CaleyD

The four games I missed last season must have been the ones where we had this "play for a draw" mentality. It's my opinion that the reasons we did so well was precisely due to the fact that we didn't adopt such an approach.

Many of these highlight reels etc being produced by clubs throughout Scotland are being done by volunteer fans who are working with little or no budget. I can assure you that fancy graphics are way down anyone's list of priorities.

I'm quite glad that the club avoid falling into the trap of "Glamour Friendlies". Especially during the pre-season when it's more important that the team are concentrating on preparations for the competitive matches. If it were deemed appropriate to play a "big name" club, then it should be as part of those preparations and priced in-line with any other of the pre-season training games. Any club looking for a fee to play us should be politely refused. It's quite clear that Ross C*unty v Man U was nothing more than a means to rake in a bit of cash....although I have to admit that it was better than last years "Give us £20 for feck all reason" scheme.

I'm reading nothing at all into the game. It was quite clear that a few of our guys weren't going to risk heat stroke by running themselves ragged in what was just a friendly. One of the Raith staff said the thermostat hit 30 during the game, so perhaps understandable that they decided to take it a bit easy. Not great for those there watching, but as I've said elsewhere, pre-season is not about entertaining the fans.

I see little point in going abroad. I can't see how training and playing under baking heat is good preparation for coming back here where (last couple of weeks aside) the weather is totally different. Ok, so maybe it allows a bit of "bonding", but we never seem to have had any trouble in that regard. I think it's probably become more of a kudos type deal...and a means to getting clubs to pay for players summer holidays! Our pre-season so far has seen the team pitted against increasingly physical opposition, but that's probably as much to do with luck of the draw and who was available when as it is anything else. It's all about getting the players game time to blow out any cobwebs from the summer; getting a look at new players in a competitive match setup and experimenting with positioning and maybe a few things from the training ground. Whilst "glamour" ties are great for the fans and maybe even a chance to make a few quid from pre-season, they're not going to achieve much else. The Charlton game is, I imagine, a chance to piece all the bits together and get a look at what you might think would be the starting squad for the league against an opponent which is more on a par with that level of competition.

Having a complete memory blank on Danny Williams for some reason...surely can't be getting that old already!!!

First off, apologies for no updates via club Twitter account, Brora isn't blessed with much in the way of a 3G signal. Like the Elgin match, the Brora game didn't provide much by way of classic entertainment. Brora came out all guns blazing for the first 15 minutes and kept us a little on the back foot but we coped with it well and stopped them doing to much to threaten the goal. We started to take control of the game from there despite Brora being quick to close us down and trying to foil our passing game. Doran had a great game as #10. He looked a lot more confident and decisive in his play and showed no signs of the hesitancy that sometimes thwarted him last season. He was running plays straight through the middle and also cutting out to the edges of the box and knocking balls back across goal pretty regularly....one of which resulted in our first goal when it evaded the head of Tokely and was brought down by Mckay and despatched into the back of the net. I think we missed Doran in the second half. Nick Ross and Ben Greenhalgh were doing well out wide and I can't wait to see them play a game on a wider/longer pitch where they'll really come into their own. Richie was his usual passionate and vocal self, keeping the players on their toes and issuing directions. With some of the knocks and things he's had over the last couple of seasons I have to admit to having been a little concerned about just how much more he could take, but he's looking a lot leaner this season and I suspect he might actually be in the best physical form he has ever been since joining ICT. Raven looked a bit rusty to start with, but that's to be expected as this is his first game of the pre-season...not helped by the fact that he had the worst area of the park for bumps and hollows to operate in. Graeme Shinnie continues to be what I call "The biggest wee guy I know". Solid as ever in defence and should continue to pose a threat going forward this season. Time off doesn't seem to have impacted on him at all and he looks every bit as fit now as he did at the end of last season. Warren and Meekings are the same...obviously worked hard to maintain fitness over the summer and it's like we'd never had a break. Draper is going to be the "unsung hero" of the squad I think (I mean that in a very positive way). He rarely puts a foot wrong and is a real rock in the middle of the park. It's all "no nonsense" solid football which rarely gets the plaudits and recognition it deserves, but will continue to be vital for us this season. Just like the Elgin game, this was a tough one for Mckay who often attracted the attention of 2 (or more) defenders and had to work in an often packed defence. In saying that, he was getting in to some nice positions, making some nice runs and dropping back/wide to assist when needed. He was linking especially well with Doran and once they get a few more games working together in their current rolls (assuming Doran is kept there) then I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they will prove even more effective than the Shinnie/Mckay combo. James Vincent came on in the second half to replace Doran and whilst I think we missed Doran, Vincent looks like he could be more than adequate cover for that position...and perhaps even as cover for Mckay. This is handy (and interesting) because he has already shown that he can also fulfil the job done by OTJ last season. I don't think he'll struggle to get game time this season, just not sure where yet. That's everyone I can remember seeing enough of to give a view/opinion...and I grow more confident for the campaign ahead with each game because we continue to work as a unit despite the many changes in player that you witness pre-season.

Sounds like an interesting read....right up my street. Off to order a copy now, prepare for me to get even more annoying than usual when it comes to matters of "fact"

It wasn't "great" in terms of an entertaining game of football, but it was pretty decent as far as the team getting a bit more of a workout and testing some of the stuff they've been trying out on the training ground to see how it works in the real game. If you're going to these games expecting a show, then you'll come away more disappointed than not most of the time. Elgin obviously planned to sit in from the off, making it very difficult for us to play through their 8 man defence. Further evidenced by the fact that our own back line spent most of the game camped on the half way line. This meant that it was almost certainly going to take a goals from set pieces for us to win the game...and that's precisely what we did. We're going to get ugly games like that in the league this season, so it was good to see us maintain discipline and concentration to grind out the win.

As the question says....how confident are you that ICT will have a successful season? Not intended as a question on what we each might consider "successful"...as opinions will certainly differ on that. Just looking to find out if people are confident that the team will achieve what they, as individuals, think would be a success.

Players with numbers 31 and above are registered U20's....that's not to say that they aren't/won't be considered for the first team (quite the opposite), it's purely an administrative thing.

We'll still get a couple of trips to the wee team in Dingwall.

http://ictfc.com/news/events/957-fun-day https://www.facebook.com/events/341017636028167/ Fun Day: CALEY JAGS FAMILY FUN DAY Sunday 21st July 2013 - 2pm till 5pm Come on down… http://t.co/aaLXP491oq #ICTFC — Official ICTFC (@ICTFC) July 8, 2013 http://miinverness.co.uk/business/inverness-caledonian-thistle/ It was in the Highland News today, (hopefully) Inverness Courier tomorrow and MFR have been asked to give it a punt. Club has (or is due to) send out an email to everyone they have on their mailing list. Unlike the circus, people are not being charged between £10 and £32 for a ticket to attend, so there's no budget/resource to print and distribute hundreds of flyers & posters. However, each of us have the power to help the club promote events etc. It takes just a moment to press like/share/retweet via the social networks and/or we can embrace the most powerful communication tool in the world...word of mouth...to tell people about the good things that are being done.

The new away shirt sizes are a bit bigger than the current home shirt sizes. In the past it was probably safer to go up 2 sizes whereas with the new away shirt you'd probably get away with just going up one size.

You're the one putting yourself out there as the perfectionist...if anyone should have known!!!

Players shirts use all caps....with small c used for "Mc" names. Quite happy to put a wager on with you over the correct capitalisation if you wish.....name your price.

I'd say we were using a fluid 4-4-2, moving from a flat formation to a diamond in the middle when LB/RB were pushing forward...akin to more traditional wingbacks.

It's Mckay (small k)....as someone so hell bent on ensuring everything is spelled and presented correctly, you sure are looking unintelligent and unprofessional.

Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Michael Faraday, Paul MacCready, Leonardo Da Vinci, Erin Brokovich, George Washington, Nelson Rockefeller, Walt Disney, Steven Speilberg and Richard Branson...to name just a few who might disprove your theory. In fact, I would say that your statement makes YOU look like the one who struggles when it comes to intelligence.

Other than a couple of clearances when under pressure at the back, I don't recall a single "hoof" being played in the match versus Keith. Even with the grass being a bit on the long side and holding up the ball on occasion, we (and Keith) played everything on the deck. Good mixture of direct play (carrying the ball into the box) and spreading it wide and then whipping in balls with pace...both high and low...with a bit of pace and not just floating them in. What was most notable, especially as it was the first pre-season match, was the pace we were playing at. We kept the ball moving and there was lots of overlapping play...which is what Keith really struggled to cope with. Was also pleasing to see us able to make 7 subs without needing to alter the formation or play players out of position....something we wouldn't have been able to do last season. First game so not going to get carried away. Still a few guys to get up to speed fitness wise, but saw nothing to give any cause for concern ahead of the new season...quite the opposite.

I'm fairly sure it is still TUPE, because the SFL Co basically agreed to transfer its operations over to SPL Co, regardless of the legal technicalities of how they actually implement that transfer. Edit to add this from a recent article in the Herald: "Billed officially as a merger, in reality this will involve the larger, more commercially driven Scottish Premier League subsuming the SFL given the company running the SPFL will still be the Scottish Premier League Limited and it will have the same company registration number. Under TUPE employment law, the SFL staff – six of whom are full-time – will be transferred over to the SPFL but what roles await them is unclear". Yeah, that would explain what's to happen with the staff coming over from the SFL....it doesn't explain why Doncaster should be expected to re-apply for his own job though.

What persistent knee injury? He does not have one.. That must make walking very awkward.

Aye

On the commercial front I actually don't think there's much that Doncaster can be criticised for. Considering the environment he's had to operate in, I think he's probably done a pretty decent job all in all. Where he's not so hot is when it comes to communicating with the press/media, and I'm of the opinion that's not his job anyway and should be a task undertaken by an organisations PR Dept and/or Chairman. Can't speak too much about Longmuir and he seems to have done an ok job of keeping things ticking over at the SFL. Where he's really let himself down is with his disruptive and often, IMO, poorly thought out attempts at de-railing the restructuring process....showing many signs of being a man massively out of his depth when it comes to accepting, handling or driving change. Even setting aside the recent stuff in regards to the bonus/severance payment, I don't see him as being the person capable of undertaking and/or succeeding as CEO of an organisation that now has responsibility for the entire professional game in Scotland. In summary....let's keep Doncaster, but please do the guy a favour and let him concentrate on what he's good at and leave the press/media to someone better suited to that task.

Wouldn't be TUPE as it's the same company (same company number etc) and not another entity taking them over or transferring of the business. It's effectively a change of company name and all the SFL Clubs had to apply for membership (SPL Clubs didn't).