Leaderboard

You are quite right. Your opinion is as valid as anyone's and certainly every bit as valid as mine. I can back mine up with a few facts; John, as you call him, took over at Falkirk, initially as co manager with Owen Coyle, and dud well with the squad of players he inherited including gaining promotion to the then SPL. Once that squad began to break up he persuaded their chairman to allow him to spend a record sum for them, in bringing in replacements who were almost all players of a certain vintage who had played with JH himself, all were on eye watering salaries and none were a success. Falkirk plummeted down the league and were, somewhat ironically, only saved from relegation by the fact that we were so bad that season under Brewster that we went down instead. When he left, Falkirk were in considerable debt, had a poor and ageing squad, there were credible reports of dressing room division and unrest. Falkirk were relegated shortly thereafter and have yet to recover. Does that sound at all familiar ? At Hubs, he inherited a decent squad and initially did well with another manager's players even qualifying for Europe. Once he started to recruit his own players their form nosedived and they plummeted down the league playing football that, as well as being ineffective, was eye wateringly boring to watch. It got so bad that JH, despite being a bit of a playing legend for them, was routinely and loudly jeered by Hibs fans. When he was sacked the squad was poor and ageing and there were credible reports of dressing room division and unrest. Hibs, despite their considerable resources, were eventually relegated, ironically again with another ICT connection and have only just recovered. Does that sound familiar ? To be fair, he did source and recruit one decent player in the form of Anthony Stokes. His time at Livingston was brief and uneventful as he jumped ship as soon as he was lured by the bright lights of Harlepool who, to be fair, are the third biggest team in England with the suffix pool in their name. He was unsuccessful there, the team played unattractive and unsucesful football and he was sacked. We know all about his time with us. He was very successful with Terry Butcher's players but when that squad broke up, despite the fact that he was given a record sum, by some margin, by the then chairman, he signed a succession of duds. Only two decent players were recruited; Greg Tansey who the club knew all about before and Miles Storey who was, by all accounts, identified by the chairman. JH was eventually sacked amid credible reports of dressing room unrest and division, we were subsequently relegated and have yet to recover. He went on to manage Raith Rovers who were relegated and he was sacked. Their chairman himself admitted that he had made a mistake in appointing JH and that the players he was allowed to recruit on expensive short term contracts contributed little to the relegation struggle and that there was dressing room division and unrest. Thankfully for Raith, his tenure was too short to cause long term damage and they are quickly recovering. In summary, as far as I can see, JH has identified and recruited one decent player in his entire managerial career and that player, decent as he Is, is a violent thug who I personally wouldn't want anywhere near our family club. I think that I have provided just a little evidence in support of my position. Perhaps you could now enlighten us on the basis of some facts as to why you think we would now be better off if the then chairman had "given John the money he had asked for'.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported us with our bucket collection at the stadium on Saturday. The grand sum collected was £293.45. We were heartened by the many positive comments we received about the Supporters Travel Club. Moran taing.

Very harsh and clear agenda against Yogi. His time at Falkirk? You fail to mention he actually managed them for 6 years winning the first division twice (Brockville not up to SPL standard). You also failed to mention that he established them as a solid SPL team. You seem to also have forgotten in your Hughes summary that he got them into Europe and the Scottish Cup Final. In his one full season at Hibs, they finished 4th. Most Hibs fans would be happy with that kind of finish these days. He was unfairly sacked at the beginning of the next season, after a poor start. Livingston? Steadied the ship. Hartlepool? Already bottom of league and if you speak to any Hartlepool fan they'd say that they improved under him and nearly pulled off the great escape. Of course, you know about his time at Inverness. But it was Butchers squad so Yogi shouldn't get any credit I suppose eh? Rovers? Already doomed when he took over. Overall, his managerial record is quite impressive but then again, all the people that were against his appointment in the first place need someone to blame now for the state of the club.

Well said Christib . In all walks of life when you try to do good there is always the element who will try to bring you down . Like you say Shorty may have been better to have got the facts right before he / she started spouting off . I too was a " bucket shaker " on Sat although I didn't have to shake it as I was overwhelmed by the generosity of our fans and it certainly wasn't all small change . Thank you all so very much as The Travel Club work hard behind the the scenes voluntarily to make sure fans get to as many away games as is possible . Shorty needs to realise these buses come at a cost and we don't get help towards cost and every penny is a prisoner .

Short of a Sugardaddy situation which would be as hypothetical as it was unsustainable, I'm afraid I can't DD. The writing was already on the wall during the several years when the club lived from hand to mouth and depended critically on being fortunate enough to receive windfalls which, along with selling the Social Club, funded ever increasing wages for players who latterly justified them less and less. The gap between the club's capacity to generate income and what it would need to survive in the Premiership is now so large that the only thing that could bridge it would be substantial, ongoing subsidy. I have for many years now thought that the inner Moray Firth is incapable of sustaining two Premiership sides without major subsidy for both. In practice, it probably isn't capable of even sustaining one without subsidy due to the non-transferability of income streams from one to the other for partisan reasons. Caley Thistle acquired its Sugardaddy in 2000 and this hugely assisted its progress to the SPL, also keeping the club there for many years. The one big error of that era was Brewster 2 which was neutralised by the one big stroke of luck which was going straight back up from an apparently impossible mid-season position in 2009-10. Thereafter, there was only so long that fortuitously timed cup runs, player sales, unexpectedly high league placings, sale of the Social Club and relatively minor benefactors of modest 6-figure sums were going to keep things going - especially after recruitment became so bad under Hughes. I'm realising that I'm in danger of repeating what I've already said, but there's clear blue water between income and required expenditure. Meanwhile, it's Ross County's turn for benefactors and they have, for the moment, been frequently passing GO and collecting £200. ICT, meanwhile, having already been dealt two Get Out Of Jail Free cards - Tullochs in 2001ff and the 2010 promotion - no longer have all the houses they used to (ironic statement intended!). They instead have been left stranded in the squalor of Old Kent Road. County have, for the foreseeable future, won the financial war of attrition. On the other hand if the banker there were to withdraw his support it would be a case of Go To (The) Jail (End)... do not pass GO, do not collect £200. I will conclude by saying that I fully agree with Kingsmills' comments about "following John's demands" and Administration. After all, the extent to which the demands in question were actually followed is a major cause of the current difficulty, so it would seem pretty obvious that going even further along that road would have had even more disastrous consequences. Spending money you don't have and are incapable of generating is the economics of suicide.

Oh Jesus, not this again. Zzzzzzzzz.

The Hughes drum has been banged to death from both sides and is somewhat tiresome. We should look back favourably at his tenure of what he achieved on the park - regardless of how the finances are played out afterall the board gave him the money to spend and if that was more or less than others he achieved the maximum he could with what he had. Perhaps he did ask too much looking for additional investment but his role was to take the team as high as possible and achieve whatever he could and if he felt keeping key players and bringing more in then that was his job - its for the board (rightly or wrongly to say yes or no). The real failing as has been for years is the board and the people of Inverness - the board failed time and time again to capitalise on our success and bring in more footfall, the people of Inverness have failed in supporting their local team and choosing only to show face at finals or OF games. But now the board since the JH tenure are dragging us backwards, they failed to deal with the management issues that were created by first block JH moving, then failed to support him financially knowing his ambitions. They picked cheap options and bad recruitment at player and management level, allowed lies to be pedalled about players and now the total disarray both on and off-field is driving the remaining fans away. Be under no illusions the board are firmly to blame for where we are and the sooner there is full transparency and statements of intent & structured plans for moving forwards, not just false promised like the Muirfield Mills money etc then we wont get this club back on track. No fans = no money = constant plummeting through the leagues.

I'm sure the poster(s) dishing out red dots will be along in a second to explain how ICT could magic up some extra cash from nowhere so support Hughes and his, admittedly admirable, aims. FWIW I obviously don't blame Hughes entirely but the downward spiral started under his tenure and accelerated with Foran, entered complete free-fall when Cameron bottled sacking Foran and pretty much crashed and burned with the appointment of Robbo and the utterly amateur operations over the summer coupled with shocking player recruitment. It's not one persons fault but a cumulative effect.

Have we really become so bad that people are saying Calder wasn't that bad because he put in one good cross? Good Lord...

I think that was the point that davidg was making

He was another one that looked good on video

Sadly tho Kingsmills is correct

What? No Lionel Djebi-Zadi on your short list even?

A number of the new signings showed potential on first few appearances but for some unknown reason lack of ambition and lack of application soon set in and that potential seems to have gone out the window. Makes me wonder what is really going on '' in the dressing room'' could the root cause lie there? confidence being undermined etc or could it have something to do with the coaching ? such as dampening on flair or trying to stereotype how they should play. These are things that are niggling in my mind. Worrying thoughts.

Robbo himself said about the youth team "if you're good enough, you're old enough"...we really should be seriously considering some of the youth players playing in the 1st team...some of the 1st team seem too comfortable in the knowledge that their place is safe, no matter how bad they play.

A good point. The North Stand was sparse to say the least and the Main Stand - wow. I can't recall a time it was so empty as this picture shows (Taken from an ICT fan on Instagram). It really is depressing stuff. What happened to the 15,000 fans at the Cup Final? I know a lot will have been day trippers and others can't make it every week but it's quite incredible that we never saw any bounce in attendances after that incredible success. A damning indictment of how little the people of Inverness care about their local team and also how little effort seems to have been made by the club to try and lure folk along on a Saturday.

How about a big board stating "Money Back If Not Satisfied" !!!

Kingsmills, I think there is a danger you're coming across as an obsessive with an anti-Hughes agenda, while its clear from the various posts you have an 'issue' with him and clearly prefer ICT to have 'ICT people' in charge to give no credit to the guy based on his achievements not just with us but other clubs too regardless of who recruited the teams does seem rather imbalanced. To suggest he was the primary problem with everything wrong at our club is mis-guided afterall someone at the club gave him the job.

Agree with Renegade. I thought Calder, along with Mulraney, looked uninterested for the most part. I know these guys don't get long to impress but Robertson is hardly being given much reason to start them when they turn in half arsed efforts.

For his time on the field, until he got injured against Elgin, I liked what I saw of Elbouzedi. He had pace, could take on a man and beat him and put a cross into the box. I don't know how long he will be out, but I think he is another with potential.

I saw Elbouzedi driving into the car park yesterday. The most thrilling moment of the day.

It's not just Zschusschen. Seedorf and Elbouzadi seem to have vanished too. I don't believe any of them are injured. I think the reason they are not on the team sheets is that Robbo can't spell their names.

If the board had "followed John's demands' we wouldn't just be in the Championship now we'd be in administration.

Coming to this late as I was in Inverness without advanced IT equipment. Definitely one of the worst games I've ever seen. QoS were surprisingly poor too but they had the consolation of a few decent attempts and some decent form earier in the season. No punch up front and still some worrying defending, saved by OFW. I thought our yellows were deserved and there could have been more for some of the daft tackles. I liked the comedically awful QoS free-kick too, but don't forget the ICT (forget who it was) fresh-air shot at the edge of the box in the second half at a time when we had a wee bit of pressure. It's early days and I'm not a Mad Manager Sacker but the team and club need to take action before too long. Can't see Brechin getting off the bottom but Falkirk are getting back on track and we need to do the same.

Blair, I'm still not 100% sure precisely what you are asking, possibly largely because of the changing nature of the Board in recent years. Football club boards are evolving things and in the case of the ICT board, there has of late not only been evolution but a straight jump from one species to another! I also think that the origins of the current problem go back several seasons, although it has only manifested itself on the field within the last couple of years. It's very difficult indeed to know what's happening behind closed boardroom doors, especially when, until very recently, the board was as secretive as it used to be. However I have a feeling that the root cause was the progressive acquiescence to managerial demands for first team squad funding... in a financial climate where unpredictable windfalls and selling the family silverware had to be relied on to meet these demands as far as possible and juggle the profit and loss account. A lot of the rest of the difficulties follow on from there. I am led to believe that Terry Butcher was pretty accomplished at maximising what he could get from the board for squad funding, but on the other hand, his recruits were also of high quality and this led to fan satisfaction and a lot of performance related cash coming back in from good results (and of course extra bonuses to be paid.) Then when Yogi came along, the demands continued - escalated perhaps, given that this appears to have been the final cause of Yogi's departure. However Yogi's recruits were, to be generous, not quite of the same calibre as before, and as time went by, the club was paying above the odds for less and less productive personnel. I believe that Yogi just got away with winning the Scottish Cup fielding quite a few of Butcher's players but as more and more of his own signings had to be called upon, he began to be found out. Perhaps this also led to more and more strident demands for cash in his last year. Then when Yogi does go, the Board realises that it has painted itself into a corner as a result of this somewhat Faustian arrangement. They are now left with an expensive but much declined squad, and Yogi's gardening leave to pay into the bargain. They are really struggling to balance the books so pressure is on to go for the cheap option which is Richie Foran and I need say no more of last season, for which the presumably fairly imminent accounts to 31.5.17. are also going to make interesting reading. So, with another £1m+ off the budget on relegation, wages really have to be slashed leaving very little for players. The narrative has now reached the beginning of this season, but I really think that it's too early to attribute blame for the last two months for two linked reasons. For the reasons stated above, neither John Robertson nor the current Board have really been in post for long enough to be judged on what they have managed to do on what are now massively reduced resources, The current board numbers only four. Two, including the new Chairman, who has been in that post for just six weeks, were new recruited a few months ago. One dates back to 2015 and the fourth is longer serving. Five board members have departed this year in this rapidly evolving/species jumping process, so it's very difficult to attribute blame. Blair, that's the best take I can give you on it. This is purely a personal appraisal and I hope that it helps to answer some of the queries you had.

Long before I came north ; Inverness were becoming a legend ( I remember on the Bury message board people were commenting on an ICT result at Ibrox . In deepest Sussex I was reading stories of unbelievable victories. One of the reasons for me living up in these parts was the thought of watching this amazing team. I read Charles's book, (Against all odds ) and it read better than a novel, I ordered six copies and I sold them more or less straight away , interest in the team even in America and Australia was apparent . if it had been fiction nobody would have believed it . When I watched the semi finals - and then the finals against Aberdeen and Falkirk , I was really in my element It was wonderful. Now there is a equal and opposite reaction. If we ( and I use we with pride for an outlander ) are to survive and build again, we will be stronger and better for it.

more like marijuana overdose on yesterdays attacking performance.

Totally uncalled for and fairly predictable bullying behaviour. I wonder how many weaker/younger/inexperienced/less articulate posters you have chased away from this forum over the years.

Was that not Maradonna?

Hughes left the chairman at the time with no alternative. The mistake was in appointing a manager with no experience whatsoever and then following that up by appointing a manager with next to no experience if managing for over a decade. I feel that we have one more chance to get it right next time otherwise the consequences will be even more severe than they've been so far. There may have been issues with Graeme Bennett but he had an ability to spot potential in a manager. Something that seems to be entirely lacking at board level these days.

Is it down to the loch I fear? Play your best players: OFW, Raven, Warren, Polworth, Vigurs, Trafford, McKay Play players that can possibly get better: Seedorf, Bell Play the best of the rest in a formation that maximises our strengths, i.e. midfield and defence. Now I know many of these best players are past their best or have other weaknesses but they are still our best. With the lack of goalscorers and creative talents, that means getting point by other means than a striker. So, probably wingbacks at this stage: OFW Seedorf Raven Warren McKay Tremarco Trafford Polworth Vigurs Bell +1 rotating other until someone shows a bit of spirit

Are there not any interested teams in Shetland ? We might get a "pony" for him.

We've been broken down To the lowest turn Bein' on the bottom line Sure ain't no fun But if we should be relegated Huh, from the Championship We'll just move back on up And still carry on Oh (Hold on) hold on (Hold on) hold on Ooh, aah, baby (Hold on) hold on (Hold on) ooh ooh aah The only way is up, baby For you and me now The only way is up, baby For you and me now Aah

Think we're going to play the boys against Peterhead. Ordinarily, that would constitute playing a weakened team, but on this occasion I think it's the opposite! If some of U17s get a run out, they have deserved it and the "first" team should have it made clear that their places are on the line. Any decent performances should be rewarded with replacing the duds without a second thought.

Desperately Seeking Susan

Yesterday was not brilliant in terms of entertainment or results but an optimist could argue it was a start in terms of a better defence. Vigurs was quite inspired as a captain but we lacked any cutting edge up front. As we reflect on the last 15 months we see a club buckling behind the scenes and of course on the pitch. It took some time for someone to work out a deal with Richie. There was a clear fear about money. Senior players wanted to move. Eventually a new chairman emerged, eventually a new manager emerged, there was no Donald Park to help him, eventually he managed to recruit a squad of players and to be fair, these players have potential. It was not good planning by the club so it remains quite unfair to ask John to go just now or have his contract terminated. He is working probably as hard as he has ever worked in management with a range of problems including the high expectations of supporters who have enjoyed the journey as we punched above our weight. Yesterday showed a little bit of stability in this storm. Not many people will expect us to pick up any points in our next 3 games during October. Few will expect us to beat Peterhead. Some of our greatest performances are in adversity.

Shame on you for posting such a ridiculous post!!!!! You obviously know nothing about the aims of The Travel Club and what is in their Constitution, our aim is to support the team and encourage members of the community, especially the young, to come along. The Travel Club work really hard at raising funds with many local businesses supporting them, nobody has to give money if they don't want to, as one of "the bucket rattlers!!!!" today I was touched at how supportive fans and visitors were, some actually dug deeper when they realised the cause. We asked the club for a date that was free so we did not deny anybody else. Please get your facts right before you post!

Shorty.......surely the nickname must apply to the amount of brain cells you possess! Must be the lead contender for the most ignorant post on CTO this season.

I have thought for a while regarding Caley the board were the cause of most of Caley problems overall regarding the team and I thought the board always acted like they were still in the Highland league. The reasons for me thinking that they always seem to pick whoever the cheapest for players or football managers. Refuse to kick out a manager when they do bad. The portakabin I was always surprised how long it stayed at the club even when they were in the Scottish Premiership.

The poor spelling and grammar in the thread title makes me sad.

Maybe better changing the thread title to 'how many games until 8 points'.............................

I don't think this is really a matter of opinion. It is a matter of fact that Hughes was given a significantly higher player budget than Butcher ever was. And I don't think anyone here would disagree that despite that, Hughes was unable to recruit players of the same calibre as Butcher did. There have been a number of threads which have compared the players who left and those who came during Hughes' tenure. Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but if you disagree with this, do us all a favour and provide some evidence to support your view.

Kingsmills...........My opinion is every bit as good as anybody else;s and I certainly disagree with the certainty of yours.

Yes some excellent points put across but why apportion so much blame to John Hughes ? If the Board had had the guts to follow John's demands, when the side was at its best re. player potential, given him the money to retain the players he wanted to keep and /or during the horrendous injury period to buy the right replacements instead of second choice money to take in lesser able players,we in all probability, would be where Aberdeen are now. The football our Team was playing at it's peak was the best in Scotland and a joy to watch. Unfortunately it wasn't to be and now we are paying the price. It is doubtful if we will ever again reach such dizzy heights but I am still backing Robbo to stabilize the Team. i.e. subject to forward thinking by the new Board and getting some decent loan signings in to give us some extra impetus to spur the present compliment into some form of belief in themselves and the required attitude on the field.

John Hughes and the board who backed him. He stretched our finances unnecessarily, then put himself in an untenable position knowing fine he would require to be paid until further employment was found, forcing us into converting Forans playing contract into a managerial one. Foran wasn't ready but was never going to turn down the offer.

I wouldn't expect those benefiting to agree. Would you be happy to see people rattling buckets to pay towards their travel to a concert in Glasgow? It's the same thing. The idea that others should be expected to contribute towards someone elses travel to a football match is utterly ridiculous.

He has to go! Simple!

And your point is, caller?

What additional money was there to give Hughes? He'd already spunked shed loads of cash on a raft of unimpressive players, especially countless central midfielders, even if we did have cash to give him I'd have been pretty reticent about giving him any extra money given his spectacular failures in the transfer market during his tenure.

Baring in mind the current fare on offer on the pitch just now, I doubt any form of advertising will encourage new fans through the turnstiles. The advertising money may best be used for taxi's for the under performing members of the squad.