Is Inverness a football city?

[ralph milne]

Don't all jump on the crucify Brew thread boys, the truth is he has always been very complimentary to both the football club and the city. I'm afraid it's another case of the press making a story when in fact there is not one !!!

[Guest Chemist]

I wonder what the real stats on this p1sh are

team city population crowds % of population

Celtic Glasgow and eire 5,000,000? 57500 1/1000

Hearts Edinbro 400,000 17000 4/100

Rangers Glasgow ulster 1,500,000 48000 3/100

Hibernian Edinbro 400,000 12500 3/100

Aberdeen Aberdeen 300,000 10,000 3/100

Kilmarnock kilmarnock 60,000 5500 9/100???

Motherwell Mutherwell 75,000 5500 7/100???

Dundee utd Dundee 250,000 6000 2/100

Dunfermline Dunfermline 80,000 5000 6/100

Falkirk Falkirk 75,000 4500 6/100

Livingston Livingstone 80,000 4000 5/100

ICT Inverness 85,000 4000 5/100

I dare say we probably compare well to other teams from the provincial areas, and our fan base is still increasing as the town/city slowely gets over the amalgamation and enjoys the SPL standards.

So mr Brewster "gonanosaythatnow ya bampot"

[ictrmd]

Eh by the way, Inverness is a city and has a football team, so ehhhhhh (brewster ehh) that makes Inverness a footballing city!

[Guest Jock Watt]

The Highland League was formed in a club on Bridge Street in 1893. The founder members included Caley Clach and Thistle all of which had their origins in the 1880s. In contrast Dundee FC was formed in 1893 while Dundee United are very much New Kids on the Block, having been formed in 1909. Until the 1930s there was also a fourth Inverness club, Citadel, in the Highland League.

For allegedly not having a football tradition, Inverness seems to have done rather well, finishing for the last two seasons ahead of both clubs from the City of Discovery.

I suppose Inverness can also lay claim to being a "football city" on the strength of long term support here for Celtic (founded 1888) and Rangers (founded 1690).

Charles - Do you know or can you find out the name of the club in Bridge Street in which the HL was formed, please ?

[EWS]

I wonder what the real stats on this p1sh are

team city population crowds % of population

Celtic Glasgow and eire 5,000,000? 57500 1/1000

Hearts Edinbro 400,000 17000 4/100

Rangers Glasgow ulster 1,500,000 48000 3/100

Hibernian Edinbro 400,000 12500 3/100

Aberdeen Aberdeen 300,000 10,000 3/100

Kilmarnock kilmarnock 60,000 5500 9/100???

Motherwell Mutherwell 75,000 5500 7/100???

Dundee utd Dundee 250,000 6000 2/100

Dunfermline Dunfermline 80,000 5000 6/100

Falkirk Falkirk 75,000 4500 6/100

Livingston Livingstone 80,000 4000 5/100

ICT Inverness 85,000 4000 5/100

I dare say we probably compare well to other teams from the provincial areas, and our fan base is still increasing as the town/city slowely gets over the amalgamation and enjoys the SPL standards.

So mr Brewster "gonanosaythatnow ya bampot"

Why have you added in only Eire and ulster for Rangers and celtic? Surely you would then have to add the Highlands for ICT, Lithuania for Hearts, The North East for Aberdeen etc...

[Guest Chemist]

Cause it was toomuch fecking work, and if you take catchment areas we still probably have the least to pull in.

[Charles Bannerman]

Jock... the Highland League was founded in the Working Men's Club on Bridge Street which in these days had a good deal more architectural integrity than it has since it was demolished and rebuilt during the 60s.

[nude_as_the_news]

Cause it was toomuch fecking work, and if you take catchment areas we still probably have the least to pull in.

Yeah, and you'd also have to divide the vast legions of **** on a roughly 50/50 basis for both sides of the old firm. Are statistics even available for this?

[Alex MacLeod]

Not quite sure how the figures came about for Celtic and Rangers. The latest census's for Greater Glasgow give a population of 1,100,000, for Ulster 1,800,000 and for Republic of Ireland 3,500,000

Population of Highland Region is approx 208,000

Population of Dundee is 142,000

Population of Edinburgh is 440,000

And Aberdeenshire is 232,000

Using those figures and chemists crowd estimates I recalculate the %ages as

Celtic 1.25%

Rangers 1.65%

Dundee U 4.22%

Aberdeen 4.3%

Hibs 2.84%

Hearts 3.86%

Inverness 1.92%

Cant be bothered working out the rest. Using these results Dundee and Aberdeen are the footballing cities

[Guest Chemist]

think you will find the 2003 census for Inverness gave us a population of around 68,000 including Culloden, Balloch etc.

I was merely trying to say we aint doing that badly for the population within a small radius ie 10 miles, whereas with Celtic and Rangers we all know thay buses go from all over Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland and the ex pats who arrive from the US, OZ atc and the new Japanese fanbase for Shensuki.

We are still growing and as we continue to stay in the top flight we will get a bigger fan base. Some of the older generation will remember tha arabs were the small team fae Dundee and really got the bigger fan base through their success in the 80s

[Alex MacLeod]

Agree with what your saying chemist and I wasn't trying to knock your figures. I do however disagree that you can realistically use the population of Eire as a Celtic catchment. For one thing the predominant sports in Cork, Kerry, Mayo etc. are certainly not soccer and the people I've met in those areas wouldn't give a monkeys for any glasgow soccer team.

I use the population of highland region, that part that once was Inverness shire because we are the only professional team in the region.

[Guest Reefinweed]

Don't all jump on the crucify Brew thread boys, the truth is he has always been very complimentary to both the football club and the city. I'm afraid it's another case of the press making a story when in fact there is not one !!!

How are you Mr Brewster?? Things aren't going too well at the Overpaid-Underachievers hey??

Never mind there' always next season to show us what a great manager you are :D :D How many wins have you had in your managerial career :D :D

[DJS]

A strange comment from Brew.

Inverness is most definitely a football town. Sadly, that does not mean it is a 100% Caley Thistle town. It probably never will be but there are a vast number of football fans out there who are not commited enough to go to ICT games. Sorting that is the great challenge for those working behind the scenes at ICT in the years to come.

I would also suggest that there are certain parts of the town that will be bigger challenges than others.

[Guest Jock Watt]

A strange comment from Brew.

Inverness is most definitely a football town. Sadly, that does not mean it is a 100% Caley Thistle town. It probably never will be but there are a vast number of football fans out there who are not commited enough to go to ICT games. Sorting that is the great challenge for those working behind the scenes at ICT in the years to come.

I would also suggest that there are certain parts of the town that will be bigger challenges than others.

WHAT parts of the town (I think you really meant to say CITY!).

[Charles Bannerman]

Jock... the Highland League was founded in a Working Men's Club in Bridge Street which in these days had rather more architectural attraction than it has since the 60s travesty.

[Guest Jock Watt]

Jock... the Highland League was founded in a Working Men's Club in Bridge Street which in these days had rather more architectural attraction than it has since the 60s travesty.

Any idea what the NUMBER in Bridge Street was where that Working Men's Club was situated, please?

[Charles Bannerman]

Sorry, I have no record of thsat. If there's anyone out there with a copy of Bill MacAllister's "Highland Hundred" therHL's official history, it may be in there.

Jock.... there can't be many people around who can still remember old Bridge Street down to the numbers!

[DJS]

WHAT parts of the town

My job as a driving instructor takes me ito every conceivable part of the town. So, purely based on the shirts you see kids wearing in different areas -

More work needs to be done in Smithton than in Cradlehall or Balloch

Mork work needs to be done in Hilton than in Lochardil

More work needs to be done in the Ferry or Dalneigh than in Scorguie

[RiG]

I can see a link between all the places that need to be done and those that allegedly don't!

[Harry Chibber]

Just aswell you mentioned Cradlehall doesn't need work or I would have had to get my posse to hunt you down!! :shock: 8)

[buckett]

DJS, I see a distinct pattern in your observations!! :D

[A96]

I think the impressive turnout for the Scotland Futures match versus Turkey proved that we are a football city. 6,000 turned out on a freezing cold evening for (to all intents and purposes) a practice match when less than half that were expected (I know I spoke to the man who sells the pies). If that match had taken place in Edinburgh, Glasgow or Dundee - supposed "football cities" - it is unlikely that the crowd would have been half of what turned up in Inverness.