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Ferguson is a large part of the reason we are in this mess. From his dull as dishwater style of football, his awful signings, allowing better players to leave, freezing out others who were miles better than the dross he continued to select, seeing us relegated to his cannot be bothered to be here attitude and so on. He deserves to be emptied and sent off down the road so he can promote his Everton book without wasting our time.

This. Whilst we all know Gardiner was the person with the ideas and the recommendations which would have destroyed the club had he stayed, it was the Board which made the decisions. Without the Board meekly agreeing to Gardiner's recommendations, none of them could have been acted upon. The Board operate on the standard system of collective accountability, so that whilst individuals may not agree with every decision the Board makes, they are expected to support all decisions publicly. I think everyone can understand and accept that Boards have to operate on that basis and therefore will accept that not every Director has been supportive of every poor decision the Board has made. Some Directors might be unhappy about several decisions and be very uncomfortable about being associated with those decisions. The question then is, at what point do they stand up and say they can no longer support the decisions the Board is taking and resign? An argument against resigning is that their involvement on the Board has been to successfully argue against certain recommendations and also to have submitted positive ideas which have been taken forward. They might argue that their resignation would result in a lot more bad decisions being made and therefore staying on will help to limit the damage. But we have gone way beyond that now. The Board has made decision after decision that has been hugely damaging to the club and they supported a CEO who has been almost universally disliked and who treated people in a totally unacceptable manner. He should have been dismissed within months of his arrival and the case for his dismissal grew stronger with every month that passed. I simply fail to see why any of the Board (with the possible exception of the more recently appointed Scott Young) can justify remaining on the Board after their complicity in all that has happened in recent years. If any of them think they are fit to be a Director of our football club, I challenge them to come to a public meeting of supporters and to justify their support of all the decisions which have done so much financial and reputational damage to the club. I challenge them to do the same at a shareholders meeting and to put their status as a Director to the vote. If they are not prepared to do that, they should resign forthwith.

Not for me - primarily results on the pitch are paramount and his tactics cure insomnia. I can almost semi understand playing that way when we were in the Championship trying to stop the rot but in League 1 as a full time side playing this way is laughable. I agree however that realistically we can’t afford to part with him but if the opportunity were to rise I would bite your hand off to send him back to Merseyside. His comments also a few weeks back about not understanding fans frustrations relating to boycotting summed up as well how out of touch he is with the fanbase and wider City.

You have to bear in mind that regardless of how awful anyone involved in running the club may be, the Supporters Trust have to do their best to work with them. If the Trust publicly slags off these people, then the club simply stops engaging with the Trust. That is in nobody's interest. Given what the Trust has had to put up with from Gardiner over the years, I think a bit of "Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead!" is perfectly justified. There's a message in this for the Club Board too. The Board were the ones responsible for making the decisions at the end of the day and they were the ones who kept faith in Gardiner. By publicly slagging off Gardiner, the Trust are indirectly criticising the Board. The Trust will need to keep working with the Board, but by enthusiastically welcoming Alan Savage and simply not mentioning the Board at all in the statement, the Trust is giving a message without giving the Board any excuse for not working with the Trust. The Trust statement ends with an appeal to fans to join the Trust and to get involved. People can criticise the Trust all they want, but the simple truth is that the Trust is what the fans make it. It's a democratic body. Anyone is free to join and contribute to the process of voting for the Trust Board members or even putting themselves forward for the Board. Anyone is free to help out in any other way. The more people who come forward to help or simply to join the Trust, the more effective the Trust will become. Collectively, we fans have a lot of power. We can use that power or we can open the door to another Gardiner or Makwana. Personally, I prefer supporter power.

I think we need to manage our excitement and expectations a little. Savage won't know exactly what the situation is until he's completed his audit and it's not only the financials that are a total mess. He might look at it all and realise that the cost of turning things around is too great for anyone to take on without having to go the administration route or whatever. There may be no money for further signings or worse we have to let one or two go before the window closes. As I said before I am willing to support his efforts by purchasing a season ticket but I still fear we may be in a situation where a further step or two backwards will happen before we can move forward again.

Great article in the Courier now: https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/johndo-remembered-caley-thistle-fans-make-poignant-700-mi-358356/

I would have made it a more positive message, welcoming Savage back to the club as the headline statement. I don't see what need there was to spell out some of the things that you think that Gardiner was responsible for, especially since the Board, who remain, were complicit in all of it. And as for the fireworks.... All a bit too much "Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead!". No mention of Seventy7 either?

“Seventy7 Ventures who HAD been seeking….” Note there one of the key words from yesterday’s club statement - HAD… hallmark of a completed action in the past as opposed to “has” which would have implied that Makwana’s efforts were ongoing. Enter Monty Python’s Parrot, and thank goodness for that. The potential consequences of Makwana running the show were just too horrible to contemplate, and how on earth the Board managed unanimously to be taken in by a guy who inspired spontaneous scepticism and ridicule in everybody else from the moment the club announced his involvement remains a mystery. But now, this fantasist can return to his “phygital” world of blockchain and cryptocurrency, the launch of the UAE branch of Seventy7 from the QE2 in Dubai and what will presumably become his seventh attempt to control a football club. Just not ours. Good riddance to Ketan Makwana… and to Scot Gardiner - now another mercifully completed action in ICT’s past - who was in office across the most poisonous period in the 30 year history of this club. And yes, I could make a case for that including the dark days of the merger because even at that point, I never observed anyone within Inverness Caledonian Thistle who was as universally disliked…. despised even….as our recently departed CEO. So now that Makwana and Gardiner are history…. let’s look to building the future.

We need Alan Savage to keep managing his company and not get swamped by ICTFC. It’s been by far the most successful business operation over the piece in Inverness. I’ve known him (at a distance) for over 40 years and he’s someone I respect and admire for what he’s done, but like to retain that distance. Having said that, let’s not quibble here. AS was the only prominent person with hard money to raise his head above the parapet and publicly question the Board since Morrison jumped boat. He saved the youth structure from folding (C Christie deserves a big mention here), called out Gardener for what he is/was (a repeated failed businessman), and finally had the ‘balls’ and courage to put aside any grudges and approach probable lifelong business and personal adversaries and strike a deal that would form a group with the money and experience to see though and kick out that charlatan Kahwana. Paraphrasing what someone else says mentioned earlier, businessmen are on the whole not nice people and mostly look at ‘what’s in it for them’ (that’s how the best succeed). I for one will be probably forever grateful for AS saving ICTFC. What form or shape in the future I don’t know, but I feel a lot better it’s people that work and live their lives here that for the next few years are in control!! Digging out my ICT colours from the bottom of my cellar! bc

We issued a statement this morning following yesterday's announcement by the club. Our members should already have received a copy, but if you have not for any reason, please contact us at [email protected]. A copy of the statement is here: enjoy the fireworks over the stadium! https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/post/ict-supporters-trust-statement-on-ceo-departure Like our previous releases, this has had good coverage in the local media, and a Trust Board Member has featured on TV today. The Trust Board is grateful for the continued support of members, and for all the positive messages received during the last few troubled months. As well as supporting the efforts being made to stabilise the position at the club, we will continue to work on behalf of our members and the wider fan base and, if you are not currently a member, joining is easy using this link (and only £5, or £1 for Under 16s): https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/join-us

Next step is to voice fans displeasure for the Gardiner trolls - DF and GB. Once they are gone then we can rejoice. Not just the tactics they deploy, but the way they ignored and mistreated players last season and mid season. They need to be gone to finally rid us of the foul taste in our mouths.

I agree. These "Supporters' Trust Statements" seem to be written very impulsively. i wonder if they are the views of one person, or of a group of persons presuming to represent the views of the ICT support. The previous statement welcoming the Seventy7 thing makes me suspect the former. Perhaps the Supporters' Trust could clarify.

I suspect his main motivation would be the awareness that his football related career would effectively be over unless he could make things work at ICT. If he was questionable pre-ICT he’ll surely be absolutely toxic to any club now.

I note the club has yet to post its statement on its own website. The "Courier" has it as follows. “After months of uncertainty surrounding the future of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, the Board of Directors have appointed local businessman Alan Savage to take charge of the struggling Highland Club to put the team in a firm financial position. “Working alongside the Club’s Board of Directors, Savage has taken the initiative to oversee the organisational restructure of the club as they seek to remedy their financial issues, with chief executive Officer Scot Gardiner leaving his role with immediate effect. “The club have also suspended negotiations with Seventy7 Ventures, who had been seeking to acquire a majority shareholding, with Savage beginning immediate work carrying out an internal forensic review of the club’s financial position to establish plans for the club’s future and setting the team into a viable position for new ownership. “Savage and the Board are now looking to rejuvenate the connection between Inverness Caley Thistle and the community which will be integral to the long-term future of the club and are seeking support from local businesses to address the immediate financial shortfall until further long-term investment can be secured. “The club are now working with Scottish sports marketing agency GRM Marketing to engage with a number of investment leads and commercially drive the club forward. “Inverness Caley Thistle is hopeful that the community will once again rally around the team and come together to support the new foundations being established.” The "Courier" is reporting the statement as saying Savage has been appointed for a period of 3 to 6 months, but what they have quoted gives no indication of a time-scale. It would be good to see clarity on this. What is clear is that those accountable for making this club a laughing stock remain firmly in charge. These are the people who stood by Gardiner when it was clear to everybody else that he was the root cause of most of our problems. These are the people who would have packed us off to Fife. These are the people who were taken in by Makwana's nonsense and much else before. These people are being led by Panos Thomas, a retired Orthopaedic Surgeon who allegedly told club legend Aaron Doran to rehab his ACL injury. He was certainly party to the club's shameful decision not to pay for the operation that Aaron needed. Obviously it is brilliant news that Gardiner has gone and the Makwana nonsense is off the table. However, the Board can hope all it likes that local businesses and the wider community will rally round, but they should reflect that, given their appalling recent record, people would be far more likely to rally round if the "new foundations" being referred to started with a new Board in place.

Well, what fantastic news! I am relieved for two reasons - 1) We have got our club back 2) My continued protests on social media asking if "Gardiner has left yet?" are thankfully finished. I WILL BE BUYING A SEASON TICKET TODAY AND I THINK I WILL SPLASH OUT ON SOME MERCH TOO! I picked up on the word "Forensic" in the statement. I wonder if that is a hint about some of the financial things that have gone on - maybe a few irregularities or anomalies? I did wonder why Gardiner seemed desperate to hang on, and indeed seemed to be trying to engineer a deal involving his continued tenure. Part of me wonders if he has things to hide and now, that he can't control what is happening, if those little secrets will be found out "forensically". I really do hope they find something!

This is the best news to come out of the club in a long time imho, it was imperative that Scot Gardiner went as he's been a DISASTER from start to finish! I fully trust Alan Savage to get this right and find suitable investment for us and, going by one of the local paper reports, things are looking positive on that too . I truly hope that Alan can regain the trust od the local community as he promises but that certainly won't be easy! I'm also saying that next to go needs to be Duncan Ferguson and his assistant but that may not be a decision for now so it's imperative that he's giving some funds to strengthen the club. One thing that confuses me is that "the club have been given a list of places I am keen on (or words to that affect lol) so I've left it in their hands", who was he referring to there, was it this Ketan bloke or Panos who was interim chairman at the time of that quote (just before Saturday) and now in the hands of Alan or are signings not likely now and more likely in January . I am going to finish by saying that I am really confident of having a successful club again, on and off the field!!

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.

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.

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.

Those who are not happy with the way the Supporters Trust relays information, should perhaps think about taking a more active role in the trust's work. Remember we are all part of the trust (if we are members). Personally I have been really glad to have their take on events over the last few months to help steer me through it all.

Who knows, hopefully Alan Savage will succeed in saving our club, but even if too much damage has been done, at least we know that he will have done all he can do, for the right reasons and for our club and you can't ask for more than that. Thank you, Mr Savage.

He almost winked when he referred to "a bridge and a castle".

Don't you mean his wife's car? Apparently, he had to leave 'his' car behind as it belonged to the club. Dont know if true or not, just something someone else posted.

Yes. Nothing but boxes of files a laptop and a can of petrol.

What a relief! Credible adults have re-entered the building and yesterday, for me anyway, represents a truly monumental day in the club's history. The immediate ejection of used snake oil salesman Gardiner and Michael Knighton cosplay fantasist Makwana's blockchain bullsh1t being hoofed into touch are enormously positive statements of intent and I'm delighted to see a man with the club's best interests at heart steerring the club forward in these challenging times. With a bit of luck Mr Savage's next port of call will be the Manager and Assistant Manager's office. These two have been an unmitigated disaster, a ridiculous drain on resources and a stark reminder that clueless CEOs should not be making calls on football related matters. The current board are surely forever tainted by their unwavering faith in half baked schemes that a 5 year old child could see were doomed to fail. Their complete failure to see through Makwana or execute even a modicum of due diligence bring their capabilities as directors into serious question. One hopes that yesterday's press release will be the last we'll hear of the knee surgeon. I will be renewing our season tickets on Saturday and hope that this is the start of a positive new era for our club. The war may not quite be over but I'd say that the rebels have a good lead going into injury time. Onwards and Upwards.

You forgot to mention his enormous ego, his lack of knowledge of Scottish football .....it will be interesting to see if AS has had a quiet word with him to encourage him to reflect on his position.

The 1st team haven't even got them and we'll be 3 games into the league season come Saturday, another F**kwit Gardiner disaster class. Led to believe that from today's meeting this would be looked at as a matter of urgency

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.

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.

I understand the argument and case for the ST presented. Fair enough they duly represent the fans as the recognised artery between the club and fans. I personally don’t have any issues with this line, ‘It’s good to talk’ so the saying goes. It’s clear the ST also have to balance any communication in such a manner that doesn’t jeopardise that relationship. My own view for what it’s worth (none ST member), is that the Trust, in the short period I have observed, and I say it with due respect and no malice intended, have been too compliant and reactive to the debacle we have witnessed over the past two years. I have went on the record to say I believe without the ST ‘Kelty’ just may have happened. That said the ST were not the leading force behind the ‘revolt’. It was the fans that was the energy behind any action. The ST in my view only acted when faced with overwhelming pressure from the fans. Ie Boycott, season tickets, protest!! In regards the S7V and Ketan Kahwana takeover bid the ST (again in my view), were too eager to be seen to endorse this bid without offering any serious consideration to whether S7V was in any way a fit and appropriate company to take over the club. I would argue without (I exclude myself here ), some serious and knowledgeable people on this forum (probably most if not all ST members) the case and momentum for A Savage to get involved to stop the S7V takeover may not have happened. So my argument (all along) is I believe the ST should be more vocal in representing all the fans views and not just a select group of comrade individuals. For the immediate future it looks like the club is saved from a deeper hole that it would have been if S7V had succeeded. That said for every Alan Savage out there, their is a Ketan Kahwana. It can happen again! I will resist the invitation to sign up to join the ST, not that don’t think it’s a good organisation for fans to be and express their views, I simply prefer to support the club in my own way and be free to voice or state my opinion without any constraints. I close by wishing the ST well in future. bc

Amen to that please.

He won't cos Gardiner's pulled the rug on the club and given Señor Phygital the keys. I never wish harm on anyone, but I hope Gardiner steps on a landmine...

Just failed to post the link to the STV interview, there’s a link to it in the Courier article, so hopefully someone else can find it and do the honours. Most interesting bit for me is the closing paragraph… ”It can’t get any worse, because I am in full control of the cheque book now and Charlie Christie, who knows the club intimately, is the CEO and he knows what the problems have been so we have come together and we are going to control the costs.”

If he did reply to you then I think Karen Dunbar would likely sum it up best ....

Fair point, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear from him in some shape or other!

That would be a difficult case to win, given that he had already resigned! All that will have happened is that he will have been paid for the rest of his notice period and escorted off the premises.

If that’s the case it will likely be on HP.

To me there is a big question mark over the battery farm proposal. One minute we believe the club own the land, they stand to make over £3m which would have paid off liabilities with cash in hand,supporters were mobilised to write to councillors. The club appear to have sold these rights for £250K initially to three people - Morrison, Munro and Cameron. Who signed that off given that Munro became a shareholder? Given the fact that David Cameron resigned as a director of the club well before the submission to the Council what was his role in a company believed to be for the benefit of the football club?

Exactly this. In around all the fanfare and excitement there may still be movements which surprise some and may not be overly welcomed before stability can be built but perhaps better received given the proponent is 'one of our own'.

Well said DD, The Board are culpable here and played along willingly as you say, for far too long with Gardener’s antics and for the past weeks with dear old Ketan’s ‘fools gold’. There is more than a whiff of resentment in the statement with ‘Savage this and Savage that’, as though a few of them (Panos et al), maybe disgruntled the promise of Ketan gold is now off the table. In the murky world of football club boardrooms there will be always be infighting on who drives the agenda and direction of the club. For too long it’s been taken down the wrong road and change is now essential. A clear out is needed but deals will inevitably be done. Just hope whoever ever takes over the reins (P Thomas and his cohorts are too stained to survive too long) will see through what’s needed to be done. bc

Anyone check the boot of Gardiner's car as he left?

Just come back from a couple of weeks away. Delighted with the news that Gardner has gone and that the take over by Seventy 7 (or whatever they were called) is now a non starter. Very happy that Savage has the best interests of ICT at heart, and that he will genuinely try hard to get us stable again. Onwards and upwards

And me

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

He has phygital wi-fi on the jet.

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.

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!

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'.

To the shock of nobody look out for news in the next few days that this has fallen through.