Calling Mantis, Charlie B

[Renegade]

Just as well Clach didn't join the merger as well then. Who wants to sit next to some old smelly nut from Dalneigh?

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

Just as well Clach didn't join the merger as well then. Who wants to sit next to some old smelly nut from Dalneigh?

Yet again renegade your ignorance of football in Inverness shines through

Edited March 14, 2009 by DALNEIGHCALEY

[Renegade]

Wow! That really is constructive of you. Please continue, share your enthralling knowledge with us all.

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

Wow! That really is constructive of you. Please continue, share your enthralling knowledge with us all.

Quick history lesson for renegades benefit , Caley drew most of their support from Dalneigh and Clach from Merkinch .

[Renegade]

Silence. That is the sound of me caring.

[Scarlet Pimple]

I would be surprised if many Dinwall fans came through to Inverness if ICT and County merged in any way.

Mind you, the wives might be very persuasive in getting the hubbies out of their armchairs if they really wanted to shop in the bigger toon.

[culduthel]

But how many of the pre merger brigade are now supporting ICT ? Why did you start supporting ICT ? What do you think of the stay away population

I am 55 years old. I started supporting Caley at the age of six ( first game I went to with my Father ). Lived up The Crown but always made my way to Telford Street with three or four of my mates on a Saturday afternoon.

At the age of sixteen I started to become slightly confused about my loyalties. I ended up on the Thistle Juniors Team. At that time we also trained with the seniors on Tuesday & Thursday nights. But I still kept going with my support of Caley. By the time I was in my late teens I had good mates playing for Caley, Thistle and Clach. So had an interest in seeing all three teams doing well. Never felt any animosity to Thistle or Clach, in fact would go along to their games every now and then even though I was still a Caley supporter

I was overseas when the meger occurred and was suprised about how bitter people got when it happened. I started supporting ICT at the formation of the Club. Still always go to games when I get home.

I know of friends who did not support ICT in the first few years of formation but are now fans going to nearly every game. An incubation period of about two-three years seems to have been about the average for those that felt badly betrayed.

After all this time I am suprised that there is still a serious stay away population. Seems like an eternity to carry a grudge. Or they must be the ones that had something wrong with their brain wiring in the first place. Which ever way you look at it now - would you want their type back as supporters? Better off without them.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

I think my point is that I follow ICT becos it is in my heart. I have no qualms in saying that I now think of ICT as an extension of Caley and I suspect may Jeggies think of them as an extension of Thistle. I am merely continuing to follow a team playing out of the land of my birth. Inverness will always be my "home" and ICT will be in my heart.

I think it is unfair to chastise the "rebels" as - sorry - I can understand their depth of feeling. At the end of the day it is an individual decision. And to them - and fer a time fer me - It was abit like Hibs/Hearts or Dundee/Arabs or even Cellic/Rangers joining forces. The only thing I can say is that if Caley had merged with Elgin or County you would never see me fer feckin dust.

[Caley Mad In Berks]

Again I find myself agreeing with IHE. That's twice in a week now, really very worrying. I feel exactly the same way about ICT, to me it is just an extension of my feelings for Caley, which is in my blood, and always will be. I know that had I been in Inverness in the time leading up to the merger that I would have been dead against it. It was only my remoteness, and therefore lack of direct involvement that made it seem to me not so much of an issue. What surprises me reading the Pie and Bovril thread is how relatively young the main 'rebels' are. They seem to have only been Caley supporters for a few years before the merger. I would have expected them to be more 'died in the wool' Caley fans like myself from the 50s and 60s who would have been the most opposed.

[Charles Bannerman]

Again I find myself agreeing with IHE. That's twice in a week now, really very worrying. I feel exactly the same way about ICT, to me it is just an extension of my feelings for Caley, which is in my blood, and always will be. I know that had I been in Inverness in the time leading up to the merger that I would have been dead against it. It was only my remoteness, and therefore lack of direct involvement that made it seem to me not so much of an issue. What surprises me reading the Pie and Bovril thread is how relatively young the main 'rebels' are. They seem to have only been Caley supporters for a few years before the merger. I would have expected them to be more 'died in the wool' Caley fans like myself from the 50s and 60s who would have been the most opposed.

Most of the Rebels I knew would by now be in the 40-60 age range. Maybe it's become chic to be a Retro Rebel, a wee bit like all these Americans who claim they were on the grassy knoll, even to the extent that there are some people claiming to be Rebels who were little more than glints in their fathers' eyes at the time of the merger.

I have to say I never fail to be amazed at the fascination which the Caley Rebels, and especially the Refuseniks who were only a slice of the larger group called Rebels, still seem to command. 15 years on the Caley Rebels really are little more than an historical footnote, albeit from my point of view an intriguingly interesting one. But what really stands out is the undue significance those who never went to see ICT out of protest etc seem to command. They really were quite a small slice of a then much smaller Saturday football support in Inverness and certainly only a handful compared with the massive increase in attandance at matches which has ensued since they began to stay away. Why do people keep getting excited about a group of people who, fair enough, had a perfectly legitimate point of view, but who numerically only represent a tiny proportion of Inverness football support?

[Scotty]

I was a Howden Ender (when time permitted) back before the merger.

Working 2 out of every 4 Saturdays meant that I couldnt always get to games and to be honest, I was never too bothered about away ones and only went to a handful. During the last couple of seasons of "Caley", I went to more matches than in the previous years but still not what you could call a diehard who went to every game.

I did not participate in any of the merger meetings - on either side - but if pushed, my leanings would have been to support the merger.

And so to season 1994/95. My work patterns had changed somewhat (promotion meant I could plan my time better and look at things like fixture lists when deciding days off etc) so in the first season I made it to a lot more CT games than I did to Caley games. I also started the website that was to become CaleyThistleOnline to coincide with the start of the first season and started to meet some of the characters who have become friends over the years.

I too find the idea/suggestion of another merger troublesome. Despite being a Dalneigh boy, with Caley in the blood so to speak, I have a lot more invested in ICT emotionally than I ever did in Caley and would probably find myself in a situation not unlike Mr Douglas if that were to happen. Although I understand and respect the stance of AD, and others like Kavs etc., I don't necessarily agree with them on the Caley/ICT issue. However, if the circumstances were repeated and another merger came on the radar then I would probably find myself acting in exactly the same manner as they did unless there was a very good reason for it happening (like avoiding bankruptcy/closure or something like that) so maybe we have more in common than I think.

[DJS]

Went to Dalneigh School and grew up just across the canal from Telford Street Park so was a regular there from the start of the 70s. Spent many happy hours in the Howden End and was never happier than when Caley were beating league teams in the Scottish Cup. Just thinking about it I saw them beat Stenhousemuir (x2), Alloa, Albion Rovers, Clyde and Airdrie. Happy Days!

I supported the merger from the off and voted for it. Have never regretted that decision.

Sometimes I think our younger fans who never spent time in Telford Street or Kingsmills Park don't quite appreciate the enormity of what has happened. When I see ICT beat Celtic or Rangers it still completely blows my mind. I could only have dreamt of things like that happening when I was a young man. I have lived some of my dreams and am blessed indeed.

Perhaps, though, the greatest achievement of the lot is the merger itself. That is a real rarity in recent football history though it clearly once happened a lot if you look at all the Uniteds around the place.

It annoys me a bit on these forums when Caley and Thistle are treated as something completely different from Inverness Caledonian Thistle. The history of the two Highland League sides are part of Inverness Caledonian Thistle's history and I don't think we should try and seperate it.

[caleyboy]

.....It annoys me a bit on these forums when Caley and Thistle are treated as something completely different from Inverness Caledonian Thistle. The history of the two Highland League sides are part of Inverness Caledonian Thistle's history and I don't think we should try and seperate it.

Good point DJS - ICT was created by those two great clubs and both should be remembered with gratitude.

[Doresboy]

Echo what IHE said :thumb04:

Still wont sing Oh 2 be a Jaggy thou

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Just think about it though - It gives ya the opportunity to then stand up, hold yer arms up high and laud the CALEY.

When I first started going it was a Tink song - feck that - I'd rather be a Jaggie than a Tink.

[Guest birdog]

Just think about it though - It gives ya the opportunity to then stand up, hold yer arms up high and laud the CALEY.

When I first started going it was a Tink song - feck that - I'd rather be a Jaggie than a Tink.

HEHEHE they (the gypos) got into the SFL after an amazing cup run and forced the beaks into giving them the other place by creating the illusion that they were the Highlands premier team so we ended up stealing their thunder and their song. I have only just started joining in the O2B chants myself this season (if it's good enough for IHE :thumb04: ) my boy still hates folks shouting for Thistle though,even though he was born 6 years after the merger, well indoctrinated that one.

[Charles Bannerman]

HEHEHE they (the gypos) got into the SFL after an amazing cup run and forced the beaks into giving them the other place by creating the illusion that they were the Highlands premier team so we ended up stealing their thunder and their song. I have only just started joining in the O2B chants myself this season (if it's good enough for IHE ) my boy still hates folks shouting for Thistle though,even though he was born 6 years after the merger, well indoctrinated that one.

To be rather more realistic, Ross County presented an excellent case to te SFL in 93-94 and were well worth their election. Indeed it was Ross County who were the "stick ons" as the vote approached since the Inverness bid was hovering on the brink of strangling itself and it only even got to the starting line principally on the basis of an illusory truce with the Caley Rebels which the Rebels then reneged on within a week of the vote.

Edited March 19, 2009 by Charles Bannerman

[old caley girl]

Echo what IHE said

Still wont sing Oh 2 be a Jaggy thou :thumb04:

me neither Doresboy! However, my 10 year old asked me why not on Saturday. Have to say found it difficult to explain and justify.

I agree that the young folk not around at the time of the merger don't understand what an enormous thing it was at the time. I feel very strongly about keeping the Caley (and Thistle) bit alive and that this part of the history of the club is important. I also pinch myself when I see an Inverness team (and my team) playing the OF etc. I am proud of how far this club has come in relatively a short time. Wasn't completely convinced by the merger at the time but now I can see what a great thing it has been.

[bluesbrother]

Gosh I'd forgotten about the Football Times - I used to walk down to the paper shop with my Dad after tea on Saturday to buy it, then eagerly wait until he'd finished reading it.

I remember it was reborn at one stage and printed on pink paper, and marketed briefly as "The Pink", but I can't recall anyone ever calling it that. It even had "The Pink" printed on the front of it beside its proper name - all rather contrived if you ask me - a bit like Meadowbank Thistle being reborn as Livingston and coming out of the box complete with 'team nickname' of "Livi Lions" or whatever.

Which makes me wonder if there are any equally bitter Meadowbank Thistle supporters seething away every Saturday in their Meadowbank slums, miles away from the action in Almondvale.

A few Meadowbank fans initially supported Edinburgh City post 94, but not many still go, very few ever watched Livingston.

[old caley girl]

Must look at Pie and Bovril after today's result. I bet a lot of bitter people will be very happy and sitting anticipating the worst for us.

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

I know of a few Rebels who are on the look out for tickets for the " dump " for their first ever visit !!!

SMEE might even put in an appearance .

Edited May 17, 2009 by DALNEIGHCALEY

[Charles Bannerman]

I know of a few Rebels who are on the look out for tickets for the " dump " for their first ever visit !!!

SMEE might even put in an appearance .

Mmmm... maybe these chaps still find it a bit difficult to accept that even the worst case scenario of 3 years in Division 3, two in D2, five in D1 and five in the SPL plus two Scottish Cup semi finals and a Challenge Cup victory etc, etc, etc....maybe just edges their somewhat more limited conception of a further fifteen years of Caley - Jaggie abuse across the confines of Telford Street and Kingsmills Park. :)

[old caley girl]

A bit off topic I know but has anyone else had gloating relatives/friends suddently get in touch to gloat about yesterday. My brother told me yesterday was the best day of his life! Nearly punched him - sad man :angry: :angry: :angry:

[Charles Bannerman]

A bit off topic I know but has anyone else had gloating relatives/friends suddently get in touch to gloat about yesterday. My brother told me yesterday was the best day of his life! Nearly punched him - sad man :angry:

With relations like that, who needs enemies!

I understand there is a parody on Pie and Bovril of the Norwegian commentator's "Winston Churchill, Maggie Thatcher..." rant. I feel privileged to have been singled out for a place in that particular litany.

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

I've had loads of gloating texts from refuseniks since our relegation .