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No wonder CB and others have abandoned this site.

Wasn't he called Blair?

I just feel its really bad timing to come out and request more money from the fans. Just now there is a feeling (rightly or wrongly) with a lot of fans that money is being squandered and money spent in the wrong areas. By this I mean not dealing with simple day to day stuff, filling hospitality (most have been half empty this season), selling naming rights for the club, advertising boards, even not being able to purchase a scarf in the club shop on match day! We have a new so called marketing expert but this far in the season I can see no improvement. So before I part with even more of my hard earned money, I would really like to see what the club are doing to maximise their revenue streams. Maybe this is happening and we are just not seeing it, but this is what I would need to know before I start donating money into the club.

Its a little more complicated than that I would think. Whilst the previous board may have overspent on a premiership budget with premiership income (plus the odd windfall from other clubs' European football escapades or indeed OFW bonus from the Euros), the concern here is current and ongoing problem highlighted in the auditors report. We have obviously taken steps to reduce our spending since leaving the premiership and we are now operating on a championship budget with championship income (leading to grumbles about the quality of play). Part of the issue may be a legacy from our time in the top flight, but not all of it. I would be interested to hear how we are aiming to plug this hole. Using the stands as collateral to our debts is a recipe for disaster and the admirable idea to crowdfund some more finances will - in my opinion - only scratch the surface. What is the plan ?

Entertaining game for one we didn't manage to score. Took a while to settle to the diamond midfield and Utd could have been out of sight. Gradually worked our way into the game and were arguably on top despite not creating much. Second half was really open and end to end. They were on top for a spell when they won the pen. I would have said it was a fair award. Coll lunged in to block the shot but took the players legs before the ball. Mchattie took an awful touch to draw pawlett into a rash challenge for his second booking. This killed the game as our lack of creativity against there solid unit meant the classic sit deep and let us punt it. Colls last second deflected shot was the closest I think we got. Draw might have been fairer but safranko did miss a great chance late on. If that is their starting 11 on Sunday we should hold no fear. They are a solid unit but hopefully tremarco, mccart, doran and another winger return so we can play 4-5-1 again. Tonight they targeted Rooney and got a lot of joy down his side. Thought Welsh was mom. Most played well I thought.

Survival is the objective. We can all enjoy living in the past but a future without ICT is unthinkable. I would still be supporting whatever the status we were at.

Taking paragraphs 2 and 3, you may have a point but that would almost certainly mean the end of full time football for ICT for many years and we would become a bit of a yo yo club like the Forfars and Arbroaths. Nothing wrong with that but is it what the fans really want, if so they need to come out and say that as that is the reality of what you suggest. As for paragraph 4, that to me is the major problem, we cannot seem to attract increased interest from the public in Inverness. Even when the club has been doing well, attendances have not increased and we even struggled to sell our allocation of tickets for the Scottish Cup Final. If we couldn't do that, it highlights a major problem that nobody can solve. Don't disagree with your point about the marketing and communications director. Disagree entirely with your comments in paragraph 5. The current board inherited multiple issues from previous boards, they did not know about the rental issues with the stands for example as far as I know and various other issues of a smaller nature also surfaced. It is easy to blame the board (or the manager/payers) but some of the blame rests with us as fans who don't turn out in the numbers they should. Statements like the one you make may well appeal to some fans but do not generate any real answers. I am not a cheer leader for the board but genuinely think they are trying to do the best they can for the club and are every bit as much of a supporter as the rest of us. In reality, our financial situation is nothing new as we have been in deep financial troubles previously, the major difference is that previously we had a white knight who rescued us and we were heading upwards, in football terms compared to where we are now. We have always struggled to break even or make a profit and, more often than not, made a loss. Just think of the situation Ross County would be in if Roy MacGregor did not pump money intyo it annually. Didn't he write off a million pound debt recently for them? In essence, the club is at a crossroads and cannot continue as it is without some sort of financial injection or becoming something radically different from what we have now. To suggest something different is, in my opinion, not facing up to reality.

Its not for me to tell you how to fix running your business. I'm not the one begging the public to fund the holes and plug the gaps due to financial mismanagement. Demonstrate what has been achieved with the current youth programs - we have had little to no break through into the first team historically. Right now removing some full time (experienced if you call them that) players to use that money back into youth development might be a better longer term strategy. This chasing a dream of getting back to the Premiership and everything will be rosy is a falsity and not all fans buy into it. Go search and look for posts and threads, even mine if you like as there is plenty said about footfall, lack of communication and the lack of marketing strategy. For a club that announced it has a dedicated resource in charge of this - then why has there been no improvement and if by general consensus its gotten worse? I'm sorry you come on a public platform announcing your position and get upset with opinions, but the reality is that not everyone on here will cream themselves because they can access a board member. Statement coming out of the club constantly cause concerns and suggest that its all been smoke and mirrors for years (especially the finances) - while you may be all trying your best and whether the investments are pennies or pounds its a choice that you make so don't bite the hand that feeds you or start criticising fans or you may find footfall drops further.

So you'd be happy to lose the youth?. Go part time ? Please also if you could quantify and clarify your boardroom points I'd be all ears. Along with the long term plan. Personally I don't have an ego that needs boosted and I m pretty sure none of the others do either but if you think you can do a better job by all means get in touch . My email.is [email protected] I do this for nothing. I've put a bloody fortune into our club to keep it going so glib remarks like that **** me right off.

Hopefully trying to paint on the track of the 500 - during the race.

I get where you are coming from, but the simple fact is that football clubs cannot be compared to any other traditional businesses. Where else would you have people throwing money into a loss making business year after year other than football clubs or some other comparable venture where loyalty, support and tribalism is more important than profit. Whether you have 250 shares or 250,000 shares in ICT you did not buy them for any expected return. However, you can only go to the well so many times before it dries up so yes there does need to be a plan and it does need to be communicated to the supporters openly (and quickly by the sound of it). Depends on how much those individuals are being paid, how much revenue they generate, and how crucial the tasks they perform are. For those whose main task is to bring in revenue then its easy to measure if targets were reached, but for those who may provide support services or perform duties that enhance the matchday experience then its harder. We know that after our first relegation the staff was pared to the bone, perhaps too close to the bone, and many staff were let go with those remaining taking on multiple roles. I am not sure how things stack up now but given my dealings with a few folk then some of those same people are still doing multiple roles ....

Ross As someone for who Hearts was their big team before league football came to Inverness, and still spends some time on the Hearts boards here are a few observations: The fan supported model is hostage to the massive throwing the toys out o& the pam when results, or a result, goes the wrong way. Imagine a number of pledges being cancelled if the penalty shootout had gone the other way last week. Look on Jambos kickback for the number of people threatening to cancel their pledge after eithe a bad result or an indifferent run to see that that income stream may be hard to predict For the fan ownership thing to work, I feel it has to be in partnership with some more stable money. As with anything, it really helps if you have an idea of your income. If a large amount of this income can change on a whim, or equally a change in circumstances (we currently live in uncertain times). Both St Mirren & Motherwelll have tried something similar - to what level of success I genuinely don’t know. It would be worth canvassing both sides of those situations to see how it might work for us. My ultimste fear is whether we could raise enough from our fans to make this work. Hearts have a much larger fan base, and I don’t know these things scale. But any and everything is worth exploring in these financially challenging times.

I would support this. Think it is a great idea.

To try and compare us to Hearts is absolutely ludicrous we are not even remotely similar in terms of fan base and local involvement within the club. My concern is that we are on the brink of entering administration let’s be honest these rumours and we have all heard them have been circulating in Inverness since we were relegated. Worrying times regardless. Dougal

So if your local shop stops trading because they cant compete - would you start giving them donations? No, you'd let them either restructure and trade accordingly or go to the wall. This whole idea that the club trades on loyalty of hard working individuals who often already contribute to offer even more in return for nothing seems naive. Its time for the board members (afterall they have each chosen to be there) to make the hard choices of how to restructure the club and move it forwards in a long term and sustainable way. Begging for money is not the solution - however if there are affluent fans who want to throw their money into this pit then go ahead, maybe they will even create a plaque with your names so you can all get the plaudits from the rest of us.

The fans or a lot of them were right behind foran desperate for yogi to get the sack madness putting a rookie in charge! Mind the last game of the season the players getting a standing ovation from sections of fans not moi obvs for a complete disaster of a season with ramifications could last for years wtf

That's standard accountancy speak in annual reports. They have to weigh up all the potential contingencies, however remote or unlikely and report it in dispassionate terms. Nearly every company trading at a loss will have something like it in their annual accounts.

I might be interested if the cash went to youth development, specific stadium project and/or gave some supporter control. Rough estimate this season on what I've spent at ICT (not counting away games) between season tickets, food/drink, strips and merch, daughter's birthday party and mascot package must be over a grand. There's no way I'd put cash into the player budget to help pay for someone who likely works less hours a week than I do and who is better paid than I am.

simple. we can't afford him. that's why he was/is out on loan.

I agree Alan we have to field our strongest teams for both games and I hope to win both! Robbo just has to tell the team its Ross County in different colours

There isn’t the same possibility for the sort of scheme that Hearts ran. Living in Edinburgh there are a lot of armchair Hearts fans who contributed to the Foundation while rarely going to games. My brother-in-law pays into it and he probably goes to two or three Hearts games a season. We don’t have that sort of fan base so the people you’d be asking to pay for it would be season ticket holders, it’d effectively be a price rise. Rather than trying to squeeze more money out of our existing season ticket holders we should try and encourage people to come back through the turnstiles. The reports in the press say that we are 30,000 fans down. We must have a database of people who have bought tickets for games but don’t have a season ticket or used to have a season ticket but don’t anymore. Have we reached out to this group of people to find out what would bring them back? The main thing is to get a successful team on the pitch. If we get to the Scottish cup semi final and somehow manage to win promotion it will be the best way to boost things.

Firstly, Ross I wish you well in your new role and hope you make a success of it. I have liked the way you have engaged with the fans on here in your first couple of weeks. I’m not sure how I would feel in contributing even more money to the club. I have been an ICT fan for 25 years and a Thistle fan for 10 years previous to that. I’d say I’ve probably had a season ticket for on and off for about 25 years of those 35. I will have contributed thousands of ££ in tickets, merchandise, car parking, food and drink at the stadium plus at the social club and wider throughout Inverness and Scotland for away games. Why would I want to contribute even more in addition to that? Why should fans of other clubs pay what we pay but get Premier league football, new signings, good catering, nice stadium, not seeing all their best players leave, positivity. But we don’t? It’s not my fault all the supporters and money have all slipped away. It’s the job of the people in charge of the club to keep the fans engaged and look for constant new investment. This hasn’t happened, clearly. I’ve kept my side of the deal. That said, personally I am willing to give this new board a chance. I feel it has a willingness to recognise there are big problems that need addressing. For any additional investment from fans though there needs to be tangible benefits. Wether that be free hospitality for a game or even a discount at the catering outlets. Just something. We can’t just be taken for granted all the time. Robbo blaming the fans the other week was a big own goal for me. Rather than moaning about them he should of been thanking them profusely for turning up and keeping the club going when so many others have turned away. Also, I’m not sure how I feel about using any additional money from fans to give to players wages. I feel in general that footballers wages are completely out of control and that filters down to our level. I’m not sure how I’d feel if I was contributing extra money each month and that money was going to guys on good contracts playing in the Scottish championship, who then disappear when another club with even more money turn up. These guys are probably earning more money than some fans and it doesn’t feel right to me. Ross, it’s not easy and you have a hell of a job on your hands, but I wish you every success with it. I probably would contribute a little extra if you follow through with positive changes.

The Travel Club fund raise to ensure fans can go to all away games to support ICT. Buses cost money - the fares are low due to the fundraising by a few loyal fans, the Club and players appreciate the travelling fans. What’s your problem with that?

The time to consider such 'get out' clauses was when the contracts were initially negotiated and agreed. For whatever reason, those managing the club at that time did not take that prudent step and we continue to pay the price for that.

Playing guys who aren't fully fit is weakening the team...the club made a big deal about our youngsters who signed last summer - these boys, or the best of them should have been given more experience by now so going into March they could be trusted to step in when required. As it stands we've hardly seen them play in the 1st team and (maybe correctly) fans are unsure about putting them in to give an unfit senior a break. This isnt just about The Dundee games, but the season as a whole - injuries tend to build up as the season wears on and we shouldve had a better look at our squad depth by now.

Yes, spot-on there. Agree or disagree with him CB's comments and posts were always worth reading.

Are we skint or what then more cuts required on the playing front?? Foran should kit us out free gratis with his new sportswear kit seeing as it was that Fudd along with the previous chairman who backed him who have pretty much fcked our club!

I do miss his comments on the forum even if I didn't always agree with him.

To be fair Charlie did look cagey when Peter Paul caught him with the free drink.

A spy camera mounted on a craft in the under-pitch aquifer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periscope_(app) https://www.periscope.tv/

Maybe the club could introduce a cost cutting initiative in the boardroom. Replacing Diet Coke with tap water for the local press would save on the supermarket bill at least. Every bit helps no matter how little. Dougal

Football clubs are a business and not a charity, we have a board of directors who need to see that there are several factors that need addressed for long term stability and development - reduce playing budget, get rid of high earners and jobbers then introduce youth - develop a plan for long term success and stability, even if it means relegation to League 1 and P/T team - invest more into youth teams and building a you squad with marketable assests - increase footfall - establish why with a marketing & communications director we are worse than ever - clear out boardroom dross and get fresh ideas and people instead of those looking to ego boost and maintain an old boys/girls network Sort out some of these points and have the club put together a business plan outlining what as fans we would be investing in and there may be some interest - right now its just throwing cash into a bottomless hole to help bridge the mismanagement & financial gaps that the directors need to address.

maybe the travel club could rattle buckets outside the stadium to raise money for the club and then pay for their own travel to games which might help