Proctor

I also sent an email to Kenny Cameron last night. It was roughly along the same lines as the one I sent to the supporters trust/posted on here with a few more points.

I shall point out that I sent that to the [email protected] address, not Kenny Cameron. I do plan on contacting him too with those reasons. I also think its rather amusing part of my post was censored.

Dear Sir/Madam I am 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. From an ICT perspective I feel they 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? 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. 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 leagues with less appeal than ours such as the Australian Hyundai A-League and other fringe sports like Elite League Ice Hockey. Having 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. 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. I appreciate the opportunity to express my opinion on the matter. Yours sincerely James Proctor

Wow, if we play our two keepers we can field a starting eleven. I'll be sub keeper (I'm really not very good, thats an understatement)

It isn't all Butcher's fault but we are getting players pinched from us from the likes of St Johnstone who finished below us in the SPL last year and who get smaller average crowds than us. Butcher has been awful in the transfer market and has replaced Caley Thistle stalwarts with some pretty ropey players who have not stayed at the club. I'm not asking that we sign the likes of Messi. I would just like to see us pick up more players from the Scottish lower leagues who are more likley to stay in the area longer than someone born in England. I'm reserving my proper judgement until I see some replacements coming in,. For all I know Butcher is looking to bring in some gems. I am slightly doubtfull.

Thought he was an alright player with us who never really got a chance. Fair play to him.

The ones that a certain Scottish daily paper which is mistaken by some to be a Rangers fanzine seem to use are "beast" and "caged". Which gets up my nose as it seems a bit too sensationalist even though the crimes they discribe are often appauling..

"Lenny" "Coisty"

What people in Inverness should bear in mind is that to my understanding we had to dismantle two clubs with independant supports because it was HINTED that it would help our case for to even get a team in the SFL. On top of that we had to spend money on our ground to get into the SPL also. We as a club have had to jump through hoops to get to where we are. A great deal of expense and heartache has gone into ICT's rise to the SPL. Why should a team that has had so many advantages that other sides have not had be able to walk straight back in?

I have not voted in the poll yet as I am undecided but I would seriously consider not bothering with the SPL as much as I do now if this happened. I don't see the point in going to watch what is supposed to be a sport when certain participants are allowed to cheat or measures are put in place for them to win all the time. I don't think I would give up on football altogether although I have little interest in the English game so I guess I would look to the Scottish lower/Highland League (most likely the later). I am a reletively new follower of football and I care very much about ICT and I would probably be lying if I said I would never return to TCS or give up supporting them but if there were no sanctions against Rangers then what would be the point in watching my team not re-sign players, cut back year after year to do things the ethical way when others do not? it almost seems like we are penalised for doing this. I will be bitterly dissapointed if I was to find out the club voted newco in as I would rather see us playing in a lower league or in a weaker SPL. I mean its not as if we throw money at transfers or high wages at the moment. This is of course a hypothetical argument and I don't think I could really imagine how I would feel until this actually happened. I have thought about this for a while and will continue to do so even in the hour or so since I origonally posted this I have edited it so that shows the conflict I am having.

Fair point Alex.

I think John Baird has joined Dundee so we missed out on that one.

Butcher take note. That is what happens when you have a sqaud full of loan players who don't care about the club.

What made me laugh is that they are planning to appeal their failed appeal after what I believe was a rather damning report. I hope they do stay away from grounds as it will mean we won't have to listen to as much sectarian bile spouting from the away end. If they didn't enter the Scottish Cup then its one less competition they can win. More fool them.

Don't get me wrong I have met some very nice people through here and the nightlife is better than Inverness but in general I find the place grey, miserable, overpriced and inhabited by some rude people. Its not as if Aberdeen are a big club anymore too. They have a dormant fan base but have been poor since the 1990's with the exception of Calderwoods stint. He could do a lot better.

Aberdeen is an awful place in my opinion. I would know as I'm there right now. Hayes would be mad to come here.

That game shows that people will turn out for meaningful games in Scotland that don't involve the Old Firm (although we knew that already). A good advert for the Scottish game.

It was on BBC Sport Scotland's gossip page that Raith Rovers may struggle to re-sign their best players because they can only afford to offer players part-time contracts. In this case I think we should take a look at John Baird. He was on great form for Raith Rovers the season they were pushing for promotion (13 goals), he has worked with Tade before too. I'm sure he would like a shot at the SPL and wouldn't command a hefty wage. I have to admit though when I see Butcher's interview above I'm not filled with confidence regarding our summer wheelings and dealings. I suppose he can only work with what he is given.

Two things we need are more experianced players and a decent striker. In my opinion David Clarkson fits the bill. If we are to lose Johnny Hayes in the summer we will be in need of a creative midfield player i.e Ian Black. While I understand that the playing staff budget may be tight I can't help but point out how lucky we were this season to avoid the drop due to two sides being much worse than us. I can't see Hibs being as weak next season and County have shown with their First Division form that they will be no pushovers. I would consider the likes of Clarkson to be a wise investment. I think we should look to the Scottish lower leagues for players. They would not demand as high a wage as others, may jump at the chance to play in the top flight and would be more likley to show passion for the club than a player from England on a six month loan deal. Butcher's transfer policy has not worked Its not just Scotland thats feeling the pinch. The English lower leagues are feeling the pinch and I think there will be some very good players without a club. We should capitalise on this.

Its going to take the form of a magazine feature as its a journalism course I am doing.

Thanks everyone. When I posted this on the Jailend I re-phrased it slightly to ask if there was a game pre/post merger that sticks out in peoples minds. Since the merger is there a game in particular that stands out?

Thanks guys, I have posted a version of this on the Jailend as well

Tony, an absolute gentleman, was the Rapsons bus driver in the early SFL days for both ICT and County when he would take them both to alternating away games. He was hugely respected by both Highland clubs and a legend among the players and officials he used to drive. Tony died, I think of cancer, quite a few years ago and a Memorial Trophy was donated by his family for competition between the two clubs. That went into abeyance after a while but was brought out of cold storage for this testimonial. Maybe it could now be formally restored for annual competition between the clubs alongside one of their SPL encounters (no smartass cynical one liners please!!) with the initial venue decided by the toss of a coin. Thanks Charles, just wanted to check.

Could someone please tell me a bit about Tony Fraser so I can give a little background in the feature I'm doing? thanks

I am in the middle of writing a feature on the Highland derby as part of a university project. I was hoping to get the opinions of some of you on here/ask a few questions from some of the older fans (and young ones too) Prior to the merger what was the relationship like between County and the pre merger teams. Was it a derby as such? Is there a game that sticks out in all your minds or a particular memory of a game?