Reigniting the spark.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

I know what you mean now. The quality of LSD has deteriorated since the late 70's.

[Glover]

It’s quite disconcerting that many commentators on this threat have done a cost-benefit analysis and found it not worthwhile. If I think of the competing expenses on leisure entertainment,  I have a large Smart TV, pay for a TV licence, then two digital TV packages, Sky Sports (ad hoc), 4G Internet, home WiFi, two magazine subscriptions.  I also have a FT and a PT commitment.  If I lived in Inverness that would be more of a quandary on attending.  All clubs are wrestling with this.  I think there has to be added value to even just stay still.  

A shuttle bus there, a free entry bar area, perhaps showing a midday EPL game, a decent bar lunch, and some post-match beers and a later shuttle back would do it, as well as some more meaning to it all (besides the locale and football).  (Now I think of it, Reading F.C. had this). 

I know this is a far cry from the days of flat caps and escapism from the mills, pits, or yards but so are our lives.  

[bdu98196]

Another thread on how to improve things? There must be lists of suggestions done to death on this forum - if the club was interested then it would either respond to these or address some of them. We have CTJ and all these social media platforms but all they are for issues like this are a location to vent & moan - last year the new chairman suggested more communication and an action list of improvements, this all seems quiet.

Visiting games needs to be an experience and fans made to feel welcomed and part of something - this doesn't happen. There's nothing to be there for other than the match - turn up 2.55 then leave at 4.45 - who wants to stand around in the bland surroundings with the over-priced poor catering and lack of welcoming atmosphere.

[Downinthedumps]

About 2,000

[CaleyD]

It's the friends I've made through ICTFC that, above all else, keep me coming back.

[old caley girl]

17 minutes ago, CaleyD said:

It's the friends I've made through ICTFC that, above all else, keep me coming back.

I realised that a long time ago that its the same for me. Through good times and not so good times Im there! 

[+Moogthurso]

I love this team and how they are playing tonight.

[Joonya]

6 hours ago, CaleyD said:

It's the friends I've made through ICTFC that, above all else, keep me coming back.

Totally understandable - The Caley Inn Crew, The Innes Bar Bunch, Highland Marchers, meeting up with The Mob, Caley Away, or even just having a couple of pals in the car or on the train to games. All contributing factors in what have been amazing matchday experiences over the years. I vividly remember the 4-4 draw at Tannadise where the day leading up to the game was so great, we were chanting 'we want 4' when we went 3-0 down within the first 10-minutes, then had a 'rowing' competition with the other supporters bus on the route home! Great times.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Alcohol helps.

[CaleyD]

3 minutes ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

Alcohol helps.

Never touch the stuff....well, it never touches the sides, at least!

[old caley girl]

8 hours ago, Joonya said:

Totally understandable - The Caley Inn Crew, The Innes Bar Bunch, Highland Marchers, meeting up with The Mob, Caley Away, or even just having a couple of pals in the car or on the train to games. All contributing factors in what have been amazing matchday experiences over the years. I vividly remember the 4-4 draw at Tannadise where the day leading up to the game was so great, we were chanting 'we want 4' when we went 3-0 down within the first 10-minutes, then had a 'rowing' competition with the other supporters bus on the route home! Great times.

I always think about the rowing comp when we go to Dundee. Do you remember the kids at the back of bus then sold off the components of their sandwiches etc to some other starving travellers...lol 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Jimmy says aye to a Killie pie ??

[CaleyD]

9 hours ago, old caley girl said:

I always think about the rowing comp when we go to Dundee. Do you remember the kids at the back of bus then sold off the components of their sandwiches etc to some other starving travellers...lol 

That was hilarious, and I think I may have bought just about enough for an open sandwich...best bus trip ever.

[Scotty]

I remember Don (Keir) driving the CaleyInn bus to Dumfries ... that was quite an away day. or the game in Dundee against Rangers where a few members of the bus mooned Gazza as he was driven away from the ground with Jimmy 5 bellies. I remember our 4-3 game against livingston being described eloquently by Bill Leckie as all that was good about the game just a day after Hugh Dallas had been hit by a coin at an old firm game. I remember the Gringos picture in the paper after that Livi game. I remember 28 minutes in Kilmarnock and the Killie Hippo and I remember countless wonderful experiences at the TCS and in various away grounds. all good times and all part of the rollercoaster experience of supporting a club outside of the big two. I always glance at the fixture list when planning trips home and try to maximise the opportunity to see (home) games. However, when I do come the atmosphere is flat. The enjoyment and experience has been legislated out of the game. We were never the most vociferous support but we could get a bit loud and rowdy. Not any more. if anyone has the temerity to do so it seems they could be in trouble from the authorities ...    

I have not lost the spark, but I hope that the club and Scottish football in general takes a look at things and looks at ways to improve the matchday experience. Not talking about American razzmatazz as some might suggest (or have in the past), just basic stuff like being treated with respect, having decent food options, reasonably clean toilets, stewards that are present to help make the day better and resolve issues rather than inflame them or cause confrontations. Alcohol is always involved in football, so you will get the odd bell-end but just deal with them as they deserve and dont take the default position that everyone is a bell-end !!! The club does some things right and some things wrong and that has been true regardless of who sits in the boardroom. Having them listen is a good start ... then making small changes that dont have to cost the earth (or in some cases dont cost anything) is the next step ... lets hope CJT - once back on track - can be the conduit it was supposed to be for that kind of thing.     

 

[wynthank15]

28 minutes ago, Scotty said:

I remember Don (Keir) driving the CaleyInn bus to Dumfries ... that was quite an away day. or the game in Dundee against Rangers where a few members of the bus mooned Gazza as he was driven away from the ground with Jimmy 5 bellies. I remember our 4-3 game against livingston being described eloquently by Bill Leckie as all that was good about the game just a day after Hugh Dallas had been hit by a coin at an old firm game. I remember the Gringos picture in the paper after that Livi game. I remember 28 minutes in Kilmarnock and the Killie Hippo and I remember countless wonderful experiences at the TCS and in various away grounds. all good times and all part of the rollercoaster experience of supporting a club outside of the big two. I always glance at the fixture list when planning trips home and try to maximise the opportunity to see (home) games. However, when I do come the atmosphere is flat. The enjoyment and experience has been legislated out of the game. We were never the most vociferous support but we could get a bit loud and rowdy. Not any more. if anyone has the temerity to do so it seems they could be in trouble from the authorities ...    

I have not lost the spark, but I hope that the club and Scottish football in general takes a look at things and looks at ways to improve the matchday experience. Not talking about American razzmatazz as some might suggest (or have in the past), just basic stuff like being treated with respect, having decent food options, reasonably clean toilets, stewards that are present to help make the day better and resolve issues rather than inflame them or cause confrontations. Alcohol is always involved in football, so you will get the odd bell-end but just deal with them as they deserve and dont take the default position that everyone is a bell-end !!! The club does some things right and some things wrong and that has been true regardless of who sits in the boardroom. Having them listen is a good start ... then making small changes that dont have to cost the earth (or in some cases dont cost anything) is the next step ... lets hope CJT - once back on track - can be the conduit it was supposed to be for that kind of thing.     

 

There is so much I agree with in the above, when we won the SC I had tears in my eyes having watched the triumphs and failures of previous years and knowing where the club had come from and I am not the emotional type. BUT things have changed a great deal from those early years. I liked to stroll up pay my admission and stand at a match and be entertained, that is no longer an option. The craic by the support towards opposition fullbacks and wingers is no longer tolerated by overbearing, untrained stewards, sit down, shut up is the order of the day. Then there was the whole JH/RF fiasco, as many on here will know I was a strong supporter of JH and his style for ICT which could have been a template for many years to come but Oh no the board played to the crowd by appointing RF and got exactly what they deserved. I once wrote to KC, didn't even get an acknowledgement of my letter, how's that for a community club? Allied to the above we have rubbish catering which is far too expensive plus the standard of Scottish football currently is complete pants, our nation is a footballing backwater and until we start to play football a la the style that JH tried to impose at ICT we will drift ever further backwards in the footballing world. Look at the record of Scottish clubs in Europe it's an embarrassment and the way most clubs play the game for the sake of financial survival will ensure it dies a slow lingering death with most clubs becoming part time simply because the public will no longer be conned by the pundits that the game in this country is worth bothering about. Until we start producing players prepared to accept responsibility for the ball in tight situations and the requisite skill level that demands our game is going nowhere. Scottish rugby has shown the way to their footballing counterparts, skill, risk taking and entertainment will bring people back to the game, we need to go backwards before we can move forwards (pun intended).

 

 

 

[Joonya]

5 hours ago, CaleyD said:

That was hilarious, and I think I may have bought just about enough for an open sandwich...best bus trip ever.

Did you not purchase someone's sausage roll for nearly £2 as well? 

2 hours ago, Scotty said:

 I remember the Gringos picture in the paper after that Livi game.

 

 <<< You mean this one lol

1 hour ago, wynthank15 said:

 I liked to stroll up pay my admission and stand at a match and be entertained, that is no longer an option. The craic by the support towards opposition fullbacks and wingers is no longer tolerated by overbearing, untrained stewards, sit down, shut up is the order of the day.

Something alluded to in an previous comment is having tickets in advance. When the club first announced you couldn't pay at the turnstiles and needed to purchase in advance, it put me off going. I remember a game against Celtic that first season it was introduced and there was uproar on Twitter because of the ticket collection times too. The communication over it was poor and although it's been cleared up since then, introducing a policy without proper comms was ridiculous.

Some banter on the touchlines was awesome. Don's "I'd rather be a brush than a Combe" chant to the Killie keeper,  the borderline abuse Tony Bullock received but laughed off, not to mention Dougie Imrie's various put-downs are just some of the highlights. Stewarding was an issue for a while at ICT and certainly hadn't improved when I last visited the ground. It does put you off somewhat.

[alternative maryhill]

12 hours ago, Joonya said:

Something alluded to in an previous comment is having tickets in advance. When the club first announced you couldn't pay at the turnstiles and needed to purchase in advance, it put me off going. 

It's a bit ironic that someone who has, on several occasions, marched half the length of Scotland between games, should be put off attending matches by a 30-second detour to the ticket window.

[TopSix]

12 hours ago, Joonya said:

Did you not purchase someone's sausage roll for nearly £2 as well? 

Something alluded to in an previous comment is having tickets in advance. When the club first announced you couldn't pay at the turnstiles and needed to purchase in advance, it put me off going. 

 

Can you pay at the gate at Stamford Bridge? 

[Eagle4Caley]

In the years I've been supporting Palace and then Inverness Caley Thistle, I've got used to the cycle of football with travails and despair often following triumph and elation, it's often the rebirth that happens after, say, relegation that I find the most exciting, as new faces come in, often young and in-experienced, new ways of playing, new managers, new owners (sometimes), improvements to the ground , even those new playing strips that seem more dynamic or trendy than the previous season. Being a 'glass-half-full' type of guy, I can take solace from a good passage of play, or a goal, or just seeing someone have a good game, even if the overall result may not be what is wanted. I love it when a player or the club starts to get recognised for doing something good. I have obviously come into the ICT fold fairly recently, but relegations under Butcher and Foran haven't disheartened me (actually it was my sadness when ICT went down under Butcher that I realised a spark had been kindled). Having supported Palace for nigh on 45 years I have seen many false dawns and have become disillusioned a couple of times, I once stopped going and gave up my season ticket, so I guess ever body is tested. (actually if everyone who told me they once supported Palace still turned up our crowds would be 50k not 25k). Sometimes you just need a break, however as long as you still love football, and you still look out for the club you support, or live local to them, the chances are that the spark will come back.

For me coming up to see Inverness is always an adventure, which I have enjoyed, even losing to Aberdeen in the League Cup final....whereas I can't honestly say I've enjoyed every moment of Palace's latest incursion into the EPL

COYC

[The Mantis]

15 hours ago, Joonya said:

 

 <<< You mean this 

19 years ago I had to put a consoling arm around the shoulders of that young fella after we lost a last minute goal at Somerset to deny us our first point ever in div 1 after 4 games 

A lot of water under the bridge since then - fill yer boots

 

[bdu98196]

18 hours ago, wynthank15 said:

Allied to the above we have rubbish catering which is far too expensive plus the standard of Scottish football currently is complete pants,

Partly agree but I think the standard of Scottish football is underplayed - its not as bad as made out. Working in the US just now I have seen the Dynamo play twice and once that was against the divisions top team Dallas - the game was entertaining enough but technical skills poor, defensive positioning wasn't great and neither was there a lot of creativity - I don't think either team are any better than mid table Premiership at best, thats a league with Bradly Wright Phillps as a star who couldn't cut it in the Championship down south and guys like Senderos, Webster & Nicholson all as key if not top players at their clubs and they were never outright stars in Scotland.

Where it does exceed our game is the atmosphere, catering & making it an event. The climate helps but clubs can do more to create areas outside the ground with entertainment, offer food options of a decent quality and choice, looking at innovative ways to order food, but tickets etc using mobile apps. MLS fans turn up hours before a game which surprised me but there is entertainment to sustain that and spending on food, merchandise & refreshments - we turn up and leave within minutes of the whistle - this looses clubs revenue as we haven't got ideas in place to make fans want to be there and spend.

[Scarlet Pimple]

You are an amazing guy,Eagle for Caley. All that "way doon there" and you keep coming back strong and supportive. Through thick and thin.

Truthfully, my own interest in ICT stems from a very  long way back and definitely to my first attendances at games as a young teenage lad. Being part of a group, the passion, the excitement. And the football itself reflects your personal ambitions, your striving and why one needs a deep sense of fulfilment  Whatever it is,  It sticks. It's also like a drug and not only that but believing in something worthwhile is a stabilising force in one's life and a reason to keep on looking forward to  something better. I think it is both emotional and spiritual.

[Joonya]

On 7/26/2018 at 1:21 PM, Eagle4Caley said:

Having supported Palace for nigh on 45 years I have seen many false dawns and have become disillusioned a couple of times, I once stopped going and gave up my season ticket, so I guess ever body is tested. (actually if everyone who told me they once supported Palace still turned up our crowds would be 50k not 25k). Sometimes you just need a break, however as long as you still love football, and you still look out for the club you support, or live local to them, the chances are that the spark will come back.

 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

[Guest]

On 7/26/2018 at 5:45 PM, bdu98196 said:

Partly agree but I think the standard of Scottish football is underplayed - its not as bad as made out. Working in the US just now I have seen the Dynamo play twice and once that was against the divisions top team Dallas - the game was entertaining enough but technical skills poor, defensive positioning wasn't great and neither was there a lot of creativity - I don't think either team are any better than mid table Premiership at best, thats a league with Bradly Wright Phillps as a star who couldn't cut it in the Championship down south and guys like Senderos, Webster & Nicholson all as key if not top players at their clubs and they were never outright stars in Scotland.

Where it does exceed our game is the atmosphere, catering & making it an event. The climate helps but clubs can do more to create areas outside the ground with entertainment, offer food options of a decent quality and choice, looking at innovative ways to order food, but tickets etc using mobile apps. MLS fans turn up hours before a game which surprised me but there is entertainment to sustain that and spending on food, merchandise & refreshments - we turn up and leave within minutes of the whistle - this looses clubs revenue as we haven't got ideas in place to make fans want to be there and spend.

Three to four hours in the warmth of Houston is not the same as Longman, Inverness. 

The cultural differences between USA and Scottish/UK folk are well known. 

I don't think the two locations are comparable.

However, I do agree the catering could be better.  But, Scottish football has a 'pie and bovril' mentality which will never change imo. I can't see many folk wanting a Prawn Cocktail or Avacado, with freshly squeezed Pomegranate juice snack at half time.