Proctor

Deja Vu.

Mabye they will sit around with each other and talk about how they regret not staying in the Highlands longer....

I just ordered one. Think its quite a unique bit of clothing and I know its going to a good cause too.

Neil Doncaster for example?

Don't be shocked if they don't have the new kit for that game. I'm sure at Clach a few seasons ago they had the old shirt with a sticker or something over the sponser (when we switched from Flybe to Orion)

Someone pointed out on Pie and Bovril that the SPL costs SKY 2 percent of what the EPL costs and it gets something along the lines of a fifth of what EPL gets in ratings. Thats a pretty good return, granted you could argue that less people would watch without Rangers in the SPL but if there is competitive football on then people will still watch regardless of who is playing. I just don't buy into this "SKY are pulling out if newco aren't in it" nonsense.

If Mr Cameron does change his mind I'll have a good mind to ask for a refund on the season ticket I got last week. I am confident that he would not be that stupid.

Was it not also said today that the SFA would not allow newco Rangers to be automaticly let into the SPL?

Mabye I am dreaming this but did Hamilton not voice some sort of opposition to this too? I may be wrong.

I wish the boys who joined us recently the best of luck and I would like to welcome them to the club. I still think it would be nice to look a bit closer to home for some of our squad though. I listened to Sportsound this afternoon and a host of players were listed that had achieved sucess in the SPL recently with sides like Hearts and Dundee United that had come from the SFL. I think there is talent there. I am quite proud to see the likes of Laing, the Shinnies, Ross and Sutherland in our first team ranks now though. Hopefully Morrison comes back from Iceland ready for first team action and with some of that chicken tikka lesagne they sell for a pound.

I renewed mine on Thursday. I debated as to whether or not I would bother as I am studying in Aberdeen at the moment meaning I am between Inverness and there. I didn't get to enough home games to justify having one last year, however I decided that I would get one again partly because of the clubs decision on the newco. I made a point of contacting the club and venting my anger on here and I felt that I and other fans were listened to. I'll just need to make an extra effort to get to more games this year and work it around my uni/work life.

Appears that if Rangers and the SFA don't get their own way because the SFL clubs vote against the parachuting into SFL1 of a club which has never played a game of football in its very short existence.......then there is going to be an invited Breakaway SPL2 according to http://sport.stv.tv/...-rangers-plans/ So a threat now....added to the previous scaremongering.......it's almost like listening to the No to Independence Campaign in full flow.. Is Scottish Football run by people with no backbone or morality....just £ signs flashing before their eyes? If so......then what is the point of it all, when sporting integrity and common decency can be bought and sold. It is certainly no longer "the Beautiful Game". The good thing is that the SFL clubs have the power to say no to the SPL2 by not opting to join. I have faith that they will realise the wishes of their fans outweigh that of a very short term commercial gain. Who else can the SPL get to fill their second tier? part time teams in the SFL 2 and 3? I doubt it.

Arent he SPL clubs meant to be the SPL? I don't think ICT are represented on the board. I was talking about Neil Doncaster and whoever else is trying to blackmail the SFL clubs into letting Sevco/Zombie Rangers into the First Division.

We should look into signing Jamie Mole.

The SPL have behaved appaulingly throughout this whole fiasco. I would hope that the SFL have the guts to stand up to them. That goes for the SPL clubs including ourselves too.

Most clubs of our size tend to be selling clubs yet we are losing players for free. With the greatest of respect to the players we have signed under Butcher many of them have been poor aquisitions who have come from obscurity. I look at a First Division club like Dundee who at the end of last season signed Mark Futheringham and Carl Finnigan, recently signed John Baird from Raith Rovers and were linked with former Scotland international Nigel Quashie and I can't help but be a little frustrated that a club in a league lower than ourselves (for now) are signing name players. I appreciate that we are under budget constraints but I find Butcher's transfer policy of signing players from England with a history of injuries or with little experiance of first team football rather frustrating when I'm sure there are players in Scotland who would jump at the chance to play in the SPL who may well be available for a similar amount of money. Today we signed a striker whose main experiance is in the Welsh Premier League which is of a very low standard. I'm not judging the lad until I have seen him but I can't help but think it would be easier to sign someone from the SFL2? We have seen three players sign today and I have never seen any of them play so I can't judge how they will turn out. I hope they do well, I hope Butcher does well, I have renewed my season ticket today but I can't help but feel a little cynical about the season.

but without out them the SPL will die, Scottish Football will die, the whole of Scotland will die WE WILL LITERALLY ALL DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Oswell boy played in the Welsh set-up and seemed to do well according to that article but the SPL is a BIG step up. It appears that he has never played at a high senior level but I'll reserve my judgement until I see him.

Also they are technically not in the SPL.

Are we signing John Pigeon instead?

But before that in the 1980's and early 90's we had teams in European finals and even won trophies in Europe without the money been given to the top 2 teams. So you could argue that evenly distributing money between all clubs would mean more clubs could be more competitive in Europe. Not that I am expecting any miricles now.

Confirmed by BBC Radio Scotland that Aberdeen will vote no. That takes it up to 5 clubs and as a result. It seems highly unlikley that Rangers will be in the SPL next year.

Apparently the Motherwell thing (assuming its the article that came from the BBC) is nonsense.

Long overdue in my opinion. Scottish football has become uncompetitive, uninteresting and most importantly unfair. Time to address it before its too late.

Here is the email I sent to Mr Cameron. As you can see its slightly altered from the one posted on here earlier but thought I would add it in case there was any other valid points etc. Dear Mr Cameron I am a Caley Thistle fan writing to express my opinions on a Rangers Newco. I am of the opinion that a new version of Rangers should under no cir***stances be voted into the SPL. While I appreciate that you have a huge decision on your hands and that you have probably received a number of emails on the subject, I feel it is only right that I contact you personally with my thoughts and to plea to you to vote NO to Newco Rangers. I have contacted the ICT supporters Trust with a similar message as well as expressed my opinions on calythistleonline.com. From an ICT perspective I feel you should not vote for a newco for the following reasons. Football is still fundamentally a sport. While there has often been a clash between commercialism and football; this is the reason the SPL scores are reported in the sports section of the news and not at the same time as the FTSE 100. To let someone (in this case a football club) off for cutting corners in order to achieve commercial gain eliminates any notion of ICT being a sports team and Scottish football being a contest. Dwaine chambers was a big name in his sport but was still banned from competing for breaking the rules. Surely allowing Rangers Newco into the SPL would have an adverse effect on the reputation of Scottish Football abroad? This would make Scottish Football look low-rent which for a league with a number of International TV Deals could have a negative impact on the reputation of ICT and other clubs overseas as a result. Inverness Caledonian Thistle had to jump through a number of hoops to get into the SFL and even more to get into the SPL by sacrificing two clubs with passionate independent support and going to great expense to meet stadium criteria. Many figures at the club have worked hard over the years (the late Jock McDonald for example). Our neighbours Ross County are upgrading their stadium as we speak to play in the SPL. Why should a Newco automatically enjoy the privileges of SPL membership others have had to go to great expense to achieve? Inverness Caledonian Thistle have always tried to live within their means and remain debt free. It could be argued that trying to do things the right way has meant the club has struggled to compete with teams who spend more and are in debt as a result. ICT voting Rangers Newco back into the SPL would mean the club are being hypocritical and devaluing their own good ethics. Why should the club go through the annual frustration of not being able to hold on to their top players when other teams that have effectively cheated can keep theirs and achieve higher league positions and cup runs? Why should members of the board such as yourself spend so long trying to balance the books when others are less scrupulous? The television deal with SKY is often used as an excuse to ensure Rangers stay in the SPL. In my opinion Scottish Football should not rely on television money as TV is a fickle industry. It’s possible that if TV ratings for the SPL or football in general decreased SKY could pull the plug regardless of the presence of the Old Firm? British Professional Wrestling has never fully recovered from being pulled from ITV by Greg Dyke in the late 1980’s; this was a TV sport that famously got higher ratings than the FA Cup Final that soon after disappeared from the airways. Football clubs should ensure that they can survive without this money in the long term as one day it may not be there. I would also like to point out there has been no guarantee that SKY would pull the plug completely on the SPL TV Deal should Rangers not be in the league. I also feel that Scottish football would still appear on TV without the Old Firm. After all SKY show football leagues with less appeal than ours such as the Australian Hyundai A-League and other fringe sports like Elite League Ice Hockey. I fear that if ICT voted for Newco Rangers and fans of the club found out, there could be a backlash and a decrease in support which I fear the club could not afford. I fear this may not just come from our own supporters. I have spoken to a good friend of mine who is a Celtic Season ticket holder and a member of a Celtic supporter’s club. He has informed me that supporters clubs of many SPL teams are planning boycotts of the grounds of clubs who vote for Newco. I am unsure on how accurate or widespread this is but I feel the club may suffer in terms of attendances if this were to happen. Both halves of the Old Firm have expressed interest to leave the SPL which shows a disregard for the wellbeing of other clubs in Scotland. Why should these clubs be sympathetic to them? A few years from now when Rangers are in a better position there is nothing stopping these clubs from saying the same thing again. The SPL clubs (ICT included) should try and ensure they can survive without the Old Firm regardless of how difficult this is. I would rather see ICT playing in a lower league and living within their means than see them being subsidy junkies in the SPL. Having only one half of the Old Firm in the SPL will make it easier for ICT and other SPL teams to renegotiate voting rights and distribution of wealth. This would mean if/when Newco Rangers reach the SPL things are a lot fairer than before. With Newco Rangers automatically allowed into the SPL I feel this would be difficult. Finally, making a Newco Rangers begin life in the Third Division may be a once in a lifetime chance to show how difficult it is for a team to survive out with the alleged land of milk and honey that is the SPL and to ensure that things change for the better down the pyramid. For a club like ICT who have had recent stint out with the SPL and may very well find themselves in that situation again, I feel this is vital as it will impact on the club's future. I appreciate the opportunity to express my opinion on the matter and I also understand that you are privy to information regarding the club and the Newco situation that fans such as myself are not. I hope that you will make the right decision as chairman of the club, I have every confidence that as a businessman and as a man who as always tried to do whats best for the club and it's fans that you will. I do not envy you having to make the decision but I genuinely feel you and the other SPL chairman have a chance to make a real step forward in Scottish football. Yours sincerely James Proctor