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One thing the Trust exhibits which the Club does not is a democratically elected Board. If you and other fans are unhappy with the current Trust Board, you and they are free to join the Trust, put yourselves up for election and/or vote for others who would also like to see a change. By voting with your feet, you are, in effect, voting for a continuation of the very thing you are complaining about. The fact is, that the 6 current members of the Trust Board are the only supporters of this Club who currently demonstrate the willingness to take on the responsibility and accountability that being on the Trust Board entails. They have also ensured that the Supporters Trust together with the 10% voting right in the Club on behalf of supporters continues to exist. But the future direction and success of the Trust is not going to be dictated by the current Board members, it will be dictated by the views and the numbers of those fans who join the Trust and express their views through it. If some fans don't want to be part of a collective voice, that's up to them. The Trust Board is also more accessible than the Club. They have a desk in the Sports Bar and members of the Trust Board are present there before most home matches and are available for anybody who wants to have a chat. In addition if you email the Trust, you are likely to get a response – unlike sending an email to the Clubs SLO address. If you feel that a change campaign is the best way forward, then the best way for that to be successful must be for it to be done through the Supporters Trust. If enough people want a change campaign, there will be enough people to make that the strategy of the Trust. As I said above, the Trust is a democratic supporters body and as such, any campaign will be far more successful as part of the Trust strategy than as a separate group working against the wishes of the recognised democratic supporters body. Having a campaign quite separate from the wishes of the Trust would be playing into the hands of certain people in the Club who are quite happy to encourage a divide and rule situation. As supporters, we need to be as united as possible in order to engage constructively with the club in addressing the concerns of supporters. The Matchday survey could be a changing point in the Club's attitude. It was encouraging that in the P&J article, the Club was quoted as saying that the 300 or so fans who completed the survey should be seen as a reasonable cross-section. We need to build on this. If the club is sincere in this view, then they will take the results of the survey more seriously. This is why it is so important for more people to join the Trust so that Trust membership is at a level of at least the number who completed the survey. Clearly, the more members the Trust has, the more representative it becomes and the harder it will be for the club to ignore. The survey therefore represents the best opportunity fans have had for many a year to get the Club to engage constructively in addressing fans' concerns. To be successful, it really is important that Trust membership increases significantly and that a good few more folk show a willingness to get actively involved in supporting the expressed views of the fans. Of course, the club might just decide to ignore the Trust and the fans they represent, but it makes sense to give them every opportunity to engage. If they choose not to, then it may well be that the kind of active protest campaign that Big Cherly advocates would begin to find more favour and could become the Trusts strategy too. Either way success is far more likely if campaigns are the strategy of a recognised supporters body and led by democratically elected fans representatives.

What a depressing thread to read. I was down in the dumps enough as it was, however, it’s highlighted some important issues so the original question is fair and relevant. I haven’t bought any merch this year but I didn’t last year either. This had nothing to do with any attempt at direct action to voice my displeasure/concerns about how the club is being run, instead it was purely because I can’t afford to buy the stuff at the moment. If I did have the spare cash to do so then I still would as I don’t see how withholding any funds helps the club out of the situation we’re in. If I lived locally again would I buy a season ticket if I could afford it? Tbh, possibly not, but I’d like to think I wouldn’t give up on the team on the park. So what action can I take? Well I’m going to add my support to the ST and see if I can give them the shares I bought donkeys years ago when I was flush. STFU, I don’t fully get your beef with the ST but respect your views. I’m afraid I’m one of those people who is unable to ‘read a room’ or understand the political machinations of the infighting that has taken place over the years at the club. I naively plod along thinking everyone has the same interests and goals with the best interests of the club at heart. Of course, personal agendas, greed and the self-importance of certain personalities are always lurking in the background, I just don’t understand it so don’t get involved. It seems to me that a stronger and more influential ST with a louder voice is the best way forward for the fans. Might not be the best option, I don’t really know, but I get the impression that they are genuine and hardworking folk with a helluva lot more integrity than those running the club so they get my respect and support.

Three of our youngsters have signed two year deals: Sam Nixon, Calum MacLeod and Jack Walker: https://ictfc.com/three-ictfc-academy-graduates-sign-deals/ Nixon appeared as a trialist off the bench in the Elgin friendly.

I’m a member of the Supporters Trust because despite all the criticism and objections to its purpose, every little helps (blatant cringy Tescotown reference). I suppose that not living in the Sneck skews my viewpoint as there’s hardly anybody I don’t get on with so there’s no personal politics involved.

If that quote from the club is correct and completely in context, then it is worrying. I am guessing it came from the CEO as it sounds like the kind of verbiage he has used in the past. If so, then exactly what does this employee of the club, which is owned by its underlying shareholders define as a "strong and relevant" group? If we assume that the season ticket base is somewhere between 1000 and 2000 as often quoted, then is the definition of "strong" or "relevant" 10% 20% or 50% of that number? Who has arbitrarily decided the level or does it vary depending on how accountable you choose to be? Does an organisation with 200 paid members and a minimum 10% voting right in the organisation for which this employee works cut it? no? 500 members with the same 10% right? If so why the delineation based on number rather than voting share? We (CTO) have - on average - 5000 unique 'real people' per month visiting the site when you exclude anonymous visits, bots, search engines etc. Are we strong or relevant? or, as has been levied at us in the past are we just a bunch of whingeing naysayers in the eyes of some folks and happy clappers in the eyes of others? Are sizeable numbers of Twitter and Facebook users relevant even though not organised into a single cohesive group? Social media postings, even on an individual basis if strong enough can often cause policy changes in even the biggest companies. What about Podcast listeners? or Travel Club members? or section 94? all of whom seem to be relevant to the club sometimes and not others. Bottom line is that when enough people from all of these disparate 'groups' are unhappy about the situation then the powers that be should really take notice. Whether you are a proponent of the Trust or see issue with it, it doesnt really matter, the reality is that the survey is an excellent document and one that the club would be ludicrously stupid to ignore or write off just because it says what they don't want to hear. The highlighted bit is the money shot here IMHO. We have been through all of the highs and lows together and for most of it we showed "TogetherNESS" as the old cliche went ... but sometimes during our 29-year history, we have gone it alone with the support and club badly misaligned. These have typically been the deepest lows and the club at those times has become more and more insular thinking it protects itself if it does not communicate. This is the worst I have seen communication in my memory and to be sure, it does NOTHING to protect the club, just alienates more and more people. For fans to not even get a reply from the SLO or when fans send generic emails with zero controversy and those are still ignored, is unacceptable and if we were ever to aim for the premiership again, this would also pose a problem for achieving UEFA club licensing for the top division. Its not that hard. You start with the small stuff. reply to emails and engage the support. Perhaps one day you can graduate to multiple paragraphs or regular communications? ^ this % You are entitled to your opinion, but I can't really agree with this. Over the last 29 years there have been various incarnations of official supporters' organisations with varying names. The commonality between them is that they were always run by unpaid volunteers, who have the club in their heart. Is it the same group of people? yes, quite frequently its the same names in the frame every year, but that's because these are often the only ones stepping up. Do those people become jaded after a while? absolutely - talking from experience on that one. You can only bang your head against a brick wall so often. In the case of specific individuals you mention, yes, they did a good/great job of engagement either while volunteers or in some cases while in the employ of the club, but I think in those cases life happened with job changes, moving houses etc. or they also banged heads against brick walls, so they no longer actively participate. Again, you are entitled to show your displeasure how you want, and it is perhaps wrong of me to comment in either direction given that, other than the player sponsorship (for last season, or for the season just started) which we have heard nothing about since the end of the season, I have very little commercial interaction with the club or local businesses except when visiting. Wholeheartedly agree about the concert debacle and to this day I wonder why they never looked to talk with (or perhaps they did?) someone like Les Kidger or Kenny Cameron who had previously run successful concerts either at the stadium, as a (CK Events) partnership, or on their own. indeed. All seems very unsustainable. Think it has pretty much been like that for a few years hasn't it? Getting to that point too. For me, one of the best (worst) examples of where we wasted money we didn't need to, was Pixellot or whatever it was called. Through the years with volunteers like Don and Andy and others ICT built a pretty good (dare I say award winning) social and broadcast media team, but it seems that this was not really good enough for some as volunteers are (and to an extent always have been) viewed with suspicion at ICT. "What are you after?", "Why are you doing this?", "What's in it for you?". Some people can't grasp that volunteers can simply be in it because they want what's best for their club and are willing to put in time or services if they cant pour in hard cash. In the end we chose to replace that perfectly good arrangement of Andy doing the excellent camera and editing work with a baldy headed social media moment that still does the rounds on social media and not in a good way. Why did we do it? Was it because the perfectly good system in place needed replacing? or was it more to do with it not being an idea that came from a specific source? That ethos is a sure recipe for failure and its painful to watch.

So what are people’s realistic desired goals for the club? What are the measurements of success that some demand? Reading this I see a lot of complaints about communication and style of play. Some of the actions suggested here don’t make much sense to me. boycotting businesses that support the club seems the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard off! Some people feel a loyalty to a club and support through thick and thin. If people stop supporting supporting businesses and walk away they (the businesses) may never come back leaving the club an even worse state financially.- indeed totally precarious! There is a good youth set up which costs a lot but has been producing some decent players. Surely that has to be at the core of what a community club is? Producing and developing local talent from the Highlands? so, if it were your business, give us your realistic goals and your methods of achieving them?

This is being played for the first time in 18 years as we play Clach at Grant Street at 1930 on Tuesday 22 August.

Can't be they are both insane.

no idea no idea no idea From a personal point of view, I think most people would notice any improvements just as we see the opposite right now. For me, if I see incremental improvements based on changing behaviour (rather than one-offs), signs that we are moving in the right direction, then that might start to satisfy 1 & 2 for me. For others, what they want to see may be different. In some ways, that's where the survey comes into play. It's a representative document with a broad cross section of respondents so if the club want to sit down with the ST and discuss how things can improve and set "SMART" goals then I am fine with that. Plan 'B' no idea, but I hope no-one really has to look to that as that would indicate the club are continuing to ignore the very real concerns of their shareholders. I always remember this (or similar) graphic from a training session decades ago where I was encouraged to set realistic and measurable goals - I try to stick to that to this day ....

Better get the Tardis looked oot.

ICT @ 3.75

For me, I think the best option - whether some agree with the organisation and its current leadership or not - is to make the Supporters' Trust "strong and relevant". Call out that statement for the BS it is!! An inbuilt voting share of 10% plus the potential to have other supporters to perhaps proxy their personal shareholdings to the Trust may be the quickest and possibly most effective way to have a voice heard. I hear the arguments made, and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but for those who decry the lack of communication from the club, then the Supporters Trust is at least communicating on here in this forum, and has been reasonably often, as well as the subforum they asked us to setup (https://caleythistleonline.com/forum/152-supporters-trust/) and it should be noted that they also just setup their own feedback forum on the back of the report: https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/forum Only issue I have is I don't use credit card for personal online purchases and there does not appear to be a PayPal or alternate payment option otherwise I would be reporting now that I have joined already because the 'strong and relevant' comment has tipped the scales for me.

Wise words Scotty. I’ve kind of bucked the trend here as I had a spurt of optimism at the end of the season, despite having been in the Dodds Out camp, or rather the Gers Lite Loyal Lackeys GTF camp for most of the season. So I bought a season ticket for the first time in many years, because I can afford it, although it’ll only get used 2 or 3 times. I only come up for home games nowadays if I’m staying over, or if there’s a deal on the trains. I was up for the Bonnyrigg game and the season so far has echoes of 2016-17. Going to mostly away games means the club doesn’t get any benefit although I try to buy the merch. I’m not convinced that boycotting solves anything as it appears that the business is on a knife edge anyway and the only road that leads is part time fitba and the seaside leagues, or worse. I’m in agreement with STFU and others that change is urgently required but as for what I’m going to do, if there was any kind of campaign worth joining, great, but otherwise I’ve no idea.

I want to, once again, feel like I am a part of the club and that the contribution fans make is valued and directed towards improving the overall experience. That experience is not just results, it includes matchday, fan engagement (particularly with younger fans), and something which we can take pride in. I don't have the time to give to, or faith in, the Supporters Trust. Sadly they exhibit many of the things we see in the club. An anonymous leader who only seems happy to put their name/face to the successes (the survey results), a lack of connect with the fanbase, the poor us "we're only a small team trying hard" excuse given whenever challenged, etc. When you look back to people like David Sutherland, Peter Murphy and Don Johnstone, you always felt like they were working to improve things, be that initiatives with the club or calling them out on shortcomings. They were visible, available and engaging. Strange, or maybe not, that you no longer see or hear from them?! I get what you say about boycotting businesses, but I feel it's the only option left to me. My hope? That if the club won't listen to fans, then they might start listening if/when other income streams start drying up. The club's actions already mean fewer eyes on ad boards and strips, so no fans, no value to businesses in paying for these things. Include the failed concert shambles and the reputational damage caused there, and even the most resolute of optimists can surely see that the threat to corporate support already exists, I'm just being more direct in the (small) hope that someone who can change things realises before it's too late. There are already people on the board propping up the club financially. I don't believe lack of resource is the issue, it's the misuse of that resource that finds us where we are. Just think of how much more could be filtered towards the team and improving infrastructure if we weren't paying for a CEO, a Sporting Director, a Video Analyst, a Sports Scientist and what appears to be 2 assistant team managers who are moving the club backwards on and off the park. We have a bigger senior staff contingent now than we had when at our most successful, and are now at our worst in nigh on 20 years. The Youth setup, I believe, is now a separate entity from the club and does not draw any financial resource from it. The same goes for our Community section. The club can take little/no credit for that these days (other than use if the name), but they do, and lack of transparency on how it all works allows that to happen. It's not as if all of this just started happening. As others have said, the decline has been 7/8 years in the making. This is not a knee jerk reaction from fans, and there are zero positive signs of change. The current Chairman, Board and CEO have been in place for long enough now to get past any honeymoon/bedding in period and it is clear that they are not willing, or not capable, of halting the decline, let alone reversing it. For me, enough is enough.

I suppose an issue is also that we came from the bottom and saw winning and entertaining football for many years and appeared to be consolidating a top league position. We have dropped a level and the fare has too. I often have comparison thoughts between Pele and Dodds which brings on a shiver !! I will be ICT tillidie but the main source of my anger is that the club are ignoring the support. It is clear that there is a broken dressing room and nothing has actually changed or even looked like changing. And where has the cash gone from the Cup run. It has helped balance the books which is a success for some. Fraid that this forum - and probably the survey - is populated by the pi$hed off and I would love to hear the views of the faithful and the yoof

I understand DD you’ve invested a mountain of time and effort for the ST, no less the match day experience survey, and act a link man between the ST and the forum. It’s a love of labour I would think and all credit to you, you do it tirelessly and exceptionally well! So down to you note. The issue or ‘charge’ is by a good number of disgruntled fans is the club has been in a steady decline both on and off the park since we won the Scottish Cup in 2015. This rate of decline has been more pronounced under the current CEO, Chairman and Board (the power holders to use my term). The concerts fiasco alienated and cost long stand local small businesses and the outcome by the powers was to close the concert Co and do a Pontius Pilate. They control the money so ignore any approach and hide the facts on how vulnerable the club are doing. They have lost the connection with a lot of life long fans with their apparent couldn’t care less approach. Bottom line they can do a lot of damage to what is left of the club before (and they will in my view) ultimately departing on to somewhere else. Their are three options as I see it to influence the ICT power holders 1) Keep things as they are and continue to support and fully back and finance the status quo and hope things improve. 2) Hope that an Alan Savage like saviour with a big bag of money takes over and invests heavily in the club and ground. 3) Enough fans rally behind a change campaign and make moves to implement change. I’m in the last camp, although as I explained earlier, it’s the slow train route for me as I think it’s the more sound route! You’re clearly in the ST route. I respect that but I don’t agree with it as it’s a retread of an already limited structure that the powers have shown to ignore. The ME survey was nice but in my opinion says a lot of stuff that any clubs fans would say! Respectively, it would not influence the power players except on the periphery. Maybe it’s a combination of both, I don’t know. But I fear this hierarchy getting lucky and staying in power too long. bc

What are you going to do about it? Good question and one that is difficult to answer. I don't think boycotting advertisers/sponsors bushiness will make one jot of difference to the goings on on the pitch, dressing room and board. I've not bought a shirt for a number of years apart some leisure gear. My attendance has dwindled over the past few years. After winning the cup in 2015 and the break up of the team it left me feeling deflated and apathetic. It's a 700+ miles round trip for me to get to an away game and close to 1000 for a home game. For me to do that now it really does need a serious wake up call concerning events on the field.Yes, my home games coincided with a weekend away but a poor game would put a dampener on it so I (we) don't bother so much these days. I only went to two games last season (both glory hunting trips to Hampden). I had plans to go to a couple of others but these were scuppered by the fixtures being changed to satisfy TV. I haven't bought a newspaper for many years so the boycotting of those was in place about 20 years ago. Only paper I sometimes get now is the Metro but that's usually in the Winter months as it's good for lighting my woodburner. As mentioned about in this thread, we do have a voice via the ST. The more that join this the louder the voice will be. Those that haven't renewed season tickets or purchased merchandise could join the ST instead. It's only a fiver, which in some parts of this ruined country, is less than the a price of a pint - and it lasts a year (longer than some managers...except BD). To answer the question though, the only constructive thing I've done about is, I (We) have joined the ST.

I've no idea how many season ticket holders there are (1,200?) and I've no idea how many Supporters Trust members there are (200?) but maybe the club could clarify exactly how many are required for them to recognise it as representative? The fact that they keep complaining that it's not representative enough is ridiculous considering that there's no other single group around that is close and certainly none that hold 10% share rights regardless. The club should be instead grateful for the time and energy that those involved have put in and listen intently to what they (and the survey) have to say. However given that they ignore (like Robbo1985 has stated above) communication from individual fans and from the ST there's no way they will listen to anyone in any circumstances unless it suits them imo.

I’m in the same situation as Fraz. I love live football and will continue to attend, and I like to attend other games locally sometimes (apart from County!) when Caley Thistle are away. I think the next month will be telling. We have Ayr and Airdrie away then Dunfermline at home. A team we normally do well against and the two promoted teams. We should be aiming for 9 points and no less than 7, and our fans should be able to feel confident that we can achieve that, but how many of us are? Like STFU I don’t blame the players and I will support and encourage them in every game I am at, even when they gift goals which we seem to have become adept at. What I don’t get is how we had a game plan against Celtic and our defending was solid. That game plan was not hoofball but designed to play to our strengths, and we got a better result than we all expected. Why then don’t we have a game plan that suits our strengths and targets the weaknesses of the opposition in every game, with a plan B (and C if necessary). If we can do it for “big” games, we should be able to do it for every game. I really hope that the dialogue between the ST and the club is constructive and meaningful following the survey and that the ST are able to get the valid concerns about communication and the scale of our non-playing costs across to those in charge. We could all agree to bombard the SLO with e-mails voicing our concerns, with follow ups in the event that no replies are received. Surely that would be noticed by the club???

Ok Scotty Sound case and reasoning behind all groups back the Trust route. It’s open however on a few fronts for me. So respectfully my questions to you are: 1) what is the acceptable criteria to measure against for implementing change with the club powers 2) how long is the period to wait to measure any change / improvement. 3) what’s plan b bc