Leaderboard

Aye… Don’t let facts get in the way of a good gut feeling, eh? Not sure Ambramovich is the best example of a ‘not dodgy’ investor either… As much as I’d love a white knight to be riding to ICT’s rescue, absolutely nothing that Makwana has said, or his track record, suggests he is that guy. For what it’s worth, to my mind there are 3 possible scenarios playing out, with 2) being the most likely: 1) Makwana / Seventy7 (who are technically insolvent) have somehow managed to arrange a credit facility and will purchase 50.48% of the shares for a controlling stake. The security for this will be ICT assets, and the club will be saddled with significant repayments for the foreseeable. See Glazers/MUFC as a template. For this to succeed, a massive change in operating/business plan will be required. Not to mention the further significant investment to get a failing business to a self sustaining, and profitable, level. 2) As Makwana / Seventy7 are technically insolvent, no takeover will happen and the deal collapses in a few weeks/months. As per the reported 6 months he apparently spent courting Hayes & Yeading before disappearing… Admin inevitably follows as the deal collapses. 3) Makwana / Seventy7 is the front for some bigger investors. Potentially the reputed Jersey/offshore connection? In that scenario, I’d argue that secrecy is quite the red flag… It’s just so depressing watching this whole episode play out. ICT really have become a circus.

I'd prefer administration to being asset stripped. I'm all for giving folk the benefit of the doubt, but giving Makwana a controlling interest in the club feels a bit like giving your house keys to a stranger who knocks on your door and offers to look after your house whilst you are away on holiday.

What worries me the most is no move to remove Gardiner! I think when it becomes apparent that he has engineered to stay on then we will see what the true fans are made of ... boycotts and protests have to be on the cards. The supporter's trust should be backing this and should be planning for it now. Change will only occur when Gardiner is gone! Personally, my boycott continues ... and before anyone starts crying about not supporting the lads etc ... that can easily be done at away games. As long as no money is going to pay Gardiner's wages then that is a good thing. I would urge others to do the same. Boycott home games and make the effort to support the lads at the away games. When the board see more ICT supporters at away games than at home games will be the message be made clear.

People are sceptical because nobody, least of all Makwana himself, have come up with any information which suggests he is remotely capable of funding this deal or running a football club. He seems to be basically a one man band. The latest accounts filed with Companies House record Seventy7 Ventures as having an average of just 1 employee - presumably himself. His longer established business of Enterprise Lab Ltd is listed as having 2 employees with him, as the sole director presumably being one of them. So, he probably has someone who gives a bit of admin support and that is his business empire! His businesses all seem to be related to business consultancy, a subject on which he appears to have minimal experience or qualification to provide advice on. On an admittedly brief Google search, I could find no record of him having been in a senior management role in a company. His consultancy work seemed to focus on making videos or participating in conferences in ofter obscure places such as Albania. It would appear that having made a presentation at a conference, he then claims to have provided consultancy services to all the companies that had a member of staff attend. I don't doubt that he has a fair bit of knowledge around business management theory and, in particular, related to change management, but it comes across as more of a hobby than something he has a record of successful delivery in. Has he actually worked with companies on detailed projects of change management and documented how he produced positive change? If he has, I didn't find any evidence of it. If anybody has found any evidence that there is any substance behind the change management buzzwords, please share.

If he can’t see already what’s not working, what’s gone wrong and why, then he’s in the wrong ball game!

https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/ketan-makwana-says-no-changes-at-the-top-for-caley-thistle-u-357528/ Sounds like good Management speak but the Courier again miss key questions such as those in your latest post Charles.

I always liked these Vauxhalls. As for the Riley..... gather round, kids, and Gramps will tell you of the old days when BMC was into badge-engineering, putting out essentially the same car under up to five different marques - Austin, Morris, Riley, Wolsley and Vanden-Plas. And guess what, kids - they were all rubbish!

Not a car I liked but it was a clever bit of engineering for it's time. Along the High Street now......................

I think that your scenarios 1 and 3 are what is happening now. With 2 happening a short while down the line, with the excuse being that they have now calculated how much it will take to clear the club's debts, re-establish it as a football force, and - their main aim - redevelop the stadium and surrounding land. At which point the club will go into administration, then liquidation, leaving its assets, such as they are, in the hands of the Jersey investors Factortech. Who can then say to the Council: "Nice bit of land. Shame about the derelict stadium. Like us to sort it out for you?".

What a dignified tweet from David Raven - honest and open. We could do with a bit more of that here. Lovely man.

It's also important to highlight specifically that should someone gain a controlling stake, then the Supporters Trust voting right is essentially worthless. As it stands they could work with other shareholders on important issues to ensure correct decisions are made. e.g. such a relationship would be required to vote a fan representative on to the board. In a scenario where someone has a controlling stake, such a thing would be entirely at their whim. Even if every other shareholder was to give the Supporters Trust a proxy, they would still be powerless in almost every voting scenario.* It's now or never for the Supporters Trust and fans if they want to protect the current position and have a chance of improving it in future. *The exception being votes thay require more than a simple majority, such as special resolutions, changes to the companies articles and such like, where they could work with others to block undesirable changes.