Matchday Thread Ross County -V- Inverness CT

[old caley girl]

I think the best line iv heard on facebook is that they are still better because their ground has 4 stands and not 3 lol. (The fact that we still have 1500 more seats with 3 doesnt come into it eh)

Viccy Park used to be a good wee ground back in the day. When County won promotion to the SPL there was a load of hot air about what a fabby wee stadium it would be, but I was warning anybody that would listen that it would turn into a library once they got all those new seats.

Was reminiscing with L_G about this on Thursday, remembering when both ends were terraces and bouncing! The away end does benefit from being so close to the pitch tho....

[+Wanderer]

but I was warning anybody that would listen that it would turn into a library once they got all those new seats.

No, really, you? On our treks north? You were warning? Honestly John, you were like a Trappist Monk on those drives...

[davie]

In among the bitter nonsense there can be the occasional uncomfortable truth which we can be reluctant to own up to.  Whilst we did see a bit of an increase in the home attendance against Aberdeen it was still disappointing for a "winner goes 2nd" match against North rivals.  It is also true that our fans were pretty quiet on that occasion.  We get large numbers of noisy support OTB and it does seem to be the case there are some who reserve their support for ICT for games against County.  If the some of the vocal support generated in Dingwall could be transferred to routine home games it would make a massive difference to the atmosphere which in turn would have a positive effect on the team and attendances. 

 

After a large and noisy turnout at Dingwall, are we going to revert to a sub 3,000 crowd on Sunday with just occasional bursts of support from time to time.?

What a spectacularly poor post. There is categorically no "uncomfortable truth" with our crowds. There were 6614 at the game, of which 3052 were Aberdeen fans. That means that 3562 people made the effort to be there and support their team, a fact that delights me. The club were so grateful for the support at dingwall that they released a statement thanking the fans who made the trip. The assertion that there are some people only go to games against county is frankly ridiculous. If it's not, please give me some evidence and I'll target these people as the ones we need to get along to TCS regularly and make the noise that you snipe about. It is difficult sometimes to create a vast amount of noise in such an open stadium but I don't think that it makes the people who turn up, pay their money and support the club and less than valued. What does make it difficult is the constant carping about how poor our support is from people who ought to know better. So do us a favour DD and give it a rest for a wee while eh? You've made your point.

[The Mantis]

 

but I was warning anybody that would listen that it would turn into a library once they got all those new seats.

No, really, you? On our treks north? You were warning? Honestly John, you were like a Trappist Monk on those drives...

 

Shut it.

[+DoofersDad]

 

In among the bitter nonsense there can be the occasional uncomfortable truth which we can be reluctant to own up to.  Whilst we did see a bit of an increase in the home attendance against Aberdeen it was still disappointing for a "winner goes 2nd" match against North rivals.  It is also true that our fans were pretty quiet on that occasion.  We get large numbers of noisy support OTB and it does seem to be the case there are some who reserve their support for ICT for games against County.  If the some of the vocal support generated in Dingwall could be transferred to routine home games it would make a massive difference to the atmosphere which in turn would have a positive effect on the team and attendances. 

 

After a large and noisy turnout at Dingwall, are we going to revert to a sub 3,000 crowd on Sunday with just occasional bursts of support from time to time.?

What a spectacularly poor post. There is categorically no "uncomfortable truth" with our crowds. There were 6614 at the game, of which 3052 were Aberdeen fans. That means that 3562 people made the effort to be there and support their team, a fact that delights me. The club were so grateful for the support at dingwall that they released a statement thanking the fans who made the trip. The assertion that there are some people only go to games against county is frankly ridiculous. If it's not, please give me some evidence and I'll target these people as the ones we need to get along to TCS regularly and make the noise that you snipe about. It is difficult sometimes to create a vast amount of noise in such an open stadium but I don't think that it makes the people who turn up, pay their money and support the club and less than valued. What does make it difficult is the constant carping about how poor our support is from people who ought to know better. So do us a favour DD and give it a rest for a wee while eh? You've made your point.

 

Charming!  I write a post praising the support on Thursday and saying it would be great if that kind of support could also be given to the team at routine home games - and I'm told to give it a rest! 

[CaleyD]

Sorry DD, but I read your post as being a pop at the home fans as well.

 

Not suggesting we do nothing to generate atmosphere at home, but if your expectation is recreating what happens with our fans away then you will forever be disappointed.  Frustrating as it might be, there is nothing you, I, the club or anyone else can do to bring the away crowd atmosphere to the home stadium.....and it's the same for every other club around the world.

 

Until a couple of years ago I had never read a football book in my life....I don't think I had ever even bought a football magazine.  In fact, I've still never bought a football book, but I have received a few as presents.  If asked what I've learned most from those I've read it would be that the world of football has no comparison.  How clubs operate cannot (and should not) be looked at or run as you would any other business and, perhaps more importantly, football fans are not comparable to fans of other sports...nor do they behave like customers of any other product.

 

Even when it comes to drawing comparisons between clubs you have to tread carefully as no two clubs operate in the same way and no two sets of fans have the same "dynamics".  If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense....after all, if every club did everything the same and behaved in the same way then what would drive a person to choose one over another?

 

I'll stop before I get any further off topic...this is the match thread after all!!

[DALNEIGHCALEY]

Sorry DD, but I read your post as being a pop at the home fans as well.

 

Not suggesting we do nothing to generate atmosphere at home, but if your expectation is recreating what happens with our fans away then you will forever be disappointed.  Frustrating as it might be, there is nothing you, I, the club or anyone else can do to bring the away crowd atmosphere to the home stadium.....and it's the same for every other club around the world.

 

Until a couple of years ago I had never read a football book in my life....I don't think I had ever even bought a football magazine.  In fact, I've still never bought a football book, but I have received a few as presents.  If asked what I've learned most from those I've read it would be that the world of football has no comparison.  How clubs operate cannot (and should not) be looked at or run as you would any other business and, perhaps more importantly, football fans are not comparable to fans of other sports...nor do they behave like customers of any other product.

 

Even when it comes to drawing comparisons between clubs you have to tread carefully as no two clubs operate in the same way and no two sets of fans have the same "dynamics".  If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense....after all, if every club did everything the same and behaved in the same way then what would drive a person to choose one over another?

 

I'll stop before I get any further off topic...this is the match thread after all!!

 

 

 

Have you ever watched a game from the Turkish Super Lig or even the Bundesliga ?

Edited January 4, 2015 by DALNEIGHCALEY

[gingerjaggy]

It would be great to generate the same atmosphere at home as is generated away otherwise we we would be the template for clubs all over the country. Wasnt there on new year but was a great turnout for the derby. The fact is all clubs have to allocate people seat numbers now compared to terraces and of course as is present in the north stand you can get groups together but unless season ticket holders want to move the club cant force them to move. The fact is the hardcore fans are usually at the away games which is where the atmosphere comes from where as at home we have families and older people who may not want to sing a lot. I also support Man Utd and they have installed a specific section to get all the fans who go away to get together to create an atmosphere in one corner of a 76000 seater stadium. We also have the issue of having a stadium that is no noise friendly but again something the club cant do much about at this present time. Anyway went off topic fine win and hopefully double that up tomorrow against St Mirren and we will be back on track. Just because we lost 3 on the bounce we are still only 5 points off top spot so bring it on.

[12th Man]

My hearts in Inverness
A hidden treasure chest,
A grand win over shadows
My Bridge and Castillo

 

For you
You
I'd give it all.

 

 

[12th Man]

It would be great to generate the same atmosphere at home as is generated away otherwise we we would be the template for clubs all over the country. Wasnt there on new year but was a great turnout for the derby. The fact is all clubs have to allocate people seat numbers now compared to terraces and of course as is present in the north stand you can get groups together but unless season ticket holders want to move the club cant force them to move. The fact is the hardcore fans are usually at the away games which is where the atmosphere comes from where as at home we have families and older people who may not want to sing a lot. I also support Man Utd and they have installed a specific section to get all the fans who go away to get together to create an atmosphere in one corner of a 76000 seater stadium. We also have the issue of having a stadium that is no noise friendly but again something the club cant do much about at this present time. Anyway went off topic fine win and hopefully double that up tomorrow against St Mirren and we will be back on track. Just because we lost 3 on the bounce we are still only 5 points off top spot so bring it on.

Celtic were hoping to challenge the standing/ seating rule by having a flat standing area for supporters, any news on how this is progressing.

[Sneckboy]

The win in Dingwall also meant that, unusually, we didn't draw a single away league game throughout the whole of 2014. It was either 3 points or nothing!

Our last score-draw 'on-the-road' was August 2013 - so it's actually never happened since Hughes took over...if anyone's interested!

[bdu98196]

Win a game, play well and get back on track yet all we discuss is crowds and focus on negatives? There is next to no build up for the St M game, only looking back..............everyone scared to say a positive incase they get the 'happy clapper' tag?

[Iain]

Every SPFL team has a vocally poor home support.

[davie]

Every SPFL team has a vocally poor home support.

This is true. I've even been to Celtic Park and sung "is this a library?" when there were an alleged 40 odd thousand in the ground. I wonder if this is a malaise that is solely confined to football or is it part of a shift to a much more homogenised society where vocalising support is frowned upon. It seems so. The football fans traditional lexicon has been limited by fears of offending someone (anyone), banner waving politicised and frowned upon, singing subject to unworkable and discriminatory laws. The power of fans to challenge this is limited by the fact that they have been demonised for years by a London and Edinburgh elite who make the laws and are far more interested in rugby. Any objection is drowned by them. This isn't the case in bundesliga. Most of their teams are located (there will be exceptions to this, like Hoffenheim or Paderborn but bear with me) in high population density areas where local identity is an ingrained and classless tradition - and celebrating it is encouraged. There's precious little space between moenchengladbach and dusseldorf, but their fans have a very different identity and there's lots more of them so you can't compare that to any SPFL fixture. Perhaps we're not vocally poor, we're vocally different. I'm not expecting a great crowd today (I hope I'm wrong) but I'll enjoy it just the same and I'm looking for a good home win to start 2015 with a bang.

[Kingsmills]

Sorry DD, but I read your post as being a pop at the home fans as well.

 

Not suggesting we do nothing to generate atmosphere at home, but if your expectation is recreating what happens with our fans away then you will forever be disappointed.  Frustrating as it might be, there is nothing you, I, the club or anyone else can do to bring the away crowd atmosphere to the home stadium.....and it's the same for every other club around the world.

 

Until a couple of years ago I had never read a football book in my life....I don't think I had ever even bought a football magazine.  In fact, I've still never bought a football book, but I have received a few as presents.  If asked what I've learned most from those I've read it would be that the world of football has no comparison.  How clubs operate cannot (and should not) be looked at or run as you would any other business and, perhaps more importantly, football fans are not comparable to fans of other sports...nor do they behave like customers of any other product.

 

Even when it comes to drawing comparisons between clubs you have to tread carefully as no two clubs operate in the same way and no two sets of fans have the same "dynamics".  If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense....after all, if every club did everything the same and behaved in the same way then what would drive a person to choose one over another?

 

I'll stop before I get any further off topic...this is the match thread after all!!

At the risk of going further off topic, while those who are never critical of anything on or off the field have every right to post in such optimistic terms, surely there is no need for them to immediately jump down the throats of those like DD who are more balanced and temper their positive posts with a bit of constructive realism and acceptance of some of the more negative issues that also exist.

[CaleyD]

Surely your point would only be valid if I was jumping down the throat of every criticism made on the forums....but I don't do that because I do realise that everything is not perfect.  In fact, I actually acknowledge within my post that there's things which can be done.

 

Unless what you're trying to say is that people should be allowed to post as they please without comment or response from others...which would defeat the whole point of having a discussion forum?!

 

If you, DD or anyone else disagrees with my comments, then feel free to offer an alternative view or analysis of the topic....otherwise, do one and stop annoying me with your BS posts which serve only as an attack on the poster and not the post....and add nothing which furthers discussion.

[IBM]

Round 3

[+DoofersDad]

Surely your point would only be valid if I was jumping down the throat of every criticism made on the forums....but I don't do that because I do realise that everything is not perfect.  In fact, I actually acknowledge within my post that there's things which can be done.

 

Unless what you're trying to say is that people should be allowed to post as they please without comment or response from others...which would defeat the whole point of having a discussion forum?!

 

If you, DD or anyone else disagrees with my comments, then feel free to offer an alternative view or analysis of the topic....otherwise, do one and stop annoying me with your BS posts which serve only as an attack on the poster and not the post....and add nothing which furthers discussion.

I'm sorry if anyone thinks my post was a pop at home fans and hope they can accept that it was simply an expression of disappointment about a situation and not one of blame.  I certainly didn't see your post as "jumping down my throat" nor do I disagree with anything you say in your 2 points.  As you say, what is the point of a forum if you can't express views without others who disagree with you being personally offensive in response?

 

I've been in management long enough not to bother about some of the less pleasantly worded posts that are sometimes directed at me but it does concern me that some with less thick skins don't post on here because of the nature of the responses they see others getting.  I've also learnt that attacks on the poster are often a defensive reaction of those who don't like or don't want to accept what the poster is saying.  Better simply to let the post go unanswered.

 

By the way, with reference to my original question of  "after a large and noisy turnout at Dingwall, are we going to revert to a sub 3,000 crowd on Sunday with just occasional bursts of support from time to time?", the correct response was - "Yes!"

[Scotty]

This is true. I've even been to Celtic Park and sung "is this a library?" when there were an alleged 40 odd thousand in the ground. I wonder if this is a malaise that is solely confined to football or is it part of a shift to a much more homogenised society where vocalising support is frowned upon. It seems so. The football fans traditional lexicon has been limited by fears of offending someone (anyone), banner waving politicised and frowned upon, singing subject to unworkable and discriminatory laws. The power of fans to challenge this is limited by the fact that they have been demonised for years by a London and Edinburgh elite who make the laws and are far more interested in rugby. Any objection is drowned by them. This isn't the case in bundesliga. Most of their teams are located (there will be exceptions to this, like Hoffenheim or Paderborn but bear with me) in high population density areas where local identity is an ingrained and classless tradition - and celebrating it is encouraged. There's precious little space between moenchengladbach and dusseldorf, but their fans have a very different identity and there's lots more of them so you can't compare that to any SPFL fixture. Perhaps we're not vocally poor, we're vocally different. I'm not expecting a great crowd today (I hope I'm wrong) but I'll enjoy it just the same and I'm looking for a good home win to start 2015 with a bang.

 

The enjoyment has been legislated out of football in Scotland plain and simple. There has always been a "highland reserve" that sees us a bit less outgoing than some other fans but I have posted here before that this reserve is now multiplied with the addition of a fear of being lifted, kicked out, and/or having a football banning order thrown at you ..... the legislation, whilst correct for the purpose for which it was intended was carelessly written, hastily pushed through, and badly implemented with the end result that virtually anything can get you a conviction that could affect your enjoyment of football and even your career at the whim of a steward or police officer who is having a bad day !!! I see a huge difference when I attend matches on my trips home nowadays compared to before I emigrated.  

 

Contrast that with my Toronto season ticket where the renewal paperwork for the supporters sections actually says "Seat Holders in these sections will be permitted to stand persistently throughout matches, as well as use pre-approved flags, banners and drums. For those who would like to sit in these sections, it's important to understand that their view may be obstructed during the match.". The results on field have been absolute crap for 8 years but the atmosphere in the supporters section is normally pretty good with banter, songs, banners ..... and alcohol !!!

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Good news at long last from over the bridge.......................

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30698891

[CaleyD]

He would have been as well just saying "We're 5hit, and we know we are"

[+DoofersDad]

Living OTB I know a few folk who watch county regularly.  The general view seems to be that they have been playing some pretty decent football for the most part but have given away too many poor goals whilst not taking chances up front.  In general they have not been worried by their lowly position, although if they're not worried now they should be.

 

I am a bit surprised that McIntyre hasn't appeared to have made much of an impact yet.  They might have expected him to bring an improvement which would have minimised the need for bringing in new players.  It will be very interesting to see if they invest heavily during the transfer window because I'm not convinced that Uncle Roy will be prepared to invest as much as he has previously.

 

They clearly need to find a goal scorer and I would doubt that someone who hardly ever scored for lowly Nuneaton is going to score too many in the SPFL. At one time I thought Arquin might be good for them but he has never lived up to his potential and now has left the club quietly after failing to bother himself for 33 minutes of the match last Thursday.  If County go down I fear they will find it difficult to get back up.  Derby games with County will become as rare as those between Celtic and The Rangers.

[CaleyD]

McIntyre has already brought in 8 (I think) players...and it's done little to change their fortunes.  That would have already cost them with a hike in the wage bill...possibly signing bonuses and agent fees as well.  To have done that and possibly be looking at need to bring in as many again during the window does make you wonder just how much money they are prepared to keep throwing at it.  We all know how people bigged up as "good businessmen" sometimes struggle to apply the things that have made them successful, to how they run football clubs (The Rangers!!!).

 

Having spoken to someone at the weekend who was aware/familiar with the lad from Nuneaton, he's apparently a pretty useful player....but one player can't do it on their own.

 

Will be interesting to see if Ross County and St Mirren are still against extending the size of the Premiership if either/both are relegated.

[Sneckboy]

Interesting trivia question I got asked yesterday - and got wrong!

Quite simply, Which 3 clubs have never been relegated from Scotland's top-flight?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aberdeen, Ross County and Celtic!

[12th Man]

I see that their club shop sells Ross County air fresheners, its good to see them trying to improve things for the local community.