Leaderboard

We managed our most successful and most financially stable years in the top six of the top tier without a CEO. I failed to see why we needed one when YC was appointed and I fail to see why, with our hugely limited finances, we need such an appointment now.

I really don't think we need such a high powered position. What we need is a highly motivated, efficient commercial dept/manager to raise revenue including selling out hospitality at every home game. The club directors should be qualified enough to run the club structure and attract investment.

100% agree The matchday stuff is fine and usually pretty interesting, but outside of that, on a day to day basis any increase in presence seemed to be focused on shoutouts to companies that did some work for the club and got mentions - perhaps in lieu of a small discount? Not exactly enthralling or engaging and certainly not award-winning as we had been previously ! We have had 4 CEOs (or equivalent role with different job title) over the years and to be honest I am not sure what any have brought to the table in terms of justifying their positions or raising/saving more money than they were costing. Debbie and Morven were at least pretty likeable folk and I certainly had a number of run-ins with Mike Smith, but as I said above I cant really comment on anything other than my personal dealings with the most recent incumbent and those were far from positive. In fact, these were negative enough that after 25 solid years of sponsorship and free or low cost service provision to the club we literally want nothing to do with the commercial side. Thats no reflection on the sales staff themselves who are excellent, but the leadership. As Satan has asked ? Out of all the promises or goals that were mentioned back at the start of her tenure, what was actually achieved during that time? and at what cost both financially and in terms of relationship with fans and other sponsors? I am sure she worked hard and had ideas, and some may have found her very pleasant, but none of those things put money in the bank. Do we actually need someone? We have had 4 people take on that role - with different job titles at times - over 25 years and none of them have been a roaring success. A stadium manager and a senior sales executive reporting to a director rather than adding an extra layer and having them report to a CEO who then reports to that same director seems to have been sufficient for the majority of our existence. If we are going to replace her are we going to advertise the job this time and have an actual job description and pick the most suitably qualified candidate? Do we actually need someone? As I already said, some of our most productive years have been with good people in charge of sales and running the stadium without the title of CEO. People prepared to roll their sleeves up and do it themselves. They already did over the festive season did they not ? I must admit to finding this a bit strange too ... why jump now, just ahead of the 25th year celebrations ..... and the presentation of the accounts for scrutiny at the AGM !

I agree. Unless the person involved is guaranteed to generate substantially more additional income than their salary then, given how tight our finances are, the cost of a CEO would be better either saved or invested in the salary of a decent player.

If this were a front page article I might agree with you .. but its an article by their chief football writer who typically has decent content despite the rag-like content of the paper itself. (a bit like Bill Leckie and the Sun). Which part of his story is incorrect ?

I will give her her due in one respect ... she did not call me up at home (in Toronto) at 5am on a Saturday morning asking me to remove a critical post from CTO !!! If she had, she would have got the same response as he did !!

Seriously concerning. Any business the size of ICT needs to be run on the basis of consensus and cooperation. It sounds as though we are well rid but presumably those responsible for making the appointment are still in place and there must, as a result, be serious questions about their judgement and ability. If it was thought necessary to appoint a CEO last year why on earth was the post not advertised to try to attract the best and most suitably qualified candidates ? It appears that this person's lack of basic courtesy did not just apply to those out with the club who had backed it since inception but to loyal employees within who were working hard to turn things around while she spent ten months drawing what was presumably a substantial salary and achieving nothing obvious or tangible. As Scotty says, it's difficult to conceive of anyone with more disdain for fans and loyal employees of the club than Mike Smith but he does indeed seem to have a rival.

Questions then for the selection panel/hiring committee. Where was post advertised, how many applications were received, who did the long listing and shortlisting, was the interview process rigorous enough, were the references followed up on properly.... Oh, wait...

I, for one, am very sad to see her go. I really liked her and got on extremely well with her. Its a total bugger that shes gone , especially at this time as she had loads of different things on and different ideas to promote the club. She most certainly had the club at heart and worked 7 days a week for all the time I ve known her. Hopefully we can get a suitable replacement in who has the same enthusiasm in as quick as possible. Any potential candidates names would be welcome . We need someone on the ground with business and commercial local knowledge that has vision and doesnt mind getting their hands dirty. Apply within !

A Caley/Thistle or ICT connection is irrelevant IMHO. Business acumen and the ability to find, develop and maintain meaningful relationships that generate revenue or further the reach of ICT is far more important. I actually question whether this position is required or not. A club of our meagre resources may not be able to sustain that expense. Depending on which former chairman you speak with, it is seen as either a good idea or it is something that can be done by some combination of sales staff and directors thereby saving a significant yearly salary. I have no idea how she performed on a day to day basis as my only dealings with Ms Crook were on email - when she chose to respond - and based on those interactions I personally do not have a positive opinion on her presence at the club. These were not fan or CTO communications, they were business related ones, and to ignore people who are not only service providers but also sponsors, customers and shareholders is bad business.

Her husband's company now does the catering for hospitality and apparently it's much poorer than when red poppy were doing it. Not nepotism though, I'm sure it was a fair tendering process.

Pressreader makes it easier to read and an even scarier story : https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-daily-mail/20190307/283424897907476 . If true, this woman eclipses Mike Smith with consummate ease in terms of potential damage done to our club. If indeed true then good on the directors who rejected that ultimatum and good riddance ! This is another reason why we should not have a CEO meddling in football affairs. what does a CEO (any CEO we have had) know about the footballing side of the business. Nothing. I would rather have a Director of Football and a Director of Business on the board who managers responsible for each part of the club report to. Let them do their jobs on a day-to-day basis with governance in place to make sure everything is fine. Robbo and the Academy head would report to the Director of Football and whoever is the commercial and stadium managers would report to a Director of Business ... Looking at who we have lost, that's quite a number of good people and it seems she only fell when trying to oust yet another good person with a long history at the club in a part of the business she has no f***ing clue about. The more I re-read that article, the angrier I become at both her and the method by which she was installed in her position !

Apart from drawing a wage, what effect did she have?? Doubt many folk can pinpoint what she actually achieved.

Surely if one semi final is at Hampden the other one should be there too. I think to take away the venue at this stage is unfair on players and fans alike. Everybody thought the semi final was going to be at Hampden so thats is where it should be. If rules on semi finals venues are to be changed it should be done from next season so all clubs and fans ade aware of possibility of other neutral venue. Some players have never played at the national staduim and to take it away at this stage is not correct imo. Mark Ridgers was in paper yesterday saying he has been there 3 times as a sub but never actually played before. I understand the argument that only the final should be played there but that should be the case for all clubs. I have had a look at Hearts fans forum and they feel that Robbo is trying to be cute in getting game played at Eastwr Road as this would give us more of a chance than being played at Hampden. As far as Im comcerned this season should be Hampden as planned.

Unless you sign off with CFC or RFC you won't get one

Well the Scottish Cup high didn't last very long! The only "turmoil," at the club is financial, this is the same sensationalist garbage as this front page on Sunday.

You will be lucky to get children into any pub in London at that time on a Friday Night. Looks like a laptop in the room !!

I suppose that we don't know the background ? I find it difficult to believe that she is the proverbial rat jumping off the proverbial ship. Lets face it - it is AT LEAST a full time job and needs total commitment. If she has other "pies in the oven" (as they say in Wigun) then she may have personal reasons. Perhaps she is doing it to save us some money as well. Does the role need to be at a CEO level. Where do we apply ?

Agree.

Will work for food...! ? Aye, it's not the glamorous Karen Brady role, this is a CEO with plumbing skills - I think people have no idea what's involved doing a job like this at our level - me included - but we need to take our time to appoint the right person for the role

Find them all at https://www.youtube.com/user/ScottishCupOfficial/videos

Personally I feel Hampden should be reserved for the Final. Having said that, there is a need to be clear about where the semis are going to be played ASAP. One way to achieve that would be to play the quarter finals to a finish at the first time of asking. That way a venue appropriate to the geographical location of the teams and the anticipated crowd could be quickly decided. That would also help in reducing fixture congestion and in keeping costs down for fans.

Robbos at the wheel Tell me how good does it feel We've got Austin Sean Rooney and white Carl tremarco is f****** dynamite

No offence intended but this poll is mental. It's the Scottish cup semi-final, regardless who our opponents are it's gotta be hampden. The goal from the 1st round you enter, as players as well as fans, is to get to Hampden , that's the dream Also Dingwall or mcdairmaid would be shi*

Hampden isn't the special stadium, atmosphere makes a game. All the club's in league 2 play there every year. A packed stadium is far more a day out than an empty stadium. How many on here continually complain about the lack of atmosphere in the championship due to small crowds.

Try this before the youtube censors strike it! https://youtu.be/bfZLR3xnz5E

Some of the performances since then will have deterred plenty of casual 'fans' from returning. Holier than thou attitudes are so welcoming too.

Everyone knows there are always two sides to a story and you shouldn't believe everything you read in the paper! It is easy to lay blame at someones door when we don't know the individual or all of the facts. When Mrs Crook was appointed by the board her task was to reduce overheads significantly, increase T/O, and work with the community. Everyone at the club knew there had to be significant change as the club was hemorrhaging cash. We know most people don't like change - with change you expect people to step forward and offer support to address these challenges. When you're suffering financially like we are it's common practice that individuals will have to exit the business, thats a fact! Don't get me wrong it is great that people are loyal but loyality cannot be sacrificed for competency or cash! If you review Mrs Crook's short tenure she did achieve some significant milestones for the club Stadium now secured as an asset of ICT ICT Foundation established Financial position improved with operationing costs reduced. £810k loss not in her tenure. I agree with previous comments that a CEO is not needed at our club, our T/O is c£1.6m - surely the board can manage a business of that level. I mentioned earlier it's not nice to lay blame. However, we have to ask serious questions of the board at the AGM. It appears once again we have an incompetent board at the helm of our club. The board should have been transparent with Mrs Crook's appointment, and what communication did they have with the CEO during her tenure. Never mind all this s***e - we've got the Scottish Cup to win!

Who cares the time? CALEY ARE AT HAMPDEN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 5 YEARS!