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Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/16/2024 in Posts

  1. Think this will be deserving of its own thread as details emerge of the sheer state of our finances ... but let me start controversially by saying THANK YOU to Ketan Makwana ! The utter nonsense of your 'takeover' bid, the corporate phygital gobbledygook coming out of your mouth or your linked in page, and your history at companies house woke up some of our giants of the past in Messrs. McGilvray, Sutherland and Savage. You were the straw that broke the camel's back, the final grand scheme that saw all of our CEO's cards collapse, that one domino that started the progression that will surely see more dominoes fall. I want you nowhere near our club, but you can take heart that even without buying the club with imaginary money, you may well have played a part in saving it. Clearly the reality of our situation is far worse than even the most cynical fan expected now that we have had some straight talking from Alan Savage and it all started with the idea that 77Ventures were random new owners overnight just a few weeks ago. But onto the main focus of this thread - the money, or more specifically the lack of it or of any oversight on that front. AS went in just 3 days ago and in that time he has discovered that we are not £300K adrift, that quickly ballooned to £450K then £700K and now closer to £900K. We don't have new strips FOR THE TEAM let alone the fans, because we have not paid the bills, and we apparently have a pre-order for £120K of strips sitting with Puma as part of that £900K. Given that the average cost of a strip is around £50 retail that's 2400 strips, but profits on these are decent so do we really have upwards of 3-4000 new strips waiting to be sold once we pay for them wholesale first? Not having strips for the start of the season is right up there with not having seats for the Tynecastle stands and having twice as many as we get at the stadium on a good crowd day, sitting in a container somewhere is as ludicrous as it sounds. I am sure AS will discover all sorts of 'anomalies', unexplained or lets say 'less than optimal' spending as he goes through the accounts with a fine-tooth comb, but my ire on that one is directed back at the board. How in f*** was there no oversight on this. SG did what SG was there to do. To operate as the CEO of ICTFC. The fact he seemingly did that without a shred of governance is not his fault. His performance and ability to do it correctly and economically should have been something benchmarked on a regular basis by the board. Did he have no performance reviews since 2019? If not, why not? Thats not a failing of SG, that's a failing of the board. Red flags have been around for a while. I recall the comment about Ryan Christie buying footballs for the youth team and I think that's what Charlie is referring to in today's article in the Courier which is well worth a read. The last three days with Alan Savage and now acting CEO Charlie Christie have seen more public communication from the club in 3 days than we have experienced in the last 5 years since the former CEO was put in post. https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/sport/this-club-for-far-too-long-has-been-losing-too-much-money-358498/ A few great bullets raised by Charlie: He is confident that working alongside Savage, it will lead to the club having a brighter future. The staff get frustrated too and a lot of that has been from resources. He, as academy manager, has had to do without things that were needed. The mood at the club has been great since Alan came in. Some of the staff don’t know him. He is fair, but demanding - and very professional.. He will want a paper trail for everything, as there should be. He will want more corporate governance in his time at the club and I don’t think that's much to ask. It is good for any business to have that. That’s what he’ll bring. We’re all delighted because we feel it is a step in the right direction. Watching the ill-feeling towards individuals at the end of last season, it is not good for Caley Thistle. It is something I’ve never seen. Fans have a go at managers, myself included, after poor performances. That goes with the territory. But not what we witnessed last year at times. Hopefully that’s dead in the water now and we can move on. I like the comments I have heard that some creditors are already paid, and the things Charlie mentions in that article. I especially like the comment that the mood at the club has improved. there are many hard-working and crucial folks down there doing thankless tasks who do not need to be micro managed and for them to finally be able to exhale and maybe show what they are capable of is a relief. We do have to get back to basics, we do have to stop all the pie-in-the-sky bullshit and the loss of money hand-over-fist. We do have to put football first and try to get out of this league and back up to the Championship and hopefully over time, the Premiership. One step at a time, one obstacle at a time, and all in a sustainable or responsible manner. With Charlie and Alan Savage at the helm now, I think this is a good start to the process but let's not stop looking inwards. The CEO was allowed to do what he did for many years, and those who allowed that, or didn't bother to look at what he was doing also need to take accountability for that.
    18 points
  2. Scott Young approached Laura Grant, one of our Board members, this afternoon to see if the Supporters Trust could provide volunteers to allow the Sports Bar to be open tomorrow. Laura was delighted to assist and has found volunteers which means that the Sports Bar will now be open from 1 pm tomorrow, with last orders at 2.30 pm and the bar fully closed at 2.45 pm. This is an early example of how beneficial volunteer fans can be to the club, and we hope that many fans attending the game tomorrow will now be able to enjoy a pre-match drink (or two) in the Sports Bar, providing the club with additional income. A number of the Trust Board members will be there, both behind the bar and as customers, so please say hello to them.
    13 points
  3. In our Press Statement on Wednesday, we mentioned that we would be seeking volunteers to assist the club. Our Volunteer Appeal is now live. Please follow the link below to find out more, along with a link to the simple survey itself: https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/ictst-appeal-for-club-volunteers Please feel free to share this widely with anyone you feel may be interested. If anyone has any questions, or issues with completing the survey, please contact us at [email protected].
    4 points
  4. Gable Endies Trip North A week is a long time in the changing faces of Caley Thistle. Montrose are the visitors this weekend as news of a Savage intervention overpowered the extra sensory perceptions of fantasy that were wafting around the Caledonian Stadium as if they were going out of fashion. Not since the early days of LSD have we been subjected to such psychedelia and hallucinatory fables that we were experiencing at the moment as philanthropist or fantasist Ketamine McWannabe attempted to pull the wool over the eyes of those we once trusted to lead our club in search of the holy graill. He did manage to bluff his way through a few clowns, but sense and sensibility will now take over as the prodigal son, Alan Savage, returns to stabilise the club. The club motto is 'Pride of the Highlands'. It was about to be altered to 'Laughing Stock of the North'. But wait! There is a God afterall, his name is Savage, Alan Savage. Was it written in the stars... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket Info Savage Intervention Supporters Trust Forensic Audit topic on CTO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On hearing the news, the fans turned a Whiter Shade of Pale: We skipped the light fandango, turned some cartwheels across the floor, I was feeling kind of seasick, when the crowd called out for more. The room was humming harder, and the ceiling flew away when I called out for another drink the waiter brought a tray... Apologies for the lack of Football information on the preview this week. Unfortunately a lot has happened in a very short space of time and it's difficult to keep abreast of the situation as it changes everytime you log in to the laptop. What we do know is that Alan Savage will conduct a 'forensic review' of all that is concerning the club in these difficult times. Scotty has started a topic on CTO to discuss this. Scot Gardiner has been shown the door and with Alan Savage at the helm we can be assured that all will be upfront and integrity will return. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg and the deeper they dive, the more we will know about our plight. We are not out of the woods by any means, but it is the first positive step forward in what will be a long arduous trek after years of self inflicted decline from within. Last Time Out Inverness lost out again at Annan as they did on League Cup duty when a Tommy Goss penalty was the difference between the two sides. Goss also scored the only goal in the League Cup game. A disappointing result on the back of a 1-1 draw against Dumbarton in the League opener at the Caledonian stadium. Danny Devine opening our account on half time but a resurgent Son's perked up after the break and got a deserved equaliser. Billy Mckay makes his 300th appearance for Inverness tomorrow. What a legend sitting on 112 goals. Note to Dunc. Billy is a striker, so let's see him strike please. Montrose have drawn their opening two fixtures in the League. A 1-1 draw at home to Kelty was followed by a goalless draw at Arbroath. Craig Brown scored the goal on the hour against Kelty who hit back soon after through Cunningham. Surprise surprise, but Michael Gardyne was sent off after an hour against Arbroath and will be suspended for the trip North. We will find Montrose a stubborn team and our last encounters with them saw us scrape through the play-offs at the end of last season. That's sort of irrelevant now with our playing staff decimated and morale at rock bottom. <<<That was their starting XI against Arbroath last week. No massive squad changes from last term but Gardyne suspended. In: Ben MacIver-Redwood, forward (Stirling University); Craig Smith, defender (Heriot-Watt University). Loan in: Blair McKenzie, defender (Aberdeen); Callum Hannah, defender (Raith Rovers). Out: Liam Callaghan, midfielder (Arbroath); Ben Hermiston, forward (Deveronvale, undisclosed); Craig Batchelor, forward.
    4 points
  5. Thrilling 1-1 in store with gardyne ejected from the stands for waving his willie at the home supporters when we collapse and let Montrose equalise in the last 10mins after huffing and puffing after an early lead. Prove me wrong!!!
    3 points
  6. Spot on. The Club need to know there are a lot of professional and experienced people who support the club - in recent months we realised what it truly meant to us -would be able to help in some small way given the magnitude of what exists (so far). We can but hope DF and GB now feel they have to put something back themselves.
    3 points
  7. You can now rest in peace Johndo. Your work on here is now done and Alan Savage will hopefully be the man to get us back on an even keel. I'll send you some old Canned Heat LP's. How about On the road again. That might be appropriate for you given the mileage you put in following the club. For now you must rest as Big Stu & Bronson are waiting for you with a double voddie and coke. Rest easy and let us carry on your good work.
    3 points
  8. https://ictfc.com/safety-message-to-supporters-and-other-stadium-users/ 'ICTFC takes a zero-tolerance position in respect of unacceptable conduct and any behaviour that could tarnish the clubs reputation' Even at this stage I don't think the club are in any position to be warning fans about tarnishing the clubs reputation. Pots and kettles. Was any of this statement really needed?
    2 points
  9. We have the start of a new era off the pitch, but a long tough road ahead, and I’m hoping for the start of a new era on the pitch, where we play to our strengths and play attractive attacking football. It would be very apt if Billy regains his scoring touch by being played as a proper striker in his 300th game. I’m hoping there will be a large enthusiastic crowd who inspire the players to our first league win of the season.
    2 points
  10. It was the players' kit arriving - YAY. CC has just said so on the courier website.
    2 points
  11. Hopefully reality will set in for Dunc as well ... He was a battler as a player now it is time to be the same as a manager (just in a less physical way). You are getting no money, Charlie already told you that, no pie-in-the-sky schemes to bring fans to the stadium on a monorail instead of a bus, no phygital new owners in the foreseeable future, and nothing but scrutiny, penny pinching, and trying to get the best out of your young (and capable) players. Players that need to be nurtured, coached, and supported by you, and by us, even when things don't go right. Big Dunc's new era can start this week ... if he wants to, and if he can swallow his pride and realise he has to get on with it with the lads he has, and with the realisation that he has to use tactics and style of play they can handle. If he can make that change, while everything else at the club is also changing, then perhaps a line can be drawn in the sand where we all move forwards, onwards and upwards for ICTFC, all pulling in the right direction. Or it can all go to shit, and we can be subject to the same dross as before where ultimately Big Dunc will lose all credibility and future career as a manager...
    2 points
  12. Hanlon's Razor "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity"
    2 points
  13. It’s Billy Mckay’s 300th game for us tomorrow. Let’s see him restored to the striker role!
    2 points
  14. The reality is that you can't please everyone all the time. I used to try that on here and it was a nightmare that had you tied up in knots and running around in circles. Once I accepted that there are those who like the site (and/or me) or did not like the site (and/or me) for whatever reason and learned to live with it and not give a **** then it all got easier. I do my best, and if you don't like it, or have a fundamental disagreement on the site ethos and views then P&B awaits if you so desire. since we stopped trying to be everything to everybody, we just get on with things. I think the only people we have banned in the last couple of years are bonafide spammers who get through our security from time to time. I have been on the supporters' club committee back in the day as well as others including the local Pool league and the amateur Football league, and know that it doesn't matter the organisation, there are always the same few faces on each who do things year in and year out, and many of the same faces doing the complaining about what you do but not willing to get involved. It is easy to criticise, not so easy to be criticised when you are doing your best. For my part, no-one has been perfect through this. Our (former) CEO is apparently litigious according to sources who warned me early on about saying too much online and I have been very careful to try and state only opinion and fact, not slander or defamation. I keep those particular opinions to myself. I could have said a lot more but I am happy to have been consistently against recent developments from the start as my somewhat dull social media will attest to. Similarly, over the years, I built up relationships with various board members and chairmen, and these relationships were built on trust. Sometimes I could and would say things, more than I should sometimes, and at other times, I had additional info or background that gave me more context but was not for sharing. It takes a long time to get to that trust level with ICT and it should not be taken lightly as it can be of great benefit in getting info to fans. I currently don't have any of that inside track since Rae/Crook/Gardiner et all, so it is somewhat refreshing to be able to shoot from the hip and say what I think rather than what I think I am allowed to say. Might I have worded some of what has been said by the ST differently? Perhaps. However, they do have to walk a fine line based on trying to keep 3 sets of masters mollified. first and foremost are the members and like any organisation you are never going to please all of them so you do your best. Second is their own rules and articles which mean they do things in a certain manner for the good and benefit of the supporters and the club, and that might include watering down statements or being party to privileged info that you can't share so that you don't burn bridges for future revelations from the same source, and finally the club itself. Its a complicated balancing act.
    2 points
  15. I've not suggested the club don't conform to rules but I do find the wording of the statement very confrontational. "Come along and enjoy the game. Make lots of noise to support the team but please don't bring pyro and keep the stadium rules in mind. A link to the rules can be found here" Something of that ilk in the matchday info page is all that's needed at this point. I will also be there tomorrow. Glad to be back cheering on the team in person and happy to be making a financial contribution again.
    1 point
  16. Is it not just stating the obvious?
    1 point
  17. Come at me all you like because I have a feeling this opinion may not be a sentiment held by everyone. Of course this statement was necessary fgs, we don't want or need fans that are disruptive/drunk etc and just go to cause trouble, you do realise that families attend matches so I'm fairly certain that parents don't want their kids hearing abuse etc heard at the stadium when they are there to enjoy a game of football!! I'm not a parent but I for one certainly WOULD NOT want my children hearing abuse or seeing fellow fans being disruptive if I ever became a parent! Now I know that every club has "these types of fans", there's no getting away from that but what I don't want is our club's reputation getting tarnished by idiots that just go to matches to cause trouble. Again, I know that the vast majority of our fans are genuinely good people that go just for the football and to meet up with friends etc, I get that players/management can maybe come under scrutiny from fans and the players may even get booed off at the end, that's part and parcel of being a football fan. I've said this on many occasions but I really do want to go back to the stadium on a matchday one day in the future but that's currently not achievable at the minute due to work commitments, I really enjoyed when I went to the matches back in the day when we were in the Premiership and even in the championship under Oor Tel and I can honestly say that the atmosphere was really good.
    1 point
  18. I think we all know this duds time is running out, especially if we get new investment and results don't improve because MOST new owners change manager unless it's going very well in terms of results and league position etc so it's just a case of, how long does he have left . I trust Messrs Savage and Christie with this one, certainly more than I did with clowns Gardiner and Morrison! I also think it may be positive that he's not able to sign anyone else because he'd just sign more dross on loan instead of playing the capable youngsters we have here!
    1 point
  19. Are you sure Yngwie, Sometimes you reap what you sow. Looks like the supporters were vocal for them to throw money at the team to reach the promised land of the Scottish premiership as we may have done since relegation to the championship. German football investment group Fussball GmbH has put Dunfermline Athletic up for sale, citing supporter negativity following a poor start to the season and a perceived lack of summer signings. we have felt for a while now, probably since the middle of last season, that long-term planning and putting in place the building blocks for future success is not what many are looking for,” the statement added. “Many seem to prefer an investor who has deep pockets to throw at the first team and try for the best over and over again each season. “We said from the start that we are not this kind of investor and therefore have detected an increasing disappointment in our approach.” Supporters EH….
    1 point
  20. Just been to the stadium to purchase our tickets, and I think it has been a busy day at the shop. A parcel delivery arrived while we were there - hope it's the team strips. Let's have a real party atmosphere tomorrow .
    1 point
  21. It would be a very wet one given our aquifer under the centre circle!
    1 point
  22. And mine too, most of the time. I'm actually a member. But I was quite alarmed by the enthusiasm with which they welcomed the Seventy7 thing, whilst most of us were VERY cautious! They certainly did not reflect my feelings on that occasion.
    1 point
  23. I’ve said it before, but the Board seems to lack anyone of a finance/accounting background. Someone with those skills would be better placed to scrutinise the numbers, know what questions to ask of the CEO and insist on what financial information should be provided regularly.
    1 point
  24. Probably discovered a passage way straight down to middle earth under the centre circle. Wouldn't be surprised if Willie Gollum is found to involved as well. Thats why letting Ketan anywhere near the club was Sauron ..
    1 point
  25. I don't think Gardiner has the capacity to carry out such a grand scheme. He has managed to 'trash' the club quite easily through sheer incompetence of a frighteningly high level, allied to a duplicitous manner in which he has hidden most of his accomplishments from the (weak?) board ( although some questions raised from their side might have slowed the juggernaut). Throw in a well meaning fan/chairman who is removed from the from day to day operations of the football club and seemed content to cover initial mounting losses whilst being fed the line of ' small losses before big gains' bullshit while Gardiner continued to spin his web. Hell, even successive audits have allowed this shitshow to continue unchecked over successive years on the thin basis of projected income.
    1 point
  26. I think Morrison and Gardiner are clearly joined at the hip in all this and were only looking to line their own pockets with whatever means they could . Hopefully they both get found out for it all and it’s all brought out in the open . Is hiding information , figures etc from the board not illegal ? Surely they should be held to account if so .
    1 point
  27. They certainly reflect my feelings! And I know a lot of other people feel the same!!!
    1 point
  28. Part of me thinks that joker Ketan, is doing this, so he can chat up birds in nightclubs, down south, bragging about trying to buy a football club, then showing them the articles about ICT on his phone. It really wouldnt surprise me. Thats the type of guy he strikes me as
    1 point
  29. HT: 0-0 FT: 2-1 ICT: Billy Mckay Montrose: Craig Brown Crowd: 1994
    1 point
  30. Don't suppose ebay has a power seller by the name of S<teevee>G, member since April 2019 - 94% positive feedback (1690) Item Location: Kelty Premier Inn
    1 point
  31. Will we get a “Savage bounce”? I hope so! HT 1-0 FT 2-1 ICT Billy McKay Montrose Brown Crowd 2000
    1 point
  32. Checking out the comments on his linkedin .. some real Kult of Ketan disciples blowing smoke up his a##e
    1 point
  33. Its all getting a little bit messy. I see some sense in what Charles is saying, perhaps AS had to be a current director to make initial changes - such as binning the former CEO - and now that he has done this, he can revert to a more 'independent consultant' role. If his forensic investigation of things shows board culpability in anything, and given the laundry list of complaints from the last several years my opinion is that this is bound to be the case, and he was a (current) member of the board, then he may have to be hoisted by his own petard, which would be counterproductive. If on the other hand this is yet another hail-mary by either KM/77V or our former CEO then what could they possibly hope to achieve? One is the single most reviled person in the history of ICTFC, and the other has all the history of grand schemes failing that you could ever see (in fact that could also be a description of our former CEO also). To keep myself right, I have this handy guide
    1 point
  34. As I said on Twitter I really enjoyed reading that. It's going to be so, so strange heading to an ICT away match and not seeing / hearing Johndo
    1 point
  35. One nagging concern that I have is that, since this Forensic Audit has been uncovering Black Holes of constantly increasing magnitude, it may ultimately stumble across something so large that it may not be possible to deal with it. We just need to hope not. As for the apparently very large number of strips - might it not be possible to contact the person within Puma through whom the order was made and come to some constructive arrangement?
    0 points
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