Alex MacLeod

My view from section B. Firstly I was glad to see a dozen or so Rangers fans in section A, who were joining in with the sectarian smut emanating from the south stand, being evicted within the first fifteen minutes. The game was dire No one player stood out, at least not until Hart came on, and, as a team, they showed no interest in playing football. High balls into a pretty strong wind just doesn't work. We didn't have a forward that could bring the ball down and hold it up. Bayne may have helped out there but sadly he wasn't available. Both our centre backs seemed very nervous and unable to control the game from the back. Considering Smith played with one striker I thought our defence should have been able to do a lot better. Thank god for Ikey. McAllister......he had a couple of slim chances but lost the ball too easily, though the same could be said for Dennis. The lad needs to do some serious sprint training. He was way too slow in the chase with Hutton. My admiration goes to Blackie. He got kicked and elbowed and generally bullied but held his temper and tried to make a game of it. Had this team gone on to the pitch with the same desire as they had last season against Rangers we would have won it easily. If this is what Smith is going to put onto the park every game then Celtic need not worry.

I do admire an optimist :tic01:

My predictions for the season win draw loss v Celtic 1 1 2 v Rangers 1 2 1 v Aberdeen 1 2 1 v Hearts 1 1 2 v Hibs 2 2 0 v Killie 1 2 0 v Motherwell 2 1 0 v Falkirk 1 1 1 v St Mirren 2 1 0 v Dundee U 1 1 1 v Gretna 3 0 0 Celtic to win league. Gretna to go down. ICT fourth with 62 points. Sheer optimism :015: League 1 winners St Johnstone League 2 " Peterhead League 3 " Montrose

I can just about remember the thrill of getting my first leather ball for christmas..........till I kicked it that is :008:

They think he's a highlander so they've given him his gaelic name :003:

The RiG Roll-Call thread hasn't appeared yet so I'll start it n his behalf Who's going to Rangers game? Me and Missus M

v Rangers is a totally different game to v County

From Highand News Legend's death saddens sports world Published: 04 August, 2007 FOCHABERS was the venue yesterday (Wed) for the funeral of one of north football?s best loved faces, former Inverness Thistle player and coach, Willie Grant. Known fondly as 'King Willie?, the Highland League legend died at home in Garmouth, aged 71. He was a terrific goalscorer, netting close to 350 times for Elgin City in the 1950s and 60s in just 255 games and returned to Elgin as a boss in the 80s. He was a proud member of the Elgin side that played Celtic in the Scottish Cup in 1967, the year the Hoops conquered Europe. In the early 70s, he steered Inverness Thistle to successive league titles and his other clubs included Rothes, Hearts, Alloa Athletic and Stirling Albion. Willie, whose death has saddened so many in recent days, is survived by wife Jill and children Gillian, Karen, Richard and Allan.

Who's set to lead attack? Published: 04 August, 2007 GRAHAM Bayne looks set to provide Caley Thistle with an unexpected lift for the SPL opener against Rangers on Saturday. With Romanian international Marius Niculae ineligible to play due to his work permit not being cleared, Bayne could be set for a quickfire return to the team after a toe injury kept him out of the 2-1 pre-season win at Ross County last weekend. Boss Charlie Christie is hopeful Bayne will be ready and he delivered mixed news about his other sidelined stars. He said: ?Graham will have a chance, but we will know better after he has trained a bit later this week. Fortunately, his fitness levels are so high naturally, he?s got a chance. Dean McDonald certainly won?t be available for this week, but we are glad that his ankle damage doesn?t look as bad as it could have been. Ross Tokely is back on the training ground after missing the Ross County game, while Marius?s work permit, I am told by the administration side of the club, won?t be through, which is clearly a disappointment, but we will go on without him. Young Garry Wood looked set to go on loan, however Christie will retain him at least for this weekend, due to McDonald and Niculae?s situations. He explained: ?Garry?s situation will purely revolve around how the other forwards are injury-wise. I may well have to hold on to him for this weekend to give us some sort of cover in attack. However, I?m also very aware one or two of our midfielders have played up front many times and that does give us options.? Meanwhile, Christie explained why he?s not following up his interest in Frenchman Giany Joinville, who played in Dingwall last weekend. He said: ?We thought long and hard but we decided against offering Giany a contract. He showed potential, there?s no doubt about that, but I want somebody that I can be sure of who will come in and do a job. He looked a little bit out of sorts during the Ross County game, so we decided not to pursue him.? And even more...... Let's get off to a flyer! Published: 04 August, 2007 CHARLIE Christie will ask his players to banish bad history when the Clydesdale Bank SPL kicks off with the visit of Rangers this Saturday. In the Setanta-screened 12.30pm clash, Caley Thistle and Walter Smith?s Rangers will officially get the top-flight?s season started and it will offer the Highlanders a chance to start with a result that would, once again, open eyes wide across Scotland. A win and a draw at Ibrox, followed by a pulsating, last-gasp 2-1 clincher against the Glasgow men had Rangers reeling and football fans recognising by the minute the quality within the walls of the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. A much changed side under Walter Smith, along with Ally McCoist, has helped turn Rangers around after the disastrous Paul le Guen era last season and means this will be nothing short of as tough a test that ICT could have been landed with. The manager knows Caley Jags have been notoriously poor starters over the years, but he?s confident a performance of 100 per cent effort could just be the foundation for another famous afternoon for the club. He told the HN: ?Every team is looking to get off to a good start. To be honest, that?s something we?re not recognised for at Caley Thistle. Over the 12 years, I think you could count on the one hand the number of good starts we?ve had, but that?s a challenge for us to rectify. We had a really disappointing result when we lost to St Mirren last year, a team who had just come up from the first division. ?The good thing for me is that the game has caught everyone?s imagination. Rangers are a vastly improved side from the first half of last season. They have made some really good acquisitions and spend millions in the process, which is the luxury the Old Firm have. I do believe though that if we are at our best and we work our socks off then we can compete with these teams now, especially at home.? Although proud of what was achieved against the Gers last term, Christie reckons it counts not a jot this weekend. He explained: ?To take seven points out of nine was phenomenal, especially for a club of our size. ?We must remember though that?s in the past, it?s done and dusted and I don?t believe that counts for much at all. It?s a brand new season, we have new personnel and Rangers certainly have new personnel. They have a huge incentive, to try and get closer to their great rivals, Celtic, but we?ll have seven or eight players who have achieved good results against the Old Firm, so they know what they can achieve.? Overall, ahead of the big kick-off, Christie is keeping his feet on the ground because he knows clubs with more resources than his have dropped out of the SPL. He said: ?First and foremost, we must stay in the SPL. Dunfermline, who are arguably a bigger club than us, have a far greater wage bill, and they had more players in their first-team pool last season, got relegated. Staying in the league is our main aim, but we have talked as a group today about how we must try and do better against those teams around us. ?We also must turn some of those drawn matches into victories ? that could make a big difference to where we finish. ?We are at our best when our work ethic is 100 per cent as a team and a unit. I feel last year we played with more verve and attacking flair than we did in the previous two years in the SPL. We want to keep that up and enhance that if we can. I do look though at the games where we were at our best last season, Rangers at home, Hibs at home and Motherwell away and it?s about matching that in every game.? The ICT boss, himself such a key on-field figure in helping the team grow and improve on the way to the SPL in 2004, reckons the players? desire, spirit and character bring something extra that money cannot buy. He said: ?It?s incredible what the club has achieved and that shouldn?t be under-rated. ?We were tipped to go down in our first season by so many people and to finish eighth, seventh and eighth in our first three years, competing for the middle spots every season is massive achievment and I must take my hat off to these players. ?I have again witnessed in the close season some of the salaries paid by other clubs round about us and I can?t deny that it?s a bit of an eye-opener, but that highlights further that what we have got going in that changing room should never be undervalued. I don?t think some people realise just what that means to this club. ?The players, and the coaching staff, are desperate to keep going in the right direction, but we must temper that with what we are achieving in the position we?re in.?

From the Highland News Barry set for special year Published: 04 August, 2007 BARRY Wilson has netted a testimonial season one year earlier than expected ? and he aims to enjoy every moment of it. The 35-year-old ICT midfielder can?t wait for the Clydesdale Bank SPL season to get started against Rangers on Saturday. He?s loving life in the top-flight as much as he ever has and performances justify his starting 11 selection. So much so, the club have taken the unprecedented step of making this, his ninth season for ICT, his special one, with testimonial matches and events to follow ? one year ahead of the customary 10 which normally mark such milestones. He told the Highland News: ?I enjoyed last season immensely because I felt I played some decent football consistently, that has been the most pleasing factor for me over the past two or three years. ?If I could repeat that standard again this season, I?d be delighted. I imagine it will be harder because the squad is full of midfielders at the minute vying for four places, but the manager has always said that if you play well you?ll stay in the team, so that?s my aim. ?I will then see how things are going come January or February and discuss where to go from there. I have been granted a testimonial year this season, the club have been fantastic in offering me that one year early. ?I don?t know if I will be here for a 10th year, we?ll see how the legs cope with another full stint in the premier league. ?When you get older, the more pre-season you get under your belt, you become one closer to the end, but I feel really good. I have done all the running, haven?t missed any days and feel pretty sharp, so fitness-wise I?m feeling great.? Wilson?s wing play has deservedly kept him high in boss Charlie Christie?s thoughts and his pace and fitness pre-season was up there with the best of his team-mates. Now he can?t wait to torment Rangers in Saturday lunchtime?s TV treat. He said: ?There?s always a buzz at the start of the season, but with this game being on the TV and it being Rangers then it adds that little bit to it. If we can get one of the results that we got against them last season then we?ll be happy. ?To get a win and a draw at Ibrox, any club would take that. And to go on and win 2-1 up here against them was another great achievement because we were down and we turned it around. That was probably our best result of the season.? Wilson, who had three years at Livingston before returning to ICT in 2003, reckons a strong start to the campaign is so vital and can have a bearing on how the rest of the year will shape up for the Caley Jags. He added: ?Given the size of our club, we can?t get carried away. While we are established at this level, you have to remember the likes of Dundee United in the past and Dunfermline last season that all it takes is a bad start to the season and you?re down there. ?We?ll be going all out to get a good start and move away from any potential trouble as early as possible and, if we can do that, then we look towards the top six.?

You seem to have a conflict of copyright CD. Love the pic of Zander.....sheer determination

Fraser Tokely Caff Munro Hastings Wilson McBain Hart Black Rankin Bayne

They were never playing in Inverness anyway.........................Its at Drumnadrochit :003:

Maggie

None of them. Players have moved from this club before and will do again but we will still function.

Not many terracings had roofs but they did have atmosphere.

Stuart....kicked it ??

Aberdeen Elgin and Gretna

Courier today CALEY Thistle's SPL opener with Rangers on Saturday is set to attract the biggest crowd ever to watch a football match in Inverness. The Inverness side are currently in the process of putting the finishing touches to a new West Stand with 300 seats to house its new singing section, taking the capacity of Tulloch Caledonian Stadium to over 7800. The club's record attendance is 7522 for the 2-1 win, ironically over Rangers, in December last year, but that looks set to be eclipsed when the Light Blues visit this weekend. "The fans think it's fantastic that the club has created this dedicated area for those who want to add to the atmosphere by singing," said ICT Supporters Trust chairman Les Kidger. After teething problems with establishing the singing section towards the end of last season, Caley Thistle chairman Alan Savage believes a solution has been found that benefits all parties involved "We're pleased to be able to construct a solution to enable our singing section to strike a high note in the new season," he stated. "At the same time, it extends the ground capacity to a new record size, which is a great help for big games and also throws a lifeline to those who thought they'd missed out on a chance of a ticket for the Rangers match. "The Supporters Trust are working with us to ensure all those who want to change seats to be in the new singing section venue do so as quickly as possible so we can take full advantage of the extra capacity on Saturday." The new West Stand will be initially be without a roof, but there are plans to add one in the future.

Nothing like blowing your own trumpet Wilsy :015: Morgans contract is till january. I also hope he puts in the work and wins a slot.

They didn't get it first time around

Sounds good to me

Anything up to 200 euro to watch Barca v Real

How can anyone say Wood seems better. He's never played in SPL. Maybe he'll clam up just like Rory. Rory has a far better scoring record in the reserves. I hope Rory gets it together this season and proves the hecklers and armchair managers wrong. I also hope Wood gets a chance to show what he is capable of. The other thing I cant quite grasp is how can you judge the lad so negatively when he's only had ten starts in the three years we've been in this league and scored four goals. To judge on the numerous ten minute spells as a sub is pathetic. It takes any player that time to get into the swing of the game. Dont get me wrong. I can get as frustrated as anyone with players and I'd be the first to complain if I thought the lad had no talent. But he does and will come good.

Have we got definite plans for friday people. Been a struggle for me to find a hotel but think I've got a dungeon in the Columba. All the decent places are full up. Think Pipe Band Championships and Rangers could have something to do with that.