buckett

On the premise that a "senior" team is one in the Premiership, Championship, League 1 or League 2 in both England and Scotland, we find that there are 92 senior teams in England and just under half that many in Scotland - a country with less than a tenth the population. You're right. There are far too many senior teams in Scotland and most of them are unsustainable without very generous donations. Ideally they should merge, but is anyone on here brave enough to suggest we merge with Ross County?

What a great month it's been for football so far - 2 wins (and a draw) for ICT and 2 wins for Scotland!! Can it get better?

I would agree that Inverness is a large enough town to sustain a top 20 club. Unfortunately the local support is divided between ICTFC and that team based in Dingwall, and the existence of each of these clubs is detrimental to the top-flight aspirations of the other. Put simply, County's top flight sustainability would be much less precarious If ICTFC did not exist, as was ours before they joined us in the SPL.

Looked to me like Longstaff was waiting for the tackle and made the best of it. The way he moved his arms made his fall look just a wee bit too dramatic and the referee dismissed it as simulation. Although delighted with the win I really wish they wouldn't resort to this time-wasting. Go for another goal instead! And ffs stop doing that carry-on at the corner flag. It's not entertaining to watch and unless you're really good at it, (Premiership standard, at least!) you just end up losing possession. Stop it! It's not big and it's not clever!

That was a better performance from the team than any I saw last season in the championship. Edge of the seat stuff and a thoroughly entertaining watch. (And the referee wasn't so bad - quite fair I thought, and he took a dim view of our blatant dives and time-wasting tactics towards the end, which, lets face it, would have had our fans howling if the roles were reversed!) Not a bad player in blue and red on the park today, but by a whisker I'd say Longstaff on the wing and Dibaga in goal tied for my man of the match. We're gonna make the playoffs - you saw it here first!!!

Ross County's promotion to the SPL, which saw the fanbase divided and the beginning of a significant drop in attendance at The Dump.

Happy days!

Whoever takes over, we the supporters must NEVER let the club fall into disrepair again. It is imperative that, through the Supporters' Trust or some similar body, we have a voice and influence over major decisions involving the running of the club. No club - no supporters. No supporters - no club!

Wasn't that the safety net?

New management team, clean slate, fresh beginnings. Good luck lads, lets give Dumbarton a right good humping and start making up that points deficit!

Snappy prediction from over a month ago - well done bdu!!!

Regardless of the off-field shenanigans, Ferguson as a manager was completely unable to get a group of very competent footballers to operate as an effective team, and for our lamentable performances on the park and ultimate relegation, he was culpable. We are in my opinion, well rid of him and if we can give Dumbarton a right good humping at the Rock this weekend, that'll prove my point.

Only 3 face palms, but I suspect these were for the misused apostrophe in "ego's"!

The suggestion that Savage has inflicted reputational damage on Gardiner is quite amusing. I think most of us had come to this conclusion some time ago!

Think of it as a sticking plaster.

Reckon we should set up another GoFundMe - see if we can get enough donations to buy us a win. Or even a goal!

Exactly! I, and I think many others, have made donations on this premise. I see it as a one-off emergency donation to help prevent a catastrophic situation at the club. But don't expect me to do this every month!

Realistically, is it now time to look at transferring our loyalties elsewhere? Easy enough for me - many years ago if Caley were playing away (from Telford Street) I was quite happy to head down to Grant Street and lend my support to Clach, a team for which I still have a soft spot. With the possible demise of our team, the additional revenue from a thousand odd displaced (and disillusioned) ICT fans could help make Clach a viable contender for the Highland League title and then the Scottish League playoffs, just in time to move operations to the vacant Tulloch stadium. A lick of white paint and we're ready to storm up the leagues again!!

Not sure how comfortable I am with this idea that the club should avoid repaying their debts. This is of course what liquidation would achieve, and to an extent, administration, neither of which we would wish for. The idea that the money we contribute through GoFundMe should be ring-fenced only to address certain aspects of the club's financial shortfall while ignoring the "black hole of debt" is morally wrong.

Hmm - tickets seem to be sold out now, or should I say, given out. I would hope there was some system to prevent buckie-swillers like the above from snapping them up, e.g tickets only available to supporters with a connection to ICT (season ticket holders, share holders, match ticket purchaser database for example)

At long last Big Dunc is proving his worth. A quick scan down the GoFundMe thing reveals quite a few donations from Everton fans (Thank you Everton fans!) thanks to Ferguson's previous association with the club. Just wish he could coax a win out of a team of fairly decent players though. Nevertheless, his very presence here is, for once, pulling in more pounds than he's costing the club!

Just can't get my head round how we are losing £200,000 a month. Where's all that money going? Shouldn't incomings at least equal outgoings? How do other football clubs manage?

And this is the problem - people attend football matches partly to support their team and partly to be entertained. As the entertainment value plummets, less and less supporters will attend. Ferguson gained his experience in the English Premiership where just the quality of players on show would always guarantee entertainment. Watching a team of 3rd tier sloggers relentlessly defending a goal-less draw just doesn't have the same pull, effective as they may be, at this level. Supporters need something to get the adrenalin going - a bit of excitement, the odd goal would help, but even a few decent chances. Intense defensive play certainly keeps the losses down, but at 3rd-tier level it's painful to watch. Longstaff's efforts did provide an occasional bit of excitement on Saturday, but I'm with The Duke on this one. I'll have a re-think after the next home game, which I won't be attending.

Don't remember ever leading the Premiership tbh, but I'll take your word for it. That's quite a scary tumble though - from best team in Scotland to one of the worst, in 11 short years.

Looking forward to an afternoon of top-class entertainment at TCS this afternoon. Might bring me boots along too, just in case! Used to manage a goal or 2 maself, back in the day!