Dust Settled – Reflections

I wanted to allow some time to pass to let Saturday’s result sink in and look at a few things as we look to a return to the Championship after a two-year unwelcome sojourn in League 1 (Div 3 to me). I wanted to extend my review beyond the match its self and consider other aspects of the day and an attempt to look a little ahead at issues that I consider will have an influence on the club’s direction.  So that said my apologies in advance for a longer post.

# Up Front – Alan Savage 1

Stating the obvious, without Alan Savage’s timely intervention Saturday would never have happened. Possibly some other business consortium or heaven forbid an individual like Ketan Makwana could have ended up owning the club. In either of those scenarios prevailing the likelihood of a secure and settled ICT succeeding in the same period is (to me) almost impossible to realise. -  So it’s a thank you Alan Savage for financing and saving our club from its darkest hour to wining the League One.   

#Football Match ICTFC – Hamilton Accies 2^nd May 2026

• ICT – Not much to add to what already has been said. We finally managed to come out on top of the league on the final day of the season. A draw was good enough however a deserved, if somewhat easier match than expected and victory was achieved. ICT were excellent IMO in the first half. We took our foot off the peddle in a mundane second half and ended the last 15 minutes trying to run down the clock, (offering hope to the Accies).

• Hamilton – An underwhelming and surprising poor performance. Possibly the turmoil they have been through this season caught up with them and reflected in their commitment on the day. Happy to receive it from a ICTFC position. For me they only came awake in the final 10 minutes of the match.

• Management Kellacher – McKay. Churlish not to respect Scott Kellacher’s finest moment as the Manager. He achieved the objective of winning promotion to the Championship, so congratulations Kells. That said I believe this could and should have been achieved much earlier and without going into the final game with the jeopardy of the potential for coming 2^nd if results didn’t go our way. I expect a few L1 managers reckon they could have done equally well with the players we had on our books. I’m hoping Kells has learnt more amount best team selection and substitutions (when and type) for next season as the focus will be greater.

• Stenny – A word for the best part time team in Scotland IMO. No matter what some think of their robustness and tactics, the players and manager earned my respect for the season just ended.

 # Match day

• Attendance – A crowd of over 5000 for the final league match. Whilst it is silly to think we can get anywhere near these numbers for most championship matches (ave 2500- 3000 IMO), it shows the potential exists for coming up with a marketing plan to attract greater numbers back (for some high-profile matches). This is more than just a winning team on the park IMO. The ‘product’ (whatever that is, and I touch on a few things below) has to make it appealing to more than the core die-hards. On a negative point; the club had clear signs (through early sale of tickets) that a large attendance was expected. I expect and would have hoped this was the case early in April as we led the league. For me, a number of elements came up short or were overwhelmed on the day of the final match (I list a few below). If we any aspirations of looking to step up from the wee plucky highland team in Inverness to being consider say a St Johnstone, Dunfermline or a Falkirk then we have to be more professional IMO on how we deliver our match day product (or experience if you want).

• Facilities

(i)    Catering Stock – Sold out at main stand-south kiosk.  (Don’t know how he others fared). I went down 5 min before HT. Good size queue and was told no hot food left at kiosk. Quavers or Wotsits take it or leave it. Oh dear – what a missed opportunity. Surely, we had a hunch a couple of weeks in advance more grub would be needed. I don’t know what contract the club has in place for pie etc, but it can’t be exclusive, i.e. you can only buy our pies but we can only provide so many?

(ii)    Staff – The queue at the kiosk was staffed by friendly competent people. They were overwhelmed however by the sheer numbers. More than half the queue cut their losses as the second half started and hence again revenue was lost. Could the bar counter (unused) not have been considered in advance for this large game to speed up sales. I understand it’s mostly volunteers that ‘man’ the kiosks. A catering company support staff could have been cost effective consideration.

(iii)    Toilets – I made fun at a post from Old Caley Girl regarding the toilets (for the North Stand). I don’t know the details (queues)? However here again is a shortcoming for what should be considered in anticipation of large crowds.

• Security – Where to start.  I was hoping that a repeat of the previous Accies visit to our stadium was unlikely as we would have been alert and wary of the events and antics of that day and made provision to prevent any repeat on the match on 2^ndMay. It was clear to anyone in the main stand the stewarding and security for the match was severely inadequate. The result was the inevitable charging onto the park my mostly and predominately youths and kids when the moment presented itself.   I condemned the Old Firm fans for their behaviour at the Cup OFM. – I can’t sit and write here a good number our fans didn’t do exactly the same and run towards the leaving Accies fans goading for some ‘action’. – Things deteriorated and no amount of announcements to ‘leave the pitch’ were going to stop the kicking and punching that occurred in front of our ( and the many children attending) eyes. -  Police were called of course to restore order, but the fact remains the club ICTFC are solely responsible for the safety of all fans attending the match. I don’t know the security officer for the club, however this goes directly up to the CEO and Mr Savage. C Christie’s duties and responsibilities as CEO extend beyond simply trading and buying players. Yes security at matches cost money and if questions weren’t asked then the unsavoury events of 2^nd May will (as sure and night follows day) happen again.

#Alan Savage 2

• Tenure – Alan Savage has already given notice he is looking for either a rich individual or a consortium of interested like minded people to express any interest in the future of the club. This is admirable of him as he knows the future stability of the club depends ultimately on someone else taking control of the reigns (whether under his ownership of another arrangement). He has done a remarkable job saving the club and being the prime enabler in getting us to the Championship and I for one will always be grateful. He is in his mid-seventies and will look to spend more time on the golf course and at Old Trafford. I understand  AS’s son is more a rugby and golf nut, so in my book that means ICTFC is low down his bucket list.

• Life after AS. – For me it’s obvious the fans need to take on broad the need the club’s future without AS steering the good ship ICTFC within the coming few years. Just hoping someone or something will step up is fraught with the poor leaderships of the post Terry Butcher / Scottish Cup years recurring. C Christie has been said to look at retirement, so the CEO role may need to also be filled in the next 3-5 years. What role or influence does the Supporters Trust now have /play at the Board meetings in such matters.

 # Next season

• Management team – Scott Kellachar and Billy McKay will have the opportunity to continue their management rolls in the Championship next season. There will be a greater focus on the results as more teams are full time and the standard and physicality is a step up from the League 1 we just left. Ultimately the only criteria that matters is winning games and the management will be measured on that mark. I wish them both every success.

• Players – The usual change out as ever will occur over the summer. The best players will have the tempting offer of more money or a higher league. Others will leave and new ones will come in. County being in League 1 provides us a season advantage of not having to compete with Sir Roy’s money. Hopefully the player pool can compete in the Championship to deliver positive results.

• Fan base – I expect a return to the increased level of supporter to the 2000-2300 level for the Championship matches. The opposition is of a higher quality and will hopefully lead to more teams offering a challenge. They will in turn bring with them more fans than we experienced in League 1 thus helping to generate some atmosphere.

• Stadium – A real isolated, lonely and open stadium IMO with poor views from the North and South stands we have little opportunity but to carry on with it. That doesn’t mean we can’t spruce it up to make more appealing for the fans attending. I mentioned kiosk queues earlier though I imagine any improvement would cost too much. The bar has been greatly improved, however the remainder of the stadium could do with some remedial action. i.e. OCG mentioned the ladies’ toilet; the handrail and other steelwork are rusting, weeds at the perimeter of the park and general overall appearance could do with a lick of paint.

• Expectations  (next season)

For each fan to determine what they believe is achievable and realistic. The Championship is IMO our real level in Scottish Football and I would settle for not being immediately relegated next season.

 In closing, As with other ICTFC fans I want the club to succeed and be successful going forward and realise its full potential. For me this requires the club to embrace a more hard-headed and professional approach to its running operations and football decisions. Alan Savage has laid the foundations to allow us to recover and set us on a route to this objective. Have we (the people/fans interested in the club) the whereabouts to make this happen in the next few years – Time will tell.

Trust it wasn’t too much of a slog!

😃

 bc

Some very good points here, much of which I would agree with. TBH the amount of opinion on different things probably warrants a thread on it's own rather than tacking on the end of the last match thread.

I don't know when the ticket sales peak was but surely even the most optimistic wouldn't have thought that the attendance would be more than double the next best home gate? Any club run on a tight budget is going to under order perishable food rather than risk it going to waste (yes, I know it could be donated to local charities/shelters). We also don't know the lead time on pies - my guess is that whoever does supply them probably can't double the order at short notice, even if they were asked for. The same applies to staff, it's probably not easy to quickly double the catering workforce in the week before the fixture. I'm not saying the club shouldn't be able to react to increases in demand, but IMO it was probably a little unexpected to get sell quite so many tickets.

Crowds will always come and go with results so a season of less successful results would cause some to come less often. That said the average crowd this season was 2,300 (even if only 2,500 had been at the last game it would still have been over 2,100). There were only 3 crowds below 2,000 so I would agree that 2,800-3,000 should be achievable, at least at the start of the season when the weather is good and form is unknown.

As far as the playing staff goes, hopefully going up will be positive in making those with a decision want to stay. Generally not many players skip a division, so probably most would not expect a chance to play in the Premiership next season. Money is obviously a factor that we can't judge or impact as fans as we don't know the contract details or what funds are available (see Naysmith/Ayr/Stenny). Hopefully AS, CC and SK/BM can identify and recruit well enough to be competitive.

Good post though BC, food for thought for many.

CLUB STATEMENT

WHAT SORT OF CRETINS DO THIS TO THEIR OWN CLUB

Damage to Stadium Property

In addition to the incidents involving supporters, the club also suffered considerable damage to seating within the North Stand. Repairing this damage will place an unnecessary financial burden on the club, with funds having to be diverted from other areas of the stadium and operational budget.

These additional costs may impact future improvement projects and could reduce resources available to support the team ahead of the new season.

READ FULL STATEMENT HERE

Unfortunately, the beginning of the celebrations were overshadowed by the actions of a small number of individuals who chose to engage in physical altercations with visiting Hamilton Academical supporters, rather than celebrate this special occasion alongside the players and fellow supporters.

Such behaviour has no place at our football club. The actions of these individuals have damaged the reputation of the club and may now result in the club being required to answer to the SPFL, with the possibility of significant sanctions and financial penalties being imposed.

Quite simply, those found to have damaged seats etc, should be named and shamed, with photographs etc. Too many young people, for they are not fans, think they can do anything they want in today's society and suffer no consequences as punishment seems to be frowned upon by the authorities.

Rant over.

It was probably planned before it happened. The missed penalty brought it forward. The pitch got invaded at the last helicopter Satuday twenty two years ago with no violence.

Security – A selected pertinent comments I took from my post on the Accies game.

• It was clear to anyone in the main stand the stewarding and security for the match was SEVERELY INADEQUATE.

• The result was the INEVITABLE charging onto the park when the moment presented itself. 

• I condemned the Old Firm fans for their behaviour at the Cup OFM. – I can’t sit and write here a good number our fans didn’t do exactly the same and run towards the leaving Accies fans GOADING for some action.

• the kicking and punching that occurred in front of our ( and the many children attending) eyes. - 

• Police were called to restore order, but the fact remains the club ICTFC are SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for the SAFETY of ALL FANS attending.

• this goes directly up to the CEO and Mr Savage. C Christie’s duties and responsibilities as CEO extend beyond simply trading and buying players.

• Yes security at matches cost money and if questions weren’t asked then the unsavoury events of 2^nd May will (as sure and night follows day) happen again.

So in simple language - yes chase the Neds but don’t attempt to disown or whitewash the responsible the part the club had in the pitch invasion and consequential following violence that occurred. The match security was woeful and corners were either cut (for cost savings) or gross negligence in not assessing the risks. The police IMO are also ‘in the dock’ as they would have been aware of the potential for a large attendance. If they meet with the club in advance and jointly agreed the security and stewarding for the match was suitable, then we clearly have a problem, as we will simply repeat this conversation sometime in the future. Does it require a major injury or worse to occur before we take notice and act professionally.

bc

Edited May 8May 8 by big cherly

With almost everyone having cameras on their phones these days it sometimes amazes me that that these hooligans are never caught....or are they? It's all about evidence. It's out there. Just have to find it. But you can rest assured if any are found and are under 16 chances are nothing will be done.

Very soul destroying after the remarkable recovery from administration.

My thoughts on the damage/confrontation

As the crowd was more than double our biggest crowd of the season, how many were actual fans in the North Stand invasion group. I met a few people on the day that a know to be big fans of other clubs. They were not involved in any way in the damage or altercations, but how many were in amongst the young team mainly gathered behind the goals.

I agree the stewarding was a major part of the problem. They should have got the overspill into the seated area instead of encouraging the pi55he4ds to climb on the wall and carry on with their pre-planned exuberance.

The club knew how many tickets they sold therefore they should have been better prepared for all eventualities, including pies...

There were some fans who were too drunk to have been allowed into the stadium and the orchestrator in front of the 'mob' was seen to be the centre of a few arguments on the park amongst our own fans. I witnessed one of our regular fans having angry words with him on the park and threatening to report him to the police for whatever he did.

All in, it was a very predictable outcome to what should just have been a day of celebration.

With regards to the damage to seats. There is no excuse for that. Someone must know who did it. Report it.

This trend has been growing in the lower leagues for some time now with bricks thrown at buses, youths confronting away fans etc.

Back to Green Street days

On 5/8/2026 at 5:05 PM, tm4tj said:

a small number of individuals who chose to engage in physical altercations with visiting Hamilton Academical supporters

Real speak - A large number of our Ned’s charged the Accies fans leaving the ground and started fighting with them, but we want to emphasise the damaged chairs are the issue here. All ICT fans should follow this line and not ask any questions regarding anything else!

It’s called deflection! Something the Mcgrig@r files would be proud to contain!

bc

Edited May 10May 10 by big cherly

Surely the club knows who bought the ticket for each seat? I appreciate that it may well not have been their own seat that was ripped out, but surely a starting point would be to contact the person allocated to any damaged seats.

I heard that there were a few Ross fans that came down to the game. Could they have been the instigators? Bit of sour grapes perhaps?

They will know who bought seats for the damaged area. The seat I was allocated was in the middle of the area where the mob congregated so we simply moved elsewhere as it was hoaching by the time we got into the stadium.

Should I be expecting a knock on the door anytime soon?

20 hours ago, big cherly said:

Real speak - A large number of our Ned’s charged the Accies fans leaving the ground and started fighting with them, but we want to emphasise the damaged chairs are the issue here. All ICT fans should follow this line and not ask any questions regarding anything else!

It’s called deflection! Something the Mcgrig@r files would be proud to contain!

bc

Don't think that's a fair summary. Some of our fans as well as some of the Hamilton fans were simply looking for a fight and if these fans can be identified, then they should be punished. If under 16/18, then someone needs to name and shame them.

Damaging your own seats is moronic and should not happen. You could see, from the main stand, that fans were going to charge on the pitch and, to be honest, no amount of police or stewarding would have stopped that. What was sad that there were older adults with kids coming onto the pitch as well putting their kids at risk.

Certainly the stewarding was inadequate, although I think the stewards did a good job. Had their been stewarding at the Hamilton end to stop their idiots invading the pitch, then the situation may have been diffused. A few police at their end would have helped hugely as well. The club do need to be honest about why so few stewards and police were in place and what they are going to do in future.

35 minutes ago, ClickbaitProponent said:

I heard that there were a few Ross fans that came down to the game. Could they have been the instigators? Bit of sour grapes perhaps?

I doubt they'd want to put money into our club but they are very strange people.

Hi Huisdean,

I read with interest your posting and respect your view/opinion. Whilst some damage to seats is certainly vandalism and to be condemned^#,  the uppermost issue was the uncontrolled violence that occurred and the risk /dangers it brought to anyone attending on the day.  

 Under the SFLC rules there is no ambiguity. – ‘Clubs are significant, comprehensive responsibility for fan safety, enforced through SPFL rules (H25-H32) regarding "Unacceptable Conduct," including violent or disorderly behaviour.

I respectfully provide a perspective to a couple of points in your post

·     ‘Some of our fans as well as some of the Hamilton fans were simply looking for a fight’ –

From my position/viewpoint the Hamilton fans were making their exit of the ground (more than half had already left the ground), at the final whistle when they were faced with a charging mob (30-40?) of the pitch invasion running towards them. The security staff at the Accies end had been earlier transferred to the North stand to strengthen the inadequate staff levels at that end.  Faced with this impending mob threat what would you do in such a situation? At this point some Accies fans went onto the pitch to face ICT fans and the violence kicked off.   

·     ‘You could see, from the main stand, that fans were going to charge on the pitch and, to be honest, no amount of police or stewarding would have stopped that’.

I understand the point you make however I suggest the presence of half a dozen police would have had a greater controlling influence on excited kids and more importantly the neds looking for trouble knowing law enforcers were present.

·     ‘A few police at their end would have helped hugely as well. The club do need to be honest about why so few stewards and police were in place and what they are going to do in future;

 Agreed - the most important point.  A match risk assessment on crowd control I hope was undertaken in advance. With the clear signals of many ticket sales a large attendance was foreseen some weeks beforehand I suggest. The police should have been involved with the club to determine the security precautions and levels required. This either did or didn’t happen but whatever it fell well short of what was needed on the day.

 I don’t write the above to be a thorn in the side of the club or a PITA to the posters here in the forum. It’s a football forum and that’s what we should be talking about. However if we don’t raise these matters or talk measures to mitigate possible repeats for future matches (with larger away fans coming next season), then the club could incur heavy penalties or partial part ground closure if some serious incident occurs. It only takes one idiot with a concealed knife (irrespective what club colours its owner wears) to undo all the good work done by AS and the club over the past two years.

# I suggest few if any of the culprits will never be identified or brought to book for their offences.

My final word on the matter - Back to the football. 

bc

 

13 hours ago, big cherly said:

A match risk assessment on crowd control I hope was undertaken in advance. With the clear signals of many ticket sales a large attendance was foreseen some weeks beforehand I suggest. The police should have been involved with the club to determine the security precautions and levels required. This either did or didn’t happen but whatever it fell well short of what was needed on the day.

I don't know how it works in Scotland, but in England we never see police inside grounds anymore, and haven't for a while. The reason for this is that police outside the ground are paid for by the police/taxpayer but inside the ground the clubs have to pay for them. Clubs don't want the expense so it doesn't happen.

Sparta Prague have been handed down significant punishment after a pitch invasion just before the end of their last game. We will be lucky if we escape without sanction, but even if we do, there will be significant cost to the club in repairing the damage and taking measures to prevent a recurrence of this moronic behaviour. More on Sparta Prague's pitch invasion here.

7 hours ago, The Hammer said:

I don't know how it works in Scotland, but in England we never see police inside grounds anymore, and haven't for a while. The reason for this is that police outside the ground are paid for by the police/taxpayer but inside the ground the clubs have to pay for them. Clubs don't want the expense so it doesn't happen.

If we want a police presence in the ground we have to pay for it . I think that is true for outside the ground too. I have previously been told that if we want police at the roundabout to ensure fans can cross the dual carriageway safely, we would have to pay for it.

Decent section on the latest 'wyness shuffle' regarding this.

Scott Young spoke well and admitted they got it wrong with the security and policing - lessons to be learned there.

Accounts of some fans attempting to self police some of the pitch invaders was encouraging, but the sheer numbers involved made any kind of action ultimately futile, there were hundreds on the park in less than a minute.

With the attendance figure over 5k due to the occasion along with the various discounts leading up to it means there were likely some infrequent visitors or lapsed supporters on the day plus a fair number of those just turning up for some 'entertainment '.

Embarrassing or shameful, call it what you will but as well as the awful aesthetic unfolding in front of fans and media alike, there was a real danger to staff, players and fans alike of serious injury happening on the pitch.

As touched upon in the podcast, this has been creeping into the game of late, little groups of masked idiots causing aggravation to people (and bus windows) at plenty of lower league grounds over the past few years.

Is this a football problem? I'm not sure, it's just a handy vehicle for these types to fulfil their violent fantasies.

Perhaps more input from the SPFl is required before too much longer.

On 5/11/2026 at 9:58 PM, big cherly said:

Hi Huisdean,

I read with interest your posting and respect your view/opinion. Whilst some damage to seats is certainly vandalism and to be condemned^#,  the uppermost issue was the uncontrolled violence that occurred and the risk /dangers it brought to anyone attending on the day.  

 Under the SFLC rules there is no ambiguity. – ‘Clubs are significant, comprehensive responsibility for fan safety, enforced through SPFL rules (H25-H32) regarding "Unacceptable Conduct," including violent or disorderly behaviour.

I respectfully provide a perspective to a couple of points in your post

·     ‘Some of our fans as well as some of the Hamilton fans were simply looking for a fight’ –

From my position/viewpoint the Hamilton fans were making their exit of the ground (more than half had already left the ground), at the final whistle when they were faced with a charging mob (30-40?) of the pitch invasion running towards them. The security staff at the Accies end had been earlier transferred to the North stand to strengthen the inadequate staff levels at that end.  Faced with this impending mob threat what would you do in such a situation? At this point some Accies fans went onto the pitch to face ICT fans and the violence kicked off.   

·     ‘You could see, from the main stand, that fans were going to charge on the pitch and, to be honest, no amount of police or stewarding would have stopped that’.

I understand the point you make however I suggest the presence of half a dozen police would have had a greater controlling influence on excited kids and more importantly the neds looking for trouble knowing law enforcers were present.

·     ‘A few police at their end would have helped hugely as well. The club do need to be honest about why so few stewards and police were in place and what they are going to do in future;

 Agreed - the most important point.  A match risk assessment on crowd control I hope was undertaken in advance. With the clear signals of many ticket sales a large attendance was foreseen some weeks beforehand I suggest. The police should have been involved with the club to determine the security precautions and levels required. This either did or didn’t happen but whatever it fell well short of what was needed on the day.

 I don’t write the above to be a thorn in the side of the club or a PITA to the posters here in the forum. It’s a football forum and that’s what we should be talking about. However if we don’t raise these matters or talk measures to mitigate possible repeats for future matches (with larger away fans coming next season), then the club could incur heavy penalties or partial part ground closure if some serious incident occurs. It only takes one idiot with a concealed knife (irrespective what club colours its owner wears) to undo all the good work done by AS and the club over the past two years.

# I suggest few if any of the culprits will never be identified or brought to book for their offences.

My final word on the matter - Back to the football. 

bc

 

Thanks for the thoughtful and respectful reply. Don't disagree with most of what you said other than, from where I was sitting in the main stand, some Hamilton fans were looking for trouble as they were masked and did run towards our fans.

Anyway as you say, let's get back to football in the new season as you say.

17 hours ago, Satan said:

Scott Young spoke well and admitted they got it wrong with the security and policing

That's progress from where we were just a year or two ago!

https://spfl.co.uk/news/multiple-disciplinary-investigations-announced

the SPFL can confirm that the following matches are being investigated under SPFL Rules H36 and H37:

• Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Hamilton Academical – Saturday 2 May 2026

• Motherwell v Celtic – Wednesday 13 May 2026

• Hamilton Academical v Clyde – Friday 15 May 2026

• Celtic v Heart of Midlothian – Saturday 16 May 2026

• Stenhousemuir v Alloa Athletic – Saturday 16 May 2026

So it's taken them over two weeks to say that we're under investigation?

Have to ask if any of this would have happened if the Celtic fans hadn't brought their game to a premature end, and got themselves all over the national UK news?

Would look really good for Scottish football if their champions and two promoted teams started next season behond closed doors. (And I have no idea what happened at the Accies v Clyde game.)

18 minutes ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

Have to ask if any of this would have happened if the Celtic fans hadn't brought their game to a premature end, and got themselves all over the national UK news?

My guess would be no.

Perhaps some fine or slap on the wrist but no big investigation!

Yes, Well, Errr; Only one way to get it registered with these complacent, lazy or calculating clubs that ignore their association rules and responsibilities is to penalise them. As only a few can afford to wave away financial penalties, the best way to get them to ‘sit up’ is to sting them with point penalties for the start of next season.

bc

Edited May 23May 23 by big cherly