Charles Bannerman

Indeed Alex, but it's also a virtue not by any means universally practised within Scottish football! I would have to say that I have had one or two other very good experiences in the Social Club when fans of visiting clubs drop in for a beer etc. I really enjoy the opportunity to find out how things are on the other side of the fence. There were some really decent Jambos in last month - one of whom remembered a blether we'd had on their previous visit in September. I think that visiting fans in the Social Club is a great idea, especially since the ones you wouldn't want probably wouldn't come so there's almost an automatic safety net built in there. Apart from filling Westie's coffers, it also promotes good relations between the supports which, as Alex said, is what it's all about.

Ian Broadfoot, who has acted as club statistician and historian more or less since ICT was founded, has announced that he is standing down. Ian moved from Inverness to Perth a few years ago which made this demanding job no easier. Those on his mailing list - and I believe that also includes some of the Mods on CTOL - will be more than aware of the incredible detail and scrupulous accuracy of the statistics he has issued after every game. One of his specialities was the identification of "milestone" appearances etc. For instance, without his input, Terry and Maurice's 100th earlier this season would have gone completely unnoticed but this actually made a big media splash both locally and nationally. Ian has done a great service to Caley Thistle and on a personal level I relied considerably on his match reports from the first two seasons whilst writing Against All Odds, which he also proof read for me. I was able to return the favour for the manuscript of Going Ballistic when Ian recorded the first decade a few years later. Make no mistake, Ian's contributions will be greatly missed and he will be a very hard act to to follow. His knowledge was encyclopaedic, whatever your statistical query. On that subject, my last query to him was just last night when I wanted to find out about winning home runs in the SPL. (And by the way Ian's final response to me was that the longest run of straight home SPL wins was FIVE between 24.11.07. and 5.1.08. which would have been during Craig Brewster's second spell in charge.) Caley Thistle owes Ian a great debt.

Well there's a thoroughly decent fellow who gives Scottish football a good name! And I have to say there were a good few more Hibees of the same ilk on the bus which decanted itself into the Social Club (and overwhelmed the catering staff!!) before the match. It really is such a refreshing thing, especially at the end of the kind of season Scottish football has just had, to see fans from visiting teams mixing in with the home supporters in such a civilised way.

In 06/07 we won consecutive home games against Rangers, St. Mirren and Hibs. Thanks Stan. So that's 06/07 - Rangers, St. Mirren, Hibs under Charlie and 10/11 - Celtic, St Mirren, Hibs under Terry Butcher. The only difference is the OF club involved - and the corresponding "previous history" of the manager!

Liam Polworth - born October 1994 and hence the first player to take the field for Caley Thistle who was born AFTER the club was founded. Yngwie asked when the last time there were three consecutive home wins? I don't have my 2009-10 statrs handy but did it happen in the run towards the First Division title. Better still - can anyone tell me when was the last time Caley Thistle won three at home in the SPL? Has that ever happened?

Yes, well although Graeme has been back there teaching for a few years now, there is still plenty to argue about - given his personal preference! I'm also interested to see that Manfer was school 400m record holder in the first metric year - which was 1969. I jumped in almost as early on the act since the following year - 1970 - I was fortunate enough to set the North schools record at Invergordon over the same distance. Fortunately it lasted for a few years so it gained a bit of credibility as time went by.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favourite things Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings These are a few of my favourite things Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes Silver white winters that melt into springs These are a few of my favourite things

If you can groundshare in the Champions League, you can groundshare in the MacAllan League. There already is a perfectly adequate cricket pitch at Fraser Park and Counties should be sharing with Highland there. It's not realistic for Inverness to have two areas, one of them a major asset, tied up by the very restrictive requirements of the ultimate minority sport of cricket. Things move on and the situation is such that an increasingly vital and major asset like the Northern Meeting Park can't simply be frozen as a cricket venue while other much bigger users go wanting or have their use reduced by what are extremely restrictive requirements of this sport. Northern Counties may well have been at the Meeting Park for a long time but, taking all the circumstances into account, that doesn't mean that they should have effective control of this valuable publicly owned asset for all time.

Yes, you are quite correct, that is what you did hear on Radio Scotland - or at least the local Highlands and Islands news bulletin. But that will be it from me since I have now passed this story on to colleagues because it heavily involves the Council - my "day job" employers, so I don't cover Council stories. Not being involved in the story does, however, allow me to comment on it here. It's my understanding that on Wednesday of last week, someone from the Scottish Junior FA travelled North to meet with representatives of the Council and Inverness City to examine at first hand the proposed location for City at the Bught. However it seems that the project is not as far advanced as the SJFA had either understood or expected. So when they then met on Sunday, they decided not to allow City to be promoted to the Superleague, which has certain ground criteria. "ictewd" says above that City are due to play at the TCS on Saturday. What I have heard here is that this was the plan, but that the SJFA knocked this back because the TCS, despite having met the criteria of the SPL no less!, was not registered with them as a ground. Now IF this is the case, all I can do is to drop a into this post and simply ask how far up themselves the SJFA actually are? It would also need to raise the question of how much of a Jobsworth culture is alive and well within the SJFA. SMEE mentions the Meeting Park but here I understand that much of City's interest has switched to the Bught which they presumably regarded (until last week perhaps) as a more reliable bet than the Meeting Park where the cricketers seem to be totally entrenched. The main problem is that the cricket season, plus the long period they seem to need to get the place ready for it, significantly impinges on the football season. I had my say on that one in the Highland News a few weeks ago in response to the latest girn from a cricketer - this time to the Simple Minds concert going to the Meeting Park. It seems that what has to be just about the most anonymous and poorly subscribed sport in Inverness has an incredibly strong hold on what is a major venue near the city centre and seems to have a huge amount of sway as to what happens and doesn't get to happen there. I'd also like to know how much rent the cricket club pay for their use of the park and the extent to which they also deny that use to others.

From Luxembourg?

Just to say that commentary from Paul Mitchell will be on 810 medium wave as well as 92-95FM in the Highlands and Islands. This means that it can be got on MW on your "tranny" throughout the country (and a bit beyond given the reach of medium wave). There's also Open All Mics with Charlie Mann on 103.5-105FM and the TV Results Programme is on air from the earlier time of 4pm this afternoon.

C'mon Manfer. Let's get a bit of Highland solidarity going against the Central Belt hordes! The SFL made TWO excellent choices in 1994. They have BOTH done the Highlands credit ever since, remembering the sterling efforts of the rest of Scotland for decades (Ferranti etc) to keep our entire area out of national football. So whom do you prefer - Ross County or Ferranti?

This must be the shortest matchday thread ever!! Can I just take this opportunity to express my delight that Ross County will now survive in the First Division this season after their stoppage time winner at Falkirk (short of an inconceivable 11 goal defeat by Cowdenbeath next Saturday)? A Highland team in the SPL and one in the First Division is a major asset to the game in this area. (I am prepared to accept a mixed response to this sentiment on this forum! :biggrin:)

That is also very much the way the story grabs me. From readng the HN, it looks to me as if Caley Thistle made their travel arrangements and as early as February 25th also came to what they thought was an agreement with the organisers that the final, if they reached it, would be brought forward to allow them to catch their ferry. This seems an eminently sensible step rather than shell out extra time and money just in case they reached the final in a situation where they had no prior indication that they would actually be streets ahead of the other teams. However it then looks to me as if one member of the local organising committee has taken the hump at how much better the Inverness boys were than the rest of the teams and coerced his colleagues into reneging on their earlier commitment. I also share Alex's question about what really would be quite an extreme reaction on the part of Cairngorm, even if he DID have a diect axe to grind... which he apparently doesn't even have.

You mean you're believing the Daily Mail?

I think the party with which Ms Middleton is to become involved has a very long reputation for being "free scoring". On the other hand they do pay their dues to HMRC!!

Is that not one and the same thing? :biggrin: Know what you mean, though. Slitty eyes and all that! That could be quite hilarious given that the old fossil is 90 and probably gives even less of a toss what he says nowadays. What was it he said about driving instructors in Oban... he was surprised they could stay sober enough.

Does anyone remember an episode of The Likely Lads where Bob and Terry go to the ends of the earth not to find out the result of an England game until they get to see the TV highlights? The different dodges to keep away from a telly and from everything that was happening at the venue were amazing and hilarious. Now, fortunately I have to work on Friday (yes you DID hear correctly!)but I have been sparing a thought for others who may not be as well placed to avoid the nonsense at the Abbey... which reminded me of that Likely Lads episode. I don't know about others on here, but I am already sick to the teeth with stuff in the media about this massive, publicly funded beano for the purpose of introducing yet another freeloader on to the Civil List. So does anyone have any suggestions to offer to other potential sufferers as to how to avoid all the fuss surrounding the Royal Wedding on Friday? And come to think of it, Bob and Terry's England game, after all their frantic efforts, was postponed in the end due to a waterlogged pitch. So at the end of a season which has seen football matches put off for reasons as diverse as non existent snow problems on the A9, allegedly poor underfoot conditions round about stadia and floodlight failure in addition to your regular flooded pitches.... Who can come up with the best excuse to POSTPONE the Royal Wedding? I'll set the ball rolling by suggesting avoiding it by working for Highland Council who have taken the very wise decision not to waste scarce public money by shutting down for the day. And perhaps a really good reason for postponing it would be if the Best Man's Nazi uniform didn't arrive in time. Any other suggestions?

George also did a good interview with Jim Spence at half time at Perth, effectively welcoming the DU development.

To be fair, I suspect buckett is talking about getting in free LEGITIMATELY. :biggrin:

Well I do!!! We used to come down Balnacraig Road before it was metalled and certainly before it was blocked off for old folks' houses and "jupe" over the back gate on the left side of the Howden End to save the ninepence to get in. All the Dalneigh boys used to do it. I still have great crack with Mike Shewan about these days in the early - mid 60s. Better still, you could then pick up a couple of bobs' worth of MacKintosh's lemonade empties about the place which you could trade in at the shop and get enough to get you some Smiths crisps with the blue salt packs in and Cow Toffee as well as pay you into the front stalls at the Playhouse the following Saturday when Caley were away. And come to think of it... the Cream Eggs you used to get for a tanner WERE a whole lot bigger than the ones you get for ten bob today!

Wandering through the supermarket the other day, I noticed that a Cadbury's Cream Egg now costs ten shillings! Funny how if you say it that way, you instantly apply pre 1971 price values and the £sd equivalent of 50p seems a lot of money. But it's now 10 bob for a Cream Egg which you could get in Christison's shop in Dalneigh when they first came out for sixpence. Mind you, these were the days when a kid could get into the Caley Park for 9d. Applying a Cream Egg inflation factor of x20, it's difficult to see anyone getting into the TCS.... or even a Highland League ground.... for 15 shillings or 75p!

I wasn't that aware England had a heart. :biggrin:

I think Donald's caution is realistic even if it is not what most Caley Thistle fans would ideally like to hear. Inverness Caledonian Thistle worked wonders to reach the SPL just ten years on from what was a very messy creation. Ever since, survival in that 12 team league has been something which has had to be worked hard for and which has by no means been guaranteed (look no further back than May 2009). In 2010, a combination of a great run of persistence, belief and results, combined with Dundee's attempt to buy their way back up suddenly running out of bottle achieved an immediate and in some ways unexpected return to the SPL after the 2009 relegation. Had that not happened, against the odds, the financial consequences might have something which ICT fans now only wake up in the night screaming about. Given Caley Thistle's marginal financial position and limited fan base, they are one of a fistful of clubs which can never feel 100% long term confident about avoiding relegation - irrespective of the skill of the management team and the commitment of the players. So even with the best will in the world - maybe even in another season where 37 points is not enough to secure safety - relegation could happen again, accompanied by another £1.5M budget cut. If that did come to pass, what chance would there be of another single season dash back to the SPL coming to pass? And if that dash DIDN'T happen, what would the financial outlook be for the second and subsequent years post relegation? What's the longer term prognosis in such an eventuality? Then the clinching question - how much more likely is the scenario which I have described should the SPL shrink to ten teams rather than expand to 14 or 16?

Go on Mantis... play truant... it's exam time!!!