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If that is the case (and I would imagine it probably is) then it illustrates what a serious financial position the club is now in. Yngwie makes some fair points about applauding the club for trying to find innovative ways of trying to keep the club at a level above what income from tickets sales etc could possibly support. That's fine, but the problem is the club has gone about these issues in an arrogant and often incompetent way. It takes the fans for granted in so many ways and simply ignores the contribution they can make. As a result, it has alienated many of the very people who would otherwise be contributing significantly to the long term future of the club. Regardless of the outcome of the Battery project, the club will continue to struggle as long as those people responsible for this alienation remain in charge. Even if they do make genuine efforts to change their ways, nobody is going to trust them. We need new leadership and we need it soon. We need leadership that embraces the supporters as part of the fabric of the club, perhaps even looking to move towards a fan owned model, but certainly having a supporters' representative on the Board. I don't care if we go part time for a while, or it we drop to Division 1 or even Division 2 if that is what it takes to reset and develop a sustainable business model going forward. I used to feel really proud of our Club, but at times now I almost feel embarrassed to tell people I support ICT. I want to feel the pride again, but that is not going to happen whilst the current regime are in charge.

To be fair, the rot set in before Morrison and Gardiner were in charge. Our high point came with the cup win and coming 3rd in the league in 2015. This was achieved with a bit of help from bigger clubs who had managed to self-destruct, but was also the culmination of a history of good management leading to our best squad ever being pulled together by Terry Butcher. He left us for Hibs, and Hughes capitalised on his inheritance by leading the club to success in the following season. Sadly, it has mostly been downhill since then. Not only was Hughes unable to recruit the quality of players Butcher had, his style of play was, at times, mind numbingly boring. Rather than building on the success of the 2014/5 season, fans started to drift away and the team started to struggle. What Hughes was good at was persuading the Board to give him money to pay players higher wages on longer contracts. Hughes then left at the end of the 2015/6 season and the Board, under Kenny Cameron, made the bizarre decision to appoint Richie Foran as manager on a 4 year contract. Foran did not have the experience or the resources to halt the slide and inevitably, we got relegated. Cameron resigned as chairman with Willy Finlayson taking over on a temporary basis. Foran left within days but apparently with 3 years of his contract still to pay off. John Robertson was appointed manager again and hopes were high that his appointment would see us return to the top flight, but with the financial shackles created by the mismanagement of the previous couple of seasons, it was not to be. Graham Rae took over as Chairman and he appointed Yvonne Crook as CEO. Crook might have had business experience but she knew little about football. She lasted less than a year before being replaced by Gardiner in April 2019. Morrison took over as Chairman soon after that. So, to be fair, the current management team inherited a difficult situation where the club had financial commitments for payments which were producing no benefit to the club. They were also hampered in their efforts by the Covid pandemic. But whilst they inherited a mess and have faced obstacles not of their making, the way they have gone about trying to reinvigorate the club have undoubtedly done more harm than good and have antagonised a lot of people on the way. It's time for a new approach.

Since relegation in May 2017 and up to year ending May 2022 the club had lost about £3M. The club is now another 2 years into the same hole. Despite some transfer cash (£200K Dan Mackay?), sell on clause boosts from Christie?, and reaching the Scottish cup final, I would not be surprised to see total losses from May 2017 to May 2024 > £4M. The chairman joined the club in 2018 and Gardiner in 2019. This creeping financial situation has unfolded on their watch. Instead of facing down the bread and butter basics of cloth cutting and improving the football business, they have made a sh1t or bust bet on a bizarre and controversial left-field project (I shudder when I see folk describe it as innovative).

I was wondering how long it would be til someone suggested the M word! I’d be open to a merger but my terms would be ICT’s name, colours, stadium and history, merging with Roy’s money.

Of course the club should be expected to live within it's means. There's also nothing to say that those willing and able to do so shouldn't be allowed to make substantial contributions (within financial fair play rules) which can be included within that. It's happened since day 1 with ICTFC, and at many other clubs. The problem here is that we have clearly gone way beyond that and are generating losses beyond that which they are willing/able to cover, and which the club cannot afford to repay. Should we have cut the wage bill? Definitely, and started with the CEOs. Youth setup? It's unclear how much the club actually pay towards this, but if we can't afford it, it should go...sadly. But congratulations on feeding into the "won't someone think of the children rhetoric" Financial loans? Should not be made if they are putting the club.in a financially precarious position, certainly not secured loans on club assets. Non-football income sources? Of course they should pursue these, but the current CEO/Chair have shown themselves to be incapable of coming up with anything that's actually doing this and have damaged the clubs reputation, and are threatening it's existence, in their many failed ventures. Recent tactics to delay the release of the y/e 2023 accounts would indicate that the club is no longer considered a going concern by the auditors, and it blows my mind that you are trying to defend the people, and their actions, which are responsible for that. Would you rather no club, than a club that operates within it's means at a lower level?

The club? Communication? WITH FANS!? Don't be daft

The thing about us this season is that we lose when I expect us to win and win when I expect us to lose. So on that basis I am expecting us to win because I expect us to lose. Or does that mean we will lose because, oh forget it!

Don’t even mention it! Last spring, when I was still writing a column for the Courier, I did one on what I’ve been saying here - that I don’t think the immediate local area can support two sizeable clubs and, that in a normal business scenario, a merger would make sense BUT (very large but) football is NOT normal business so the idea was inconceivable. However they published this online with a headline claiming I was calling for a merger and, with most people unable to go behind the paywall, I got serially slaughtered for something I didn’t say… and even rejected. In a football environment, it’s a total non-starter.

Of course a decent-sized place with a long and proud football history like Inverness can and should be able to support a competitive, full-time senior football club. The reasons for the ongoing financial failure of the club are of course deep-rooted and well-known.

Don't worry, guys, Action Man above is on hand to dish oot some bonnie layings on. Even has eagle eyes.

There's a fine line between banter and abuse. By all means give a player stick on the field if a performance isn't up to scratch, or have some banter with opposition players and officials, but, like the players, leave it all on the pitch. Once the game is done, its done. There is no reason to abuse/harass players off the field and especially not when they are with their family and/or children. That is wrong on so many fronts. We seem to manage this a lot with players who give it all for ICT at times ... Russell Duncan, Iain Vigurs, Liam Polworth, now Billy ... Billy is and has been a great servant to the club, and his record speaks for itself. He should not have to post the below tweet.

A visit to the form team Morton host Inverness on Saturday at 3:00pm. They are unbeaten over ninety minutes in their last 17 outings, including a 5-0 pumping of the Pars, a 3-2 win at Tannadice and they also knocked Motherwell out of the Scottish Cup. It wasn't that long ago Morton were below us in the table and now they are in contention for a play-off place at the top end of the table. Us, on the other hand, have slumped to ninth in the table with the distinct possibility of making a play-off place as well. Unfortunately, that's at the relegation end of the table. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Morton Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 22 12 6 4 48 20 +28 Away 20 11 3 6 38 26 +12 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 42 23 9 10 86 46 +40 We hold a fair advantage over Morton but most of that will be historical. More recently the pendulum has swung towards the Greenock club although we did take a point from the last encounter with them played at the Caledonian Stadium 0 - 0 Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Morton 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 2 - 2 (H) 0 - 4 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 0 - 1 (H) 6 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (A) Our last meeting at Cappielow ended in a 1 - 2 victory for the hosts. Sloppy Stuff in Greenock: Wallace Duffy missed out with a calf injury with Jake Davidson getting a rare start and the paternal David Carson was still on maternity leave. Good to see Roddy Macgregor was on the bench following another lengthy layoff through injury alongside Sean Welsh and Nathan Shaw. Morton had three players that were on our books recently. Defender Kirk Broadfoot, wide player Stephen Boyd and striker George Oakley. And it was that man Oakley that gave Morton the lead after errors in defence. Jack Baird smashed in a second ten minutes from time. Adam Brooks added a late consolation, but it was too little too late in Greenock as the revolution ground to a halt. Last Week Inverness have failed to beat two of their relegation candidates over the last week. A 1-1 draw at Arbroath, thanks to a late Cammy Harper strike, was followed by a goalless draw at home to Dunfermline in a rather turgid encounter as injuries curtailed the quality of both sides. Last Five: W L D D D Morton have no such issues after 17 unbeaten games. This week saw them gain four points with a win against Airdrie and a draw at Stark's Park against promotion chasing Raith Rovers, where Morton were unlucky not to come away with all three points having created the better chances. Last Five: L L D W .D It's not difficult to spot that none of the Inverness players feature in the top scorers list. However Robbie Muirhead and George Oakley of Morton are included. Ferguson has massive injury problems ahead of this game. The latest disaster has Charlie Gilmour out for the rest of the season. Just what we need with only ten games left to save our season. Nathan Shaw will miss a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury. Max Anderson should return after suspension. Portugese and Czech players on trial this week, we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, the Caley Jags are delighted to announce the signing of midfielder Samson Lawal on loan from Livingston until the end of the season. Lawal, 19 years-old, joined Livingston on a 3-year deal in August 2023 from Nigerian side Katsina United. We've got injuries, haven't we>>> Unbeaten in 17 games, Morton are on a high just now and are looking to get into second place soon. Morton team at Raith Rovers in midweek MacDonald French Baird O'Connor Strapp Power Blues Crawford Wilson (Gillespie 38) Quitongo (Garrity 82) Muirhead Subs Not Used: Murdoch; Bearne, McGrattan, Broadfoot, Waters

Arbroath’s result, whilst unhelpful to us, shows anyone can beat anyone in this league. We need to show that we can upset the odds too by beating Morton. I’ve a sneaky suspicion we can.

Big Dunc v Imrie....I think I know the result already...and it's not good. I really can't see us getting anything from this game but there is always hope even if it's extremely minimal.

And it does - the club is called Ross County!

You chasing a clean sweep of competitions this season?

Valid and fair points @DoofersDad and I can't fault your historic look back over the pre Morrison era. Perhaps they did not inherit the best hand. But Morrison has had about 6 years on the board and Gardiner has been employed as CEO for 5 years. On and off the pitch no progress has been made in that time - there is plenty evidence to underline how affairs are actually in reverse. As you say: the club seems as alienated as ever from the majority of the city population and its businesses. If they can't stabilise the finances and build a vibrant and growing community of supporters engaged and behind the club, they will always be bobbing from last minute loans to financial crisis to harebrained get-rich-quick schemes.

TBF I would say most of the loanees brought in under Fergie, have done pretty well [apart from Sheridan] Has Gilmour picked up the Welsh curse? We probably need another RB as Kerr is the only guy in midfield with experience other than Doran who isn't really a 95min game after game chap I still think we should recall Bray if we can, and Hyde come to think of it Our injury list is almost Dodds-esque At least we have a surplus of attackers at the moment [if they could learn to score!]

Well said Danger You know and I know there are large areas of Inverness who hate us profoundly I.e the communities of Dalneigh and Merkinch being two examples but sadly there are plenty more, they want us to fail and are delighted how much we are in free fall. ICT are a business catastrophe when you compare us to our neighbours 14 miles north. Look at the advertising for example around both pitches they have massive multi national companies pumping money into them while we have one man bands and local yokels etc Our advertising is more suited to a highland league outfit. Many business want nothing to do with ICT especially after the concert debacle but being honest the problem was there long before that. You are 100% right a city of 75k should be able to support a competitive full time senior football team easily. Would dropping down to part time status be such a bad think and regrouping it certainly would be better than administration or worse still liquidation. It happened to the orcs so it could happen to us. Dougal

We have a couple on trial from Portugal and Czechia to help cover.

Don't recall many getting much time from the last regime either tbf

Because the club is loss making and needs to show the Auditors that it is not insolvent and can be a going concern. It needs a guaranteed cash injection (rather than one that is hoped for) for the Auditors to sign the accounts off.

If the clubs financial situation is this bad and the survival off the club purely relies on the battery project getting the green light then the club surely needs to be transparent with everyone and ask for help from the fans and the community.

I can’t see that it would directly do so but (and this is only a guess on my part) if planning permission were to be granted on March 14th, then might that positively influence any “Going Concern” statement within any accounts issued after that date? Perhaps, as an Edit, I should add that the club’s “Going Concern” status has been a significant issue at at least one recent AGM.

My Prediction HT: 0v0 FT: 3v1 1st Scorer ICT: A Samuel 1st Scorer GM: Oakley Crowd: 1465 Caleyjags Prediction HT: 0v0 FT: 3v1 1st Scorer ICT: A Samuel 1st Scorer GM: Oakley Crowd: 1331 Yes peeps, we did predict these independently without the other knowing what we had gone for!

I have tried for years to be optimistic as I can about the financial future and, while several factors have been operating, I think there is one huge and probably unavoidable fundamental - the Inner Moray Firth plus some hinterland is an insufficient base for two “sizeable” football clubs. It was fine at the start in the Third Division with an added novelty factor, but as Caley Thistle and Ross County both grew and moved up the leagues, that progress was only made possible by £5M from Tullochs and some very good club and football management in the case of ICT and repeated subsidy of Ross County by Roy MacGregor. In County’s case, their latest loss of £579K has been announced today and that has been written off, as it tends to be annually, by their “holding company”. And even that level of ongoing subsidy is JUST keeping the club in the Premiership. In the case of ICT, the factors I mentioned there worked through the system some years ago and since about 2018 the club has been substantially loss making and dependent on ad hoc emergency handouts as it now clings to second tier status. There have also been other factors and members of the business community tell me that Inverness Caledonian Thistle is not flavour of the month in many quarters - especially since the collapse of the Concert Company where the club netted a large stadium rent before the company went bankrupt, leaving local traders out of pocket. The bottom line (personal view) is that the local area is unable to sustain these two clubs ant current levels and, should Roy MacGregor’s support of County end, the deficit would be even greater. However, in a football environment there is NO way out of a situation where two companies are fundamentally loss making in the same marketplace, unless one shrinks massively. It would appear that the battery farm might well be another short term fix, and a big one, but here there is a dilemma. Much as we would love to see this latest income source realised, the Councillors who will be making the decision are obliged to do so solely on the merits/demerits, practicability, safety, environmental implications etc. That the football club has a substantial financial interest cannot be a consideration in a completely isolated planning situation.

Presumably done in the hope that planning gets approved so they can get the accounts signed off by the Auditors. It surely confirms how perilous our financial position is, and that the Auditors are unwilling to sign the accounts off as they stand and without confirmation that the Battery Park income will be forthcoming. The future of the club is clearly now squarely in the hands of the 74 Highland Councillors entitled to be at the full Council Meeting. Increasingly worrying times.

A true credit to your regiment

They have all been out on loan since January and, in many cases, since before Ferguson arrived. I’m all for them getting experience and game time if they would only be fringe players with us, but not when it leaves us short handed like we are at present. Some of them could have been doing us a good turn just now, as I’ve said on the “Ferguson out” thread.

It comes across as if those in control don't know what they're doing. But, of course, we know that cannot possibly be the case!

As a supporter who has for long shouted, sang and spouted abuse to numerous players and managers over the years this one actually beggars belief. If you have an issue with somebody direct it at them and not their kin. COWARDS who should be identified. I have given him stick in a Tinkerville top but playing in our colours and his undoubted importance this season all he deserves his round after round of appreciatory applause.

Fully agree - I'd like to see a lot more of our own home-grown players given a chance in the first team.

I took in the Forres v Huntly game tonight. It was great to see Jack Walker and Sam Nixon playing. Walker was inspirational at the back. Hopefully we had staff there watching these lads. Walker looks like a future captain. Hopefully big Dunc gives these lads from our own youth system a chance

Have a scramble on the pitch at half-time tonight? Should be lucrative for the few spectators there, and will possibly be the best action on the pitch.

Was it not mentioned previously that the plan was now for a disabled platform or something? Surely that would also need a roof?

With the West Stand now being abandoned will the club finally designate an official singing/standing section? This way those who want to will know where it is and those who don't want to can (or will have no choice but to) move their season ticket seats.

A fair point Buckett on hindsight such a trip would indeed attract some of the worst type of Invenessians I.e the local press the pretend journalists the free loaders and the hanger onners!! Probably do more damage to Inverness than good. Dougal

Charlie Gilmour is out for the rest of the season.

Also wondering what happened to the physical cash that was taken in the bucket collection for it? Obviously not practical to return it