DoofersDad

Absolutely delighted to be able to announce that in less than 2 weeks we have reached the target to get "Milestones and Memories" to print. On behalf of Ian Broadfoot, the Supporters Trust and the Club, many, many thanks to all who pre-ordered, donated or simply passed the message on. Ian will now get the final copy together and we can start planning the launch of the book itself. More info on that in due course. The club has now taken the donations page down from the online shop but you can still pre-order. Not only will that secure your copy but it will also help the club's cash flow at this very challenging time.

Were you one of the 3734 fans present for the opening of the Caledonian Stadium in November 1996? Our opponents that day were Albion Rovers. Albion Rovers were also our opponents later on in the season when, to great celebrations, we clinched the 3rd Division title. The story of both historic games is told in "Milestones and Memories", Ian Broadfoot's fascinating new book celebrating all things ICT in the first 25 years. Read what Chairman Dougie McGilvray had to say about the opening of the stadium and learn about his bet with Tam Cowan! Read what captain Mike Noble and fans' favourite Paul Cherry had to say about the title winning campaign. Many of the club's most memorable and important matches are highlighted in this wonderful book. You can learn about the milestones and re-live the memories, but only if enough money is raised to cover the printing cost. You can help by pre-ordering the book and/or making a donation through the club shop. All profits will go directly to the club, so this is a wonderful opportunity to both relive some great memories and help the club out at this desperately challenging time.

Do you know .... Who was the first Chairman of the newly formed Caledonian Thistle in 1993? Which team were our opponents on our Scottish Cup debut? How much money an SFA tribunal decided we had to pay Lossiemouth for the transfer of Iain Stewart? When the club changed its name from "Caledonian Thistle" to "Inverness Caledonian Thistle"? The answers to these and lots, lots more can be found in Chapter 2 of "Milestones and Memories", Ian Broadfoot's terrific new book to celebrate the first 25 years of ICT. But before you can dip into this treasure trove of information and memories, we need to raise the money to get the book printed. Help to ensure you get your copy by pre-ordering one now and, perhaps make a wee donation to the costs? You can do it here!

There's no specific target. The bottom line is that the book won't go to the printers unless the printing and P&P costs have been met. How many we get printed will be decided depending on the balance between pre-orders and donations. The bulk of the printing costs is the set up, so we would would only need to raise roughly another 20% in order to double the number of books printed. However there would be no point printing double quantity if the volume of pre-sales indicated that we were unlikely to sell the lower number as the extra cost would eat into the profits. Depending on the level of donations we would probably need pre-sales of 2-300 copies. In the event of donations alone being sufficient to fund the costs, then all of the sale price of each book would represent profit for the club! Even on a minimum print run of 500 copies, that would represent a tidy profit for the club! We therefore need both strong numbers of pre-orders and generous donations in order to get this terrific book to the fans whilst generating a much needed profit for the club. Spread the word and let's make this a success! I can't say how many orders have been placed as these will all be on the club's system, but I will be in regular contact with the club and hopefully we can give some updates on progress in due course.

I'm pretty certain the club has copies of Going Ballistic. In the intervening years the book would have stopped selling so may have been taken out of the shop. It's a very different style of book, but if interest in the new book promotes interest in Going Ballistic then there may be value in putting it back in the shop.

On behalf to the Board of the Supporters Trust I would like to say how delighted we all are to be able to work with Ian Broadfoot and the Club in an effort to get Ian's wonderful book published. You can read a bit more about the book and the background to the campaign in the article posted here. Originally "Milestones and Memories" was intended to be published as part of the Club's 25th Anniversary celebrations, but financial difficulties exacerbated by the Coronavirus outbreak mean that the club has had other priorities on its cash. Having seen the book in electronic format, the Trust Board were absolutely convinced that it would have wide appeal and would make a useful profit for the club. We therefore approached the Club and it was agreed that if we led a fundraising campaign to raise the money for printing, the club would sell and distribute the book. "Milestones and Memories" is a very accessible book and is sure to be a source of enjoyment and happy memories for years to come - but only if it actually gets published! The book will only go to the printers once printing costs are met in full, so we urgently need people to support the club by pre-ordering the book and/or making a donation. Also, please spread the word! There are a lot of folk who regard ICT as their team but who rarely look at ICT related social media sites. There are many who rarely go to games but who might be encouraged to go to more if they read the book and recalled memories of some of the great occasions over the last 25 years. We need you to help us reach out to these people so that they too can learn about the project and offer their support to the club. This is a great opportunity to recall some great memories and produce some much needed funding for the club. We hope this is a project that will generate a lot of interest and we thank you in advance for your support.

Some was posted out from the club shop on Monday and some on Tuesday I believe. I think it is only the home kit at the moment so assuming you ordered that it should be with you very soon.

Heading the ball ruins his hairstyle.

Society needs to adapt to the situation as it changes and the SPFL are no different. The SPFL should have had enough foresight to imagine that a game might need to be postponed because some idiots broke the rules and put others at risk. It comes as no surprise that they didn't, but that shouldn't stop them acknowledging that it has happened and might happen again. There is therefore no good reason for failing to implement some meaningful sanctions now for similar incidents in the future - eg a 10 points deduction. Would that be fair if another club suffered a points deduction when Aberdeen didn't? Yes. I think it would. You get dealt with in line with the rules that pertain at the time. Also, whilst there is next to nothing to excuse the foolishness of the Aberdeen players, there would be even less excuse in the future given the publicity around this episode and if the consequences were going to be a hefty points penalty for the club.

I'm not optimistic. There are several European countries which have eased lockdown measures to some extent and are now seeing a worrying rise in the number of cases. If lockdown measures are eased too much, it is clear to see what is going to happen. This virus is not going away any time soon. The Scottish government have taken a cautious approach and unless there is a radical change of direction, large scale gatherings are not going to be permitted for some time. When things do open up a bit more I expect that it will be with reduced capacities.

I suppose Brora v Yeovil might set a record for the longest trip for a competitive game in the UK. Unless you make it to the final then this competition is a loss maker. Personally I rather like it but I can't see the clubs showing any enthusiasm for this.

I think it looks great. It matches my complexion. We've got a cracking couple of kits for next season but unfortunately rather fewer games for them them to be seen.

I see Jake Mulraney was playing for Atlanta Utd tonight in the US Major Soccer League. He managed to get sent off in the 26th minute after a second yellow card!

Agreed. It seems that if all the clubs who have at some stage said that this was the sensible option had actually voted for it, everyone would now either be happy or at least not feeling too hard done by. Not forgetting Brora and Kelty who have been utterly shafted with no say at all over the matter.

Like you, I don't pretend to understand the ins and outs of legal processes, but it seemed to me that Lord Clark recognised that Hearts and Partick have been shabbily treated, yet felt he had no option but to rule that they were bypassing due process and the issue must go to arbitration. Had they done so, then presumably part of the preliminary process would have been to ask the SFA to request the various documents and records to be shared. Their argument would be that without such sharing, it would be impossible for the arbitration panel to determine whether the SPFL's actions had been appropriate or not. If the SFA refused to ask the SPFL for the documents or the SPFL refused to disclose them, then going to the Courts would be fair enough because they would have evidence that the arbitration process would not give them a fair hearing. I am not aware of any evidence to suggest that if due process had been followed, the relevant documents would not have been released. Nor can I recall seeing a statement from either of the clubs saying why they were by-passing the arbitration process. But having fallen out with the SPFL it does seem rather careless to then fall foul of the SFA as well. I'm not sure the SFA bringing a notice of complaint before the arbitration is dangerous. From their perspective, two clubs have acted in breech of the articles of association and therefore they are required under their rules to issue a notice of complaint. I suspect that SFA rules require issues to be dealt with within a specified timeframe, but waiting until the arbitration process was over might have left them open to accusations that the result of the arbitration influenced the decision to issue a notice of complaint. At least this way it is a straightforward case of the clubs having broken the rules and being subject to a disciplinary process as a result. Sure, as Kingsmills suggests there may well be a jobsworth mentality within the SFA, but if Hearts and Partick had followed the appropriate route in the first place, there would have been no question of a notice of complaint.

Is it idiotic to expect that rules are complied with? Hearts and Partick clearly have good reason to feel aggrieved with the SPFL and I have huge sympathy with their plight, but the SFA Rules of Association make it pretty clear that their arbitration process is the appropriate course of action in such cases. The Court of Session made it clear to Hearts and Partick that that was the case. We now have the situation that with the Premiership season due to start in just over 2 weeks time we have yet to start an arbitration process which should have happened a few weeks ago and which could potentially reinstate Hearts into the Premiership. The potential ramifications of that are obvious. Had Hearts and Partick gone to arbitration in the first place, then we could have had a definitive position by now. My advice to Hearts and Partick is to accept whatever the disciplinary process throws up and get yourselves new lawyers.

Didn't see that coming! Neilson obviously likes the Championship.

Absolutely agree with that. This is why the 14:10:10:10 model as temporary measure would have been the sensible option from the word go. Apart from ensuring no major disadvantage to any of the member clubs, it could have given breathing space to agree a more radical review of the way Scottish Football is structured. Hearts and Partick are right to feel aggrieved and betrayed by others member clubs but I think they are on dangerous ground here. They not only have the SPFL's Articles of Association to contend with but also those of the SFA. The SFA's require that when clubs are in dispute they should use the SFA's arbitration services, and the fact that the 2 clubs have chosen not to is why the SFA have written to both clubs to explain themselves. The clubs say that they are in dispute with the SPFL and not with any other club, however, the SPFL is a member organisation and it was the clubs themselves who voted to make the decision. Of course, you need to be a lawyer to understand the convoluted wording of these legal documents so I may have it all wrong. But it seems to me that the courts will simply tell Hearts and Thistle to go away and use the SFA's arbitration process. They could then be deemed in breech of both organisations' Articles of Association and be on the receiving end of sanctions from both. Added to that, if their action causes any delay in the Premiership season starting off, they could be liable for paying other clubs some compensation. One thing I don't understand here is why they have asked the courts to scrap promotions. Stopping clubs being promoted clearly harms other clubs as much as the vote which took place harms them. If they simply asked the courts to scrap relegations then there is a ready made solution in the 14:10:10:10 model. It seems like there is still some mileage in this saga and if we can be sure of one thing it is that the outcome will not be the right thing.

This vote shows what little ambition so many clubs have. The 14:10:10:10 set up would have meant that each season no less than 8 clubs would be playing in a higher division than will now be the case. Together with the fact that those who voted against the proposal voted for the forced relegation of other clubs, today's vote really shows Scottish football in a very bad light. No doubt those clubs who voted against the proposal will be justifying their position on the grounds of "now is not the time for reconstruction", "we need to focus on dealing with the financial crisis", "we need unity at this time". We could have had unity and we could have combined it with decency and ambition. But the truth is that these clubs have voted for some narrow and in some cases, misguided, notion of self interest and Scottish football will be the worse for it.

And here https://ictfc.com/john-robertson-extends-contract-until-2022-23 Brilliant news. Robbo is a great fit for our club.

https://ptfc.co.uk/ptfc-news/board-update-13th-june-2020/ Brilliant statement from Partick Thistle. Let's hope it shames others into doing the decent thing. I'm not holding my breath though.

If we end up in the Premiership I think we would do well to avoid coming last. Having said that, the additional money would allow us to sign players we would not otherwise be able to. With the impact the virus is having on all clubs I think there will be a lot of decent players who will have some difficulty finding a club playing at the level they aspire to and we might find a bargain or two. We will be stronger in the Premiership than in the Championship. My guess would be that we might well survive in the Premiership, but if we are in the Championship we will not be good enough to win promotion. Also, Premiership money would mean that even if we did get relegated from the Premiership, we would be better placed to go straight back up the next season. Ronaldo is spot on. If we do get the opportunity we need to embrace it fully.

Interesting maybe, but presenting such a radical change so late in the day leaves little time for consultation. And what say do the Highland and Lowland league clubs have in all of this if there is a suggestion that other teams could field Colts teams in those leagues? Scottish football certainly needs radical reform but it also needs to think through the implications of any particular proposal. This is why agreeing to the straightforward 14,10,10,10 option as a temporary measure to addresses the current crisis is such a sound idea. Agreeing that for 2 or 3 seasons means there would be time to have some proper discussion on more radical structural changes.

Looks good. The club is going to need to get as much money as it can from its merchandising and this kit should be be a great help in achieving that. I'm not someone who usually buys the tops but I'll certainly get one of these.

Once it became clear that there was no chance of the the 2019/20 season being completed and that the Coronavirus was going to have a significant effect on clubs' finances, there was one obviously sensible solution which could and should have been agreed promptly. Had agreement been reached, then clubs would now be in a position where they would know which division they were playing in next season and what the makeup of that division was. It would have given clubs the opportunity to plan as well as is possible in what is an unprecedentedly difficult time. Two basic principles should have been accepted. These are 1) that no club should be unnecessarily disadvantaged by the fact that it was not possible to finish the season and 2) uncertainty should be eliminated as much as possible, as soon as possible. Making the Premiership a 14 team division and keeping the other 3 divisions as 10 team divisions by promoting the top 2 in each division and the champions of the Highland and Lowland leagues would have meant no relegation and would have satisfied those 2 basic principles. Any dissent to this could have been overcome by making it a temporary arrangement for 2 or 3 seasons with an agreement on a process to discuss restructuring. The SPFL management are there to represent the interests of all clubs but have clearly had a very different agenda. The capacity for Scottish football to shoot itself in the foot never ceases to amaze.