Charles Bannerman

I remember John telling me that when these two were at Inverness together they regularly used to go out on a Friday afternoon and spend an hour practising hitting dead balls.

Ah yes... well just noticed this line and wluld have to admit to being the occasional beneficiary of Jessie's scones. However I am commendably abstemious and usually discipline myself to having just one. This probably contributes to the fact that my Body Mass Index is somewhat lower than Robbo's. :021:

I just don't understand this. A lot of fans seem to complain about ticket prices. But on top of that many also pay something like ?2 to park, ?2.50 for a programme, then all these food prices. And in addition to that there's always these people with buckets standing outside looking for charitable contributions. Presumably they would not do so if it were not worth their while, which is quite surprising given all the other costs. At the end of the day (as they say in football) how much does it actually cost for the afternoon?

Does the Press box still get Pies and Tea/Coffee delivered Charles Are they Lindley or McDougall and Hastie ? Absolutely not! We get tea, coffee and plain biscuits which may indeed be Tesco "Kilmarnock Home Strip" Value varieties. The days of O'Brien's sandwiches have long gone and pies are not to be seen. And it is perfectly fair that the Fourth Estate should find themselves at the forefront of the efficiency savings which ICT implemented from May of last year. I would confess to a single aberration and that is at Clach Park, which I have managed to visit lamentably infrequently this season, where Molly's sandwiches, pancakes and rock buns are placed before me and I simply cannot resist. However in my defence I would have to say that I manage to maintain my BMI of 23.3 partly by the fact that temptation is no longer placed in my way most of the time. I would submit the supportive evidence that I am currently 10lb LIGHTER than I was at the start of the current season.

I sometimes really wonder how much the food at football stadia contributes to obesity and other ill health. The standard fare seems to be pies and burgers... dripping with saturated fat and crammed full of calories. In fact I laughed out loud when I saw a vehicle outside the Caledonian Stadium marked with that ultimate oxymoron "The Gourmet Burger Company" On the other hand I would imagine that salad sandwiches and other healthy options wouldn't go down a bundle at football matches but of course the other option is the "zero option". After all, if you have a decent enough lunch, then, especially in the case of local fans who are home in time for tea, is there really any need for food in the 2 hours that someone is at a football match? Abstaining would not only restrict obesity in those prone to it but would also restrict the ingestion of these nasty saturated fats which clog up the blood vessels and at the same time save the pocket. And if the fare or the service are not up to scratch, then that would surely make such an approach all the easier, with the added benefit that queueing fans would not miss a chunk of a game they might have paid 15 quid to get into. But in any case, even if people are not prepared to give up their half time nosh, judging by recent noises from Holyrood, I wouldn't be surprised if such obesity promoting activities were not soon legislated against by the Scottish Government.... aye, that's the one headed up by yon big laddie who looks as if he's enjoyed rather too many ?9000 lunches!

Full commentary on Tuesday night on Ross County v Hibs in the Cup on Sportsound which is coming live from Dingwall on Radio Scotland 810 medium wave. However there will be reporters at all four First Division games. Jim Spence will be at Dens, I'll be at the Caledonian Stadium. I'm not sure what the arrangements, if any, are for that programme being received online outside the UK.

Sorry I can't help you with this one even though I was on that programme. It looks as if whatever was said came after I had switched my equipment off so could no longer hear what was being said. Mahonio - are you sure it was Euan MacIlwraith because he was doing the same as I was but at the Aberdeen - Dundee United game so I can see neither the reason nor the opportunity for him to have made such a statement? It is, I suppose, possible that Ewan "Cyril" Murray may have been a studio guest and you are confusing your Euans. I don't know if that was the case since one or two technical problems meant that I actually heard very little of the programme even when I was hooked up. However the best approach for ICT fans is possibly to look forward rather than back and the comment that was heard possibly originated from some of the things some posters on here, who may subsequently have been holidaying in Damascus, were saying some months ago now. Inverness are on a 12 match unbeaten run and pushing for the title under a manager who has just extended his contract at the Caledonian Stadium. Possibly the point being made related to ICT's recent fine form.

OCG... you are spot on there! The Highland League DOES have its own unique smell (no satirical jokes please!). For me that's the kind of smell that comes out of the Grant Street pie shop. That instantly says "Highland League" to me. The only other smell, albeit very similar, which epitomised the HL even more to me was the smell of the pies which came out of the Telford Street tunnel from the Boardroom on a Saturday. In fact that was so much so that, when Telford Street was on the point of departing from Inverness football history (OK - in body but never in soul!) in the autumn of 1996 I wrote a lengthy nostalgia feature for the Courier based on just that thought. At the centre of the whole thing was the smell of the pies but there were also so many other Highland League memories like the penny dainties from the Caley shop which stuck your jaws together for a whole 45, collecting MacKintosh's lemonade bottles and getting the 3d refund on them and climbing over the gate at the Howden End with Mike Shewan to avoid paying the 9d to get in. In some respects the Highland League hasn't changed a lot over the last four or more decades and at the time of the merger I was pleased to see Clach act in such a way as to maintain HL football in Inverness. From that point of view alone, I would be so disappointed if Clach folded and HL football disappeared from the town where it was founded and which at one point had SIX Highland League teams. I really enjoyed last night where you could watch two Inverness teams face each other on one of the town's old grounds. OK the occasion was only a shadow of what many of us witnessed in decades gone by, but if the Inverness Cup with its 100 year plus history isn't wanted for competition among the wider Inverness FA clubs, then last night was a great way to decide it. And PS - it was great to inhale robustly every time I went past the Grant Street Pie Shop!

Largely agreed. I think that's the permutation of results that Jocky Scott will be praying for because it would go a long way towards knocking the challenges of BOTH Highland clubs on the head. I have to say that having been at virtually every Highland derby since the very first one in August 1994 in Dingwall, none of them has had nearly as much at stake for both clubs as the two which now come up in a period of ten days. It could be argued that it was a clean sweep of four derby wins in 96-97 that secured the Third Division title but that the the Third Division and there were nine points to spare in the end. There were also of course derbies in promotion season 03-04 but I'm not sure for various reasons that there was the same level of awareness at the time they were played that SPL football might be a possibility and also they were not in the "dog eat dog" category which this month's most certainly are.

NOBODY is more fussy about grammar than I am, but I have to refer you to this ballad about the indecisive Battle of Sheriffmuir during the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. There's some say that we wan and some say that they wan And some say that nane wan at a' man But one thing is sure that at Sheriff Muir A battle was fought on that day man And we ran and they ran and they ran and we ran And we ran and they ran awa' man However in the Ballad, "wan" is being used as a past tense whereas Caleyrule is using it as a past participle. On the other hand... let's just settle for "won"!

It only opens when the Administrator reckons the session will be profitable - i.e. things like social evenings, match days etc. Johnboy's question above about a decent pub near Grant Street rather unfortunately reminded me of how many have closed. The Clach Club is virtually closed, the Lochiel is closed and so is the Thornbush (but on the other hand he did specify "decent" :024: ). Actually the demise of the pubs and the near demise of Clach are ust symptoms of the same problem as experienced down the Merknich - and indeed elsewhere.

Darren is the son of Jim Jarvie a former ICT director in charge of youth football and is indeed a former pupil of Culloden Academy. He is a final year PE student in Edinburgh and is doing a placement with us at Inverness Royal Academy. (He was also, along with Ally MacKenzie's son and Craig Maclean's daughter one of the three mascots at Tannandice v Rangers in 1996.) He was on ICT's books for a time but then went to Nairn County and played for them in the Highland League. He was then loaned out to Edinburgh University although Nairn retained his registration. A complex set of negotiations then saw him go from Nairn to Strathspey who, I have heard reported, paid a touch over a grand for him since Nairn weren't prepared to let him go for nothing.

didnt realsie brora had moved to in and around inverness :021: 60 miles isn't a long distance in Highland League terms. I remember being at a cracking Final, I think it must have been, at Telford Street around 1992 because it was Ross County and Brora who were playing. I think a young Barry might have scored that night.

Does anyone know why that game was played on a Saturday? Was it an international day? I have a feeling it might have been because it was the old First Round of the Scottish Cup which sent the SFL programme into abeyance and both teams had byes. I checked Against All Odds but it seems I haven't specified there. What an afternoon that was! It was Mike Teasdale's and Brian Thomson's debuts and Iain Stewart got a hat trick and MoM although many felt that Daisy Ross should have had a shout as well. He was in one of his classic "get the heid doon and blow the oppostiion away down the left wing" modes. I don't expect tomorrow night will be quite the same occasion. But the game is certainly worthy of support at least for the fans of one Inverness club which has had quite a lot of good fortune to show solidarity with a club which has had a lot less luck and whose survival would also ensure that Highland league football survives in the town in which it was founded all these years ago. Miss ICT asked about the team. I would imagine it will be quite "fringe" and I don't know much more although the manager told me Nick Ross will be playing and Roy McBain told me he also will be in action.

Very interesting thread this, especially as it appears at a time when there has never been more at stake between the two Highland clubs, given the current league situation! I have never been in any doubt since before the two inner Moray Firth clubs were elected into the SFL in 1994 that the success of BOTH is important to the health of football in the Highlands. Obviously I wouldn't expect that view to be shared by diehards from either side of the water so I am pleasantly surprised to see a number of positive comments above. I certainly remember on this site say, seven or eight years ago, when both clubs were also in the First Division, the anti County rhetoric was quite vitriolic. That seems to have moderated considerably this time round, despite the fact that both are in contention for promotion to the SPL over the next few weeks.

The Inverness Cup is a very old trophy going back to the late 19th century but the competition has fallen into abeyance of late following some epic finals in the 90s (such as ICT 5 Ross County 2 at Grant Street in 1995 in front of a crowd of 2500). It was administered by the Inverness FA and contested by the clubs in and around Inverness - Thistle, Clach, Caley, County, Brora, Nairn, Forres and occasionally Elgin. The final has to be played in Inverness. It was actually at an Inverness Cup semi final between Caley and Clach at Telford Street that the famous "bus" merger protest took place in 1993. The current idea was to revive the trophy and put it up for competition between Caley Thistle and Clach in a one off game with the proceeds going to the Clach Survival Fund. I am led to believe that an unnamed club objected to Clach getting the money and this nearly sank the plan but that objection has now been withdrawn. As a result the two clubs will meet at Grant Street tomorrow night (Monday) at 7:30pm. Clach - 1 defeat in 6. ICT - 1 defeat in 12. Should be some encounter. :004: :)

My understanding is that only Foran is suspended and Nick Ross is likely to be a direct replacement - as suggested by Johnboy quite near the top of this thread! B)

Devil's Advocate question - how would this thread have read three or four months ago?

This thread is a great read, especially the OP (which interestingly enough seems to have escaped the attention of the mods)! The case actually rather reminds me of how Clach managed not to pay rent for Grant Street for four years! :) :D

Sorry folks, only saw this when I got back home. Let me explain. Outwith Saturday afternoon, football is normally only broadcast on Radio Scotland on 810MW. (You will also get exactly the same transmission simultaneously on 103.5-105 when Radio nan Gaidheal is not on air. That's why when there were SPL Sunday games the football would suddenly be ousted by Gaelic Psalms.) On Saturday afternoons there is Open All Mics on 103.5-105 and different commentaries on 92-95FM and 810MW - unless Six Nations Rugby takes 94FM. Apart from possible rugby, it's solid football everywhere from around noon until 7pm with frequencies splitting betwen 3 and 3:45 and for the second half. The other SPL games have online commentary. With only 810MW avaliable at other times, midweek coverage tends to involve a production decision as to what best suits the programme of matches on offer on any evening. That MIGHT be open all mics but it could be a commentary with either updates live from other grounds with reporters or, as was the case tonight, a commentary (Rangers - Killie) with score updates from the commentator and half and full time reports from the other grounds. Radio Scotland's capacity to cover football on Saturdays is actually quite formidable since apart from the three main frequencies there are also local opt outs which enable Aberdeen games to be covered in that area and also ICT and Gretna when they were in the SPL. However the schedule is only completely given over to football on Saturday afternoons since it's not realistic to withdraw other programming at other times but 810 on its own can deliver a lot of football as well. Since I'm on the subject, I might as well mention other BBC football services relevant to ICT fans. The Results Programme on BBC1 at 4:30 on Saturdays includes a match report on any occasion there is also an Open All Mics reporter at any ICT game. Then there is BBC online which is just on the point of extending its coverage of ICT and indeed also Ross County. Starting on Friday I will be providing brief written previews with manager quotes for matches involving both Highland teams and also on Saturday evenings from just after six a match report with quotes from whichever of the Highland teams is at home. Away games are often covered already, I understand. Also don't forget BBC local news bulletins on 92-95 FM in the Highlands and Islands but also obtainable online, especially at 0750 on weekdays where there's a sports report every Monday and Friday plus other midweek coverage as and when. Lots of ICT from your BBC!

This has been public knowledge for over five years. Maybe not widely known but public knowledge all the same.

I think the "end of March" rule was blown out of the water with a lot else by Caley Thistle in 2004-05 when they firstly groundshared at Aberdeen and secondly then moved back to Inverness in the January. Yes, County DO have, and indeed have had for a little over five years, a plan to extend to 6000 seats. In fact planning permission has been in the process of renewal since it expires after five years. I think the view was that they might as well have this in place even if it was never used. The extension work could be done in something like 12 weeks. What is NOT clear is how this would be financed but Ross County are very well organised in terms of potential stadium expansion. How big a problem the railway bridge would be is also not clear but they have dealt with capacity crowds v Rangers, ICT etc on a number of occasions.

It seems there were as whole lot of these guys who came through the Aberdeen juvenile set up roughly at the same time.

Yes it is very good and although there's not a lot in it that would be news to a Highland or an ICT readership, this is a good deal further flung so I think it's very useful PR both for Ross and for Caley Thistle.

The ultimate oxymoron - Gourmet Burgers!!! :D