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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.

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'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.

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!

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!

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

Ridgers Duffy Devine Harper Carson Welsh McGregor Doran McKay Samuels 10 players that we had when Dodds was 45 minutes away from the Premier League. Ferguson had all of these players at his disposal when he joined and couldn’t do anything. I don’t think we can now blame Dodds for this, he was sacked in September.

I watched the latter half of the "debate". Thanks, Fraz, for posting the link. It is a long time since I've watched a Council debate and I have to say that whilst I was not expecting a high standard of debate, I was appalled at just how awful it was. You get better quality and better informed debate in any pub every day of the week. The application met all the planning requirements and satisfied the Council's professional planners except for the fact that the site occupied a tiny part of designated green space. The club argued that the area of the green space concerned was insignificant and that its loss was more than mitigated for by planting which would have increased both biodiversity and carbon capture. Having said that, it should never have come to this. No doubt our Chairman and CEO will be raging about the injustice of it all, but the fact is, they concocted a plan which involved siting an industrial development on a site designated as green space in an area where there is no other industrial installation. Seemingly, they have done this without seeking pre-application guidance from the Council and arrogantly assumed the plan would be accepted. They also failed to take into account the record the Council has for dreadful planning decisions. When it seemed the application might not be approved, they then launched an ill conceived campaign focussing on things which were completely irrelevant to the planning application. They did this in an aggressive and bullying manner and clearly antagonised a lot of people as a result. If an appeal fails, then the future for our club is grim. And it is our club, the fans' club. It doesn't belong to the Board. Yet they have recklessly staked the future of our club on a poorly managed development proposal which has nothing to do with football. You might have thought they would have adopted a more considered and consultative approach following the problems encountered with the Concert Company idea. Terry Butcher will be a guest of the club on Saturday. When he left us just over 10 years ago, we were sitting 2nd in the Premiership. Who then, would have thought we would be where we are now? What an absolute shambles we are in.

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.

I am glad we've strengthened at the back.

It's pretty clear where this is heading and how this will ultimately impact the club's viability moving forward. Another example of the council's complete indifference to the club which, despite our current paltry crowds, remains the largest community supported organisation in the city. You've got to laugh at the loss of green space argument which seems to be the crux of the matter. I left Inverness 30 odd years ago and in the intervening period the city has probably doubled in size with barely an improvement in community facilities and the loss of massive tracts of green space for housing, retail, etc. Yet this particular scheme has the planning committee's knickers in a twist like no other in living memory. I find this latest U-turn very strange, bordering on the highly dodgy. Councillor Oldham's "barely quorate" comment is bizarre. It either is or isn't, it's akin to suggesting someone's barely pregnant. Absolute ludicrous and clearly a man with an agenda. Alas, another entirely predictable omnishambles which drags the club's name and the city's credibility through the mud.

When I come home after a game and tell my wife what a shite game it was - again, she is at a loss to understand why I still go. But after over 40 years, I think it is healthy still to have a bit of mystery in a marriage.

Off topic slightly I know but surely thus is the time fir all ICT fans to start turning up and supporting the team thereby generating some more cash for the manager. Fully appreciate that the recent home games have not been the most exciting but , to me at least, it just seems like giving some fans another reason not to attend (not that some need one). If we get relegated, don't think we will, then that could be the end of full-time football for some time, so it's up to the fans to get behind the manager and team Moan all you want at the board but at least turn up to help the team.

It is with a heavy heart that I can confirm a good friend and a lifelong ICT Supporter John Wilson known on here as Jaggernaut died on Saturday night. His analysis on the games was always fair balanced and interesting and I personally had a good few discussions with him after results good and bad. R.I.P John and thoughts and prayers with his family at this difficult time

Away days for me are always on the east side of the country as I have family there. yesterday decided to travel on the supporters bus for the first time for a league game. great experience. as a “stranger”, found the people very friendly, the craic was good, and the quiz on the way home was great entertainment. well done to all who run this smooth operation. when buying my tickets on queens park website there was an invite to away fans to use their city ground bar. The first 50 free pies drew me in. Pint + iron bru + pie( I got number 48 as there were 3 pies remaining) £5.60. Great value considering a pie at Hampden was £4.50. oh and bye the way watching a very good performance from the team, and seeing Wotherspoon goal, build up and execution, was the icing on the cake. In real time it was a thing of beauty.

Robertson Leaving "His drive to establish the new 10 acre Hub for the ICT Community Trust working with Highland Council, Sport Scotland and the SFA and his input into accessing six figure grants for our Community Trust in particular has gone unseen by almost everyone out with the football club. We wish him well in his future endeavours and he will always be welcome at the Caledonian Stadium.” At the end of the day he was drawing a wage and we were not seeing the benefits of this. More often than not seen at Dingwall on match days. I doubt many will shed a tear, but let's no forget the good moments he had at the club and it's only since the introduction of the Sporting Director role that he has incurred the wrath of a section of our support. I for one will always be grateful for his efforts as manager and work in the background, however, throwing money away had to come to an end sometime. All the best Robbo.

So much for Dodds’ comments at the start of the season that we’d see a different Doran this season. When I’ve seen him he’s looked fitter and faster than the last few seasons with his eye for goal back in. He should be a first pick, not being treated so badly. Sadly it sounds like there’s a problem between him and the management team. I know who I’d rather keep!

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 seems that none of us are really looking forward to the cup final in the same way that we did in 2015, which is really sad, but somehow unavoidable. We seem to be arguing amongst ourselves and judging others without knowing their circumstances. I think it was great to see a good crowd at the Ayr game, but I appreciate that not everyone that was there could afford season tickets or regular attendance at games throughout the year. I don't see these fans as Glory Hunters, but as fans who have to pick the games they go to with care. I don't really see a way of increasing our fan base, without greatly reduced ticket prices in general and I know that a lot of parents where I live would love to take their kids to games regularly, but just cannot justify the expense. Many people are really struggling to get by at the moment and the costs are simply going to be too high to take themselves and their families down to the final, especially with the change of time. When this is the case I think they genuinely feel bad for not being there to support the team, but I hope they don't feel guilty for putting food and heat etc above a football game. Watch the game from Inverness and have a party day here with friends and family or at a venue showing the game. For those of us who are able to make it to the game (despite the hurdles in our way), let's have a good time and make sure that we make the most of our day out.

What a day out!!! Hats off to Dodds on that formation/tactics but the players were immense to a man. I also realised why I love our club despite all the dramas

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.

I was told that Ryan Esson has more training tickets than Dodds, Kells and Wilson together, not just goalkeeping but all players, and he’s doing a great job with the under 18s. Could he and Ross Tokely not do a better job between now and the end of the season, given the chance (if they want to), than the aforementioned three. Just a thought!

Merry Christmas to one and all. Whether I know you or not, whether I agree with you or not, the best wishes are the same. Having said that, I do want to take a moment to call out a few folk personally - TM4TJ especially. Without his straight talking editorial style and dedication the site would be a far lesser place. He does this diligently and without any help a lot of the time. Thank You !! Similarly, Gringo, IBM, MrCaleyJag and ICTEWD who run various aspects of the site in the foreground or background. Also, the moderators - Mantis, Yngwie, & RiG who keep things running, keep spammers of our member list, and nudge folks back into line where needed, and finally those on our editorial team who contribute what they can, when they can. It takes quite a few people to keep things ticking over and we are blessed to have a great bunch doing so. Finally, as I take a moment to raise a glass to you all in celebration, I also want to remember those we have lost in 2022. On the site, as we know we lost Kingsmills and he will be sorely missed, and fondly remembered by most, even those who crossed swords with him from time to time. On a personal level, I also lost a dear friend, a dedicated ICT supporter, and my best man, who was definitely someone who fitted that title. I will raise an extra glass to you both.

My thoughts are with Robbo and his family. Experiencing the physical and emotional trauma of this pandemic has been difficult for many people. I can appreciate how footie can provide distraction to many but I simply cant enthuse whatsoever about this season and cant wait until it is over and we are safe to battle it out again next season. I dont see the need for an interim manager as that may just cause more problems. I would be happy to leave that the "old school brigade" are capable of keeping the ship going and hopefully none of the Robbo vultures will turn on them to. So you take all the feckin time you need Robbo and most of us look forward to your return and hopefully to attend in person to watch your assault at the top of the Championship in the 2021 - 2022 season.

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.

There's no option for: My loyalty doesn't change with the wind, despite the fact my club is now down the shitter I'm not going to religiously throw money at another team every other week. I'll go to the odd game here and there as a guest and imbibe as much free alcohol as I can whilst wistfully recounting tales of a 30 year roller coaster ride that was following 'the famous ICT' . I'd select that one.

That was sweet. Never in doubt even after going behind. When I saw the orange strips it took me back to November 2001 when we went behind to a Nacho Novo penalty and won 5-1. Sure the last 20 minutes were nervy but that was all in our heads. A lot of that spell was Rovers knocking it about in their own half looking for a gap. The players looked composed and some of the passing was superb. Hamiltons goal was really sloppy on our part with two newbies in the back three so they will need to work on who is picking up at corners. No failures today and we looked physically strong and made Rovers look a shadow of the side which was flying earlier in the season. The double- barrel Jeremiah looked very impressive apart from his blunder which let Vaughan away to score for 3-2, which made the second half a much less comfortable watch. The other three were solid too. Cammy Kerr, Savage and of course Samuel - Machine #2. What a warrior. On another day Billy might have grabbed a fourth but his touch let him down. A bit risky changing defenders late in the game but hey, it made no difference to the result and we got a chance to see Duffy’s haircut. We have lost 10 games and have probably left too much to do for the playoffs but we should be looking up at Dunfermline, Ayr and Airdrie. At least watching ICT isn’t a chore any longer.

If that quote from the club is correct and completely in context, then it is worrying. I am guessing it came from the CEO as it sounds like the kind of verbiage he has used in the past. If so, then exactly what does this employee of the club, which is owned by its underlying shareholders define as a "strong and relevant" group? If we assume that the season ticket base is somewhere between 1000 and 2000 as often quoted, then is the definition of "strong" or "relevant" 10% 20% or 50% of that number? Who has arbitrarily decided the level or does it vary depending on how accountable you choose to be? Does an organisation with 200 paid members and a minimum 10% voting right in the organisation for which this employee works cut it? no? 500 members with the same 10% right? If so why the delineation based on number rather than voting share? We (CTO) have - on average - 5000 unique 'real people' per month visiting the site when you exclude anonymous visits, bots, search engines etc. Are we strong or relevant? or, as has been levied at us in the past are we just a bunch of whingeing naysayers in the eyes of some folks and happy clappers in the eyes of others? Are sizeable numbers of Twitter and Facebook users relevant even though not organised into a single cohesive group? Social media postings, even on an individual basis if strong enough can often cause policy changes in even the biggest companies. What about Podcast listeners? or Travel Club members? or section 94? all of whom seem to be relevant to the club sometimes and not others. Bottom line is that when enough people from all of these disparate 'groups' are unhappy about the situation then the powers that be should really take notice. Whether you are a proponent of the Trust or see issue with it, it doesnt really matter, the reality is that the survey is an excellent document and one that the club would be ludicrously stupid to ignore or write off just because it says what they don't want to hear. The highlighted bit is the money shot here IMHO. We have been through all of the highs and lows together and for most of it we showed "TogetherNESS" as the old cliche went ... but sometimes during our 29-year history, we have gone it alone with the support and club badly misaligned. These have typically been the deepest lows and the club at those times has become more and more insular thinking it protects itself if it does not communicate. This is the worst I have seen communication in my memory and to be sure, it does NOTHING to protect the club, just alienates more and more people. For fans to not even get a reply from the SLO or when fans send generic emails with zero controversy and those are still ignored, is unacceptable and if we were ever to aim for the premiership again, this would also pose a problem for achieving UEFA club licensing for the top division. Its not that hard. You start with the small stuff. reply to emails and engage the support. Perhaps one day you can graduate to multiple paragraphs or regular communications? ^ this % You are entitled to your opinion, but I can't really agree with this. Over the last 29 years there have been various incarnations of official supporters' organisations with varying names. The commonality between them is that they were always run by unpaid volunteers, who have the club in their heart. Is it the same group of people? yes, quite frequently its the same names in the frame every year, but that's because these are often the only ones stepping up. Do those people become jaded after a while? absolutely - talking from experience on that one. You can only bang your head against a brick wall so often. In the case of specific individuals you mention, yes, they did a good/great job of engagement either while volunteers or in some cases while in the employ of the club, but I think in those cases life happened with job changes, moving houses etc. or they also banged heads against brick walls, so they no longer actively participate. Again, you are entitled to show your displeasure how you want, and it is perhaps wrong of me to comment in either direction given that, other than the player sponsorship (for last season, or for the season just started) which we have heard nothing about since the end of the season, I have very little commercial interaction with the club or local businesses except when visiting. Wholeheartedly agree about the concert debacle and to this day I wonder why they never looked to talk with (or perhaps they did?) someone like Les Kidger or Kenny Cameron who had previously run successful concerts either at the stadium, as a (CK Events) partnership, or on their own. indeed. All seems very unsustainable. Think it has pretty much been like that for a few years hasn't it? Getting to that point too. For me, one of the best (worst) examples of where we wasted money we didn't need to, was Pixellot or whatever it was called. Through the years with volunteers like Don and Andy and others ICT built a pretty good (dare I say award winning) social and broadcast media team, but it seems that this was not really good enough for some as volunteers are (and to an extent always have been) viewed with suspicion at ICT. "What are you after?", "Why are you doing this?", "What's in it for you?". Some people can't grasp that volunteers can simply be in it because they want what's best for their club and are willing to put in time or services if they cant pour in hard cash. In the end we chose to replace that perfectly good arrangement of Andy doing the excellent camera and editing work with a baldy headed social media moment that still does the rounds on social media and not in a good way. Why did we do it? Was it because the perfectly good system in place needed replacing? or was it more to do with it not being an idea that came from a specific source? That ethos is a sure recipe for failure and its painful to watch.

Having downloaded a ChatGPT app yesterday, I asked it for a poem in the style of William McGonagal about ICT winning the cup final. Within 20 seconds or so, this is what it gave me and I’d say it met the spec pretty well. Enjoy! Oh, listen well, good people all, and hear my tale today Of Inverness Caledonian Thistle's most triumphant play For on the third of June, in Hampden Park so grand They faced the mighty Celtic, the best team in the land The air was thick with tension as the two teams took the field And all across the country, fans were watching, hearts congealed But Inverness Caledonian Thistle had a secret ace His name was Billy Mckay, and he would soon take his place The game began with Celtic on the front foot, full of fire But Inverness Caledonian Thistle would not tire They held their ground, they made their mark, they fought with all their might And then, at last, the moment came, the moment of delight For Billy Mckay, that hero brave, had found his chance at last He scored not once, not twice, but thrice, and all the fans amassed Did cheer and shout and sing his name, as Celtic hung their heads For Inverness Caledonian Thistle had won, and Celtic's hopes were dead Oh, what a day, what a glorious sight, to see the underdog win To see the joy on faces, to hear the mighty din For Inverness Caledonian Thistle had done what none thought they could They'd beaten Celtic fair and square, and proved their mettle good So here's to Billy Mckay, that hero of the hour And here's to Inverness Caledonian Thistle's awesome power For on that famous day in June, they showed us all their might And won the Scottish Cup, a victory oh so bright!

Great posts tonight for a change! Our best game all season the team were great the support were great! Eric would have loved it tonight

I really despair when I see posts like this. Supporters support the team and should do so. By all means have a go at the manager (I didn't want him either) or the board but the team on the pitch needs supported, not by far ns staying away. You don't go to football matches with a guarantee of entertainment but some fans seem to think that is their right. The players do, by and large, seem to be playing for the team hence they should have our support. We are no longer a Premier league team and some fans need a reality check on that. We are a Championship quality team and that is unlikely to change soon. Key to next season is getting the right manager in.

Have we turned a corner? We will know in a couple of weeks, but what I took from today was the positive attitude of the players who were really in the mood and clearly wanting it, playing for themselves, each other and for us fans. When Mckay hit the post very early on, it was our first sight of goal and in previous weeks we may have passed rather than having a shot. Ridgers’ complaints at the goal also exemplified the positivity. Cove got three corners in succession and we should have got fouls at the second and third, the goal coming from the third with Devine poleaxed on the ground. I was worried then, but we took control and deservedly got back in it. Two great free kicks from Welsh resulted in goals from Mckay and Devine, then a Cove handball let Mckay make it 3-1 before the break. Then Christmas arrived late with two own goals making it very comfortable. The first came from a positive Mackay run and it may have been going in anyway. The second was a comedy of errors. Mckay then got his hat trick to finish the scoring. We then finished with four youngsters on the park and were still outplaying Cove. As I said, the attitude impressed me most and hopefully that continues on Saturday and beyond. We thoroughly outplayed Cove and have set a standard we must maintain, although it must be said that Cove were very poor, particularly after the break. I’m no happy clapper, but let’s enjoy today and if we can put a run together we can get back in the mix at the top. It is Arbroath next and they turned Dundee over today, so we need to approach next week as we did today. Well done to all 16 who got game time today. I was impressed by Henderson who put a few good crosses in and has decent pace. We also defend much better when Devine plays. He was talking the defence through the whole game. And great to see Mckay get a hat trick.

As Mantis has said, and contrary to popular belief from some, we dont censor comments on here, nor do we remove said comments unless they cross the line. You may find them disrespectful, and others may agree or disagree with those comments, but they are opinions of people who are entitled to voice their opinion whether you, I or anyone else agrees with it or not. Also, no-one has actually used the reporting mechanism that triggers a moderator discussion on a specific topic or post. In a situation like this, the typical course of action is to allow the rest of our audience to (respectfully) disagree with these posters and foster a discussion on the subject! Thats the prime purpose of a(n open) forum. It is also likely that should he indeed be a success that those same comments are paraded back to the naysayers later ... For what it's worth, my own opinion is that we should give the guy a chance. His previous managerial record is not exactly stellar with Dunfermline or with Dundee but we are neither of these clubs and something magical happens if someone, player or staff, is a good fit for our club. He has clearly stepped into the breach to help out our club in our, and our manager's time of need, giving up potentially lucrative media earnings, and for that he should have earned our 100% support from the get-go. If he can steady the ship and win a few points while Robbo is gone then its job done in these most strange times and difficult circumstances. If not, then the naysayers can say 'I told you so'. As I was entering his details into the managerial stats this morning I got to thinking, it seems like we have an ever-growing connection with Hearts these days... Obviously, there is the Robbo connection, the virtual ticketing for this week and the appreciation from Hearts fans of our stance during the reconstruction debate last year, and now a former Hearts hero stepping into the breach to give another Hearts hero time to recover and recharge his batteries ....