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BOTTLED IT

Championeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssssssss

It is worrying. Dons have 'no money' but can pay say ?2000 per week against our half or less of that. Imagine going home to the wife and saying 'darling I/we have just been offered ?100,000 per year to go to Aberdeen on a 2 year contract. Should we stay in Inverness for a lot less or head down the road for a couple of years? Even though it is a dull, cold depressing hole I have a fair idea what the response would be!

Dundee v Raith kick off delayed until 8pm, problem with Dundee bus apparently

How about 'Hey big spender(s)' by Shiley Bassey

Best thing that could have happened this weekend was that game in Glasgow. Let's just keep quiet, apart from match days, and glide over the winning post, then we can make some real noise.

In my defence I missed Saturdays game due to a bit of a medical emergency and this seems to have been the one instance this season when the Main Stand South servery was choked due to it being shared with the Raith fans...I think that falls into the category of "sods law".

I see that Clyde are almost certainly to be relegated to Division 3. It seems like only yesterday that we were heading down to Clyde to be bit players in their promotion to the SPL! In a way it's sad to see how far they have fallen, perhaps a lesson for all smaller clubs.

Never seen the queues so long as on Saturday at the main stand away end servery. For some reason the Raith fans were allowed into the main stand which seriously disadvantages the home fans. The whole thing has gone from 'bad to worse'. But who in the club cares, we are only the paying public.

This is not the right time to start slagging off the team and any individual. The defence were crap, we all know who was to blame for the first Raith goal, Butcher certainly agreed that ***** was to blame, BUT what a result, I love the players never say die attitude.

I couldn't agree more with Bridge Ender's view on Grant. He is a very decent centre half. Earlier in these posts though I criticised his distribution and stand by it. I don't mean booting it into row Z when required I mean when he has plenty of time and space he is inclined to hoof it. Most of the time it is then an easy job for the oppostion central defender to head it back up the park. Anyway hopefully tonight I'll be proved very wrong...........I'd be dellighted to eat humble pie.

Don't burden Duncan with captaincy. He was outstanding yesterday, hopefully his forthcoming wee rest won't affect his excellent form this season. Grant I am afraid is struggling with both his form and being captain. Unfortunatley this is the third time I have commented on Grant's performance over the past few months. His distribution is woefull, seldom finding one of his team mates. The folk round about me at ICT home games can often be heard saying something like 'here comes the big boot up the park' when Grant gets possesion. Of course on many occasions a big boot up the park is very necesary, but not every time. I wonder how Butcher views this and why it is not worked on at training. However saying all that I would have Grant as a first pick every week............but how I wish he could just look up a little and make what I would describe as the 'Wyness' pass. Dennis always found his man but seldom passed a ball more than a couple of yards at any time.

Colin Henry?

DUNCAN absolutely brilliant display especially when you consider he was booked for nothing after 5 minutes. County then proceeded to intimidate him at every opportunity knowing that he can be a little volatile.

Good read, pity those who were close to him within the walls of ICT didn't have the courage to help him. Perhaps they did but can't recall that coming over too much in the book.

What date?

We will be mauled next week if we put out such a lightweight side as today. Odhiambo nice first touch but ridiculously easy to knock off the ball. Ross never kicked a ball all game apart from the tap in. As has already been said we badly missed Foran. Duncan man of the match.

Whatever happens it will not be this season. It would have to be decided upon prior to teams beginning their campaign. Perhaps Terry got wind of this and signed for another year in the hope of promotion and a subsequent bonus next year!

In the early days we had a fair number of ex Caley and Jags business people who supported the club both financially and physicallyy under the leadership (comradeship) of Dougie MacGillvary. Even very small business people, of which I was one, put in a few hundred quid per annum due in the main to the hard work example set by Dougie and the likes of other local personalities such as Charlie Christie, who would never pass anyone in the street without a smile and a hello, even if you didn't know them personally. We had open discussions in the form of the Members Club and the initial shareholding meetings. These were chaired and led by well known Invernessians who we all felt were just one of us, ie fans of football in Inverness. As the club grew in stature we lost the local team feel and the local boys from the Board. They were all replaced by 'deep pocket' big business people who seemed a little distant from the fans. With these new Board members came less and less opportunity to find out what happens at Board level. I remember clearly a few years ago phoning up to tell the club that I could afford about ?200 - ?300 from my business for the forthcoming season if they had a corner flag or something for me to sponsor. 'We will get back to you' was the response. Of course I never heard anything and kept the cash. Had my offer gone over the bridge they would have bitten my hand off! I am not aware of the local small business people being 'groomed', is that the correct word! I could be wrong though. If you don't win over the local business people you will fail to grow the fanbase and the income.

The thread certainly highlights the fact that we the fans have lots of questions. I think it was CaleyD who correctly said that we haven't had decent information for years. As for contracts I take it that we had a 'kick back' when Cowie got his first Scotland cap? I also take it that we receive cash when a player goes on to bigger and better things after leaving us. For example if messrs Imrie and Black etc go to the Old Firm or gain caps do we get additional cash? I'll answer this myself, YES of course we will because this will have been written into the transfer deals, won't it?

Seeing as I started this thread I may as well try and end it. Thanks to all for contributing, I learned more about finances of the club and under soil heating than I would have from any club spokesperson! For example I didn't realise that we were still paying the players SPL circa wages. Surely we will learn from that and have a clause in place for the future that if we get dumped down a division then wages also go down. It's up to the players to earn higher wages by keeping the club in a higher league. Bit like the Bank employees getting their performance bonuses, uuuuuurrrrrghhhhhh. I agree totally that we have one of the best if not the best groundsman in the Country, he does a terrific job and I bet he doesn't get paid well enough. Great point made that as QOS and their fans were here or almost here we could, with their agreement, surely have held fire on the decision for an additional hour or so. I see Gordon Chisholm in press today saying that he heard 'that the players believed on Friday night that there was no chance of the game going ahead'. Wonder who they heard that from? No EWS this is not a conspiracy statement just a question! Anyway we are still very much in the mix and I look forward to welcoming some of the these soft southern teams up here on a cold wet windy miserable night in March. Bring it on.

EWS - No conspiracy just asking a question which as a season ticket holder and shareholder I am perfectly entitled to do. Perhaps if we had a club who were more open with information this Forum would be less necessary but that has never and will never happen. ps, Have just Googled under soil heating specifications and it is very vague but talks about working at -10C. Also mentions zones which is very interesting.

If we have failed to switch on the USH 4 or 5 days ago because of cost it raises the question og where our cash has gone? This weather isn't unique, every forecast has been predicting it all week and it has been colder this week with frost since Tuesday! We have more season ticket holders than ever before - hence more readily available cash flow. We received a large 'parachute' payment, circa ?250,000 We got cash ?20,000 or even ?40,000 for Imrie We got rid of Smith who must have been on a big salary We got rid of other staff members The players surely aren't earning as much So how can we not afford a couple of thousand quid to get one of the most important games on when we are riding high and it was a beautiful day?

Unbelievable...............It's a cracking day in Inverness for football. We needed this game on badly. If this is a cost cutting exercise it's a complete disgrace and could well cost us the league. It will be very very interesting to hear the Club's view on this.

Talking of the Members Club, we were taked into reducing our share/vote on a few occasions as it was blocking the way for serious investors (plural) to come into the club. Where did they all go to? The Members Club were edged out and should have fought harder to keep their say.