Leaderboard

To be fair - the fans saw right through him immediately. We are all Marge Simpson (monorail reference). 100% agree. The current board should hang their heads in shame, not just over this last scheme but every single fuc**** nonsensical hail-mary scheme that went before it. It is like a Las Vegas gambler trying desperately to get back to break even and failing at each turn. They have no right to be there. They are elected (or co-opted) to do what is right for the club, to be custodians of the club, to make sure everything that is done is for the good and benefit of the club. They have failed at that single task miserably. Individually, there are ones on the board who I know, and who I trust(ed) but in true parent fashion, I am not angry at them, just deeply disappointed. They should have walked or raised their voice when all this shi* was going down. If some combination of MM, Savage, Sutherland, McGilvray Jr etc is going to come in and save us, then hopefully egos can remain in check and they can work together for the greater good. McGilvray Sr got us on the path to Premier League in the first place (and did it in 10 years just as his vision document stated). Sutherland and those that followed who were associated with him or Tulloch steadied the ship and made us fiscally responsible. Savage was always there or thereabouts, and I certainly trust him a lot further than who is there now, and even MM had the right idea but what they lacked was the right representative IMHO. There is plenty of credit to go around if they can raise ICT FC from the ashes, rebuild the community and local business support, rebuild fan trust, rebuild the trust of other clubs (ie. paying for our loan contracts), and rebuild the morale and trust of players and staff alike. This is something that has taken the current board and management a very short time to erode and destroy. Rebuilding it will take a lot longer. On a personal level - what I would like to see Gardiner out the door permanently (appears to be in progress) An under-performing manager out the door replaced with a hungry young coach eager to prove his/her worth and able to work with scant resources we have and will have in the foreseeable future. Ryan Esson springs to mind but that may be sentiment on my part. I will leave others to suggest who might fit the bill. A complete rebuild in the boardroom with representatives from all the major shareholder camps working together and remembering the ethos is to do what is right "for the good and benefit of ICTFC". A public acknowledgement from the incoming board/club management of the hideous actions of the last few years and an apology to the likes of Shane Sutherland, Aaron Doran, Ryan Esson and others. You simply don't treat people like that, least of all those who have given almost their entire carers to ICTFC. Those that earned testimonials should also get them as a way to try and build bridges in the support again and show we are back to being a community focused club. Its going to be a long road back, but if the right people are at the helm and are open and transparent with us, where business confidentiality does not preclude it, then we can get there.

They should replace the entire board - they all signed off on the Kelty move, they all signed off on the Makwana takeover, they all signed off on a massive deal for Ferguson, they all signed off on continuing to employ Gardiner, they have all stood there as the club withers while we try and pull off strange property deals to make a quick buck.

It's been far too long since I've felt somewhat optimistic about the future of our football club. Delighted Alan is now at the helm and agree that there is now a sense that the adults have entered the room. We all now need to rally and back the club by buying our season tickets. The club needs us still more than ever. My final thoughts in reflection are that I wish our recently departed friend Johndo was still with us to see and hear the news of today The Caley are back IHE!

I look forward to AS and whoever else is involved (if anyone else is involved) looking over our books, trying to make sense of what has occurred over the last few years and trying to create a viable plan for the next few. I will be wary of the current members of the board for some time to come given their apparent complicity in what has happened over the last few years, but for now, based on what he has done before, and his unwavering commitments to our youth setup which he reiterated just recently, I will put my personal trust - which lets face it is the only skin any of us have in the game - in Alan Savage to review people's roles in the debacles of the last few years and encourage them to jump ship where they are not up to scratch! As a supporter, I am not expecting miracles, just forward progress in all our rebuilding efforts ... on the field, off the field, in the town, with fans, staff, players, and other clubs. @IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER is up there looking down, large voddie and coke in hand, knowing that there is a chance that HMS Sneck may not be headed for the rocks after all.

Reading the statement it sounds as though 77 ventures kicked into touch Gardiner (finally) kicked into touch Savage offering to use his business skills to try and sort out the mess - on condition that Gardiner leaves the building immediately No indication he will be chairman, and the wording is "appointed to take charge of" . I guess time will tell, or maybe someone can ask. Forensic review of everything. GOOD. Still looking for "new owners" long term. Looking to rally round community and get back the community feel. Overall, pretty positive but still la few questions to be addressed. I certainly feel happier with Savage at the helm steering the ship than Makwana and Gardiner. Once the dust settles over the next day or two I think we will definitely be more positively minded in renewing our player sponsorship that we lapsed last year because of the CEO.

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/13339396/scot-gardiner-leave-inverness-caledonian-thistle-consortium-bids/ If true, then surely the Board has to resign en masse, to take responsibility for the recent fiascos and in particular for accepting the "offer" from the Windsor Walter Mitty.

This is precisely why we need those responsible for the recent shameful behaviour and gross incompetence to have absolutely no role in running the club in the future. I don't think the Makwana deal will become a reality and therefore if the club is to avoid slipping into administration there will need to be prompt action from those who genuinely care about the club. People who have not necessarily seen eye to eye in the past need to put their differences aside and work together to save the club. If they can do that, they will need the help of the wider club community to try and restore the trust and goodwill of those the club has so recklessly wronged in the recent past.

Tough road ahead still but it feels like we're at least pointed at the road and not into the middle of the wilderness. We're going to need someone with experience of day to day operations to help get some of the basics back in place and deal with the bau stuff on and off the park while Savage sorts out the big issues. I had already decided to return on a game by game basis but willing to take a punt and support this move by committing to a season ticket again. At least that way I can express my dissatisfaction with Ferguson's nonsense at him directly even if it is from the safety of the north stand.

Fantastic news! I can't believe it. We will be home from our hols by the weekend. First stop is for season tickets. I've missed it. Who knows what the road ahead will be like, but it feels like it's our club again. So happy.

This guy is an absolute fantasist. How has it taken so long for folk to see through him?

The fact it is an 'exclusive' in a national newspaper... kind of does indicate a 'revelation', no? It's one thing to leave local businesses worse off after entering into dealings with it, and not minimising that at all. But leaving other SPFL clubs worse off attracts a very different sort of attention: there is the matter of undisclosed fees still due (and given what the board and CEO saw fit to pay its manager, what's the liability?...) there is cumulative interest due (calculated on a daily basis at a rate of 5% per annum over the base rate) according to the rules and regulations of the SPFL on temporary transfers there could be an SPFL embargo on any further player registrations '...until such time as the agreement is honoured' ICT could be found to have been unfairly trafficking in temporary transfers which puts it in breach of the the rules and regulations of the SPFL (leading to an order to pay the sums owed, or an SPFL inquiry, which in turn could lead to a fine, a points deduction, or any sanction it likes...) There is a reason to sit up with surprise at this one. The board have now made an even worse enemy of the club's future. These funds should have been ring fenced just prior to the signing of the agreement. There's no excuse. And when does this turn into gross misconduct - cashing bad cheques all over. There were nine players on loan (is the breach limited to just two players?) -Alex Samuel (breach of temporary transfer contract agreement with Ross County) -Cammy Kerr (breach of temporary transfer contract agreement with Dundee) Aribim Pepple (honoured any fee with Luton?) Sean McAllister (honoured any fee with Everton?) Samson Lawal (honoured any fee with Livingston?) Morgan Boyes (honoured any fee with Livingston?) Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen (honoured any fee with Leeds?) James Carragher (honoured any fee with Wigan?) Max Anderson (honoured any fee with Dundee?) What happens if, as is likely, the SPFL's first action is to insist ICT to pay all and any outstanding monies owed to SPFL clubs immediately, and ICT don't? SPFL just shrug shoulders, say, 'ach'? Ah, CEO, with these creditors you are really spoiling us!

You are right, we are not out of the woods, but at least now we have someone with a feckin map of the area! KM couldn't even find us on google

Just renewed my season ticket. More optimistic about the future of the club than I've been in a while. It was time to put my money where my mouth is.

That's all that anyone can ask for

Yes, of course there is still a mountain to climb for the club and team. But with a local, genuine businessman in charge, who has always cared for the club, things are infinitely better than having an absentee fantasist whose interests were solely in making money. I look forward to the statement from the Supporters' Trust And I, for one, welcome our new winter constellation overlords

Yeah fair point that the fans saw through his mince quickly. Same definitely couldn't be said for many at the club and some of the local press who were quick to let him spout nothings about his plans without any pushback.

did they ceremoniously take a pair of scissors to his club tie? and also remove his AAA pass? It's all in the details! Seriously though, if he has indeed left the building then the real work now begins. Lets hope the rumours floating around social media are true and the finally legacy of this era is Ketan sailing off into the Dubai sunset on the QE2 with SG for the 78th venture. It won't be easy rebuilding, and we won't have bucketloads of cash if this is true, but hopefully what we will have is a solid core of local business people who actually care about the club, can find them without the aid of google, and are of a mindset to right the wrongs of the last 7 years. That should get all of us back behind the club with the same vigour as we were against this 'takeover'.

Where had they been inserted ?

I’m a happy bunny tonight - sure there’s still a bumpy road ahead but I’m confident that Alan Savage will get this right. We wish you all the very best in the coming negotiations to give our club back the self respect that’s been destroyed and a club we can be proud of once again. Mr Savage, we owe you a heartfelt thanks for getting rid of that ridiculous Walter Mitty character and the abomination that was Gardiner. Next on the agenda is to get rid of Duncan Donut as soon as you can manage it so that we can sort things out on the park as well as off it.

Best news to come out of the club in a good while. Happy Gringo tonight. As rightly mentioned by others in this thread, its a start and we have long way to go in the rebuilding process now only at club level but also local business and community level too. Hopefully the seeds to a great future take hold. Oh, and thank you Mr Savage.

Brilliant news that the absolute nonsense of Seventy7 / Makwana has been kicked into touch. It’s mind boggling how it got to the stage it did. Also very positive that Gardiner has gone. Definitely a sense of ‘the grown ups have entered the room’ with this news. It doesn’t look like Savage/Orion will be taking control of the club. But they will be assisting in getting it on the right footing and getting new long term partners onboard. That seems to be the remit of the marketing agency mentioned. The green shoots of recovery are there. But there is a long way to go to get ICT back to a stable footing. It looks like the first steps have been taken though

Yes, many in the press did not ask any hard questions, they never seem to do so these days locally or even nationally. Seems they were either scared of losing access to the club from the man who should have been answering these questions or realistically just filling space. The older journos that have been around the block may be less intimidated, but it seemed to work on the Courier and elsewhere who were gushing about this new owner and falling all over themselves to give him column inches. I have to say, in all honesty, I was also a little surprised at the Podcast lads too. In the episode just after the 77 ventures "takeover", I felt they let him off the hook a bit too easily with the 'wait and see' approach. I get it that they perhaps had to be a little circumspect and watch their words as certain listeners may want to see if they cross that slander/defamation line, and that private thoughts may not have aligned completely with the podcast content, or perhaps I was just too cynical about the whole thing and was only seeing one side? either way, I think, if we do get a local consortium of concerned business people to right the ship, we will all have played a part in preserving the life of our club in its 30th year. #OnwardsAndUpwards

Red flags were waving, from the moment i read the brief Facebook statement from ICT, all them weeks ago.

To be fair a lot of the fans picked up on it pretty quickly but our club custodians were easily led up the garden path by him which is why they should all go!

Well, those who have fallen for his proposals hook, line and sinker must be looking at them with a bit of dubaiity now.

I remain very uncomfortable about what happened two years ago when the Concert Company went bust and a number of local traders lost money as a result… while the club appeared to take some credit and satisfaction from the fact that, before the Concert Company went belly-up, the club took a stadium rental and other income from its assets. That, to me, is morally indefensible and now there’s more.

It’s great to see the positive reaction to the news confirmed today. Credit to Alan Savage for stepping in but also to all who attended the alleged meeting on Thursday that CB advised us of: collectively they look to have got this result. But this is only the start and there’s still a big challenge ahead before the club is financially stable, and an even bigger one to restore our reputation, both locally and in the wider football world. Ketan was a fantasist and would have strung us along and probably been the final nail in the coffin. I’m not going to dignify Gardiner by saying anything: others have done that very eloquently. I also think we need to give Ferguson a bit of a chance. I’m not a fan of his tactics and formation, but we can’t afford to part with him. He’s been dealt cards that are very different to the promises he’d have been given by Gardiner and Morrison (don’t forget his part in our demise) but we need to get behind the team fully. Saturday will hopefully see a large, positive crowd who will help the players get our first league win.

Its season ticket renewal for me in the morning too

Hooray

Didn't expect it to be today but glad that enough people have finally seen sense and we have someone with the club at heart making a start on mending it. All who were idiotic enough to back the chancer Makwana need fired into the Moray Firth.

its been a while since we saw that emoji

The first news out of the club in a long time that has made me hopeful of us moving forward. Hopefully someone with the right "vision" for ICTFC now and to pull us out of the mess we have become lately!

The BBC locally are following this on a minute by minute basis and are currently awaiting a statement from the club which it was understood would arrive around 2pm. The output you’ve seen above is from BBC Sport Scotland, originating from Glasgow and, as one Inverness local newspaper reporter recently observed, it perhaps has to be recognised that Caley Thistle have now fallen so low on the national pecking order that not much coverage in the national media can be expected.

To be fair, the media have had virtually no opportunities to ask questions about this since the manager has been the only person the club has put up to speak and this is very much not within his remit. However very many questions have been submitted in writing by several journalists but no reply has ever been received. My own reporting of this has very much reflected the same scepticism as the supporters and has been articulated by highlighting Mr Makwana’s business record and the magnitude of his task if he were ever to achieve his 50.48%. As a matter of policy, I have never referred to Mr Makwana as the “owner” or “majority shareholder” or to a “take over” since there has never been any evidence that he owns a single share.

If Seventy7 has been slipping away for whatever reason, it would explain the meeting Charles suggested was being arranged with current large shareholders- they would seem to be the last chance to save the club.

After the concert fiasco, I am sure that a lot of local businesses won't go anywhere near ICT. Now, after defaulting on loan payments, I am sure that a lot of SPFL clubs won't go anywhere near us either. And, in our hour of need, I wouldn't now expect any favours from the Council. Fouling one's own nest.

Agreed. The club that used to be ICT has been destroyed !

Buying season tickets at the club shop or over the phone will improve the club’s cash flow faster than using the on line facility as that goes through someone like Ticketmaster so payments will be delayed getting to the club.

It’s an exciting, encouraging development and I think it is fair to say we all trust Savage more than we trust the recent regime or would have trusted Makanwa. But if I’m following this correctly, he isn’t buying the club, just restarting the search for fresh external investment. And there’s no statement that he or anyone else will be putting any immediate funds in to prevent administration, just mention of local businesses being asked for money to keep us going. But surely, if Makanwa felt it necessary to guarantee the August wages, someone else will have to do similar? We are not out of the woods yet and there are still lots of unanswered questions, but I feel more confident about the future now that an ICT-minded businessman has (finally) stepped up to the plate.

No. You need to go in to do it or phone

I was referring to his version of the game, not his hobbies

Good news as others have said but still a mountain to climb it's our best chance of keeping the club going and Jack and his mates can come back into the ground now

Thank you for the last 5 years, Mr Gardiner ! Goodbye.

Ps, ICT really need Fergusson to do the right thing and walk away. Not sure he will do that. And that, leves a very hefty financial burden on the club

Were the Board just desperate to offload the ICTproblem, onto some gullible fantasist? Again, I felt sure, that those who make the board at any football club, usually have a sound mind for making good business decisions. Would any of those muppets on the ICT board, run their businesses in such a shoddy manner?

Would also be forward looking to appoint someone with direct knowledge of the potential player base locally on board in any new coaching set up. Stephen Mackay ticks a lot of boxes.

Its from the Sun so I will believe it when its actually true and he has handed in his keys. Positive start to my day though

Without prejudice to the soundness or otherwise of Mr Makwana’s proposals regarding the club, the grandiose manner in which he expresses himself doesn’t tend to do a great deal for his credibility.

We really are becoming a laughing stock now https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/13334933/scottish-premiership-complaint-inverness-dundee-ross-county/

The good news is that Duncan Ferguson has agreed a 50% pay cut to allow the club to pay Dundee and Ross County and avoid further embarrassment to the club.....dream on!! The good news is that Scot Gardiner has now completed his period of notice (77 days) and leaves on Friday. The club wishes him well in his next Venture........