Bridge_Ender

Off the top of my head Martin Kelly, Dani Pacheco, Jay Spearing and Nathan Eccleston are still at Anfield and have all progressed to play for the first team with Kelly also becoming a full Engerland International. Dean Bouzanis, the goalkeeper, had an absolute howler that night if I remember right!

What do the SFA do next after the Court of Session have agreed with the Rangers lawyers that the sanctions imposed were not within the powers of the SFA? There seems to be 4 main options: 1) Suspension from the Scottish Cup 2) Suspension of SFA Membership 3) Expulsion from the SFA 4) Do nothing With FIFA and UEFA now taking an interest it appears 4) will no longer an option. So what is a fair SFA sanction to be imposed on Rangers? And, perhaps more importantly, realistically what wil the SFA do? Personally, I thought the SFA tried to do the best they could by everyone involved by putting the transfer ban on them. Under the circumstances and how seriously they are taking the case it looked like they were taking tough action on Rangers whilst in reality the club were unlikely to ever be in a position to sign many players over the next 12 months anyway. If Rangers had engaged the brain before complaining they would have realised they had got off lightly. However, by taking it to the Court of Session they have put the SFA in a position they would not have wanted to be in by attracting the attention of FIFA/UEFA and surely toughening of any penalty that will be imposed next. Rangers own arrogance and stupidity in taking this to the civil courts beggars belief. For that reason I'd argue a years suspension from the Scottish Cup is nowhere near enough while permanent expulsion, as much as I would like that to happen, won't realistically happen. I think a years suspension of SFA membership is the most appropriate. Realistically, I can see the SFA caving and only issuing a years suspension from the Cup.

So you are happy with the quality of the SPL then? You want the best players to leave? This perochial attitude is part of the reason why Scottish football is so low. I'd imagine it's because he doesn't want him at a rival team and inevitably damage us next season as opposed to a parochial attitude?

Ok... I seem to have touched a nerve there... Of course you're right. If the guys aren't up to the standard required then we should continue to invest in them just because they are local. God forbid we use more talented players from different areas to try and raise the standard of player at the club! It might even encourage the local lads to be more competitive and emulate them? Or should 'Raigmore Hospital' as your place of birth be the prime selection criteria for a position at ICT? In all seriousness though, is it not better the players who are not up to standard with the rest of the players at their level across the country are released for their own benefit as well as the club? They're either going to get the opportunity to prove themselves somewhere else, if they really are good enough, or they can change career and take advantage of other training opportunities/further education - opportunities that can begin to close as they get older. If they aren't going to make it then surely that is better for all concerned? I do agree that there should be a local heart to the club and until this season we have been lucky in that we have had an exceptional group with us for a long time who had/developed that. Hopefully it will return but at the moment I see nobody out there (Munro and Mackay Stevens arguments aside) that are good enough to be playing SPL for us that is not already with here and has ties to the area. As far as Butchers signing policy goes, I'd like to see many more permanent signings, rather than 6 month loans, and guys who are hungry to prove themselves after being released from a bigger club join us, much the same as Hayes and Cox. As for the community aspect, no idea how you got that from my post but for what it is worth I don't think ICT get into the schools and work with the local kids enough and this is one area of the club that definitely be vastly improved. Maybe there is a rough diamond out there we're missing, I'd like to think so.That is a debate for another time though. Finally, I don't aspire for ICT to be like any part of the Old Firm. What a truly ridiculous suggestion from someone who has evidently never met me.

A tiny percentage of kids make it through the youth system of clubs and we're no exception. As it is, our u-19's finished bottom of their league which would suggest that the vast majority of the players involved in the squad are not up to the standard required and that the correct decision has been made surely...? Don't really see what all the fuss is about, it's not as if we're releasing youth internationals or guys who've been in the first team squad. It's how football works, literally hundreds of talented kids all over the UK are being released this month.

Alex, the 1/12 of 48% is the equal payment each club gets just for being in the league. All the figures are from the SPL website. The real disparity is in the placings money - 2% between 1st and 2nd then the value of 3rd place almost halves from that of 2nd place before stepping evenly again!

I totally agree that discounting tickets is pointless and proven not to really work and also that we are highly unlikely to gain 2000+ fans in the current climate. I'm arguing that this could be the opportunity for Scottish Football to completely reinvent itself and switch to summer football, a move that, for example, saved Rugby League in the UK from a not dissimilar position Scottish football finds itself in now. Summer football and a more competitive league without Rangers, or even both the Old Firm, would attract more fans, sponsors and TV would follow. Even assume there was a TV deal worth half of the upcoming one, so £8m per year. Suddenly the additional fans required to make up the shortfall halves and it all starts to look a bit more realistic that these other factors could improve attendances too. It's all a pipe dream anyway as it's never gonna happen and Rangers will prove to just be the first of many to go to the wall unless there is a radical shake up of the Scottish game.

With a bit of spare time on my hands I thought I'd do the geek thing and run the new TV deal numbers to see what it adds up to. The deal is reportedly worth £80m over 5 seasons to the league and I've tried to break it down into what that means in 'additional' fans per season and home game based on £20 gate price. These are pretty rough figures and don't take into account of other incomes from sponsorship etc. or costs like the parachute payments, league running costs, taxes and such like so you can take as much or as little from these figures as you like. It was more just to get an idea of it's rough worth should the TV deal be cancelled. Standard Payment per club (1/12th of 48%)= £640,000 Placing - TV Money - TV Total Worth - Fans Per Season at £20 a ticket (per home game (18)) 1st 13.0% - £1,081,600 - £1,721,600 - 86080 (4782) 2nd 11.0% - £915,200 - £1,555,200 - 77760 (4320) 3rd 5.5% - £457,600 - £1,097,600 - 54880 (3049) 4th 4.5% - £374,400 - £1,014,400 - 50720 (2818) 5th 4.0% - £332,800 - £972,800 - 48640 (2702) 6th 3.5% - £291,200 - £931,200 - 46560 (2587) 7th 3.0% - £249,600 - £889,600 - 44480 (2471) 8th 2.5% - £208,000 - £848,000 - 42400 (2356) 9th 2.0% - £166,400 - £806,400 - 40320 (2240) 10th 1.5% - £124,800 - £764,800 - 38240 (2124) 11th 1.0% - £83,200 - £723,200 - 36160 (2009) 12th 0.5% - £41,600 - £681,600 - 34080 (1893) On average this means 50,027 extra fans through the turnstiles in an 18 home game season or 2779 per home match. Even if we work with hitting 9th every season it's still over 40,000 extra fans or 2240 a home game. I don't know how realistic this would be to achieve but if you consider the potentially positive impact on attendances a switch to summer football and a much more competitive league could bring and add a TV deal of even 50% of the worth of the one that is about to begin then, to me, it doesn't seem like the demise of Rangers or the Old Firm is as catastrophic an event as is being predicted by some. It could actually be the opportunity for Scottish Football to really invigorate and reinvent itself but, being cynical, who really expects the Self Preservation League to do that...?

Standard of football definitely seems higher than nowadays! Brilliant to see a Stewarty chip shot again, especially one against the Gypos, and also a full Telford Street - brilliant memories and great work Caley!

Ok, I should have made myself clearer. What I meant was does anybody on here know if the ICT board would, or did given the resolution has been made public, support or oppose a Rangers NewCo being admitted straight back into the SPL?

Does anyone know, or have the club announced, whether the ICT Board/SPL Representative would vote in support of Rangers NewCo being readmitted or not?

We'll always be the first to have got into the SPL, they'll be forever in our shadow! As for the merger stuff - it's nearly 20 years ago, get over it... The biggest effect on attendances - everywhere, not just Inverness - is that now the floating football fan, who might have watched his local team 4/5 times a season, spends that money on Sky/ESPN etc. rather than going to the odd game. Who really wants to spend £20+ to sit in a cold stadium in January to watch mid-level football that you aren't that interested in when you can watch the Premiership/La Liga/etc. at home or in the pub? Only those really dedicated are going to! Until live football makes itself more attractive (pricing, summer football, etc. etc.) the downward spiral of attendances will continue, simple. Anyone who thinks the merger has anything to do with attendances nowadays needs to get out more... County coming up is great for us and great for the Highlands and I hope they stay up, as long as we continue to finish above them . Imagine if the SPL engage the brain and we get a double header home and away over Christmas and New Year...?

A 'Legends Game' or renenactment of the first game with the old boys is an awful idea! Sorry, but I just cannot see the attraction. A commemorative shirt or '20 year' crest on the shirt sounds interesting though. At first I thought the idea of the using the Caley for home / Thistle away idea wasn't particularly good but it sounds better the more I think about it. The history pre-1994 is an important part of the club heritage and I think that if after 20 years people are still choosing not to watch ICT because the were either Caley or Thistle fans before the chances are they're not going to change now, and why should we bother about them? Old Caley colours for the home strip and old Thistle colours for the away kit for season 2014/15 - great tribue to the history of the club and what has been achieved in such a relatively short time.

This will be the last away game for Rangers before the new Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 comes into force so I'd expect the full repertoire from them, especially after last weeks performance. What can the authorities do to the club anyway? No point in fining them, points deduction hardly matters now - even if they do finish 2nd they probably won't get a UEFA licence as they won't beat the date to come out of administration. Northern Constabularly will have their hands full next week methinks, early Sunday kick off or not!

We were incredibly lucky to be able to bounce back the first time - surely you aren't seriously saying that to be in the lower leagues and drawing 1,000 - 1,500 each week (if that) to watch Alloa, Airdrie, Morton et al is the way ahead (or back...)?? Economically the SPL is the only place to be in Scottish Football, relegation again would kill ICT stone dead. How to improve the matchday experience and save Scottish Football? Relatively simply I'd say. Switch to summer football with cheaper ticket prices and suddenly you'd see a lot more positivity around the game. It's hard to be enthused and positive when it's near freezing and you're perched on a cold plastic seat. It's even harder to motivate yourself to go back week after week when you're being skinned so much for the privilege. SKY TV would bite the SPL's hand off to have live football during the summer and if tickets were at a realistic level then there would be much more possibility 'floating fans' would be convinced to take a game in when it is still light and relatively warm. Ideas like Scottys would become feasible as people would want to be out and enjoying the better weather rather than scurrying to and from the stadium to avoid spending any longer than the absolute minimum time outside. It won't happen though and Scottish football will continue losing the next generation of fans and no amount of jovial announcers, Police free games, half time entertainment or whatever is going to stop the slide.

SkySports News Seems all done and dusted.... Good luck to him, how much will TB get from the fee to replace him though? Is there time to get anyone else in????

Don't rely on the boys in blue (or fluorescent yellow...) to exercise commonsense. This is a bill written in crayon by people who have no idea what goes on. A cracking way to alienate the football supporters votes when it comes to referendum time though, it's almost as if Salmond didn't want to win... However, if it should stand up in court (big IF) then I look forward to the silence during the anthems the next time England come to play at Hampden - although not at Murrayfield, obviously, as this only applies to football matches.

Do you really think these are unrealisitic goals to set for over the next 10 years CaleyD?! If European football, title challenges, big money signings or building training complexes was being targeted then yes I'd agree that was unrealistic. Achieving top 6 (which we nearly did this season), some good Cup runs, some growth in the fan base and developing more local players is what the club should be aiming for at the start of every season not as a pipedream! The only point I would agree is unrealistic is the possible need for additional seating as even if we do increase home gates they would have to almost double before that becomes necessary, which is unlikely. I'm not dismissing your points as they are valid and the consequences of a variety of actions over the last few years remain to be seen long term. However, while caution is an important part of business planning surely you need to have some high end targets to try and achieve more? Otherwise what's the point in turning up every Saturday? We didn't get to the SPL by showing a lack of ambition so why should that stop now? We know how bad it can be dropping into Division One, we should be doing as much as we can to avoid that rather than preparing to suffer it again. That's not to say there shouldn't be any contingencies in place, but that's what it should be, a Plan B.

Everyone is, or should be, well aware of the challenges and pressures facing ICT both in a footballing and economic sense. Indeed, that is probably why the majority of ICT fans are against the 10 team proposal because it almost certainly will have such a negative fact on an already difficult operating climate both on and off the field. My point was that there are still a lot of positives which the club has achieved and appears to be placed well to continue to achieve. The constant 'glass half empty approach' just frustrates the hell out of me. If the supporters are negative even about the positives then what chance is there? I'm not claiming a head in the sand approach, more just credit where credit is due.

A needlessly negative reply to a very positive opening post and thread about the clubs progress. There are a lot of good things happening at ICT, especially over the last 2 years, and it would be nice to see this recognised a bit more than it is. We complain the central belt media don't acknowledge our achievements but if even our own fans are continually negative about the club and it's future then it isn't hard to see why we're easily ignored...

Like him or loathe him he was part of our first ever squad, was the first ever professional ICT player (or was it still CT at the time?) and won 59 caps and an International trophy with his country. Sounds like a pretty successful career to me. Maybe not the greatest or most popular ICT player but he's a big part of our history and always contributed whenever I saw him play.

Speaking to someone who knows about these things, it appears the best person to complain to is Brian Caldwell at St Mirren FC, apparently he's the main decision maker as regards stadium operations. Complaining to the security company directly or even to a generic club email address will more than likely to be lost in the system or ignored. His email is: brianc@saintmirren.net Hope this helps anyone who was there on Saturday and wishes to raise their concerns.

Sounds like another ridiculous situation and after reading the St Mirren board and the reasons bigger supports are allowed to stand it simply proves that a two tier system is in place. Surely if the a club is incapable of controlling that number of fans as per the requirements of their safety certificate, i.e. the larger supports of the Old Firm, then they shouldn't be able to host these matches? The percentage of ejections at Caley, Killie, Hamilton, whoever matches must be astronomical in comparison. It is totally ridiculous and yet another reason fans choose to stay away from football grounds. What other business could you charge ?25 for a product of indeterminate quality, treat customers as an inconvenience, behave rudely and aggressively to them and still have the audacity to maintain it is in their interests? Hibs away... Yet to decide whether to go. Maybe I'll go and see what happens, if it's the same then I'll not bother again.

Seems Adam's miss has gone continental! It was on the front page of the 'Marca' website, the biggest sports paper in Spain! Rooney Miss goes Continental

Couldn't agree more!