Scotty

Toying with the idea of reinstating this blog, not just as a Toronto FC blog for anyone interested but perhaps more relevant (assuming Scotland can qualify) a blog about the pre-World Cup 2026 preparations in Toronto where BMO Field will host several group stage games The current field is undergoing in-place upgrades as the MLS season continues and the new stadium will go from this .... to the images below with the addition of temporary seating. The stands on the left (West/Main) and right (East) will remain largely unchanged. The South End (supporters' section) will have a second tier added and the entire North End that is currently open (to accommodate the longer pitch required for CFL games) will be built (and torn down after the WC). More info and musings to follow if there is interest? Looking North [click to view full size] Looking South Looking across the South End (area on left is pre-existing, the seats on the right will be new)

Second article on the new system is about how to add pictures to the forums ... It's pretty straightforward but there are some additional options compared to the previous version of the software. In the old version you could simply drag-and-drop or choose to upload from your computer. Those options are still there at the bottom of the editor box: NEW to the bottom of the editor box is over on the right hand side with a couple of icons ... The first allows you to insert something you added elsewhere to save you uploading it again (and to save us using up so much space). As you can see in my case, it shows images I have previously uploaded in recent days and can also extend to images i added to the gallery and elsewhere. The second icon allows you to add stock images from Pixabay. These are royalty free images and you can search using keywords. Dont see much use for it in most threads, but it is available. We also dont have any control over what the keywords bring up as its an external service. The editor itself has also changed from the last version and we will cover that in a future article, but there are a couple of image related items in there too .... In the top part of the editor box, everyone will recognise the emoticon/smiley button and that functions pretty much as before with the addition of globally approved emoticons... I do have to go through and verify that the classic CTO emoticons are still all there but if not they will be restored! There is also a new image insertion tool called GIF which will allow you to insert an animated GIF from GIPHY. Again, we have no control over the search results so dont complain if you cant find something! Edited to add ... You can also add FontAwesome icons from the Emoji list. Click icons instead of emojis and the full list of fontAwesome standard icons are there. Also checked that the classic CTO icons are there and they are. You just need to scroll all the way down to the bottom to find them (or know their name to bring them up in a search)

I have now added a blog entry showing how to use the activity controls to view new posts or other feeds.

We just upgraded our forum and site software from the Invision Community software V4 that we have been using for many years to their latest release of V5. A LOT of things have changed in this major version change so over a number of blogs we are going to post a few 'How To' guides or tips to get the most from the new system. I am going to do this via the Site Admin blog and explain some of the new features implemented with this new version of our website software. First item is how to actually find new content as this has changed. On the main menu there is a menu item called 'activity streams'. This contains pre-configured searches that will bring up results based on Articles, Topics and various other options. Try them out and see what you might like. If you find one you do like you can use the options window within the feed result to set it as your default. If you set it as default then you can view it from the little page icon next to your profile information as shown on the images below. If you do not like any of the options, or want to tweak it slightly, you can click show filter and setup a custom feed using the filters then save it as a default in the same way. The same default new content search is also available at the bottom of each page ...

Please keep feedback coming.

got rid of most of the sidebar blocks now on phone version where they appear in a single row with the content and impact the viewing experience but left them on tablet and PC where they are off to the side.

going to tweak mobile version over next few days to optimise it.

Quick tip You can view the various unread content feeds in the main menu as shown below. If you find one you like you can set it as default on the right side of the feed page .. then on future visits all you need to do is click the little icon next to your profile pic to load that specific feed.

Looks to have completed successfully. Nothing broken that I can see although some people may have questions about site navigation I think. Rebuilding menus and links currently.

LOL - just backing up the site now - downloading a crap-ton of stuff I likely don't need to then will do the upgrade itself.

Trigger to be pulled today ... rest of week will be hard to get reliable access to FTP and other resources I need to complete the upgrade and want to get this up and running before the start of season. Please be aware that the site may be down periodically and also that some things may not work or appear as normal !

still where it always was .... (for now)

Preparations continue: Work in progress today Have deleted almost 2000 accounts that have not logged in since 2023 and have never made a post. Have deleted a couple of forums that are not used. Have rolled a couple of under-utilised nostalgia forums up under the Olde Inverness forums with a view to merging. Have rolled a couple of our editorial forums into our main editorial discussion forum in the same way (only visible to members of the editorial team and mods) Still on the to-do list Working on reducing the number of user groups we have by simplifying some of our permissions. Delete (most) accounts that have not logged in since 2023 except those who were prolific posters. Archive the forum for all posts prior to 2023 that have not had any activity in the last year, so they are in a separate table (or database). Should speed things up and make it quicker to navigate current posts. Again, no data should be lost and if a post or thread suddenly becomes relevant again it can be unarchived. A couple of additional forums may be converted to clubs - still talking to the folk who do/would run them.

He also better not participate in 'talk like a pirate day'

👆 Correct. Lets get this back to the testimonial. If there is a need to discuss Bar94 it can have its own thread. We can split the existing comments about this to a new Bar94 - Pricing/Experience thread if needed

Costs may be reduced due to volunteers. However, the club (or someone) still have to pay for the heat, light and other stuff as well as the actual stock to sell ... if they don't then eventually, they may go into administration after running out of money! Comparing a keg of beer and the cost for that to a can of beer in the supermarket is also a bit apples and oranges. Different metrics and cost structures. I do agree however that pub prices compared to supermarket prices have a large difference that is hard for us as consumer to get our heads around. As another example ... I cringe and actively do not buy beer when I go to Toronto games ... at $23 (£12.40) for a Stella or other 'premium' beer it is well and truly over-priced, warm and unenjoyable. Instead, my friends and I will either go to a pub nearby before the game (and after) to get 'normal' priced beer, which it has to be said is still well over a fiver a pint, or, if I am driving, I simply go to/from the game and grab a can at home once I get back which I have bought in the shop for about $3 (£1.60). They sell popcorn at TFC as well and I try not to buy my son those either ... $12 (£6.50) for a small bag that i could pop in the microwave for 59c (31p) is the definition of stadium rip-offs! If Bar94 is selling beer at the same or less cost than local bars then that's a win as far as I am concerned. Not only do you get it below the market rate but any profit the club derive due to lower staffing costs provided by the volunteers goes back into getting the club back on it's feet.

Get this from time to time on TicketBa***** for any tickets I try to buy for events over here. Seems to be a back-end security thing. My problem is opposite, works on personal device but not on work computer. Seems to think something strange with our network arrangement / firewall / IP range or something. Exact same message ""Your Browsing Activity Has Been Paused. We've detected unusual behaviour on either your network or your browser"

Thanks - will do. At least you are somewhat familiar with these files! edit: sent you email with the support response from our hosts to the long/slow query.

unfortunately - its caused by our out-of-date stats program putting too much stress on the server with what they call 'long queries" because it is using an older version of PHP. Basically it does not kill the query after done and the load on the server increases over time until its unsustainable. I have to close down SQL (you will get a database error) and then disable stats for a while until it settles down (stats pages unavailable) ... and then it all works again for a few weeks until I have to repeat the process. I did that when I read Mantis' post last night so it should work now ... just have to re-enable the stats later today.

another group shot I came across from the Innes. Originally posted this to the memory page for Big Stew!

Feel like I have had to write too many of these posts more recently. Gutted to hear earlier today that a staunch ICT supporter and good friend to all of us who used to frequent the Caley Inn and Innes Bar has passed away. https://williamtfraserandson.co.uk/notices/david-shields-inverness/ David "Uncle Albert" Shields was a gem of a man who I was proud to call a friend. He was on the receiving end of much of the banter from myself, Big Stu, Calum and others over the years and was nicknamed "Uncle Albert" by us in reference to the character in Only Fools and Horses after he had made one too many references to what he did in the Navy. He took it all in the good nature it was meant, even using @UncleAlbert as his login name on here, and we always had a laugh in both pre and post-match "get togethers". In terms of ICT he was a staunch supporter, and while fit and healthy, was always there to the side of the tunnel with his wife and fellow ICT stalwart Kay who was also - for a time - a moderator on here when I needed a few people I could trust to help out. Kay also had to moderate Dave, myself, Calum, Ross and Big Stew in the Innes on more than one occasion! Sadly, ill-health overtook Dave and I don't think he made it to too many games in recent years, but I will always remember one thing from quite a few years ago, when we were having money troubles at the club (sounds familiar). He and Kay bought and paid for a set of electronic substitute boards for the club. No fanfare just asked what was needed and then went and got them sorted out with the things they needed. Thats the kind of person he was, and they both were as a couple. Real good people, who were not in it for reward or recognition, just wanting to do what they could, where they could. Off field he was a friend to many, including myself and others on here, and a really close friend with Calum, Jill and their kids who called him Uncle Dave instead of Uncle Albert. Not sure who adopted who, but when they say you can choose your friends but not your family, in this case that is wrong, as they became family to each other over the years. David, thank you for your service in the Navy, no jokes this time, and thank you for being you. You will be missed my friend. I will likely have a nice wee (?) tot of rum tonight to celebrate your memory. I also want to offer our deep and most sincere condolences to Kay, his wife of countless years, and also to Calum, Jill and the kids, on behalf of me personally, and also my entire family who also knew and admired Dave. I hope the positive thoughts and memories of Dave may help lessen the grief they feel right now. Please feel free to share memories and pictures of Dave in this thread as I am sure there are a lot of stories and anecdotes to be told.

https://ictfc.com/david-wotherspoon-signs-for-ictfc-2/

As you will have seen, we have now established separate areas for the Supporters Trust and the Travel Club who have started to make use of them to publicise events and add content. These are self-contained areas within the site and the management and moderation of them is under their control. Topics will appear in the main list of topics and calendar events will appear in the calendar sidebar. We have also added the fixture list for 2025-26 to the calendar and it will also be available in the traditional stats program. We are still looking for a sponsor for that part of the site to enable us to pay for an upgrade to the program, or for someone with mad PHP/SQL skills to deconstruct and reverse engineer the program we are using. Its classed as 'abandonware' from the original author and only one person (we know of) has taken it up and kept it modern. Easy option is to pay him for the updates, but the cost is high 😞 For now it will trundle along as it is. I am now starting the next stage of updates and as part of that some areas of the site may become unavailable at times, menus may change, and some unused parts of the site, or infrequently posted in forums may be merged into others. If you spot something not working for an extended period, or looking weird beyond a few minutes or hours, let me know. I want to streamline everything and remove any clutter and noise before we perform the actual software upgrade. All being well I hope to do the software upgrade at some point (later) next week or perhaps the week after.

LOL - The 'Wotherspoons' breakfast .... yes, very clever. I hear from a good source that he is indeed training with us today, so fingers crossed. Quite a few other trialists still around and apparently, we are being made aware of these through various people who have been around the club in our good years ... nice to hear about people pulling together for the benefit of ICTFC. Cautiously optimistic for the season ahead.

Will leave it to Kells and the coaching team to evaluate our trialists as we approach the start of the season, but one the one hand you have an international AM/RW/FWD player and a striker coming off a 34-goal season which sounds really good ... but on the other hand, if you scratch the surface, the international is for Dominican Republic, ranked 136th in the world, and who does not appear to have played internationally since around 2018, and the striker is several tiers down and currently without a club. Maybe they are uncut diamonds who will be the finds of the season ... or maybe .... not.