Kingsmills

Think Bournemouth's financial problems are historical as they now seem to have a 'sugar daddy'.

If true, we are in no position to turn down a club record fee of half a million pounds.

The youngters on the forum want to learn who we are signing for next season, what the new away strip will look like and whether or not smoke bombs at derby matches are a wise idea.

I once found threads on this subject very interesting indeed and was keen to hear the views and opinions of ex Caley fans, ex Jaggies, folk new to Inverness, folk who took no or very little interest in football in the Highland League days and, indeed, those who were, at the time, too young to care or remember. Frankly, however, although I am guilty of still contributing myself, it must be a decade or so before anyone has said anything fresh or novel. The current merger thread may be at 400 posts but not a single one of them contain anything that has not been aired in any of the dozens of threads on the subject which have gone before. That said, it remains a topic of valid interest so could someone please give me a nudge and wake me up if anybody ever says something new on the subject.

Clearly too late for this year but can we try very hard next close season not to have yet another tedious endlessly repetitive merger 'debate' ?

Now look what you've done CB, awoken dormant Dougal !

Yes but he chose his victims well.

Increase in pay. Simple as that.

...and your 'non response' has given it a bit of oxygen....

The reason he signed for Hibs is they offered ore money than us but that's not unreasonable. Football is what he does for a living and he has no affiliation to ICT.

Although it may no longer be branded the SPL by then.

Flood, apparently, has an offer to re-sign for Dundee United and has also had an approach from Aberdeen both of whom will be able to comfortably outbid us.

Will you organise the double decker bus ?

Very true but it is a wee while since we have signed a Conference player with a kilt. Maybe this close season will be different.

Isn't that a shade racist? What is wrong with the bowels of the Scottish/Irish/Welsh League system.... or do you have no faith in the ability of Scottish/Irish/Welsh youth coaches to come across decent players that their own managements think are crap.....or are you just running with the fact that it looks rather as if Marsella only looks for players in English leagues so English players are the only option? I would love our club to be signing Scottish players but can hardly remember the last time we recruited from another Scottish club. Just being realistic in assuming we will be recruiting yet again from the Conference or League Two. I will be delighted if I am wrong.

I am delighted with the way contract negotiations have been handled this season with the vast bulk of the squad being retained. Most particularly, in my view we had four very promising young players who all would have been in demand elsewhere in both Shinnie brothers, Billy MacKay and Aaron Doran. The fact that we have secured three out of those four for at least the next two seasons is great credit to the players themselves and the management team for persuading them to stay. Unearth a couple more gems from the bowels of the English league system and we could be in for a very successful and entertaining couple of years ahead.

Agreed.

Very good news indeed. Young player with great promise who can only get better.

We have as much chance in the cups as ten of the other clubs in the SPL.

That Rooney fellow could be a good signing. Less sure about the Odhiambo chap and even less so about the Chippendale bloke.

Have a decent chance of winning the North of Scotland Cup if we can avoid Golspie in the early rounds.

What were the line ups ?

Does anybody know when your stray apostrophe will be released ? Also, I believe we will probably be having more than just the one.

Certainly seems fair and balanced to me.

(CUE THE HORLICKS MUSIC).... eeh lad... ah remember 't day when 15,000 Caley fans signed Buenos Hornell's petition against 't merger and 83% of nicked copies of 't Courier 'ad 't coupons filled in saying "nay lad"! Seriously, though, I think we now have claims of more refuseniks than ever went to Telford Street or Kingsmills in the first place However probably the most revealing statistic of the lot is that the most bitter year of the whole fraught affair - 1994 - saw the biggest ever percentage increase in attendance at matches. When it was Thistle and Caley, typical combined home gates, which were in decline, came to about 600. Then the first season of Caley Thistle - despite Baltacha's uninspiring tactics - average attendance more than doubled to 1275, which of course has gone onward and generally upward ever since. So in the face of all these alleged "boys at my work who don't go any more" (so what did they do instead - go off on holiday with Shergar and Lord Lucan?), crowds actually doubled in the first, controversial season of the new team. The last 20 years to a large extent boil down to the following single sentence - As a result of two clubs joining forces, Inverness progressed from the Highland League to the top half of the SPL and attendances rose almost seven fold. So quite frankly, if progress like that has been made, I don't actually give a flying toss about anyone who might have thrown the rattle out of the phone box and decided not to share in the magnificent experience. If 40 ex Jaggies and a few more Howden Enders have taken the hump, then that's a tiny price to pay. It's a wee bit like spending a pound to earn a hundred. And I really wish the Flat Earth Society would stop banging on with their wishful thinking about numbers which simply don't add up by continually returning to this now tedious and redundant subject. ICT is a top six SPL club - job largely done but progress still in process. and that immediate increase in attendance notwithstanding the fact that gate prices in the Third Division were twice what they had been in the Highland League.