Renegade

Am I not right in saying that Ben Greenhalgh is now a pro-golfer?

There seems to be a couple of posters who'd try and paint administration or being relegated every season until we finished bottom of the Highland League below Fort William and Strathspey Thistle as some kind of positive. Perhaps this kind of intellect should be expected though from people who's username seems to have been coined by their hand slapping the keyboard...

I've said it before and I'll say it again, one of the main reasons crowds have fallen and people have drifted away is that they just didn't feel wanted. Look how often the club plug hospitality and look at the state of the shop, the state of the toilets, the state of the tannoy, the state of the bar, the state of North Stand and it's facilities. The club believe that appalling bad facilities is what we deserve. We are the little people and all we are are walking chequebooks for the old boys club in the boardroom. People don't come at all or have drifted away because they didn't feel wanted and they didn't feel welcome. The chickens have come home to roost.

Sorry folks, but I care little for this 'it's a good deal for him and his family' attitude. Masks over the fact that the guy was making a pretty good living already.

Ach as long of the old boys club have a job, that's all the matters...

Christie wasn't found by Butcher. He came through the youth system and preceded Butcher by a few years.

Indeed. A match last season was nearly postponed when the tannoy went down before kick off, surely it would have to be a decent standard in case of an emergency. The current one is a disgrace.

The first thing I'd do is bring in a tannoy system that was at least audible and didn't crackle constantly. Perhaps if the board made their way down from their cosy boxes and nice padded seats and sat with the regular fans in the North Stand for once, they'd see what the 'little people' have to deal with on a fortnightly basis.

I was in quite a good position to see the Mulraney penalty shout and there was nothing in it - he fell over the ball. I don't know if anyone else saw it, but while Toshney and Calder were down on the ground, Craig Thompson seemed to find the whole episode funny. Standing over them while they received treatment with a big smile on his face. I have wondered this pre-season, that none of our strikers look like proper finishers. We haven't seen much of Bell yet and Zschusschen looks a dud, but Baird and Oakley look more to be of the Gregory Tade/Graham Bayne breed - good players and hard workers, undoubtedly dangerous players but neither are out and out goalscorers. I wouldn't expect either to get more than ten goals in the league this season. In fact, I've thought already that Oakley might actually be more effective as a number ten.

It's absolutely imperative we keep Draper. Absolutely no way we'll be promoted if he's sold as I can't see us being able to sign anyone half as good. No doubt the money will just be squandered as well.

Plus points - Vigurs had one of the best games he's had in months. Calder had a cracker until he came off. Raven put in a solid display. The majority of possession and some good passages of play. Negative points - We've signed an absolute dud in Joe Chalmers. Ridgers' kicking is appalling. The poorest I've seen from an ICT keeper since Zibi Malkowski. Polworth is simply not a winger. He looked far better in the second half when he was sitting narrower. None of our four strikers look like finishers. Our crossing and especially corners were atrocious. Every single one was to the back post and thus straight at the keeper.

There's a video on YouTube of the last Caley v Thistle game and I'm sure someone (I think it's the Thistle manager) says that the new club planned to enter a reserve team in the East of Scotland League. I assume that would the kind of league the likes of Lochee United are in.

Indeed. Why should we (and/or Ross County and/or Aberdeen etc) be allowed to enter a Colts teams into (what I presume would be) an expanded Highland League, when there are junior sides who have already expressed an interest in filling that void - Banks O'Dee and Halkirk to name but two (while there are probably a few others who, with some developments to their infrastructure could also enter, such as Culter and Golspie Sutherland). I'd say they have a far more legitimate case than we do, especially after our decision to withdraw from the SPFL Development League. Think I'm right in saying we couldn't enter a reserve team in the HL just now anyway under the current legislation and a return to the North Caledonian League would be the highest league we could enter a reserve side.

This is pie in the sky stuff. The Highland League are never going to allow a Caley Thistle Colts team in. It's a complete non-starter.

Jack Leitch has signed for Peterhead. I'd say they're about his level from what we saw of him.

MI5 and the FBI take longer to investigate than just a week you know!

We had a Colts team in the North Caledonian League at one stage (playing the likes of Alness United, Bonar Bridge and Tain Thistle!). Wonder if that's another option if the HL predictably turns it down.

HT - ICT 0-2 Dundee United FT - ICT 1-3 Dundee United ICT - Baird DU - McMullen Crowd - 3,716

It won't happen (this time), but if Hearts were genuinely interested in Robbo replacing Cathro he'd be down the A9 faster than he could sing "H-E-A...R-T-S...!"

He's down as number 18 in the programme.

HT - Forfar 0-1 ICT FT - Forfar 1-2 ICT FA - McBride ICT - Baird 601

Remember when that porn king tried to buy the club about ten years ago? Those were the days, weren't they!

We are Caley Thistle. It's who we are and who we've been for nearly a quarter of a century and if there was ever a time to change that it should've been in 1994 - it didn't and we've been moved on. Any belief that there's still a Caley/Thistle divide in our support is nonsense and I really wish we'd stop this obsession with a few dozen bitter refuseniks many of whom who we're probably better off without anyway. A name change now will probably never happened and I for one am glad of that.

As I'm sure most of us saw yesterday, someone's been a bit naughty!