Leaderboard

The game itself typified our season. Some promise ultimately undone by the most basic mistakes in defence putting us on the back foot before discipline costs us either through a red card or conceding a ridiculous penalty. Again, our attacking play was largely poor and whilst we created some decent chances and hit the woodwork on a few occasions our finishing just isn't good enough to get us the goals needed to win matches. We've conceded the first goal on nine occasions in the league this season and in every single one of those games we have lost the match. In the first half our best chance probably fell the way of Polworth when he was presented with almost the entire goal to aim for from a few yards out after good play by Doran I think it was on the right. Seedorf, Trafford and Oakley all passed up reasonable half chances. However throughout the entire first half Morton were a constant threat to our backline especially with simple balls lifted over the top. Tiffoney and Oliver were running Mckay and Warren ragged all game and it was no real surprise when the opener came from one of them forcing a mistake from our defence. Mckay completely misjudged a long kick out and let Tiffoney in to squeeze the ball under Ridgers after Mckay had recovered to block the first shot. In the second half ICT hit the post through Chalmers, the bar from a Vigurs shot and had a goal questionably chalked off after Gaston struggled to collect a high ball and substitute MacKay poked it over the line. That didn't stop the announcer playing the goal scored music again, announcing the scorer before issuing a correction clarifying no goal had been scored In between all this Morton had pretty much sewn the game up after Harkins converted a penalty following another idiotic foul by Seedorf who was turned inside out and back in again by a Morton attacker. All in all it was simply another limp performance from a pretty rudderless looking ICT side. There isn't much fight in this team at all and as soon as we go behind you can see the heads drop. We just cannot find a way back into games. When Morton went ahead on Saturday they started the second half sitting quite deep looking to hit on the break whilst challenging us to try and find a way through them. We had neither the pace nor the creative spark to fashion a really good chance to get ourselves back into the match. Robertson strangely left Bell on the bench when making changes to the side which seemed quite odd as he's been one of the few decent recruits brought in since last summer. Chalmers ended up playing right wing and was simply not in the game at all until his effort in the second half. Polworth ran about a lot but again had no end product whilst Vigurs was being bodied by Harkins who was absolutely fantastic and probably the MotM. Worrying times for ICT as the playoffs continue to slip away from us. There's little to get excited about these days and you can clearly see supporter interest is waning badly. Claiming there was 2,300 there was a complete joke. Take about 500 off that and you'd be closer to the real attendance. With season tickets due to be renewed in a few months time you can only suspect that even fewer people will be heading through the gates in the months ahead which leaves huge financial questions hanging around the club not least for the manager who will need to recruit several new players again in the summer if we are to challenge for promotion. Most of this lot simply aren't good enough and I would only keep about 4 or 5 of them for next year. Still, at least we have the Challenge Cup Final to look forward to...

That's an excellent summary by Charles. There are 3 ways of getting back into the Premiership. One is the County route of having a rich benefactor. However, as this season is showing, splashing the cash is no guarantee of success and despite a budget way above ours, County are in serious trouble. Having a sugar daddy carries significant risks . Many a club has gone bust because a chairman used the club as their own vanity project and when the cash stopped coming in, the club was over-committed and couldn't survive. That is not a price i would want to pay for a few more years in the top flight. A second way is by increasing revenue by increased gate receipts.This has gone round the houses time and time again and whilst we may think that a city the size of Inverness ought to get more in the way of crowds, it just isn't happening. No doubt people will keep plugging away but it's not going to happen any time soon. To feel reasonably secure as a top flight club, we would need to at least double our gates. The third option is to punch above our weight. To a large extent, that is what got us into the premiership in the first place. St Johnstone have managed this for some while. The key to this is having a Board which knows what they are doing and who can get the right managers and other backroom staff in. Whether we have or haven't got that is not something I am qualified to talk about, but what I would say is that John Robertson is more likely to get the team kicking above their weight than either of the last two managers. But we have to recognise two brutal truths. The first is that the Premiership is stronger now. We were fortunate that our rise coincided with several of the big clubs hitting the self destruct button in an attempt to compete in an increasingly high money player market. It will now be far harder to get into and then stay in the top flight. The second is that we do not have the fan base or regular financial backing to fund a team that can be expected to compete at the top level. We may get there from time to time with an exceptional manager and good player recruitment. But, as we have often experienced, a good manager and good players move on in order to further their careers, and replacing them with guys of the same or even better calibre at a price we can afford is difficult to say the least. Success will be short lived. I'm afraid the Championship would appear to be our natural level. Over stretching ourselves in an attempt to meet unrealistic expectations will end in tears. We might find ourselves in the top flight briefly and equally we may find we slip down a level from time to time. We need to enjoy the success when it comes and continue to support the team through the bad times. A sense of reality will make those cup runs and any promotions to the top flight all the sweeter when they come.

As I have been told on a number of occasions IHE, you are unlikely to get an answer on this forum so I suggest you contact the Club direct (where you are also unlikely to get an answer).

Caleyboy, there has always been a considerable degree of smoke and mirrors since the debt was removed over the precise mechanics of that removal but yes, it was nominally to the Trust that the debt was transferred. However, in effect it appears to have been reconciled with the Bank of Scotland in some shape or form by Tullochs. I have to say that it was only when Tullochs' offer to donate the stadium fabric back to the club emerged in December 2016 that I began to see more clearly the full extent of the overlap between Tullochs and the Trust. The way I see it is that the ICT Charitable Trust was set up as a tax efficient means of allowing Tullochs to remove the debt. Conspiracy theorists may at the one extreme suggest that the Trust was simply a vehicle for cynical asset stripping, and at the other that it allowed benefactors to retain a degree of anonymity. However, in the former case, a couple of observations need to be made. Firstly, almost 20 years on, the only contentious issue is long term use of the car parks by the club, and indeed a number of reassurances have been offered in that respect. And secondly, if there is an asset stripping conspiracy agenda then, as Trustees, public figures such as ex-Provost Allan Sellar and David Stewart MSP must have been complicit in it - along with the members of the Muirfield Mills consortium who now control the Trust, along with the 730,000 shares donated to it by Tullochs. It's also worth observing that when the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Charitable Trust was set up, the legal conditions - as a quid pro quo for the tax concessions - included the requirement that all local sporting organisations should be among its potential beneficiaries. However I am not aware of anyone other than Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC having benefited at all from its activities. To me, it's quite clear that the club, as a company, became debt free because that debt, of around £2.6M, was taken away by some unspecified arrangement between Tullochs and the main creditor the Bank of Scotland. In return, ownership of the stadium and its lease was transferred to the Trust rather than to Tullochs as discussed above. In terms of "dues", in order to work out what Tullochs have put in, you need to add up the £2.6M removed debt, £0.73M in cash in return for shares subsequently donated back to the Trust, the provision of the North and South stands, innumerable other, smaller "drip feed" contributions such as the provision of staff and, most recently, the write off of £300,000 of outstanding rent.... all of that also alongside the donation back of the stadium fabric. This has been estimated as having a gross value of around £6 million. As for rent paid in return, the only concrete figure we have is the current £205,000 pa. We don't know how much this was from the start of the 7500 capacity era and how it may ultimately have increased to that figure, nor do we know what it was for the pre-North and South stand period. However, I don't think that something in the ballpark of a net £3.5M, after deduction of rent paid, is an unreasonable estimate of what Tullochs have given to the club since around 2000. I find it difficult to reconcile that figure with the notion that "we have more than paid our dues". (As an aside, I have always been a bit bemused by the view that the club should have been allowed to exist rent free in premises which it was obliged to give up because it vastly outspent its earning capacity.) I also find it difficult to see what, by way of keeping the club in existence, the alternatives back in the early 2000s would have been to the arrangements described above. On the other hand if a "free lunch" extending to £3.5 with the only down side the title to the car parks over which significant assurances have been given is considered a bad deal......

I get that facilities need big improvement but improvements cost money and we are already running at a huge 6 figure deficit. I was again really frustrated yesterday with the standard of catering. It was much worse than Ross County's before relegation ... but it's even worse now. That said, last year we didn't have a proper club shop. Now we have a big improvement there. Things take time. Fans previously didn't feel the love because of a lack of communication ... but that also has improved and the recent chairman's statement has highlighted the stark financial shortfall and the need for higher sales to help us keep going (along with investment). That may also help with the other improvements we all want to see.

I think the biggest issue for fans renewing, is not the performances on the pitch. Your team can be rubbish but you can feel united. The biggest issue is if people feel wanted. Considering the fall in already small attendances and absolutely rubbish facilities suggest many don't feel that the club want them...and who can blame them?

I actually regret buying mine x 4 this season. Ive missed a few games which normally doesnt worry me. However off the pitch several things have annoyed me and it doesnt feel like value for money. They keep shutting the north stand toilets ( how that saves money I dont know?). Entering the sports bar has now become such a chore if you sit in the north stand as well. Im willing to accept that things dont always go right on the park but for the money we are paying I do expect the club to get the basics right!

Cant help but chuckle at his Official Facebook page but cant help but like the bloke. Back in the Guinea national team squad and scoring goals for Prachuap FC in Thailand. He might be over 7,500 miles from the Caledonian Stadium but reminders of the Highlands still follow him. Each Instagram post is usually greeted by a friendly comment from those of a Caley Jag persuasion and Doumbouya credits them as the best fans he has ever played for. Contact is still made with former team-mates, like Larnell Cole, Ross Draper and Jake Mulraney, and he still holds great affection for Inverness. He said: “I get a lot of messages from supporters when I scored for St Polten, or played for the national team. They’re the best supporters I’ve ever had.” Well worth befriending on Facebook

The Travel Club are liaising with Beverley from St Johnstone. We will let you know what is happening once it is all confirmed.

An interesting and very honest interview with the manager. But looks like Donaldson will be out for another 3 or 4 weeks with a hamstring injury. It becomes a very important week now. 6 points against Dumbarton and Brechin should be achieved and would, in reality, dispel any lingering fears of relegation. Get that out of the way and should be able to play with a bit more confidence, and then, who knows? Lose to Dumbarton and we might have a very nervy end to the season.

Uh oh....you mentioned the "T" word ?

It really is quite astonishing that this CJT situation has been allowed to get to the state that it has now reached. The ONLY evidence for CJT's existence is subliminal assertions, unsupported by any evidence I have seen, that there is a "board". So if this board does exist, why is it doing nothing, why has it been doing nothing for months if not years, and why does it continue to conceal itself behind a wall of stubborn silence? Why, at one of the club's most critical and fragile periods in almost 20 years, is this alleged board, which claims to represent the supporters, not lifting a finger to assist the club through these very difficult times? The concern of ever more ICT supporters that I speak to is that the sole priority of this alleged board is to sit on top of the 10% voting rights which are the club's literal birthright and which are a legacy to all supporters. What is needed is a publicly active and working supporters' organisation guided by an equally active and working board - not some kind of a mirage whose existence or otherwise could by now very comfortably become the subject of an examination question for a degree in Philosophy..... or a dramatic farce.

Doesn't all this general mood of discontentment highlight the need for getting the problems with CJT sorted out? There needs to be a clearly recognised route of two way communication between the Club and the fan base. With a mechanism to ensure CJT is truly representative of the fans I am sure that there are many of us who would be willing to help out in a variety of ways to improve various aspects of the match day experience and to keep people informed. CJT should also be a vehicle for pressing the Board to honour the commitments it has made in areas where volunteers from the fan base aren't in a position to actually do anything. Scotty's offer to make space available to CJT on this forum really means there is no excuse for CJT to keep fans informed, and no excuse for fans not to keep CJT informed of any concerns or ideas they may have.

It's not really rocket science, and the analogy I used yesterday is still probably the best inasmuch as a tightrope walker survives until there's even a modest disruption - and the effect of that is then catastrophic. Under Charlie Christie in 2006-7, I'm led to believe that there was a very strict, board-imposed wage limit of £650pw. Combined with crowds a bit higher than latterly in the Premiership because this was still a relative novelty, and probably higher TV money as well, the club just about muddled along in the lower half of the table. When you get to the Terry Butcher era, well Terry's assertiveness seems to have managed to wheedle a bit more out of the board for wages, but on the other hand he at least partly justified that by making good signings, reaching the Top Six, and gaining the corresponding performance payout. But by now we are into the realms of having to depend on windfalls like high performance payments, transfer fees etc, and when these aren't quite enough, the Social Club also needs to be sold. Then enter Yogi who flatters to deceive - to a large extent thanks to the team TB put together. But TB's signings begin to move on, so Yogi needs to take in his own, and there are two problems here - most of them were duds and, worse still, even further over the odds seems to have been paid for them. Latterly the Ryan Christie money, for instance, and anything else available, simply disappears into the black hole Yogi has persuaded the Board to extend in order to recruit the said duds. The club is still, however, hanging on in the Premiership, but by now only by paying way over the odds for players way under the required standard. At this point, the whole thing has become an car crash waiting to happen.... and that car crash is the appointment of Richie Foran. Saddled with a bunch of poor players, lacking the managerial skills to address the situation and allowed by the Board to continue in the job, there's only one place Foran and his team are going - out the door and down a league respectively. By now crowds are also declining so what we have is a relegated club which has allowed all its crown jewels to be blown on an expensive, relegated side. Meanwhile income streams are even lower than before - hence a £422K loss. When you have to put round the begging bowl for £450,000 simply to remain solvent, as has just happened, the current situation is more or less inevitable. As for the Faustian bit, everything was thrown into the black hole in exchange for the last few years of life in the Premiership. The tightrope walker has now fallen from the wire, on which he had for some time enjoyed a charmed life in any case. It would be very wrong to assume that ICT's default position is the SPFL Premiership, where it remained for years courtesy of chickens which have now come home to roost.

My tastiness a definate step up in quality and has healthier options.

I don't get the thinking to charge loyal fans more to keep the club afloat. I will pay more than market value to watch my team but by increasing prices you alienate lots of potential customers. I don't care about facilities or catering. I just want to see the players who represent the club giving 100%. At times over last and this season, I am questioning whether or not this is the case.

I used to feel like this. I would hope that folk that know me dont think Im not a genuine fan. I just feel that the only protest I have is by considering not renewing as the club dont seem to me to be listening? I dont mind that we are in the championship at all really. The things that wind me up are the feeling of being taken for granted. As I said before not being able to get the basics right is unforgiveable

The last time we got relegated the club handled the situation pretty well and we saw an increase in season ticket sales. Further boosted by healthy half season ticket sales, despite promotion being far from certain at the halfway mark. Key, though, was that the board (back then) didn't just ask fans to put their hands in their pockets, they backed the call with a £1 Million commitment to getting the club back into the SPL (as it was then)....and delivered.

Yes, even Scottish Cup win didn't stimulate a marked ongoing increase in interest so I'm also at a loss there as well. Might the fear of insolvency? Don't know. I'm in complete agreement with your comments on price. I live an hour away but I would happily renew the season ticket even if it increased. I would go further ... if we're serious about wanting our club to survive and thrive, then we'll not just renew but also buy what we sensibly can from the shop as well. Yes we've fallen from where we were ... but we need to remember where we came from ... non league football ... it's been some journey with ups and downs but I would hope that genuine fans have the stamina and the love for their club to continue and renew.

If we want the team to have a chance to succeed next season, price has to be the same to try and maintain the level of income coming into the club. Dropping the price will not lead to an increase in season ticket sales as it has been proven that reducing the ticket prices for certain games does not equate to a larger attendance. We need to try and generate more interest amongst the public in Inverness but given the lack of support from them in the past, I am at a loss as to how to do that.

I have to disagree. It was no coincidence that our defensive form improved radically when we started to play Raven regularly and equally no coincidence that it's dipped rather alarmingly after he left.

A bit of a strange one that. We didn't play particularly well but we put far more pressure on their goal and could have won that comfortably. We gave away 2 soft goals at one end and had 2 disallowed at the other, hit the woodwork twice and had one cleared off the line. Despite having more of the game and more of the chances, we had a very lacklustre feel about us for such an important game. I don't think anyone played particularly badly but equally, I don't anyone played particularly well. It seemed to me that players were well aware of the importance of the game and froze somewhat. There was a nervousness about the play and despite the number of near misses, there was a reluctance to shoot, particularly from Polworth after good work to give himself a half chance on 3 or 4 occasions. I've always been a fan of Doran but he looks some way from the player he was before his injury. He did little wrong today but there was little of the buzzing energy and ball carrying which was such a feature of his game. Hopefully more game time will strengthen and sharpen him up. A pre-injury Doran would do some serious damage to some of the defences in this league. Whilst the play-offs now seem most unlikely, I think we need to cast our minds back to where we were at the start of the season. The principle goal at the end of the season must be survival and that should be comfortably achieved. The focus should be shifting to make a serious challenge for promotion next season.

Not until we are assured of finishing higher than ninth.

I don't think we have ever received a free lunch. what i do say is that tulloch / sutherland have been well paid for their "generosity" and the time has come to stop harping on about it.