CaleyD

Never good to see a player have to step away from the game due to injuries. Hopefully it doesn't hinder him in any other aspect of his life and he can go on to have a successful career in something else.

Congrats to Palace. The handball is academic, but the angle only shows the ball in line with the hand, not any contact....and, Josh never ever denied it was a handball, not even when we went to appeal

I haven't used a supporters bus in a long time, but they've been about the only reliable thing involving ICTFC for the last few years. Long may it continue.

I said it elsewhere....it soothes the soul a little to see a young man with the work ethic he exhibited after putting pen to paper with Dunfermline. It happens so often that a player will ease off a bit knowing their future is secure, but he gave it everything right till the end. He earned his move, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him go up a few more levels in the game. Hope it all works out for him.

I've just moved to Kirkcaldy...hello neighbour!

0.30 All the info is at ... https://stats.caleythistleonline.com/players.php

Just looking at some stats, and whilst not wanting to reopen the fruit debate, I noticed that Alfie Bavidge managed to surpass Iain Stewart as the clubs most prolific goal scorer. Iain Stewart - 0.59 GtGR Alfie Bavdige - 0.60 GtGR Lots of caveats can be attached to that, and I'm sure someone will be along to do so, so I'll not deny them the pleasure by listing them myself

More big changes coming to Dalneigh with houses due to be built at the back of the top (cemetery) end fields in St Valery.

Now that the Supporters Trust have zero shareholding, what other means are they looking at to ensure they can fulfil they're constitutional responsibilities? Things such as....but not limited to.... - Giving fans a stronger voice in the running and ownership of their football club. - Ensuring that fan interests are considered in decision-making.

If it was a market value industry we wouldn't have huge amounts of money being poured into clubs by wealthy owners/directors/fans up and down the country every season. Those managing to break even, or even make anything are in a very small minority. Anyway, all of that is outwith ICTFCs control. We can argue the rights and wrongs of it all we want, but we have to find a way to function, and balance the books, within the system that exists.

Not saying to do nothing, but every time this conversation comes around we get the same list of suggestions, finger pointing at previous regimes, or crying about league setup and lack of money feeding down the way. I was merely highlighting why it is the way it is. ICTFC, and other clubs, have to operate within the confines of a bloated setup, being run by people stuck in the past, with no desire to make any radical changes. Always do what you've always done...etc.

Too many professional teams in Scotland for the size of it. In England there's about 600,000 people for every pro team. In Scotland it's only about 130,000. That's one of the main reason the game here will never attract sufficient investment/sponsorship/fan numbers to make any real inroads into the financial situation.

I think (within football) there was also an assumption that older fans had contributed longer, so it was a bit of a loyalty discount. Maybe that's a way to go....like a no claims bonus, you get a little off each continuous year you've held a ST We're essentially starting at ground zero, so all adults get a chance to build up to full discount over the next 3 to 5 years or something.

The club need to get the pricing right (again), and from there it's up to the team to entertain and fans to do what they can to bring others along. On the pricing.... I'd do away with different pricing for Main and North Stands. Nobody under 12 should pay. 12 to 16 should be a nominal cost. Bring back the 16-25 Then full adult prices above that....I may even be tempted to scrap, or at least reduce the cost benefit, on over 65 tickets....I await the backlash Things like the "pay what you want" also worked well, and something like that near the start of the season might get a few new people in early. Friends for a fiver tended to be 'abused' because it was mostly used to get those already paying as they go in for less. Couple of historical bugbears that need dealing with.... Stop certain Directors from handing out handfuls of free tickets to their mates for every game! Stop players from giving out free tickets to fans who then go around behaving like they're the best supporters in the world while scrounging freebies and not financially contributing .....I await some comments on this point also Given the fact that all trade creditors, which will be mostly local businesses, aren't going to get paid what they are due, rebuilding that relationship might be tough.

I think we'll do well to retain half the squad, so there will be a bit if rebuilding to do. Kell is connected enough, and respected enough as a coach throughout the game, to attract both signings and loans, so I don't have any fears on that front. I do wonder if there are any past players, that still have a season or two left in them at this level, who might fancy a wee return?

General Nonsense for this ****!

There's not a chance we're going to be able to compete with the type of offers he'll be getting. Grateful to have had him this season and his reward will be a well deserved move up the ranks. He's been a solid favourite of my nephews and he always looked out for them to give a high five going down the tunnel...win, lose or draw. On Saturday he came out with a load of signed gloves for the kids and they got the pair he wore in his first game for us...very happy lads.

No. Our SFA registration sits with the club and is needed to hold player contracts.

Highly unlikely.

Yesterday was testament to, and reward for, the leadership shown by Kell...and the hard work put in by the team. Proud of all of them.

Traffic down around that area is crazy today, so allow plenty time to get there.

Can't speak for any firsthand knowledge since start of 2018, but there was definitely academic education programmes etc. that ran alongside the football. In fact, it may have been a prerequisite of our academy programme that kids remained in school and/or were enrolled to some other kind of college type programme. We had a 3 tier type setup. There was the youth setup overseen by Charlie, then the 'academy' was the transition phase...Duncan Shearer was the last person overseeing that part...before (hopefully) moving to first team squad. I know that any who made it to the 16/17/18 kinda age who weren't going to progress were given assistance if they wanted to consider Highland League or the like....and there's a good few who did. Ultimately, below that age, there's not too much a club can offer and the system for letting players go is much the same across the whole country, and at all levels.

Got a good feeling about today....but if ever there was a time when the fans needed to be the 12th man, this is it.

This whole discussion about the academy has been had time and again with many, including me, harbouring romantic notions of a system that churns out enough players to make up the majority of a first team squad. The number of things that need to align to make that happen on any consistent basis is impossible. We hit a bit of a sweet spot between about 2010 and 2015 when a number if our best prospects came through from the academy to be solid first team players, and the club had the means to stop them being instantly drawn away by those willing/able to offer better deals....and that's the crux of it. We don't have the resources to hold onto the best of our academy, heck we don't have the draw or resources to keep a good few talented players IN the academy, with them being poached by other clubs. For a club of our means, we probably get a better return than many others from our academy, but it's highly unlikely it will ever provide a positive financial return. It's not a problem with how we run things, the quality of the coaching, or the availability of talent. It's that the whole player development system in this country (and many others) is flawed. That's not to say that I think it should be scrapped. There are social/community benefits beyond the £ signs that are important. However, it's delusional to think that an extra £100/£200k per year is going to turn it into a reliable source of players (who will stay here) or income for the club. As a slight aside, I also find it rather uncomfortable to be talking about kids as if they are a tradable asset, and the academy being a means to exploit that.

15 years since one of, if not THE, best away days ever. 7 goals, 7 goalscorers - Hayes, Rooney, Foran, Odhiambo, Sanchez, Eagle, and Morrison Oh for a bit of that again