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17 hours ago, buckett said:

Don't think the low attendances are much of a mystery - there's an SPL team playing about 15 miles away, representing a similar locality to ICT.

We're playing teams like Alloa and Arbroath and they're playing Rangers and Celtic.

A lot of floating support in the Highlands and it's pretty obvious where they'll attach themselves!

I must admit I didn't share the joy of many on this forum when County were promoted to the SPL all these years ago, believing it would eventually be to our detriment!

Totally agree with the last paragraph. Its obvious this is what has happened as well. 

20 hours ago, IBM said:

Inverness folk are strange at times the way they don't support their team by going to games (talk the talk) but what is worse Inverness folk that go over the bridge and support County 

I’d hazard a well educated guess there are more born and bred Invernessians that follow County than ICT.

Think we need to remember that ICT were not formed for the fans they were formed for the ego trippers and the greed of certain local businessmen. 

Along with the worst possible location in Inverness to put a football stadium our attendances are no surprise to me.

Busses leave town to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and Dingwall every Saturday with Inverness football fans, there is no town or city in the whole of Scotland that has such a diversity of fans that support clubs other than their local team. 

When you have large swathes of Inverness like Merkinch and Dalneigh who despise us we struggle for identity

The Inverness football fraternity was ripped to shreds from the off and it will take a generation or two before the wounds heal over.

Dougal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 20205 yr by dougal

Dougal, those same buses were leaving Inverness 30 + years ago. Anyway title of this topic started ICT v Livvi, how did it get to this

Dave there were busses leaving 30+ years ago but not in the same numbers as they are now. 
 

Dougal

33 minutes ago, dougal said:

I’d hazard a well educated guess there are more born and bred Invernessians that follow County than ICT.

Think we need to remember that ICT were not formed for the fans they were formed for the ego trippers and the greed of certain local businessmen. 

Along with the worst possible location in Inverness to put a football stadium our attendances are no surprise to me.

Busses leave town to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and Dingwall every Saturday with Inverness football fans, there is no town or city in the whole of Scotland that has such a diversity of fans that support clubs other than their local team. 

When you have large swathes of Inverness like Merkinch and Dalneigh who despise us we struggle for identity

The Inverness football fraternity was ripped to shreds from the off and it will take a generation or two before the wounds heal over.

Dougal

Do you have any cheese to go with that?

3 hours ago, dougal said:

Along with the worst possible location in Inverness to put a football stadium our attendances are no surprise to me.

Citadel did well down there for quite a number of years.  Where are those fans now?  Quitters!  

1 hour ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

Citadel did well down there for quite a number of years.  Where are those fans now?  Quitters!  

Would've said they're more likely dead by now, but sure...

??

On 2/12/2020 at 7:07 PM, dougal said:

I’d hazard a well educated guess there are more born and bred Invernessians that follow County than ICT.

Think we need to remember that ICT were not formed for the fans they were formed for the ego trippers and the greed of certain local businessmen. 

Along with the worst possible location in Inverness to put a football stadium our attendances are no surprise to me.

Busses leave town to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and Dingwall every Saturday with Inverness football fans, there is no town or city in the whole of Scotland that has such a diversity of fans that support clubs other than their local team. 

When you have large swathes of Inverness like Merkinch and Dalneigh who despise us we struggle for identity

The Inverness football fraternity was ripped to shreds from the off and it will take a generation or two before the wounds heal over.

Dougal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More than half of the current population of the greater Inverness area were either not living there, unborn or less than eight years of age at the time of the merger.

There are many and complex reasons why we have been unable to sustain a large and loyal supporter base. The most important of these at the moment is that there is a team twenty minutes away playing more entertaining football with better players in a more pleasant and accessible stadium while we are struggling in the second tier.

I appreciate that there are those that are obsessed with and very vocal about battles fought and lost over quarter  of a century ago but the merger only had a very limited effect on attendances at the outset of our journey as a combined club and the effect now sits somewhere between negligible and non existent.

We are unlikely to ever fill our current ground but crowds of three to four thousand home fans are entirely possible for a team playing attractive football in the mid to higher reaches of the Premierhip especially if improvements are made to such things as facilities, car park management, catering and the general matchday experience.

Edited February 17, 20205 yr by Kingsmills

Genuine question, what was the combined average Caley/Thistle attendance before the merger?

6 minutes ago, Fraz said:

Genuine question, what was the combined average Caley/Thistle attendance before the merger?

In the final season in the Highland League, Caley's average league attendance was circa 340 and Thistle's under 200. So ever if every single regular attendee boycotted the new club the effect would have been no more than three figures.

In fact, probably no more than five dozen or so, Mainly Caley, fans stayed away initially and many of them returned as soon as success and entertaining attacking football emerged  under Steve Paterson.

6 minutes ago, Kingsmills said:

In the final season in the Highland League, Caley's average league attendance was circa 340 and Thistle's under 200. So ever if every single regular attendee boycotted the new club the effect would have been no more than three figures.

In fact, probably no more than five dozen or so, Mainly Caley, fans stayed away initially and many of them returned as soon as success and entertaining attacking football emerged  under Steve Paterson.

Interesting. I've met a few folk who say they won't go to games due to the merger but upon further discussion either never went to Caley/Thistle  games anyway or were apparently so affronted that they switched to the old firm, seems like an odd choice to make. 

Only genuine Caley 'Refusenick' I know is my uncle Ben (not the rice guy) who was a massive Howden Ender but has never attended an ICT game.