The Mantis

Must be an organised do otherwise Bingy & Hissy wouldn't be there. Best not to mention Lowland League matters to them at present although I hear Bingy has picked up an assistant 's job at Selkirk.

Go Rich! Nae splinters in your erse

It's been all downhill for Chris since CountyAir.

Spot on. Like many faraway fans I try and make up for my occasional visits by buying club merchandise etc.

Yes, I think we've got it now Charles...

Maybe better to see what the Mail are saying.

Similar story with Tom Hendrie who did a great job with Alloa and Berwick and was carried shoulder high at our place after St Mirren's 5-0 drubbing after celebrating their league title all week. Only lasted half a season in the SPL.

You have to admire everything Uncle Roy does in his propaganda war against ICT which he finally seems to have won after 23 years. But the only reductions are in the Jail End which is half empty and like a library these days, which I predicted back in the days before it was seated. It's probably the worst stand to watch football in the top league. Having said all that, our board could do something similar with the West Stand by making it dirt cheap. It only takes 400 anyway so it shouldn't bankrupt the club to try it, and there's always the chance that people will spend the rest on merchandising & catering.

Exactly. Even this season in the Premier I came up and got tickets at short notice. Even for County and Rangers I could easily sit next to my mates although I wasn't in the allocated seat. Apart from Celtic and Aberdeen the stand is barely half full. Let's be honest, next season we won't even remotely have that problem. If we get a sell-out game in the Cup surely the club has the facility to allocate a ticket to a voucher holder who rings up. I would gladly pay for a 5 or 10 game voucher as the days of me coming up using a season ticket are gone, for various reasons. So the club has lost my £300 but would at least get more of it back than it currently does.

I think Meekings is easily the best centre half the club has ever had.

What does 'Rest released' mean? And yes I know we haven't got a player called Rest.

The season from hell is just over and yet Friday sees the draw for the League Cup sections, which start on 15th July. Despite finishing 12th in the Premiership, ICT are one of the 4 top seeds in the Northern section, along with Hearts, Dundee and County. Second seeds are DUFC, DAFC, Hibs and Falkirk. Then there are 12 unseeded clubs from Raith Rovers down to Buckie Thistle, making 4 groups of 5.

In a bizarre episode of synchronicity David Bingham has left Lowland League side Whitehill just as the ICT job becomes vacant...

That's it all cut and dried then. Us, Yenitit, Brechin, Livi, Midden, Falkirk, QoS, Morton, Pars, Dumbarton. Wonder who they'll give us as a festive Derby.

Just ask for "darts player".

I picked two pretty obscure clubs to blog about this time, but I have to say I enjoyed researching them, although there’s not much out there. If anybody has anything to add to this blog, or just corrections, don’t hold back… I became aware of the villages when I started youth hostelling with my mates before I left school. One year we got the bus to Perth and walked to Birnam, where there was a hostel in an old schoolhouse, but this has now been demolished. I had a look for it last year when we were up in Dunkeld for a Saw Doctors concert. In those days the A9 passed through nearly every village and it’s remarkable to think about it now, when you can drive from Edinburgh to Inverness in under 3 hours. Back to the youth hostelling trip and I got served my first pint at the Royal Dunkeld Hotel. The following evening I had my first experience of getting absolutely pished at the Perth Arms in Dunkeld, and then trying to sneak back into the hostel before lights out even though my legs weren’t working properly. I had a look there last week before the Luncarty game and the pub was vaguely familiar, but now they had excellent beers by the Strathbraan Brewery, rather than Drybrough’s Heavy or whatever back in the 70s. Bankfoot Athletic were formed in 1919 and played at Coronation Park in Bankfoot. They had a less than illustrious history. They did win a few local cups, but the high point was probably 2001, when they finished as Tayside Div 1 champions, and were promoted to the Tayside Premier, but they were relegated a year later. In 2006-7 the leagues were reorganised and Bankfoot were placed in the East Region, Central Division. At the end of 2012-13 they went into abeyance for a year due to lack of committee, but sadly haven’t returned. Notable ex-players are Paul Sturrock and Jim Weir. The photo below shows Coronation Park in 2016. I visited Coronation Park in 2003 to see Caledonian in a pre-season friendly, which they won 2-1. The ambulance on the pitch is due to Caley’s midfielder, Danny MacDonald, suffering a recurrence of a knee injury within 1 minute of kickoff. A sad waste as Danny was an excellent talent. Below: the same view in 2016 Luncarty JFC were formed in 1886 by employees of Luncarty bleachworks, which itself had been going since 1732 and must have been the major employer in the village. They joined the Junior setup in 1921. Like Bankfoot they have a long list of local cups won. The Bleachers also finished second in the Tayside Div 1 in 2005-6 and would have entered the Premier but for reorganisation, and, along with Bankfoot, were placed in the East Region, Central Division, where they finished 6th out of 12, with Bankfoot bottom. They play at Brownlands Park which is on the main road, and is bounded on the west by the embankment carrying the main Perth-Inverness railway, with the rest of the village being to the east. I had passed the ground many times as I used to go kayaking at Stanley, and was dismayed to hear the club had gone into abeyance at the end of season 2014-15, but as they returned in 2016-17 I was able to get to a game recently. Visiting the ospreys at Loch of the Lowes I was able to make a day of it, and grab a pint at the previously-mentioned Perth Arms in Dunkeld before the 7 pm kickoff. This season the Bleachers have had a decent run in the Scottish Junior Cup. They disposed of Fraserburgh Utd, Rosyth and Cumbernauld, the latter a creditable 3-1 win away at Guy’s Meadow. In the last 16 they got the draw nobody wants, away at Beechwood Park to the juggernaut that is Auchinleck Talbot, where they went down 4-0. Arriving at the park I was impressed by the facilities, the social club, and the pies, of which I had two. Don’t be fooled by the sunny photo above, which was taken last summer. On the night it was drizzly and dark and my camera was struggling to cope with any movement of the players. The Bleachers were playing league leaders Kirriemuir Thistle and were soon a goal down. However it remained 1-0 at half time with Luncarty giving as good as they got. They were dealt two fatal blows soon after half time. Kirrie’s second seemed to be well offside and the referee appeared to be in the ‘near retirement’ category. A third goal followed immediately and effectively killed the game. Luncarty battled on and got two goals, going down rather undeservedly 3-2 in the end. The attendance was about 60. The 3 points effectively made Kirrie champions due to their superior goal difference over second-placed Thornton Hibs. Both will be playing in the East Premier next season. While it’s unlikely that Bankfoot and Luncarty ever had a local derby to rival the Old Firm, there must have been some tussles over the years. I found one account here – SJFA article from Mud and Glory View the full article

I picked two pretty obscure clubs to blog about this time, but I have to say I enjoyed researching them, although there’s not much out there. If anybody has anything to add to this blog, or just corrections, don’t hold back… I became aware of the villages when I started youth hostelling with my mates before I left school. One year we got the bus to Perth and walked to Birnam, where there was a hostel in an old schoolhouse, but this has now been demolished. I had a look for it last year when we were up in Dunkeld for a Saw Doctors concert. In those days the A9 passed through nearly every village and it’s remarkable to think about it now, when you can drive from Edinburgh to Inverness in under 3 hours. Back to the youth hostelling trip and I got served my first pint at the Royal Dunkeld Hotel. The following evening I had my first experience of getting absolutely pished at the Perth Arms in Dunkeld, and then trying to sneak back into the hostel before lights out even though my legs weren’t working properly. I had a look there last week before the Luncarty game and the pub was vaguely familiar, but now they had excellent beers by the Strathbraan Brewery, rather than Drybrough’s Heavy or whatever back in the 70s. Bankfoot Athletic were formed in 1919 and played at Coronation Park in Bankfoot. They had a less than illustrious history. They did win a few local cups, but the high point was probably 2001, when they finished as Tayside Div 1 champions, and were promoted to the Tayside Premier, but they were relegated a year later. In 2006-7 the leagues were reorganised and Bankfoot were placed in the East Region, Central Division. At the end of 2012-13 they went into abeyance for a year due to lack of committee, but sadly haven’t returned. Notable ex-players are Paul Sturrock and Jim Weir. The photo below shows Coronation Park in 2016. I visited Coronation Park in 2003 to see Caledonian in a pre-season friendly, which they won 2-1. The ambulance on the pitch is due to Caley’s midfielder, Danny MacDonald, suffering a recurrence of a knee injury within 1 minute of kickoff. A sad waste as Danny was an excellent talent. Below: the same view in 2016 Luncarty JFC were formed in 1886 by employees of Luncarty bleachworks, which itself had been going since 1732 and must have been the major employer in the village. They joined the Junior setup in 1921. Like Bankfoot they have a long list of local cups won. The Bleachers also finished second in the Tayside Div 1 in 2005-6 and would have entered the Premier but for reorganisation, and, along with Bankfoot, were placed in the East Region, Central Division, where they finished 6th out of 12, with Bankfoot bottom. They play at Brownlands Park which is on the main road, and is bounded on the west by the embankment carrying the main Perth-Inverness railway, with the rest of the village being to the east. I had passed the ground many times as I used to go kayaking at Stanley, and was dismayed to hear the club had gone into abeyance at the end of season 2014-15, but as they returned in 2016-17 I was able to get to a game recently. Visiting the ospreys at Loch of the Lowes I was able to make a day of it, and grab a pint at the previously-mentioned Perth Arms in Dunkeld before the 7 pm kickoff. This season the Bleachers have had a decent run in the Scottish Junior Cup. They disposed of Fraserburgh Utd, Rosyth and Cumbernauld, the latter a creditable 3-1 win away at Guy’s Meadow. In the last 16 they got the draw nobody wants, away at Beechwood Park to the juggernaut that is Auchinleck Talbot, where they went down 4-0. Arriving at the park I was impressed by the facilities, the social club, and the pies, of which I had two. Don’t be fooled by the sunny photo above, which was taken last summer. On the night it was drizzly and dark and my camera was struggling to cope with any movement of the players. The Bleachers were playing league leaders Kirriemuir Thistle and were soon a goal down. However it remained 1-0 at half time with Luncarty giving as good as they got. They were dealt two fatal blows soon after half time. Kirrie’s second seemed to be well offside and the referee appeared to be in the ‘near retirement’ category. A third goal followed immediately and effectively killed the game. Luncarty battled on and got two goals, going down rather undeservedly 3-2 in the end. The attendance was about 60. The 3 points effectively made Kirrie champions due to their superior goal difference over second-placed Thornton Hibs. Both will be playing in the East Premier next season. While it’s unlikely that Bankfoot and Luncarty ever had a local derby to rival the Old Firm, there must have been some tussles over the years. I found one account here – SJFA article from Mud and Glory View the full article

Are the prices out yet for season tickets? Can't see it on the official site but I never visit there so not familiar with it. I haven't had a ST for years as I wouldn't use it much but certainly thinking about it next season. How much do we presently reach out to schools? Maybe we already do this but seems to me that next season in the championship we just saturate the schools with tickets and try and build a support for the future and try and stop the kids moving over to County.

The trouble is, that's nearly half our bedrock home support. I'm sure somebody else will confirm that FoH, though it's apparently successful, won't have anything like that level of penetration. Edit - I'm one of those who bought shares back in the early days when the club was an exciting place to be. It was only £250 but the great Inverness public didn't really take to it like a duck to water.

I also remember us struggling in mid-table, losing the first two derbies, while TB persisted with the likes of Lionel, Stratford and Eagle.

***off topic*** -Did anything come of that rumour last week that Brora were signing Steven Whittaker ? Sounds crazy as he could still do a job in the Premiership. Ex-pupil of my school incidentally. Also Brora coming down to play Whitehill this summer. Maybe something to do with Bingham knowing Tokely.

Never realised you were a Glens man. I was over there in October for Glens v Blues which unfortunately went the wrong way although Curtis Allen did score. I was well looked after by Ricky Rea when all I really wanted was to buy a match ticket.

It's you who should be Shott for posting that...

This is Sunday, they'll all be at the Kirk.

In keeping with the ICT tradition of doing something a bit radical, I'm really warming to the Darren Dods idea. He has successfully steered Brechin through League 1 and will be managing at our level next season anyway. I watched most of the game on Alba yesterday and they actually play football, something most of us struggle to remember