1. Buy Ross County and make them our feeder team 

2. Buy the land the stadium is on and  all land surrounding it that is contained within Stadium Road. This would obviously need the travellers re sited. As we would own 'County' we could put them through there. The council road salt mountain would also need moved. 

3. Rebuild the stadium with a 6,000 seater. An arena type stadium with no gaps around it. 

4. As we would own the land, stadium etc. Have training facilities and a football academy in this area to have everything situated together. 

5. Contraversial bit (1). Change team name to Inverness FC. There is still a hangover and hankering back to the two old teams and all the negativity that goes with this. 

6. Contraversial bit (2). Change the teams colours to something that is new and neutral. Any suggestions? 

7. To win back popularity after points 6 and 7 hand out free season tickets. 

Thoughts?

Edited July 26, 20178 yr by Guest

Hi, I'm new to the forum, just joined, and have been a season ticket holder for several seasons.  Until a few years ago I used to work on Saturdays so i could only see the occasional game, but I was an Inverness Thistle supporter, home and away since 1970. As regards the name, I just recall a letter that someone had sent to the courier suggesting taking the CA from caley and the STLE from thistle and calling the team Inverness Castle fc. I thought that it was quite a good idea at the time.

I am with @Renegade on this one ... We are Caley Thistle and its a name to be proud of. We should never forget our roots and our name embraces those roots but it also identifies us globally with something that sounds iconically Scottish. 

A little anecdote from this past weekend to illustrate .... Friends - and ICT season ticket holders - who were visiting relatives in a town reasonably close to Toronto for the last few weeks contacted me and asked if I could get them tickets for the Toronto FC game last Saturday. I was able to grab a few and on the day we met up to go to the game. Their son was proudly wearing the new ICT strip from this season and both during and after the game he was approached by people who instantly recognised the strip and started talking about Caley Thistle ...... I think he was quite chuffed to see a few people recognised the strip and I have to say I was also a little surprised as most folk initially think its some kind of weird Barcelona top until they get close and ask who it is or see the badge.     

On a personal level I dont care if anyone prefers to calls us ICT, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Caley, Jags, CaleyJags, Inverness or any other nickname they want ... but we are Caley Thistle and that should never change. 

Well I've entered the euromillions tonight, so fingers crossed everyone, and we may, just may get a fancy new club Shop! 

On 26/07/2017 at 7:45 PM, tm4tj said:

FFS Charlie, you must be a bundle of fun at a party.....................

I heard the last time he was at a party, it was 50 years ago in a student flat in Edinburgh and he's never recovered from the swirly.

Yip I have bought a ticket to. I would be happy to incorporate letters from both the previous clubs when I change the name. I will take the CALEDONIAN from Caledonian and had an F for Fistle and a C for *****.  We still have fights on the train when the old Caley/Thistle rivalry erupts. Hundreds of refuseniks will love me for this.

5 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

Hi, I'm new to the forum, just joined, and have been a season ticket holder for several seasons.  Until a few years ago I used to work on Saturdays so i could only see the occasional game, but I was an Inverness Thistle supporter, home and away since 1970. As regards the name, I just recall a letter that someone had sent to the courier suggesting taking the CA from caley and the STLE from thistle and calling the team Inverness Castle fc. I thought that it was quite a good idea at the time.

We have a Bridge and a Castle!!   Inverness Bridge Castle is what it would have to be. 

Edited July 28, 20178 yr by Guest

Feck all of that. I'd put most of it in an off-shore account in the Caman Islands and move there myself.

8 hours ago, Row S said:

I'd put most of it in an off-shore account in the Caman Islands

Can Caman please confirm or deny that he owns islands?!

1 hour ago, Yngwie said:

Can Caman please confirm or deny that he owns islands?!

I own an island in the middle of a flower bed in my back garden. Only room for me on it though. 

Not so much Necker Island as Snecker Island!

I did not win. Might be stuck with the portacabin a wee while longer yet....

 

I am an old softie

I think I would just try and save the Rhino

If I had enough cash I would buy the plastic bottle factory and close it down. That would help sea pollution . I am not a Green but some features can't be ignored

Regarding football  I wouldn't know where to start   ( I think we need loads of ball boys/girls so quick throw ins  would be the order of the day. Have you ever watched how Chelsea have the ball back in play so quick it is unbelievable.)

Getting the ball back into play can be worth points at the end of the season.  the opps won't get the ball until our players are in position.

 

AS Charles said " tongue in cheek maybe " , maybe football would not really be a priority .  Do you really want a Celtic or a Rangers system ?

It would be pointless - Making Europe as we did with small resources is in a way  was more satisfactory then any money bought success

 

Charles - at bridge club I have been partnering an old mate of yours , Richard he has been  waxing lyrical about your past and abilities.

 

.

 

Genuinely if I did have a large influx of cash and was looking to invest I'd look more along the lines of long term infrastructure, improved car park, better stadium access, improve the main stand (Those uncovered wings have irritated me for years. Maybe place a media studio over one and corporate match facilities over the other with better catering underneath and link it into the main structure while being structurally independent), better local, regional and national business links. New purpose build training and youth facilities.

Things that last and also provide additional revenue for the club so it can further stand on its own feet and enhance the football side in that way. Not short term player investment. I'd hate to think if anything were to happen to myself or my business/finances that it would be detrimental to the club the way it happened with Dundee on a couple of occasions, Livingston and Gretna.

Now back to reality. I might buy a home shirt this season.

On 26/07/2017 at 7:12 PM, Charles Bannerman said:

OK... a "fun thread" which probably articulates fantasies that a lot of football fans have indulged in from time to time. So let me lace it further with a bit of "fun devil's advocacy".

At a time when inequality and poverty are high profile issues, how would you justify something which, among other things, would cause a small number of football players who are already paid above their realistic market rate to earn even further above that market rate? Rather than take steps which would increase inequality and doing nothing to address poverty, would the money not be better and more morally invested in bettering the lot of the less fortunate in society?

Charles..how would you assess the Neymar situation in relation to the above? 

8 hours ago, Gringo said:

Charles..how would you assess the Neymar situation in relation to the above? 

You would have to win it multiple times to even put Neymar into the conversation !

 

 

On 7/29/2017 at 4:45 PM, Council Juice said:

Genuinely if I did have a large influx of cash and was looking to invest I'd look more along the lines of long term infrastructure, improved car park, better stadium access, improve the main stand (Those uncovered wings have irritated me for years. Maybe place a media studio over one and corporate match facilities over the other with better catering underneath and link it into the main structure while being structurally independent), better local, regional and national business links. New purpose build training and youth facilities.

Things that last and also provide additional revenue for the club so it can further stand on its own feet and enhance the football side in that way. Not short term player investment. I'd hate to think if anything were to happen to myself or my business/finances that it would be detrimental to the club the way it happened with Dundee on a couple of occasions, Livingston and Gretna.

Now back to reality. I might buy a home shirt this season.

Yup, that was what I was thinking too ....

• Provide manager with a healthy sum to make a challenge to get us back into the premiership
• Pave car park
• Provide a walkway/tunnel under A9 so no more live action "frogger" on the main road
• Use one corner of stadium for Club Shop ... or move offices into the corner and use the current office area as shop.
• Look to see what could be done in other three corners in terms of revenue generating business or offices. 
• Look to see what providing a 4th stand would cost. This stand would be low level (due to gas line) and fitted with the safe standing area style of seats so it could be terracing when allowed. 
• General spruce up all round. Paint some of the faded coloring back to what it was etc. 
• If there is anything left, subsidise season tickets for fans for a few years and also the travel club so we can build our fanbase at home and also on the road.

 

I would get into bed with council to develop a training facility at bught park.  Lister park could be converted into 4g surface and they could have use for matches etc. Grass pitches could be improved and used for training and youth matches. Welfare league could also use during summer. I would not donate to club as I don't think the board are capable of managing it. Club could use free of charge but they would be liable for General maintenance costs. 

On 03/08/2017 at 5:16 PM, Scotty said:

Yup, that was what I was thinking too ....

• Provide manager with a healthy sum to make a challenge to get us back into the premiership
• Pave car park
• Provide a walkway/tunnel under A9 so no more live action "frogger" on the main road
• Use one corner of stadium for Club Shop ... or move offices into the corner and use the current office area as shop.
• Look to see what could be done in other three corners in terms of revenue generating business or offices. 
• Look to see what providing a 4th stand would cost. This stand would be low level (due to gas line) and fitted with the safe standing area style of seats so it could be terracing when allowed. 
• General spruce up all round. Paint some of the faded coloring back to what it was etc. 
• If there is anything left, subsidise season tickets for fans for a few years and also the travel club so we can build our fanbase at home and also on the road.

 

I think it's clear that the access to the stadium via the A9 and a proper car park have been bones of contention for fans for many a year now.

There's also definitely scope to do something above and against the main stand wings. Perhaps a club shop/cafe at the stadium as suggested in another thread. Cafe could be partially separate and also work as food vendor on match days. In fact it would probably only be open on match days unless it could be made into a place people would go independently outwith football.

As to building new terraces on the other side of the main stand, we could potentially partition them at halfway divided by a food vendor and a TV tower/Camera tech room. One for home one for away. Wouldn't even need to have that large a capacity. Enough to take us up to 8000 maybe. But anything else would be pointless as there isn't the fan Base. 

All ifs and buts though really. None of us have that cash and the present board tend not to think overly long term in way of infrastructure. The 2 stands outwith the main stand were only built out of necessity. 

11 hours ago, Council Juice said:

I think it's clear that the access to the stadium via the A9 and a proper car park have been bones of contention for fans for many a year now.

 

Funny you should say that! I was on automatic pilot yesterday when I found myself turning on to the A9 at Inshes, having forgotten to take the riverside route to the stadium instead, to avoid what was expected to be a fair DU travelling support. At around 2:15, I hit the back of a queue, still well over half a mile short of the stadium roundabout. I had been fearing the worst but, although it wasn't exactly speed limit stuff, I never actually stopped once until the final set of traffic lights off the roundabout into stadium road. In fact the queue moved at a pretty constant 10mph or thereby, so it only took around 5 minutes to get that last kilometre or so, round the roundabout and into stadium road. The biggest delay there was getting stuck behind cars queueing to get into the away car park, but certainly that single experience does seem to suggest that the roundabout is working a fair bit better these days.

The first thing I'd do is bring in a tannoy system that was at least audible and didn't crackle constantly.  Perhaps if the board made their way down from their cosy boxes and nice padded seats and sat with the regular fans in the North Stand for once, they'd see what the 'little people' have to deal with on a fortnightly basis. 

8 hours ago, Renegade said:

The first thing I'd do is bring in a tannoy system that was at least audible and didn't crackle constantly.  Perhaps if the board made their way down from their cosy boxes and nice padded seats and sat with the regular fans in the North Stand for once, they'd see what the 'little people' have to deal with on a fortnightly basis. 

Banging  an old drum here renegade. Our tannoy system has been crap for as long as I can remember. The excuse has always been "No money to spend on it".

36 minutes ago, caleyboy said:

Banging  an old drum here renegade. Our tannoy system has been crap for as long as I can remember. The excuse has always been "No money to spend on it".

It would help a lot if the announcer didn't think he was a radio DJ. Could someone please tell him to mute the music when he reads out the team lines instead of fading it up and down.

4 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

It would help a lot if the announcer didn't think he was a radio DJ. Could someone please tell him to mute the music when he reads out the team lines instead of fading it up and down.

Can we not get Tich McCooey on trial for the match announcer post? 

33 minutes ago, Caman said:

Can we not get Tich McCooey on trial for the match announcer post? 

There are a few things I'd like to see Tich McCooey on trial for  Seriously, though, he would make a decent announcer.

6 hours ago, caleyboy said:

Banging  an old drum here renegade. Our tannoy system has been crap for as long as I can remember. The excuse has always been "No money to spend on it".

Indeed.  A match last season was nearly postponed when the tannoy went down before kick off, surely it would have to be a decent standard in case of an emergency.  The current one is a disgrace.

Edited August 7, 20178 yr by Renegade

11 minutes ago, Renegade said:

Indeed.  A match last season was nearly postponed when the tannoy went down before kick off, surely it would have to be a decent standard in case of an emergency.  The current one is a disgrace.

Surely this kind of thing wouldn't cost the earth? There must be enough local companies who would 'help' out and get free advertising or something like that?