Kingsmills

At last.A post surely everyone can agree with.

In common with Mantis, I too seriously considered closing this thread and I agree that some of the posts are not only embarrassing to read but are disgraceful. However,I remain, on balance, of the opinion that the thread is a valid one and, for now at least, the thread should remain open for reasoned debate.

The debate is a valid one which relates to the club and how it or individual players or other members of staff will want to react to a serious and ongoing contemporary issue which, not just football but all professional sport is acknowledging now so, in my view, the thread should remain. However, if any contributor breaches site rules with unacceptably inflammatory or racist posts then, be assured, appropriate action will be taken. I think that I have made it abundantly clear that, from a personal perspective, I believe that at least one poster is sailing very close to the wind in that regard.

Congratulations to Harrogate Town for winning England's National League play of final and, next season, playing league football for the first time in their history. They join Northampton Town and Wycombe Wanderers in being promoted, through play offs through leagues that had otherwise been abandoned. The same option was available to the SPFL which would at least have added a bit more fairness to our truncated season but, as always short sightedness and narrow self interest prevailed over fairness and sporting integrity. For what it's worth, I would have made the same point even if ICT hadn't finished the season in a play off position.

I remember visiting the Islands Hotel in the late 1970s with my then girlfriend and ordered a pint of Export for myself which was not an issue but when I then went on to ask for a Bacardi and Coke for her, was met with the response 'we don't do fancy cocktails'. I am struggling now to remember the name of the formidable proprietrix.

Communities get 'overrun by rats and other vermin' Communities do not get overrun by decent human beings who are our friends, neighbours, doctors, nurses, restaurateurs and perform many other positive roles in our community. Once again, I respectfully invite you to reconsider the phrasing of your post. If your point is that Inverness and the Highlands in general is not particularly ethnically diverse then that is undoubtedly true. Mores the pity in my view but I fail to see why that, in any way, is relevant to the debate.

I think that the red dot that I have given this post is the first that I have given this year but I make no apology for doing so. I did consider hiding this thoroughly offensive post but I would very much prefer that you chose to reconsider and rephrase.

I agree. BLM have become politicised in the UK in a disturbing way. However, the gesture of taking the knee is not exclusive to that organisation and is a gesture of recognition that people of colour have been oppressed and badly treated and discriminated against for centuries and, disgracefully, continue to be so. I hope that our players do take the knee before each match this season not to show support for the BLM organisation but to demonstrate solidarity with the black players that have served us so well over the years and the BAME community locally, nationally and world wide generally.

Looking increasingly likely that the stubborn intransigence of the UK government means that we are going to end the transition period on 31st December with no meaningful trade deal. Brexit was always destined to be a self imposed cultural and economic disaster but to have your mind closed to keeping the perfectly satisfactory status quo for at least another year in the midst of a global health and economic crisis takes it a step further to sheer ideologically driven financial and cultural lunacy.

Yes. I know that the truncated top league has been about since the seventies. I am long enough in the tooth to remember thinking what a bad and short sighted decision that was at the time !

I entirely agree. When Scotland had two large national leagues the national team were constantly successful and competitive. Ever since the introduction of ten or twelve team divisions the number and quality of youngsters being brought through has diminished to the detriment of both the clubs and the national team. Reconstruction is sensible and long overdue. Unfortunately, however greed and narrow self interest means it's unlikely to happen.

You don't seem to have grasped the reality of the situation. In normal times, of course developing youth should be a priority but these are very far from normal times and it is likely to take every penny we can muster just to get a first team squad capable of completing the season and, with any luck, being competitive. Even on the figures you quote, which are highly dubious, you are suggesting that we have a turnover in the region of three and a half million pounds. This season it is most unlikely to be even half of that. Our single focus right now is to survive and, hopefully having done that, we can focus on other things that may be desirable but not essential.

The provisional date for reopening sports stadiums with fans, albeit in limited numbers, has today been announced as 14th September. Every chance that at least some of us will be able to cheer the team to the 2020/21 Championship title.

Given that the litigation was relatively short lived and the arbitration concluded swiftly, I would expect the legal expenses of each of the parties to be in the tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands. The arbitration has been continued to allow the matter of expenses to be settled. Given that the SFA were largely successful and Hearts and Partick largely unsuccessful, the clubs are likely to have to pay the association's expenses as well as their own and possibly any expenses separately incurred by Dundee United, Raith and Cove Rangers who they were trying to deprive of promotion. Sensible compromise and league reconstruction, even on a single season basis and all this could have been avoided but insular self interest won the day as always leaving some losers and very few winners. It seems that Scottish football never learns from past errors.

Aye. Social distancing between the respective boards should not be too difficult to enforce!

The league will almost certainly start as planned. Whether there will be fans in attendance is probably about 50/50 at the moment I would suggest. I think that there may be some sort of compromise initially allowing home fans only with a maximum attendance, to begin with of perhaps 1,200 to 1,500 utilising the South Stand for home fans as well as the wee West Stand. All is dependent on the level of virus circulating remaining at or below the current level. I would also anticipate a ban on singing or chanting so business as usual in the Main Stand

Thank you. Another small step on the road to some semblance of normality. It will be good to be able to start talking about the game again instead of all the off field politics surrounding it.

Not just could do without but, almost certainly, simply can't afford.

Remember that last season's tournament, in which we still have a very healthy interest, is still to be concluded. The 'Caramel Wafer Cup' will have a very low priority and, if the tournament takes place at all this season, I expect that it will be very much scaled back with only the 30 clubs forming the Championship, First and Second Divisions with the possible addition of Brora Rangers and Kelty Hearts.

I agree. It has been running for years now and there is no evidence that it is any more successful in developing young players than what preceded it. If anything, the contrary seems to be the case.

I see that 7 St Mirren coaches and backroom staff have tested positive for Covid 19. Of course we don't know the details but, on the face of it, there appears to have been some disregard for the rules on social distancing and/it rigorous hand hygiene. The right to bring back professional football was hard won but there are risks. Football punishes breaches such as playing players who are not properly registered. Surely, on a temporary basis, there is an argument for sanctions such as points deductions or even ultimately excluding from the league for teams found, after proper investigation, to have flouted the Covid regulations putting not just football but society at large at risk.

Why would we sign players right now when we would have to pay them money we don't have to sit at home doing nothing ? There will be an unprecedented number of players out of contract so recruiting will be easier than normal and I am certain that informal approaches and tentative offers will have already been made.

I have made it pretty clear over the years where my political allegiance lies but surely we are a broad enough church to welcome all as fans unless they are racist, mysogynistic, homophobic, islamophobic or antisemitic. So, while it's unlikely that I will agree with MacOne about much, I agree that such comments are indeed 'not useful'.

These are unprecedented times which call for unprecedented measures. There will, of course, be parents who simply can't afford to pay but those who can should and those in the fortunate position of being able to pay a little more should consider doing so. Without out Academy the future could be quite bleak. If any fans group wants to coordinate voluntary payments, I will happily chip in a tenner a week and am sure there will be others on here who would be prepared to do likewise.

Very true but I don't think that too many ICT fans would object to having a 'sugar daddy' as consistently generous with his financial support.