https://www.facebook.com/ICTFC

 

Club Statement

As one major part of our planned strategic restructure of the club, ICTFC are delighted to announce an innovative agreement with League 1 side Kelty Hearts which will see the club move our training base to the Fife club’s New Central Park Stadium.

This creative partnership will mean that we will hire their excellent facilities which include a 3g pitch, onsite grass pitches and offices for our coaching staff, as our training base during the week starting from this coming pre-season in June.

The last few years have seen the geographic challenges in getting players to move to the Highlands become ever harder for a number of reasons.

Caledonian Stadium will always be our home, but other factors in Scottish football have changed and where we train should not be an impediment to the quality of the players we can attract to Caley Thistle, or to our potential to progress.

The commercial success of the city of Inverness – which will always be our home - both as a tourist destination and a place to live, has led to very high prices for the accommodation we require to house players. In addition to these high costs which our competitors do not carry, the extremely limited housing stock in Inverness continues to be both a challenge and a huge factor working against us.

Increased playing budgets in and around the central belt has meant that on many occasions, even when we have offered players more favourable terms than our competitors, sometimes even agreed deals, we have then been told that the player has changed his mind due to challenges relocating their families. Support structures in and around the families of players may all be in and around the central belt, partners will have jobs where they live and moving kids schools to the Highlands and moving home itself can just be seen as impractical for a one or two year contract.

It makes it particularly challenging for us to sign senior players, a category which through no fault of our budget, or of previous ICT Managers, we have struggled to attract in the last few seasons.

Similarly, our location means that we miss out on the opportunity of signing promising players from the larger clubs in Scotland, on loan or otherwise.

For the avoidance of any doubt we absolutely intend to continue to develop our own homegrown Highland boys and we will take the appropriate steps to make sure that by being creative, innovative and practical, they do not miss out on the chance to have a pathway to first team football with their team. We have a proud tradition of introducing local players in to our first team and this will absolutely continue.

We obviously never intended to be in the same division as Kelty when originally exploring this concept, but football throws strange things at you sometimes and having reassessed the proposition and judged that the pros still far outweigh the cons, we would like to thank the Board of Kelty Hearts and MD Stefan Winiarski and his management team for considering this unique to the SPFL partnership, and then seeing and agreeing on the possibilities and benefits for both clubs.

To reiterate, by moving our footballing department's training base to central Scotland, both the club's Board of Directors and the club's First Team Management feel we give ourselves the best possible chance to attract the highest quality players to the club, allowing some of the players we sign to also live in and around the central belt while playing for ICTFC.

We now look forward to taking further positive strides on and off the pitch to address the football and financial challenges we face we believe this exciting opportunity to help us attract players previously not available to us and build a better squad, is one of the first steps we can make and we hope to develop further innovative partnerships.

Inverness is and will always be our home.

The Caledonian Stadium will always be where we play our football. We hope this venture will help us achieve our goal in giving our supporters a team to be proud of.

Edited May 24, 20241 yr by The Mantis

 

This is risible!

Fife Council have had no involvement in talks, as stated in the Inverness Courier.  The P&J go further:

"Fife Council’s community manager Sarah Roxburgh confirmed that Fife Council owns the pitch and that the council had not been involved in the partnership plans recently announced by Kelty Hearts and Inverness Caley Thistle"

"We understand discussions between the two clubs are ongoing.  On behalf of Fife Council, we'll need to be involved to review current booking terms and conditions as well as weigh up the impact that this may have on the availability of the community pitch to other users with any potential benefits"

Not at all surprising given it is the owner, and it was all paid for by £7m of Fife Council's money for/from its community!

Central Fife Times, in 2016, stated Fife council had set up a Community Investment Fund and said 'Additional facilities include a large outdoor football 3G pitch for use by Kelty Hearts the village junior team, the school and the local community'. 

The "Turf Matters" website in 2018 stated Fife Council had invested £665,000 in the park for the whole community and said it was 'a community asset that is open to the paying public'.

Kelty Hearts Community Club, which is a registered charity, was reported in the Central Fife Times in 2019 as having over 160 young people on their books as well with an under 20s team and woman’s team and a walking football team all included. They have an online booking system here (for New Central Park) and here for Bath Street Park (grass). 

Their Twitter/X shows that in the last week, Kelty CC had their Under 17s, under 16s, under 14s maroons, under 14s whites, under 13 maroons, all playing teams from elsewhere in the region and doing very well (the Under 14 Maroons won the Fife Football Development League which has Raith and Dunfermline in it)

Kelty Community Club Facebook states that Sunday afternoons are for their '2007s' who play in the Under 18s AFYFC Division One.   Mon and Wed evenings for the girls teams, Mon 8th July is booked in the morning for Open trials for the 2012s.  What an active Centre and pitch!

Active Fife Football - which is basically High Life Highland - is Fife Council's own initiative. They have mornings reserved for infants and Fri nights 5pm-6.30 for 10-17 year olds every week etc (via Active Fife Football FB).

That same 2019 article in Central Fife Times was about the issues they have with limited parking.  The charity applied to lease land to build a car park as there was not enough parking during evenings or match days.

A post on WeArePerth suggests that the changing rooms for New Central Park are housed in the Community Centre (assuming ICT would need to use a gym, meeting rooms, changing rooms, etc.).  This Community Centre was built, again according to the 2016 report in Central Fife Times, By Fife Council's Community Investment Fund.

So basically, the board are intending to take its commercial full time pro football team operation into a community - 146 miles away - and take over its facilities, which is primarily being used by a youth charity, without asking it!  

Ross Morrison:  "I have got to take responsibility as the chairman. The idea came to me, and I thought we cannot move down there. Then I thought about it [and while re-thinking it, did it ever occur to you to ask the person who brought the idea to you if it they had approval from its owner before announcing it to the public...] and it works" [well, clearly does not - and neither does the CEO and the board]

If the Chairman is reading this, this can be a watershed moment.  Please drop your backing for the CEO Scot Gardiner before its too late.  Surround yourself instead with better people, people who have actually had ICTs best interests at heart, for decades, even if you see them as the problem at the moment (and you might have justification, nobody's perfect).  Don't let pride get in the way - you'll find a lot of people will understand that you put your faith in the wrong person -Scot Gardiner - and that led you down the (boat of) garden path.  But you have to change tack now.  Not in a week, not in two weeks - because then you'll be complicit and it will be impossible for you to disassociate yourself.  You've put in money, you came out and spoke to the Press, and that is laudable - but if this doesn't provide you with the stark reality of the CEOs toxic effect, it'll be impossible to salvage.  You have put in money and time, and emotions into ICT - do the right thing and people will surprise you, if you put ICT first from today.  It might even be the path you've been looking for all along.  Please don't sink the club because of one employee.

 

Excellent research Achfary.

3 hours ago, Achfary said:

 

This is risible!

Fife Council have had no involvement in talks, as stated in the Inverness Courier.  The P&J go further:

"Fife Council’s community manager Sarah Roxburgh confirmed that Fife Council owns the pitch and that the council had not been involved in the partnership plans recently announced by Kelty Hearts and Inverness Caley Thistle"

"We understand discussions between the two clubs are ongoing.  On behalf of Fife Council, we'll need to be involved to review current booking terms and conditions as well as weigh up the impact that this may have on the availability of the community pitch to other users with any potential benefits"

Not at all surprising given it is the owner, and it was all paid for by £7m of Fife Council's money for/from its community!

Central Fife Times, in 2016, stated Fife council had set up a Community Investment Fund and said 'Additional facilities include a large outdoor football 3G pitch for use by Kelty Hearts the village junior team, the school and the local community'. 

The "Turf Matters" website in 2018 stated Fife Council had invested £665,000 in the park for the whole community and said it was 'a community asset that is open to the paying public'.

Kelty Hearts Community Club, which is a registered charity, was reported in the Central Fife Times in 2019 as having over 160 young people on their books as well with an under 20s team and woman’s team and a walking football team all included. They have an online booking system here (for New Central Park) and here for Bath Street Park (grass). 

Their Twitter/X shows that in the last week, Kelty CC had their Under 17s, under 16s, under 14s maroons, under 14s whites, under 13 maroons, all playing teams from elsewhere in the region and doing very well (the Under 14 Maroons won the Fife Football Development League which has Raith and Dunfermline in it)

Kelty Community Club Facebook states that Sunday afternoons are for their '2007s' who play in the Under 18s AFYFC Division One.   Mon and Wed evenings for the girls teams, Mon 8th July is booked in the morning for Open trials for the 2012s.  What an active Centre and pitch!

Active Fife Football - which is basically High Life Highland - is Fife Council's own initiative. They have mornings reserved for infants and Fri nights 5pm-6.30 for 10-17 year olds every week etc (via Active Fife Football FB).

That same 2019 article in Central Fife Times was about the issues they have with limited parking.  The charity applied to lease land to build a car park as there was not enough parking during evenings or match days.

A post on WeArePerth suggests that the changing rooms for New Central Park are housed in the Community Centre (assuming ICT would need to use a gym, meeting rooms, changing rooms, etc.).  This Community Centre was built, again according to the 2016 report in Central Fife Times, By Fife Council's Community Investment Fund.

So basically, the board are intending to take its commercial full time pro football team operation into a community - 146 miles away - and take over its facilities, which is primarily being used by a youth charity, without asking it!  

Ross Morrison:  "I have got to take responsibility as the chairman. The idea came to me, and I thought we cannot move down there. Then I thought about it [and while re-thinking it, did it ever occur to you to ask the person who brought the idea to you if it they had approval from its owner before announcing it to the public...] and it works" [well, clearly does not - and neither does the CEO and the board]

If the Chairman is reading this, this can be a watershed moment.  Please drop your backing for the CEO Scot Gardiner before its too late.  Surround yourself instead with better people, people who have actually had ICTs best interests at heart, for decades, even if you see them as the problem at the moment (and you might have justification, nobody's perfect).  Don't let pride get in the way - you'll find a lot of people will understand that you put your faith in the wrong person -Scot Gardiner - and that led you down the (boat of) garden path.  But you have to change tack now.  Not in a week, not in two weeks - because then you'll be complicit and it will be impossible for you to disassociate yourself.  You've put in money, you came out and spoke to the Press, and that is laudable - but if this doesn't provide you with the stark reality of the CEOs toxic effect, it'll be impossible to salvage.  You have put in money and time, and emotions into ICT - do the right thing and people will surprise you, if you put ICT first from today.  It might even be the path you've been looking for all along.  Please don't sink the club because of one employee.

 

This is on the money. I absolutely believe that no positive change will happen at the club until Morrison manages to see the light with Gardiner and bin him. I really can't fathom why he is so besotted by him, he has a constant, long running record of failure in every aspect. He's soured every relationship the club as and I can't think of one thing that he's done which has improved the club.

However Morrison says that he's 'been loyal to the club' well I'd be loyal too if my employer was paying me allegedly close to £100k a year and it didn't matter how big a failure I was. 😂 

I can only assume Gardiner is holding one of the Chairman's children hostage or has compromising pictures or something. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! 

After we were relegated I fully expected to quickly hear the Gardiner was going - do we really need an expensive CEO in League 1 anyway?! 

Gardiner is a toxic, pathetic failure in our club who has turned us into a laughing stock and sadly after 15 years, I won't be back at Caledonian Stadium until he's gone. 

4 hours ago, Achfary said:

If the Chairman is reading this, this can be a watershed moment.  Please drop your backing for the CEO Scot Gardiner before its too late.  Surround yourself instead with better people, people who have actually had ICTs best interests at heart, for decades, even if you see them as the problem at the moment (and you might have justification, nobody's perfect).  Don't let pride get in the way - you'll find a lot of people will understand that you put your faith in the wrong person -Scot Gardiner - and that led you down the (boat of) garden path.  But you have to change tack now.  Not in a week, not in two weeks - because then you'll be complicit and it will be impossible for you to disassociate yourself.  You've put in money, you came out and spoke to the Press, and that is laudable - but if this doesn't provide you with the stark reality of the CEOs toxic effect, it'll be impossible to salvage.  You have put in money and time, and emotions into ICT - do the right thing and people will surprise you, if you put ICT first from today.  It might even be the path you've been looking for all along.  Please don't sink the club because of one employee.

 

Big capital letters for the above!

9 years since we won the cup and almost 9 since we had our first sniff of Europe.

Not expecting we get Europe any time soon, but sure as hell know its an impossibility with the Muppet Show going on at the club right now. Sackable offence after sackable offence but the Gardinerball keeps on rolling, unfortunately.

Edited May 30, 20241 yr by Jack Waddington

Latest fan reaction to the Proposed move to the Kingdom of Keltydonia.....

and this is how we we will get rid of the fans!

Every now and then it’s nice to remember this orangutan’s reaction to this trick.pic.twitter.com/pFNihSMfWS

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) May 29, 2024

 

Well done Achfary. Brilliant detective work and sums up the fans feelings exactly. 

In his Courier interview, the Chairman said that he and the 2 other directors had bought the battery company for £250,000 because the club needed the money. If these directors have that money to buy the battery company, why not simply give money to the club?

I don’t have much understanding of business practices, but it is clear they didn’t buy the company because the club needed the money. Is it because they anticipate the club going into administration and any profit from the battery farm being used by the administrators to pay off the creditors?

it seems that everything the Chairman says raises more questions than it provides answers  

 

 

13 minutes ago, northstandfan said:

 

What fence is that on?

Now that the league cup fixtures are announced for 13/14 July, most teams come back for pre season about 4 weeks before that. Gets everyone together, normally a few friendlies with highland league teams etc. That means everyone is due back roughly mid June, which is only a couple of weeks away!!!!!! Training venue still not clear, only a few players under contract, staff unclear as to wether they have employment in Inverness or Fife, no new players (that have been announced), signed up to make a full squad!!! What an absolute shambles this is. I imagine they still have to move the entire footballing side of things down the road……. When is all that happening. Desperate stuff. 

19 minutes ago, DoofersDad said:

In his Courier interview, the Chairman said that he and the 2 other directors had bought the battery company for £250,000 because the club needed the money. If these directors have that money to buy the battery company, why not simply give money to the club?

I don’t have much understanding of business practices, but it is clear they didn’t buy the company because the club needed the money. Is it because they anticipate the club going into administration and any profit from the battery farm being used by the administrators to pay off the creditors?

it seems that everything the Chairman says raises more questions than it provides answers  

 

Not sure about that - if the battery farm proceeds and generates a huge lump sum after administration, the proceeds would go to Ross Morrison who has security over it. So it would not be in his interest for the club to have sold it on the cheap.

The directors buying it have taken a huge gamble, there is a fair chance it is worth zilch, time will tell.

Another observation - the battery farm project has generated £250,000 income for the club, which whilst a lot less than was intended, means it has been very worthwhile, vindicating the decision to pursue it?

6 minutes ago, WYNESS101 said:

What fence is that on?

next to the longman roundabout just on stadium road where we used to advertise our games with a tiny banner

48 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

Not sure about that - if the battery farm proceeds and generates a huge lump sum after administration, the proceeds would go to Ross Morrison who has security over it. So it would not be in his interest for the club to have sold it on the cheap.

The directors buying it have taken a huge gamble, there is a fair chance it is worth zilch, time will tell.

Another observation - the battery farm project has generated £250,000 income for the club, which whilst a lot less than was intended, means it has been very worthwhile, vindicating the decision to pursue it?

Technically it has now provided income for the club, but only because it has diverted income through another source. 

I  agree that the purchase will protect any BESS profits from the administrators  but it also raises the potential that any major profit ends up in the pockets of the directors.  I should say that I don’t for one minute suggest that they would not put the money back to the club, but it opens the door to suspicion. 

The point here is that after all the publicity and controversy over the BESS project, the directors changed the ownership and kept quiet about it.  If the change of ownership was good for the club then why not immediately announce the move and explain the benefits for the club?  Cynics would say that people only keep quiet when they have something to hide. 

I’m surprised that no-one with expertise in subtitling has produced an ICT version of the famous “Downfall” clip.

If you’re one of the thousands who’ve listened to Long Way Down, you might be interested in the follow-up:

136 Miles From Home

An interview with ICTFC Chairman Ross Morrison.#BringItOnHome

⚫️ https://t.co/8CdlRv4KgJ
🍏 https://t.co/fn4s26Ru06
🫘 https://t.co/JLwTbvXYPz

🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/BkoSM647jJ

— The Wyness Shuffle (@TheICTPodcast) May 30, 2024

13 minutes ago, tm4tj said:

Would appear he's surrounded by a bunch of Yes Men if "90% of people he discussed it with have agreed"

2 hours ago, WYNESS101 said:

What fence is that on?

Roundabout at Kessock Bridge .More needed in strategic places around the town !!

1 hour ago, tm4tj said:

I don't really care about Gardiner. I don't see him going means anything. As the lads said later, if he needs ideas, then ask for them before announcing something like this. If Kelty was in the works no matter the Division, then ask for help the year before. Come to a deal with hotels. Ask for digs. Get the equivalent of a Supporters Trust that other clubs have, where you pay a lot more for a real voice.

The whole idea is NOT related to relegation. If we get promoted from Division One, then we're still in the same avenue as previously, i.e., a move to Kelty no matter what. If we then got to the SPL, then you cannot just move back to Inverness with the whole squad in Fife. It's a permanent deal. The only way we go back is if we are hopeless in Division One, maybe even relegation to Division Two. Who wants that?

Get someone in that knows about developing young talent, that can identify Highland League players and bring up others from elsewhere, e.g., Central Belt, Aberdeen, England etc. That's certainly not Ferguson. We need a modern Pele. Maybe Graeme Stewart's opportunity?

19 minutes ago, izzy said:

Roundabout at Kessock Bridge .More needed in strategic places around the town !!

Not much else places that Gardiner & Co. will see a sign calling for their heads. Can't imagine they're especially welcome at most city center establishments...

Just finished listening to TWS 136 miles from home. 
 

Firstly, fair play to Ross Morrison for coming out and speaking to the fans. Irrespective of what we made of what he said, plenty of folk would have remained hidden.

A couple of things sprung to mind in all the financial turmoil he described;

1. Who decided to give Duncan Ferguson a 3 year deal?

2. Who decided that when the costs of digs was so expensive, that we should sign a huge number of loan players and add to that cost?

Given the board watched the turgid football we played last year and have now confirmed that Duncan Ferguson is manager for next season, and given everything else that has happened, how are we going to entice any fans to get back to the ground? 
 
Congrats to the guys at TWS for keeping it calm and civil.

 

 

19 minutes ago, Broonerz said:

 how are we going to entice any fans to get back to the ground?

Tell them to take their boots, and there's a fair chance they'll get a game?

I’ve got massive respect for the guys @ The Wyness Shuffle. They are doing a fantastic job for us the fans. I really feel that they got through to Ross Morrison 👏🏻

1 hour ago, Broonerz said:

Just finished listening to TWS 136 miles from home.  Firstly, fair play to Ross Morrison for coming out and speaking to the fans. Irrespective of what we made of what he said, plenty of folk would have remained hidden.

Yup. I will give him that. In any and all conversations with him that I have ever had (a few but not many), he has always come across as a fan not just a chairman and he was a fan long before he was the chairman so fair play to him for sticking his head above the ramparts. He has also put his money where his mouth is for many years and is clearly hurting not only at the club's current situation, but presumably from the criticism he is getting as well. Some deserved, and some perhaps undeserved. Unfortunately, I believe he has been painted into this particular corner by our CEO and may be guilty of the same kind of loyalty towards him that Kenny C had for Foran which ultimately proved to be a misplaced loyalty, albeit to a far more likeable person.   

 

1 hour ago, Broonerz said:

Congrats to the guys at TWS for keeping it calm and civil.

26 minutes ago, LisleRightPeg said:

I’ve got massive respect for the guys @ The Wyness Shuffle. They are doing a fantastic job for us the fans. I really feel that they got through to Ross Morrison 👏🏻

Haven't listened in a while as I seldom have any time, but have listened to the last two and wow, you guys just nailed it. Lee almost had me in tears on the last one given the raw emotion on display. That was as heartfelt a statement as I have heard for a while. I was also nodding my head and agreeing so much with you on virtually all the points raised when listening on my commute home the other day that drivers around me on the highway probably thought i was headbanging to some metal music!!

On this last one, which i listened to this morning at work, again I was nodding along, but at one point I think I heard the penny drop for the chairman (or hope I did). Think it was when you did the quick math of losing around 1000 season tickets that he seemed to have an "oh, s***, yeah" epiphany. Here's hoping at least. Get that Trebuchet ready boys! 

Great stuff, keep it up

 

If Ferguson feels he has something to prove,  fair enough. As regards Gardner.  The impression I have is of someone who has made too many enemies in the area. You can't  even say he's  a marmite figure. Some people  like marmite. No apparent effort to court local business is crazy in any enterprise, never mind a football club. I think he should be shown the door.