Sneckboy

Just been looking up the same thing! Trying to get my teeth into using up all available puns. But I did eventually find (sandwiched between other articles), that Liverpool seem to have an arrangement with them, but not as main shirt sponsor. Don't want to butter up the board, but this mayo be a good deal - olive in hope.

With no sense of irony, it's declared a "rolling contract"!!

Would have been the perfect front-of-shirt sponsor for Toby Agdestein! But in all seriousness, I'm glad we're being sponsored by a bread-based food company....maybe next time it could be my favourite bread-maker - Kingsmills!

Lettuce get this right...Subway?! But gherkin aside, this is no time for platter-tudes until it's known how much money we're going to baguette.

Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica. I admire the craft of Italy's midfield play-maker, Pirlo; the goalscoring prowess of Uruguay's Suarez and I particularly enjoy the coffee from Costa Rica. It's ironic that the three of them have ended up in the same group!

Without wanting to state the obvious, reaching our first final. Also, the emergence of young Christie....although I've only just realised that he's not as 'young' as I thought he was. I was under the impression he was about 17 and understandably needed to be handled with 'kid gloves' and slowly introduced to the first team...but he's actually the same age as Polworth (19), with the latter seeming to have been around the first-team scene for a good few years now. So, I'm of the opinion that Ryan's certainly ready for regular first team starts next season and shouldn't necessarily be viewed only as 'one for the future' but rather, one-for-the-here-and-now!

I've heard it mentioned on a number of 'media outlets' that we achieved our highest ever points tally - including on BBC Alba last night when the reporter was (speaking English) and interviewing young Christie and Nick Ross. It would have been funny if Ryan had corrected the assertion by declaring that actually we scored one point more when his old man was the boss! That was the season we won all 5 post-split games without conceding a goal - but as you state, OCG, that was in the 'bottom 6'. But, yeah, it's a record for ICT from a 'top-6' finish. Just another vagary of the 'split system'!

Not strictly true as we actually attained 58 points in season 2005/06.

Having read the Clach thread re. winning the Cup today, it reminded me of another memory from that wonderful afternoon. I was in the Phoenix bar celebrating our triumph and spent some time speaking to a guy who was also celebrating - but he had no interest in our club's triumph. Instead, he was wearing a Clach top and was just so delighted at his team winning the Highland League that same afternoon! The fact SPL was coming to Inverness had absolutely no significance to him...his side had achieved their own things. And fair play to him. Another, not so great memory was being asked to remove my ICT scarf (on a night like that - in my own town, long after any 'rival' fans would have still been around) before getting into a bar on Church Street. Later, I got completely refused from 27 Bar in Castle Street for having an ICT top on! "Strictly NO football colours, mate!" Ended up next door in G's - anybody can get in there!!!

I've thought all along that the Premiership club would win the play-off but with the turmoil Hibs are in and their inability to score goal, I'm really not so sure now! It's a good point about Hearts actually attaining more points than Hibs in actual results. They would have finished 11th with 38 points....which is a warning and a 'benchmark' for many clubs for next season - averaging a-point-a-game could well be play-off territory!

Yeah, the Highland League Cup Final. It seems to be the only 'all-in' cup in the Highland League nowadays as the North Qualifying cup is no longer contended due to all the clubs entering the Scottish Cup automatically - and it is now all, as I understand Strathspey Thistle have got their 'licence' to compete! Clach last won the Cup in 2004 - the year they also won the league.

It would certainly be a noteworthy victory if they can overcome Buckie in the final - after initially losing 3-0 to Brora in the preliminary round before being re-instated! Indeed, the whole competition was in jeopardy at one point with Brora threating court action and injunctions to prevent Clach from playing in the next round. They backed down eventually. But Clach have taken advantage of their reprieve and won through a further 3 rounds to reach the final. Brora had been winning against Clach, 3-0, going into stoppage time when Brora made a substitution and threw on a 17-year-old who reportedly didn't get anywhere near the ball in his 30 seconds or so on the pitch. Days later, it was discovered that the lad hadn't been registered! Certainly had no influence on the score but rules are rules!

Hope he's recovered from his broken foot! That 'clip' is actually really funny - makes Neil Lennon's kick at the water-bottles seem pedestrian in comparison! That meltdown was Phillip Roberts' last action for Falkirk - he got released after that and handed a 6 match ban - which I assume he's now served.

Are you trying to offload Steve Paterson's book as well?!

He technically took over at Motherwell the season before they finished bottom.

A Premier League team would be fantastic, but it's unlikely. I know we played 'Liverpool' in a Testimonial game - but testimonials are just 'showpieces' and besides, it was a bit of a farce with it full of a mixture of 'old boys' and youngsters in an uncompetitive environment with neither team bearing any resemblance to their proper teams. Still, an English Championship club would still be a 'glamour' tie, no question. I'm maybe getting carried away here, but imagine if we played Nottingham Forest! Would surpass Celtic as historically the best side we've ever met! ( I just refuse to 'count' the "Liverpool" game!) * Now, that I would love! There are some really big outfits in the Championship down there. I hope it does transpire and we're not left disappointed! *Competitively Celtic are the best team we've ever played - and likely will be for some time - maybe ever?

That's good news. We'll probably have around 10 games pre-season the usual Elgin away and Clach away games as a 'rule'! They'll all be away aside from the two home 'glamour' ties, I'd imagine. Wouldn't be a surprise to find we also play Peterhead, Keith/Buckie/Deveronvale, Wick, Nairn/Forres, an Angus club, a North Caledonian club or amateur select from somewhere. It may be a bit repetitive but we're the victims of our success here - and I'm glad to see it! Who could ever have thought that no team in Scotland could be seen as a glamour tie! - But, we play them all nowadays, competitively. The huge irony is that a pre-season with Celtic now would muster little interest with few recognisable faces on show from both sides in front of a poor crowd...but either of Caledonian or Thistle would have attracted more in the starved days of top teams coming to Inverness.

Yes, I know exactly what's going to happen...your bum will be getting its first feel of the South Stand on Sunday!! LOL! Joking aside, this competition is wide open. Beastie in 'pole position' with the correct total as it stands....but as soon as the whistle goes, the 'in-play' leadership goes to Yngwie! If we take the lead then Beastie needs a two goal swing -and if St Johnstone strike first the 'five-pointers' need a two-goal swing. Meanwhile, Yngwie awaits just a single-goal swing regardless of who nets first. He's my favourite for this! Avoiding defeat in this game is important for us - an extra £82,000, 5th place and into the last 16 of the League Cup - it's no 'end of season' game by any means!

Butcher is 2nd worst - he's still ahead of Sauzee! Going by the current trend of 'win percentage'. But is 'win percentage' really fair? For example, a manager could preside over a team for ten games unbeaten yet rank below another who lost 9 of his ten games. 1 win in 10 with 9 losses (3 points) trumps 10 draws (10 points) by that criterion. So, it's a bit flawed, IMO. Why not loss percentage? The manager in the above scenario (who's deemed 'better' would have 90% losses, and the poorer boss would be on 0%!!!!) Butcher could lose the next 47 games in a row and still be ahead of Sauzee, showing the futility of the 'win percentage' statistic! A better system would be (points gained / points attainable) x 100. A more balanced percentage would then be given. But I'm not interested in Hibs enough to go through their manager stats to find out! But modern media outlets are obsessed with this 'win percentage' nonsense, and so yes, Butcher is '2nd worst'!!!

I hope you're right, Wyness - just so I can witness the spectacle of the 4 of you 'five-pointers' wrestling Wanderer to the ground trying to get his book!

ha ha! Blimey, this game is only 48 hours away.... Will be a packed Easter Road with a large contingent from Kilmarnock, I'm sure. Killie are in that 'awkward' situation that football sometimes throws-up of not having to win, unlike Hibs. It's happened in the past where a team in Kilmarnock's position have lost and have looked back ruefully and thought, "it would have been better if we'd needed to WIN." I must admit to being a little surprised to see Killie in this predicament - always thought they'd pick up enough points to be clear of danger. The losing team will have the second-leg of the play-off at home which is preferable. Plus, the slight advantage of being able to watch both legs of the Hamilton v. Falkirk/QotS game, in person. I would expect Kilmarnock to get through a play-off with their experience, and no-doubt Kris Boyd would score a 'crucial' goal! But, if it's to be Hibs....well,....not so sure now! Fascinating stuff. The 11th place relegation play-off is undeniably a great innovation!

Got to say, I'm surprised as I assumed he'd be looking for a club back in England, near London. I often got the impression from his 'tweets' that he was maybe a bit unsettled and homesick. However, the lure of getting back to a 'top flight' club has likely been a factor. Hartley obviously likes the look of him. I still think it unfair to be overly critical of him for the penalty miss. I think he was the wrong player to be taking that kick at that time! Tansey did the same (in a more important match) but doesn't get any flack! He'll probably score against us in a shoot-out next season!

Our run of 2 wins in 14 games runs from 1st March to 7 May, inclusive. You're correct in presuming only Hibs have won fewer games in that period. Partick Thistle, Ross County and Kilmarnock have 3 wins each in that time-frame.

So, Hibs have got to win on Saturday! - a feat they've managed only once in their previous 18 games!! The bookies are split over who they regard as favourite. Best odds at this time are, Hibs (11/10 with Paddy Power) to be in the play-off and Kilmarnock (6/5 with BetVictor). This situation may change, as at present, the bookies have left themselves 'exposed' with a guaranteed profit available, known as an arbitrage bet. (although it's not really a 'bet' at all due to there being no risk involved)! These scenarios are very rare. e.g. £100 on each = £200 outlay. Hibernian end-up in play-off = £210 return; Kilmarnock end-up in play-off = £220 return.

Simples! Just go back through the records and count em! That's actually what I did! Not as painstaking a task as it may at first appear. Final league tables give the total goals scored, so that's easy to add up - it's the cups where errors could creep in - e.g. Soccerbase haven't got some of our early Challenge Cup games listed. But, I'm fairly sure it's correct.... That's us on 1,400 goals now!