Leaderboard

I find this whole situation very worrying. This to me smells of desperation and a current crisis financially. This is like trying to put a plaster on the situation here and now whilst at the same time giving yourself 15% less money which seems crazy. A club with no money that can afford to get 15% less from sponsors. There is so much focus from the club on the battery farm and with it seems much confidence that it will get the go ahead down the line. I think until they know 100% that the battery farm will go ahead then it needs to be forgot about and not factored into our clubs future. Its a very sad situation we find ourselves in and the outcome of this crisis might just be every fans fear unfortunately.

As we head to the end of the season, if only we had an alternate income stream to use the facilities during the summer. If only someone had thought of a concert venue for some 'has-been' artists appealing to boomers.........

I assume our Chairman has been quoted correctly in his letter to sponsors, otherwise the club would probably have issued a correction of some form. What I find really disappointing is that he again makes the argument that permission should be given because the club is making such a positive use use of green space elsewhere in the City. He was rightly criticised on this point by several Councillors at the planning meeting and yet he keeps banging on about it. He just doesn't seem to understand the basic fact that those making the decision on a planning application need to be seen to base their decision on matters pertaining directly to the application. Getting in a public huff about the fact that elected Councillors and Council Officials have not allowed other matters to be a factor in the decision, only further sours the relationship between Club and Council. It is, frankly, naive and embarrassing. The relevant and much stronger "green space" argument is that the proposal contains a commitment to plant a variety of trees and shrubs on the site which will increase both the biodiversity and the carbon capture potential of the site. I'm afraid I don't have a lot of confidence that the decision will be reversed. I also think it would be prudent to plan on the basis that it won't go through. If I was a sponsor I would not be paying my sponsorship early, I would want to be holding back and seeing what the promised financial restructuring involved.

The 'help the club continue in its current form' is the most worrying part of that letter.

This is the wording of the Chairman’s letter to sponsors, with contact details removed: I am writing to you today, firstly to thank you for your backing of our football club, and secondly to appeal to you to kindly continue that support. As I am sure you are aware, we have recently and very disappointingly, had planning refused by Highland Council for the installation of a 4 acre battery energy storage farm on the site of the former Fairways Golf Course, the reason given was due to loss of green space in a private green space area of 200 acres. This is despite the fact that one of our many important and impactful Caley Thistle community projects involves the complete resurrection of a significantly larger green space adjacent to Inverness Royal Academy, which is a ten acre site that will be used as a community hub for the city and beyond, promoting physical and mental health wellbeing for thousands of people both young and old in the Highlands. Our quest to seek planning permission for the battery farm has now been escalated to Scottish Government level and it is our strong expectation that the Highland Council’s decision will be overturned on appeal but this will take a number of months. What this means is that we face significant pressure on our cash flow. To that end, I am writing to all our sponsors to ask if you would be able to help us through this situation by renewing your advertising with us slightly earlier than normal. If you are able to renew by return, it would be hugely appreciated by everyone at ICTFC and will not only help the club continue in our current form, but it will also allow us to continue the great work we do in the city and beyond, especially as we enter our 30th anniversary. If you can help us, we would be able to thank you for that support by offering a 15% discount on last season’s price for an early renewal. If you can help, please contact our Commercial Director Keith Haggart, either on his email address of ——- or by mobile ——-. Finally, as ever, on behalf of myself, the Board of Directors and Executive team, it is a privilege to serve our football club and we thank you for being a part of the club which has represented the city so well in the last 30 years.

Then why delay the release?

The May 2023 results ought to be pretty good as they will include the benefit of reaching the cup final, as well as the profit we made from the concerts (renting the stadium out). The year to May 2024, however, will presumably see us revert back to losing £0.5m - £1m.

And those accounts are for the year that ended in 30 May 2023 so nearly another year has passed, which presumably has caused things to worsen further.

The club statement was that “in the first instance” he will be a CPO, and that “he will be involved in a number of roles”, which is interesting.

Scott Gardiner being no longer required saves the club a reported 100k a year . It’s not rocket science to anyone that he needs to go . It’s been one disaster after another for our much disliked CEO . How can the club expect any sponsor to inject cash into the club when money like this is squandered on paying his wage . Has he actually achieved anything significant since his appointment or was it just jobs for the boys act with Ross Morrison ? Seems to be more clowns about the club than Billy Smarts Circus .

Aside from cashflow they may want money in before the accounts are due at the end of next month, assuming they don't delay them again, and everyone gets a fuller picture of how bad a financial mess we're in.

Totally agree. Given his history there's not a chance Gardiner doesn't have a contract where he's rewarded for failure.

How about getting rid of our CEO (which we don’t need). I don’t trust Morrison or Gardiner I’m afraid!

This confirms what everyone understood from the comments made by the Chairman at the recent Fans' Meeting, and demonstrates the difficult financial situation, particularly if the Scottish Government Reporter does not approve the Battery Farm. It also highlights the importance of the Stronger Together initiative by the Supporters Trust, which is aimed at increasing the voice of fans within the club and, therefore, on the decisions that the club takes. It aims to raise funds to purchase shares in the club, but the Trust Board will only decide to purchase shares when it is happy with commitments given by the club. If you have not already given your support, it is easy to do, with full details in this thread: https://caleythistleonline.com/topic/36186-stronger-together-how-to-contribute/ In summary, the payment options are: To make a recurring monthly payment through Stripe, use this link: https://buy.stripe.com/5kA00Fe5U5Sq4YoaEE The link allows recurring payments to be made on a monthly basis. The default setting is £10, but you can change this to any sum by clicking on "Qty 1", which appears below "ICT Sharesave". Changing the quantity to 2 makes the recurring payment £20, changing the quantity to 5 makes the recurring payment £50 etc. To make a one off payment through Stripe, use this link: https://buy.stripe.com/28o9Bfd1Q4OmcqQ3ce Simply insert the sum you wish to donate. These methods are in addition to those available at the launch, full details of which are in our brochure: https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/stronger-togetherd The link contains all you need to make one off or regular payments via your mobile banking app or internet banking, and also a Standing Order form that you can print and complete. The Standing Order form has the Supporters Trust bank details pre-populated, with these details which also apply for payments via your mobile banking app or internet banking: Sort Code: 83-23-10 Account Number: 11486617 Account Name: Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Society Sharesave.

I don't believe our CEO is actually a direct employee of the club. From my understanding he's contracted as a consultant (and he's not the only one).

We need a full time employee to run the club, whether or not it is him. Also worth bearing in mind that it would probably cost a 5 figure sum to pay him off, at a time when we have no money.