What do they think now?

[FakeFan]

Sorry if this has been asked already, but does anyone know how people against the merger feel now after our cup final win? More specifically people who are still against Ict.

Would hope they feel atleast somewhat happy for the city, even if they don't admit it.

 

[Kingsmills]

'Has it been asked already ? !!' I appreciate you're new but the answer is about a hundred times (literally) and the same suspects make the same points, some of them once interesting and valid ones, each and every time and winning the Champions League, never mind the Scottish Cup, wouldn't change their minds.

Luckily, the vast majority, although many still have fond memories of Kingsmills and Telford Street (surely the only ground in the UK to have boasted mature elm trees on the terracing ) have moved on and are basking in the reflected glow of ICT's huge triumphs.

Let those who aren't seethe in private while the rest of us get on with the basking....

 

 

 

 

[+HawkeyeTheGnu]

'Has it been asked already ? !!' I appreciate you're new but the answer is about a hundred times (literally) and the same suspects make the same points, some of them once interesting and valid ones, each and every time and winning the Champions League, never mind the Scottish Cup, wouldn't change their minds.

Luckily, the vast majority, although many still have fond memories of Kingsmills and Telford Street (surely the only ground in the UK to have boasted mature elm trees on the terracing ) have moved on and are basking in the reflected glow of ICT's huge triumphs.

Let those who aren't seethe in private while the rest of us get on with the basking....

 

 

 

 

​He's called FakeFan - must be a hint there somewhere. Maybe doogull has forgotten his login details.

 

Anyway, don't feed the trolls.

[FakeFan]

'Has it been asked already ? !!' I appreciate you're new but the answer is about a hundred times (literally) and the same suspects make the same points, some of them once interesting and valid ones, each and every time and winning the Champions League, never mind the Scottish Cup, wouldn't change their minds.

Luckily, the vast majority, although many still have fond memories of Kingsmills and Telford Street (surely the only ground in the UK to have boasted mature elm trees on the terracing ) have moved on and are basking in the reflected glow of ICT's huge triumphs.

Let those who aren't seethe in private while the rest of us get on with the basking....

 

 

 

 

​He's called FakeFan - must be a hint there somewhere. Maybe doogull has forgotten his login details.

 

Anyway, don't feed the trolls.

My name, is FakeFan but I'm a inverness born and bred ict fan. 

Genuinely wanting to know how these people feel. 

 

[Kingsmills]

'Has it been asked already ? !!' I appreciate you're new but the answer is about a hundred times (literally) and the same suspects make the same points, some of them once interesting and valid ones, each and every time and winning the Champions League, never mind the Scottish Cup, wouldn't change their minds.

Luckily, the vast majority, although many still have fond memories of Kingsmills and Telford Street (surely the only ground in the UK to have boasted mature elm trees on the terracing ) have moved on and are basking in the reflected glow of ICT's huge triumphs.

Let those who aren't seethe in private while the rest of us get on with the basking....

 

 

 

 

​He's called FakeFan - must be a hint there somewhere. Maybe doogull has forgotten his login details.

 

Anyway, don't feed the trolls.

My name, is FakeFan but I'm a inverness born and bred ict fan. 

Genuinely wanting to know how these people feel. 

 

​Then you better ask them....This is a site for fans of ICT

Edited June 15, 2015 by Kingsmills

[Harry Chibber]

If a genuine question.. it doesn't deserve to be shot down like this. 

The merger and the people that didn't support it are all still part of our history and possibly gave us the steel we needed to become as successful as we are today

There was a good interview with Sergei Baltacha on BBC Sportsound leading up to the final and although Tom English didn't ask half the questions I'd like to have, it was the first time I had heard anything from his perspective.  I was only 12 at the time of the merger so the season ticket bought for me at Telford street was the first time I had a season ticket for any club.  I was completely oblivious to all the hatred that surrounded the merger but you can definitely hear that Sergei is still affected by his experience at that time.  

I don't know if someone else has posted up the interview but if you haven't heard it's worth a listen

 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

As an old Caley stalwart, somebody who originally opposed the merger and was a refusenik for quite a few seasons - Feckin Best Football Experience of my life.

 

But I doubt whether the hundreds of non-believers will feel anything but plasticity disdain but most are now also jealous followers of other Premier League outfits.

[Scotty]

I am friends with Big Crawford on FB and his reaction was somewhere between ambivalence and mild irritation with a side order of thoughts of winding a few folk up. Like many his life seems to have moved on and an ICT win just didn't register that highly on the Richter scale for him.

[The Mantis]

Big Crawford that lived with Dots in Nelson St? He'll still be claiming I owe him for a door lock

 I stayed over once after a game v County (4-3 in the HLC I think). Early morning I got locked in the bog as the handle on the door was falling apart. Nobody else was up but I eventually got out after about 10 mins.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

I did get some likes from three ex-Caley supporters but they were all Old Firm supporters before the merger and two are now Sevco season ticket holders. I know quite a few more ex Caley and Thistle supporters who do go to the TCS but sit in the away end. The "history" lesson is that many of the pre merger supporters also supported and followed "big" teams and simply chose to follow their "first choice". 

[SMEE]

Using my Facebook news feed, on Cup Final day, as a Judge, suffice to say, that most of those who attended Caley Park and kingsmills back in the highland league days, and who are on my freinds list, were pretty hostile about ICT lifting the cup. There seems to be a certain mentality among many of those football fans who i grew up with in the 70s and 80s, which seems to breed a lot of hostility and negativity. Funnily enough, a lot of these people were Old Firm Fans for the most part.
The thing i find amusing is....many of those who act the most hard done by (ie, Caley Rebels), I dont recall many of them attending run of the mill Caley games during the 80s. I recall many of them attending their "big teams" games
Some of the comments i read on Cup Final day, were bordering on Pathetic, as lots of posts were somehow trying to suggest that teams with reserved fans, are crap and dont deserve to win anything. this was coming from otherwise intelligent people!

[Kingsmills]

Using my Facebook news feed, on Cup Final day, as a Judge, suffice to say, that most of those who attended Caley Park and kingsmills back in the highland league days, and who are on my freinds list, were pretty hostile about ICT lifting the cup. There seems to be a certain mentality among many of those football fans who i grew up with in the 70s and 80s, which seems to breed a lot of hostility and negativity. Funnily enough, a lot of these people were Old Firm Fans for the most part.
The thing i find amusing is....many of those who act the most hard done by (ie, Caley Rebels), I dont recall many of them attending run of the mill Caley games during the 80s. I recall many of them attending their "big teams" games
Some of the comments i read on Cup Final day, were bordering on Pathetic, as lots of posts were somehow trying to suggest that teams with reserved fans, are crap and dont deserve to win anything. this was coming from otherwise intelligent people!

With all due respect to your Facebook friends 'most of those who attended Caley Park and kingsmills(sic)' were having the time of their footballing lives at Hampden. Those bitter few who chose to stay at home and seethe were the losers in every sense of the word..

Edited June 17, 2015 by Kingsmills

[Alex MacLeod]

Sorry if this has been asked already, but does anyone know how people against the merger feel now after our cup final win? More specifically people who are still against Ict.

Would hope they feel atleast somewhat happy for the city, even if they don't admit it.

 

Of those still alive I believe half are very disappointed Celtic never got the treble and the other half are unhappy The Rangers are not getting to Premiership

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

There were also quite a number of Aberdeen fans as well.

[Huisdean]

Like most Thistle or Caley fans ( I was a season ticket holder for may years at Kingsmills but not at the time of the merger), I think IHE has made a valid point. A lot of these supporters had a "big team" as well as a local team. I was an Aberdeen supporter as I was born in Aberdeen before moving to Inverness as a child and started to support Inverness Thistle. This did not stop me going through to watch Aberdeen games however. After the merger however, which I still think was the best solution, I decided that as an adopted Invernessian, ICT would be my team and have been ever since. I am sure that many people also did this but the "rebels" just decided to support their big team to their great loss.

[Charles Bannerman]

PLEEEZE not again!!!!

21 years after they made their own decision not to support a club which has gone from the Highland League to Europe, from the Qualifying Cup to winning the Scottish Cup and has seen football attendances in Inverness rise six fold, does anyone (apart from Dougal) really give a toss about what a few grumpy closet Old Firm fans thought?

I mean, did the Luddites make any difference to the Industrial Revolution? Do many people actually know who the Luddites were?

Edited June 18, 2015 by Charles Bannerman

[Alex MacLeod]

PLEEEZE not again!!!!

21 years after they made their own decision not to support a club which has gone from the Highland League to Europe, from the Qualifying Cup to winning the Scottish Cup and has seen football attendances in Inverness rise six fold, does anyone (apart from Dougal) really give a toss about what a few grumpy closet Old Firm fans thought?

I mean, did the Luddites make any difference to the Industrial Revolution? Do many people actually know who the Luddites were?

Aye they did Charles. Every weaving machine they smashed up had to be rebuilt.

[Council Juice]

Lets face it. Caley and Thistle were 2 diddy highland league teams. With the occasional cup flourish. Nothing more.

Now some ambitious figures came along and wanted a team in the Scottish leagues, with an eventual aim of being a top flight team. That was the dream.

It would never have happened had either team tried alone. Without the merger there would be no league football. No SPFL, no cup finals. No Scottish cup final wins. No European football. None of that.

If you're happy watching glorified pub football then fine, the merger and subsequent success might not be for you, but it was the only way to bring Football success to Inverness.

Now if those 12 old men who still have a grudge about it don't like it then fine. Because it's young fans and families and people enthusiastic about Inverness Caledonian Thistle and the city of Inverness doing well that we want to join the ranks. To come along and watch and help the club grow. Some people are just bitter.

[Kingsmills]

Lets face it. Caley and Thistle were 2 diddy highland league teams. With the occasional cup flourish. Nothing more.

Now some ambitious figures came along and wanted a team in the Scottish leagues, with an eventual aim of being a top flight team. That was the dream.

It would never have happened had either team tried alone. Without the merger there would be no league football. No SPFL, no cup finals. No Scottish cup final wins. No European football. None of that.

If you're happy watching glorified pub football then fine, the merger and subsequent success might not be for you, but it was the only way to bring Football success to Inverness.

Now if those 12 old men who still have a grudge about it don't like it then fine. Because it's young fans and families and people enthusiastic about Inverness Caledonian Thistle and the city of Inverness doing well that we want to join the ranks. To come along and watch and help the club grow. Some people are just bitter.

Whilst I largely agree, the Highland League was a great deal better and much more significant than that as evinced by the hundreds of victories over league teams  in the Scottish Cup over the decades....

Edited June 18, 2015 by Kingsmills

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

WOW - FakeFan asked a genuine question - some of us have answered him - and the REAL bitter ones whinge as ever. And once again it is not just 12 and it is not just a few - we are talking hundreds and their offspring.

[Sneckboy]

Lets face it. Caley and Thistle were 2 diddy highland league teams. With the occasional cup flourish. Nothing more.

Now some ambitious figures came along and wanted a team in the Scottish leagues, with an eventual aim of being a top flight team. That was the dream.

It would never have happened had either team tried alone. Without the merger there would be no league football. No SPFL, no cup finals. No Scottish cup final wins. No European football. None of that.

If you're happy watching glorified pub football then fine, the merger and subsequent success might not be for you, but it was the only way to bring Football success to Inverness.

Now if those 12 old men who still have a grudge about it don't like it then fine. Because it's young fans and families and people enthusiastic about Inverness Caledonian Thistle and the city of Inverness doing well that we want to join the ranks. To come along and watch and help the club grow. Some people are just bitter.

Just got to scratch this itch - the top-flight in Scottish football is NOT called the SPFL!

But, anyway,

It’s insulting to suggest football in Inverness started when Thistle and Caledonian merged to form ICT.

Furthermore, It’s ignorant and misguided to suggest “some ambitious figures came along” - as if Inverness had previously had no inclination to join the then closed-shop of the national leagues.

Thistle were unsuccessful in their bid to join in 1973/74 when a vacancy became available. Purely out of self-interest, the 37 member clubs voted against Inverness (reportedly by 19-18), opting instead for Ferranti Thistle from Edinburgh.

 

There was then 20 years without any further opportunity to apply.

It’s totally disrespectful to suggest that the founding fathers of the club - the likes of Jock McDonald and Norman Miller just “came along”!

 

And how dare you suggest that the Highland League is 'pub football'. Many individuals give years of their time to these clubs with little reward or recognition - and indeed are often run more prudently and conscientiously than the likes of The Rangers, Hearts, Dundee, Livingston (that irony will be lost on you, captain).

The tone of your post suggests you’re too young to have experienced the pre-ICT days, so refrain from telling others how you think they should be feeling, on a matter in which you are unqualified to comment.

[12th Man]

It certainly brings a smile to you face to think that the 2 Highland league local clubs have brought the Scottish cup home to Inverness. A thought worth savouring. The foundation of both clubs and all the fans who have followed since then, has resulted in over 15,000 seeing our great team lift the cup. 

Highland league to Europa league, wow. 

Instead of chasing up the abstainers of years gone by, I would rather look after and appreciate the existing fans young and old of today and the years to come.

[Charles Bannerman]

I would just like to endorse the comments of both Sneckboy and 12th Man above.

More or less from the day it was founded in 1893, the Highland League, and hence the entire North of the country, had a glass ceiling imposed on it because the area was frozen out of the national game by the central belt who wanted to keep it all in their own little kailyard. That attitude still exists and was recently manifested by those down there who wanted Ross County to be relegated last season.

That Highland football got to the level that it did in terms of the quality within the HL and the not infrequent cup runs is a tribute to the efforts of many. I do not believe that ICT could have done what it has now without its extremely sound pre-1994 background and the expertise of the many who contributed to that, some of whom are still involved at ICT. To refer to the Highland League as "pub football" in uninformed nonsense.

The glass ceiling was finally shattered in 1994 and the two clubs which decided to join together have in the intervening 21 years made this famous Highland League to Europa League, Qualifying Cup to Scottish Cup transition. That would not have been possible unless there had been a pre-existing proud football tradition up here and also the expertise to implement such a massive advance in such a short time.

So, for reasons possibly related to youth and a complete lack of knowledge of what happened up here in the Highland League, "I am the Captain" is way off the target and indeed his shooting is so poor that he must instantly accept demotion to Lance Corporal. I would also like to supplement Sneckboy's list of founding fathers with Charlie Cuthbert and Jim Falconer, who is the only one of these four gentlemen who bore the brunt of the merger who is still alive. He must be pinching himself at the thought that, as ICT's football secretary, just over two decades after exchanging team lines with the likes of Rothes and Lossiemouth (no disrespect) he is now undertaking the administrative preparation for an Inverness team to enter Europe.

Finally, and I'm not going to argue this one in detail here, I believe that no single Inverness club would have made it to the levels currently achieved. It has been claimed that Caley would have done just as well on their own. I just can't see how that could ever have happened since ICT has long since become much greater than the sum of its constituent parts.

[gordieict]

I really struggle to understand why some folk still don't see the remarkable achievements of ICT as a ringing endorsement of how successful the merger has been for football in Inverness.

In reference to IHE's post regarding it is not just the "Rebels" but their offsprings I find that really sad that some youngsters are missing out on the greatest ever time in the Highlands football history due to their parents stance on what happened over 20 years ago.

In answer to the posters original question I don't think that they feel any different and probably never will, but then again thats their choice. 

 

[gordieict]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_football_club_mergers

I was surprised at how many mergers there having been over the years and some fairly successful ones at that.