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I don’t think that the 47 page document tells us a great deal that we didn’t know already - apart from the identities of creditors we weren’t aware of and what they are owed, and how much the Administrators are being paid. Up to £1100 an hour for a BDO partner’s work and pro rata downward among a £252K total so far is pretty formidable and, I understand, these hourly rates are somewhat above the odds for accountancy services. However, on reading it (and trying to penetrate some of the extensive jargon), I suddenly for some reason find myself less confident about a way out of this mess. That’s not made any easier by the understanding that AS is finding it a bit difficult to get people to come in with him, and a suggestion that Dougie had been set to sponsor stadium naming but has now withdrawn. It’s the sheer magnitude of the problem that’s so discouraging and I remain mystified as to how so much could have been spent without challenge for so long and to such little effect. That brings me to the £1.65 million Ross Morrison is owed. It seems ironic in the extreme that there should be such indebtedness to the very individual who occupied the top position when it was decided to over spend to that extent in the first place. What he seems to have done is to have written a large cheque to finance his own irresponsible spending, but been fly enough to get security for it in the event of it all going wrong.. which it dramatically did. And then there’s the £70K listed against Gardiner which I hope and trust is nothing more than a claim and a figment of his imagination. Monday’s conference may well be a complete damp squib - simply a pre-Christmas formal update - but maybe not. We just don’t know.

A view of the Ochil's for Xmas An away day to Ochilview Park lies in wait for the Caley 'IOU' Jags on Saturday. With the creditors looming, the club still running at -£10K per week and Administrators already running up a bill of over a quarter of a million pounds, are we a viable proposition or are we running on borrowed time? The financial mess left in the wake of the ill fated previous regime uncovered by the forensic sweep over club accounts is staggering. It's embarrassing to be honest and shameful that the list of creditors still owed money has over 140 names on it. These range from a few £'s to £1.6m in the case of former Chairman Ross Morrison. In total the Caley Jags IOU total is standing at over £3.8m and rising daily. Morrison, Allan Munro and David Cameron alone are down £2,721,751. That's not a lot if you say it quickly. How low can we stoop. I hope they all paused for thought when they donned their red poppy in November, the food suppliers are owed over £26K! There's also a geezer called Scot Gardiner who is looking for £70K and O2 are £1.64p short. WTaF. Meanwhile, on the Park Inverness have to pick themselves up after tasting defeat at home to Arbroath last weekend. The dismissal of Robbie Thompson means that he will miss out along with the injured Jake Davidson, Lewis Nicolson, Charlie Reilly and Connall Ewan. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Travel/Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue (only 9 meetings) Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 Away 5 3 1 1 10 5 +5 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 9 6 2 1 21 8 +13 Not many games against the Warriors over the years. Prior to the earlier fixture this season that ended 0-0, our next most recent game was a League cup encounter in 2012 that ended 1-1 at Ochilview. Our one defeat was back in 1997 at Ochilview. Match report by Ian Broadfoot can be read below. The rest of our meetings took place between 1996 -1998. All 9 Competitive Meetings 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 3 - 1 (A) 2 - 1 (H) 3 - 0 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 2 - 3 (A) 5 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) Stenhousemuir 3-2 Inverness: Aug30th 1997. The game started at a fast pace and the home side thought they had scored in 4 minutes when an Innes effort was cleared off the line. In 7 minutes an excellent McCulloch 20 yard shot was painfully blocked by a defender and it fell harmlessly into the arms of Alexander. Wilson had a great chance in the 11th minute - he was clean through after a good pass from Thomson but he dithered too long. Stenhousemuir took the lead in 18 minutes when a Roseburgh cross from the left was knocked in by Farrell from close range. The visitors fought back and in 26 minutes a Wilson corner led to an Alexander save from Cherry and a Teasdale header off the bar. The Warriors took control and came close in 29 minutes when a 25 yard blast from Fisher flew low past the post. On 45 minutes Fisher collected a pass 30 yards out, calmly drew Fridge and slotted the ball home. On 47 minutes the visitors came back into the game when Wilson was brought down and Thomson hammered home the penalty. The revival lasted for 3 minutes. MacArthur was judged to have handled in the box to the amazement of all who saw the ball hit his shoulder. The soft penalty was converted by Roseburgh. In 73 minutes Henderson had the miss of the season. He was one yard out when the ball came across the face of the goal but he failed to connect. In the 85th minute a 25 yard McCulloch strike was tipped over by Alexander. Ross took the corner and Addicoat forced the ball over the line with his chest to make it 3-2. Caley Thistle chased the equaliser in the last 5 minutes but could not penetrate the well organised home defence and overall the final score of 3-2 flattered the Inverness side. Starting XI in bold Alexander Sprott Roseburgh pen (Campbell 84) Armstrong Innes Law Farrell Fisher Little Brown Henderson Les Fridge Richard Hastings Iain MacArthur (Ross 75) Paul Cherry Vetle Andersen Mark McCulloch Charlie Christie Mike Teasdale Barry Wilson (Addicoat 75) Iain Stewart pen Brian Thomson INVERNESS CT: D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W W L That's our League1 season so far. Scott Kellacher came in at matchday 11. His winning streak bookended by the losses at Dumbarton and the loss at home to Arbroath last week. The earlier fixture against the Warriors ended in a Bore Draw (0-0) Stenhousemuir came North for the first time since 1998 on League business when a Mike Teasdale brace won the day after Ian Little had opened the scoring for the Warriors in front of 1414 fans. Brian Thomson has been our all time top scorer against them with seven goals including a hat-trick in a 5-1 rout in 1997. Hope he has taken his boots along for this one. In an instantly forgettable first half, the only highlight was a brilliant penalty save from Musa Dibaga to keep the score level with opportunities non-existent for both sides. The closest we came was when Davidson shot just wide when we broke forward. The second half produced more of the same with neither side able to find the finishing touch. Another point and another game without a goal. Whatever way you spin it, it's another dire performance which won't encourage many fans to come back. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A chilly afternoon with the threat of rain dampened the atmosphere and to be honest it must have got to the players who produced a dire first forty-five only brought to life by a superb penalty save from Dibaga. Nothing wrong with the strike, but the keeper guessed right as he dived full length low to his right to deny Matty Yates. The rest of the half was disjointed and Jake Davidson was the only other one that went close ten minutes before the interval. Half Time: 0-0 The second half was no better with half chances and missed opportunities. Anderson glanced a header a yard or two wide and Yates shot wide as the Warriors threatened to take control. However with defences on top it was unlikely that anyone would score and James Nolan lifted a shot over the bar after good work down the right flank by Longstaff and lay-off's from Billy Mckay and MacKinnon. Nobody could hit the target and Brooks dragged a long range shot two or three yards wide. MacKinnon had an effort blocked from close range from the edge of the six yard box. Highlight of this half was a tremendous block by Jake Davidson as Ross Meechan looked favourite to score. Unfortunately it was the same old same old as we struggled badly to create enough and take any chances that did come our way. Full Time: 0-0 Poor fare at the Caledonian Stadium as we huffed and puffed our way around the park to little effect. Great save from MotM Musa Dibaga to deny Matty Yates but that was all there was to cheer. We did have an early penalty claim brushed aside, as Billy Mckay seemed to be barged off the ball and another in the second half when Duffy appeared to be pushed in the box going for a cross. Either way, a draw was about right, but two poor teams on display..... That was Duncball for you! Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 17 3 28 2 Stenny 17 8 27 3 Kelty Hearts 17 9 26 4 Alloa Ath 17 6 25 5 Montrose 17 2 23 6 Cove 17 1 22 7 Queen S 16 -3 21 8 Annan Ath 17 -12 18 9 Inverness CT 16 -1 07 10 Dumbarton 17 -13 01 Stenhousemuir Last Six League1 Games: L D W W W L The Warrior's form over the last six League games is a mirror image of our own. One of the big differences is they have scored plenty goals. 4-0, 3-0 and 1-0 wins over Dumbarton, Cove and Montrose are sandwiched between defeats at and Queen of the South and Arbroath with a draw against Annan five games ago. This was their line-up in the 2-1 defeat at Palmerston last week. Reece Lyon put Queens ahead early in the first half. And look who added a second, none other than Adam Brooks with a sharp first time hit from a low cross into the box. Connor O'Donnell reduced the deficit on the hour but despite Queens keeper being the busiest, it ended in a loss in Dumfries. Unfortunately, Matty Aitken will be unavailable after suffering a kidney injury at Dumfries and has been receiving hospital treatment. Greg Buchanan is over the bookings threshold but should be available for this one. Matty Yates is top scorer with five and Blair Alston has four. Danny Devine is still our top 'striker' with three goals. Nat Wedderburn is still at Stenny. Latest Inverness CT Team News A disappointing defeat last week at home to Arbroath was not helped by the sending off of Robbie Thompson who will miss this clash at Ochilview. No news again from the Inverness camp but as we have heard nothing, can we assume we will be along similar lines with Keith Bray starting in place of Thompson. Talk of a new young striker in the New Year, but we need the goals now as Billy seems to have run dry. Missing last week were Davidson, Reilly, Ewan, Nicolson and Cairns. No news from the gaffers this week again

Montrose @ 2.15 please. Have a great Christmas Mr CaleyJag and all participants.

I welcome the report. It detailed the facts precisely and unclutters the fog of words around the clubs precarious position and challenges it faces. How we got here is now history, it’s dealing with the future that matters. I do share your unease on the mood music coming from the report and more importantly from AS. The debt and the uncertainty on the leased land remain the obstacles to any serious potential buyer. AS did say if I recall rightly, that he would ensure the suppliers that were owed money would be seen ‘OK’. That looks now like it possibly could be dealt with as part of the admin process (in which the suppliers will end up receiving less). In regards the loan values for A Munro, Cameron et al, I expect AS spoke to them all to see what arrangement could be reached on an acceptable figure & timeline (and possible carrots of future involvement in the club). Ditto Ross Morrison but he has more insurance with the floating charge loan and a stronger bargaining position. Whatever was mooted at the time, the offer was not enough to win them over. BDO have followed up of course through the formal admin line but I expect the main protagonists (take out Bennett), felt stronger as a group to ‘sit it out’ to see if any better offer is forthcoming. BDO engaging lawyers to help understand the leased land around the stadium just makes me groan on the time and costs, however to be expected I guess. With the debt and lease land uncertainty, I can understand hesitancy in buyers coming forward until both elements are ‘fixed’. (it’s too risky a business decision just now). I will be interested to hear and see what BDO /AS say at the forthcoming press conference. Possibly entering a CVA to settle the debts with a Consortium led by AS to see through a stabilisation period (1-2yr), where the legal position on the leased land is understood. Thereafter a buyer ie group that is still interested can step forward. Certainly a long way to go yet and the supporters will play their part (I will) where we can funding the appropriate cause. sorry, a bit longer than I wanted! bc

Dear MrCaleyJag.....wishing you and yours a very happy Christmas. Have fun and thanks for keeping this awful game going. Mrs Gringo Kelty Hearts v Queens draw @ 3.25 Gringo Going for the Friday game so I can get the pain over with earlier... Queens Pk V Raith Rovers draw @ 3.25

I think there will be a fair bit of brinksmanship going on here. There may be people willing to write off their loans, but if they do so now then the likes of Gardiner will get more of what is in the pot if it comes down to a CVA as his £70K would then be a larger proportion of the remaining debt. Similarly, if Savage pays off the debt to local companies now, then Gardiner ends up getting more. By seeing these businesses "OK" Savage might be meaning he will make up the difference after the admin process has taken its course. I would suspect that the list of creditors has been thoroughly checked and by making it public the administrators are acknowledging these are all legitimate debts. The fact that he is owed such a large sum is a reflection of how naive the Board have been. Similarly, it beggars belief that the Board were hoodwinked into agreeing the terms of Morrison's secured loan and the relationship with the property company which are now the biggest stumbling blocks towards a secure future for the club. Remember, though, Gardiner had been claiming he was owed more than £70K so the fact that the document only lists £70K suggests that the administrators have concluded he does not have a valid further claim. I have to agree with Charles though. Despite the administrators' best efforts, the future looks very uncertain. Hopefully Monday's press conference, just 2 days before Christmas, will bring us all some much needed Christmas cheer.

When a press conference takes place, can someone get a stopwatch out and calculate how many thousands of pounds it is costing the club in BDO’s fees?!

One question I have is, aren't we under a transfer embargo after going into administration or did we manage to avoid that one ? Second thing is, yes please to Alan Savage leading a consort to take the club forward, I think nearly all of, if not all of our support would get behind that because he certainly has this club in his heart and certainly wouldn't be as incompetent as previous board members etc!! STV saying he doesn't expect to get out of administration before end of February though which is slightly worrying, or am I once again reading to much into this and unnecessarily worrying ?

I am sure that there are lots who feel this way, although I think that any money going into the club just now will all be used for running the club rather than going into paying off creditors. In practice, if people contributed a bit more now, it maybe means Alan Savage doesn't have to dig quite so deeply into his pockets to keep the club going. But if a crowdfunder was specifically to pay back what is owed to local businesses, then I think it would do very well. Your argument will apply too, to some of the individuals who are listed amongst the list of creditors. They will not wish to write off their loans if it means that those responsible for this mess end up getting a bit more out if at the end of the day. Better to hold on, get a bit out of a CVA if it comes to that, and then put that money back into the club when we come out of administration. But didn't Alan Savage say earlier on that he would look after the debts to local businesses? I don't know whether any of that has happened yet, but regardless of that, the guy is certainly putting other local money men who profess a love of the club to shame.

Think most of it lifted off the pod by the shuffle. Worth a listen

I'd certainly be more keen to contribute to the crowd fund if I knew it would be used to help pay off local businesses we owe money to rather than the pillocks who got us into this position.

The P&J is reporting Alan Savage as saying we are looking to sign a striker in January, there will be a Press Conference by the Administrator on Monday and he (Savage) may lead a consortium to take the club forward.

now released by Strathspey. Quote from Esson "Things happen in football. It didn’t work out for the club and for Wallace as we would have hoped. I can’t elaborate on the situation - what happened is between the club and Wallace. We did our best and we move on. We wish Wallace all the best for the future.”

Wallace Duffy is on the transfer list at Strathspey. I’ve no idea what the circumstances are given he’s just been there a short time.