Merger Talk

[Yngwie]

i personally know hundreds of people who would have stopped following football in Inverness due to the merger,most follow other SPL teams now or just dont go to a game rather than follow ICT.

 

 

Name them.

[reefinweedallday]

 

I'd like us just to play in solid red and blue vertically striped strips, Barcelona style.

 

Absolutely, it's unique within the Scottish game, displays an intertwining of Inverness Thistle and Caledonian and would end the calls of the club showing a bias towards the latter.

 

I also believe that a Caledonian style home shirt and Thistle away is a ridiculous idea that would do nothing more than open up old wounds.

 

Bring back the stripes!

 

      unique to Elgin City??

[reefinweedallday]

 

i personally know hundreds of people who would have stopped following football in Inverness due to the merger,most follow other SPL teams now or just dont go to a game rather than follow ICT.

 

 

Name them.

 

Would you know them all? you must be the Electoral roll?

[Scotty]

Elgin dont play in red/blue stripes ......

[Scotty]

 

 

i personally know hundreds of people who would have stopped following football in Inverness due to the merger,most follow other SPL teams now or just dont go to a game rather than follow ICT.

 

Name them.

 

Would you know them all? you must be the Electoral roll?

 

I dont believe there are still 100s (if there were ever quite that many) ......

 

There may have been a fair sized group in 93/94 and beyond, but some have decided to follow ICT, for some life changes happened and football would no longer be in their weekly plans anyway, some are no longer with us on this planet, and still others have moved to the other side of various oceans ......

 

There may be 'dozens' around in total, but once you consider only those in Inverness or still attending football (at other grounds) then I would suggest the number is in single figures !

[clacher_holiday2]

reef, if these hundreds of die hard caley/thistle fans really exist, why didn't they vote to save their clubs from death?

[reefinweedallday]

I don't understand this "can you afford to lose 100 fans" argument....even if I was to accept that the number might be anywhere near that level.

 

Given the choice between having 100 merger stay aways or the couple of thousand additional fans picked up since the merger then, financially, it's a no-brainer.

I'm not so sure about the couple of thousand picked up? Inverness has grown in size quite dramatically from 1994 to the present day and has a lot of incomers who had no affiliation to either club.

ICT do have a lot of fans outwith inverness and who have moved here for work etc,that much you can not debate surely? add that to the fact that Inverness had a club in the Scottish league and a combination of both Caley and Thistle fans who didn't stay away i dont think the figure is anywhere near the couple of thousand you believe.

 

I stand by the statement that ICT can not afford to have any stayaway fans,nor any club in the present climate for that matter.It's neither here nor there if you believe this number to be correct,i actually believe it is a few hundred higher but for debate's sake i am calculating it at a nice round hundred just to point out the club can not afford to lose money in any way.I do believe that this season ICT could do with those few hundred more than ever looking at the attendance figures.

[reefinweedallday]

reef, if these hundreds of die hard caley/thistle fans really exist, why didn't they vote to save their clubs from death?

 

Clacher if you can find anything about the merger you should read up on it.....or ask Charles to tell you the full ins and outs.

Mr Dougie Macgillvary and some of his fellow board members i believe paid money to people to go along to vote.banned certain "members" from being allowed to vote,told the players exactly which way they should all vote...or face the consequences.

 

You were also only allowed to vote if you were a season ticket holder,in those days i dont remember the vast majority having season tickets the grounds could hold 3000+ it was never going to be a sell out and for us young lads on a couple of quid pocket money a week a season ticket was a lot of paper rounds!!

[CaleyD]

Whatever way you want to cut it, ICT have more fans...and did so immediately following the merger...than the previous combined total for Caledonian and Thistle.

 

The fanbase has grown due to the success of ICT who were allowed to follow a path which was not, at the time, open to either team individually.  Had we still two Highland League teams then I very much doubt the combined total attendance for both would match current levels for ICT....that's if both clubs were even still in business.

[reefinweedallday]

 

 

 

i personally know hundreds of people who would have stopped following football in Inverness due to the merger,most follow other SPL teams now or just dont go to a game rather than follow ICT.

 

Name them.

 

Would you know them all? you must be the Electoral roll?

 

I dont believe there are still 100s (if there were ever quite that many) ......

 

There may have been a fair sized group in 93/94 and beyond, but some have decided to follow ICT, for some life changes happened and football would no longer be in their weekly plans anyway, some are no longer with us on this planet, and still others have moved to the other side of various oceans ......

 

There may be 'dozens' around in total, but once you consider only those in Inverness or still attending football (at other grounds) then I would suggest the number is in single figures !

 

So you dont believe that there are supporters buses leaving for Celtic Park,Ibrox,Pittodrie? on a weekly basis as well as the people travelling on trains and buses to the likes of Hibs,Dundee United and Hearts? How many does a bus full of supporters hold? the vast majority who travel on these buses were at one time Thistle or Caley fans.

I would agree that sadly some have passed on their way and others have moved to eh..the central belt(could never follow ICT from there)

[CaleyD]

These buses were all running before the merger took place....!!!

[reefinweedallday]

Whatever way you want to cut it, ICT have more fans...and did so immediately following the merger...than the previous combined total for Caledonian and Thistle.

 

The fanbase has grown due to the success of ICT who were allowed to follow a path which was not, at the time, open to either team individually.  Had we still two Highland League teams then I very much doubt the combined total attendance for both would match current levels for ICT....that's if both clubs were even still in business.

Not disputing that fact in the slightest D.I am trying to offer a debate from the "other" side and i will always stand by the 100s figure as i personally know so many that follow other SPL teams all because of the merger.We can only make presumptions but i believe we would have had similair crowds had the club been called Caley oR Thistle most in Inverness were desperate for a club to get in to the Scottish leagues,it's more the underhand way things were rushed through that sticks in a lot of peoples throats.

[reefinweedallday]

These buses were all running before the merger took place....!!!

Woosh!! My point being that people followed Caley or Thistle,yes they still supported other SPL teams because Inverness wasn't in the league.

Once they merger happened these people started following their SPL team and got on these buses or got on trains to follow "other" teams when they would have been happy to follow Inverness if it had been done in a proper fashion and not the underhand way it was.

 

I don't expect you to understand the feelings D you didn't follow football then so i understand you don't have a full grasp on things.

[reefinweedallday]

Elgin dont play in red/blue stripes ......

hmmm have a look at their away kit

[CaleyD]

Your argument is entirely based on If's and But's....we don't know when a sole bid by Caley or Thistle might have been accepted to the SFL....if ever....let alone be able to have any idea of how successful they might have been without the backing of people from both sides that contributed to the success of the current team.

 

That's not a statement in support of the merger (which I neither wanted or agreed with), that's just the way it is.

 

How do you come to the conclusion that I didn't follow football back then?

[Renegade]

 

Elgin dont play in red/blue stripes ......

hmmm have a look at their away kit

 

 

Hmmm I think it's clear people are taking about the home shirt...

[reefinweedallday]

Your argument is entirely based on If's and But's....we don't know when a sole bid by Caley or Thistle might have been accepted to the SFL....if ever....let alone be able to have any idea of how successful they might have been without the backing of people from both sides that contributed to the success of the current team.

 

That's not a statement in support of the merger (which I neither wanted or agreed with), that's just the way it is.

Think i already posted we can only make assumptions did i not......keep up lad

[CaleyD]

 

Elgin dont play in red/blue stripes ......

hmmm have a look at their away kit

 

 

Our away kit this season is White, but you wouldn't say ICT play in White!!!

[CaleyD]

 

Your argument is entirely based on If's and But's....we don't know when a sole bid by Caley or Thistle might have been accepted to the SFL....if ever....let alone be able to have any idea of how successful they might have been without the backing of people from both sides that contributed to the success of the current team.

 

That's not a statement in support of the merger (which I neither wanted or agreed with), that's just the way it is.

Think i already posted we can only make assumptions did i not......keep up lad

 

 

We don't have to assume anything about ICT.....it happened and all the facts and figures are there, no speculation involved in that side of the discussion.

[reefinweedallday]

 

 

Elgin dont play in red/blue stripes ......

hmmm have a look at their away kit

 

 

Hmmm I think it's clear people are taking about the home shirt...

 

really? i think if i read correctly you said it was unique to the Scottish game? no mention of home or away kits.Happy to help educate you   

[reefinweedallday]

 

 

Elgin dont play in red/blue stripes ......

hmmm have a look at their away kit

 

 

Our away kit this season is White, but you wouldn't say ICT play in White!!!

 

ok so when they play away in white i will say they played in blue will i? haha that is quite incredible

[Renegade]

So people are discussing the club's shirt/identity and expressing a view of having a unique design for the home shirts.  Aye, it really is a mystery which one they were talking about!  

Edited January 8, 2013 by Renegade

[reefinweedallday]

 

 

Your argument is entirely based on If's and But's....we don't know when a sole bid by Caley or Thistle might have been accepted to the SFL....if ever....let alone be able to have any idea of how successful they might have been without the backing of people from both sides that contributed to the success of the current team.

 

That's not a statement in support of the merger (which I neither wanted or agreed with), that's just the way it is.

Think i already posted we can only make assumptions did i not......keep up lad

 

 

We don't have to assume anything about ICT.....it happened and all the facts and figures are there, no speculation involved in that side of the discussion.

 

have you read anything? another ridiculous post, suppose it gets the post count up a bit more

[Charles Bannerman]

 

 

You were also only allowed to vote if you were a season ticket holder,in those days i dont remember the vast majority having season tickets the grounds could hold 3000+ it was never going to be a sell out and for us young lads on a couple of quid pocket money a week a season ticket was a lot of paper rounds!!

 

 

 

Reef... why can't people just accept the facts based on concrete evidence rather than continually regurgitating the same anecdotal and unsubstantiated myths based on wishful tninking?

 

PRE MERGER

* Typical combined attendances at Telford Street and Kingsmills were around 600 - so you seem to be suggesting that roughly as many people stopped going as ever attended in the first place. This reminds me of the Battle of Britain when the Luftwaffe claimed to have shot down more planes than the RAF actually had

* About 160 attended between the two original merger meetings.

* After both sides within Caley recruited exhaustively for weeks and, note, with season tickets costing just £20 for adults (and £10 for juveniles) they managed to increase that to 576 - of whom 226 voted against the merger in the second vote.

 

POST MERGER

* There is a core minimum home attendance of nearly 3000 but more typically nearer 3500.

 

CONCLUSION - Irrespective of a very few who may not have wished to buy into it, the merger has resulted in hugely increased numbers of people watching football at a hugely higher level and has hence contributed massively to the game in this area.

 

Your base maximum figure for refuseniks is 226, many of whom now attend, have left the area or have died.

So where are all these people that this serial wishful thinking, based on bald claims with no evidence whatsoever is coming up with?

 

SUGGESTION TO THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO MAKE THESE VACUOUS CLAIMS - join the Flat Earth Society whose views have a rather better chance of enjoying some credibility.

Edited January 8, 2013 by Charles Bannerman

[reefinweedallday]

Normal people knew what I talking about. 

Oh you know me then? i can't help the fact you make statements that aren't true and i have to correct you