davie

Yes. See post above.

No offence taken (I'm not actually organising anything that day)

You won't look out of place at all son. Trust me.

Sunday sees the final game of Caley Thistle’s best ever season, and if you don’t know where it is or what’s at stake you must have been in the space station with that Canadian chap. Tickets for our end are selling like hot cakes as you would imagine, people are buzzing and the game is being broadcast on Sky. It’s as high as profile gets in Scotland. We are on course for Europe with a win, so please wear your holiday costumes. Anyone who has a sombrero please feel free to dig it out of the cupboard and wear the thing. There will be inflatables and beach balls for all. If we don’t qualify we will be disappointed but we can still celebrate our most successful season ever. Of course having a party doesn’t imply going daft. Please - no pyrotechnics, no chanting about you know what’s and please try not to lob either yourself or anything else on the pitch whilst people are running about on it. And no streaking for God’s sake - it's only May. The Council have decided that no licenced premises will be open in Dingwall before the game, so if you are there early (especially off the train) please respect the locals and the fact that their places of worship will be open before ours is. At least the Caley Club in Greig Street will be open after the game and there will be a ceilidh band playing - Full Tilt Brian tells me, and hopefully it sounds like grounds for celebration. Brian also tells me that bus tickets are on sale at the Caley Club on Saturday between 2 and 3 - get down there and buy them so you won't be disappointed. I know that, banter aside, our rivals will wish us all the best if we qualify for Europe on Sunday and I’ll take this opportunity to congratulate them on a magnificent first SPL season. Both sides will have a support that does the Highlands proud on Sunday, we’re sure of that. The nation will be watching, so let's show them how to have a good time. Davie Balfour Caley Jags Together

invading their bars........(* or would if there were any open)

Cannot get rid of it and it's the most annoying tune!

What, Madrid fans coming all the way for this game? Impressive There are a few Real Madrid fans that come to most games of ours. They've been to ibrox and celtic park with us and appear to have enjoyed their time with us. Can't imagine what they'll make of Kilmarnock though. What's spanish for "the scheme"?

Why - we go to Dundee and that is a HOVEL!!! HOI! Cheeky wee sod. I might suggest that Kazaghstan would be a cracking place to go. Certainly no worse than the hulltoon or whitfield

All in our own hands now. Don't think I have ever been so full of nervous anticipation for an ICT game.

that was quite a stunning game of footie. Just had a night out with a couple of gers fans who were telling me how poor the SPL was this year. Destroyed, so they were. Crowd could have been better, but crap, nah. There was little or nothing to be dosappointed about today but if you want to (potentially) be part of history, it might be a good idea to get your erse to Caley Park next week. Tell them davie sent you. Would get my erse down to 'Caley Park' next week but I really don't need any electrical goods. Think I'll go down the Longman instead to watch a game of football which may be of historical significance. Last time I looked the park was called the Tulloch Caledonian (Caley) Stadium much as you kingsmills folk don't like it. This is a tongue in cheek comment (no icons on iPad) ....lol Ach, you know what I mean. The inappropriate abbreviated term was caused purely by beer and ok, lots of gin.I get the feeling that, call it what you like, we'll both be in the same place next week.

that was quite a stunning game of footie. Just had a night out with a couple of gers fans who were telling me how poor the SPL was this year. Destroyed, so they were. Crowd could have been better, but crap, nah. There was little or nothing to be dosappointed about today but if you want to (potentially) be part of history, it might be a good idea to get your erse to Caley Park next week. Tell them davie sent you.

I get a lunch break young man. Your excuse?

I suppose that Cllr Smith is looking after the interests of her constituents in Ross-shire, which is what she is paid to do. The arguments are a bit off though. Someone is eventually going to have to stop demonising football fans of all colours and realise that we have moved on from the neaderthal days of the seventies and early eighties. The problem then was as much to do with a nations disintergating social fabric as it was with supporting a football team. Of course events like those in Glasgow this week don't help, but Dingwall isn't no mean City and the kick off times are liable to deter all but the most hardy of attendees (for the Celtic game anyway) Given those times, they are hardly likely to have had the opportunity to get tanked up before travelling and its illegal on buses and, as far as I am aware there are no congregations between the car park at the ground and the turnstiles although granted there is a Church in plain sight of the Mallard. There's nothing in between. But it's OK for people to go from that same car park to Hospitality and get served there? So much for Cllr Smith's arguments about not taking business needs into account - just some businesses that an Invergordon Councillor wouldn't want to upset. People aren't going to these games by other means and so need to mix with the "god fearing" public because there's no public transport to speak of that would drop them anywhere but at the ground. I am perplexed by her comments about people being turned away from the ground that concern her, although she maintains that she's not saying people would be drunk before the game. In a fixture (ICT v RC) that has a history of no violence, no antipathy, no mass ejections (we have the figures, just not to hand - I'll post them later) her concerns are pretty badly thought out, because let's face it drunkenness is about the only thing you are going to get turned away for. Perhaps the most galling point of her determination is the inference that fans of either side, who have been held up as examples of how well behaved derbies can be all year are somehow not fit to mix with the general population. Actually, Maxine they are the general population. Smee is right about people in power who are more reactionary than those they represent. Lobby and challenge them. Make them justify their wooly thinking and if they can't then vote them out. That works.

No problems with the scandinavian model that McNamara is talking about, running from March to November. Because this model works in a lot of northern Europe, there is ample scope for pre-season opposition to be available. If FIFA are already looking (and they are) at moving the next world cup after Brazil to winter because it's volcanically hot in the gulf in summer) it might just get us prepared! Pitches would be better - just look at the state of various sufaces we have played on this year - and less floodlights and undersoil heating would be better for growing that green stuff they call grass, even in Dingwall. Not getting hypothermia or having to travel on roads that need ploughed would be good. Given that climate change is causing the weather to go a bit mental everywhere, McNamara and Smith might have a point but it would need a lot to convince the not so jolly green giants of Glasgow to go with it. 11:1 voting anyone?

Clearly sane

There are times in a season when it appears that everythings against you and today seemed to be one of them. This looked to to be a classic caley jags away backs against the wall day until Raven was sent off, and the outcome hinged on that. After it, we were always going to have to defend desperately and we did that immensely well until 77 minutes when the erxtra man finally told. Meekings may think he should have done better, but it was a tired tackle on hasslebaink that allowed him to cross for the goal. Unsurprising when you look at the amount of runs forward he had to do to support a midfield that was fighting like hell. Tony Reguero kept us in it, just as Allan Mannus did in the last game for the Saints. No doubt people have now had a chance to look at raven's red card. It was not a last man challenge (Meekings and Taylor were coming round). It didn't deny a goalscoring opportunity (it was a diagonal ball going wide) and there was little or no contact and what contact there was with Raven's arm coming across - unintentional. I've seen the footage god knows how many times, and Dave confirmed it. The game was decided on that, and with 11 men we might very well have held out. Don't forget that St johnstone were in europe last year and are fourth on merit and to say that they are rubbish is, frankly, rubbish.We have matched them every game this season when we have been 11 on 11, so the result could be said to be par for the course. Pathetic? No, and it does both sides an injustice to infer that. Just a sore one, and one that makes the next two home games crucial. I'm with Johndo here, the passports out.

That was a brutal game between two poor sides. Never a sending off, Armstrong got the ball and Sproule as much as said so after the game. Poor goal to lose, Dillon lost Vigurs for the cross but both teams had next to nothing up front. BTW, that pitch has to be one of the worst I've seen. How can you play football on that? We really need a win tomorrow now.

I'm not getting involved in this but there's a few interesting points in here that are continually voiced by mainstream media. I have no opinion on the merits (or otherwise) of what happened to Rangers. What happened, happened and it may be that after CG's departure more information will clarify the true picture of what went on at Ibrox. What cannot be denied is that the SPL is a better place this year. People do tell me that its uncompeditive and that Celtic didn't have to try and that's why they won the league at such an early date. No one levels that criticism at Manchester United or the EPL, although Man Utd won the league the day after Celtic and may well finish with a record number of points amassed in that competition. Celtic's pricing for an end of season game, albeit one that promised a celebration, was entirely reasonable and mirrored pricing incentives that have been used by all the SPL clubs this year. The fact is that in times of economic uncertainty, entertainment industries suffer and football is just one of them. The quality (or otherwise) of the product is secondary but this has been the tightest SPL in years. Motherwell have been excellent and we could have been clear in second and close to Celtic if our early season run of draws had been translated to wins. From what I can remember, that wouldn't have taken much so it's not a flight of fancy to imagine. The standard of football has been better this year and that fear of losing that permeated previous seasons seems to have lessened. Celtic may win the League for the next however many seasons, but man United or City will win the EPL, Real or Barcelona will win La Liga and teams like Rosenborg will have a stranglehold on their leagues. Does it lessen the TV viewing public? No. Does it devalue the other clubs in these leagues? No. What will devalue it is continually talking it down. Tell a dog its bad for long enough and guess what? Bad it will be.

I agree. He'd be no use punching in the co-ordinates for North Korea. "China sea..... do you mean Dundee....oh, that'll do".

Beaten by a stronger team that were on a mission yesterday and not too much of a shock, really. Wanyama looked every inch a multi milion pound player and Commons and Hooper weren't far behind. Our midfield were bound to tire eventually after firefighting that lot for most of the game and when they got one goal there really was no way back although getting four flattered them. Doran's goal at the death might prove vital. We suffered after Gary Warren went off - not least because he looked likely to nick something from the corners that we got, as well as mopping up everything at the back. The real fight for Europe could effectively be won next week (County could be all but out of it if they are beaten by the Arabs) on the red & blue away day. Defeat for St Johnstone would render us almost uncatchable with two home fixtures to come. Dundee United are beatable on our patch and we might be up against it with Motherwell, but then those two are followed by County. For the last day of the season to be the first win for them would be unthinkable and you know what - it still wouldn't be enough for them. Come on and join the red and blue party!

You can't do that to a donkey! For £5 they'd be expecting conjugal rights and that wifie in the black isle that runs the animal sancuary would be after you. It would be better to tie a seat to Derek adam's back and see what we could saddle him with. After all, it worked with Tokely etc.

Delighted my son. I'll speak to you or the portly centre forward sassenach on thursday.

The difference is about £3 a pint Bill & Mary, the last time I was there, it was £7.25 a pint for a euro chemical lager called (and I kid you not) Ass Ol. Aalesunds stadium is a cracker right enough, but give me odd grenland anyday. http://www.odd.no handy for ryanair, good stadium and, er quite handsome viking maidens if I remember correctly. That would get my two favourite teams on the same park and make my year. I've been to a game there, and also watched them play Lech Poznan at La Manga in Spain. Bizarre experience.

Bill, do you need a sub/ coach/ assistant with a proven ability to strip paint off a wall by shouting at it? Happy to oblige.

But what will he do with his orange shirt? Will it fit anyone from Paisley, or is he paving the way for a veneer of respectability from the esteemed Walter or complete armageddon from QC Finlay? Will his "little" friend go with him. To paraphrase Angel Givet Ibrox is a cage full of madmen, none of whom can stand the other. I'm almost (just almost) beginning to feel sorry for McCoist. On second thoughts.............................