Kingsmills

The board can be slated for a lot lately but not for trying to generate funds, which will be more needed than ever in the financially challenging environment of the Championship, by marketing the new kit and the sale of season tickets. I hope that both are met with a positive response from the fans. We all need to stick together and, if you are implying that there should be some sort of boycott then I have to disagree. That would only make things very much worse.

A nice idea in principle but I doubt very much whether more than a five figure sum would be raised in this way. Whilst we have a modest and very loyal fan base the wider Inverness community are hardly renowned for their enthusiasm for backing the club either financially or otherwise. Money is useful but it's not the answer. The answer is having an able manager and a united board room, dressing room and fan base. We have shown before what we can do on the limited income we can generate when that combination comes together and, although things look grim right now, I am sure that we will do again.

Despite how it ended, we have a very great deal to be thankful to Kenny Cameron and, before him, David Sutherland for. Prior to those with Tulloch connections taking the helm, the previous regime under Doug McGillvray had almost run us into oblivion. We were over two and a half million pounds in debt, the bank had pulled the plug and had it not been for our famous cup win at Parkhead and the money from the two subsequent TV games against the Dons we would have entered administration at the very best or, at worst, been liquidated. Instead, under first Sutherland and then Kenny, we became a debt free established top tier club no strangers to national cup finals and still the only team north of Aberdeen to win the major cup tournament in the country. Yes, mistakes were made this season and probably last and, no doubt, with the benefit of hindsight, he would have done things differently but for that wonderful, unforgettable afternoon at Hampden alone he deserves our thanks and good wishes. The immediate future might be a difficult one but were it not for David Sutherland and Kenny Cameron there might not have been a future at all.

Those implications ought to have been considered at the time the contract was negotiated and signed or, if for any reason it wasn't, surely must have been explored fully in January. The time has come to take action.

I doubt that any of the apples were bad and that they simply objected to RF's style of (mis)management. If you are blind to constructive criticism then you are not cut out for management no matter what your line of business. A competent manager also recognises when his position becomes untenable. Richie constantly claims to have the club and it's interests at heart. No doubt whatsoever that he once did but him continuing to cling onto the role in now in the interests of one person only.

If that is true, then, whilst it may cost us a substantial sum to be rid of RF. it will cost us far more. and not just in pure financial terms, to keep him.

Thanks due without doubt but a mixed bag. He steered the ship well and steadily in calm waters taking us to some exotic and exciting shores. Not such a good captain though once the seas got choppy and the first mate mutinied. when he promoted the cabin boy to first mate who then steered us onto the rocks. Nevertheless, I hope he enjoys his retirement I am sure he is as disappointed as any of us to be leaving at such a low ebb and on such a negative note after so many highs under his leadership. However, now the next captain can get on with repairing the hole in the hull and we can embark on the next leg of our glorious journey.

If the fan in question has the funds, as he clearly does, then there is no harm whatsoever in him devoting as much as he chooses to the club he supports. He is not putting the club at risk, he is not risking the funds of creditors. If that's how he opts to spend his money then good on him.

That is very harsh. Many in our current squad are more than good enough for the Championship and, better managed, coached and motivated, are very capable of challenging for promotion next season.

Actually, I suspect a great number of us would have loved the ability to be privileged to play football for a living, job security or not. They are very fortunate young men.

Of course we will be back in the Premiership. A question of when not if, I'm not convinced about your hope of more fans turning up though. We have flourished before on our modest but loyal core support and can and will do again.

My turn to agree with you and give you a green dot into the bargain. Even if we'd enjoyed our best season ever instead of possibly our worst, it was always a crass and inappropriate thing to have on an official club crest. I sincerely hope that whoever was responsible for that decision isn't the same person who is now responsible for the vital decisions which are likely to shape our medium term future.

It's not true to say that communication has been poor........it's been none existent !

I would like us to try our very best to hold onto Fisher. When given his chance, he demonstrated that he can perform and score in the Premiership. He looks to me like the sort of robust forward who could be very effective indeed at Championship level.

Could be an even more difficult Summer and season ahead if we stick with the one we've got.

There is unlikely to be fresh investment. That is a forlorn hope. What is needed, however, is a public recognition and acknowledgement that things have been badly handled over the last two years both on and off the pitch and a strategy for putting things back on an even keel so that we can regain our vital top tier status sooner rather than later. By the way, what is the point in having a media team who despite being 'volunteers' cost the club a fair sum, when all they do is spin positive news and when there is absolutely nothing positive to spin go completely silent ?

I agree with Mantis. Darren Dods now has managerial experience, his team has been successful on limited resources and, by all accounts, play entertaining and exciting football. He knows the club, he knows the area, he would be affordable. Surely a better relatively low cost option than sticking with the failed low cost option already in place.

Hearts had the income from average home crowds in excess of 14,000 in the Championship, a competent manager at the time and a shrewd and supportive chair in the form of Anne Budge. We have none of that. What we need to rely on is our traditional Caley Thistle spirit that guided us up through the divisions in the first place. Unfortunately that seemed to go at the start of last season and has been utterly absent this. There is no reason it can't be restored but, in my view, to do so, we need both a new manager and a new chairman heading a freshened up board of directors.

I would have had a great deal more respect for RF had he admitted that our terrible and ultimately disastrous season was as a result of his naïve and inexperienced managerial mistakes but that lessons have been learned and that mistakes, oft repeated this season, will be eliminated next. However, instead, he ducked responsibility and tried to scapegoat players that he did not even have the guts to name. That demonstrates to me that not only does he not have the ability and experience to manage he doesn't have the character which is worse. Ability can be learned and experience gained. However, character and decency of treatment cannot. If Foran had accepted his very large share of responsibility I might have had sympathy for the notion of giving him until Christmas to show whether lessons have been learned. However, these post match comments have convinced me once and for all that he can never be the man for the job. One thing we will need in abundance next saeason is a positive team spirit and sense of togetherness. No manager with the attitude Richie demonstrated yet again and more starkly than ever in his final post match interview of the season is ever going to be capable of providing that unity. Other very good Championship teams are already preparing for next season. We need to be having a management cull this week to be ever to give the new man, whoever he may be, the maximum amount of time to do the same.

Three more huge efforts like last night and maybe, just maybe, we can pull this off.

I think on this occasion we can safely ignore all the stats except the one that matters. We scored two goals, they scored none. We have three points and with it still have hope.

I fell in love with the cup two years ago, right now I'd just love to stay in the Premiership.

I'm in London

He has had an appalling season but Richie deserves a great deal of credit for that. If, and it's still a very big if indeed, he keeps us up, he probably deserves to be given until Christmas to try to get to grips with learning to be a manager.

We have no control over what happens at New Douglas Park on Saturday but we can control what happens at Inverness. We need every advantage we can muster including a huge home crowd. The board haven't done much to help this season but one thing they can now do is reduce entry to a fiver for adults and free entry for concessions to make sure that the home stands are packed. Will cost us about thirty grand but that pales into insignificance compared to the over a million pounds we will lose every single season we are out of the Premiership.