Shouldn't laugh... (Inverness relegation thread)

[QXBoy]

4 hours ago, partickthedog said:

not to mention the tiny number of turnstiles opened with consequent huge queues and frustration all round. I have witnessed several angry skirmishes with stewards and turnstile operators which reflect no great credit on anyone involved, but could easily have been avoided with a bit of flexibility and foresight.

Last time we played there (22 April '23) I and my pals did not have such a problem. Why? Because we used a cash turnstile while those who had bought tickets online formed a lengthy queue. (Ah - the ability to decide on the day whether you want to go or not).

[lady-isobel-barnett]

13 hours ago, Jimmy McD said:

Gonna miss the trip up to Inversneky always a good day out, as apposed to 10 mile down the road to Hamilton, with their 3 men and a dug....

Respect that but differ greatly. I'm now of an age, and more accurately health, where I'd struggle to get from the centre out to the ground (itself a rather soulless stadium).  I was kinda hoping Alloa or Montrose would come up. Alloa's the nearest ground for me to travel to and Montrose can be a good day out. 

Share the same issues as others re NDP visits. Even more so trips to Falkirk's godforsaken ground. Thankfully I don't have to add McDiarmid to the list of poor away days and would easily prefer the additional 250 miles travelling to Dingwall. 

[Auld Jag]

17 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

I wouldn't really say I'm delighted to see ICT go down, but there is a feeling of satisfaction at a kind of Karma for getting us unfairly relegated years ago, based on them persuading the SPL to suddenly change their seating capacity rules. And they might find it hard to bounce right back up.

You are spot on regarding them and SPL changing seating rule, bt iirc they did back us in the covid travesty.

[Auld Jag]

Premier league having a vote on plastic pitches and if the vote goes thru they will be banned from the top flight 2026.

[Jaggernaut]

6 hours ago, Auld Jag said:

Premier league having a vote on plastic pitches and if the vote goes thru they will be banned from the top flight 2026.

Hope so.

[jagfox]

6 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

Hope so.

Why?

I would say the likes of Raith have a better playing surface than some grass playing surfaces i e seen over the last few seasons, including our own.

 

[Lambies Lost Doo]

My nephew is 16 and has played on artificial surfaces the majority of his games.  That's going to include all people under 25.

A good artificial surface is far better than a bad grass pitch and they bring in income for he club and help the community.

Don't understand this obsession against them.

[lady-isobel-barnett]

1 hour ago, Lambies Lost Doo said:

My nephew is 16 and has played on artificial surfaces the majority of his games.  That's going to include all people under 25.

A good artificial surface is far better than a bad grass pitch and they bring in income for he club and help the community.

Don't understand this obsession against them.

Try from a spectator's point of view. Why are they banned in the top four divisions down south.?

[elevenone]

1 hour ago, Lambies Lost Doo said:

My nephew is 16 and has played on artificial surfaces the majority of his games.  That's going to include all people under 25.

A good artificial surface is far better than a bad grass pitch and they bring in income for he club and help the community.

Don't understand this obsession against them.

I agree there have been some bad grass pitches over the years (Firhill one of the guilty ones) and likes of farce at Dens this season but that aside give me as a supporter a match on them any day over artificial.

It’s an excellent point regards good artificial pitches having multiple uses for youth games, training and community uses however I would argue all of those are not played at the same intensity and impact as a full professional match therefore there is a higher risk of either immediate or gradual injuries occurring in the latter.

I would obviously still attend Firhill with one installed but give me a decent grass surface anytime.

[Jaggernaut]

Why not replace all grass everywhere with synthetic green "turf"? Golf courses.... permanent protection from hackers, beautiful for pictures. Parks..... no need to weed kill, or to chase weans ruining it by playing football. Garden lawns (it already seems to be going that way).... no need for any maintenance at all; lazy barstewards can simply leave it to the elements for ever, or park their rust buckets there.

Edited May 22, 2024 by Jaggernaut

[lady-isobel-barnett]

7 minutes ago, Jaggernaut said:

Why not replace all grass everywhere with synthetic green "turf"? Golf courses.... permanent protection from hackers, beautiful for pictures. Parks..... no need to weed kill, or to chase weans ruining it by playing football. Garden lawns (it already seems to be going that way).... no need for any maintenance at all; lazy barstewards can simply leave it to the elements for ever, or park their rust buckets there.

Big yellow taxi for Jaggernaut!

 

😃

[jagfox]

5 hours ago, lady-isobel-barnett said:

Try from a spectator's point of view. Why are they banned in the top four divisions down south.?

The away game at Raith was a better spectacle than the one at Firhill.

Arguably the same in the Airdrie tie.

Not sure what relevance England's leagues have to do with it? I don't know why they have banned them.

Maybe more money in the game certainly at the top.

We can't really compare countries as the money down south dwarves that of 90% of the clubs up here.

They also have a better climate the further South they go.

 

[Jaggernaut]

1 hour ago, lady-isobel-barnett said:

Big yellow taxi for Jaggernaut!

 

😃

Haha, the hidden power of sake !

[ChiThistle]

Moving the training ground to Kelty is a ballsy move.  Turns ICT into something of a hybrid club.  Necessary move?

[Harrybriscoe]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:47 AM, lady-isobel-barnett said:

I'm now of an age, and more accurately health, where I'd struggle to get from the centre out to the ground (itself a rather soulless stadium). 

I too find the walk out to the Caley stadium both dull and unpleasant on a poor weather day. On our last visit there, I found out that Stagecoach run a bus to and from the stadium on match days if there is a enough demand, which there was for our fixture. I just asked at the enquiries desk at the bus station. It may be a while before we have a chance to use the service again.

[jagfox]

12 hours ago, ChiThistle said:

Moving the training ground to Kelty is a ballsy move.  Turns ICT into something of a hybrid club.  Necessary move?

It is to keep them full-time. Definitely a ballsy move but I'd say a necessary move as they have struggled to get Scottish based players in recent years.

[scotty]

4 minutes ago, jagfox said:

It is to keep them full-time. Definitely a ballsy move but I'd say a necessary move as they have struggled to get Scottish based players in recent years.

Heard an interview with an Inverness supporter who was saying the lack of suitable, affordable accomodation in Inverness was a problem but he was not happy about them moving the training to Fife.

[Jaggernaut]

3 minutes ago, scotty said:

Heard an interview with an Inverness supporter who was saying the lack of suitable, affordable accomodation in Inverness was a problem but he was not happy about them moving the training to Fife.

I'd have thought somewhere in Perth would have been more likely than Fife.

[lady-isobel-barnett]

1 hour ago, jagfox said:

It is to keep them full-time. Definitely a ballsy move but I'd say a necessary move as they have struggled to get Scottish based players in recent years.

That makes sense. Dropping down a division probably means a higher dependency on Scottish based players. Kelty is just off the motorway and relatively easy to get to. 

Can't help thinking that it's Kelty FC that are the big winners here. The extra lolly can go to strengthening their team. Maybe enough so to enable them to pip ICT to promotion. Irony v Needs Must? 

[Jimmy McD]

It's the best part of of 2 hours drive from Inversneky to Perth and then another 30 or so to Kelty, and that's in the summer time, it's not much fun on the A9 winter time,,,, sounds crazy..

[lady-isobel-barnett]

4 minutes ago, Jimmy McD said:

It's the best part of of 2 hours drive from Inversneky to Perth and then another 30 or so to Kelty, and that's in the summer time, it's not much fun on the A9 winter time,,,, sounds crazy..

Think that's the point, tho'. They can sign Central Belt players, who now won't have to relocate. In fact they'll possibly only set foot in Inverness once in a fortnight. I can mind the likes of QoS & Stranraer training in Glasgow and Arbroath in Perth. The concept of a remote training ground is probably sound, but I'm far from certain ICT will weather the extremely poor PR this sends out. Their best bet would be to come clean and say that this move is the only way they can stay full time and avoid administration. Otherwise they're just going to alienate their fans at the worst possible time.

[jagfox]

It is a total mess at Inverness overall and Kelty isn't the most accessible of towns in the central belt but then it looks like they need to do something.

Questions about actual facilities need to be asked too. Looks like it would just be the one pitch at Kelty Hearts and that is all weather when ICT have a grass surface. Not exactly a training complex like Oriom or even the facilities Thistle use at Garscube which allows training on grass and artificial surfaces.

I see Barrow AFC (English League 2) have been doing their training in the Manchester area for a few years now in order to attract players.

[BowenBoys]

13 minutes ago, jagfox said:

It is a total mess at Inverness overall and Kelty isn't the most accessible of towns in the central belt but then it looks like they need to do something.

Questions about actual facilities need to be asked too. Looks like it would just be the one pitch at Kelty Hearts and that is all weather when ICT have a grass surface. Not exactly a training complex like Oriom or even the facilities Thistle use at Garscube which allows training on grass and artificial surfaces.

I see Barrow AFC (English League 2) have been doing their training in the Manchester area for a few years now in order to attract players.

But Barrow are a poor team in a town miles from anywhere decent. Oh... wait a minute...

[Fearchar]

1 hour ago, Jimmy McD said:

It's the best part of of 2 hours drive from Inversneky to Perth and then another 30 or so to Kelty, and that's in the summer time, it's not much fun on the A9 winter time,,,, sounds crazy..

Agreed. If they must use players shipped in every fortnight, then why stop at a Central Belt neuk? It would be more reliable and cheaper to fly in players based near, say, Amsterdam or London.

A club with its head screwed on would go cap in hand to Uncle Roy and ask if facilities could be shared with Ross County. (In some countries, the home park is shared.) Both clubs have a wide hinterland available with an existing football culture, from which they could recruit up-and-coming players. Scottish football has a Central Belt obsession, though, which sees a backwater like Kelty as somehow preferable to local backwaters.

[ChiThistle]

I don’t see why they should move their training ground when they could perfectly well sell to Paul Conway and their signing troubles would be over!