KirkieRobRoy

Tom Parratt - only ever saw him once, in a pre-season game at Grant Street. Now plays, apparently, for the splendidly-named Wilmington Hammerheads in the Yooo Ess of Ay. A team-mate is long-forgotten Celtic 'n' Hibs never-was, Liam Miller. http://www.wilmingtonhammerheads.com/roster/

And per the P&J today he's left already.

And now Neil Doncaster, who did his best in all sorts of ways to destroy Scottish football, 'welcomes' the arrival of the Taxdodgers in Spiffle 1. Had Falkirk or Queen of the South won the league I suspect Mr Armageddon would have made no such announcement. Presumably they won't have to pay the £250,000 fine they owe the SPFL to be allowed to play in the top league. I am usually ferociously plague-on-baith-their-hooses with regard to the Old Squirm but I hope the Taxdodgers get hammered in their semi-final. Given that in their three games prior to last night they had shipped three goals to, consecutively, Falkirk, Queen of the South and Raith Rovers, I'm very hopeful. Oh, and Challenge Cup Final humiliation with Rory McCallister scoring a hat-trick wouldn't go amiss either.

Better get yon photie taken quickly. After Wednesday night we might not be defending oor trophy any more... And don't County only get their cup for a few months, now that the League Cup is set for a final in November?

As I came to ICT by marriage not birth or residence I can say I'm delighted to see County get the wee cup. The spreading around of major trophies since the old Taxdodgers club went bust has been brilliant for the game, a complete change from the tired Old Firm narrative. Sadly, I expect it'll all change next season now that yon Hibs team have let said Taxdodgers off the hook in the league. The unrestrained joy of Chic Young et al when the gruesome twosome were drawn against each other in the big cup semi was nauseating, bit there will be plenty more of it to come.

Oh, yes. Yes indeed. Like everyone else, disappointed, but if we need a replay to dispose of Stirling Albion, not surprising that we need the same with Hibs. Hopefully they'll either be depressed, or have overcelebrated, after the LC Final when the replay comes around. Hopefully we can then dodge the Billy McKay banana-skin, and in the final face an ordinary Celtic team (who will surely dump the taxdodgers in the lesser semi-final) and make up for the recent loss at Celtic Park.

It may well have been, Charles. As I recall I tried to avoid looking at it.

There is no Glasgow bias. It's Old Firm bias. People in the Greater Glasgow area who support Thistle, St Mirren, Morton, Motherwell, Albion Rovers, Pollok, and, er, Kirkie Rob Roy detest the Old Firm as much as anyone in the Highlands. Ah, the Highlands - I remember when we played Rangers at TCS the big banner among the visiting hordes was from 'Lewis RSC'. There are probably more Old Firm supporters (albeit many of them watching all their fitba on the telly) in Inverness than support ICT. Whether you're an ICT supporter, Ross county, St Johnstone, Montrose, Raith, Hamilton Accies, Ayr United, whatever, you'll see local folk wandering about in rangers and Celtic jerseys, or buses piling off to Parkhead or Aye Broke on match days. I don't think most journos are necessarily from Glasgow. Deffo many of them don't live there. But they love the Old Firm. Not because they are based in Glasgow. But because they're so BIIIIIIG.

Sadly, yer Scottish fitba 'writers' are unanimously of the view that things are much more interesting when the same two teams win everything.

If Aberdown get to the stage where they can field an entire ex-ICT team, will they stop trying to sign our players and maybe, you know, develop some of their own?

I notice some others have had a go at Pat Nevin, and quite rightly so. At one point he said something like 'if it stays eleven against eleven, Celtic are gonnae win.' I seem to remember in the highlights programme after the Big Cup semi final, he said almost exactly the same about our win over Celtic, referring, of course, to Craig Gordon's sending off. Bitter and repetitive, it seems.

As a near-Weegie who came to Caley and then ICT support by marriage to an Invernessian, I don't feel the County-hate that the native Sneckians do. And so I'm delighted to see a proper team - any team - put one over on either half of the Old Firm. Good on them. Over the next week or two, of course, they'll have to put up with all the same whingeing about reffing decisions from the club and their whiney supporters and their partners in Scotland's Old Firm lovin' media that we had to put up with after the Big Cup semi last season.

Poor show. Albion did their homework better than us, frustrated our attack and fancied themselves attacking down our left (that will need fixed before the replay). They gained in confidence and often left two up front when we were in possession in the second half. Having said all of that, will surely put it to bed at the second attempt. They can't play at such intensity twice, nor can we be so bad. Can't go, but I still hope it doesn't go on telly as the crowd for a cold January Tuesday night will be miserable enough anyway. Re Craig Beattie - his problem was always injury proneness rather than Riordan-style self-destruction. And he is 35. I thought their starting No 9 put in a terrific shift.

Ryan Baptie's goal v Wick in the Cup. I hope the Wick bloke he dispossesses with ease before shooting isn't ex-ICT... https://amp.twimg.com/v/d38b2d69-6c89-4bbd-a2ad-bdc9e377dce5

There is this peculiar registering as a junior/senior thing but I've no idea how it works with loans. Certainly, loads of seniors do still have loans in the juniors so there is maybe a red-tape repellent to make it easy. Peterhead must've lobbed him to Rose because they couldn't get him a decent loan in the Highland League, and the East Juniors are a higher standard than the North Juniors. Talking of senior-junior loans, I've seen an amazing pic of a Celtic loanee scoring for Cumbernauld United v Kirkie Rob Roy in 1967. One K Dalglish.

Baptie's goal for Rose was credited in some reports to some chap called 'Ryan Batty.'

I take it there's a cash gate? Nothing on the website.

Saw a fair bit of Collum (and Dallas) in the Juniors before they got promoted to glory. General opinion about both is that they were mince and there was both relief and amusement that they wouldn't be seen in the Juniors any more. They sure can pick 'em.

Sometimes on here there's a bit of Weegiephobia related to the Old Firm. Fact is the dreaded twosome are probably the most popular teams in Inverness (as they are in Kilmarnock, Perth, Motherwell, Falkirk and, indeed, Kirkintilloch). And so even players, whose fathers are ex-players, and who are born-and-bred locals, are lifetime Cellick or Sevco supporters. Their market penetration, if that's what it is, is infuriating and difficult to counter. And bad for Scottish football, since many who identify with them never go to a fitba match, anywhere. This isn't going anywhere. It's something I find distressing about Scotland and its fitba. If you have any solutions, glad to hear there.

The Wales team bus. 'Hi, Gareth, how are things going at Real?' 'Not bad, boyo, but looking for a move. What's this Inverness like?' 'Oh, it's not too bad, look you.' 'Right, I'll have a word with my agent...' We can always dream.

Think Celtic are taking the mickey, getting £11.5m for VvD and initially only bidding half a mil for Christie. Hope the final amount is much greater but I'm not confident. Presumably he can't play v Celtic. How about Scottish Cup and League Cup games - presumably they don't want him cup-tied? Very depressing business. Welcome to the two new loan chaps. Hope they're good, like it here, and want to stay. And for goodness sake let's see more of the Development Squad, er, develop.

Away to Livingston - that brings back memories of 10, 15, 20 years ago! Will be there.

Nooooo - go to England, not Celtic.

2-0 Friendly defeat for Kirkie Rob Roy v Airdrie last weekend. Brian Prunty scored the first Airdrie goal. Far from a legend but will always be remembered for the sclaffed shot that went in to equalise at Ibrox. His brother Jamie (a defender) played at Rob Roy for several seasons.

Thought the Herald report was fair; http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/13439233.Inverness_facing_early_European_exit_after_narrow_home_defeat_to_Astra_on_debut/ Have avoided the P&J to escape the crowing of their Aberdeen fanbloke.