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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, 20242 yr by The Mantis

1 hour ago, old caley girl said:

I'd assume they will need income to pay the wages next month? Season Ticket sales would be the obvious option? However the end of the month seems a long way away given everything seems to change daily 

I’m trying to get my head round any possible implications of season tickets needing to go on sale just at a time when an administrator may arrive and have full control over the income. The other consideration is how willing or otherwise supporters might be to pay for a full season up front if there’s any risk of the company ceasing to trade in later weeks or months should the administration process go badly.

Which brings me to one of the fundamentals of this whole business… it’s very difficult to estimate how bad things are because there’s a complete lack of information - and indeed the system seems to be set up to prevent information being obtained since questions put through the club go unanswered alongside a warning that there could be repercussions for journalists attempting to obtain information on their own initiative.

15 minutes ago, Charles Bannerman said:

I’m trying to get my head round any possible implications of season tickets needing to go on sale just at a time when an administrator may arrive and have full control over the income. The other consideration is how willing or otherwise supporters might be to pay for a full season up front if there’s any risk of the company ceasing to trade in later weeks or months should the administration process go badly.

Which brings me to one of the fundamentals of this whole business… it’s very difficult to estimate how bad things are because there’s a complete lack of information - and indeed the system seems to be set up to prevent information being obtained since questions put through the club go unanswered alongside a warning that there could be repercussions for journalists attempting to obtain information on their own initiative.

Totally agree Charles. I , and probably many others, would want clarification on a number of matters including the CEO before parting with money? The repercussions re journalists suggests to me a certain individual is very much still in charge? 

8 minutes ago, old caley girl said:

Totally agree Charles. I , and probably many others, would want clarification on a number of matters including the CEO before parting with money? The repercussions re journalists suggests to me a certain individual is very much still in charge? 

I can’t remember whether the communication was made just before or just after what I understand to have been the date of the CEO’s resignation which was 30th May.

35 minutes ago, Charles Bannerman said:

there could be repercussions for journalists attempting to obtain information on their own initiative.

The entire board are reprehensible. 

Very bad rumours circulating today.

Hoping that's all they are.

Do share.....

47 minutes ago, Charles Bannerman said:

Which brings me to one of the fundamentals of this whole business… it’s very difficult to estimate how bad things are because there’s a complete lack of information - and indeed the system seems to be set up to prevent information being obtained since questions put through the club go unanswered alongside a warning that there could be repercussions for journalists attempting to obtain information on their own initiative.

This is at the heart of the problem.  It is all very well for the club to say we all need to pull together, but what exactly are we supposed to be pulling together on?  Given the club's recent record of catastrophic decision making, are we simply expected to dip deeper into our pockets to finance more bad decisions taken without any consultation?

In his recent Wyness Shuffle interview, Morrison stated that the 2022/3 cup run windfall of around £800k was used to pay off creditors.  He also said that the club currently owe £300k  to creditors.  In other words, the club effectively has at least £500k less debt than it had at the start of the season.  So what's the problem?

Well, the problem is that they have made decisions based on money they were assuming would materialise but which hasn't.  And it hasn't materialised because they mismanaged the BESS application and signed contracts which were not sufficiently robust.  Communication on these issues has been poor and consultation non-existent.  In the meantime, cash flow was managed because directors were putting money into the club on a loan basis in anticipation of forthcoming windfalls.  Now there is no imminent windfall and the directors don't feel able to put more money into the club.  The answer?  Fans and new "investors" to put money into the club as part of the pulling togetherness!  

But hold on a minute!  Morrison and Munro have both lodged charges against the club in order to protect their loans.  In effect, this means that we, the long suffering fans, are expected to dip into our pockets and fork out money which can then be paid back to the very people who got the club into the mess in the first place!  I am more than willing to spend as much on the club in League 1 as I did when we were in the Premiership - and more, but I don't want my money being used to pay back directors' loans.  I want my money to help pay the wages of the players and the hard working staff at the stadium.  I want my money to help with some of the stadium improvements required to address the issues raised in the Supporters Trust's matchday experience survey.

If the club want us to "pull together" then I am more than willing to do so.  But first, those who got us into this crisis have to take the lead and accept their accountability.  Morrison  and Munro should withdraw the charges they hold against the club and all directors who have bankrolled the club with loans should publicly declare that they are writing off those loans.  Not only would that demonstrate accountability on their behalf, it would open the door to major investors who will not want to have a significant amount of their money swallowed up by repaying those who are responsible for the mess.

Is Gardiner actually staying around because he is putting all his faith still in the Battery Farm ? That is the only reason that I can think of 🙄 Then he may go thinking that he saved us !!! Oh - and money of course.

2 hours ago, Pele_Is_God said:

Do share.....

Club licensing.  I don't know the first thing about it but seems that if we go into admin we can't get the license we need to play in the SPFL.  Lot of chatter about it on Pie and Bovril.

Don't you just wish that we could get the truth - pr a morsel of it from the horse's mouth. It just goes to show what shackles or threats Gardiner has deployed.

58 minutes ago, STFU said:

Club licensing.  I don't know the first thing about it but seems that if we go into admin we can't get the license we need to play in the SPFL.  Lot of chatter about it on Pie and Bovril.

If we enter Administration we lose the bronze license  the same license that Buckie Thistle never had so couldn’t play the play off against East Kilbride. 
Unless something happens in the next couple of days it’s looking grim. 
I believe there is a statement being released on Wednesday regardless. 
 

Dougal

Edited June 9, 20241 yr by dougal

3 hours ago, Pele_Is_God said:

Do share.....

Accounts not adding up, insolvency,  and all that follows.

Ma heid is spinning 😵‍💫 - ok so we could lose our bronze license, probably deservedly so, but is that the case in all circumstances when a club enters administration?

What actually happened with the demise of Glasgow Rangers FC, did they lose their license and simply started afresh as a new company with a new name? Is that what we may need to do by winding up ICT FC and reinventing ourselves like New Rangers or Airdrie?

I’m thoroughly confused by all the technicalities and certainly wouldn’t want to invest in such a mess if I was an outsider - if we’ve any chance of finding a rich saviour then they surely must need to have some local connection and a love for the club.

Edited June 9, 20241 yr by CaleyCanary

It gets grimmer by the day.  On 29th Feb, the club filed a change of accounting reference date, so that the end of year accounts were to end on 30th May rather than the 31st.  I seem to recall that someone (Yngwie?) explained that this was a common accounting device which allowed the due date for the current accounts to be submitted to be extended by a month.  It sounds as if that would be done in the event of knowing there was a problem with the accounts. None of the few communications from the Board have made any reference to there being any problem with the accounts nor have they enlightened latterly why the accounts have not been filed at Companies House.  

In his Wyness Shuffle interview, Morrison said that it would be easy to provide any potential investor with relevant due diligence information.  Bennett was saying that Gardiner had been tasked with seeking new investment from local firms.  Surely, if anything, he should be tasked with getting the accounts sorted.  If Gardiner is the one chasing potential investors, it seems unlikely that anyone is going to test Morrison's claim regarding due diligence.  Gardiner would probably have more success going to Celtic Park to recruit for an Orange march than getting local businesses to invest whilst he is still on the payroll.

It is beginning to look increasingly unlikely that we will have the pleasure of welcoming the mighty Annan Athletic back to Inverness this season.

8 minutes ago, CaleyCanary said:

Ma heid is spinning 😵‍💫 - ok so we could lose our bronze license, probably deservedly so, but is that the case in all circumstances when a club enters administration?

What actually happened with the demise of Glasgow Rangers FC, did they lose their license and simply started afresh as a new company with a new name? Is that what we may need to do by winding up ICT FC and reinventing ourselves like New Rangers or Airdrie?

I’m thoroughly confused by all the technicalities and certainly wouldn’t want to invest in such a mess if I was an outsider - if we’ve any chance of finding a rich saviour then they surely must need to have some local connection and a love for the club.

If my understanding is right the SFA licensing says no club who has had an insolvency event in the past 3 years can hold a bronze license.

The SPFL changed the rules last year to say that all clubs must have a bronze license as minimum to play in the leagues from the 2024/25 season.  Buckie Thistle were refused promotion because they didn't have one.

The above rule was not in place when Rangers went through their issues.

Edited June 9, 20241 yr by STFU

The cobbled together rules are somewhat contradicting. These rules in concert would effectively mean that any club having any kind of insolvency event would have to close its doors for 3 years, which would be absolutely ridiculous. 

Unless I'm missing something here?

I've just had a quick look at the rules, and came to the same conclusion as Fraz.  

An insolvency event, of which appointing an administrator is one example, appears to lead to 3 years out in the cold.  Seems damn stupid, especially if the administrator can find a way to keep the club running.

10 minutes ago, Fraz said:

The cobbled together rules are somewhat contradicting. These rules in concert would effectively mean that any club having any kind of insolvency event would have to close its doors for 3 years, which would be absolutely ridiculous. 

Unless I'm missing something here?

Yeah it's terrible that football clubs should be forced to operate in a financially responsible manner 🙄

I am sure that when the Buckie Thistle saga was in the news I read that there are existing clubs in the league that do not have a bronze licence although it is different from our potential problem.

Someone told me today that a local business has an advertising board pitch side and nobody from the club has been in touch for four years there could be more like that and it's a lot of money not collected by the club. 

At the time of the Buckie fiasco there was word that a number of other league clubs still had no bronze licences. If I remember correctly a date in June was the deadline for these licences to be issued? Presumably they(I can’t recall who) have been successful in obtaining the licence. 

1 hour ago, STFU said:

Yeah it's terrible that football clubs should be forced to operate in a financially responsible manner 🙄

Couple of thoughts on that.

1. It’s arguably harsh on clubs (like us) who were already on the brink of administration long before the new rule came in and were trying to cut costs, as opposed to clubs who might be financially irresponsible after the new rule comes in who would surely be the target of the rule.

2. To kick clubs out of the SPFL for at least 3 years seems an incredibly harsh and disproportionate penalty. I don’t think other countries are as draconian, are they? 

40 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

Couple of thoughts on that.

1. It’s arguably harsh on clubs (like us) who were already on the brink of administration long before the new rule came in and were trying to cut costs, as opposed to clubs who might be financially irresponsible after the new rule comes in who would surely be the target of the rule.

2. To kick clubs out of the SPFL for at least 3 years seems an incredibly harsh and disproportionate penalty. I don’t think other countries are as draconian, are they? 

Having spent a chunk of the evening reading up on it the rule requiring all 42 teams to have a bronze license was voted in unanimously by all SPFL clubs last July. If clubs felt the rule or penalty was draconian they had the opportunity to vote it down or have it ammended.

That also means this is not a penalty being applied to anyone after the fact and all clubs had a year to get their house in order.

The need to be insolvency event free for three years to obtain a bronze (or above) license is not a new thing.

I also see within the licensing criteria that the club will have had to submit audited accounts last month in order to maintain a bronze (or above) license.

 

It's looking kike our custodians have really ****** up and with nothing positive in the horizon it looks like our days are numbered 

7 hours ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

Is Gardiner actually staying around because he is putting all his faith still in the Battery Farm ? That is the only reason that I can think of 🙄 Then he may go thinking that he saved us !!! Oh - and money of course.

He is almost certainly being interrogated by the Insolvency Practitioner. 

48 minutes ago, STFU said:

Having spent a chunk of the evening reading up on it the rule requiring all 42 teams to have a bronze license was voted in unanimously by all SPFL clubs last July. If clubs felt the rule or penalty was draconian they had the opportunity to vote it down or have it ammended.

That also means this is not a penalty being applied to anyone after the fact and all clubs had a year to get their house in order.

The need to be insolvency event free for three years to obtain a bronze (or above) license is not a new thing.

I also see within the licensing criteria that the club will have had to submit audited accounts last month in order to maintain a bronze (or above) license.

 

I’m astonished that all 42 clubs voted for that last year since it seems rather like an entire turkey farm voting for Christmas. I’m equally astonished that ICT, knowing that they were in a financial mess, voted for what even then might have been a fairly likely cause of their own demise and you could possibly include Edinburgh City there as well.

It takes a long time for a club to turn a financial oil tanker round, so suddenly to have rules that knock a club out for three years seems bizarre. It doesn’t even give clubs time to make drastic changes such as going part time that would be preferable to total oblivion.

I’m also curious about why the accounts are late if that is also a “sacking offence”. I can’t think of many reasons other than the auditor refusing to sign them off that would force having to face such a dramatic penalty.

By the way, I reckon that the deadline for the next AGM is 26th July since these have to take place within 15 months of their predecessor according to the Articles of Association, and the last one was on 26.4.23. This would mean that notice would have to be served by 5th July, but the last one was due in December 2022 so was four months late. In December 2022 I wrote, as a shareholder to Scot Gardiner asking for information on this…. I received no reply.