CaleyD

It's the job of the fans to get a bit carried away...it's part of the fun in being a supporter and so long as it's not accompanied by unreasonable expectation then all is well. We're not a "big" team and we're not going to be in the position we are every year, so why shouldn't people enjoy it to the max while they can? As for the team, it's Terry's job to make sure they keep their feet on the ground and keep going out and doing what they have been for the majority of the season so far. Nothing I have seen from the team suggests they are doing anything other than remaining totally professional about the situation, and Terry is the first to remind us that nothing has been achieved yet.

Yet another wheel falls off the C*unty Propaganda Caravan. So much for the huge investment they made during the summer to put an end to the drainage issues, turns out all they did was install USH and relay the surface.

I knew I could find a reason to love you....give us a kiss!!!

They definitely do have covers because we used to borrow them occasionally before we got ours. In saying that, unless they have got new ones, the old ones no longer fit as they widened the pitch in the summer....but ours would fit and they know they can borrow them from us if needed. However, as I said above, from talking to one or two people it seems covering the pitch would make no difference due to the nature of the issue.

Wouldn't surprise me. What's worrying for them is that they seem to be unable to do much, if anything, about it due to the topography. All the land in and around that area is totally sodden so the water there is not draining and there's nowhere for any further rainfall to run off, even if they cover the pitch.

Thought they said a small fortune had been spent on the drainage when getting other work done over the summer...!!!

I've already spoken to Jamie and will be putting him in touch with the club.

If you don't like it, then don't read or post on it....simples!!!

Think a few people have short memories.

You're totally missing the point. Why should clubs have to go to the expense of meeting legislation that does not, and does not need to, exist? Surely the argument is, quite simply, that you don't actually need to have a seat at all... never mind one that costs 5 times more and is not being put in so it can be used as a seat since people want to stand!!!

Thought he was a bit unsighted and didn't see it in time...hence him being slow to move. Even if he was at fault, I think we can forgive him that given the number of times he's saved our butts so far this season.

I read the ops post as meaning beyond the extended loan period. Would be good if true, IMO.

Precisely.... "Tinks" is also a name for travelling folks, so is that word to be treated in the same way? What about farmers? Are teams from the South allowed to poke fun at us for being kilt wearing Highlanders?...even if we are not?

The "German Model" will never see the light of day in Scotland as nobody could afford it....so even if we won the argument to make them permissible, it would never happen. That's before you start looking at things like which stands are currently suitable for a retro-fit.....none of ours are. It costs about 5 times more to supply and fit a barrier seat than it does a standard one. There's not a single piece of law or legislation in Scotland which says "you must sit"...it's nothing more than an SPL directive. Much the same as the requirement for all-seater stadia when the capacity is under 10,000. The SPL could change the situation tomorrow if they so wished.

We don't have a DoF

The following warning appears here - http://ictfc.com/news/club-news/746-ross-county-v-ict-2nd-january Highland Derby: Offensive Singing Whilst both Ross County and Inverness Caledonian Thistle are keen to maintain the fantastic atmosphere that Highland Derbies are famous for, on advice from the Procurator Fiscal's office, the Police have advised both Clubs that singing or chants which could be deemed offensive to groups or communities such as travellers are deemed an offence under the law in Scotland and therefore anyone caught singing them is liable to criminal prosecution. We hope all fans will join the Club in keeping the Highland Derby an occasion which can be enjoyed by all supporters regardless of their gender, colour, race, nationality or ethnic origin. As ridiculous as we all might find the situation, don't risk it. You can find yourself with a criminal record for "Racially Aggravated Breach of the Peace" and people such as future employers aren't going to look beyond that at the details of the case. Such a record can also prevent you from gaining entry to certain other countries around the world and cause you no end of grief with many things....it's just not worth it.

I think you misunderstand me. I don't think identity is a problem as a result of the merger. It would have been wrong and an insult to peoples intelligence to think everything was great and we were all just one big happy family in the years immediately following the event. I also think that, as a club, we got it right in how it was handled during that time....our almost immediate success from day one is testament to that. My thoughts are that we seem to have got stuck in that mindset and failed to manage and adapt to the changes that have occurred as the fanbase has evolved...and I think that goes just as much for fans of a certain age as it does for the club. Again, I qualify that by saying that it's maybe not surprising as when something works for so long...and it worked for us for the first 10 years or so, although maybe deceivingly so to some extent off the park due to success on the park...then it's tough to recognise the need for change and put in to effect what is required. I don't think anyone seriously sees us a "Franchise Club". It's nothing more than a term thrown about, mostly by C*unty fans, to try and wind us up. The only ones among our own "support" who ever seem to mention it are those who I class as Ambulance Chasers and only follow a team in the hope that something goes wrong because they get their rocks off by gloating over the carnage and taking some kind of superior "I told you so" attitude. We are in agreement that there's no point in griping about what has passed...but that's not to say that it should be ignored or forgotten. Until we can learn to look unblinkered at the past, we'll struggle to get a clear vision for the future.....and that goes just as much for fans over a certain age as it does the club.

If I was a player and I'd seen a list like that of (potentially) out of contract others then I'd be snapping up any reasonable offer being made to me by my current club.

Alex, we have hundreds of stadiums all over the country where safe standing takes place week after week. What's more, unlike England where there's laws about allowing standing, the SPL stance on it is one of their own making...and could just as easily be one of their unmaking. It's not even in the SPL rulebook and would take nothing more than a decision by the SPL executives to get rid of the problem.

Jingle Bells, Dingwall Smells Adams is a C*nt Roy has stopped his Credit Card So C*unty's going Defunct

Nothing sinister, and much of it probably fuelled by just the kind of thing that we are seeing on this thread where we have a few people who still get their knickers in a twist over references to the team as "Caley" or, less often, "Thistle". Also things like the strip designs which still seem to be decided on the (now defunct) entry in the company articles which stated that it must have a certain make-up. The total non-existence of any kind of "retro" club memorabilia which celebrates the pre-merger clubs. Suggestions that we should have recognised the 125th Anniversaries of both clubs being totally shunned at the time. It all seems a bit backwards to me and it's as if , unwittingly, we keep the stuff we need rid of and fail to embrace the stuff that we should be celebrating. This whole merger conversation has been had many times, but for the first time (that I recall) someone has mentioned the word "identity" and the more I think of it, the more I find to support the idea that ICT probably does lack somewhat in terms of having an identity upon which we can hang everything else....and maybe, just maybe, that lack of a quantifiable identity and something people can really buy in to, is why supporter levels etc are not what they could be....and not just in terms of strip design.

I don't think the game on 2nd January will have any impact on our average attendance whatsoever.

I don't disagree with that, and as I alluded too, I think the club actually still fear drawing that line and saying "this is our image" because they think it might upset someone or other....even though those people are very much a minority. Red and Blue stripes would be great, IMO. Not because it's 50/50 representation or any of that nonsense though....just because I think it looks good and, as you say, would develop that identity we so definitely need.

The sooner we all realise that the vast majority of those purchasing and wearing the strips these days have little or no concern for how much either of the merger clubs are represented, the better....and I include the club in that. I'm all for remembering ICTs roots and recognising the merged clubs histories as part of our own, but I do fear that there exists an underlying fear of upsetting one half or the other of the merger contingent in many things which holds us back as a club. As I said above, those people are a small and ever shrinking proportion of the current fanbase and it's ridiculous that they should still hold, or think they hold, any sway with what should be happening today.

Dougal photographed whilst asking Santa if he can be a mod....