Can't help but think due to the farcical pavement dancing between Polworth and Kellacher that the real issue from Saturday has gone unnoticed 

932 was the official attendance, that figure alone is deeply disturbing considering that Peterhead took a good few hundred with them 

It's quite clear that ICT fans are boycotting home games this season whether its official or unofficial I cannot comment but the board must have  been  Sh1tting themselves when they realised that only 500 at most home fans added to the coffers

This coming Saturday will only further highlight the issue,  while we have a massive relegation six pointer at Falkirk, by all accounts we are struggling to half fill a bus at the moment whereas Clachnacuddin are going to Spartans in the Scottish Cup and they have already filled three buses and are taking numbers for a fourth

Something has got to give as it's clear we can't go on like this, immediate major changes need to happen or it's part time football only in Inverness

Dougal

 

 

 

 

 

 

ICT fans are not 'boycotting' games. A figure of just under a thousand is what I would expect for the Irn Bru Cup.

It's true that home attendances are down and falling still further but this is due to the fact that we are in a lower league, not getting results and playing football that is unentertaining and seldom pretty to watch. Nothing to do with a boycott.

You seem obsessed with dishing the club at every turn. For a supposed supporter you never ever say anything  remotely supportive 

Edited October 9, 20177 yr by Kingsmills

No Glory + No Hunting + No Entertainment + No Hope = Disillusionment.

OUR CLUB IS IN DANGER OF DYING AND THOSE TO BLAME / THOSE WHO HAVE A CHANCE TO BREATHE LIFE BACK IN HAVE EITHER JUMPED SHIP OR HAVE NO CLUE HOW TO PERFORM "RESUSSCITATION".

My son and I normally arrive at the home games about 2pm, and we usually guess what we think the attendance will be. To say that we got it massively wrong is an understatement.  I guessed at 1700 and he had 1500, we never would have believed that It would be so low. It's the lowest i can remember,  even some pre season friendlies generated more. It just shows that when the season tickets are not in use on cup match days, there aren't too many supporters willing to come along and buy a ticket. I fear that this is just the start of a trend, we sit in the main stand and every home game this season the crowd around us gets less and less.

2 minutes ago, Kingsmills said:

ICT fans are not 'boycotting' games. A figure of just under a thousand is what I would expect for the Irn Bru Cup.

It's true that home attendances are down and falling still further but this is due to the fact that we are in a lower league, not getting results and playing football that is unentertaining and seldom pretty to watch. Nothing to do with a boycott.

You seem obsessed with dishing the club at every turn. For a supposed supporter you never ever say anything  remotely supportive 

Wish I could agree. Perhaps "boycott" is the wrong word but probably deliberately used to provoke reaction !! But I know of quite a few supporters who have said that they will not be coming back until the mess is sorted. That could be a long time. People nowadays also look at spending their spondoolachs on things that are more entertaining and are not leading to a life of frustration, disappointment, disillusionment and anger.

17 minutes ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

Wish I could agree. Perhaps "boycott" is the wrong word but probably deliberately used to provoke reaction !! But I know of quite a few supporters who have said that they will not be coming back until the mess is sorted. That could be a long time. People nowadays also look at spending their spondoolachs on things that are more entertaining and are not leading to a life of frustration, disappointment, disillusionment and anger.

The frustrating thing is all these fans staying away until it's sorted out will only harm the likelihood of it all getting fixed. Our attendance have never been great but a 1000 less every week for home games on average is really going to hurt us.

Things are bad but the club need 'fans' now more than they have in a long time.

In 2008/09 our average crowd was 4,461 dropping down to 3,504 when we went down to the Championship / First Division*.

Last season our average crowd was 3,989 which has dropped to 2,809 in the Championship so whilst the drop offs are largely the same (about a 1,000 drop off) the actual numbers are surely concerning. We're bringing in almost 700 fans less than the last time we were in this league*.

*Figures are for league games only.

Edited October 9, 20177 yr by RiG

Our attendances were always going to drop off more rapidly when we went through our **** spell compared to when other decent-sized clubs went through theirs. A lot of our fans have already ditched the club they once supported to follow ICT when we were on an upward curve, so it is no surprise that they would rather go back to supporting those clubs from their sofas rather than supporting us through the mess we are in. The ties that bind many fans to ICT are looser than they are at some other clubs - not all of our fans are like this - but if it is not in the blood, it is easier to disattach oneself when things are going badly.

Also, the Irn Bru Cup is a nonsense competition which we were always going to have low attendances for.

On current form, the Irn Bru cup is hardly a big draw anyway but considering its not covered by season tickets there's not that many fans looking at it as a reason to put hands into pockets and pay for entry, travel and refreshments for a game which on paper should be a comfortable win against a much lower league side. I'm sure if performances improve and the atmosphere both on and off the park improves then games for subsequent rounds against Championship or overseas clubs will raise numbers.

Really dont think the attendance on Sat is really a good benchmark to judge if fans are starting to stay away in increased numbers, but I do agree that unless something changes to give the place a lift or spark it could be a long, lonely winter in the stadium.

Dundee United with a much larger support than us had just over 1000 on Saturday.

It's only another fishing trip by donut Dougal,  ignore it!   

20 minutes ago, caley100 said:

It's only another fishing trip by donut Dougal,  ignore it!   

I'm probably as bad as anyone at rising to Dougal's bait, but would still observe that, given the complete mince in most of his OPs, it's remarkable how long some of the threads he starts actually get. It's just that the temptation to knock down the patent nonsense you're inevitably confronted with becomes quite strong.

If Peterhead took "a few hundred" through then most must have got lost on the way.  Maybe they taught Dougal a thing or two about fishing

We reckoned about 50 to 80 

I suspect that Dougal is irritating a lot of worthies become his last two posts have ticked all the boxes - inflammatory, sarcastic yet thought provoking with the inclusion of very important issues - fitness, performances and now attendances and loyalty testing.

The simple worrying fact is that fans ARE gradually deserting becos of the fare being offered. The club is in disarray and as Dougal warns - part time football is a distinct possibility and something has to be done soon or even extinction is a threat.

10 hours ago, caley100 said:

It's only another fishing trip by donut Dougal,  ignore it!   

Oh of course but it does raise a pretty pertinent question - where are all the fans going? The main stand for the recent game against Livingston was mostly empty and the north stand was deserted.

 

17 minutes ago, RiG said:

Oh of course but it does raise a pretty pertinent question - where are all the fans going? The main stand for the recent game against Livingston was mostly empty and the north stand was deserted.

 

Agreed! I think this is a serious question. 

Id consider myself a diehard and the folks around me the same. I literally had to drag myself there on Saturday. I bitterly regret renewing my season tickets as it just feels a waste of money. I cant believe how I now feel about the club which are the love of my life since I was 12 (ok in 2 incarnations). On chatting to others re this on Sat I have come to the conclussion that I attend nowadays due to my close group of friends doing the same. 

I agree with Kingsmills that staying away just makes things worse all round. However I just cant explain how Ive come to feel like this. Tbh If youd told me 2 years ago things would be this way Id have laughed and laughed! Normally Id be saying better days ahead but truthfully Im not even convinced of that anymore. 

I am a relative newbie to ICT and only started going in 2011 due to my wee lad showing an interest. This resulted in me buying a season ticket in 2012-2016 and enjoying the cup run and ultimate glory, and I feel so privileged to have been a part of that. Last year I, like so many others became completely demoralised with going down on match day knowing pretty much that another defeat was inevitably on the cards. My son, who was always excited just to go and be a part of it actually started refusing to go and I would have to end up missing games or go alone, which seemed pointless. Once the pain of relegation subsided, I actually felt quite excited at the prospect of being one of the "big teams" and tried to persuade my son that we would see far more wins and hopefully be top 3 minimum. I gave it a few games just to see how we started before splashing out on another season ticket, partly due to the initial pricing fiasco. The way we started obviously gave me huge concern and I decided I couldn't justify personally paying £260 in one go and would instead tentatively pay per game until I seen a measured improvement. I avoided a few more primarily due to work and holiday commitments but after the Morton and St mirren results I decided to avoid the livi game too, although I felt I might end up missing out on a pivotal turning point. How wrong I was. I then decided to swallow my pride and attend the QOS game again hoping for a fresh spirited performance and maybe even a resounding win. What followed was prob the most boring 90 mins of this year so far. I am now staying away completely, not to boycott as mentioned and not to spite the club or the players but purely and simply because.... Why would I want to ruin another Saturday afternoon down there watching that rubbish? I'm sure this is why so many are staying away now, it's prolonged and consistent agony and I speak to so many who have given it a try and want to be a part of it but simply would prefer to be doing absolutely ANYTHING else on a Saturday afternoon.  

Edited October 10, 20177 yr by CableGuy

As I have said before, I have been watching football in Inverness for 50 years, firstly with Inverness Thistle and now with ICT, and I cannot remember a time when I have been more demoralised watching the game I love. Even when the Kingsmills Jags were at their lowest point did I feel the way I feel going to games now. This season I thought we would give it a good go, I thought that although we had lost a lot of talent, we might have some fighting performances but not necessarily win all our games. Now, after a few games you can't see where our wins are going to come from. Even on Saturday, before the game, I thought it was a game we could have lost. What a turnaround in barely a year ago when we were taking points off Celtic, to hoping we could beat a league 2 team! I think that the falling attendances are par for the course for the ICT support, if the club can't significantly increase its fan base after winning the Scottish Cup and playing in Europe, then they are going to drift away after relegation and a very poor start in the championship. If the club can string a few wins together the attendance might increase, but I fear if things continue we will be left with just the hard core fans, and with reading some posts on here, even they are being tested.

30 minutes ago, CableGuy said:

Last year I, like so many others became completely demoralised with going down on match day knowing pretty much that another defeat was inevitably on the cards. My son, who was always excited just to go and be a part of it actually started refusing to go and I would have to end up missing games or go alone, which seemed pointless. 

I am now staying away completely, not to boycott as mentioned and not to spite the club or the players but purely and simply because.... Why would I want to ruin another Saturday afternoon down there watching that rubbish? I'm sure this is why so many are staying away now, it's prolonged and consistent agony and I speak to so many who have given it a try and want to be a part of it but simply would prefer to be doing absolutely ANYTHING else on a Saturday afternoon.  

If it's consistant wins or supporting a team who will deliver what you are looking for from a club, perhaps you might want to support Celtic or Aberdeen? 

Yes its frustrating but supporting a team means supporting them through good and bad. The real supporters do turn up, they do cheer on the team even in defeat. They also do not boo their own players or scream abuse at them which unfortunately seem to make up a substantial part of the "support" now. Just how is that supposed to lift the heads and drive them on? No wonder there is a crisis of confidence within the team. The youth team got slated for their behaviour which is unfortunate but by God, at least they supported and lifted the team and for that, they are worth 100 of every idiot who who thinks it's ok to shout abuse just because things arn't going the way they would like. They are the cancer eating through the club and causing the greatest spiral of low confidence which is greatly affecting the team. How would you feel as a player if every time you touched the ball you received a torrent of abuse or boos? FFS, Polworth scored a goal and created another yet some "fans" booed him? Sure he may have had a less then expected game but what do you want if two goals warrant that?
Just to note, Billy McKay scored 4 goals in 15 appearances, Polworth has scored 3 in 14 appearences, I don't recall anyone giving McKay a hard time? And don't get me started on Vigurs, the things I've heard fans shout because he makes one mistake or poor pass yet all the good stuff he does is ignored.

I guess it's just an Inveness thing.....?

2 minutes ago, AncientMariner said:

If it's consistant wins or supporting a team who will deliver what you are looking for from a club, perhaps you might want to support Celtic or Aberdeen? 

Yes its frustrating but supporting a team means supporting them through good and bad. The real supporters do turn up, they do cheer on the team even in defeat. They also do not boo their own players or scream abuse at them which unfortunately seem to make up a substantial part of the "support" now. Just how is that supposed to lift the heads and drive them on? No wonder there is a crisis of confidence within the team. The youth team got slated for their behaviour which is unfortunate but by God, at least they supported and lifted the team and for that, they are worth 100 of every idiot who who thinks it's ok to shout abuse just because things arn't going the way they would like. They are the cancer eating through the club and causing the greatest spiral of low confidence which is greatly affecting the team. How would you feel as a player if every time you touched the ball you received a torrent of abuse or boos? FFS, Polworth scored a goal and created another yet some "fans" booed him? Sure he may have had a less then expected game but what do you want if two goals warrant that?
Just to note, Billy McKay scored 4 goals in 15 appearances, Polworth has scored 3 in 14 appearences, I don't recall anyone giving McKay a hard time? And don't get me started on Vigurs, the things I've heard fans shout because he makes one mistake or poor pass yet all the good stuff he does is ignored.

I guess it's just an Inveness thing.....?

Fans have decided that no matter what Vigurs or Polworth do then they arent good enough, they follow some of the sh1te they read on here, someone says Polworth is sh1te therefor he must be sh1te, and it doesnt matter if the lad turns up on Saturday and plays a blinder, these people will still complain he misplaced one pass. McKay on the other hand scored some goals for us once upon a time ( done sod all since he left us) and therefor is immune to the p1sh these fans dish out. Fans have their favourites who can do no wrong. 

Jesus yet another shittt OP and nonsense replies 

Fans are entitled to an opinion and while you may think venting boo's is uncalled for its nothing more than pantomime - the players and club cant expect to be cheered and revered and not take some backlash when things go badly. I think we all agree than personal abuse is not acceptable, but if its felt that strongly either reprimand the individual or report it to the stewards - that's what they get paid for and we have a club policy against such behaviour. One day the stadium is full of sweetie rustlers with no noise, the next its booming with choruses of abuse - maybe there's a successful middle ground that will please all. 

Perhaps the players and those around the club need to realise that football is an entertainment business and the fans pay the wages, if the entertainment isn't there then people will vote with their feet - so unfortunately if the negativity from fans is dragging the players down they need to rise above it and turn it around otherwise they won't have a job. Many fans have jobs they may not like or enjoy at times but they have still invested significant money into season tickets and are now committed whether linking what is seen or not. Based on the league we are in the fans paid top ST money but are seeing performances which don't match - leading to the frustration, the 'feel good' wont come back until there's performances that improve. 

31 minutes ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

Jesus yet another shittt OP and nonsense replies 

And none more nonsensical than this.  Just how does that square with the post below that you posted just 12 hours ago?

12 hours ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

I suspect that Dougal is irritating a lot of worthies become his last two posts have ticked all the boxes - inflammatory, sarcastic yet thought provoking with the inclusion of very important issues - fitness, performances and now attendances and loyalty testing.

The simple worrying fact is that fans ARE gradually deserting becos of the fare being offered. The club is in disarray and as Dougal warns - part time football is a distinct possibility and something has to be done soon or even extinction is a threat.

I think there have been some very good replies because people are opening up about the way the feel about what is going on and what motivates them to attend.  It's a good thread and we we should be grateful to Dougal for posting it in his own inimitable way.

1 hour ago, mikeyrob73 said:

Fans have decided that no matter what Vigurs or Polworth do then they arent good enough, they follow some of the sh1te they read on here, someone says Polworth is sh1te therefor he must be sh1te, and it doesnt matter if the lad turns up on Saturday and plays a blinder, these people will still complain he misplaced one pass. 

Ironically, according to our local rag's Star Man ratings, our top two players are Vigurs and Polworth!
The two highest rated players are the two "fans" most like to abuse? Thats so Inverness!

1 hour ago, Jaggernaut said:

As I have said before, I have been watching football in Inverness for 50 years, firstly with Inverness Thistle and now with ICT, and I cannot remember a time when I have been more demoralised watching the game I love. Even when the Kingsmills Jags were at their lowest point did I feel the way I feel going to games now. This season I thought we would give it a good go, I thought that although we had lost a lot of talent, we might have some fighting performances but not necessarily win all our games. Now, after a few games you can't see where our wins are going to come from. Even on Saturday, before the game, I thought it was a game we could have lost. What a turnaround in barely a year ago when we were taking points off Celtic, to hoping we could beat a league 2 team! I think that the falling attendances are par for the course for the ICT support, if the club can't significantly increase its fan base after winning the Scottish Cup and playing in Europe, then they are going to drift away after relegation and a very poor start in the championship. If the club can string a few wins together the attendance might increase, but I fear if things continue we will be left with just the hard core fans, and with reading some posts on here, even they are being tested.

We must have been watching the jags at the same time pretty much. Even when it wasn’t the best you could always nip over to the Corrie for a pint at half time