Kingsmills

I would do the same were it not for the fact that my sons would probably never speak to me again !

Not the stiffest of opposition but seven goals from seven different scorers and a clean sheet is very encouraging.

That, as you say, is no surprise but a great shame. There is a wealthy Highland philanthropist who ploughs about a million pounds every year to keep his club in the Premiership and credit to him for that. I wish that we had a similarly generous benefactor. However, if he gave a similar amount to be divided amongst the Highland league clubs as a one off that would keep their season alive.

Personally, I am very grateful to see extended highlights with commentary whatever the platform.

No. There is a huge backlog of criminal matters due to the pandemic. The case is still live but unlikely to come to trial until the Spring at the earliest.

The sporting advantage may exist at the margins but, say that Covid was running rampant in the Highlands and Moray but controlled elsewhere in the country, does anyone seriously believe that the blazers occupying the fifth floor at Hampden would resist the idea of having fans in the grounds where it would be safe just because ourselves, County and Elgin City would be placed at a disadvantage? If the government and football authorities could be persuaded to follow the German model then, as I said before, about a third of the teams in the SPFL, all the Highland League teams and a good few Lowland League sides would be advantaged from a financial point of view at a time of financial crisis for the whole game and, leaving aside any marginal putative sporting disadvantage, those clubs not yet able to admit fans would be not a penny worse off than they are now.

I agree that there would be something of an advantage to home teams playing in front of fans. However, even in normal times, the Scottish football authorities were prepared to sanction us playing Scottish Cup semi final against Celtic at a 'neutral venue' in their home city with 90% of the fans backing them and two successive League Cup semi finals against Hearts at a 'neutral venue' in their home city once again with 90% of the fans backing them. They were happy to give those clubs theoretical sporting advantage, even if 2 times out of 3 it didn't work out that way! So, now in these difficult times the possibility of getting some fans in some grounds where it is safe to do so in my view, far outweighs any perceived or actual advantage there might be.

Every player and every official 'do the knee thing' before every SPFL Premiership match.

As far as getting fans back into grounds is concerned, I wonder if there could be scope for following the more nuanced and regionalised approach that seems to be proving successful in Germany. As far as I understand it. Clubs are permitted to have fans in grounds up to 20% of capacity as long as the local region has an infection rate of less than 35 per 100,000 and the fans give an address, for contact tracing purposes,within the local region. If that was applied to Scotland right now, every club in the Highlands Moray, Aberdeenshire and in the south such as Stranraer, Queen of the South and Berwick would be permitted to have fans as well as St Johnstone and all four of the Angus clubs. That way, we could at least get things underway, set a template for the rest of the country and areas with relatively low rates of infection would not be penalised due to the high rates currently being seen in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Fife. As things stand, it would also permit every Highland League club and quite a few Lowland league clubs to have some fans in and thus generate some income. Something to consider maybe ?

Maybe so but there would be plenty of grumbling and a bit of concern if we had lost 7 goals instead of scoring 7. Of course it's very early days but, in the current circumstances, I am inclined to embrace the positive when it comes.

We need to save every penny we can this season so surely, once the clocks go back, there is no need to start games at 3pm for as long as there are no fans in attendance. A 1.30pm kick off means that games could be played out in natural light over the Winter and we could save a few thousand pounds over the piece by not having to power up the floodlights.

We may have to work on tightening things up at the back but to score seven on our first outing is very encouraging. Good to see Shane Sutherland making such a positive contribution with two assists as well as winning the penalty.

Saturday and ICT are playing a game of football. A very welcome bit of (semi) normality restored to life.

I agree entirely that away fans should not be permitted for as long as the virus remains an issue. Apart from the issue of contact tracing, there is the risk of them travelling from parts of the country with significantly higher rates of infection which, in the case of the Highlands, is virtually everywhere else on the mainland. However, should there be spare capacity once season ticket holders have been accommodated, I would see no difficulty with home fans purchasing individual match day tickets provided they are bought in advance with contact details being left with the ticket office. It would help too if fans could download the Protect Scotland App and have their bluetooth on.

The £1,500,000 Hearts pocketed today from the sale of Aaron Hickey will go a very long way to plugging their financial gap for the season. They were already the most formidable opponents in the division and will be all the more so now. However, they are not as familiar with life in the Championship as we are and may take time to adjust which could be an Achilles heel in this fordhortened season. If we can be fully prepared and hit the ground running in terms of the league season then we still have a decent chance of direct promotion.

I am sure that we have tried to but, even in normal times, we struggle to survive financially outwith the top tier so there is bound to be a shortfall. It is looking likely that there will be some government cash the professional football industry announced in the next few weeks. It won't be a fortune and it won't remotely fill the income gap from having no fans or hospitality but, if forthcoming will be very welcome. That combined with prudent housekeeping, a bit more merchandising and some financial support from the fans who can afford it might just see us through. Normally we need to look to future planning, youth development and where possible, improving the first team squad. However, for this season, the one and only objective is to survive to hopefully get back to normal next season by which time there will, with any luck, be a vaccine and a return to normality.

Boris J, much as he would like to , has no say in the matter north of Gretna.

Agreed. If the club is in difficulty then I hope that they will be candid and say so and I am sure that those of us in a position to do so will chip in what we can afford to keep things afloat. The new measures announced today seem sensible and proportionate given the recent upsurge in infections.

Two things. I agree that O'Connor has been brave in speaking about his issues which may have been the reason for his ill discipline but it doesn't distract from the fact that he was extremely ill disciplined. Secondly; you, like me, have no idea whether or not Stokes also has similar issues. Many people who do, quite understandably, do not wish to go public with them.

Great credit to those who give up their time for no financial reward to administer the Highland League for organising even a truncated competition in the current circumstances.

Obviously pushed back now. If the idiots who have been flouting the rules now start obeying the new stricter measures their conduct has brought about rather than carping about them then we may still get back into grounds by the end of the year.

He probably took the title of 'least disciplined' the minute Garry O'Connor retired.

Not strictly ICT related but I was sorry to read of the passing of Bobby Munro the Clach goalkeeper of the 50s and 60s I am too young to remember seeing him play but my late father, a staunch Clach fan all his days, described him as the best and most agile goalkeeper ever to grace the Highlend League. The Inverness football community is a close and tight knit one so I imagine that many would join me in offering condolences to his family friends and surviving acquaintances and to Clach Foorball Club.

And are already gearing up to fight even more dirty in #Indyref 2 which even they know now is inevitable.

A bit of an unjustified slur on the Greek criminal justice system which seems to me to be generally fair and robust. Not just an idiot but with his 'don't know know who I am' posturing, an arrogant idiot.