Robert James Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 5 hours ago, welshbairn said: Farr Hall isn't much closer to Inverness than Muir of Ord. The A9-A82 connector bypass was an ideal time to set up all weather facilities for football in Inverness, instead they just threw millions at Rugby and Golf and killed off Inverness City. For some reason the Council has a real bias against grass roots football in favour of cricket and rugby. Yes it looks that way. I hear a rumour that some of the people previously behind defunct Inverness City, are now backing Nairn St Ninians JFC. Have you heard this rumour? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 34 minutes ago, Robert James said: Yes it looks that way. I hear a rumour that some of the people previously behind defunct Inverness City, are now backing Nairn St Ninians JFC. Have you heard this rumour? I find it unlikely, the Chairman of City was an old guy who I think did nearly all of it himself, I'd imagine he's had enough after what he put into it and what they went through; and the player/manager has signed up as coach at Clachnacuddin. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclizine Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 6 hours ago, welshbairn said: For some reason the Council has a real bias against grass roots football in favour of cricket and rugby. They really don't. No-one owed City a ground. Canal Park wasn't just funded by Highland Council and is used by a club that has hundreds of all age and gender players and multiple teams. The cricket clubs are long established, so why should football get priority over their pitches? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Cyclizine said: They really don't. No-one owed City a ground. Canal Park wasn't just funded by Highland Council and is used by a club that has hundreds of all age and gender players and multiple teams. The cricket clubs are long established, so why should football get priority over their pitches? There was loads of space left over that could have been developed for football while the funding was possible. What other towns or cities the size of Inverness have such poor facilities for clubs below tier 5? And I don't see why the Northern Meeting Ground should be preserved for cricket 365 days a year when they only use it a handful of days in the summer. We're never going to agree about this, I'm sounding like groundhog day. Edited July 31, 2020 by welshbairn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert James Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 7 hours ago, welshbairn said: I find it unlikely, the Chairman of City was an old guy who I think did nearly all of it himself, I'd imagine he's had enough after what he put into it and what they went through; and the player/manager has signed up as coach at Clachnacuddin. Okay, probably fake news then' However St Ninians Juniors are ambitious, and it will be interesting to see how they progress over the next few years. The club is also located in NCL territory. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tin Shed Jaggie Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 On 31/07/2020 at 17:49, Cyclizine said: They really don't. No-one owed City a ground. Canal Park wasn't just funded by Highland Council and is used by a club that has hundreds of all age and gender players and multiple teams. The cricket clubs are long established, so why should football get priority over their pitches? Up until the early 80's the Canal pitches were predominately the domain of football. Everything from the Boys Brigade to Welfare played on it. The council at the time pretty much handed it over to Highland Rugby club. As for cricket, they didn't seem to have a problem with the Northern Meeting Park being used for rugby in the late 70's when Highland were flying high & attracting crowds. Inverness City really weren't harming anyone, either at the Bught or at the Northern Meeting & provided us with representation in the Juniors. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 On 31/07/2020 at 17:49, Cyclizine said: They really don't. No-one owed City a ground. Canal Park wasn't just funded by Highland Council and is used by a club that has hundreds of all age and gender players and multiple teams. The cricket clubs are long established, so why should football get priority over their pitches? A: Because cricket is a fucking shite non-sport while football is the national game. This is how grassroots sports policy should be concluded at any properly-led local authority in the country. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandcowden Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Tin Shed Jaggie said: Up until the early 80's the Canal pitches were predominately the domain of football. Everything from the Boys Brigade to Welfare played on it. The council at the time pretty much handed it over to Highland Rugby club. As for cricket, they didn't seem to have a problem with the Northern Meeting Park being used for rugby in the late 70's when Highland were flying high & attracting crowds. Inverness City really weren't harming anyone, either at the Bught or at the Northern Meeting & provided us with representation in the Juniors. far from harming anyone,i believe(could be wrong)that IC were spending quite a lot improving facilities at the meeting park and im sure would have continued doing so had they stayed there 22 minutes ago, virginton said: A: Because cricket is a fucking shite non-sport while football is the national game. This is how grassroots sports policy should be concluded at any properly-led local authority in the country. crickets every right to be played too-my gripe is that inverness has a cricket ground already up at walker park but apparantly the guys at NMP dont want to play there because they dont get on with the team that does.shouldve been told to grow the f**k up 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclizine Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 (edited) Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Inverness having junior representation, just I don't think it was Highland Council's duty to give City a ground. They're not just responsible for facilities in Inverness, but the whole of Highland. The question @welshbairn asks about Tier 5 facilities should include the whole region really, in which case there's Station Dudgeon, KGV, Claggan and Harmsworth Parks that are licenced outwith Inverness. Then the other NCL grounds, as well as the various parks used in the amateur/welfare leagues and the school Astros. The covenant issues with the Bught have already been discussed in terms of what City's lease wasn't extended a further time. Perhaps if the NMP gets taken over by the community project, then there might be some ability to share, but Northern Counties have been there for decades, there's overlap at the ends of the cricket/football seasons and I can see why the cricket club don't want their field to be guttery and bare before they start. As for them sharing Fraser Park with Highland, they both have 2nd XI teams, plus their junior so you're asking four senior and multiple junior clubs to share the same field? That's hardly fair. Anyway, I agree with Welshbairn that we're never going to agree on this! Edited August 2, 2020 by Cyclizine 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert James Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 On 02/08/2020 at 13:09, highlandcowden said: far from harming anyone,i believe(could be wrong)that IC were spending quite a lot improving facilities at the meeting park and im sure would have continued doing so had they stayed there crickets every right to be played too-my gripe is that inverness has a cricket ground already up at walker park but apparantly the guys at NMP dont want to play there because they dont get on with the team that does.shouldve been told to grow the f**k up Inverness City overstretched themselves financially, in the full knowlege that their lease was not going to be extended. A case of over ambition.without a Plan B. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Robert James said: Inverness City overstretched themselves financially, in the full knowlege that their lease was not going to be extended. A case of over ambition.without a Plan B. I know for a fact that they expected it to be extended, which it was for a year anyway, so there wasn't a hard and fast rule. Edited August 3, 2020 by welshbairn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert James Posted August 4, 2020 Author Share Posted August 4, 2020 19 hours ago, welshbairn said: I know for a fact that they expected it to be extended, which it was for a year anyway, so there wasn't a hard and fast rule. Yes I remember they had a short term lease extension, to enable the club to find a different location. However, the council made it clear that the lease would not be extended again It was clearly a political decision by the council, which is why City needed a fall back position, which they didn't have. Also, as I understand it, City invested a significant amount of money, even though the original council decision gave them no long term security of tenure at the Bught. This was always going to be risky. Politicians and ruling parties, come and go, and introduce different policies, as they see fit. At the end of the day, the politicians are accountable to the electorate, and they don't like losing elections/power. ( Look at the Meadowbank redevelopment fiasco).. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert James Posted August 12, 2020 Author Share Posted August 12, 2020 Excellent aerial view of Scourie's Achlochan Park ground on the club's twitter account. Definitely worth a visit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Loch Ness FC, who have still not found a ground and look like playing their fixtures on a public park, are going full bore on the merchandise front. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinabear Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Any further forward with NCL becoming Tier 6? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tin Shed Jaggie Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 I'm probably slevering, but I'm sure I read somewhere that Loch Ness have shifted about 800 replica shirts. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invergowrie arab Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 16 minutes ago, welshbairn said: Loch Ness FC, who have still not found a ground and look like playing their fixtures on a public park, are going full bore on the merchandise front. Full bore is right. The new Fort William 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherrif John Bunnell Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 I have heard from someone ITK that Loch Ness are pretty much just an ego trip for the former management of Inverness Athletic after they got bored there and quit. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 On 31/07/2020 at 16:15, Robert James said: Yes it looks that way. I hear a rumour that some of the people previously behind defunct Inverness City, are now backing Nairn St Ninians JFC. Have you heard this rumour? On 31/07/2020 at 16:54, welshbairn said: I find it unlikely, the Chairman of City was an old guy who I think did nearly all of it himself, I'd imagine he's had enough after what he put into it and what they went through; and the player/manager has signed up as coach at Clachnacuddin. Here's the Chairman on a sad day. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/inverness/1744810/despair-as-inverness-junior-football-club-forced-to-disband/ And glad to say that the player/manager Jordan MacDonald is the new Clachnacuddin Manager! https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/sport/football/highland-league/2459056/clach-appoint-macdonald-as-new-manager-after-mcleod-steps-down/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Tout P'ti FC Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Scourie. This place is unbelievable, a wee photo doesn't do it justice. Probably the most scenic drive to any football ground, anywhere, other than no doubt some postcard ground in the show pony Faroe Islands.Wonderful. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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