CaleyD

I was asked the other day if "Managing Expectations" would be on my headstone as it's something I go on about a lot....and as I have said elsewhere, I think that was something that was handled poorly this season, both by the Manager and by us as fans.

I can only assume the shirt in question was not a C*unty Football one!!!

My question is..... Are we as fans willing to put a bit of money where our mouth is? Would we be willing to put our hands in our pocket (more than we do already) in order to maintain the sporting integrity of the league? One of the things that has been playing around in my head with the whole Rangers NewCo thing is that one way or the other it is going to cost ICT (as it will every other club). A lot of fans (myself included) think that any Club that goes through insolvency should be sent packing. I'm a fairly idealistic person when it comes to such things, but not so idealistic that I don't appreciate that when the club involved is someone like Rangers then the financial hit of getting rid is, arguably, greater than the financial hit of keeping them....certainly in the short term. Please try and answer as honestly as possible. I know giving more cash isn't an option for everyone and have included a choice to try and cover that scenario. Please don't say you will give more than you could because that's how much you would like to give on strength of feelings about the situation. Think it also best to assume nothing in return....although if such a thing became reality I'm sure there would be room to negotiate for something in return (shares or whatever). Please feel free to discuss below, but try and keep it as specific as possible to the topic. There's another thread running elsewhere for discussion on other aspects of the situation -

To be honest, most of the game passed me by with my attention only being grabbed whenever the ball got near one goal or other....everything else in between was zonkfest. We were late to get to our seats due to doing other things and arrived to discover that Dunfermline seemed to have more media people there than they did fans and they'd occupied our seats...meaning I had no means of plugging up the laptop to do the twitter updates (so apologies for that). We decided to take the game in from a different angle by sitting behind the away dugout and most of the entertainment for the evening was provided by Jeffries & McCabe who were making plenty of noise but offering very little direction to a Dunfermline side who looked like they'd turned up for a bounce game (with us proving to be little better). My MotM was the mascot who did more to entertain the fans at half time than the team managed to do for 90 minutes....we need to work on some props for them for next season.

The frustrating thing is that when you look at that list on paper then it makes you think that all we really need to do is add a goalscorer. Despite what the results may show, I think this squad started the season better than they finished it. I think a variety of things knocked the stuffing/heart out of them over the course of the campaign and our weakness was in not being able to deal with the hits and blows. I wouldn't go so far as to say they lost their bottle, but the last few weeks there's been a feel about things which some have put down to lack of effort, but could just as easily be a lack of self belief or a feeling of "what's the point?" because no matter what they do they haven't been getting fair return. I stick by the opinion that our biggest mistake this year was hyping up expectation by talking about top 6 before we even got out of the traps. I get the whole ambition thing and the need to get the players fired up but you can motivate people without filling their heads with sh*t. The more we slipped away from that goal the worse the performances got and the more irate fans got....a recipe for disaster as it set us up for early failure (failure to meet the target) and only served to add additional, unneeded, pressure. I'm not going to pick out individual players because I think every one in the current squad is capable in terms of footballing ability and the decision is probably more to do with keeping the players who are mentally strong to bounce back from this season and start afresh from next season....but I say again, PLEASE CAN WE KEEP THE EXPECTATIONS REAL AND NOT HANDICAP OURSELVES FROM THE OUTSET.

We will have a table in the Sports Bar this evening for those who wish to do so to sign up. Also Happy to also answer any questions anyone may have on the Supporters Trust so don't be shy in coming over for a chat.

For all the good it's done them!!!

With only 15 spaces left for the Kids Kickaround I expect us to stop taking bookings on that later today, so you need to get in quick if you are planning it. Spaces for the second part of the evening filing up just as fast and I wouldn't risk hanging about with booking your place at that either.

A Sash? Why don't we just go the whole hog by changing our name to Rangers and moving to Ibrox.....oh wait a minute!!!!

That wasn't an attack, it was a response based on my perception of your post. Around 25% of our crowds are walk up/pay at the gate....so whilst season ticket holders making the decision to stay away after having purchased will not reflect in the figures, there's still ample scope for damage to be done to the average. What's more, plenty of people were hacked off with Brewster from the previous season and that would have had an impact on Season Ticket sales for 08/09. From there, obviously the relegation took it's toll and least season would have seen a bit of a bounce following on from the promotion season. This year will have suffered partly from losing some of those who got caught up in the excitement of the promotion...think that was going to be inevitable unless we had done something extraordinary last season. I was at a meeting/workshop last night about the production of a Scottish Football Fans Charter which is being looked at from the ground up. Everyone in the room was asked to list their good and bad experiences and results/performance on the pitch came a fair way down the list of things that spoil the matchday experience. I am therefore less inclined to attach so much of the blame for dwindling crowds to results/performance. If you accept that last point then you have to start looking at what does turn people off...what makes the matchday experience a good one and keeps people coming back? The answer to that is different for different groups of people. Anything from being treated poorly by staff/stewards (poor customer service) to lack of craic/banter could go down on that list. As fans there's little we can do (directly) about the product on the pitch, but we probably can do something about the other stuff....but only if we are willing to put a bit of effort in to get something back from it. Last night is a good example, only the Supporters Trust and CLAN had made the effort to get people to attend the workshop. The ICT Supporters Club were a no show and C*unty couldn't bothered sending anyone either. Not a go at you, or anyone other specific person, but the opportunities are there for fans to influence and effect positive change, but it seems they are willing to do no more than rant on a forum and hope that others will pick up the work and do everything on their behalf. Until that starts to change then we don't have a strong platform from which to complain about what is happening.

"Not a witch hunt", but somehow Butcher takes over after the damage has been done to the 08/09 season and many fans were already boycotting because of Brewster....yet figures for the season get chalked up against Butcher?

Stop it, you're embarrassing Jaggie994!!!

I was hearing you copied our "Shoes off for the Champions" at Dungwall last weekend.....here's how it should really be done.

So it would appear that the outcome of this was that Doncaster managed to gag those who went to meet him!!!

Doesn't say on it who did it. SPL Stats1.0211.pdf

We used to get something like that game guide, but it just seemed to have stopped.

http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/hibernian/304853-spl-disciplinary-watch/

We are where we are, not everyone is in agreement as to how it happened, whether or not it should have happened and if it was avoidable...but right now, that matters not. The points on the board are fixed, they are in the past, we can do nothing about them and every moment spent pondering over them is a moment less spent on getting us over the final hurdle and getting the one point we need to secure SPL status for next season. It's a big ask, and it will be beyond some, but can we set aside all the other stuff and just get behind ICT until that objective is achieved? I'm not asking anyone to support a manager, player, board member or anyone else they may have an issue with....I'm asking that everyone show support for the one thing that binds us all....Inverness Caledonain Thistle FC. If you are able, then get along to the game on Wednesday night. I know some people are at the stage of not wishing to part with any more money and/or effort to watch the team this season, but if the fans aren't willing to step up to the plate when it's needed to do everything in their power to help and support ICT then who is? If you aren't willing, then I ask that choose not to beat up on those who are just because they choose to be a little more positive, objective or supportive. If you want to brand such people as happy clappers, wearers of rose tinted specs, delusional or whatever....then can you please save it until the job is done (or not done and you can gloat and come back with all the "told you so's" you like). If any of the players happen to be reading this, then I make the same plea to you. Forget everything up until now and put every moment of thought and preparation into giving Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC your best game when you take to the park against Dunfermline, and if it doesn't happen against Dunfermline then take it to St Mirren and if needs be on against Hibs. ICT's biggest strength has always been that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Let us not be divided, let us not be conquered.

Layout has not change on my phone (Nokia) but it is a lot faster since the last software update was done. We did have a couple of small issues with the site template when that was done which have just been fixed, so that could be a reason for any improvement.

Hard to believe that this forum was full of outrage about the injustice in many of the red cards received earlier in the season. Funny how quick some people are to change their perception when it suits them.

Still not the worst, although I will admit that I thought the gap was bigger (having seen the table OCG refered to above). Your apology is accepted

Oh well....at least they got measures in place to stop people running around to much pre-match....Scottish Football is saved!!!

How many points do I get for trumping an Admin & a Mod?

I have been asked to post the following from Strathclyde Police... John McDonald from Milngavie, an Inverness supporter, collapsed whilst within the Frank Beattie stand despite assistance from the paramedics and club doctor, he was pronounced dead at Crosshouse hospital Kilmarnock at 1710 hours. We would like to thank your supporters for their understanding and assistance on Saturday afternoon, being the first to be aware of the problem they conducted themselves in a very sensitive and sensible manner in regard to the situation, obeying the instructions of the stewards and police officers without question. His partner was present throughout the incident and passed on thanks to one and all.

Interesting to see we have the worst disciplinery record in the whole division , will we get a fine at the end of the season ? No we don't...we have most red cards, but not the worst record....not by a long shot.