Eagle4Caley

Those are fab...one day I'll get to see them when ICT play away (unfortunately not tomorrow) ...I'dlove something in similar construction depicting an Eagle alongside the A9 near our stadium

A bit of a shame about getting knocked out like that, but losing out to Hearts (rather than Falkirk last year) is no disgrace...sounds like we were in the game but got caught by a goal blitz. Don't have BT Sport so didn't get to see it on the TV Anyway I've booked my first flying visit up fo the QoS game, late September, so excited about that, so I just want Caley to park that game as a 'lessons to be learned' for a young side and start the league season positively

In the years I've been supporting Palace and then Inverness Caley Thistle, I've got used to the cycle of football with travails and despair often following triumph and elation, it's often the rebirth that happens after, say, relegation that I find the most exciting, as new faces come in, often young and in-experienced, new ways of playing, new managers, new owners (sometimes), improvements to the ground , even those new playing strips that seem more dynamic or trendy than the previous season. Being a 'glass-half-full' type of guy, I can take solace from a good passage of play, or a goal, or just seeing someone have a good game, even if the overall result may not be what is wanted. I love it when a player or the club starts to get recognised for doing something good. I have obviously come into the ICT fold fairly recently, but relegations under Butcher and Foran haven't disheartened me (actually it was my sadness when ICT went down under Butcher that I realised a spark had been kindled). Having supported Palace for nigh on 45 years I have seen many false dawns and have become disillusioned a couple of times, I once stopped going and gave up my season ticket, so I guess ever body is tested. (actually if everyone who told me they once supported Palace still turned up our crowds would be 50k not 25k). Sometimes you just need a break, however as long as you still love football, and you still look out for the club you support, or live local to them, the chances are that the spark will come back. For me coming up to see Inverness is always an adventure, which I have enjoyed, even losing to Aberdeen in the League Cup final....whereas I can't honestly say I've enjoyed every moment of Palace's latest incursion into the EPL COYC

Precisely..no news of trouble in Russia (who'd risk it!) and some silly stuff after the Sweden match (but in the couple of case where cars were damaged, crowd funding by other supporters raised money for repairs) Wasn't impressed myself by the beer throwing as goal celebrations, but little else And I've never held it against the Scots when some broke the Wembley goals all those years ago and dug up the pitch. Not sure the media were arrogant, just over-excited

It was fun whilst it lasted...England stayed in the competition longer than Brazil, Argentina, Ronaldo, Germany and Spain. A few players didn't turn up for the second half yesterday, but many came out of the tournament with enhanced reputations, maybe carrying injuries. In the end the team that should be most gutted is Belgium. Anyway a short interlude ...then we can get back to the serious stuff; Can ICT get out of the Championship (upwards!) and can Palace avoid another nerve-shredding season in the EPL

Surely not....I'm quite excited about the possibility of a Home Nations side getting further

It was too...and Birmingham

Yeah especially if England get to the Semi's (probably unlikely) ..... ....Although not all ICT supporters are Scottish.

Wow! To be honest I suspect few people on this forum can have any doubt that you have a bit of a beef with the the current board! ....But I don't think it's that hard to see that Gary Warren might benefit at 34 by having a two year contract with someone else (unless it's on a peppercorn rate!) against the 1 year he had left with ICT. Your point about ANY player getting injured is irrevelant since I'm talking about GW, it's not hard to see that should GW had suffered a bad injury in his final year with us then when nearing 35 next year getting another contract could be tricky, so he now has the benefit of two years pay. I'm sure had he stayed with ICT he would have featured during the season, however with Robbo securing a right back and with Mckay, Donaldson and Tremarco all on extended contracts beyond GW's it's possible to envisage those four being the regular back line (and with McCart available too). TBH I'm neither pro-this-board, nor anti-the-old-board, either set have made mistakes and the current one will still do so, still at least ICT aren't going into the new season with one fit striker like Palace did last year (you can imagine the flak the CPFC board got for that!), any football board gets few thanks if ticket prices go up, or results are bad, or signings don't materialise, the manager isn't sacked etc etc. And I'm not naive, I understand situations are manipulated by either side when it suits them.

Pretty much agree with everything you say....as far as I can see everyone wins. Gary now has a longer contract on possibly more money, we have rebalanced the squad financially, and certainly from an age point of view. Imagine if Warren had got an injury next season, he would have been in a more vulnerable position in terms of his next contract. We've lost a good man no doubt, with plenty of experience, a great servant....it was ashame he was banned for two of our finals. However certainly in our relegation season there were a few on here having a pop at him and it's probably true that he might not have been first choice next season. It's difficult for the board to get it right, not least since social media, always outflanks you. There was obviously suggestions being made, as in 'if you fancy finding yourself a better contract elsewhere we wont stand in your way/demand a fee' but that has empowered Gary. In the end the board (any board) will never satisfy all the fans nor that it needs to....yes I get 'more transparency, openess' thing, but just what do we really expect with player contracts and transfers. Someone else has suggested the board is a 'shambles'...really? At the end of the season people were speculating about whether we were in financial trouble or if we could avoid going part time. Yet what I see is a club that's got key players on extended/better contracts (and longer than a year!) and recruited five new players in good time (yes we lost Vigurs), leaving us with squad that has some potential and longevity and no sign of going part-time as well as organising itself off the park. Sure people have had issues with the departures of Gary, and Ross Draper and David Raven previously, but ultimately the club makes 'business' decisions about what it can afford and fund.

Crucially we need to know what CaleyD thinks!

He did plenty in the first half of the season, but lost out as Robbo tried different combinations, particularly once Austin got himself fit, struck me as being the sort of player who'd get in just the right positions to score simple goals, and seemed a hard worker. Why do we write someone off for a because a loss of form/managers selection choice, but not consider the previous good form. Bell is someone who could benefit from strength training in the gym and building up stamina levels , and building on his experience...there is definitely a decent player there.

Bell had a very good start I thought, and he scored 7 goals up to the New Year and he was getting a fair number of plaudits from posters on here (he was one of the bright spots in a poor start)....sure, he went off the boil a bit, but he'll only be 22 in July and has plenty of development to go, surely we don't write someone off for a temporary loss of form, when the overall signs are good

Really like both kits, but especially the home kit. Palace did something similar when we got promoted to the EPL, but the blue and red are better tones (richer) on the Caley top. If you only want stripes this may not be for you, but I think it's classy and distinctive, and the black trim sets it off well. Defo on the 'buy' list

I'm sorry to see both Vigurs and Mulraney go... but we'll get over it, Vigurs has obviously been offered a better deal and he lives in Dingwall, so good luck to him. However can it be said that either Draper or Tansey have pulled up trees at RC? Angus Beith could be a canny move, and Trafford/Chalmers/Polworth/Calder are a decent mix as well Mulraney is more of a player who didn't really perform at the level or at a consistency I felt was in him....but we'll get to see more of Elbouzedi, and Doran is a more effective and potent player than Jake.... plus Walsh seems highly rated. We seem to have pretty much sorted things out good and early...bodes better for next season, compared to the shambles last year. BTW 50p says Vigurs gets sent off at least once against us!

I picked my wife up from a local station just now and told her County were down....she cheered! Supporting Caley is clearly infectious

Caley and Palace have certainly come up with quite a few variations of the red and blue and stripes over the years...here's Palace's new kit, the white 'sash' kit also appears every so often, and always has our fans dribbling with desire. The yellow trim on the home kit is somewhat controversial, although the history of it goes back to the 60's. I liked all of Caley's recent home kits.

For once I feel better that the English aren't to blame for everything Anyway .... When I was up recently with my wife, we took the train to the Kyle of Lochalsh as a day trip, and of course when past Dingwall and RC's ground, it was a nice sunny day and Dingwall looked quite pleasant, so when I noted to my wife over the weekend that RC might be coming down to the Championship she said that it would be a good match to go to (see... she's hooked now as well!) ..........But not in the middle of winter

Yes Draper, Mckay and to a lesser extent Tansey have done a good job for us!

Mind you if this was done every weekend in the Town Centre close season, coupled to Season Tickets on installment plans, and maybe cluster ticket packages (2-3 games/family bundles booked at the same time at a small discount) you might get the drip-drip effect, constant publicity building interest, and allowing a long lead-in for that buying decision. I accept it's hard work though, but small targets say 200- 500 extra purchases over time could make quite a difference.

Is this going to be the long awaited 'Announcement'?

In a way given that he was injured for most of the year, Elbouzedi is almost like a new signing..... next season could be the 'breakthrough' season

That bit's nuts as we made a profit of £250k in 2015, so did we suddenly go on a player salary spending spree?

My impression from previous comments on here was that ICT were running at a deficit even in the year that we won the Cup (circa 500k was mentioned, although the 2016 Statement from the club suggested the deficit was £21,391!), also what has been the cost of John Hughes pay-off (was that cleared in one year?), and that of Richie Foran's (I assume he didn't leave with nothing). What has been the reduction in TV money, and what has been the reduction in gate receipts this year?

Oh yes...it was like watching Man City/Barca as we destroyed Leicester (...or those 20mins in the 2nd half against Dunfermline, when it looked like Caley would run riot)