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The wage structure is limited by income so unless that increases how can we change the budget and be sustainable? TV revenue is fixed so we need to increase other areas, while I'm sure cup runs bring in some extra cash the only real way to gain is though footfall and it's been discussed to death on here that we have circa 3000 fans and just have to get on with it. If over time we loose out on players of better ability we can't afford then sadly it's just part of life for our club so we need to accept it and support those we have or are willing to come to the club and location. Constantly blaming the manager or board is unfair regarding budgets as they can only do so much, but we can criticise bad signings or decisions.

Peterhead's Shane Sutherland has landed the League One award for Player of the Month for January.

I can accept that the player may not have wanted to come, appreciate that his wage demands might have been beyond us but, given our lack of cover up front, I find it very surprising an quite disappointing that a player who is still relatively young, who has a proven record of scoring in our league, who has played very successfully under the manager before and who was available did not even register on Yogi's radar. Does he need a new radar system ?

Higdon could've been a good foil for Storey and would undoubtedly have scored goals. How that isn't what Hughes is looking for is absolutely bizarre.

I can only presume from Yogi's comments that he didn't get on with Higdon latterly ... either that or we were priced out by an English non-league outfit and he's trying to save ICT embarassment. To say that Higdon is not what we want is frankly utterly ridiculous given: 1. We only have Storey; and 2. Higdon is a recent former player's player of the year with a proven goalscoring track record.

Of course there is scope for criticism of signing policy. When we first entered the SPL we had by a margin the lowest playing budget in the league largely because other clubs were spending hugely above their means and racking up huge debts in the process. Teams like Livingston and Dumfermline are still bearing the scars so that there was no level playing field even at the bottom and our feat in staying up, far less competitive was nothing short of remarkable. As far as I know Graeme Spiers, who is now writing off our prospects of going any further in the defence of our trophy, still hasn't condumed the promised headgear as a consequence of us not being relegated. These days we are one of half a dozen clubs with very similar wage budgets to ours. We have long had only one recognised forward even in the days of Billy McKay leaving us at the risk of injury, loss of form or suspension. All the other clubs in our position have at least two and sometimes more. To be fair though, they are probably not able to field an entire outfield of midfielders in the same way as we are.

The idea of having representatives for different age groups is a good one. A lot of SNP branches elect 'champions' for different groups - older people, young people, etc. This is something CJT could perhaps emulate.

It never ceases to amaze me how quick our own fans are to stick the boot in to the club, berating it on how crap it is. Fascinating. This includes chastising the group that tries to represent the fans. If you are really that concerned then get down to the CaleyJags AGM, get involved and get your positive contributions in. Making a difference starts with you.

Feb 8 and time to remember and celebrate an event that continues to inspire joy around the world... Gong Xi Fa Cai !! Happy Chinese New Year to all!

Don't agree with him there. The alternative is to have no striking options except Storey - I know he's after a number 10, but beggars can't be choosers! I suspect he either knew that he'd be out of our price bracket or wouldn't want to come. Shame - he'd have scored goals but not to be.

mmm, I remember those times ..... when one of my good friends was accused of being a racist for chanting "Brew, Brew, Brew" and the cloth ears of some jobsworth determined it was monkey noises. Thats when the same gentleman mentioned above forgot about the 5 hour time difference and phoned me in the earliest of hours demanding that I take the forum (on what was then the official site) offline because he was getting a hard time for those actions .... I declined his offer in my best rudely awakened at 4am mindset of course, and within weeks we were back to being an unofficial site and the club was on its way to letting the 'perform' group 'provide them with a service' for a little while. interesting times indeed.

Well done to Shane. Slightly older news, which I don't think has been reported on our forum, is that Tom Aldred (The Tank) of Blackpool won the PFA Fans' Player of the month in December for English League 1.

I am in no position to comment on our business structure and investment, as long as it is from the right source, is generally welcome but if you mean by a '7 figure sum' a million pounds that is just about 13 weeks turnover for the club these days and would not make a huge impression going forward. The budget relies much more on revenue than capital, such things as TV money, ticket sales, sponsorship, commercial revenue including advertising and occasional windfalls such as cup runs and transfer fees. In my view, the current regime to a very reasonable job in trying to maximise these sources of income but if, as well as an initial pot of cash, any potential new investor came along with plausible fresh ideas on how to generate greater income, in particular upping the fan base, I doubt very much they would be shown the door.

I think I might have whooshed a few with that one John...In my defence I did post it in General Nonsense but it was moved here. Chinese New Year, this year, has fallen on Feb 8 (being a lunar new year it's a moveable date) the first time it's done so since 'that night'. Also won't happen again for 'many a moon'. Thought it was a potentially humorous juxtaposition, but if you've got to explain jokes then... Did you ever tell Charles about the Aberdeen man found dead on the 'pay as you leave' bus?

Prawn Crackers

It's quite ironic. A couple of weeks ago I attended the draw for five shinty cups with between 13 and 28 entries which were all drawn from the first round stage right through to the semi finals. Using mini shinty balls with numbers painted on them, it all went flawlessly and there was certainly no hint of Newtonmore, having originally come out away to Glenurquhart, then getting Beauly at home in a re-draw. Meanwhile the SFA can't even draw four pairs of balls out of a goldfish bowl properly.

Theyre now using cattle?

The SFA will no doubt take account of the distance our fans have to travel........and then, in conjunction with SKY, schedule it for a date and a time when there is no convenient public transport, horrendous road conditions and a ridiculously early start.

So where does this leave the conspiracy theory of an Old Firm final which wouldn't be possible in the above scenario? But without crossing the several intervening bridges, I think a Highland Derby semi-final would attract a bit more than 6000 - unless of course these two teams reaching semi-finals has now also ceased to be a novelty. Hampden would clearly be nonsensical, Pittodrie would be a good shout as a venue but not as an accessible one so I would opt for McDiarmid on the grounds that the A9 isn't quite as bad as the A96. On the other hand that 40mph stretch in Badenoch would be a bit of a pain. And yes.... Caley Thistle 5 Ross County 2 in front of 2500 at Grant Street in December 1995. Hat trick for Iain Stewart, star performance from Daisy Ross, debuts for Brian Thomson and Mike Teasdale. That was some afternoon!

Why bother with a draw, they should just all sit round a table and decide in advance - lets help the big clubs and make sure that the wee teams dont make the final. Re-draw is a farce - yet again another cup draw which creates suspision around the credability and impartiality of the draw. Another embarassing affair by the SFA. I wiouldnt be surprised when we beat the Edinburgh team we will have a semi at Hampden against one of the OF - expect Rangers, as we will be seen as a more probable win than putting them against RC or DU. An OF cup final is overdue afterall lol

So what went wrong? All I have to go on is the OP.

True champions dont care who the opposition is.

I expect us to get another spl team with a trip to dundee or edinburgh, but id take anyone if we got a home draw for a change, fully expect the OF avoid each other at this stage too.

I'm currently using my Dad's account, as Ally Davidson. As one of the four boys to go, I believe the situation has been put to bed. We went in there expecting debate but instead, it was a very friendly atmosphere and everyone got a say and it was taken into account by both parties. Being on the board of CJT is a thankless job and do it for no other reason but for our enjoyment which should NEVER go unnoticed. The behaviour on the bus was unsatisfactory and we know this, and CJT had to do something. We were all frustrated and the situation has gone way too far. Although banning us wasn't a good move, currently two of the boys banned travel to Motherwell today on that bus. So me, and everyone, from now on should start appreciating the hours of work and dedication put in by John, Leslie and the team. It's not easy for them with the lack of support for something that they do not need to do. So, we should all move on. Just get behind the team and CJT board and use our frustration towards something worthwhile.... Like County.

Sorry about posting in wrong thread. Hadn't been able to be on site since weekend and hadn't come to that one when I sent the message. Hopefully all blown out of proportion.

The injured players. Thread here: http://caleythistleonline.com/topic/30199-risky-strategy/ He refused to deny he'd questioned the players' 'character' when specifically ask the 'loaded' question during interviews before/after the game yesterday, but obviously no names given. Doran? Putting the weight on with little incentive to rush back - no Cup Final soon! Meekings? Remarkable coincidence if his Twitter retort wasn't referring to the just recently published quotes from Hughes' press conference. Foran? Lack of motivation to return after signing an improved 3-year-deal plus a youth-coaching brief, then virtually sitting-out the next two-years? The consensus from the media pundits was that he's simply trying to get a reaction from the players, but that he's sometimes too 'honest' and shouldn't be 'washing our dirty linen in public'! He's also clearly irked with David Raven for some reason. Like every other club, there will be dynamics in the dressing-room - players/management come-and-go. It won't always/ever be totally harmonious. Every player states their new club is the most 'tight-knit, with the best bunch-of-guys, the happiest dressing-room etc" - it's just platitudes. Shinnie claimed such after we won the cup - but, incredibly, a fortnight later, all of the above attributes were the preserve of Aberdeen!

As I think I said on another thread.... is this not in danger of creating an Invernessian version of July 12th or the Dons fans' Gothenburg Syndrome? It's 16 years now - 16 years during which ICT has ousted Celtic from two further cups, won a cup, reached a further final and three further semi-finals, won the First Division (twice), been promoted to the SPL, defeated Celtic in the SPL, finished Top Six, finished Top Three and played in Europe. Sure, that was a great night at Celtic Park, but should it not now be allowed to settle gracefully into a still honourable place in the annals of history?

Ah. So our wage structure prevented us from signing Ofere - a player without a club. Maybe you should remember this when looking to criticise Yogi in the future.