buckett

A bit like Ross County's first team!

At least our team is mostly Scottish, which gives them a degree of relevance to the town they are representing. Even when we won the Scottish Cup there were a few Scots in the team, although certainly not all. Take a look over the bridge though, where the self-styled "Highlanders" are playing Dundee just now, and have ZERO Scotsmen on the field representing the fair county of Ross-shire! At least they're being urged on by local lad and Caley Thistle reject, Don Cowie!

Just wish our youth set-up could produce players like that though.

Ferguson got criticism for not fielding any of our own trainees. I'm not seeing many highlanders in our current first team. A couple of Lewismen, if that counts. (well, one now!) I suppose with a 15 point disadvantage we don't want to be fielding too many inexperienced players though - hopefully our own youth get their chance next season. If they stay!

Many will see it as a plus that, despite administration we were still able to hold onto and recruit sufficient players from outwith the Highlands and didn't have to resort to fielding our own home-grown players. It is unfortunate that it is so difficult for our own academy players to break into the first team and that they find they have to go elsewhere to develop their careers.

"Unfortunate I lost ma joab through administration" Fortunate for us though!

Good entertaining game and certainly worth the trip to Inverness. In comparison with QoS, what we lacked in physical presence we made up for with skill and teamwork. I'm not one to criticise referees, so I won't! Edge of the seat stuff and Remi Savage my MoM, just edging it ahead of Bavidge. Just one thing though, and I hate to sound negative, but what happened to all the home-grown talent we were supposed to be fielding this season?

What I remember about that game was that early the next morning I had to fly out to New Orleans to join a BP super-tanker and the captain was a Lewis-man living in Inverness and a keen Caley supporter. When he found out I was at the game I had to give him a blow-by-blow account of the full 90 minutes and Billy's late goal.

Wonder what Big Dunc's doing with himself these days

Great memories. Back in the days when the Highlands were represented by Highlanders (mostly)

Nobody's mentioned the Clach park, with a capacity of 3000 or so. Could a groundshare deal be done between Highland League and Scottish League that would be mutually beneficial to both clubs? Certainly more accessible to many by foot than some others being mentioned.

It occurs to me now that I've retired, that I would be of more value to my grown-up offspring if I were to drop dead!

- and hopefully each generation better than the last!

No I don't think he can recapture his previous striking ability but from what I've seen he is making himself useful in other ways. He's still a powerful presence on the forward line, and I think he's still got a few goals in him. Don't write him off just yet!

Billy might not be as potent a striker as he used to be but he's still pretty useful in the final third. Have you ever noticed how well marked he always is? Other teams certainly see him as a threat! His very presence draws defenders away and gives our other forwards a chance of a shot. His ability to hold the ball, and set up other players with a killer pass should not be under-estimated.

I understand your anger and whilst not a booer myself, I can also understand those who are. Professional footballers are paid to entertain. That's why we pay to go and watch them perform. When they appear careless, over-casual and generally disinterested in their performance then the paying audience is bound to be disenchanted and perfectly ENTITLED to express their disapproval. If actors on a stage fluff their lines all the time the audience will make their feelings known. That's the entertainment industry!

A game of 2 halves and we were sh!te in both. Perhaps too much Christmas pud was had by those in red and blue! Couldn't keep possession - either pushed off the ball far too easily or passing to an opponent. Cove came prepared and soaked up everything we threw at them with ease, and with similar ease strolled through our defence whenever they fancied a shot at goal. They wanted it so much more than we did and could have won by a much bigger margin. If this is the level of desire that ICT are gonna be showing then perhaps I should be looking elsewhere for my Saturday entertainment! (For what it's worth, Longstaff and Dibaga joint MotM - that is of course if we exclude the Cove players!)

I wonder if it's too early for another crowd-fund thing. Although the last one raised a fair bit of cash, it didn't come anywhere near meeting the stated target. But contributing at that time was just a shot in the dark - nobody really knew where the money they contributed was actually going, nor what it would achieve. Most of us I think just heeded a cry for help from our club and responded with a random, affordable donation. There was also the fear that our contributions would end up in SG's pocket, which made many of us reluctant to donate. Now, however, the picture is a little clearer and we can have a more reliable indication of how much is required and why. I personally would be prepared to donate again, probably more than I donated last time, although I'd need a few weeks to recover from the expenses of this season of goodwill!

Was he no just 'manager' the second time round? Not sure but I don't think he was a player in chapter 2.

Sadly, if the player goes to ground, he's much more likely to get a foul awarded. That's why most players go to ground or, in other words, take a dive!

Love seeing these old videos of the glory days!

Yogi edges it for me - he gave the final tweaks to Butcher's excellent work and and was the architect of the club's greatest ever successes. As for Kells, he's managing at a much lower level at the moment but give him time - he may well surpass the others as we (hopefully) rise through the divisions! Certainly shows potential to be one of our best.

I liked Ferguson. He tried really hard and did his best. Trouble was, he was a sh!te manager!

I really hope the team won't be so complacent as to settle into 2nd bottom slot and assume they'll get through the playoffs. Promotion playoffs is still a realistic aim for a full-time club in a mainly part-time league.

The difference being that we've had to work hard to get that sort of sponsorship whereas MacGregor has pretty much guaranteed to keep County solvent.