - Tell someone - In fact identify somebody close to you NOW and get them to be your "buddy" and make an agreement to act when necessary. As the tears begin to fall again - I wished that you had called out mate - there were so many who would have answered the call.

We didn't 'bottle' it. We overcame a very talented and rather highly paid development team of a club with close to twenty five times our income in horrendous weather conditions and in the face of two terrible officiating decisions one of which deprived us of a penalty and a player for a large chunk of the second half and the other of a perfectly valid goal. A little more positively on reaching a national final might not go amiss.

I feel obliged to start this thread in praise of John Robertson and how he set us up today, imho, he got it spot on. As most of you know, I am not always Robbo's biggest supporter so by starting this, I'm kind of admitting my errors regarding that. I spoke with the site manager last week and basically apologised for some of my posts and reactions in the past and we came to a mutual agreement that, after a bad result, I will leave it a day or two before posting, in order to calm down. I thanked him and all the mods for being reasonable with me so, I promise them all that I will not be a pain anymore. Anyway, back to today, I say everyone involved with the club deserve credit for this cup run :ictscarf:.

If that is the case (and I would imagine it probably is) then it illustrates what a serious financial position the club is now in. Yngwie makes some fair points about applauding the club for trying to find innovative ways of trying to keep the club at a level above what income from tickets sales etc could possibly support. That's fine, but the problem is the club has gone about these issues in an arrogant and often incompetent way. It takes the fans for granted in so many ways and simply ignores the contribution they can make. As a result, it has alienated many of the very people who would otherwise be contributing significantly to the long term future of the club. Regardless of the outcome of the Battery project, the club will continue to struggle as long as those people responsible for this alienation remain in charge. Even if they do make genuine efforts to change their ways, nobody is going to trust them. We need new leadership and we need it soon. We need leadership that embraces the supporters as part of the fabric of the club, perhaps even looking to move towards a fan owned model, but certainly having a supporters' representative on the Board. I don't care if we go part time for a while, or it we drop to Division 1 or even Division 2 if that is what it takes to reset and develop a sustainable business model going forward. I used to feel really proud of our Club, but at times now I almost feel embarrassed to tell people I support ICT. I want to feel the pride again, but that is not going to happen whilst the current regime are in charge.

Don't agree with all the negative comments on here I thought the boys did okay especially the first half. I thought ourback three of Mullen, Savage and Carracher did well enough and looked solid its our final third where we are struggling. 3-1 flattered Hibs,the first two goals were a deflections and a mistake. Dorans goal was quality. We need to up the tempo and be more proactive. I agree we need a striker and just a shame Samuel was out injured.

Well the last game I attended (Morton away) left me speechless but the performance today led to the first smileymometer in a long time. We passed the ballell and rarely backwards - there was only the rare mistake - Ridgers was commanding, made a number of saves including a worldy - the defence held a steady line - there was movement a plenty - we pressed well - we had individual players taking on different roles - the passion and energy was only too clear. The "negatives" were that we were lacking in that final touch on a number of occasions, we didn't take on defenders and hit the bye line enough and we still employ the high balls to McKay & co too much. But as it was at Ayr away it was a good day at the races Ridgers Two big stops early doors and looked the part throughout. Duffy Dodgy start but rarely caught out thereafter. Devine Appeared to be the main organiser at the back and commanding in the air. Boyes Looked knackered in the first ten minutes but evidently that is him. 2 goals and a foil to Devine - enuff said. MOM Harper Did have a real challenge with Chalmers and the equally effective right back but stood up to the challenge. Carson Welcome back Dave - 100% in all aspects including cheerleading Welsh a performance recalling older days. Stay free of energy mate. Gilmour Second fiddle to Welsh but did the midfield hard work. Anderson Started up front but looked a bit lost at times but much better when withdrawn back. Shaw Thought that he put in a great shift and popped up all over the place. If only he had a right foot. McKay Took his time to knock in the goal but he is now Mr. ICT. Special mention to Mrs IHE for attending as she has actually never seen ICT yet beat

How is this helping the team. It seems that we have a core of "supporters " who profess to support the team but won't actually attend any games as they believe, in that doing so, they give support to the board. What garbage, if more fans actually attended games, instead of finding reasons to not attend, we may be in a better position financially and be able to challenge the board more robust. Whatever you think of the board, the majority have invested substantially in the club, with little hope of any return. True, they have made mistakes and communication is terrible but they have put their money into the club. It's a pity some fans don't want to put theirs into the club because they don't like the board or CEO.

He became manager there five days before the transfer window closed. Not that easy to sign an entire squad in that time. And the few signings he did make included Onyango from Everton (who has been on the bench several times for the first team) and Robbie Savage's son from Man Utd, who had been considered good enough to play once for the first team there. Given our previous managers include Baltacha (first managerial job), Paterson (only managed in the Highland League), Robertson (first managerial job), Brewster (first managerial job), Christie (first managerial job), Brewster again (had been a disaster at Dundee United), Butcher (did great at Motherwell but rotten in Australia and at Brentford before coming to us), Hughes (hadn't been great at Hibs), Foran (first managerial job), Robertson (hadn't managed anyone in forever) and Dodds (first managerial job) I don't particularly see why Ferguson should be considered less qualified than so many of his predecessors.

First point I agree with you. Your second point is hugely disappointing and condescending . I have worked for 47 years, and paid tax and NI for most of that and am still paying tax though now only working part time. A concessionary bus fare is about the only "perk" I use having claimed nothing in return so you ain't subsidising me. Not sure what more the club can do on the cup final but if more supporters turned, like they did for the Ayr game, maybe the club wouldn't be in such a difficult position financially. I'm not a happy clapper but some of the criticism of the club on here is just not warranted.

Let’s all put and end to these rumours about Roddy. He’s been hit by Covid pre Christmas quite badly. When he got back he tore his thigh. He should have received a scan but didn’t and ended up coming back to training too early with the result that he damaged it again. He has been at the gym every day since he’s been out. He’s absolutely gutted about what’s happened and is desperate to get back to help the team. A situation very far removed from the “refusing to train” bollocks I’ve just read!

For example: In the Jailend- where your brother is your dad In the Jailend- where your team is just so bad In the Jailend - Caley always make you sad In the Jailend, in the Jailend

Hi there guys , although I'm a hearts fan I'm not in here to to talk about my own club or troll this forum. I'm only here to congratulate your club on there resent statement, it was not only well worded but it said everything about the dishonestly of the SPFL. Your club has proper morals, dignity and sporting integrity, this is what the majority of our 42 clubs don't have. You are a very proud club and looks to me like very proud supporters reading this thread and rightly so. Although we will be competing in the same league next season (if any) if hearts don't win it I very much hope ICT do and hope we both are promoted. I will be up for the away game against you gays as this will be my only away game as I would not give any of my hard earned cash to any of the gutless clubs. Stay safe and all the best for the future.

AND THE MORAL OF THIS CHRISTMAS FAIRY TALE IS – WE ARE ALL FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS – WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES – WE ALL HAVE OUR DIFFERENT VIEWS – WE ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO AGREE OR DISAGREE BUT IT SHOULD BE DONE IN “THE BEST POSSIBLE TASTE” – BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY – WE ARE ALL INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE SUPPORTERS – TILL WE FECKIN DIE – AND WE SHOULD ALL RESPECT EACH OTHER FOR PURELY BEING THAT.

Powerful stuff, but it basically ignores the quality of our opponents. You'd have a point if we were competing against Fort William in these games, obviously not if we were playing Man City. Why should we have done better against County, Dundee United and Hearts specifically? All three have significantly higher budgets to work with - Robbo has said that County have more than double our budget, Alan Preston said the other night that United had at least treble. Hearts' will be a lot more. Why do you ignore that not only did we put two of those clubs out of cup, but also finished above at least three other clubs in our league with higher budgets than us? For me, the most impressive aspect of our overall performance this season is that it took place at a time when everyone is on such a massive downer. The whole club's being cut to the bone, players leave at the first sniff of interest and we're delighted just to get them off the wage bill, the home crowds have been reduced to a small group of moany old men and some 15 year-old wannabe casuals. I'm just delighted we stayed up under these circumstances - overachievement is putting it mildly.

Club representatives have recently indicated (to others) that they have no confidence in dealing with any group, organisation or body that has any association with or involvement from Don (@CaleyD ) ... whether that is CTO (where he has not held any role for many years other than being a member like most users), whether that is the Trust (where he is the democratically elected Chairperson), or it would seem with InTorNet Design, our jointly owned hosting and website design service, where the club will not reply to our emails (but will make factually incorrect statements about us to un-associated third parties). I will leave the Trust and Donald to address the issues involving them as they are not my concern, but I will defend both this site and perhaps more importantly my business by any means necessary from both scurrilous rumour and downright defamation. However, I will not go into further detail on that subject for now. Based on the above I would say not to hold your breath for any answer on here. To get an answer would require dialogue and as much as I personally reached out to both the chairman and the CEO in an attempt to maintain the cordial and mutually beneficial dialogue we have had with every single board of ICTFC since the club and this website were formed in 1994 - regardless of sometimes fraught interpersonal relationships with those involved - it seems impossible to continue to attempt to do so in such a one-sided fashion and be completely ignored by those who have been put in place by our shareholders to bring good stewardship and responsible governance to our club. The crux of the issue, in my opinion, seems to be power and control. It would seem that the current incumbents think that ceding any responsibility or involvement to others outside their tight circle erodes their power (the reluctance to put a named person in the SLO position is a prime example) or that groups like the Trust or CTO seek power and/or influence over them. This is not new, other people in those roles viewed the Members' Club, Supporters Club, CJT, CTO and others suspiciously in the past. However, it has been shown time after time that these relationships are intended to be symbiotic and collaborative in nature and can (and have) actually help(ed) them in many ways. I cannot and will not talk for the Trust as I am not involved, but I can say that CTO has no interest in having any power or influence at the club. What I do, and have done for the last 25 years is simply to provide a platform for supporters of the club to talk about issues, good or bad, surrounding the club. I did this initially as a hobby because there was no other platform available, and although other platforms now exist and all are equally valid, I continue to do it from 3500+ miles away as it keeps me in touch with Inverness, ICT, friends and others. We still get between 500-600 unique users per day, nearly 2000 unique users per week and upwards of 25,000 page views on an average week so although this is less traffic than our heyday as some prefer the other platforms or social media, and there has been a drop now we are in the championship too, its still not insignificant viewing numbers. Sometimes what is posted on the site are good things that draw praise, other times those are negative things that draw criticism, but through it all I think CTO has been shaped over the last 25 years by the users and we have, by and large, set our own standards where users more or less self-police the system and dont let things go too much in either direction. Look at some other football fora or indeed the various social media platforms to see discussions that spiral dangerously into territory our users do not allow. If the club choose to read the views of individual supporters and reach out to them or to change things at the stadium based on suggestions posted here - or indeed sent to them by any other means - then more power to their elbow, if they choose to ignore requests sent via any format then that is their right, but also their risk. As a supporter I will call them out when I think they get it wrong, but I will have no hesitation in praising them when I think they get it right .... and despite what is posted above, I do think there are many things they have got right and are getting right and which I hope to see them continue to improve and get right as they move forward. (the e-Programmes and the recent stadium commentary initiative to name but two) As the club appear to have made a conscious decision not to acknowledge or respond to my emails, I will once again make this clear in a public forum ..... I remain open to working with the club, and having CTO be one of those avenues they (continue to) use to help communicate with the fans as they have stated on the website, in the matchday program, as part of their recent email blast, and on social media .... but I will do it in the same manner as I have done for the last 25 years. I don't do bullshit, I don't do politics, and I don't accept bullying behaviour be it overt in nature or passive aggressive. I am also not going to sugar coat my responses to anyone in email or on here. I have the ability to separate the personal, professional, and leisure aspects of my life and will happily work with others who share that ability and don't let personal grievances bleed over into other areas. I am more than happy to enter into public/private dialogue with the club, be it the chairman, CEO, a named SLO, or anyone else ... can they say the same ?

Tell you what. If you had chanted in public that my sister was of dubious morality, I’d have been a damned sight ruder back to you than Liam Polworth was on Saturday on twitter. I’d have slaughtered you publically. For a guy who, according to weekly shouts from the stands and in these forums, doesn’t care and is downright lazy, it’s a common shout that has its origins in a pack mentality and precious little to do with reality. I’m lucky. I’ve been granted access to our players over the years in a capacity that has allowed me to see the reactions to success and failure close up and personal and Liam Polworth is a player who gives everything for this club. Not one of you saw the absolute roasting he was giving himself at half time for missing that penalty. He does that a lot and I’ve seen on here before that this is him “moaning” at others. Wrong, it’s at himself. I’ve heard it said frequently that he is lazy and drifts in and out of games, doesn’t track back and can’t place a pass. What is happening is that he has to hang back, look for the big picture and try the unexpected. That’s his role. It may or may not come off but look at his statistics – he’s created more in this team than any other midfielder in years. Those with short memories might like to look at the similar treatment Vigurs got when he was here. What both missed was a foil – a Tansey or Draper who would share the burden. Polworth doesn’t have that luxury. I’ve watched him go from possibly the quietest and least assertive lad in the dressing room to one who will now step up and represent his team when asked to. He is surprisingly vocal at times. A lot of this has coincided with his becoming a parent. He’s grown up. However he’s grown up in an environment that is judgemental, unsupportive and is now becoming abusive despite him being one of the players at the club of genuine premier league quality. Why do you think St. Mirren are alleged to be interested? Brian Rice knows this boy, how he trains and performs , what his strengths are and the best way to enable him. No wonder they are interested. Rice knows that Polworth is a player, a performer whose confidence can be fragile. Nothing can destroy that confidence quicker than your own fans constant (and it is constant) criticism and now abuse from our own fans. What worries me most is the air of resigned disgust from some for this – it has gone beyond creating a siege mentality for the team and has become corrosive. I'm heartened to see the support from his boss and fellow players and fans that he is getting now. It's just a shame it had to come to this. Liam Polworth can do nothing to alter this situation and if it was me, I’d make him captain for the game on Tuesday night, identify the people leading Saturday’s chants (it’s not difficult) and change it. The only people who can alter things in the stands, however, are the supporters; challenge the abusive ones, temper the criticism and maximise the encouragement. It’s called being a fan.

A great away day when no ICT fan really expected 3 points but went in hope of at least 1. Wow - what a game, from Billy’s goal in 77 seconds, there seemed no way ICT would go home without points. This is why the ICT Travel Club continue to run buses to away games, these days are a joy and why we are ICT fans. Thank you to all the players especially those who were “in the wars” and have bruises and stitches (Alex) to prove their endeavours. I truly hope the injuries sustained today aren’t too serious.

If we are away and Clach are at home, I definitely plan to go along. All last night lacked for me was announcements, as that would have helped when subs came on late on when the floodlights were on. As soon as I was through the turnstiles, raffle tickets were on sale, which must increase take up. The toilets had taps that fan for more than one second so were actually usable. Of our players, MacKay had a good game. He was helpless at the goal but had really good saves from a free kick and the penalty and dealt comfortably with everything else. The defence lined up with Sam and A Nixon at full back and Walker alongside Duffy. Duffy was talking the youngsters through the game until he went off. Walker in particular looks a prospect and was the leader at the back after Duffy went off. I would support the positive comments about him in the squad thread. Hyde and Thomson were in central midfield. Hyde seemed to relish the responsibility of being one of the more senior players on the pitch and was talking throughout the game, in what was the most influential performance I have seen from him. He finished the game at right back after the cramp suffered by A Nixon. As mentioned above, Thomson is comfortable on the ball and worked really hard. He looks a real prospect. Brooks and Samuel were the wide players. I’m not sure if they are struggling for fitness still but they were less influential than I would have expected. Brooks should have scored in the first half. Hopefully there is more to come from both. Doran was moving between midfield and attack, and was a class above everyone else on the pitch. I really don’t understand why he is not a first pick. Lodovica took his headers well but got lucky with the penalty. He could have had a couple more. Hopefully playing the full match and scoring the hat trick has boosted his sharpness and confidence, but I’d like to see him being as influential against tougher opposition. Of the subs, MacLeod was a straight replacement for Brooks. He seemed happy to take players on but he was on the far side so it was hard to form a clear opinion. Mackie replaced Samuels and slotted in alongside Lodovica with Doran moving to the left wing. He worked hard and wasn’t afraid to mix it, taking his goal well. Bain replaced Duffy, playing left back with A Nixon switching to right back and Sam Nixon moving to centre half with Walker. He got forward well and matched up to an opponent a foot taller than him. Thomson and Meacher came on late so there was not much time to make an impression. We definitely have talent coming through if we can nurture it and ensure the players keep developing. I thought Harry Hennem had a quiet game, but he’s been getting positive reviews on another Forum by Clach fans this season for his performances, and they hope his loan will be extended for the full season.

It was not his best move, but I don't think one single thing/event started our spiral. It's a combination of factors. There was a deterioration in the relationship with Yogi after that but look at his career and perhaps you might think that was inevitable. He does not stick around too long anywhere. Thats for another discussion. To me, Kenny's biggest mistake was listening to others (including fans) and appointing Richie Foran, who every one of us wanted to succeed, then not being ruthless when it was clear things weren't working. The change came too late, and we got relegated. I know that cut him to the quick as I was there as his guest on the final day of the season, with my son as mascot on the day he resigned. Lots of things happening to the side and in the background throughout those good times and the bad times. For me, the real rot started with the regime that followed. Kenny (and everyone before him) made some poor choices, but always made them with the best interests of the club in mind trying to push us on. He listened to fans and tried to communicate with us. Kenny may have left us relegated but he did leave us in a strong position financially and organisationally (assuming we could bounce back quickly). The next lot were a whole lot more insular and seemed to take the attitude from day one that everyone at the club - staff and volunteers alike - were there for what they could get from the club, not what they could give to the club. Thats a pretty sh***y stance to take when you (have always had to) rely on volunteers, many of whom have served the club for decades in various roles on a matchday. In my humble opinion, perhaps they were looking in the mirror a bit too much. They tore up a load of processes/things that were working, replaced them with more expensive procedures or services that didn't and soon made that strong position a lot weaker. They left behind a mess still being cleaned up now. I personally have no axe to grind with the current custodians of the club. They had an almighty mess to clean up. I believe the chairman does have the best interests at heart but I also know that many people have made comment about making suggestions to the club that were ignored or brushed off and that has a touch of the last regime about it. Thats not good, and neither is the communication level from the club. Given our precarious financial position we do seem to be pretty top heavy in terms of (presumably) high earners in non-footballing roles but I am no longer as close as I once was so dont have an idea of the value each of these positions bring to the table. If we are paying our CEO '£X.xx' and he is bringing in '£X.xx' * 3 in revenue or cost savings, then it's worth it. If however, the value is negative then its not. It should be a simple cost/benefit analysis on any financial aspects. The concert debacle also really hurt us I feel. We may be isolated from financial fallout but the whole thing is so murky that we are absolutely 100% affected by the moral fallout and no-one seems to have sought to address that. This is where we fall down BIG-TIME and a club that doesn't seem to care about its fans will soon find itself devoid of fans... which brings us right back to the word apathy in the title of this thread.

Hearts Fan here be gentle. I know a load of hearts fans that are taking up this offer and it has not been forgotten how Inverness both helped us out whilst in administration and last season when they quit rightly called out Dundee over that vote. anyway ticket purchased hope Robbo gets cramp with all the signing he has got to do in the week ahead. good-luck for the rest of the season except when playing hearts obviously.