THE second part of The Inverness Courier’s Ask The Board feature, run in conjunction with fans website CaleyThistleOnline and supporters group Caley Jags Together, has Inverness followers putting forward questions regarding season ticket sale figures, strip design, policing of games and a query regarding the now defunct Kingsmills club.

Q: Why do the club not release the figures on season ticket sales?

— DALNEIGHCALEY, via CaleyThistleOnline

A: We do not release actual numbers of season tickets as this does not relate to actual income as there are numerous deals in place and the likes of free under 12 tickets could easily skew the numbers.What the club are interested in is the actual income from the ticket sales and this season it is very slightly down on previous years.

As a board, we are very grateful for the support we do get in what are still financially trying times for everyone. Our early season walk ups for our first home games this season (home fans only) have surpassed our expectations, showing us that the fans are still coming through the gate even though they may not have purchased a season ticket.We hope this trend continues as we know how much a good and vociferous home support means to the team on a match day.

Q: I know it has been done to death, but will the club ever go for a set design in regards to strips? Almost every club have a shirt design that is recognisable to them, while ICT seem to change very regularly from blue shirts with a red trim, to blue and red stripes. Will the club ever follow suite in regards to having a set design?

The general consensus seems to be, in my experience, that the majority would prefer having striped jerseys all the time, as this is a more attractive design, gives a more balanced recognition to Caledonian and Inverness Thistle and most importantly, is a unique design in Scottish football, which would thus give the club a bit more identity. Will the club ever make the stripes (or any other design) a permanent feature?

— Renegade, via CaleyThistleOnline

A: Again we have no hard and fast rules on strip design. We have engaged with the fans previously on the design of our home strip and two seasons ago it was taken from the fans website. We do always try and keep the designs fresh and up to date, while incorporating our colours as set out and agreed many years ago.

By way of information, the last two home and away strips have sold more (this season’s home and away being most popular) than any other shirts in previous years apart from the commemorative black strip, which had the fans names incorporated in the design.  We are currently looking at designs for a 20th birthday strip for next season and would welcome any designs from fans. We note that a has been opened for contributions/discussion.

If the club choose to utilise one of the designs from the website, we will ensure that the winning design is given a special prize, perhaps a trip to Parma to see the strips being made.We have done this previously for competition winners and they had a wonderful time and were looked after exceptionally well by our friends at Errea, even taking in a football game in Parma.Your designs are very welcome, but as stated we are currently in discussions with Errea, so the sooner we get some ideas the better.

Q: Would the board consider taking back the Kingsmills club? The general consensus at the time (when we were in the First Division) was that it was a very successful venture.

— Derek MacLeod, via e-mail

A: This question is brought up on a regular basis and while the facility was well utilised on a regular basis, unfortunately when the financials were looked at, it was quickly proven to be a non-viable service.  The original concept during our spell in the First Division was good, but when you work out what we provided for £10, we are sure you will understand that it was not viable and why we reverted back to the full hospitality-style service when we returned to the then SPL.

We review our hospitality provision on a regular basis and try and mix and match the packages provided to meet all budgets, while maintaining a high standard of service.  We would like to have some ‘Fans Days’ and are always open to suggestions, but it has to be economically viable.  However, we now have the family Sports Bar at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, which is always open on a match day — a facility which was not available when we had the Kingsmills Club and provides similar service.

Q: Why are there so many Police officers inside the ground during home games, where fans are segregated, when compared to the minimal Police presence outside the ground after the game, where both sets of fans mingle freely?

I was at the Scotland versus Estonia game at Pittodrie in February where there was a zero Police presence and no reported incidents. Should this not be the way forward for a team like Caley Thistle and the reputation we, as supporters, enjoy?

— John Evans, via e-mail

A: We are currently in discussion with the Police and have had a couple of very informative and productive meetings with them.

Policing and stewarding costs at any stadium, not just ours, account for a fair part of our match day outlay and as you rightly point out the behaviour of our fans and the majority of away fans travelling to our ground has been exemplary over the years.

There is a definite belief between all parties that a reduction in Police presence at our games (not all games as some will still be classed as Category A) is not that far away and we look forward to what would be termed a “police-free game” in the not to distant future.  The Police have been very co-operative with the club and were supportive of us introducing away fans (again for selected games) to our family Sports Bar, which has proven very successful at our last few home games with a marked increase in revenues.

We have had discussions with our fans group Caley Jags Together and are looking to introduce “fans ambassadors” as a further step to self policing.  Obviously these things do need the co-operation of our fans and we are sure that this will be forthcoming as any reduction in cost for the club will go back to the football department.  What the club will not do is compromise the safety of our staff and patrons just to save money. This will never be an option for us.

So there you have it - The second part of the Q&A with the club. For more info pick up a copy of the Inverness Courier or head over to the official ICT site for details of the offers talked about in this and the previous article

LINKS

Inverness Courier

ICT Website

ICT Ticket Offers

Ask the Board Forum