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We sponsored at least one player, sometimes more than one, for TWENTY-FIVE years. We stopped last year for one reason. That reason is working his notice (allegedly). We will think about resurrecting that sponsorship when he has left the building for the final time and handed back his keys and any other ICT property. It may only be a small amount when looked at individually, but that's the same story that we keep hear being repeated ad infinitum when it comes to ICT sales, sponsorship, season tickets and merchandise, so a lot of small amounts soon add up to one big amount! There also needs to be a lot of change at board level too. Its not (just) Gardiner responsible for the treatment of Doran, Ridgers, and others, including Shane Sutherland, going back several years. Plenty of blame to go around on that front too and they should not think they can escape it by making SG the lone scapegoat.

Then the supporters Trust as the main group representing fans MUST clarify this, as the public statement by the club is contrary to this story (and I have heard it too). If necessary, the ST must also try to galvanise the support (members or otherwise) into forcing an AGM/EGM where this is the main subject. Secondary subjects to include board accountability for all this bulls*** and for the treatment of players. There should also be a nomination to get fan representation onto a newly elected (or in one or two individual cases, re-elected) board. If this ties in with new investors (not owners) then so be it, but the current state is just a slow decline into oblivion and no-one in authority seems to care. It is just fans who have no power (at the moment) who seem to give a flying f*** !!!

The guy's as thick as a whale steak. Tone deaf and unable to comprehend why we're p1ssed off at the absolute clownshow he's a party to. He has zero rapport with the fans, players (current or former), his former coaching team and now has a pop at the hard working ground staff. Yet he sits tight picking up a fat pay cheque from a club on the brink that can ill afford his continued tenure. To add insult to injury he then has the temerity to big up his playing style which has seen back-to-back relegations at his current and former clubs. Get him gone along with his cheerleader general.

And supporters wonder why Grassa and the board are been so quiet about this . It’s because they know what is going on and for some reason or another are scared of SG .Does SG have something on the board ? Sure there must be dirt that can be dug up about SG too as he has certainly appeared to have a shady past the last decade or more ? Said it weeks ago something stinks in all this .

Its strike 3 for me. He needs to be in the car as and when the CEO drives back down the A9. Strike 1 - His tactics and what appear to be personal issues with existing players got us relegated. He is the boss, the fault stops at his door. He has doubled down on that saying his tactics won't change. That is insanity. He may have been a good player, and he may even be good in a lesser role at Everton, but as the #1 guy, he is a disaster, and an expensive one at that. Strike 2 - He didn't bother his @rse to speak to the players under his management to tell them what was happening. He buggered off on holiday instead. Even in a normal season that would be ignorant as you need to let your guys know what's happening, but in a season where you just got relegated, contracts are ending, players have families to consider, and the club is going through well publicised financial issues, to not utter one word to your employees, or colleagues is so far beyond ignorance that I dont have a word for it! Strike 3 - He continues to toe the company line and is blaming fans, and one supposes all the outlets such as websites, podcasts and the supporters trust for encouraging fans to either not go, or to not buy merchandise or season tickets until the CEO has finally left the building. FFS man, you have eyes in your head, use them, read the room, and know that how you choose to lead now will forever define that leadership. Right now, you are merely a cardboard facade. like a Hollywood set., plenty on the front, but no substance behind. I think back to Robbo when we achieved promotion to the Premiership. He didn't meekly toe the company line, and say oh well, no 10,000 seats, we are doomed. He challenged the board to make it happen, backing his players who had achieved promotion, and putting the board in the crosshairs to have them find a solution and argue with the league to match the players success that they worked so hard for. He may have lost his shine as the years went on, and his exit was less than glorious but it is also telling that he too was helping to raise money for Aaron. I think Brian Conley summed it up best:

Rumour is it Sleazy Gardiner thinks he is going to be part of the new investment set up as their CEO hence why he is still hanging around here like a really bad smell. Never will I buy anything of the club until his association with ICT is over . If any new investor thinks this will win back fans they’re obviously not doing their homework and been fed a million lies from him . Our CEO thinks it’s a handful of fans against him. WAKE UP Scot Gardiner your hated by majority .

Clearly flippant comments are lost a bit online or to those who struggle to comprehend light hearted comments. Your inability to understand the link between what is going on 'off the field' and what we have ended up with on the field this season is, I suppose your own issue. Perhaps one day you'll be able to see the connection. Perhaps in hindsight if fans (myself included) were not so willing to just keep throwing money at the club year on year recently the board et al may have taken notice before things reached the awful stage it has. We have, 'off the field' thrown hundreds of thousands at an impotent CEO and incompetent managers. If you don't think that impacts the 'on the park' situation then I don't know what to say. I sincerely hope you enjoy the game though tomorrow regardless.

We are conscious that we have not issued any statements or updates to members or the wider fan base in the last couple of weeks. That is simply because we have not had anything tangible or meaningful to update our members on. We share the concerns voiced on here about the rumours that are circulating at present, and we are seeking clarity from the club. The Trust Board has continued to meet regularly to discuss the ongoing situation, and we have been able to have some dialogue with the club and further talks are planned but, as mentioned above, to date they have not resulted in anything tangible. The club will need to hold an AGM soon, and we will highlight the fact that it is overdue. As a result, there is no reason to call for an EGM at this time. In addition, we cannot call an EGM relating to the CEO as he is not a Director or on the Board, but merely an employee of the club. Once we have news confirmed that a new investor has confirmed their investment, we hope that things will move quickly regarding changes to the leadership of the club. We have previously sought fan representation on the Board but now is not the time for that to happen, as the state of the club's finances brings with it personal risks for Directors, and it would be wrong of us to place a member of our Board or any fan in that position. However, new investment may materially change that position, in which case we will renew our efforts to get a fans' representative on the Board. However, the ongoing investor discussions need not stop the club Board engaging with us, and that is what we continue to seek on a regular basis, and we will also seek early discussions with any new investor when their investment is confirmed. In the meantime, we will continue to update our members when we have anything to share, and we will continue to share those updates here. We would also like to thank our members for their continued support. Going off topic, can we also point you to this post on the Supporters Trust Forum in case you have not seen it. Stewart does an amazing power of work for the Trust, which we are very grateful for, and if you feel minded to show your support to this crowd funder he will greatly appreciate it, as will the Trust Board: https://caleythistleonline.com/topic/36314-crowdfunding-appeal-to-raise-funds-for-stoke-mandeville-spinal-unit-and-the-ict-supporters-trust-at-stewarts-request/

Surely someone daft keen enough to invest £2M or upwards in the club would do enough due diligence work - formally or informally - to tell them that keeping Gardiner on would be disastrous? I would hope that those involved in discussions have spoken to more than just Gardiner and the board. To the Supporters Trust, for a start - and I appreciate that the Trust may not be able to tell us about it if they have been involved. Failing that, just read the news media and this forum!

At what point in time did we start measuring a persons level of support based on the amount of money they give to the club? Are those under 20 or over 65 lesser supporters because they get cheaper tickets? Are under 12s in the north stand non supporters because they get free entry?

I wouldn't blame anyone who did just that. The more we hear, the less inclined I am to put any money into the club. I feel really bad about it and how it is affecting the team, but I also feel that we are all being treated like idiots, and the lack of transparency in the club, especially considering all the awful rumours, makes me think that the truth is worse than anything that we have been told.

Buckie have confirmed the signing of Mark Ridgers tonight. Ryan Esson now has a coaching role at St Johnstone. It’s an absolute disgrace that we didn’t offer them new terms.

Someone better tell him that then as the tail is currently wagging the dog.

The AGM is already two weeks overdue and counting (the last AGM was four months overdue.) I also think there’s a fair chance that an EGM might be required in the event of any deal being done if control of the club is part of it - or an item may be incorporated into a delayed AGM. Apart from the manager being available pre- and post-match as the only club spokesperson of any kind across a period of over two months, the outward appearance is one of complete corporate paralysis. By the way, there’s a club website announcement that the Sports Bar won’t be open tomorrow. I understand that it wasn’t open during the latter part of last season either. Any indications why?

I know these are responses to questions but I would have thought the interviewer would have said, 'the ones staying away would say their problem is....what is your response to that?' Of course, he would probably say 'I don't know about that. I'm sure the Board will come out and say when they can' as he did with Aaron Doran. But at least make it clear these are the issues. I'd also have liked the question asked about his tactics resulting in two relegations but I expect to hear it ain't him to blame!

Ok I concede. It was always more his personality that I was defending as I always considered him to be one of the boys and talked out about any gripes. But hiding after the Hamilton game, following the line of not communicating with the fans and not speaking out about the treatment of Aaron Doran has put him 0/10 in my estimation. And now this embarrassing corporate and totally unemotional appeal to fans where he knows the issues but not making any sort of reference to - is the actions of a lackey and is NOT the Duncan Ferguson of old. UNLEASH THE BAILLIFS

When he says, "I don’t know what the problem is, to be honest", he's not being honest at all. Unless of course, he's so oblivious to the views of the supporters of the team he's supposed to be managing, that it just hasn't registered. Or maybe he just hasn't deigned to find out. A clear disconnect.

Me too. Good luck Mark - Buckie thistle are very lucky to have you.

Which is one of the reasons why change is so badly needed.

That horrendous bit of news/rumour shows the board and anyone else connected with running and ruining our club have learnt SFA from the outrage and debacle of the past few months. There is only one way forward for us, SG must go asap along with any other sycophants who allowed such a decline to happen in the first place - absolutely nothing else is remotely acceptable!

No but Scot Gardiner of course. Just don't think seeing a seaside level caley is appealing to that many in reality.

His head is still on the official site in our first team squad. So we can still claim him as ours. Great player, too good for us at the moment.

I can perhaps clarify that because I asked him about it at yesterday’s press conference. He said he was using the term quite loosely to refer to the significant investors that the club are trying to attract and not specifically about the effect of any deal and he says he’s not aware of any detail. On the other hand, I think it’s important to know exactly what is being proposed. All we know - respectively through local leaks and something leaked to the Sunday Mail - is that there have, possibly among others, been discussions with Chinese and American groups. In fact I think there’s almost room for speculation that these even amount internally to “rival” solutions. In terms of numbers, all we know is that the American proposal allegedly involves around £2M. However if that’s not backed up by a lot more in the fairly near future, it’s a drop in the ocean, such is the magnitude of the club’s plight. £2M would buy a 30% voting stake so if this American group happened to be seeking voting control for that, should we possibly be looking for a General Meeting of shareholders being called with a motion to reduce the relative voting power of the current shares by 60% or more?

“I don’t know what the problem is, to be honest, but we want the fans here.“ Doesn’t know what the problem is. Or problems are. I’d say he’s thick.

I wonder if both? Thick but being fed a load of nonsense by certain parties? Everything he opens his mouth he upsets someone? The fans, the groundsman, ex players etc

https://web.archive.org/web/20240718215353/https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/sport/football/inverness-caledonian-thistle/6536654/duncan-ferguson-tells-caley-thistle-fans-to-bin-boycott-plans-and-gives-update-on-closer-us-investment/ He just doesn't get it. How can he not understand why the fans are unhappy and refusing to go to games? Is he being deliberately thick or is he actually an idiot?

Sorry to see him go. I thought he was the best player Dudds signed. Another keeper next?

We won 2-1.

I think SG is having staff problems . Many will not work whilst he is still controlling things . Has the kit man not resigned and only there until the end of the month as he like others cannot work alongside him .

The Club have no money to employ staff or buy stock to serve in the Sports Bar.

What's the view of the pitch from the lay-by on the A9 like these days?

I've been told a couple of different versions of this story that he's going nowhere. It's also backed up by the fact that there's nobody there who anything is being handed over to so he's still in full control of everything and things are running as they have been previously.