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Inverness CT 1-2 Celtic - Report

Tic Pip ICT
 
League Leaders Celtic, travelled to Inverness today a couple of men down, but Caley Thistle weren't without their own injury problems as Barrowman was unavailable for selection.
The first 45 minutes ended without a goal, but it only took Celtic 3 minutes to break the deadlock in the second half when ICT seemed to fall asleep and allowed Brown to stick away an easy ball.
Loovens increased the lead to two on 65 and it looked like one way traffic until Wood managed to get a foot on a headed ball to put it out of the reach of Boruc and went on to look as if they were in the ascendancy.
It wasn't to be however, and the game finished 1-2 in favour of the visitors. 
18th October 2008 - 12:30 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC
1 - Wood (69)
Team: Fraser, Tokely, McGuire (Duff 54), Munro, Hastings, Cowie, Black (Rooney 66), Duncan, McBain (Wilson 75), Imrie, Wood⚽
Subs - Esson, Djebi-Zadi, Vigurs, Sutherland
Celtic FC
2 - Brown (48), Loovens (65)
Team: Boruc, Caldwell (Wilson 64), McManus, Loovens⚽, Naylor, McGeady, Brown⚽,
Crosas (Hartley 93), Robson, McDonald (Sheridan 64), Maloney
Subs - Brown, McCourt, Nakamura, O'Dea
Referee  I Brines Attendance  7143 Man of the Match   hislopsoffsideagain summed up:
Take away the first 20 minutes of the second half and we were the better team. Brew had us well organised from the off, and the lack of a target man and a route one ball meant Celtic had to play it through us, which they found pretty tough. Wood deserves a bit of flak for missing that glorious chance, but it was a world class stop by Boruc.
What does Brew put in the players' half time tea though? Yet again we were caught cold at the beginning of the second half. Imrie had a wonderful game otherwise, but he should have been tracking Naylor down the left. Our defence should have dealt better with the cross though, and the same goes for the second goal. It was a shame as we looked great in the closing stages after Wood grabbed one back, the substitutions were good ones (Black was walking a tightrope and wasn't having all that great a game) and we definitely warranted a draw.
C'est la vie. Imrie deserved his MOTM, while I thought Wood did a good job with such little service. Munro was the pick of our defenders for me.
 
Guest
By Guest in Reports 2008-09 ·

Inverness CT v Celtic Preview

Teaser Paragraph:
Tomorrow's big game sees Caley Thistle take on SPL champions for the last three seasons, Celtic, in a televised game which kicks off at 12:30pm.
Celtic have had a good start in this season's SPL title race and sit top of the league with 19 points. However, despite some flowing performances in the SPL, the Bhoys have failed to win in the Champions League and were trounced at home in the first Old Firm game of the season causing some murmerings in a Celtic support accustomed to being the kings of Glasgow.
Caley Thistle will be desperate for a victory as they head into a tough run of games against last seasons top three SPL finishers. Craig Brewster will be heartened to hear that Celtic's Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink will miss out with a groin injury given the former PSV targetman has scored six goals in four games previously against his side. David Proctor is a long term absentee and Andy Barrowman faces a late fitness test for the Jags. 
INVERNESS C.T. v CELTIC
Tulloch Caledonian Stadium
Saturday 18th October, 12:30pm
Past Meetings
The most famous past meeting between Caley Thistle and Celtic was the first game between the sides when Steve Paterson's First Division side put out John Barnes' expensively assembled team of internationals. Paterson's successor John Robertson also masterminded a win over Celtic when a Dennis Wyness strike put Martin O'Neill's side out of the Scottish Cup just days after they won at Anfield in the UEFA Cup. However, since Caley Thistle have reached the SPL there have been some notable matches between the two clubs, especially at Caledonian Stadium.
In 2007 a Charlie Christie managed Caley played Celtic twice in a month and saw heart-breaking defeat on both occasions. In a league encounter the Jags overcame the loss of main goal threat Dennis Wyness in the second minute to push Celtic all the way. Derek Riorden gave Celtic a first half lead with a simple tap in following a defensive mix up but Graham Bayne produced a magnificent headed goal to equalise in the second half. Christie looked to have secured a point against his former club until Veenegor of Hesselink broke Highland hearts with a cruel last minute winner, the celebrations of which earned him a second yellow card.
A month later Celtic came calling on cup duty and found themselves behind in the opening period when Barry Wilson bamboozled a leaden-footed Steven Pressley to set up Bayne to score again. Bayne was particularly impressive in a lone strikers role, frequently winning headers and then taking the second ball against a stretched Hoops backling. However, Pressley had the last laugh when he headed in an equaliser in the final minute and much maligned Old Firm fence-hopper Kenny Miller reduced the home fans to grim silence with a long range winner.
After this frustration, and a poor start to the season, Inverness fans could perhaps have been forgiven for thinking they should have gone Christmas shopping at around 2:30pm on Sunday the 16th of December 2007, when Celtic next came calling to the banks of the Moray Firth. Celtic stormed to a deserved 2-0 lead, again Vennegoor of Hesselink tormenting Caley with both goals. Romanian international Marius Niculae won a penalty by forcing Pressley into a clumsy challange just before half-time to resurrect Caley's chances but even an ardent Jaggie couldn't have imagined the start to the second half that ensued. Caley tore Cetlic to shreds for the first fifteen minutes of the second half and took the lead with David Proctor powering home a near post header and Don Cowie taking advantage of Celtic's defensive error to clip home what turned out to be the winner. Brewster's men held out for a further half hour, most of which with ten men after David Proctor saw red undeservadly for a clash with Scott McDonald, the pint sized Aussie conning Alan Freeland into the sending off. Mike Fraser produced a wonder save from a McManus header and a dogged display saw the side achieve the highlight result of last season and Craig Brewsters best result since returning North.
Players to Watch
With perrenial Caley basher Vennegor of Hesselink out, attention will turn to other goal threats from the title holders. Dimunitive winger Aiden McGeady has hit the headlines this season for rumoured fall outs with his manger Gordon Strachan which saw him benched for several games, including Champions League fixtures. McGeady will probably start against Caley and will pose a real test to Ross Tokely, who will need to keep his discipline against the tricky winger.
For Caley Thistle Ian Black has been the most impressive individual performer this season and a commanding showing in the centre of the park from him will be vital. Black seems to have shed the hotheaded outbursts that clouded his undoubted talent and with only one yellow card this season it will require controlled aggression from the former Blackburn youth to guide the Highland club to a result.
Also vital will be the strikers. Adam Rooney, the summer signing from Stoke City, will be heartened by a good showing from the bench against Dundee United and could have staked a claim for a place. Garry Wood may also feature, with another big physical striker Daniel Cousin having demonstrated success against the Celtic defence in the first Old Firm game of the season.
Prediction
Games against the Old Firm are always seen as 'bonus' games by clubs like Caley Thistle - a point or three is an unexpected bonus that isn't planned for. Celtic's greater resources and undeniable quality will make a result difficult but this group of ICT players have shown they can get results in big games against Celtic. The key players (Fraser, Munro, Black, Cowie and whoever starts up front) will have to be on their games and discipline maintained if anything is to be taken from thsi game. Looking at the game objectively, no-one could make Caley favourites and if things go to form Celtic will win. However, the Caley players will have seen St Mirren's smash and grab attack on Rangers two weeks ago and something similar can be acheived by the Highlanders. Only the right mixture of luck, skill and determination will see this through.
Guest
By Guest in Previews 2008-09 ·

Boardroom Banter - Feb 2004

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Welcome to the February issue of Boardroom Banter.
Injury Update
As we are now approaching an extremely critical few weeks for the Club it is pleasing to note that most of our long term injury problems are making rapid progress towards fitness.
Richie Hart, David Proctor, Charlie Christie, Barry Wilson and Stuart McCaffrey all had a run out against Clach in the reserve match on Monday evening. Steven Hislop could be back in light training later this week depending on the recommendations of his Specialist.
The tail end of February and March fixtures will prove critical to our chances of topping the 1st Division and making further progress in the Scottish Cup, ( with the added financial bonuses that are critical to any club) so it will be extremely beneficial to have some, if not all our players, back challenging for positions during this crucial period.
Transfer Window
We were delighted that the transfer window came and went and for once our squad remained intact. Discussions are still ongoing with a few of our key players regarding new Contracts and both John and Graeme are close to delivering on this front.
Commercial
It is pleasing to note the positive reaction to the appointment of Les and that the throughput of information to you the fans is being so well received.
This is an area we are trying to develop further and when Les steps down at the end of the season we are certain the rest of the Commercial Team will pick up where he has left off and continue to carry on the good work with regards to both the business side and communication with you the fans.
We have been monitoring various aspects of the business over the past few weeks with a view to upgrading the standards all round to mirror the extremely high standards we set on the playing field, changes made are out of necessity and not just made for the sake of change.
Discussions continue regarding a town centre outlet for our merchandising for next season.
Hospitality packages are now sold out for the rest of the season apart from the Brechin game on 10th April.
The final stock of football tops will be arriving this week and will be on sale at the Stadium or the Club Shop on match days.
Car Park
We are encouraged that the Home Car Park is now clearing reasonably well post match and we ask that drivers show patience and assist us on this front. Over the last few Home Games, the Car Parks have been cleared at the latest 15 minutes after the final whistle and barring the odd incident of queue jumping relatively incident free. We do hope this continues when the larger crowds arrive/depart for the up and coming games.
Sportsman's Dinner
As mentioned last month, there is a Sportsman's Dinner with star attraction Mr Tam Cowan, this function now has the added spice of our Cup Draw against Motherwell as we all know where Tams affiliations lie.
There has been a change to the proposed date of 2nd April due to Tams commitments and the dinner will now take place on Friday 23rd April at the Ramada Jarvis, Inverness. Tickets/tables for this excellent evening have been going fast so if anybody wishes to book seats or a table please contact the Stadium as a matter of urgency as we would not like our regular fans to miss out on the exceptional opportunity.
Stadium Entry
Where Health and Safety permits (not for high profile games) we will continue to allow Homes Supporters to utilise turnstile No's 7 and 8 as an entry point to the Home Terracing. Any changes to this system will be well published prior to the games in question and we ask that on these occasions the fans do come along that bit earlier to avoid the disappointment of lengthy queues at 2.45pm.
SPL Criteria
As you will know from the local press, the Trust have submitted a Planning Application to upgrade the existing seating arrangements at the Stadium to 10,000 to meet SPL criteria.
It is hoped that the Board will meet with the SPL prior to 31st March deadline to inform them of our intentions, should we be in the fortunate position of finishing at the top of the League come the 15th May.
Youth and Community - by Danny MacDonald
The success of the Youth and Community Department has far outweighed our expectations and we certainly look for this to continue.
This weekend sees the start of the development league.
Sundays fixtures as follows:
Under 13 v QoS at Perth Under 14 v QoS at Perth Under 15 v Ross County at Inverness (Bught) Under 17 v St Johnstone at Inverness (Bught)
It will be very interesting to see how we perform in what we are sure will be very exciting and competitive games.
To give a brief insight into other areas we are developing, we also have squads of circa 20 participants at Primary 4, 5, 6, 7 plus an under 13 Development Squad to enable the children coming straight from Soccer 7's to gain experience moving up from 7 a-side through 9 a-side and towards 11 a-side by the time they reach 1st year level at High School.
We also run training sessions for our Squads six nights per week as follows:
Tuesday - Highland Academy under 13, 14 and 15's.
Inverness - Primary 7, under 13 Development Squad and under 17's.
Wednesday - Sports Centre Primary 4 and at Charleston our under 17s have fitness and conditioning sessions.
Thursday - Inverness Royal Academy Primary 5, under 14's and 15's.
Friday - Highland Academy specialist Goal Keeping sessions plus under 13, 15 and 17s training sessions.
Saturday - All squads undergo tactical awareness sessions in preparation for Sundays games at various locations around Inverness.
Sunday - Where possible our squads play competitive matches all over Scotland due to the league set ups. This level of investment and commitment, we trust, will ensure the players of the future get the correct grounding for their futures.
Over all we have 200 youngsters affiliated to ICTFC all at varying skill and age levels.
Through generous sponsorship we have managed to kit out all our squads with a uniformed training and playing kit thus lifting the profile of the Club and to our sponsors we remain eternally grateful.
The quality product now being produced by the Club at Youth Level has been officially recognised with the presentation of the SFA's Gold Award for Youth Development, one of only a handful of awards put out by the SFA this year under this banner.
Although we still have a long way to go in the pursuit of our goals, we are delighted at how far we have progressed in such a short timescale and many thanks go to Danny and his Team which includes both fulltime staff and many part time unpaid volunteers.
Finally can we ask that you all come out and support our youngsters competing in the Inverness Fun Run on Sunday 14th March where we hope to have 150 + from our various Squads, Coaches, Management and perhaps even a Director or two (to be confirmed) all decked out in Club Colours.
Next month we will update you on our School Programmes which are more Community based and we will provide an insight as to how we work closely with the Schools to ensure that the children's development in football is provided so as not to be detrimental to their Education but as an added benefit.
 
We trust the above report from Danny MacDonald illustrates how far the Club have progressed in a short period of time and our undoubted commitment to the Youth in our area.
We look forward to seeing you all down at the Stadium during the league run in and our very important Cup Game against Motherwell, a repetition of the excellent support at the St Mirren, game which was greatly appreciated would be very welcome and encouraging for both the Team and Management.
Guest
By Guest in Boardroom Banter ·

Boardroom Banter - Jan 2004

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Welcome to the January issue of Boardroom Banter. Following a rather disappointing result at Ross County it was pleasing to see the team get back on track last Saturday against Brechin and again today against Ayr United.
There have been a number of discussions on the message boards of the website which we want to try and comment on this month. Remember .. If you have comments or questions to ask, you can comment directly to the board using our new email address at [email protected]
Transfer Market
There has, as usual, been plenty rumour and counter rumour as to who is coming and going at the Club during the current transfer window.
As you are all aware we have taken Darren Mackie on loan from Aberdeen until the end of the season and both the Management Team and Directors were delighted at the effort he put in on Saturday and we believe the potential is there for him to improve as he gets competitive games under his belt as he regains his match sharpness.
We can confirm that John/Donald are at this stage keeping their options open regarding further increasing our squad prior to the transfer window closing and are keeping their eye on one player in particular, but as John has always stated he would only move for someone if:
a) It was within our current budgetary strategy. b) It would improve on the players we have in the Squad at present.
You will already know through the local press that we have let Ali Ridgers go to Clach but we do have a buy back clause in the contract deal. Tony Low has been in discussions with John and as he has not figured in the first team this season John felt that he would benefit from a move but at this time Tony has decided to stay on and continue to fight for a position in the First Team Squad.
Apart from Tony and Ali it is not our intention at this stage to let any of our first team squad move on during the transfer window. The management team are currently in discussion with Bobby Mann to secure his long term future at the Club and we are very hopeful of some good news on this front shortly.
Youth and Community
Under the guidance of Danny MacDonald we continue to see this extremely important facet at the Club develop. We have taken on Mike Fridge as Football Development Co-ordinator to compliment the current team and are also extremely pleased that Ronnie Duncan, who was Development Co-ordinator at Ross County, joins the Club as Youth Team Development Officer.
Both Mike and Ronnie are well respected in Scotland within football circles and are extremely successful in their field. They have seen the set up and what we are trying to achieve at ICTFC and are delighted to be joining what they see as a very ambitious and successful Football Club with a long term vision and commitment towards youth development at all levels within the community.
We have consulted with Danny and he is hoping in future to incorporate a few lines from Mike, Fiona, Ronnie and himself on how we are progressing with our programme so that everybody becomes fully aware of what we are trying to achieve at the Club.
Commercial
As mentioned last month, Les Kidger has taken up a part time role at the Club to assist within the department to the end of the season. As this is only an interim situation we have taken on Nicola Barclay as a Sales Executive for our commercial function and she has already made an impact and we see her role developing as the Club move forward on this front.
It is our intention that Charlie Christie will also move into a new position at the Club whilst maintaining his role within the playing staff and more news on this will be issued as the situation develops over the next couple of weeks.
We continue to review the commercial function at the Club and will be announcing some new developments in the near future regarding changes for next season in how we operate.
It is our intention to run a Sportsman's Dinner at a location yet to be confirmed on 2nd April 2004 where the star attraction will be Mr Tam Cowan. Tables and individual places at this event are now available at £50/head and can be booked through the Stadium by contacting Les, Nicola or Charlie. Initial reaction to what promises to be a tremendous evening has been excellent.
The revenue raised at this event will be donated to a fund that is being set up to assist the Club in meeting the latest SPL requirement for promotion to the top flight - under soil heating. There will be a formal press release on this shortly and it will be a chance for all our fans/shareholders alike to make a contribution to the further development of the Club.
We have had numerous comments regarding a town centre outlet for our merchandising and we can confirm that we have been in discussion with a retail outlet that may at long last enable us to fulfil this request, again we will keep you informed regarding this as things progress.
Car Parking/Turnstiles
The Directors continue to monitor the situation with both the car parking and turnstile operations. This will continue until we get things more user friendly for our supporters. At the Brechin game on Saturday it took 12 minutes from the final whistle to clear the Home Car Park which we do not think can be considered a failure.
When exiting the Car Parks we ask that you show a degree of patience as it was noted on Saturday that certain vehicles were jumping queues in an attempt to get out that little bit earlier, this type of behaviour just adds to delays and is not the answer to our problems.
Stadium Criteria
We continue our dialogue with the SPL and it is hoped to have a formal meeting with them shortly to discuss our proposals and how we think we can meet their criteria.
Injuries
We are entering the second half of the season with a few injuries to our key players but are hopeful that B Wilson and S Hislop will be back playing shortly. R McBain is still to be assessed and will be getting a scan early next week and D Proctor is recovering well from his operation but R Hart could be out for some time yet. If we can get over these set backs whilst maintaining our challenge for the League and the Cup we should be back to almost full strength for the run in which would be excellent. It is unfortunate that when we are going so well that all our injuries have come at the one time but that is football and something we just have to get on with.
Finally congratulations are due to Scotty for running what is developing into one of the most successful Football Web Sites in the Country and the Club are grateful for the service provided, and of course thanks also goes to all the users of the site as 2million+ hits is an amazing achievement, long may it continue.
Guest
By Guest in Boardroom Banter ·

Boardroom Banter - Dec 2003

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Welcome to the December issue of Boardroom Banter. There have been a number of issues and discussions on the message boards of the website, and quite a few emails received at our new email address of [email protected] which we want to try and comment on this month.
TEMPORARY STANDS
As has always been the case the Board have the long-term viability of the Football Club very much to the forefront during its decision making processes no matter the subject. With regard to the Temporary seating arrangements, we met with the S.P.L. representatives last season and were given certain assurances re our proposed plans. There were no adverse comments made at that time and the only criteria we were asked to fulfil re our plans was that the seating as we proposed was to be covered and would have a current safety certificate.
We foresaw no problem in achieving this as this type of seating is utilised at sporting events all over the U.K. and it is incumbent upon the suppliers to ensure that all the certificates are in place post construction where upon we would then take over the responsibility for it and it would be inspected and checked by a Structural Engineer prior to each and every home game. The only stumbling block to this plan was the fact that we maybe required to have the Certificates to hand by April 30th in the season prior to promotion if that were achieved.
We are currently in the process of corresponding with the S.P.L. to ascertain if there is to be a relaxation of this stipulation as it could, in the worst case scenario, mean that we erect the Temporary Stands in March 2004 only to find that having gone to the substantial expense of doing so we then failed to achieve promotion. We are certain we do not need to go into the implications of this outcome as they are self explanatory and there for all to see.
Given that it would take at the outside 6 weeks from start to finish to erect the stands to meet the S.P.L. criteria we can see no good reason to force us down this route and assume that we will receive a fair hearing to this dilemma.
We can confirm that the Management Team are aware of the situation as it exists and that we all have the longterm survival and success of the Club in our minds and we intend to pursue Official Planning Permission for our proposal shortly.
NEW SPL CRITERIA
In a letter just received this week we have been informed that it is now a further requirement that adequate pitch protection be supplied which must be of an "underground or under pitch heated type". This brings with it added difficulties as we could not possibly have this in place by April 30th which is still during the playing season but we are sure we will be allowed a relaxation on this front providing we could assure the S.P.L. that we had the capability to provide it prior to the start of the 2004/2005 season.
HIGHLAND FOOTBALL ACADEMY
As the name suggests, this is a Highland Facility and neither the domain of ICTFC or for that matter RCFC to spite any indications in the local and national press to the contrary.
This is a Publicly funded facility and neither ICTFC or RCFC have put any direct funding into the venture at this stage and it is open to use by any Football Club in the Highland area or for that matter any sporting group as it has the ability to be a multifunctional facility. The project is overseen by 2 Directors neither of whom have any affiliation to either Club mentioned above.
At present there is a working committee made up of various bodies and this committee does contain representatives of both ICTFC and RCFC.
There appears to some form of illusion/misconception being created surrounding the Academy its owners, users, funders, participants, a point that we hope has now been fully cleared up and for the avoidance of doubt it is a facility for the whole of the Highlands and is the exclusive domain of no one team or organisation.
CAR PARKING
Following numerous complaints in reference to the length of time it takes to clear the car parks at the end of the games we can inform you that with the assistance of the Stewards we will be looking to further improve on the situation as it stands.
On Saturday at the Q.O.S. game the home car park was cleared by 4-48pm which we are not certain can be improved upon and this was witnessed by one of the directors who had been asked to observe the situation in light of several comments on the website and complaints received via email.
What the club cannot legislate for are people who get it into to their heads that they can ignore the Stewards and try and push and bully their way to the front of the queue.
Following the complaints received, one of the directors confirmed that he was in the car park at the end of the game and what happened was a car trying to push its way into the line of traffic (rather than wait his turn) came to rest against the car in front, at an angle, but did not damage it. When the driver of the car in front wound his window down to enquire from the driver of the car that was leaning against his car, if he had in fact caused any damage things took a turn for the worse. The driver of the offending car for some reason completely lost the place and launched into a tirade of abuse directed at all around him, he then proceeded to reverse slightly and take a run at the car at the head of the queue spinning his wheels as he did so resulting in the damage to the other drivers car.
This matter was handed over to the police by the stewards, which we think was the correct action given the circumstances and they dealt with things accordingly.
On receipt of the police report on this incident the club will also take appropriate action against this driver as we cannot tolerate this behaviour within the confines of the ground.
The name and address of the driver of the damaged car was also taken and the Club will be writing to him in due course with our sincere apologies for the behaviour of one of our supporters.
COMMERCIAL
Having reviewed our commercial activities over the last few weeks the Club have appointed Les Kidger (from the club shop) as Business Manager until the end of the season.
Les, in conjunction with the Directors, has been holding the fort over the past few weeks on a voluntary basis and his contribution has been greatly appreciated, and we are just putting this situation on a more formal footing.
There will be further appointments made in the coming weeks to add strength and back up in other areas of the business as we move forward.
The Club Shop has continued to go from strength to strength and we are delighted at the fans response to our new lines and it is a very welcome income stream for the Club.
2004/2005 STRIP
The new strip for next season has been on display in the Stadium and on occasion outside the Club Shop and we can assure you that the fans have been canvassed for their opinions over the past few months.
It was also put to the Players and to the shareholders at the A.G.M. and all the views are being taken into consideration. At this stage the favoured option is the red, blue with black inserts and we are awaiting sample strips from ERREA to see what they look like.
YOUTH/COMMUNITY
In the community section we are moving forward a pace with hundreds of youngsters turning up to our various age group training and coaching sessions which is an excellent position and we are looking forward to announcing some additions to Danny's backroom staff in the very near future as we continue our push forward.
A few weeks ago you may have seen a cheque being handed over by Danny at the one of the home games to the Inverness Boxing Club this was the sum of £1000 which was a result of the very successful boxing night held in the Ramada Jarvis.
It is with functions like these that we aim to get across to the public of Inverness that because the ICTFC name is in itself a draw we can assist and help other minority Sports and Clubs in the area and that it is not all take, take, in football as is often the case.
In next months B.B. we will get a full update on both the Youth and Reserves for you from Danny And John Docherty/John Beaton.
Merry Christmas
Finally on behalf of the Directors, Management, Players and all the Staff at the Stadium we would like to wish all our fans and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Guest
By Guest in Boardroom Banter ·

Boardroom Banter - Nov 2003

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Welcome to the November issue of Boardroom Banter.
We would like to firstly apologise for the lateness of this month's issue. As most supporters will probably realise, we have had a certain situation to deal with that has been the subject of discussion in various parts of the media. This situation has now been dealt with and we will not be commenting on it in any detail.
Commercial Department
Following the joint decision for Debbie Ross to move on we are reviewing the whole commercial setup at the moment. We have various thoughts on Hospitality etc. for next season and some of this may undergo a radical change. In the interim, all the directors are assisting the stadium staff to ensure that things run smoothly over the next few home games.
We do not want to rush into a decision as to who will replace Debbie as we feel that would be a mistake. We are looking at a couple of temporary appointments at the moment to see us through prior to making any final decisions.
We are holding a sponsors day next Sat. at QOS game and would hope to attract circa 200 guests both existing and new sponsors for the Club. The response we have had over the past couple of weeks has been very positive indeed.
The Reserves
The reserves are doing exceptionally well and as stated in previous Boardroom Banter issues, the fact that they are getting competitive games on a regular basis is a great plus for us. John Robertson is delighted as to just how good an idea this has turned out to be and we are grateful to the Highland League teams for taking up the option to play us. Every game has been ultra competitive and this helps our young players tremendously.
Transfer Window
There has been a lot of speculation over various 1st team squad players but we can confirm that at this stage it is only speculation. No formal offers, or enquiries have been made for any of our players, and we are in contract talks with those players that are nearing the end of their current deals. The manager hopes to retain all his current players and continue to challenge for the title.
Our policy if any of our players were offered a chance to play SPL football remains the same as it has always been ... We would not stand in a player's way and would not be difficult to deal with so long as any offer we received for a particular player met our estimations of their value.
What is more worrying for the manager is that we have had a few injuries to deal with and some of these players are not yet ready to come back to the first team, with two of the injuries being classified as long term.
Charlie Christie, who played last weekend for a half with the reserves, is the closest to perhaps returning to challenge for a place in the starting line-up, but Richie Hart looks to be out for a long spell with a groin injury and David Proctor may not be available for selection until February as he is due to undergo shoulder surgery next week.
However, it is not all doom and gloom on the injury front as these injuries have given the players on the fringes of selection a chance to get into the team, with Liam Keogh performing well in midfield last weekend, and we also have David MacRae, Craig MacMillan, and Tony Low pushing for places.
Club Shop
The shop under the guidance of Les Kidger and his assistants has been a big plus for us. We are especially delighted that it was a supporter that came to us with ideas on how to improve this area of the club's operation and that we took on board what he had said, backed him in this venture and it makes it even more gratifying that it has paid off handsomely in both terms of increased merchandise sales, but more importantly, in greatly enhanced customer satisfaction.
We are sure there are many more people like Les out there willing to help, or who have ideas that would move the club forward in one way or another and all they need to do is contact us through the website and we will be delighted to speak to them. It makes a big difference to us when somebody comes along with an idea but is also willing to assist in its implementation.
Les has also been on the website asking for merchandising ideas so if anybody has any good ones we will oblige (if practical).
What we are also looking for if at all possible would be some volunteers to assist on match days as this is another area we rely on a small band of loyal volunteers to help out with, so again any help would be gratefully accepted.
E-Mail
Scotty has suggested that we have an email address so that supporters can send email direct to the Board of Directors that we might address in future issues of the Boardroom Banter series of articles and we have agreed with him to set-up a new address of [email protected] for all your queries. We will not respond individually to any of the emails we receive, but will try to cover as many queries in the articles every month as we can. Scotty will post it on the website when the email address is up and running.
Guest
By Guest in Boardroom Banter ·

Boardroom Banter - Oct 2003

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Since our last posting we have flirted briefly with top spot in the league but unfortunately following the defeat by QOS relinquished this position to them and with no league game last weekend we are now playing catch up but hopefully it will not be too long before we once again top the Division.
What a marvellous weekend we have just experienced with our 1st ever National Cup Trophy in our 10th anniversary year.
Though it was a very tight game and Airdrie United equipped themselves well the boys did us all proud with a 2-0 victory so a big thank you goes to the Management Team, Players and of course our marvellous travelling support which, contrary to reports on Friday, we were extremely pleased with but more on that later.
Congratulations also go to John Robertson and Mark Brown for their wonderful achievement in winning the 1st Division Manager and Player of the month respectively for September, no mean feat, which reflects extremely well on the Club.
As a Board we were rather taken aback by the headlines in Fridays Inverness Courier . To put the record straight on the ticket sales for the Cup Final, at no time did we consider the ticket sale level as a disaster. Given the volume of our home support taking circa 2,900 fans to an away game in Perth on a Sunday is an excellent turn out and we thank all who made the effort.
With regard to the "Caley Thistle bosses to tout tickets etc" we are mindful that we do have a central belt following who may or may not have been able to get tickets from friends/relatives in Inverness and we did notice one or two comments on the website regarding ticket sales at the ground. It was in response to this and only this that we asked permission to sell tickets at the travelling club shop on match day and we certainly had no intention of "touting tickets" as was suggested. Once again this has proven to be non story with a completely over the top and dramatic headline. As an update on the above and given the level of ticket sales on Sunday (circa 200 at the ground) we now feel completely vindicated in our decision to take the tickets to the game. Had we not gone down this route there would have been many disappointed ICTFC fans outside the ground unable to get in, which would have been a disaster for the fans and a major P.R. disaster for us.
Club Shop
We would like to thank the volunteers who organised and managed the Club Shop on Sunday in Perth.
This was an excellent idea put forward by them and gratefully accepted by the Board following consultation with St Johnstone. This sort of assistance and attitude is to be commended and we again thank all who contributed.
The Club Shop has been such a success since it opened some weeks ago that we are now looking into the possibility of making it a permanent feature within the confines of the stadium building for next season.
We have many new lines in stock catering for all age groups and any constructive ideas on stock supplies are very welcome but do remember that when we are ordering items we require to buy 50, 100 and in some cases 200 of each item to make it financially viable and we do have to take this into consideration when orders are placed.
Stadium Development
To spite what has appeared in the press, discussions between the ICTFC Trust, Asda and the Council are still ongoing and we are certain full details will be made available when the timing is right.
Obviously it would be not be possible to get new structures in place prior to the start of next season but it is hoped that our planning application for temporary seating will be submitted shortly
Reserve Team Update - John Docherty
Our connection with the Highland League and the opportunity to play the spare team when injuries etc permit has proven to be an excellent format for our younger players.
It has provided a platform whereby they can now get the opportunity of playing together as a team on a regular basis using our first team formations as a template that allows the boys to slip into the first team as and when required, as they have had the tactical experience at a competitive level. At all the grounds we have visited so far we have experienced a high level of competitive play and their hospitality to the players is to be commended.
The majority of the teams in the league have agreed to play us and as stated previously the opportunity for our players to go through this sharp learning curve can only bring them that step closer to first football team. To date we have played 10 games and won 8 with our latest reversal being at home on Saturday to Keith. The game itself was open and very entertaining for the small crowd that turned up and though we went down 3-1 we competed well and David McRae scored a spectacular goal.
At the end of the day its not the results of these matches that count but the fact we are being afforded the opportunity to get competitive matches for our boys and it also allows us the coaching staff to view the up and coming talent from the Highland League at first hand.
We are very much looking forward to playing Partick Thistle in the under 18 Scottish Cup and we will let you know the date and venue when this has been confirmed and it will give you the chance to come along and see how the young boys are progressing.
Within our current under 18 squad we have only 2 players who will be over age for next season, and given that the majority of the players are involved with our reserve set up it is a young but experienced side we will be fielding and it does augur well for next season as we will be able to put together a similar formation as this year.
Commercial
We are currently reviewing all our hospitality packages etc for next season and will get details out into the public domain as soon as possible. Sales of our end of season raffle are going well and it looks like it could be our best sales ever.
We held a very successful boxing night in conjunction with Inverness Boxing Club at the Ramada Jarvis Inverness. An excellent meal was provided by the Hotel and all the boxing bouts were of an excellent standard, thanks go to all the sponsors for the evening and all the volunteers who came along to assist with special thanks to Kayleigh our ring girl for the evening - she was very brave.
We are currently looking into arranging a night for the ladies, something we feel is long overdue. It will be along the lines of the previous functions with a change of venue and activities for the evening.
It is hoped to have a dinner followed by a speaker and a fashion show and we are currently putting together a team of interested female volunteers to assist in this project.
2003 AGM
We are looking forward to the Clubs AGM on Wednesday 29th October at the Stadium when we will be announcing a trading profit at the Club of £129K which leaves us in a good financial position as we move forward having taken care of circa £150K of long term outstanding debt within the season as well.
In conclusion we once again thank you for your support at Perth on Sunday and are hoping for a good turn out on Saturday for our home game against Falkirk.
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