Kingsmills

Says the man too modest to mention who won the NPL

The negative; that we no longer have a chance of promotion but we knew that, in our heart of hearts, at five to five last Saturday. The positives; despite our poor financial position and despite what the scaremongers and agitators are trying to imply, we are not entering administration any time soon. We have a manager who was clearly rusty after more than a decade away from the game but who now seems to have rediscovered his mojo. We have a squad of players who, after disastrous start to the season and a mediocre middle, have now gelled and have built up considerable confidence and momentum to carry into next season We have, at last, not just one but two forwards capable of scoring with a third young striker full of potential waiting in the wings. We also have the advantage of, as early as April, knowing exactly where we will be next season and with what budget so have months to prepare accordingly and, by the looks of things, already are. All in all much to look forward to and feel positive about next season, including the increasing likelihood of derby matches. I, for one, can hardly wait.

That is a shame. I appreciate it's an amateur league and some distance to travel but, unless there is some unforeeable emergency, no team who are unable to fulfil their fixtures have any place at national level.

Good news. It took a while but congratulations on getting things back on track although I suspect that you will need your tin hats and flak jackets on for the meeting. Be prepared for, probably merited criticism. To those likely to be doing the criticising please focus on the facts and the future rather than dwelling on the errors and personality clashes of the past. An opportunity to make progress for the benefit of all.

Time to stop this baseless scaremongering and concentrate on preparing for a real promotion push next season. It won't be easy on a further reduced budget but that is inevitable with the halving of the parachute payment. We have the basis of a coherent squad, we have confidence and momentum from the last eight games of this season and we have a full pre season without the upheaval of last year to prepare. The one thing we are missing is unity with many bearing grievances for various reasons. TogetherNess has served us well in the past. We need to put those divisions aside and for everyone interested in the club to get fully behind it with a view to bringing top flight football back to the Longman the season after next.

"Snidey wee negative". Talk about pots and kettles.

Agreed. That has to be the way to go rather than signing thirty year old journeymen who may be committed enough but never likely to rise above the mediocrity that's marked their careers to date.

You can disagree with content without resorting to personal abuse. Any more and you will be barred from posting on this thread at the very least.

We could well win the last match handily but what's important now is for Dumbarton to win in Fife, handily or otherwise. Oddly, because it's now out of our hands, there will be more pressure on Dunfermline that on us, especially as they are at home. Pressure can do strange things even to in form teams.

No matter how dire our situation, I sincerely hope that, as a family club, we don't stoop so low as to sign a player who has been judicially determined to be a rapist. If we did, I and my family, would not attend any games whilst he was on the books.

We will probably lose out to the Pars but, considering where we well just a month ago, we have done incredibly well to take our push for a play off place to the very last day. If we can somehow keep the bulk of this squad together we can make a real push for the title next season.

Scaremongering on this forum and elsewhere is unlikely to help in that regard.

That is very true but when John Robertson first secured promotion to the SPL a decade and a half ago, he did so with a squad of players, largely recruited by Steve Paterson, who, even taking into account the effects of inflation, were paid less than the average is likely to be next season. Those were a group of players who were largely journeymen but were a great blend with fantastic team spirit. We have been promoted before on very limited resources and there is no reason why we can’t be again but recruitment and retention of the right players with the right attitude and level of ambition is key.

Unlikely, I would have thought, that a club about to announce that it's going into administration would be signing new players. On that basis, doubly good news. A young lad with potential which is the way we have to go for now. Strongly suspect that this indicates that we will be losing Vigurs, Doran or both.

Painting it at all would be a start.

It seems to me that the individuals with commercial nous, significant capital and an interest in the club are David Sutherland and Alan Savage. Unfortunately and probably largely due to a clash of egos, they were unable or unwilling to work together in the past. Whilst I appreciate it is unlikely to happen, it would be ideal if they could put aside those past differences and work together for the sake of the club that seems important to them both at this time of impending crisis.

There is no doubt whatsoever that, even with the savings that have been made, we are running at a loss that is unsustainable probably in the medium term, let alone the longer term. However, is that the fault of the current board or the previous regime who saw fit to trust JH with a new contract that made him the highest paid manager in our history with, by a margin, the highest player budget and then, after sacking him but still paying him that substantial six figure salary, appointing a completely unproven and inexperienced manager on a five year contract and then failing to take decisive action when it was increasingly obvious he was out of his depth ? The current board and manager have made mistakes but took over amid utter chaos. The ship has been steadied on the pitch,. It would not be surprising, however,m if the deeper financial waters remained much more turbulent.

If there is something significant to say then, for goodness sake, whether it's good or bad, just say it. This speculation simply fuels unrest and unsettles everyone from the dressing room to the stands. If there is nothing of significance to be said them please day that too and quell these rumours. One way or another, this needs to be brought to a head.

Yip, Robbo is leaving and Craig Brewster is coming back for a third spell !

To be fair, maybe he meant to say a good performance which, by and large, it was. Some people may not be the best with the written word.

As far as points 2 and 3 are concerned, you must be listening to a very different drum beat to the rest of us.

That late late goal was a crushing blow and, although it's still arethmetically possible for us to make the play offs, realistically, we are consigned to another year in the Championship. However, the results and, more particularly, the commitment and performances in the last few weeks, lead me to look forward to next season with much more enthusiasm and confidence than would have been the case a month ago. If we can keep this squad together and start next season as we are finishing this, then Premiership football back in Inverness in season 2019-20 is a very distinct possibility. After today's results, another distinct possibility is the opportunity to beat Ross County four times next season on the way to the Championship title. Hugely disappointed in the points being stolen from us today but immensely proud to be an ICT fan. We may not now be promoted but we have at last reversed years of steady decline.

Biggest game of the season so far. Much more important than the Challenge Cup final. Time to make a noise even in the Main Stand and cheer the team to victory. A scrappy 1-0 will do just fine.

Absolutely. Potentially another nine games left in the season.

Of course it's the result that is important. We would all settle for a scrappy one nil win in front of 1,800 but a win of any kind and a crowd of 4,000 would be an additional boost to the coffers and the confidence and provide the best atmosphere of the season so far.