Charles Bannerman

Absent Friend appears to have quite a clear understanding of the way these things work. Negotiations on contracts are quite often more complicated than is superficially apparent and the waters are often unhelpfully muddied by wild speculation in the media (q.v. the Neil Warnock affair). As AF says, a club cannot possibly make a categorical statement until the whole issue is beyond any doubt. That takes time even though it's perfectly obvious what is going to happen. There is also the additional complication that, from a PR point of view, it is far better for a club to make an announcement at a press conference at which the new incumbent is present for interview. In Malky's case, that is the regular ICT conference at 1245 tomorrow (Thur). One way or the other, there is often a lag between the point where someone is going to be appointed, barring the unforeseeable, and when he can be wheeled into a press conference as the new signed up man. During this period it is perfectly normal for the media to report the story as "fact" once they are reasonably sure that is what will happen although nothing can be confirmed by the club. It looks to me as if this, along with the statement on the Chester site over which ICT has no control, is what has forced Graeme's hand today, 24 hours in advance of plan. In fact it is by no means unknown for somebody to take a swing at a story even earlier than that and hope for the best, taking the risk of egg on the face and I have seen some very eggy faces! Chairmen and Football Directors often derive a whole lot of mirth out of reports from time to time that certain individuals have been appointed by them. For instance I recollect an authoritative statement in an Aberdeen based daily newspaper some years ago that Bobby Wilson had been appointed manager of Peterhead! The fundamental problem is that in football it seems almost impossible to keep what is known in business as "commercial confidentiality".

You got this weeks Lotto numbers? I truly believe your are psychic (or is that psychotic, I always mix those two up) Both?

So let me just make sure I've got this one right..... With their team hanging on, sometimes precariously, to a 1-0 lead, there was a group of Caley Thistle "fans" at the game yesterday who were booing the goalkeeper :finger02: and then the substitute striker when he came on. Presumably these people had no worries at all about the possibility that the booing might have caused either player to make a mistake which could have cost "their" side two points? :020: :024: :33: :018: I'm just so sorry that the poor sensitive souls should feel so upset that the nasty goalie should have responded in kind. :cry03:

Oh well, that sort of explains why Peter and not IHE is the fitness coach! :015:

Peter was at Inverness College and came to Caley Thistle part time before moving with CB to Tannadice. When CB left DU, Peter stayed on until a few months ago but has now returned to Inverness and is back with ICT part time. During his previous spell at ICT, I had a number of great conversations with Peter about training, fitness and conditioning and I am in no doubt that he is extremely well versed in his subject. Certainly we found ourselves very much singing from the same hymnsheet on the occasions that we did have a talk.

Hearts have always been very strong on Remembrance Day, indeed it's something of a club tradition. It goes back to 1916 when on ther first day of the Battle of the Somme a lot of Hearts players died as members of the 16th battalion of the Royal scots (known as "McCrae's Own"). On that day, when there were 57,000 British casualties, 19000 of them fatal, this was one of the units selected to go "over the top" and three quarters of them became casualties. There's a book and a TV documentary about iti. David... I can empathis with what you've said. I was in the military cemetary at Ranville above Sword Beach and Pegasus Bridge in Normandy a few years ago abnd it was a very moving experience.

I believe Barry also performed the same feat at the previous millennium change! :015: And Ross Tokely has also worn every shirt number from 1 (yes 1) to 11 bar I THINK number 9.

You're presumably asking us because to most other people on this forum, this is ancient history? :003: I'm sorry, I haven't a clue but get back to me in 2044 and I'll probably quote Caley Thistle and Aberdeen at you! :015:

For "rant" read "two liner to see who would be first to snatch the bait"! :015:

Remember that on a Saturday for the duration of play, Radio Scotland's frequencies are split to offer a wide range of SPL games within the transmission area. There's 92-95FM, 810 Medium Wave, Radio nan Gaidheal 103.5-105FM, which can all be heard nationally, and the local opts out in the Highlands (for ICT matches if they don't make a national frequency), Aberdeen area (for Dons) and Dumfries area (for Gretna). In principle, Radio Scotland can therefore cover all six matches as long as ICT, Dons and Gretna are not playing each other. I've never known this, but certainly up to 4 games have been done - albeit some of them only in the local area of the team concerned. It's therefore as well to check which game is on which frequency. I think this is usually announced at the top of the programme just after 2pm. Note that this doesn't happen with Sunday or midweek Sportsound which is 810MW only, although the same programme is also broadcast on the R nan G frequency in better quality when R nan G is not on the air. With a 2pm Sunday kick off, this means suddenly getting a Gaelic church service just as the second half is about to begin! As for the "diaspora" not being able to get certain games abroad, which has been bemoaned on another thread, I don't know much about trhis but it's my understanding that this has something to do with the media rights of certain clubs. It's a "diasporate" :015: situation I know but that's just the wat is has to be.

And this after they presided over the construction of an eventual ?430 million eyesore that looks like a Spanish tenement with bits falling off. Did somebody say they're now asking for MORE powers?

Note the effective double negative in the question. As a result, 12th man's response does seem to be a bit more likely than the rest.

I'd just point out that Caley Thistle don't actually own the land on which the stadium is built. It is leased by the ICT Trust from the Common Good Fund until 2093, but effectively that doesn't alter the fact that the site's "value" (in terms of what might be raised from any transfer of the lease) will indeed be increasing. There are one or two obstacles to a move. Firstly, as ASDA found, there could be huge cost implications for any incoming tenant if the Kessock Bridge roundabout needed upgraded. Secondly, and I suspect more importantly, as Caley100 very rightly says, an alternative site at a realistic cost would be very difficult to find in Inverness. Even way back in 1993 when Bruce Hare of Percy Johnston Marshall did his original study, he looked at 13 sites, most of which were no hopers. That was boiled down to four and then to only two which were realistic - Stratton Farm and East Longman. Stratton might have been great for kick starting the Golden Mile but the merger partners were strongly opposed to it so the football club eventually won the battle against INE and East Longman it was. I've read the Bruce Hare report in entirety and even in 1993 there wasn't a great choice of site available. Remember also that for a number of years before that, Caley (sic) looked at various options such as the Carse, Charleston, the Bught and the Northern Meeting Park and it all came to nothing. As an aside, the "Carse Farce" came reasonably close to being realised. Had it done so, I believe there would have been no merger, but we've already discussed how a solo Caley bid have fared and I don't want to go there again!

"March, July, October, May... nones on the seventh, ides on the fifteenth day." That was how the rhyme went that you had to learn in the Latin class to remember the months that the nones and the ides weren't on the 5th and the 13th. The other reference point in the Roman month was the Calends which were always the 1st day and from which we get the word calendar. So SP, the 7th of March is not the ides of March but the nones. The Ides of March ("cave idus Martias - beware the Ides of March" as the soothsayer said to Caesar just before he got the point!) are the 15th and tomorrow is the Ides of October. Anyway... to get back to Inverness football.... I have certainly seen 1885 and 6 for Caley and 1884 and 5 for Thistle but always understood the real foundation dates to be 1886 and 1885 respectively. As an aside, it's quite amazing the number of sporting institutions which were founded in the final quarter of the 19th century. The timescale for Caley Thistle is that both clubs agreed to merge on 9th September 1993 (although Sherriff Fraser's judgement of March 1995 said that Thistle did not actually in law decide to do it that night but at a later meeting.) The decision to merge was confirmed by Caley members at the First Battle of Rose Street on 1st Dec 1993 and Caledonian Thistle had its first board meeting and was constituted as a club on 21st February 1994. The team played its first SFL game on August 12th 1994 and final agreement was given to asset transfer by Caley and Thistle on 1st and 8th December 1994 respectively.

The Caley Thistle tartan was first worn by Dougie McGilvray and Dougie Riach who had kilts made from it for the Division 3 Championship celebration function in May 1997. I haven't seen much of it since.

Smee... do you not remember when "Billy Connolly" was Caley manager and won the title on the last day of the season in 1984 through a trademark Urquhart goal v Keith at Telford Street? Raymond then stepped down as manager and was succeeded by Peter Corbett but then wanted to come back as a player but Corbett turned him down. I remember that was one of the first football stories I covered. Is that not the Garage? Was the laundry not the next building up towards the canal? Did that then become Frozen Foods?

Gordy... the very same Iain Clark. Stayed in St. Mungo Rd. Buckett... I never knew Gordy Bennett, although i know he died the very same day as my mother. I happened to be speaking to his widow Avril last night who was with her in laws in the Heathmount. Oops... I'm only now noticing that if you scroll down you get all the names! :029:

I was surprised to see the photo was as early as 76-77. Others in there include Billy Urquhart, Ray MacKintosh, Alex Main, Tichy Clark(?), Billy Sanderson, Hamish Munro, Norman Miller, John Stewart, Charlie Gair, Hugh Grant, Rodwill Clyne, Gordy Fyfe. Unfortunately, of these Messrs Miller, Gair and Clyne are no longer with us.

I don't suppose "TheresNoEsInBlack" conceals an anonymous former Jaggie who is as a result in denial about who Tommy is!?

"The radio commentator" said Tokely set up Wyness.

Sportsound 810 medium wave - Commentary from John Barnes on Hamilton v Kilmarnock plus pre match, half time, full time updates etc from me at the Caledonian Stadium. Programme is on air at 7:15.

You mean, apart from events of the last couple of weeks, like the Caley stand (1950), the Clach stand (1988) and the Thistle stand (1995)?

I had the goal clip sitting nicely in my BBC local sports bulletin for this morning, but unfortunately we had a technical problem and the thing didn't get broadcast! It's a wonderful clip from Scott Davie but, to save anyone asking, I'm afraid, for copyright reasons, I don't have the authority to release it to anyone.

I was wondering exactly the same thing on Sat morning as I was wandering up Baron Taylor's St. (past a woman in a Hearts strip with a fag in each hand outside the Keg as it happens). When the merger battle was sorted, Thuistle also signed their Social Club over to CT and as I recollect the it was sold some years ago. I don't know who the present owners are but as far as I could see the place is not currently in use. However Caley Thistle bearing the cost of city centre premises seems a bit unlikely perhaps? Quite a good story from a news point of view, though, that Inverness fans go into a major national retailer in the city centre to be told they can only do Celtic strip numbers.

A local hoop confronted me today with the highly original one liner "5-0!" I looked at him querulously for a couple of seconds before, appearing to see the light, replying "I knew that sounded familiar. Bratislava - July 2005!"