Sneckboy

We finished SPL season 2005/06 with a goal difference of +13 but this season's +11 after 8 games suggests we could better that.

^^^ Yeah! Butcher probably said something like "It'll give us a real fillip if we score our next penalty. I want to see our next taker, fill the net!!" Cue...Philip Roberts!

I'd hardly call him a 'bench-warmer' at Birmingham! He's started in 5 of their 8 league games. If you wave your ICT scarf at him he'll likely smile and wave a wad of notes back at you!

It would be good if the draw for the semi-finals was held at Easter Road shortly after that televised BBC game on the Wednesday. I say that in the hope we'll be through - I'd watch the Edinburgh derby with anticipation of the draw to follow! However, if we go out to Dundee United on the Tuesday, my interest in the cup will be nil, I won't watch the Hibs-Hearts game and they can hold the draw whenever the hell they like!

A few reactions to the draw have been tacked-on to the end of the 'All To Play For' thread, but I like your enthusiasm! I don't think anybody could predict the 4 semi finalists with any great degree of confidence...I reckon all 8 clubs will feel they've could have got better and could have got worse! Ties are a month away so teams could go out of form or have injuries etc. What strikes me is how 'refreshing' the draw looks without the Ugly Sisters in it and without that pair and the likes of Killie, Partick and St. Mirren also absent, there's a real North and East of Scotland flavour to it!

It's another draw to decide the semis, bdu98196. That's when they also decide the neutral venues. Like Inverness v. Edinburgh club in...Edinburgh!

It's a daft name for the second tier. Winning a championship should be the ultimate accolade, by definition. ie The Wimbledon Championships, World snooker/darts/chess Championships etc. With the formation of the SPFL from the scrapping of the SFL and SPL, this would have been a good chance to rebrand the leagues as 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th divisions. Calling leagues anything else just confuses what actual level they're at. The Scottish Rugby set-up also has nonsensical naming with Premiership, National league, Championship A, Championship B…. IIRC the Aberdeen darts league are guilty of having their ‘1st’ division as the FOURTH tier…below the Premier League (tier 3) which is below the Super Premier (tier 2) which is below the Super League (tier 1)….!

I don't think it's seeded - historically at this stage it's an all-in open draw.

I don't know, Renegade. The disciplinary procedure isn't very transparent and seems to be quite complex. He's only had 3 bookings this season but that's the same as Raven. I used to think the bookings/sendings off 'points' total ran over a 2 season cycle, but there's not much info that I can find!

Really good - you put a lot of work into your videos, much appreciated.

The Wine Shed

English League One Greg Tansey (penalty) (Stevenage 1-3 Carlisle United) SPFL League Two Dennis Wyness (Queen's Park 3-3 Elgin City) Highland League Stuart Leslie (Inverurie Loco Works 2-5 Nairn County) Kyle Whyte (Strathspey Thistle 2-1 Clachnacuddin) Martin Bavidge TWO GOALS (Inverurie Loco Works 2-5 Nairn County)

Conference Premier Aidan Chippendale (Chester 2-1 Macclesfield Town)

Albion Rovers v. Spartans Auchinleck Talbot v. St. Cuthbert Wanderers Berwick Rangers v. Peterhead Brora Rangers v. Cove Rangers Buckie Thistle v. Annan Athletic Dalbeattie Star v. Montrose Deveronvale v. Linlithgow Rose East Stirlingshire v. Threave Rovers Edinburgh City v. Fraserburgh Formartine United v. Inverurie Loco Works Gala Fairydean Rovers v. Clyde Keith v. Elgin City Newton Stewart or Fort William v. Culter or Lossiemouth Queen's Park v. Preston Athletic Stirling Albion v. Whitehill Welfare Turriff United v. Wick Academy Some interesting ties! Brora and Wick will consider their games winnable. There's a Moray derby with Elgin visiting Keith, probably for the first time since their Highland League days. Steve Paterson's Formartine have a good chance to progress with a home tie against near-neighbours, Inverurie. The next round will include Rangers, Dunfermline and 6 Championship clubs - massive incentive for all the teams - Culter must have a fighting chance of getting there - and the other 2 junior clubs, particularly Auchinleck Talbot, could join them.

I remember they once all ended in draws...mid 1990's when there were only 10 teams and 5 games. A guy at my (then) work won only £20 through our 'most correct results' sweepstake, staking a £1 amongst 20 of us. That was his 'ridiculous' line every week! If he'd put that £1 on at the bookies he would have made probably £500!

yeah, there is an award for Young Player of the Month, but it's gone to Stuart Bannigan (who?) of Partick Thistle!?! Denying us the chance of a clean-sweep like we achieved last November when Butcher, McKay and Doran got the awards.

Apparently there was a bid of £375,000 for Billy in the transfer window from Bulgarian champions, Ludogorets Razgrad. Butcher turned it down. It's interesting to have an actual figure now. So the 'answer' to the thread's question is : He's worth over £375,000! There was an ignorant journalist in the Sportscene studio yesterday expressing his surprise that an English championship club hadn't taken a gamble on McKay in the transfer window, as they'd have been able to get him for "a couple of hundred grand"!

Scottish Cup Lewis MacKinnon (Wigtown & Bladnoch 3-4 Buckie Thistle)

Brora left it until the last minute to win 1-0! Vale of Leithen finished with just 7 men!

Good point! He Kenny Gillet left before LAST season! But talking of Simon King, I read he has come out of 'retirement' to resume at a lower level. He's playing for Thurrock in level 8 of English football - good luck to him.

I expected him to get a more severe punishment for being found guilty. As he's the first player in Scotland to be charged for this, I really expected the authorities to 'make an example' of him. If a short ban is the precedent for being caught, charged then found to be in breach of the rules, I don't see it as enough of a deterrent. The fixed-odds coupons will be getting dusted down for the weekends games!

Celtic would like a challenge but nobody is strong enough to compete with them. Hypothetically, If they perceived us at a threat in January, they could easily take Billy or Shinnie or Warren or anyone by offering x4 salaries and stick them on the bench. We're 5 games in with 33 to go! Anybody confident we can 'win the league' - the bookies will give you 200/1. And that's a rip off! Neil Lennon's staff will have alerted him to the fact that the Inverness fans' forum has a thread on ICT winning the league...he wont say publically but privately he'll be pissing himself laughing and pinning it up in the changing room. We need to keep it real.

Last season we had 3! Billy McKay, Owain Tudor Jones and Andrew Shinnie!

Drew 3-3 at Kilmarnock this evening. Reguero was playing for Killie according to the match report. http://www.kilmarnockfc.co.uk/articles/20130905/u20-result-kilmarnock-3-3-inverness-ct_85961_3448908

I understand that Scotland are to be placed in pot 4 for the Euro 2016 qualifying draw regardless of the outcome of the rest of this campaign.