Charles Bannerman

A lot of sense has been spoken on this thread. It begins with the overwhelming outcome of the poll (just take a look), it moves on to yngwie's robust questioning of the validity of the original question and continues with MUCH of what has been said in the last eight or so posts - of which I quote, as highlights, the above and this from yngwie... But did you have the foresight to see that the merger would never have been approved by members if the club names were killed off? (Sorry, I don't know how to do these multiple quote thingies.) It is absolutely correct to say that the merger would have suffered instant death had the original club names disappeared. Those who were present at the First Battle of Rose Street (for the benefit of the younger generation this was one of three highly contentious Caley merger meetings at the Rose Street Hall and took place on 1.12.93.) may remember that the Caley Rebels, even before they left the hall, were adopting a fallback position of what eventually became the name. Although there was still a further year of grief, the adoption of "Caledonian Thistle" played a major, major part in securing the agreement which eventually was made. Similarly on the Thistle side, the name gave them at least something which they felt they had held on to in what had to be an unequal merger, given the disparity between its two components. (Another feature of that is the frequency with which the club is referred to simply as "Caley" which - despite my Dalneigh roots - I regret, but this is to some extent inevitable.) In "Against all Odds", I quote the average combined attendance at Kingsmills and Telford Street at around 600 and have seen no evidence in the intervening years to contradict that. There were, for instance, 4800 at Saturday's St Johnstone game. Almost two decades on, it's therefore difficult to conceive of how thin Jags and Caley attendances were back in the early-mid 90s. Perhaps think "Clach - plus" (but not TOO big a "plus") I could even be generous and concede that the "stayaways" ran to a bit more than 12th Man's 5% estimate, but even then they are still a drop in the ocean compared with even the modest attendances of the day - never mind current attendance levels. And that's before you start questioning how many of these guys who keep materialising in pubs to tell you how much they are missed were frequent visitors to games in any case. Buenos Hornell.... are you still out there? :biggrin: Here's another way of looking at it. At none of the Battles of Rose Street did the Rebels - despite scouring the highways and byways just as thoroughly as the Establishment did - ever muster more than about 250 votes against the merger. We also know quite well that a great number of them subsequently came on board and have been supporting the club for years. So how many refuseniks does that leave? And 16 years on, how many of even these are still in Inverness, still alive and still refusing to go to games? You can also ask the same question of the Thistle fans where the numbers of dissidents were even smaller both in percentage and absolute terms. The crucial, central feature of the 1994 merger was the inequality of its two components and a solution had to be found which reflected that, whilst still convincing the Caley and Thistle support that it was neither respectively selling them short nor constituting a takeover. That was eventually achieved - by the skin of the club's teeth - and an integral part of that was the club name which then had the "Inverness" extension added in 1995 partly at the Council's request to reflect the Stadium land deal. "Inverness Caledonian Thistle" therefore not only reflects 125 years of football history in this city but also the fact that so many odds were overcome to put together a club which, within a decade of its formation, brought SPL status and a great deal more to this city. I make the final statement of this post with a degree of mixed feelings since I am reluctant even to dignify the original question with an answer but.... if it ain't broke - don't suggest trying to fix it.

Unfortunate, but as long as these old dinosaurs didn't manage to persuade you that their view was ever a significant problem after the legalities got sorted out in 1995, no harm will have been done, so just continue to enjoy supporting SPL football in Inverness. (And hopefully we can avoid yet another round of discussion here on the old myth which keeps resurfacing on this forum.)

Strangely enough, in random conversation in the Social Club tonight about the kind of factors which affect and in reality DON'T affect a football club, I quoted the instance of David Bingham leaving "to be nearer his family" (at Gretna - who?) prompting an outbreak of "we're a' doomed!"

A very good read if I may venture an opinion.

As long ago as that! It's strange how time passes since it feels as if it was more recently and it also feels as if Daisy was at ICT for longer than the three years which Caley D has revealed that it was. It's interesting, though, that Daisy is another of these players that the fans simply don't have a bad word for - and very rightly so!

I'm sure Daisy's debut would have been the first game of that season (95-96) as he signed in the summer, if memory serves (I was only 10 at the time). Mabawswa... thanks for that suggestion which I have been able to check up and confirm from Ian Broadfoot's season by season summary on the official site. Tokelyisvictorious is quite right when he says that there is very limited information on the internet. When I tried to google "Daisy Ross" all I got was a few references to people genuinely called that... and several links to this thread! And a variety of "David Rosses" are there in numbers. As a result I can't find out when Daisy left ICT to go to Ross County despite a certain amount of (but by no means exhaustive) trawling through Ian's summaries. I could guess that it might have been about 1999 or 2000?

Are you sure that was Daisy's ICT debut DJS? It was certainly Mike Teasdale's debut that day and Brian Thomson's also and they both went straight into the team. I have no recollection about it being Daisy's debut but you may well be right.

And, given that Daisy left ICT within the last decade or thereby, your definition of "elderly" would be...? :biggrin:

I think I get the picture. Now the place has been open for three weeks, people have clearly cottoned on to how bad it is and are voting with their feet.

For my money, Daisy's finest hour was in the 1995 Inverness Cup Final against Ross County at Grant Street (2500 crowd in Grant Street!!!!) when he charged down the left wing again and again (only 12th Man seems to have mentioned the legendary "head down"!)creating havoc in the County defence. Iain Stewart got Man of the Match for a hat trick in a 5-2 ICT victory but many felt it was Daisy's game. Daisy's family own a fish business in Kinlochbervie but I don't know if that extends to Rollers. The Apocryphal tale was that he used to come to and from Inverness in a fish lorry. I remember one pulled into the layby on the A9 beside the stadium one night during extra time and some wag shouted "taxi for Ross". Daisy also made a big impact when he went to Clach and indeed - "gentleman" does not begin to describe. PS - I also have to empathise with Caley100's comment on the generation gap on this forum in his reference to the original question..."does anyone remember Daisy Ross?" :biggrin:

Ach righ'eenuffmun yer see'een it an' it's great crackanall!

Correct! The second that night (9.8.94.) was an own goal and the first (three) goal(s) in the league the following Saturday (13.8.94.) came from Herchie with his hat trick in 19 ninutes in a 5-2 home win over Arbroath.

And would you also pay for the necessary road infrastructure to get the traffic in and out of one of Inverness's most horrendous bottlenecks? Another £40M possibly? The current road network in that area of town struggles to cope with Highland Council HQ and the Aquadome being in that part of town. Getting 3500 to 7500 people away from there is a completely different ball game again.

I was standing right beside Bobby that night when that Barry goal went in. Bobby was on his feet! This is an absolutiely great thread! And how many clubs a mere 16 years old could boast such a wide variety of choice? I certainly had to think long and hard in order to make mine and might indeed change my mind a few times over the next few days. Maybe, given the embarrassment of riches, someone should start a new thread inviting "Top 10s"!

OK... if you want "exactly what it says on the tin".... the 2 all draw with St. Johnstone at Telford Street in February 1992. However if Caley Thistle games are allowed to be included, it would for me be a dead heat between two 4-3 scorelines - the already referred to defeat at Livingston in the Second Division and a 4-3 victory against Ayr United in Inverness, coming from 3-0 down.

Snow... Cobbs is definitely worth a visit and it's not worth rushing back to the new Tesco shop! At Cobbs, the roll you get your 3 rashers on is HUGE and the bacon is lovely, fresh, hot and brought to your table. Breakfast consists of two rashers of bacon, two Lorne sausages, egg, black pudding, beans and toast - all freshly made. (This is making me salivate!) Wide range of papers to read as well. I think a lot of people have got used to Morrisons now and certainly wouldn't be overwhelmed if they went back to Tescos. The beginning of the end for the old Tesco cafe for me was when I used to arrive around 530-540 for a quick tea after ICT home games and found the cafe - due to be open until 6 - already closed. After that it went further and further downhill and the new one is just as big a pantomime.

... you should try the "upgraded" cafe at the refurbished Tesco Inshes shop! Now the old cafe was a bit of a pantomime but, if it was open and if the equipment was working, at least you could get a paper to read with your "food" although I have now done my shopping in Morrisons for the last couple of years because the old shop and cafe were so bad. At brand new Inshes Tesco Extra I expected a lot better but my baptism of fire on the opening day was a lengthy queue, snail like service and a guy who seemed to expect me to accept the fragments of blackened greasy mess which he scraped on to my roll as "bacon". The sausage I took instead was hard enough to break a tooth on while the egg simply "bounced". No papers any more either. A couple of days later it got worse (well maybe better because I didn't have to eat anything there) when I was greeted by a notice to say that the cafe was closed due to "technical problems". A Tescoperson told me that the till had broken down! (After 3 days.) And in the main shop they didn't have two of the four items of "convenience shopping" I was after (including a pint of semi skimmed milk). As a result I am away back to Cobbs Cafe at HIS down the Longman where you get a freshly cooked breakfast, toast and coffee for £3.95 or a three rasher bacon roll and coffee for £1.95.... and free papers. Unfortunately it's a bit too far away if I am in a hurry which is where Tesco used to be a lot handier... but it's a disaster. The Tesco cafe is franchised out to some other company, but that's no excuse. Tesco are ultimately responsible for what goes on in their shop and this is really just another example of the complete disrespect they have for the people not just of Inverness. So as you queue at the TCS servery and you're not happy... think of Tesco Inshes!

The stewards in St. Peter's Square are actually pretty pernickety and would certainly fall out with Section G quite quickly. I was there (St P's - not Section G)in July and after you queue up to go through the metal detectors on your way into St. Peter's Basilica you then have to get past not one but TWO sets of "stewards" checking that you are dressed appropriately. They DO NOT like bare legs and bare arms and even if you have been queueing up for half an hour, you get bounced for showing excess flesh. Burkhas, therefore, are absolutely fine. On which subject (and I apologise if I have already told this on another thread)I was quite bemused to see two women in Burkha like garb in St P's itself... playing Peekaboo in a Confessional Box! All the "steward" did this time was to ask them to stop whereas I couldn't help thinking that an equivalent incident in Mecca would have sparked all manner of Fatwahs, Jihads and evocations of Death on the Infidels, with severed hands and ears flying all over the place.

This certainly sounds like a bit of overkill on the part of the SFA. Perhaps this is motivated by a genuine desire to shield young players from excessive competitive pressures and you can actually appreciate that when it's relevant, but this surely is a hefty overdose of Political Correctness which would even put Harriet Harman in the shade. If the above is the case, then I think the SFA need to waken up, smell the coffee and come to terms with the real world. It is a competitive place and while you can indeed over pressurise a situation I think that they have called this one seriously wrong. For instance, these very same under 17s will be studying for Highers, Standard Grades etc and will get results which inevitably will be compared with their peers. 30 odd years in my day job and in coaching athletics to a reasonably high level tells me that this kind of thing motivates youngsters. And what's the motivation on the field if league tables are banned and you can't even get the warm glow of satisfaction of seeing your result on your own club website? How prepared then are young Scottish players at last to emerge into the real world of competitive football - where we don't really seem to be producing much?! Alex also makes a very valid point about parents - not by any means all of them, but you do see the overcharged few going blue in the face with bulging veins in their foreheads. Oh, and at last to get to what should have been my first point. That was a very decent match report young man! I am sure that more of the same will be very welcome. Here's hoping the SFA Thought Police don't track down your URL and close you down though! :annoyed:

0-0 would have done them! It was an historic day for Newtonmore since this is their first league title in 25 years and their first ever in the Premier League since their 1985 triumph was back in the days of the MacGillivray North League. I think it's also good for the game to have three different teams winning the three national honours, the Premier League, the Camanachd Cup and the MacAulay Cup although Kingussie did do the double with the MacTavish as well as the MacAulay. All that really remains now is Premier League relegation since Bute missed out on their chance of guaranteed survival yesterday when they lost 2-1 at Inveraray so whoever loses between Bute and Oban Camanachd in Rothesay this Saturday will go down although Bute can afford a draw. And what a day for George Fraser! A massive 2-0 win for Caley Thistle and the shinty team of which he is a legend also do the business in the Premier League. George has admitted that Newtonmore's last league success was sooooo long ago that he actually played that season!

WOW!!! This is the first time I've really looked into this part of the site. People suddenly seem to speak a whole new language in here. But if it's of any use to Dalneigh Caley, I can't say I've had any of these problems on my Spectrum or my BBC.

... which by Pele's normal way of working is a flying start!!! Great to see him settling in so well at Christie Park. And there can't be too many managers who remain legends with a club's fans eight years after they left!

Too close to call I think. I've seen both teams defeating Kingussie this month and both were very impressive. Newtonmore got off to a whirlwind start in the Bedenoch Derby which they won 6-0 while the Fort looked equally impressive in the Camanachd Cup Final. One vital factor may be that Fort William have to win the game while a draw will do Newtonmore who are, incredibly, looking for their first league title in 25 years (Kingussie having won all but one of the intervening honours since More's Grand Slam in 1985.) They're already calling it "Shinty Super Saturday" with at least two and maybe four title or relegation issues up for decision. In Lochaber the game plan is for Kilmallie to play Caberfeidh at 1pm with Kilmallie needing a point to clinch the North Division 1 title. Then a very short trip to An Aird Fort William for 3:30 will find the Fort playing Newtonmore for the Premier League. But it doesn't stop there. Bute also play Inveraray at The Winterton and a Bute victory (but in practice a point) would not only relegate Oban Camanachd from the Premier League but also put Camanachd's reserves Lochside Rovers down to South Division 2 to make room for their own first team in Division 1. Had I not been detailed for ICT v Aberdeen, I would have been strongly tempted down the A82 on Saturday.

In the event of hypomania, has the compound "Lithium ICTathome" not been proven to be a potent antidote? Would prefer and personally recommend Inebriated Comatose Therapy maself. Suppose it's better than ECT!!!

In the event of hypomania, has the compound "Lithium ICTathome" not been proven to be a potent antidote?