buckett

Don't think it's an expectation - just a forlorn hope! I can think of 3 Scottish teams - Livingston, Gretna and Ross County who didn't do too badly because they were heavily subsidised by wealthy people who were passionate about their local team. It is the tribal nature of football supporters which can lead them to pay well over the odds for a mediocre "product".

Seems an honest enough appraisal of where we are, avoiding negative wording where negative wording might be more appropriate. Like IHE, I also picked out the requirement for new investment as cause for concern, despite the almost positive spin! It seems that running a small club in the upper divisions of Scottish football is unsustainable as a business. At the end of the day, someone has to foot the bill. We need a sugar-daddy!

Haven't played for a while.

Dingwall is easily within commuting distance of Inverness - a mere 15 miles away. Roy attracts players to the club by telling them they're just outside the city of Inverness!

Although none of them were rank, they can all be ranked in order of popularity/success/ability/competence. I would put Foran bottom of the list. Top of the list - either John Hughes for what he has achieved with the team, or John Robertson for what he has yet to achieve. 3rd would be Steve Paterson, who set the ball rolling rather well, but probably out of his depth in SPL management. Who knows what might have been though? In between would be all the rest, in no particular order, but I do feel that Charlie Christie never got a chance to realise his potential.

Clearly Hughes hadn't yet won over the supporters when this thread was started! Baltacha signed as player/manager but as I recall he didn't play all that often. Like with Brewster, the team seemed to play better when he was on the field. The team made a great start in Division 3 but faded a bit in the second half. I think politics had a lot to do with that. Don't really think Sergei can be judged on his short spell in charge of a team which had only just been formed from a controversial merger. Oh s**t - I said the M-word!!!

Fort William joined the Highland League in 1985 so that would be about right. Pretty sure it was Caley they put out though, in Inverness. Looks like Caley didn't show their non-league opponents "respect"!!!

Fort William also has a thriving Rugby Club which no doubt competes with the Football Club ("Soccer" is not in my vocabulary!) for accounts for potential players. Fort William FC's moment of glory was when as a non-league team, shortly before they entered the Highland League, they were drawn against Caley in a cup competition (North of Scotland Cup? Scottish Cup?) They humped us at Telford Street, putting us out of the competition. I think the score was something like 1-4. Can anyone verify that with something more reliable than my ageing memory?

Only if Brechin can knock in a quick 5 gainst Livi!

A buckett of cheer for crimbo and New Year!

It's all about making the supporters feel like they're part of the club, or an integral part of the whole ICT experience. I don't feel this has been the case for many years now.

There's something about the tone of some posts which suggests the poster has the word "ergo" in their vocabulary. And that is the biggest crime of all!!!

And yes, I fully agree with you Charles - can't fault your post at all! However, I was taking the point of view of someone (who works hard for a living!!!) who turns up for the match at Dumfries and finds the game is postponed because the players didn't get to bed till 3 in the morning. Pretty pssd off, I would be!!

Don't think anyone who's had to work for a living would be very sympathetic to Robbo's argument for having the match postponed. I think it's more likely a bit of psychology. Anyway, Robbo as manager continues to impress. I don't think promotion is out of the question yet!

I'm sure I remember coming through to Inverness around New Year to find the derby game against Ross County at Longman Stadium (as it was called then) was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

We generally do not have local young players coming through the ranks and playing for the first team. If our team could pick the best available local youngsters, and could then train and nurture them up to Championship or SPFL standard, then we could probably sustain SPFL football in Inverness. Buying in players from all over the UK is not financially sustainable.

It'll find it's own way to bed when we all start believing that Robertson is the man for the job!

Thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at TCS and it's been a while since I could say that! At last, ICT are playing as a team. Pure entertainment in the first half - should have been 3 up at half time. A bit nervy in the second half but did what was necessary. Donaldson was my Man of the Match by a whisker. Time to start BELIEVING! Incidentally, noticed there were only 4 posts on this thread during the whole game. Then I figured it out - everybody was at TCS, watching it live! Oh aye, as ever the ref was mince. And the stand-side linesman. As ever!

Seems there's now a requirement for a "Personal Abuse" forum!

I'm a little uneasy about the title of this thread - calling for a club employee to be sacked from his job having had little or no time to prove himself. There is little doubt that Robertson knows the game and it is simply unfair to conclude, at this early stage, that he is not suitable for the job. To make it worse, those calling for his head are ill-qualified to make such a career-changing decision. I'm reminded of how he successfully plotted the downfall of a high-flying Celtic team who had just beaten Liverpool in a European competition, arguably a greater feat than that achieved by his predecessor over a Celtic team in disarray. You don't just lose that tactical ability! As Scarlet said, "Sit tight". And enjoy the ride!

More wisdom from our Trans-Atlantic Scarlet! Take note, Know-It-Alls!!!

It's just entertainment. If a writer starts writing p!sh, then people stop buying his books. If a band starts releasing p!sh songs, then people stop going to their gigs. If a film director starts making p!sh films, nobody bothers going to see them. When a football team start playing pish, people stop going to support them. It's not difficult!

Lack of fitness was one of the first things Brewster addressed when he was with us.

We've peaked.

Always agree with you Scarlet! You're a wise old man. Just like maself!!!