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A game of 2 halves and we were sh!te in both. Perhaps too much Christmas pud was had by those in red and blue! Couldn't keep possession - either pushed off the ball far too easily or passing to an opponent. Cove came prepared and soaked up everything we threw at them with ease, and with similar ease strolled through our defence whenever they fancied a shot at goal. They wanted it so much more than we did and could have won by a much bigger margin. If this is the level of desire that ICT are gonna be showing then perhaps I should be looking elsewhere for my Saturday entertainment! (For what it's worth, Longstaff and Dibaga joint MotM - that is of course if we exclude the Cove players!)

Credit where credit is due. Cove came with a game plan and executed it brilliantly. They knew that we would come out looking to be positive and they pressed us really hard giving us very little time of the ball and forcing errors. Our approach left us a little short at the back and this was exploited by quick, well supported breaks. It was a high energy, high risk strategy and with just 5 subs on the bench it probably took us by surprise. It paid off for them with 2 early goals helped by some rather panicked defending. Their high energy pressing game was not sustainable and they were happy to sit a bit deeper and soak up pressure after the 2 goals. We pulled one back and had we been a bit more clinical we could have got an equaliser before half time. Had we done so, I would have fancied us to win. Alas it was not to be. We then conceded a very soft 3rd goal early in the 2nd half which knocked the confidence out of the team. Just when the team most needed the support of the home fans, many of our "fans" turned against the team, further denting the confidence. Time and again players would simply pass square, or back so that the responsibility for trying to do something positive was passed on with the ball. Only Longstaff was showing any real attacking intent. Meanwhile Cove continued to press aggressively whenever we did find a bit of space. They also deployed the tactic of feigning injury whenever they were tackled which allowed the rest of the team to have a minute or two to catch their breath. Their attitude was exemplified by Doyle who went up for a set piece late in the game with them with a 2 goal advantage. The ball went out for a goal kick which Musa was looking to take quickly. Doyle got his head down and literally sprinted back into his own half, shouted instructions to his team mates and then won the header from Musa's long kick. We were far from our best today and the way Cove out-thought, out-fort and out-played us will have damaged the players' confidence. As Charles so rightly says, these young players desperately need the support of the fans in this particularly difficult time for the club. Late in the game one of our lads got behind the defence and put a ball into the box. It wasn't a great ball and the keeper comfortably gathered it, but at least the lad had got into the good position and played the ball into the box. Next time, a better ball might result in a goal. Some of us applauded his effort but one loud voice several rows down shouted "You're f***ing useless" at the young lad. How the hell is that going to help anyone? Next time the lad might not run into the space or will look for a safer ball to play so he doesn't get abused like that. If you are moronic enough to abuse your own players, at least have the decency to do it from the South Stand. After all, it only helps one team - and it is not ICT.

Jeez, If there was ever a team that didn't turn up, That was it today! Way too much turkey lads. Looked off the pace, slow to every ball / second ball, Created zilch, defence was sloppy ( Diagba saved us from a real humping). And once again the home fans suffer.. why? Reality check today and back to earth with a huge bump and to make matters worse a veritable 6 pointer with Dumbarton next week FFS. Longstaff MOM for going sideways and one shot to the back of the north stand.

Today’s performance was as bad as I’ve seen in a very long time! Hopefully it’s just a blip on the radar. If it wasn’t for Musa that could have been 6 or 7. Ethan Cairns did well when he came on, hopefully he gets a run in the team. Serious question. Do our players do gym work? Keith Bray, Adam Mackinonn and Robbie Thompson to name a few get nudged off the ball far too easily. Surely the club should be putting these guys through strength and conditioning programs.

I would have picked the team that started today, we don’t have any other choice. cove from the start were faster, stronger, better all over the park than us. Fyvie was running the midfield. dont understand what kellacher was doing second half. Took Strachan off cairns on. Went to a back 3 of devine, savage and for goodness sake gilmour as the centre half. nolan shifted to the left, was getting into some decent positions but would not cross the ball with his left foot always turning back to use his right. bray on the other side getting the ball knew he couldn’t go past their fullback, stopping and either passing sideways or more often backwards allowing cove to regroup. we had a good chance to get a goal back 2nd half I think cairns Sclaffed a shot from a few yards the keeper saved and billy back in the day would have slotted home but alas the defender was too quick for him and cleared. maybe time to give cairns a go up front although he looked pretty raw the time he was on. we may have used up all the luck we have been having lately, diabaga saving 2 penalties in consecutive games turning a defeat into a draw v kelty?. And a defeat into a win v cove, when a 2 goal lead for them would have killed the game. then to score 2 goals to win 2 games from corner crosses. Dumbarton winning and Annan drawing, both late in the game didn’t help today. all we can do is turn up next game and go again.

Rant incoming! I am totally appalled at the complete boneheads in the stand who were booing the team off the park today. And no… I don’t buy into the entitled “we’ve paid our money so we can do what we want” nonsense. Sorry, if you have a self esteem problem or similar, creating some fundamental need for the regular gratification of witnessing sporting success that prompts the need to boo when you don’t get what you want… then please go and watch American Wrestling or something else where booing is considered to make a contribution. This is a football club that is fighting for its life and the team and management have been doing a damned good job of helping to rescue it from a situation that isn’t of their making and was created by persons now mercifully no longer here. Sure, today’s performance was very poor and that was willingly acknowledged during post match interviews - where one interviewee, without being prompted, volunteered that the squad had found this idiocy very unsettling. If these clowns claim to be genuine supporters of this club, as opposed to entitled glory hunters, then they need to get a grip and realise that the only thing behaviour like this is going to do is to demoralise and undermine this young, progressing side - to the detriment of the club. OK… that’s my say on this appalling nonsense which is putting this club in danger of slipping back in its gallant fight against oblivion, and if anyone is offended at what I’ve said or would seek to justify what happened, I would reply “Tough… and maybe take a damned good look at yourself.” (And please desist from spouting cliches about Happy Clappers.) These players and coaches need all the constructive support they can get.

I understand your anger and whilst not a booer myself, I can also understand those who are. Professional footballers are paid to entertain. That's why we pay to go and watch them perform. When they appear careless, over-casual and generally disinterested in their performance then the paying audience is bound to be disenchanted and perfectly ENTITLED to express their disapproval. If actors on a stage fluff their lines all the time the audience will make their feelings known. That's the entertainment industry!

I’d drop McKay. Been totally ineffective for far too long now.

Dibaga. It could have been a lot worse, He had one save at his near post just infront of us in the first half, Palmed a low shot round for a corner. Unfortunatley the defence didn't heed the warning and from that corner they scored with a header high into the net. We were not switched on and i also think the Captain should be Devine.

I don’t know what strength and conditioning they do, but certainly the players seem to be lasting the 90 minutes a bit better now than they were a couple of months ago (which is a different issue.) To achieve strength gain, you really need at least two specific strength sessions a week. It’s maybe also worth remembering that many of these players are still young boys who won’t yet have reached their full strength capacity.

Get what you are saying, but rightly so, fans have a right to be angry. OK maybe some have gone over the top, but that was 4 going on 5 or 6 today. FFS we were completely battered at home by Cove, a team we completely dominated only a matter of weeks ago in the last league fixture.

Fans turned up, pity the players did not. Seen some really good performances in the last couple weeks at Cove ,Montrose and Stenhousemuir but that was just woeful. Feeble defending set the tone for a terrible afternoon in a game we were never in. Hope it's just a bad day, but said that after Arbroath turned us over a couple of weeks ago.

A bad day at the office. It always happens. Regroup and move on.

Halfway through our season, we are 9 points behind Annan. If we hadn't had 15 points deducted, we'd be 6 points ahead of them. Survival in League One must be our main goal this season. So, assuming that Annan's form remains the same, in the New Year we need to be a bit better than we were in the first half of the season, if we are to reach safety in 8th spot. Just a wee bit better - not a complete turnaround, about half a point a game better. Given that we no longer have Ferguson holding us back, I think that there is a fighting chance of achieving that!

Nae defence (literally), nae attack, nae bovril!! Positives # Dibaga - saved us from a thumping. # Longstaff - our only real threat. # Didn't rain. We had some spurts of nice passing in non-threatening areas, but that was it. Outfought, outclassed and out-thought. Put down to a bad day. Move on!

You got that right Please eat more gingerbread men.

Back in for a quick forecast for this game after my successful scrabble and yahtzee predictions we used the seasonal ELF game to predict our fortunes. With my nephew playing the blue elf for cove and myself playing red for ict Cove surged into an 8-7 early lead in the first part of the game but as always by eating two gingerbread men worth five jelly beans caley overtook cove for a 12- 8 win. Using my seer sense i think this means a 3-2 win for caley thistle. Good luck. Enjoy the game....

Sharpie

Wishing all the moderators, posters, and visitors to CTO a very Merry Christmas and especially a Happy New Year, filled with joy, happiness, a lack of administration, and loads of points won by Scott K and the team to keep us free from playoffs or relegation.

I hope all posters and lurkers had a great Christmas. Now we all need is a present of three points on Saturday. Thanks to Scotty for doing all he does to maintain the Forum and giving us a great place to make comments and compare notes.

First match I've been to this season. It was so refreshing to see us actually playing some football : also won most of the 50/50 balls and held possession pretty well. Second 45 mins play was hardly out of their half and it would have been soul destroying had we not picked up the 3 points. First match I actually enjoyed for many a season. Agree we need to score more goals. Defensive record is great but would be good to have easier wins now and again!

By definition we have not seen the terms of the 'legal' document Morrison (and presumably Cameron) signed to take over Caledonian Properties, but the big hurdle for them to redevelop the land is Highland Council. In due course we may discover why the £1.5m Loch Ness car parking deal collapsed. We know Cameron and Morrison took control of Caledonian Properties on 23 August 2023 as George Fraser and Cesidio Martin Di Ciacca resigned. Tulloch Longman Limited thus relinquished control on 24th August 2023. On the 24th August 2023 Caledonian Properties registered office changed to the Stadium address. That address changed again on 22nd October 2024 to 56 Torridon Road Broughty Ferry the day the football club went into administration. We eventually discovered that David Cameron resigned as a Director of the football club on 5 March 2022. On the face of it, Ross Morrison was therefore the only person able to act on behalf of the football club in negotiations with Tulloch Longman Limited. Presumably he had the full authority of the Board in any negotiations given that the Club allowed their premises to become the registered office. As Chairman of the football club and also taking a significant controlling interest in Caledonian Properties Limited will be documented in the minutes of the football club. David Cameron as at 5 March 2022 was a private individual and therefore unlike Morrison not able to represent the football club unless there is documented authorisation of course. His resignation as a Director of the football club was not visible in the public domain until 6th July 2024 when Companies House published that fact. Morrison resigned as a Director of the football club on 30th May 2024.

I think you’ve hit on the great unknown of this whole thing. Inverness Caledonian Thistle Properties was set up late in 2000 as a vehicle to assist Tulloch’s bail-out of that period and it appears to have been the umbrella company, for the car parks at least, from that date. You may remember about seven or so years ago there was a seemingly eternal process where Tullochs gave the stadium, which was part of the 2000 rescue, back to the club and the car park part of that seemed to take for ever. At this point, there’s a section of “cold trail” where I’m not sure exactly what happened but it would appear that in August 2023, Morrison and Cameron took the opportunity to buy the Propco and hence title to that part of the lease, and the proceeds disappeared into the bottomless pit of overspending that was ongoing. In the case of Morrison, what he has put into the club therefore has very thick strings attached in that he is joint owner of the car park lease, along with the other main player Cameron, and the Charge over his £1.65M. His backside therefore appears to have been carefully covered. Ironically (and I quizzed AS about this at the conference) this situation arose at a time when Morrison was also the Chairman. There’s one further point which could become important. Did anyone notice that the Administrator said that, given the point in the process that the Charge was created, there may be grounds to challenge its validity? That, I think, is a space that may be well worth watching.

The Courier’s report on the Press Conference: Caley Thistle administrators have rejected a bid to buy the club Inverness Caledonian Thistle administrators BDO say they have already rejected one bid for the club – but 15 parties remain interested in buying the football club. Joint-administrator James Stephen revealed the news this morning, stating that he hopes to appoint a preferred bidder next month. It is now over two months since Caley Thistle brought in BDO to take charge of the club’s affairs, with former chairman Alan Savage providing a stable financial footing for the club to continue the 2024/25 season. However, long-term a new set of owners will need to be found, and Stephen has revealed the latest state of play in the Highland capital. “We still have significant interest in the club – around 15 parties,” he said in a statement. “Discussions are ongoing and we had a call on Thursday with a potential investor. That went well and they have asked for further information. Interest is both UK and worldwide. James Stephen was addressing the media for the first time in two months. "From a buyer's perspective, there are two parts to consider. The first is the funding to buy the assets and allow me to promote a credible voluntary arrangement. "The second bit is they need to understand what the funding is going to be like for the club moving forward as it strives to move away from a loss-making position. "Parties have asked to see budgets beyond the end of this season. We are preparing them and they will be ready in early January. "We will continue those discussions in January, and I am still very optimistic and pleased with the interest we have still got. We've been having sensible and credible discussions. "My desire is to conclude the sale as quickly as possible, but it has to be a transaction that works for everyone. Thanks to Alan's support, we have breathing space to iron out some obstacles we're facing.” Elaborating further after questioning, Stephen continued: “Some foreign investors have asked to see budgets going beyond the end of this season. “They see it as a long term project, they want to be in it for seven to 10 years or more. “They have a very strong affinity with sport, in the country that they’re in they are connected to a lot of sporting institutions, and one of them in particular has a strong affinity for Inverness and has visited quite a lot, so that has sparked their interest.” “I’m optimistic, and Alan has given us a great period of stability to iron out all these issues. “I would like to get to a preferred bidder stage in January with a view to putting forward a company voluntary arrangement proposal to the creditors.” Stephen did confirm, though, that the Caley Jags would not exit administration next month, meaning they will be limited in what they can do in the forthcoming January transfer window. Complicating matters is the land situation around the stadium. On that issue, Stephen said: “I just want to be crystal clear, the stadium and all the land around it is owned by Highland Council and the Common Good Fund. "The club has the lease until 2094 for the stadium. When I say stadium, I mean exactly that. We are a sub-tenant for the 9-10 acres of land around the stadium, which includes the car parks. "The head tenant is a company called Inverness Caledonian Thistle Properties. Our sub-lease is with Inverness Caledonian Thistle Properties. That is controlled by Ross Morrison and David Cameron, who are two former directors of the club. That was purchased by them in 2023. These leases run until 2094 as well. Former Caley Jags chairman Ross Morrison still has an influence on a potential sale due to his shared control of the land around the Caledonian Stadium. "In simple terms, the club doesn't control the destiny of the land. The sub-lease is terminable at quite short notice. That means we are in quite a weak position in that respect in terms of security of tenure. "I can't hide that is a potential obstacle to the sale of parties. They are quite understandably concerned the land could be subject to a change of use or the sub-lease could be terminated within a relatively short notice. "Given where the club sits, a major portion of the land is important to the club as it is not a city centre club and transport links are not great. Having that lands allows the club to promote non-football revenues which could be a big factor in the club being successful going forward. "I have been in touch with the council to say, in these circumstances, if the property company decides to do something different – sell them on or look for a change of use – then we are to be notified. We have a sub-lease and are a neighbouring party. "I did seek to get PropCo agreement from the reading that I had from the books and records of the company to agree what had been agreed prior to my appointment. That would have been of great assistance to the process. "However, following administration the PropCo position has changed. Their proposal is basically to offer a significant portion of the land to the club or a prospective purchaser. So there would be financial recompense for that. It's not fatal to the sale but it does add another significant cost to any acquisition. "The offer that was on the table prior to administration would have been good. "I remain committed to trying to seek a commercial agreement with all parties involved. I will also consider what other options around administration we may or may not have.” Again, upon further questioning, Stephen said: “What they are asking for now is markedly different now to what it was before administration. “There’s the triangle in the corner which is called the Bermuda Triangle – that wouldn’t form part of any acquisition of the club. “The Bermuda Triangle would potentially be sold off to someone else, and then the club would either get back the remainder or seek a sensible commercial deal to buy the remainder. “(Potential buyers are) totally aware of the situation, and we’re trying to look at alternative options that may work without having to get embroiled in a long-running negotiation.” On his chances of coming to an agreement with Morrison and Cameron, Stephen added: “I’ve had one conversation with Ross since I was appointed, and to be fair he has asked for a meeting in January which I welcome. “Previously I was dealing with him through his solicitor. He has duties as a director to co-operate with me. “I wouldn’t say he has been uncooperative, but I would like to see it move a bit quicker. “I’m very keen that the meeting in January goes ahead.”

A photo that was taken about 5 seconds too late as Musa was already heading back into his goals after a group hug. Meanwhile the other ten are over by the left touchline

I still find it incompetent in the extreme that the board and accountant (still at the club), kept signing off on thingsI ( players, stupid ventures, too much kit etc), that the club had no money for!!!!! I agree with your comments, who in their right mind would pay off the debt, then take on the costs of a loss making club!!!! AS has got money, but I suspect he needs assistance to take things forward.

Yep, that’s where we are just now. And even if a handful of players would ordinarily deserve to be dropped after today’s performance, they’ll all be starting next week because they are still the best or only option we have.

The car parks were acquired* by Morrison and Cameron from a third party, not the club, and they were NOT acquired from Tulloch, despite what has been reported. More accurately, they took control of the company that held/holds the lease. There was no transfer of lease, so no legal obligation for the company to be offered to the club. We all know the club could not afford it anyway and, at the time, most people would have been happy to see club directors purchase it as opposed to an unknown/unconnected party. In short, I don't think there's anything for the administrator to pursue here, other than agreement for a reasonable (to all) sub lease or sale of the company holding the lease to a new buyer/investor in the club. The security held by Ross Morrison is not (at least directly) related to the above transaction. Where I do think the administrator will have a strong case is the timing of the security being put in place. There are pretty strict rules about how and when securities can be done and, as was said in the interview, this falls within the challenge period they can use. As Scott Young was the directors signatory on those documents, there's at least still someone in place at the club who has knowledge of what went on. This would not remove Morrisons claim, but it would mean he was no longer a priority creditor. That may not be in the club's best interests for getting him to cooperate with a CVA. I'm not hopeful of us exiting this via a CVA. The main reason goes back to the challenge of any new investor obtaining a controlling shareholding under the current structure. The cost of obtaining that shareholding vs the cost of taking the hit (the Rangers route) and starting again at the bottom is, in my opinion, why interested parties will be wanting to pick over future budgets. Fans need to be ready and organised for that scenario, especially if they want any hope of retaining the voting rights held by the Supporters trust, as there would be no obligation for a new owner to honour that if a CVA cannot be agreed.

It would be good to hear something from the other side as I'm struggling to understand why those who have put hundreds of thousands and possibly millions into the club over the years (way beyond what's on the creditors list) are now apparently being difficult and threatening the clubs future. I don't necessarily include Morrison in that but guys like Cameron and Munro. Another thing I don't understand is why Savage chose administration. Despite what the administrator said (and of course he's going to support action that's giving him a healthy pay day) the money Savage is set to lay out in all of this could have paid Morrison off. If others had been willing to write off unsecured debts and we'd sorted the spending then we'd have avoided this whole saga and the 15 point penalty.