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2002-03 – A Trip to Hampden

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A season of high drama on and off the field.  Changes at the top, championship contenders, more cup giant-killing and a Hampden appearance.  A season that started in economic confusion ended with a Tennent’s Scottish Cup semi-final match at Hampden and a top four league place. A season of high drama on and off the field.  Changes at the top, championship contenders, more cup giant-killing and a Hampden appearance.  A season that started in economic confusion ended with a Tennent’s Scottish Cup semi-final match at Hampden and a top four league place.
Ken Mackie took over as chairman in May and economic stability was achieved with a £500,000 cash injection by Tulloch in September.  In the close season Martin Bavidge left to pursue a full time career in geology but was to continue playing part-time with Forfar.  Neil MacDonald went to Clach, goalkeepers Jim Calder and Nicky Walker hung up their gloves and Motherwell’s Mark Brown took over the number one shirt.  Richie Hart came from Brora and Chris Miller from Barnsley – Hart was to become a first team regular but Miller left in January after only one appearance.  Steve Hislop signed from Ross County during the January transfer window.  Emily Goodlad took over physio duties and Drs Ian Smith and Derek MacLeod continued to deputise for Club Doctor John MacAskill while he recovered from a lengthy illness.  On April 26th “The Doc” sadly died and a large club contingent attended the funeral service in Fort William.  During his nine-season service to the club he made many friends and travelled many miles from his home in Fort William.  John will be badly missed by everyone at the club.
Pre season training started on July 2nd and the first public outing was an unsuccessful one at the annual Keyline/Oban Saints tournament on July 13th.  Six pre-season friendlies in July produced mixed results.  The league season opened on August 3rd with a frustrating goalless draw against Alloa at home.  Three days later it was a long midweek trip to Berwick in the Bell’s Cup and a 1-0 victory for the home side.  On August 10th Caley Thistle travelled the relatively short distance to Perth to play St Johnstone for the first time and lost to a late goal.  The season’s first senior goal did not come until August 17th - Ross Tokely was the scorer against Falkirk at home but the concession of two late goals led to another defeat.  The tide turned on the 24th  On the last day of the month came an amazing 4-0 away victory against promotion-fancied St Mirren.  This result led to the sacking of manager Tom Hendrie and a climb to fourth place in the league.  The final of the Inverness Cup took place on September 3rd against Ross County at Grant Street Park and the Dingwall side won 1-0. with a 2-0 home victory against Ross County.
Home victories in the CIS Insurance Cup against Dumbarton and St Mirren earned a third round tie away to Celtic.  The match was played on October 24th and many feared a sound beating in revenge for February 2000.  In the event Caley Thistle put up a good show and went down 4-2.  Steve Paterson was linked with Dundee United when Alex Smith was sacked but nothing came of it.  A good league run from September to November led to top place being achieved.  The cup victories and league run ensured that Steve Paterson was named SFL Manager of the Month for September, October and November.  Dennis Wyness won the player award in September and October with Barry Robson taking the honour for November.
Steve Paterson’s achievements threw him into the limelight just as Aberdeen parted company with Ebbe Skovdahl.  A dramatic 3-3 draw at Ayr on December 7th was to be Steve Paterson and Duncan Shearer’s swansong as they left for Aberdeen four days later.  On Boxing Day former Hearts and Scotland player John Robertson was named the new manager.  He came from the post of first team coach at Livingston and brought in former Hearts (and Caledonian) player Donald Park as Head Coach.  Park was appointed on January 3rd.  An undefeated December run meant that 2002 ended with Caley Thistle in the number one slot.  Robertson made a dream debut with a 4-1 away win against St Mirren on December 28th amidst a blaze of publicity.
The new transfer window system led to speculation that Dennis Wyness and/or Barry Robson would leave in January – perhaps following their former manager to Aberdeen.  In the event neither moved despite late bids from Dundee United for Robson.  Freezing weather meant that only two games were played in January – a narrow home defeat to Ayr and a 2-0 Scottish Cup victory against Raith Rovers.  In the next round Hamilton were beaten 6-1 and this earned a quarter final tie at home against Celtic.  Three February league defeats led to a drop to third.  The 5-1 home defeat by Ross County in the postponed New Year’s Day match was a major shock and disappointment.

Six league matches were played in March – four wins, one draw and one defeat – but the highlight was the Celtic match on March 23rd live on Sky TV.  Tickets were at a premium and the excitement in the days leading up to the match was intense.  Martin O’Neill watched the team go down 4-1 at Clyde and this may have lulled him into a false sense of security.  Celtic came north just after defeating Liverpool in the UEFA Cup and Martin O’Neill rested some of the big names.  This was to prove a major error as a Dennis Wyness goal ensured another historic victory.  Henrik Larsson played for the full 90 minutes but his usual strike partner John Hartson only came off the bench in the 62nd minute.  This top class partnership could not break down the home defence and O’Neill was left to make excuses.
It was clear by this time that Falkirk were going to be First Division champions but the race for second place was an open one.  This all took a back seat as preparations were made for the biggest game in the club’s history – the semi-final of the Scottish Cup at Hampden on Sunday April 20th.  The opponents were not known for a long time but eventually Dundee beat Falkirk in a replay to earn their Hampden place.  An 11000 allocation ensured that tickets were easy to obtain and thousands went south to enjoy a day out at the National Stadium.  The match did not really live up to the pre-match billing and, despite Dundee and Caley Thistle being attack-minded teams, there was only one goal in it.  Semi-finals are often nervy affairs and this one did not explode into the thriller that had seemed likely.  The game hinged on two incidents – Dundee ‘keeper Julian Speroni produced a wonder save in nine minutes to deny Dennis Wyness then in 78 minutes the winner came from a mishit shot by Georgi Nemzadze.  The cup dream was over but heads could be held high.
It was now just a question of where Caley Thistle would finish in the league.  A 5-1 victory at Alloa gave some hope of ending in the top three but defeats to Ayr and St Johnstone meant that fourth could not be bettered.  Paul Ritchie was named Player of the Month for April with an Alloa hat-trick being his fourth of the season.  The season ended on May 10th with high drama around the country.  Caley Thistle were guests at Falkirk’s party to celebrate Brockville’s last game but spoiled the day by winning 3-2.  Charlie Christie’s 82nd minute goal proved to be the very last at Brockville.  In Dingwall Ross County beat Ayr 4-1 to avoid relegation on goal difference.
Dennis Wyness ended the season as club and division top scorer with 27 goals in the league and cups.  He was also named First Division Player of the Year.  Mark Brown started in all 44 games and Dennis Wyness also played 44 times – including one substitute appearance.  The Falkirk match was Wyness’s 119th in a row.  Stuart Golabek scooped the pool in the annual awards as he was named Player of the Year by the Official Supporters Club, Players and the Internet Supporters’ Club.  Dennis Wyness was named Supporters’ Player of the Year following a vote at the last home game and the Matchday Programme Player of the Year was Richie Hart.
As the close season arrived all the talk was of the re-opening of the transfer window – who would stay, who would go and who would arrive?  Time will tell.    


Copyright to and used with permission of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC Club Historian - Ian Broadfoot
By Scotty in History ·

2001-02 - Who's to be the Chairman?

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Preservation of First Division status, Scottish Cup exploits and economic trauma. The First Division was tight and safety was only assured at the eleventh hour. Paul Sheerin left for Ayr United and Richard Hastings went to Ross County. Arrivals were Paul Bradshaw, Russell Duncan, Paul Ritchie and Nicky Walker. Bradshaw’s career was to be short but the rest became established first team players.
Preservation of First Division status, Scottish Cup exploits and economic trauma.  The First Division was tight and safety was only assured at the eleventh hour.  Paul Sheerin left for Ayr United and Richard Hastings went to Ross County.  Arrivals were Paul Bradshaw, Russell Duncan, Paul Ritchie and Nicky Walker.  Bradshaw’s career was to be short but the rest became established first team players.  In July Sharp were unveiled as the new shirt sponsors then the transfer of Caledonian Stadium to a Charitable Trust was completed – the debt of £2.6 m was wiped out as a result.  General Manager Gary Thomson left for personal reasons.
At the Keyline Tournament in Oban on 14 July the team came second to Clyde then played six pre season friendlies.  The start of the league campaign was hard - by the end of August the team were last but a month later had climbed to sixth.  The Bells Challenge Cup campaign lasted two matches – both went to extra time.  Forfar were beaten 3-2 at home then it was down to Alloa and defeat by the same score.  The CIS Insurance Cup started with a trip to Albion Rovers on 11th September.  News of the US World Trade Centre attack came through during the trip south and this overshadowed the 2-0 victory.  The North Cup final on 22 September was lost 2-0 to Clach while the senior team were being demolished 6-0 at Airdrie.   Partick came north for round two of the CIS Cup and were beaten 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw.  The third round took place on 9th October at Dunfermline and led to the first premier scalp of the season – a 1-1 draw then 4-1 on penalties.  The best league result in October was a 5-1 home win against Clyde – by the end of the month third place had been achieved.  In late September Steve Paterson was touted in the press for the vacant St Johnstone manager’s post but speculation ended with the appointment of Billy Stark. 
There were two league victories in November – 5-1 at Raith then 3-0 against Ross County at home.  The Raith game saw the first goalkeeper substitution - Jim Calder replaced Nicky Walker in the 77th minute.  There then followed two visits to Ayr in five days.  A 3-0 league defeat was followed by the quarter final of the CIS Cup.  After a ninth minute Ross Tokely goal it all went pear shaped.  Tokely was sent off a minute later and a lively Ayr side tore the ten men apart.  In the end it was 5-1.  December saw a mixture of league fortunes but they turned the year in fifth place.  At the AGM of the PLC on 13 December the Chairman mooted a move from East Longman to somewhere more central to give easier access and hopefully attract more fans.  It was not long before rumours started of a sale of the site to ASDA and relocation to the Bught Park.
January started with weather problems and a delayed Scottish Cup third round match away to Arbroath – a narrow 2-0 victory earned a lucrative away match against Hearts.  This took place on the 26th and the road south to Edinburgh was filled with 3000 Inverness fans.  On a dreadful pitch Caley Thistle were magnificent and Hearts were well beaten 3-1.  Tokely, Wyness and Bagan were the heroes with spectacular goals.  There were only two league games played in January because of frozen pitches – Raith were hammered 5-0 at home but it was 3-0 for Airdrie away.  It was all enough for Steve Paterson to be named Manager of the Month. 
February league games produced a win, draw and defeat leading to fourth place.  February was dominated by the build up to the Scottish Cup quarter final tie away to Partick Thistle on the 23rd.  It was another exciting awayday for the fans which ended 2-2.  Caley Thistle were in the lead twice but Partick fought back to earn a replay.  This took place on 5th To the disappointment of the home fans Partick’s Scott Paterson scored the only goal.  It was back to the League and the fight against relegation.  Squad reductions began and Mike Teasdale and Les Fridge both moved on in March.  This was catch up time with six league games being played during the month.  By the end of the month the team lay fifth after two wins, one defeat and three draws.  It was then down to Ayr on the 6th April with both sides needing a victory to be safe.  Ayr won 1-0 and safety was not assured until a home 1-1 draw with Clyde the following week.       March in Inverness on a very wet night.
On the 17th April there was drama at an EGM of the PLC called to discuss a £150000 debenture issue.  A shareholders’ vote against the plan was taken as a vote of no confidence and the Board resigned en masse.  David Sutherland had already announced his intention to stand down as Chairman and Ken Thomson was leaving the Vice Chairman’s post.  After numerous meetings the crisis was ended with an announcement on 29th April that Tulloch were to purchase a 51% controlling interest in the Club – major shareholders were agreeable in principle but a full shareholders vote would still be required.  The football ended on 27th April with a fine 3-0 home win against champions Partick and a creditable sixth place in the league.
Copyright to and used with permission of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC Club Historian - Ian Broadfoot
By Scotty in History ·

Chairmans Statement

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I met with the outgoing chairman this week and discussed his vision of the future for the club.
I met with the outgoing chairman this week and discussed his vision of the future of the club which he maintains that he will continue to be a supporter of as an ordinary supporter like the rest of us. The main thrust of what he had to say is included in a letter he has released today (Friday 26th April) which I have reproduced in full below.
It was clear speaking to him, that although still upset at what had happened at the EGM, he bears no grudges against anyone at the club, and that the transition of power to the new board must be handled in a professional and non-disruptive manner to ensure that the club and the team do not suffer, and also in the hope that the new board have the vision to continue with the opportunities that the club might have to correct wrongs of the past.
He maintained, that the running of Caley Thistle presented even more challenges than his day to day business of Tulloch, which although much bigger in terms of turnover and personnel was easier because of various factors, not least the "goldfish bowl" environment that comes with the territory in football.
He confirmed that he will also continue to contribute financially in the daily running of the club via Tulloch as he already does to a great extent that goes largely un-noticed. (eg. Shareholders / Season Book holders ... have you ever noticed that any mail you get has been franked through a Tulloch franking machine, saving the club an estimated £300 per mailshot)
He also intimated that recent initiatives such as the Pay-A-Player scheme suggested on this site should move forward regardless of who is at the helm, as the club need gestures such as this to help it financially through the coming years, and that regardless of messages on the Internet in either support, or criticism of him, that we should all unite behind one key element that draws us to this website, and to the Caledonian Stadium, and that is the team we all love and support managed by the best manager in the country, with a squad that has already agreed a wage cut to help the club through these troubled financial times.
With sadness, we say goodbye to David Sutherland as chairman, and welcome him as a regular supporter, and echo his wishes that the new board continue to move the club forward in a responsible manner. If they do that, then they will surely retain the confidence of the supporters as all that we ALL want is a club heading in the right direction, and away from the precipice of financial ruin with a team on the park that we can all be proud to say we support.
 
FAREWELL LETTER FROM DAVID SUTHERLAND
The curtain rings down on another season and on my three years as club Chairman. I wish to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the ordinary punters who so regularly support Caley Thistle. Much is said about those who do not come to the Caledonian Stadium, perhaps the focus should be more on those loyal and enthusiastic people who do. You deserve a club that will survive and go from strength to strength.
Though stepping down, I will be amongst you as a paying customer next season, as I fully intend to remain as a supporter.
This is no time for regrets or recriminations about the recent EGM when the actions of a small group of major shareholders triggered the resignation of the board. It was disappointing after all the work we had put in, but it is now history and I genuinely wish the new board every success in their endeavours and I hope that some members of the old board will stay aboard.
It is important that the budget put in place for next season is now implemented with Steve Paterson and Duncan Shearer able to sign the players needed.
Being Chairman has been a great deal of hard work and taken up a lot of time, liasing with the bank and with various parties, to rid the football operation of the £4 million debt which I inherited. I will remain involved with ICT Trust and Property Company, where the debt now lies, to help generate the extra income which can help the football club further down the line.
But as well as hassle, its been fun. The thrills of knocking Celtic and Hearts out of the Scottish Cup on their own grounds, the many laughs we've had, the expansion of support of local businesses, the creation of the covered enclosure - all of these have given me particular satisfaction.
No Chairman could have a more loyal vice-chairman than Ken Thomson, whose last game in office this also is. Ken has been a tireless worker for the cause and deserves enormous credit for the turnaround at the club.
Ken Mackie has shown great focus as financial director while Sandy Catto, Ian MacDonald and Roy MacLennan have all made valuable contributions. Graeme Bennett became, for my money, the best Director of Football in the country, a former player who could liaise with the team management and dressing room in a way that "men in suits" could not.
Thanks too, to people like John Innes and Keith MacKay who have worked behind the scenes to raise fresh income for the club. Debbie Ross and her staff at the stadium have also worked well.
I have tried to bring sound business principles and strategic thinking to the way in which this club has been run. It is not for me to judge whether or not this has worked. But the perilous state of Scottish Football suggests that we were ahead of the game in getting our finances right, and hopefully, I leave a good inheritance and real options ahead.
All the best then, to those who succeed me in the boardroom, and I ask the shareholders and supporters to give them their backing. After all, we all have the interests of the club at heart.
Its been a whirlwind three years at the helm and in some ways it'll be a relief to have some spare time again. But I am glad to have tried to play a positive role in driving Inverness Caledonian Thistle forward and ensuring that it has a sustainable future given that the new board complete the fundraising exercise the current board started !
Our fans and our city deserve a team playing at as high a level in Scottish football as can be economically sustained.
Come on, Caley Jags and please give your support in the seasons ahead.
Yours in sport David F Sutherland
By Scotty in News 2002-03 ·

Chairmans Statement

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David Sutherland talks to CaleyThistleOnline.com about all the recent rumours surrounding Inverness Caledonian Thistle, including the talk of Stadium relocation and the spectre of more mergers...
David Sutherland, when I spoke to him last, agreed to set the record straight and answer some of the questions that had arisen on the message boards and in rumours throughout the town over the last few weeks.
We thank the Chairman for taking time out to keep us informed. This article IS an official answer from the Chairman to these rumours/speculation. Wage Cut Inverness Caledonian Thistle have taken the lead in the sense of the impetus of a wage cut to assist us in our aim to balance the revenue books. This impetus came from Pele Paterson and the players, whose spokesman was Bobby Mann. A Tremendous input from our captain! Scottish football is indeed in turmoil and I think it is a case of watching this space over the next few months as a great number of clubs, particularly the full-timers in the First Division, are on "the brink". Stadium As I explained at our AGM the Stadium move idea was as a result of a brainstorming session which addressed a number of issues and analysed our position viz: -
We are in our highest placed position ever within the Scottish League system.
The team are exciting to watch.
The quality of football is 1st class on the park.
Many teams dread a visit to the Caledonian Stadium.
This then poses the question - why do we not generate larger crowds? A city the size of Inverness should have a home support of at least 2,500 and the larger games do bring the supporters out at levels above the level of 2,500 so this then led us on to consider various components of our structure: -
The price?
Cold/exposure?
Apathy?
Location?
Lack of real quality competition?
Any merger hangovers?
On price we follow the SFL recommendations but perhaps this should be examined carefully. The new enclosure, to be opened on 12th January, weather permitting, will be named the Kevin Bissett enclosure and a big thank you to everybody here who helped. The enclosure certainly helps to break the wind and we hope to be able to extend the depth of it in the close season. [note from Debbie Ross -- Once again, for the next Home Game (12th January) Season Ticket holders will be permitted a guest at no extra charge with their season book]
Apathy - maybe we have the market as it stands in Inverness but we then need to address the next generation of supporters and fans ie youngsters. [another note from Debbie -- The Club are looking at developing the fanbase, and to this end, this is why they have attempted different things, such as the FREE Busses going to Tomorrow's Cup Game in Arbroath ... still time to book via the club.] Location is an issue and I think I all accept that the Stadium, with hindsight, could have benefited from design enhancement but this then forced us to address the location problem? This is where we really examined our product and dilemma and I have to say, in view of the Directors, it is an issue in that the fan who walks to the Stadium has a torturous route to follow. This is why we have provided a free bus service on match day from the city centre and that is perhaps a service we need to advertise more widely. Nevertheless we decided to ascertain if a better location existed within the city boundaries and this is how the question of stadium location was born with no hidden agenda and a simple exploration of the opportunities available. Merger Could I start by saying that there is no masterplan. Debate with Ross County has not occurred and I did qualify the AGM statement by saying that one or two grenades would be thrown to demonstrate how deep your board thinks about the options available to it. Two teams, one better than the other (Inverness Caledonian Thistle of course!) struggling to make ends meet in the same market - in business the logic would be simple - merge and eliminate one layer of cost. BUT, Hold on, this is not so easy in football as you have the vital ingredient of the fan base, and without fans you don't have a club. Look at the economics pre merger in Inverness and if you add Thistle and Caley fan base divide by two you have the answer ie merger creates alienation and dilution of support. Merging two problems in football doesn't mean you solve the problems, it means you reduce the problem to one problem ie I think the route cause of the malaise is not the two clubs tackling too small a market more that the football business in total is in need of revamp throughout Scotland and the First Division in particular. As with the football academy we will, however, continue to explore methods of saving costs with Ross County and others but, as you state the academy has not been a good example and partnerships never work if unfairness creeps into the position. If we have an ambition to encourage youth however to develop under our system we will also need outlets to develop the talent and to ensure that grooming does occur to enable youngsters to move through to the first team so, don't write this off yet. To sum up therefore merger has been born out of the dialogue above and I have stated, publicly, that it can't happen for the reasons outlined. If however Scottish football continues its path to meltdown, and the opportunity emerged for one outfit from the Highlands, say, to gain membership of a revamped SPL or whatever the league might be, this would be a different ball game because clearly at present the two clubs are in a position where they could not meet the criteria for membership. That then begs another questions in terms of the criteria for membership of a higher leagues but again we then meet the next hurdle which is the wage rates which in turn we cannot afford. I hope that gives you some insight into how we emerged from our AGM with these high profile issues on the agenda but I assure you and the fan base that these appeared on the agenda simply as discussion topics rather than proposals. Through your excellent site could I wish all loyal fans and supporters a good new year. Please keep supporting us as it is hard being on the bridge with all the icebergs around football at present and keep enjoying football at the Caledonian Stadium.
As you will have seen from the press even our manager and players are trying to encourage people to come back and support us or if you haven't visited us - it is never too late. Could I wish you a happy new year, I am sorry the Ross County game was called off but I didn't think they had a hope in H*** of making it anyway but in turn I hope and pray that we make the next round of the Cup with the first hurdle being Arbroath on Saturday. As you will have heard from Moray Firth Radio we are promoting the use of free transport to encourage a travelling support and I hope as many people as possible can attend the Arbroath game. Have a happy new year and lets hope we achieve our objectives within the Scottish League this season and keep up the good work. David Sutherland
By Scotty in News 2002-03 ·

Chairmans Statement

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The "revolving door" at Caley Thistle is about to turn again, this time with the departure of our Chairman .... so it seems, according to the Inverness Courier.
David Sutherland to Quit ??
The Inverness Courier ran a front page article with the sensational news that David Sutherland was to quit the club. It went on to say that this was possibly due to tension surrounding the formation of the Stadium Trust, and made veiled references to the fact that Gary Thompson was leaving, as well as Catriona Bisset who had previously left. Sandy Catto was touted as a possible choice for new chairman. After a little investigative work, we have discovered a little more of the actual facts.
David Sutherland has always said he would look to step down after he felt he had achieved what he set out to do, which was to put the club on a firm financial footing.
With what has transpired over the last few weeks with the share issue, Sharp sponsorship and formation of the stadium trust, the Football Club is now debt free as promised for the first time in its short history. It has taken a lot of hard work from both the Chairman, Vice-Chairman Ken Thomson, and the rest of the board to achieve this, and this should be wholeheartedly applauded. Yet there are those who choose to try and talk down that achievement, or to find conspiracy theories where there are none.
Mr Sutherland commented in the Inverness Courier article "I feel I have done my bit, completed my sojourn. Change is something that is needed quite regularly, I'm really quite strong on that" He went on to say "The club is a community asset, not a personal fiefdom" At times, the Chairman, has been working so hard to achieve what he set out to do at Caley Thistle, that he may have perceived himself to have neglected parts of his own business or found himself "burning the midnight oil" trying to look after both businesses. This is the main reason that Mr Sutherland is looking to step down, so that he can make sure that Tulloch is running properly (and have time to remove the sharp pointy objects from between his shoulder blades). His departure, if confirmed will not take place until the AGM which is some way away so it not entirely imminent.
Alexander "Sandy" Catto was touted in this article as a possible new Chairman, but ruled himself out saying "I'd be seeking to try and persuade David to stay on" [personally we here at CaleyThistleOnline are with Mr Catto on this one and hope he might help DS reconsider and stay on]
Veiled references were also made to try and lump together the departures of Catriona Bisset, and Gary Thompson alongside the possible departure of the Chairman, and whip it up into a possible conspiracy theory. This is simply untrue.
Catriona Bisset, when employed by the club, was employed on a short term contract, as she had made it plain that she was looking to open her own restaurant (The Mustard Seed ... now opened). The acquisition of property for that restaurant and its development happened earlier than she expected, and she left the post to get it ready to trade. She is no longer connected with the club. Gary Thompson is leaving for personal reasons, but did offer, when tending his resignation to work a full 3 months notice, to allow the club to find a suitable replacement. (not the actions of a man who is desparate to leave). Gary himself has said "Its a personal matter between myself and the club.Its unfortunate that it is being portrayed as anything sinister, which I can assure you, it is not. I have been with the club since 1999 and there is something else I want to do .. Its as simple as that".
[Personal comment] My wish, here at CaleyThistleOnline is that David Sutherland can be persuaded to stay on, and continue to steer the club in the right direction, as those before him also tried to do. He may not get everything right at the club, but he has got a damn site more things right than he has got wrong, and personally, on the few occasions I have spoken to him, have found him to be passionate about the success of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Ken Thomson, is another who suffers from the same backbiting and sniping directed towards him behind the scenes, and he too must wonder if it is sometimes all worth it, but without those two involved with the club and pushing things forward, I seriously believe we would be facing a situation not unlike Airdrie or Morton
By Scotty in News 2001-02 ·

2000-01 - 27 minutes in Kilmarnock!

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Despite a tight budget Steve Paterson steered the team to an excellent 4th place in Division One.
Mark McCulloch and Barry Wilson left for Livingston in the close season but David Bagan arrived from Kilmarnock and Roy McBain from Ross County.  Davide Xausa also left for Livingston in March. Despite a tight budget Steve Paterson steered the team to an excellent 4th place in Division One. Mark McCulloch and Barry Wilson left for Livingston in the close season but David Bagan arrived from Kilmarnock and Roy McBain from Ross County.  Davide Xausa also left for Livingston in March.
Off the field Catriona Bisset was appointed in June to the newly created post of Chief Executive – the first female Chief Executive in Scottish football. The AGM of the PLC on Friday 25 August saw the unveiling of the Board’s revival plan “The Road To Premier League Football”.  This envisaged the setting up of a Charitable Trust to take ownership of the Stadium and shoulder the debt of £1.9m.  The Football Club would lease the Stadium back, raise cash for football purposes and move on free of debt.  Arrangements were put in place and the plan eventually voted through by shareholders on 1 March.  December saw an internal re-organisation of the administration staff.  It was announced that Catriona Bisset would revert to a part-time consultancy role from 1 April and General Manager John Sutherland left to be replaced by Gary Thompson.
The opening competitive fixture was a home league match against a Spanish-dominated Airdrie team battling extinction.  Caley Thistle won 2-0 but Airdrie gained revenge a few weeks later when they reversed the score in the second round of the CIS Cup.  The second round was reached with a 3-2 away win against Scottish League newcomers Peterhead.  Form slumped in the League and reached four defeats until Alloa were thumped 4-1 on 23rd September.  A last minute draw at Ayr, a convincing 4-0 win over Morton and a win at Airdrie improved things greatly and by 14 October the team stood a respectable sixth.  Injuries caused problems in late October/early November and Steve Paterson was struggling to put out 16 fit players.  Despite this they climbed to 5th place by mid November and won a classic derby match at Dingwall 3-0.  October saw the departure of Iain Stewart to Peterhead – leaving behind a goal record which will be hard to beat.  On 2 December an astounding game at Caledonian Stadium saw promotion-chasing Ayr defeated 7-3.
The 18th December saw the granting of  “Millennium City” status to Inverness and the immediate re-opening of the debate regarding the Club’s name with “Inverness City” mooted – a poll among supporters ended with 72% voting for the status quo.  A unbeaten December run earned Steve Paterson the Bell’s First Division Manager of the Month award with Dennis Wyness taking the Player of the Month award.  They turned the year in 4th place.  Snow and ice threatened the New Year derby match with Ross County but an army of volunteers worked over three days (including New Year’s Day) to ensure the match went ahead.  It ended 3-3 with Dennis Wyness rescuing a point by scoring twice in the last two minutes.  The big January freeze throughout Scotland caused the first postponement of a senior match at Caledonian Stadium – 20 January against Morton.  January also saw SPL2 discussions involving a number of Clubs including ICT and Ross County.  Scottish Football was rocked when Airdrie’s financial problems came to a head in February – they were thrown out of the Scottish Cup and their fourth round tie awarded to Peterhead.  Caley Thistle stood to lose 9 points if a new consortium had not stepped in and ensured survival at least to the end of the season.
On 17 February, in a thrilling home tie, Kilmarnock were held to a 1-1 draw in the 4th round of the Tennents Scottish Cup.  Both goals came in injury time with ICT scoring first and thinking this was enough.  An immediate equaliser took the tie to a replay on 28 February.  This match was amazingly abandoned after 27 minutes due to a frozen pitch despite undersoil heating.  This caused a tremendous row in view of the travel implications for the fans.  Tennents paid for all supporters’ buses for the revised match on Tuesday 6 March – Kilmarnock narrowly won 2-1 despite ICT taking the lead through David Xausa.
A 14 league game undefeated run ended at Livingston on 3 April but it left ICT a firm 4th.  The last home game of the season on 28 April saw Livingston – with three ex-Caley Thistle players – needing a point to secure promotion to the Premier League.  In the event they won 3-2 in a hard fought match then celebrated in style – including a pitch invasion.  With Ayr definitely second it left a straight fight with Falkirk for 3rd place in the last match of the season at Brockville.  A jaded performance led to a 2-1 defeat but a very respectable 4th place.  Dennis Wyness ended the season as the First Division’s top goalscorer with 26 goals.


Copyright to and used with permission of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC Club Historian - Ian Broadfoot
Guest
By Guest in History ·

Chairmans Statement

Teaser Paragraph:
Chairman David Sutherland has responded by letter to all shareholders with his, and the board's feelings on the contents of Dougie McGilvray's letter. As promised, we have been provided with this response so you can make up your own mind.
 
 
In response to former Chairman, Dougie MgGilvray's letter to all shareholders, current Chairman David Sutherland has issued the following letter to all shareholders in response.
26th February 2001
Dear Shareholder
You will by now have received in the post a letter from Dougie McGillvray, the former Chairman of the Club, on the restructure plan which seeks to rescue Inverness Thistle & Caledonian FC Plc from financial oblivion.
Could I say at the outset that during the year of the current Board stewardship, three issues of note should be borne in mind:
(1) The plan to remove the Club's debt by transferring the Stadium to a Trust has been well rehearsed and indeed presented to shareholders, as a body, in the course of the last calendar year. I took from these presentations the support obviously indicated from the floor.
(2) The reason we moved on the Trust route was in response to the rejection of the original rescue plan strongly opposed by Mr McGillvray.
(3) Our current model, and I've made no bones about this, has been based on the actions of clubs similar to ours who have found themselves in the First Division with a debt mountain to climb. The club in question, Dunfermline Athletic FC, have now moved out of the First Division into the Premier Division and, apart from last weekend's result, are doing rather nicely and therefore are an excellent role model for us.
I have no problem with somebody constructively asking questions as this is what stewardship is all about and I am pleased that under the new Board's stewardship we have stabilised the team who are doing rather well in the League at present.
Whilst the current Board have provided the platform for progress over the last 12 months, it is you, the shareholders and supporters, who have encouraged the team to move onwards and upwards.
I know Steve Paterson and his players greatly appreciate the support of the current Board and the support which is undoubted from the shareholder and fan base.
Turning to our financial plight, there are now plenty examples around of clubs who have hit brick walls. Under the previous administration of the Club, we were on the brink of administrative Receivership akin to Airdrie, and my earlier comments are repeated in that the move and organised rejection of the rescue plan forced us to think of another way to avoid disaster. Anybody who tells you as shareholders differently is simply not facing reality and I have told you, as shareholders, on every occasion we have met over the past 12 months the truth and the facts.
Could I say at this juncture that a significant amount of work has been injected into the equation by your current Board and advisers and as this process moved on we enjoyed the support of the Bank of Scotland and our creditors.
The current plan was clearly outlined in our Pathfinder document "The Road To Premier League Football" and we then followed on with the Prospectus issued early this year.
In terms of the general questions, I'd like to use the forum of the EGM to be held on Thursday next, March 1st, as a platform to answer these questions but for avoidance of doubt:
The Stadium moves to the Trust/Propco.
The Trust/Propco will also take over the current Plc debt of over £2.1m (and rising) and will leave the Plc approximately £400,000 cash positive.
The rent will be modest.
The Trust finds development opportunities and raises money to execute these development opportunities once planning has been secured.
As well as providing development opportunities the Trust would then have the resource behind it to build new stands to meet the criteria of other leagues - fundamental to our future strategy.
Once the Trust earns surpluses, these would be distributed in a tax efficient manner which will be explained at our EGM.
In the interim, and no secret has been made of this, the Club has to balance its books between gates and associated income and, despite negative comments, the conferencing income has increased and we are endeavouring all the time to increase our exposure to income generating sources which will cross subsidise football.
All the shareholders and other investors have the option of investing either in the new property company or the existing Plc but because of the risk of a speculative investment in the property company, this is being targeted at obtaining larger investment sums from a smaller number of investors who are prepared to tie up their capital in the property company on a longer term speculative basis.
Those investors who invest in the existing Plc will be investing in the Football Club in order to provide funds to strengthen the playing side and assist in providing additional spectator facilities.
The Football Club will continue to have control of the Stadium which it will hold on a sub lease from the property company for as long as the term of the current Head lease which is over 90 years and, although the property company will effectively own the Stadium, the Football Club will continue to enjoy the use of the Stadium without the burden of its current accompanying debt.
Contrary to what is stated in Mr McGillvary's letter in transferring its debt to the property company, the plc is effectively getting rid of its debt long term indicated above and will no longer have liability for this.
As a result of this exercise, the effect on value is neutral within the Plc on the basis that the restructuring will eliminate the debt and the asset but we replace this with positive cash.
However, the objectives of the Club have been well rehearsed to you as shareholders and the escalating debt we inherited in December 1999 needs to be eliminated to give us any chance at all.
As Mr McGillvray states in his closing remarks of his letter, should any shareholder have a better plan for £2.6m of cash injection to remove the debt burden and leave us with headroom - fine - let them come ahead and do so on the basis that they would have the current Board's support. As part of our inheritance we marshalled out a catalogue of errors from the past and whilst we haven't got it right yet, we have within the current plan a method of achieving stability and a future. Let me say, for avoidance of doubt, that we have given opportunities to present alternative plans at every juncture of evaluation of our route to achieve the current proposals in front of you as shareholders in this Football Club.
Whilst not an agenda matter at the Plc EGM, your company's Board of Directors do consider that the purpose of the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Members' Club in assisting with the formation of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC has now been substantially fulfilled and that the members of the Members Club now hold a disproportionate voting strength to the potential disadvantage of additional investment by new and existing shareholders in the plc.
The more additional investment which comes into plc under the current share issue the more difficult it will be for a single person or group to take control of the Football Club, which is the current Board strategy. We are a community family orientated Club and intend to remain so!
Additionally, we have encouraged the Members Club to think positively in terms of how their shares might be placed, e.g. with the Supporters Club, the Trust or indeed to act as the catalyst for the formation of a Supporters Trust which is in line with Government policy.
Please do come along to our EGM procedure on Thursday next, i.e. 1st March, and I regret that the correspondence flow deflects concentration and support from the team's current run in the Scottish Cup and the replay at Kilmarnock on Wednesday evening.
Could I urge you not to be deflected by this, keep on track, come and support the team on Wednesday evening and come and listen to your Board's proposals on Thursday evening.
Yours sincerely
David Sutherland
The letter was also signed by the following officials/staff at the stadium
Steve Paterson, Ken Thomson, Graeme Bennett, Ian Macdonald, Ken Mackie, Sandy Catto, Catriona Bissett, Gary Thompson
By Scotty in News 2001-02 ·

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