buckett

There's a big opportunity to garner a bit of favour in the Outer Hebrides where they all support either Rangers or Celtic (dependant on which Hebride - no imagination!) with just a token nod to the nearest "local" team, whether it be us or County. No harm in giving us the edge by showing a recognition of Gaelic, which is still widely spoken across the Minch.

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Just shows ya - there's always a way of misinterpreting a well-meaning, non-racist comment!

Couldn't agree more. Contrary to many on here I thought it was quite an entertaining game. A bit frustrating in the end though, as despite our dominance, couldn't get that winning goal. At times it was like shooting practice for ICT. Take note though: plenty more shooting practice required! Still second in the league. No a bad team, all things considered!

Should you ever be smitten by the urge to go to Harris or North Uist, you could do a lot worse than drive aboard this one!

Thought we were a bit hasty in letting him go. Hopefully he's lived up to his potential.

Not that long ago we were poaching County's best players - Hislop, Wilson, Cowie to name but 3 (The only 3 I can think of at the moment!). Just the way it goes - a higher division is more attractive and pays more. The only way we can keep players is by bringing them through our own youth system and instilling an unfeasible degree of loyalty into them - Inverness boys playing for Inverness - that sort of thing. Can't see it though!

Don't think we should be wasting our limited resources bringing anyone in. We've got a decent squad, and talented youngsters waiting in the wings. A few more supporters turning up wouldn't go amiss though!

He was a failure last time Hearts poached him off us so can't see it happening again. That said, if they want him, why don't we do a swap and offer Craig Levein a job? Might work - horses for courses and all that!

A bit of game time at a decent level - this can only benefit the young players, and hopefully ICT. Seem to remember a young nonentity being farmed out to Forfar a few years back for a bit of match experience and coming back as the great Barry Robson!

Best response to end-of-season blues!

Fair point - got ma terminology mixed up. Substitute "Premiership" for "SPFL" in the Opening Post.

Winners of Irn Bru Cup. Beaten semi-finalists in League Cup Get nowhere in Scottish Cup. Steady start in the league and by January we're on top, closely challenged by Dundee United. By April we're well in front - automatic promotion to SPFL. That'll do me!! Oh aye, and Robbo gets poached by an SPFL club at the end of the season. Any more seers?

Didn't realise Scotch Broth had been regionalised!!

Aye, we were unbeatable for the first part of the season. Too many draws though, often in games we should have won. I think we built on the previous season though, and it's all part of a gradual improvement process. Let's see what next season brings - I'm optimistic that we'll be challenging for automatic promotion this time round.

They got what they deserved. Being a bit ICT biased, I was reluctant to jump on the refereeing bandwagon when they played us. However, having watched today's game as a neutral with a very slight DUFC bias I'm convinced that all the big decisions seemed to go United's way, including the sending off (which should never have been!). Wonder why that would be? At least the referees seem to have a bit of consistency now - they all seem to favour Dundee United!!! So congratulations St Mirren. Down to 10 men and with the referee seemingly a DUFC supporter, they still managed to win!!

Aye, that's him!

That's the best we can do until Mr. Rich comes along and invests donates some serious money. We've got an impressive youth squad at the moment - I'd like to get 2 or 3 years out of the ones that make the grade before flogging them on though. Early last season we had Mackay and MacGregor getting the odd game and initially impressing. I hope we'll see a bit more of that this season, and that Brazilian fellow who's name currently escapes me!

Yes, noticed that. No a bad game though - didn't intend to watch but flicked over to check the score and I was hooked! 2nd leg on Sunday should be a cracker!

I'm quite impressed that this season shows an improvement over last season. Could that be purely due to 2 home games against our neighbours? Or are the crowds really returning to the Caley Stadium?

Looks like the balance of power in Highland football has shifted. Just wondering if that's the way it's going to stay. Are we destined to be in their shadow for the foreseeable future?

Alan Simpson takes it all in his stride. Brilliant!!! ?

Hope I'm wrong but I've got a bad feeling about this one. My earlier optimism is somewhat diminished!

At our level it's all about loyalty. As soon as we become successful, our managers tend to be lured away by bigger clubs who can offer better wages and conditions than we can. Are we all so loyal to our employers that we would reject an offer from a rival employer which doubled our wages? I think not, so we have no right to criticise an ICT manager who takes up a better offer. Sadly that is our current position - bring in a manager we can afford, encourage him to succeed on a shoestring budget, and if he does, then he soon gets snapped up by a bigger club, and we're back to square one. As for loyalty, well I don't think we'll get much better than the current incumbent. He's been here before, been lured away, and eventually, for various reasons, come back. Somehow I think he'll be with us for a good while yet and so I'm optimistic about the next few years.

2 that I can think of.