Kingsmills

Surely not Fallon.

Well done to CJT for getting a bit of justice for the fans. Maybe, just maybe the blazers will think twice next time.

Our recent managerial appointment means that Europe is probably beyond us. Our good start to the season means that relegation is not an issue. Maybe the second half of this season is precisely the time to blood youngsters as cover for injury and suspension.

I think he will be a good signing for them. It is a very strong attacking line up United have and I would not be surprised to see them end the season as runners up. Will almost certainly be between them and Aberdeen.

Good chance we will see him at the TCS on Sunday. Unfortunately, not for us.

I agree with that. The boy looks a great prospect when played out wide.

I think we have all seen enough now to be able to conclude that Danny Williams is not a central midfielder.

Nah. Gary may have been an option in the past but he's over the hill now.

Nowhere.

I agree, Hearts will be dangerous opposition, by the time this tie comes round it will be all they have to play for.

Whilst the semi final cash is pooled between the four teams involved, I don't believe the two losing semi finalists benefit from the final itself.

There's a difference between being positive and being arrogant. Did we not just lose to the team that had gathered fewer points than Hearts? I hope the players at least go out showing the opposition more respect than you. and that was at home not in the 'weak' opponents back yard.

Easy. There are sponsors falling over themselves to provide one.

To establish a training facility would cost ten times that.

Easter Road would probably do for an ICT St Johnstone final. Any other combination would need either Ibrox or Celtic Park

Would prefer someone with a good deal more experience than either of them.

There's no doubt at all that the vast majority of fans would have been more patient with Hartley but simply because he would have been a much more popular appointment in the first place. Like it or not, fair or not, JH is battling a wave of initial cynicism and there is only one way to win over these cynics. Sadly, so far, things are not moving in that direction.

Getting a bit ahead of ourselves but I believe that the sponsorship figure is down a bit from that but that the TV figure is a bit more so roughly £200,000 from these sources. With even a little bit of astute marketing, the club ought to make another £20,000 or so from one off merchandising. As Caley D says, roughly a third of the gate after VAT. That figure would vary a great deal depending on whether the opponents were Aberdeen or St Johnstone, the former would take at least 10,000 more fans. My, very rough, guess is that a final against the Dons would generate something in the region of £440,000 and against the Perth Saints something like £370,000. In addition, there might be a bit of ongoing benefit for at least a season in increased commercial income but that is likely to be a relatively modest sum falling well short of six figures. You would need to net off from the gross figure the costs associated with preparing for the final including a hotel stay and fairly significant bonuses quite rightly paid for such an achievement which I suspect would be not far short of £100,000 in total.

Would you stop going because of a name change ? I doubt it. Plenty did stop going because of the MERGER, and the identity crisis many - like yourself - hold onto keeps those wounds well and truly open. I had a colleague, a Thistle fan of over 30yrs, "I aint supporting a team with the word Caledonian in it", he said, and who to this day watches Clach instead. Want more people thru the gates imho you're going to have to eliminate the barriers that restrict that desire, and your identity is one big barrier. Many years ago, John Boyle proposed a merger between Motherwell, Accies and Airdrie. Had he called it MotherwellOniansAcademical and played in claret/amber/red/white no one would have entertained it. Had he called it Buckfast Utd and played in Blue n Yellow for example ...... it just may have stood a chance. How do you know 'plenty did stop going because of the merger' ? By the end of our Highland League days the combined hard core of Thistle and Caley fans was circa 500 and while a number of those shunned the merged club, the vast majority followed ICT. Whatever the reason for our somewhat disappointing crowds it's not the name which has a unique stamp compared to the ubiquitous City or United and reflects over 250 years of combined heritage nor is it the fact that a handful of bitter and vocal anti merger brigade stay away and shout loudly about doing so. For goodness sake that was two decades ago and the initial 150 or so refuseniks are outnumbered ten to one by fans who if the think of Kingsmills or Telford Street at all, think of houses or a retail park,

Ditto

Seems to be a popular view among fans of his former clubs. Maybe his spell at ICT will turn out to be different.

You can't spend freely what you don't have.

Gosh Dougal, do you think there may be an issue regarding the merger ?

4 minutes and 32 seconds I am never going to get back. What's become of the confident flowing version of the song we were playing under Butcher ?

Best leave it be hind and stop fawning over the troll.