Leaderboard

Good people of CTO, I have a favour to ask. In a couple of weeks’ time I will be doing a Lands End to John O’ Groats bike ride solo and unsupported. Its 1,000 miles and I’m going to try to do it in 8 days. That is a lot of work and yes, I’m doing to support a charity. This one is very close to my heart, The Smith-Magenis Foundation UK. Max, my grandson, has SMS and you have probably never heard of it. Well, you have now. It’s called Smith Magenis Syndrome (SMS) and it’s there because Max got born without a tiny bit of chromosome 17. It just happens in 1:25000 births, no cause, and no history. What you won't have heard of are the sleep disturbances (he doesn't) the meltdowns, the rubbish eyesight, the amazing ability to cause self-damage, the learning difficulties and all the rest. Max won't tell you about it either because he can't speak yet. He will let you know how much he loves you though at almost every opportunity. Hugs, hugs and more hugs. If you good people want to add to the £1200 or so that we have already raised towards our £2K target, you can go to https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davidbalfour1 and put in whatever you can. Alternatively, I’ve got myself a new and unworn ICTFC home shirt which is signed by the first team squad and which ICTFC have generously donated. If you want it, please DM me on here with a bid. You know you want it and Max and I would be really grateful.

The Championship looks as if it's going to be a very competitive league next seaso. I think all teams will be able to beat any other team on their day, so it's crucial that ICT get off to a good start and get points on the board early, we don't want to be playing catch up, like we were trying to do for all of last season. Hopefully our last season in the Championship will work in our favour next term, with the squad being more settled, and the players not coming into the season as strangers. I have a good feeling for the coming season.

Hardly - red, white & blue? Looked like a cheap copy of a Rangers top...& that daft collar! If it had had black instead of white, it would have been better.

Whilst I am always wary of nepotism, if its the right fit then its the right fit. Will judge her on initiatives or results that are achieved.

I wish her well, and we now seem to be very adequately covered at 'the top end' business wise which I hope will provide long term stability. I'm assuming we are sorted on the football management side too, although I'm not sure how long Brian Rice's contract is for. So, maybe just the playing side to be firmed up on, with one or two suitable new signings, or loanees, and we should be well prepared for the new season, and be able to have a concentrated crack at promotion right from the start. I feel a lot more confident about 2018/19 than I did a year ago. If we can keep the momentum going which we discovered in the last third of last season, there is no reason why we shouldn't do well, despite the Championship now being considerably stronger than it was in 2017/18. Onwards and upwards

We've got a new Chief Executive. Assume that this aligns with Danny MacDonald moving more into the development side of things. Sounds like she's got a lot of experience in relevant areas. Edited, as I got her name wrong.

Nothing has been announced yet. Fixtures are to be announced week commencing 4th June.

All the best Davie, I'll add a contribution. I don't think I'd tackle that even with an e-bike ? I was looking at giving you a wave as you crossed the FRB but it looks like I'll be in Orkney that week...

We're in a group with Hearts, Cowdenbeath (again), Cove and Raith. ETA: lol

Got the away top today. Completely in love with it. I'm taking it out for dinner at The Kitchen tonight.

ICT and Country to battle it out for the top spot, that sounds fab to me! Lets make it happen!

I gather that it emerged a few months ago that SPFL rules prevented Danny from being in charge of Project Brave and associated footballing matters whilst also being COO. At roughly that point, Danny ceased his COO activities, Jim Oliver became Commercial Manager and Yvonne Crook took on marketing and related responsibilities on a consultancy basis. Now it appears that the COO function has been upgraded to this CEO post and Danny continues in his football development related post, with Jim as Commercial Manager. I would imagine that one answer to inevitable questions as to why the club has this number of "high ups" might well be that this now gives the potential for many of the things some fans historically complained weren't being done..... to be done.

If he does not want to move family north for family reasons then maybe that has more to do with it. depending on ages of children it could be quite an upheaval to move them from schools where they are settled, doing well and away from friends etc Not that we are looking ... but I would not want to move house with my own family right now for that very reason.

maybe he has a well paid job plus his pt earnings from football which knocks our offer out.

I think these kits are great. The home one reminds me of Genoa and Calgiari, away one is excellent. I may even buy one. Anyone know if they do baby kits?

A more pertinent question is where it happened to which I suspect that the answer is only in Alan Simpson's fertile imagination.

Maybe it’s time to put another tuppence worth in because the thread is getting a bit muddier and some of the other ones are going the same way. There are reasons that the old Board of Directors could not continue, all of them connected with the performance and accountability of that Board. They have all been stated in this forum. Not a single reason that I can identify was or is personal. The regulatory rules were unclear, the governance uncertain, there was little credibility left after two successive unsatisfactory AGM’s, no visible leadership and there appeared stasis in terms of activity and publicity. In that case, the entire Board should bear responsibility and if it is the wish of the people who attended and voted and this last EGM, resign. That is what happened. There is no personal dimension to this. In terms of going forward, CJT needs strong leadership that is willing to put in the hard work and confront the issues. Supporters (at least in this forum) appear concerned about a long standing lack of communication by ICTFC, inconsistent policies and approach to young supporters, shortcomings in the matchday experience and the lack of a meaningful voice at a senior level within ICTFC. These are important issues. In my opinion, they need to be prioritised and addressed in sequence by an interim Board after the upcoming election. At least at that point CJT members will be able to have an informed debate about the way forward and who they want to take them in that direction. As an ex-Chair, I’d be happy to participate in that interim Board in any capacity except Chair. At the moment, the only person showing any willingness to address the issues is Caley D and some of the criticism he’s presently attracting is grubby. His recent history of working for the club is something that should be used to CJT’s advantage, not as an object of scorn. He might well cause ructions in his way of putting his case but he has the tenacious character to front it up and take it on. He also might be able to contain any factionalism. He would make the Club take notice and for that I would support him. At present, people know who Don is and most of you know who I am. I don’t hide behind an anonymous user name when putting my views forward. That isn’t the case with some others on here who appear to be taking an approach that damned the old Board but don’t really fancy the potential replacements that they imagine might be getting the nod as we speak. Heads up, there isn’t a big queue of people wanting this gig and I do think that with the technology at our disposal we can involve people living outside of the Highlands as Directors. So IHE, Kingsmills, Charles Bannerman, Caleyboy, Renegade etc. Stand for election and get involved in whatever capacity you can and influence what happens. It’s hard work but it is fun.

What a strange thing for a grown man to post.

Holding a pre-Election forum to present the perceptions from current Board members (preferably ones also seeking re-election) and open questions sounds like a very good idea. If I lived closer then that is what I would be seeking. However DD - put your name forward and if there is not sufficient interest then pull out - with understandable reason. The thing that got me is that certain individuals have been butting in and putting people off with their tainted views with NO intention whatsoever of helping out.

Yes. I think that would be very helpful. It must be clear to anyone who has read through the various recent threads on CJT that significant work is necessary to get CJT functioning at a level where the Board can be seen as legitimately representing the supporters and where it would be able to defend any challenge of legitimacy in exercising its 10% voting right on the club's Board if there was ever a need. Beyond that, there is much that a Supporters' Society could be doing routinely in working with the club in the mutual interest of the supporters and club. There are 10 places on the Board for elected members and for some considerable time the Board has had substantially less than that. Clearly that impacts on what can be achieved. The more people who are prepared to serve on the Board the more there is that can be done. I am certainly prepared to consider putting my name forward but | don't want to find myself in a position where nobody else new comes forward. Were that to happen, it is unlikely I would be able to make any meaningful difference and I don't want to feel I am wasting my time. There must be others who feel the same way. Meeting to discuss how we feel and to learn a bit more about what is involved might well provide enough mutual support and encouragement to allow sufficient people to put themselves forward to make a real difference. If, after learning a bit more about it, people decide that they don't want to stand for the Board after all, then at least they may be encouraged to provide some help and support in an unofficial capacity instead. I would imagine those on the Board will be grateful for all the help they can get. The more people who are willing to help out in some capacity or other, the easier it is for people to volunteer without feeling that everything is going to be dumped on them if they put themselves forward.

Players who have something to prove after coming back from injury (particularly those who have been released by their clubs) can be a great asset, as they feel that they have something to prove...Craig Dargo fell into this category, as did Mr Vigurs (this time around)...arguably, you could include Aaron Doran too (I'm sure he would have had a move away by now, if he hadn't been injured). Give the guy a chance - it's potentially a way of signing players that we may not otherwise be able to afford.

27 year old doesn't want to move, but willing to play part time football, massive lack of ambition.