Alex MacLeod

So if it all goes down the drains how does the grass roots get a wee drink.

I believe Sky's deal was to show three of the four QF's. Having now decided to screen the Brechin v St J replay of tuesday 22nd I think they will fulfil that agreement. Up till last season the fourth QF match went to terrestrial tv. None of them have produced the cash this season. Makes me wonder why I pay a licence.

Had Caley gone it alone I'd still be a Thistle fan. Personally, I believe the merger had to happen. Had it not then the team that was accepted into the league would now be playing lower league football. They may have had a brush with div 1 but that would be it. The fanbase may have been in the couple of thousand bracket. Who knows. But the main reason they'd never have reached the hieghts of now is not the support of the fans but the support of the council and of the money men. The local authority could not provide the support they did if only one of the three main teams went ahead. A number of our regular sponsors supported one or other of the two teams. Those funds would have been split. I dont even believe our biggest investor would have put so much in had the merger not have happened. Those who refuse to support the new team are to be admired for their loyalty to the cause but would they have supported their own team if it had gone alone. I know three persons who, although they took part in the debates and votes of 93, were Celtic ST holders then and still are now. One of those three does grace the TCS now and again because his son wants to go. But only on days when ICT are home and Celtic away.

And whats the result with Mike Tumilty running it??

At the moment there's about 2" lying in Perth and still snowing. Drumochter is passable, Slochd is fine. Snow forecast to move north but should turn to rain by tomorrow. Dont think there'll be a problem with game.

Jock MacDonald had nothing to do with Caley , I suggest you read the link below . http://www.ictfc.co....2208825_1490901 Sorry i got lazy while posting, i meant Caley Thistle. You were right the first time, Caley is a nickname of Caley Thistle. Yeah i know but DC seemed to think that by sayin Caley i meant Inverness Caledonian. Which was not the case anyhoo, getting off topic. If people are going to argue about a name then perhaps it would be a good idea to start by getting the name of the merged teams right. They were Inverness Thistle FC and Caledonian FC.

Russell is five months over thirty and Ross will be 32 tomorrow. I hardly think either is over the hill yet.

Yes celtic have not been that great of late and are beatable. If hayes and Doran can stay wide and use the whole pitch I believe we can easily get through their midfield. Their defence has been a bit shaky as well so this could be a great time for us.

I'm sure kenny's back in training but still needs some time. He was out with serious cartlige problems, something that doesn't heal quick.

And dead As for CD's suggestion.......boogger that......lets plant a thistle on the main entrance walkway and get a real eagle to perch on it. I'm sure the Birdman of Eastgate could find us one.

IF she has a baby boy and IF we win you'll have to name him after the player who hits the winner And even if she has a girl you can still call her Nicky

How will it affect pre-season. Players hols will be cut short. But.................................summer footie isa the way to go.

Usually 14.55

To the folk who dished out the red dots for my last comments, would it not make for more constructive debate if you were to actually say where you think I am wrong?

The OP asks, Have they taken the club as far as they can? I'd say NO! I'd then ask. Have the club taken ICT as far as they can? We are a small club with a small fanbase. The players we have work their socks of to achieve success but many of them are not of a standard to win that success on a regular basis. We are troubled by injury within a small squad. We're having to start players who aren't match fit. We can't afford a big enough squad to cover every eventuallity. As was said on another thread, we are a Div 1 club punching above our weight. Butcher and Malpas came in too late to rescue the drop, though they were only a goal away from it. They took us straight back up. They've taken us beyond the relegation zone and they will take us to as high a position as they can in what is their first full season in this league with this team. They will have learned a great deal on the way to where we are and they will apply that learning as long as they remain with us. This season is far from being over and there are a few opportunities left to reach somewhere we have never been before.

Referee's are controlled, supplied and paid for by the SFA. That said I wonder at the mentallity of sending north a ref fom the Edinburgh and Lothians federation. Was he just pee'd off at having to make the journey and travel back at dark o'clock so thought he'd punish or was he genuinely garbage.

One thing not being mentioned by anyone here is the opposition. The OP bases his judgement on Boxing day match against St Mirren. A team who stifle play, a team who play the game on the very edge of the rules. Many teams go out with a game plan only to have it destroyed by the way the opposition play. It costs me in excess of a hundred quid each time I go to watch ICT and, regardless of having seen some bad games, regardless of getting beat at times, I have absolutely no regrets about the spend, nor the time spent. We win games, we lose games, we play brilliant, we play crap, we have big crowds, we have little crowds, we find star quality, we find pub team quality. Guess what?? We are no different to any other team in the league. wanderer I don't see us as having a lop-sided squad. Had every player been available I think we'd have a very balanced squad. Trouble is that for too long this season we've suffered with injury and ilness and had to start too many games with players not suited to the role being asked of them. having said that we are still in sixth and we have a good chance of remaining there.

We've got Dundee Utd (twice) Motherwell, Celtic, Kilmarnock & Hearts. Where do you see these 8 points coming from? . . Lose to Tic and Hearts. Home win DU. Home win Well. Away draw DU. Away draw Killie

Oh ye of little faith. Looking at the fixtures for all teams I believe we can stay wjere we are. We need to re-establish Fortress Longman and I think if we get the injured back into it we can. Aberdeen, Hibs, DU and St Johnstone will all trip each other up and we are capable, on our day, of taking points from Motherwell and Kilmarnock. Being the eternal optimist that I am I see no reason to to worry at the moment. My predictions of the points share around us are: St Johnstone 9 Aberdeen 9 DU 10 Hibs 10 ICT 8 We will finish on 41 pts with DU but with a better GD advantage so just pip them to the sixth spot.

For me the next two games. both at home, against DU then Motherwell are the important ones. Win these and we stay in top six.

I dont see St J as a threat but I do DU and Aberdire so its important that we take the points from both of them.

Seats got damaged. Saints will get a bill and they may or may not pay it. Seats have been damaged in the home stand in the past. We all want to stand at football yet we frequently call for stewards to make people sit down. Doesn't make sense really.

Was won by Scott Brown with 28% of the vote.

Maybe bring some dutch flair to Dingwall

Having read the BBC article I am none the wiser as to what the proposals are or whether George Fraser and anyone else has made a U-turn. I'm sure that todays meeting will have put more information on the table and perhaps, in due course we'll all know exactly whats being proposed, not just in terms of the 10 - 12 SPL but on how it will operate and what effect on the lower leagues. Quoted below is a snippet from the BBC article complete with Georges comments. Personally I see nothing more than sensible talk from the man. Unless I know a great deal more about the set up. How it will affect youth development. The pitfalls of relegation. The system of relegation and promotion. The share out of money and much else to boot then I cant comment more than to say my reaction to a 10 team league remains the same. I'm against it as a stand alone league but if the positives outweigh the negatives of the two league system then who knows.