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It does. I am one of those people who wrote off my paltry £250 investment the day I made it. I never expected any profit, dividend, or influence in the decision-making process, it was simply a way to own a bit of "my" club. At AGMs, most were boring and uncontentious, so you simply voted to confirm whatever the board were suggesting. I can think of only a handful that ended in any form of vote where you actually had to debate and make a decision. In return I felt obligated to do my part and gave the club thousands of hours for free in IT/Web support, website design stuff etc. and where expenses were incurred, the club was asked to cover it at cost, no profit involved. We were in it together. The biggest thing for me was - at some point - to transfer the shares to my son who is the next generation of ICT fan and who I hope will have that same connection to the club and city despite not being born in Inverness. Owning a piece of that club, even if it is 0.0000625% is a part of that, along with timing our visits (where possible) to coincide with the football season and making sure we can get to a few games, restock at the club shop, and generally fill up his ICT cup so to speak. He loved meeting the players when he was a mascot, he loved chatting with - as he puts it - "Ryan Christie's dad", getting on the pitch while Tommy C said I could not, holding various cups thanks to Kenny Cameron, CaleyD and Davie Balfour, and he loved training with the players on the kid's day at the stadium a couple of times. He's got all the Real Madrid gear, all the Toronto FC gear, but he still goes off to school proudly wearing his ICT puffer jacket (which we bought in multiples sizes a few years ago)... His ICT top (another we bought in multiple sizes) will get pulled out again once the weather is better, and if and when the black strip ever becomes available, we may just have to grab a few of these too (including one for dad). None of this adds up to the financial backing that a single one of our chairmen has probably ever done, but multiply it by a lot of shareholders and the value soon becomes apparent. If we can't retain our personal shares, then that's another reason why I personally feel we must protect the Supporters Trust. It may be the only way to have a voice, however quiet and minority in scale.

What a turnaround from last week with so many other results going in our favour. Congratulations to Kells and all the lads for such a great effort and result!

What an amazing day for us, and for Keith Bray in particular.

Wow! What a result well done to Keith Bray and all the team today

Relegation Fight Intensifies Given our circumstances, our relegation fight looks likely to go down to the wire with Annan Athletic, and Kelty Hearts our main adversaries over the final five games. We still have to play Kelty, but our other games feature Cove (a) this weekend followed by Kelty (h). It's then a final three of Stenhousemuir (a), Arbroath (h) and a final game at Montrose (a) that will make or break our Admin season. All this will happen without Luis Longstaff, Alfie Bavidge and the rest of our longer term casualties. Cove will be without the suspended Mitch Megginson. Declan Glass and Arron Darge are facing a fitness battle. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Info ICTFC Monthly Magazine Admin Topic on CTO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LINK ABOVE This issue contains: The latest from Head Coach Scott Kellacher Focus on feature with Danny Devine Charlie’s Chat – Latest from Interim CEO Charlie Christie Scott Young on the 30th Anniversary Dinner Staff Insight with groundsman Dale Stephen Loan Watch: Sam Nixon at Forres Mechanics ICT Academy Update ICTWFC with Karen Mason Meet the Player: Alfie Bavidge ICT Community Trust Column ICT Supporters Trust news Venue: H2H Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 7 4 2 1 18 10 +8 Away 5 3 0 2 6 7 -1 Neutral 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 12 7 2 3 24 17 +7 You can see when the power shift started in earnest and that is all down to Administration as Cove have picked us off easily in the last two meetings since we caught them late in the League game back in November. Only half a dozen games ago we were banging in six and four goals at the Caledonian Stadiums. How quickly times can change Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Cove 1 - 4 (H) 0 - 2 (A) 2 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 1 (A) 6 - 1 (H) 1 - 0 (A) 4 - 1 (H) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) Happy New Year: Inverness began 2023 with a crushing win against Cove. Two from Billy Mckay and one from Danny Devine countered the opening goal from Jack Sanders. Two quickfire own goals within five minutes of the restart put the hosts 5-1 ahead. Mckay notched his hat-trick from close range as we ran away with the game. Big win to start the year, just what we needed. Jay Henderson started in his first game for the Caley Jags after a signing on loan for the rest of the season. Zak Delaney returned after injury but he was the only returnee with a sparse bench, Oakley and Boyd were the only senior outfield players on it with returning loan players. Gilmour and Logan missed out for Cove who had Iain Vigurs on the bench. After a minutes silence for the legend that was Pele, the game got underway on a crisp afternoon in the Highlands. Billy Mckay struck the post in the first minute from twenty yards. Megginson flicked a header just over five minutes later and Longstaff shot over after fifteen minutes as Cove got to grips with the pace of the game. Doran has a shot blocked by McKenzie and Billy Mckay put the rebound just wide. Hyde then saw McKenzie block with his legs as Mckay put him through on goal. Jack Sanders headed in the opener after twenty two minutes. Doran went close soon after, his deflected shot sliding past for a fruitless corner. Just after the half hour Billy Mckay drew Inverness level with a diving header from six yards after a Sean Welsh cross. Danny Devine put Inverness ahead five minutes before the break with a half volley into the bottom corner, Sean Welsh again the provider. A minute before the half time whistle, it was 3-1 when Billy Mckay netted from the spot after hand ball by Jack Sanders. Just after the interval a Dan Mackay shot/cross ended up in the net via Kyle McClelland. It's raining own goals now and Scott Ross was next to put through his own net. Mark Ridgers denied Fraser Fyvie and Luis Longstaff with excellent saves and Dan Mackay went close on the hour. Billy got his hat-trick and Dan Mackay went close to number seven. The three returning youngsters came on for the final ten minutes and more followed as we saw out the game. Who saw that coming??? And a Billy Mckay hat-trick INVERNESS CT The Season So Far D L D D W D D D L / W L D W W W L W L W W L W W L W D W / W L D L Since Scott Kellacher was handed the reins in game 11, there has been a more positive approach to our matches which has resulted in improved performances and a more enjoyable matchday experience all round. Alas we were brought back to earth with a disappointing result in our last game of 2024, a crushing 1-4 defeat at home to Cove Rangers. We'll have to put that one down to a bad day at the office. However, we bounced back in our first game of the second half of the season in the six pointer against Dumbarton with a hard fought 2-0 win. That win over Dumbarton was a vital one and the introduction of Alfie Bavidge was a welcome one as he opened the scoring early in the first half. Charlie Gilmour slotted in the clincher in the second half to give us a cushion over the Sons and to narrow the gap on Annan to seven points. We took part in the only League1 game the next weekend and came away from Annan with a resounding 3-0 win, Alfie Bavidge netting again with Keith Bray and then Billy Mckay from the spot. It was then on to Palmerston on the Tuesday night but in a five goal encounter we went down 3-2. Alfie Bavidge notched his third goal in three games and Keith Bray added a second but goals from Adam Brooks (2) and Jordan Allan kept the points in Dumfries. We bounced back with a resilient 1-2 win at Alloa in our third away game on the bounce, Dunfermline bound Keith Bray with his fourth of the season and Alfie Stewart. We got our revenge at home to QotS (1-0) with Alfie Bavidge scoring his fourth goal in five appearances. Alas it was a bridge too far at Arbroath and we went down losing three without reply. The Stenhousemuir fixture was postponed and was re-arranged for March 11th. We went to Kelty and came away with a narrow 1-0 win thanks to Alfie's 5th goal in 7 appearances. Montrose proved to be stubborn opponents and it took a superb diving header from Keith Bray to rescue a point in a rather turgid encounter after Sandilands had opened the scoring in the first half. A last gasp win at Dumbarton on the Saturday with Alfie Bavidge scoring his 6th goal in 9 games. Unfortunately Alfie was injured early on against Stenhousemuir in midweek but that didn't stop us running up a 4-1 win with goals from Brannan, Gilmour, Bray and Allan. Annan came North on Saturday in a six-pointer and it was a disappointing defeat after Annan parked the bus after scoring in the third minute. Next up was a 1-1 draw with Alloa despite hitting the woodwork twice and missing a penalty. Another bad day at the office last weekend at a wet and windswept Palmerston after Queen of the South blitzed us with three second half goals to run away with a 4-1 win in Dumfries. Meh! One win each and a draw in the League games so far this season but Cove also won the Scottish Cup tie 2-0 at Balmoral Park. They hammered us 4-1 last time out at the Caledonian Stadium Scott Kellacher was dealt a massive blow with the news that he will be without Luis Longstaff and now Alfie Bavidge for the remainder of the season. That's massive as we enter the final five. Latest Updates from Scott Kellacher talking to Paul Chalk @ P&J: Unfortunately Alfie Bavidge's second scan results will mean he will miss the last five games. Calum MacLeod returned last week coming on as a second half sub but he has a hip injury and Musa Dibaga was back in goal after his international trip abroad. Remi Savage was badly missed at Dumfries but will return for this one. James Nolan came off injured at Palmerston but no info regarding this although he has been seen training with the squad, so hopefully he is fit and good to go. Casualty List Luis Longstaff (groin op recovery) Alfie Bavidge (hamstring recovery) Lewis Nicolson (knee op recovery) Jake Davidson (knee op recovery) Calum Davidson (hip) Ethan Cairns (appendix post op) Jack Walker (tonsilitis) Shae Keogh (calf) Ben Corner (knee cartilage recovery) Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 31 18 57 2 Cove R 31 17 49 3 Stenny 31 11 49 4 Queen Sth 31 -2 42 5 Alloa Ath 31 4 41 6 Montrose 31 -4 39 7 Kelty 31 -1 37 8 Caley Jags 31 1 33 9 Annan Ath 31 -24 33 10 Sons 31 -20 13 LAST SIX: L W W D D L Six games in March for Cove starting with a 2-1 defeat at Alloa followed by a 3-1 home win over QotS and a big away win over Kelty (0-4). A 2-2 draw at Montrose and a no scoring home draw v Stenhousemuir was followed by last weeks top of the table clash at Arbroath that ended with a 1-0 defeat and a red card for Mitch Megginson. He will be a big miss for Cove, being the joint top scorer in League1 with 12 goals. Fear not Cove fans, Adam Emslie has bagged 9, Findlay Marshall has 7 and Fraser Fyvie 6. Defence wise, both sides have conceded 35 times, the big difference is that Cove have scored 16 more goals than the Caley Jags. Will Gillingham and Quinn Coulson are back in the squad while a late decision will be taken on the fitness of both Declan Glass and Arron Darge. One win each and a draw in the League games so far this season but Cove also won the Scottish Cup tie 2-0 at Balmoral Park. They hammered us 4-1 last time out at the Caledonian Stadium in one to forget. We did win here back in November. Caley Jags Get Vital Win: Top versus bottom ended in victory for the Caley Jags who climb into positive numbers at the foot of the table. Cove had made one change from the win at Dumbarton as they looked for their fifth win on the trot. Findlay Marshall replaced Arron Darge. For Inverness, graduate Sam Reid took his place on the bench with Lewis Nicolson missing. On the field, Charlie Gilmour returned to midfield to bolster the squad with Connal Ewan out injured and boss Scott Kellacher would be looking to get into positive numbers with his positive team talks. However, it only took Cove ten minutes to get in front through top scorer Mitch Megginson. Megginson failed to convert a first half penalty with Dibaga saving and two minutes later it was all square when Adam MacKinnon drilled high into the net. With 25 minutes left, Keith Bray popped up with a much needed and deserved winner. This was a great result played out at Cove, sharpened at Inverness but made in the Isle of Lewis.

All the best tomorrow lads. Hopefully the sun will be shining on ICT . C'mon Caley

This thread really demonstrates why I’d never have been any good in the business world - can’t get halfway through reading a post before I descend into a Homer Simpsonesque donut moment…

Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Arbroath 32 19 60 2 Cove R 32 14 49 3 Stenny 32 8 49 4 Queen o Sth 32 0 45 5 Alloa Athletic 32 7 44 6 Montrose 32 -5 39 7 Kelty Hearts 32 -7 37 8 Inverness CT 32 4 36 9 Annan Ath 32 -26 33 10 Dumbarton 32 -14 16

Titanium. Well done lads

Superb effort, full mark's to all involved!

What an encouraging result after last week's disappointment. Well done to all, especially our hat trick scorer. Annan losing gives us a bit more breathing space as well. Onwards and upwards.

this aged well lol

We were defeated by our inability to score goals and finish teams off. Should have been 4 up at half time. Its symptomatic of our season in any games without Bavidge and sadly I worry tomorrow will be more of the same. Worst away day in the league, in an awful location and terrible stadium and no atmosphere. Expect us to outnumber the home fans.

I was at the cup game back in December. We played really well I felt and was only defeated by a ref who didn't want extra time. Hopefully our young lads will have taken lessons from last week and grab at least a point.

Mulgrew must stay!

Never so pleased to be so wrong! Fantastic result today.

Alex Samuel vs Raith Rovers, Jan 2024.

Prefect day and results all round. Can’t remember when and who had a hat trick last for us! Well done Bray and every player, manager and fans at the game today. Feel today’s results are significant. Kelty in free fall may be manager less by next week and clearly in a position to overcome. No looking back!! bc

100% agree. He’s got a great career ahead and hopefully the add ins in the deal that Charlie mentioned at the Fans Meeting mean we will get more money in the future.

Thanks tm4tj, Unfortunately, any kind of technology is my nemesis, but I love your pictures.

Results going our way for one today!

3-0!!! Incredible! Just what we needed today.

I'm surprised the referee didn't check Bray's boots after the first goal given how high he jumped. Go go gadget legs.

Don't knock it! That's two assists he has now. Obviously very influential when on the bench.

We have a 2nd!! Get in!

I won’t pretend to fully understand all the ins and outs of AS proposal but to give him full control with no fan shares doesn’t sit well with me. Surely fans having ownership through shares can foster a stronger connection to the club, promoting community engagement and financial stability, while also aligning the club's interests with those of its supporters. * Edit I’m truly grateful for his support

Not directly, but he has said that he hopes being out of administration would encourage others to make a financial contribution. There was talk of needing £1.8 million to get to end of next season. If FC Inverness own all the shares, then the only way for someone else to get in on the game is to invest in FC Inverness or buy shares from them. AS has said he wants total control, so I don't envisage him selling pockets of shares. It's just another thing that doesn't properly add/line up at present.

You need to listen to the Bryan Jackson episode of the Wyness Shuffle podcast.

tm4tj, Slightly off topic and you may have discussed this before, but I wondered where you get the beautiful artwork for your pre match statement. These pictures are always so apt, and I particularly like this one with the eagle and thistles, and Cove looking lovely (although I hear it can be cold and miserable at the games there). Hope it is a great day for ICT today.

If the AS proposal was to return all shares to the club so they could be resold, then I'd be more inclined to agree. That would put everyone on an equal footing in regards to zeroing out previous share purchases/acquisitions. AS could then purchase £800k worth to put that money into the club, and others could also invest directly. As the only shareholder at that point, he'd have 100% control. If others wanted to invest, they would then get a say in proportion to their investment. However, what AS is trying to do is get control of all 4 million shares for £800k via an external company. He then seems to want people to invest in that external company, which gives them no direct shareholding in the club itself...and no guarantee any investment even makes it to the club. I don't like the smell of that.

The women are back in action this weekend in their first of five games in the top six.

I will refer to my signature and the quote from AS himself .... "It’s not a train set – it’s a proud member of the SPFL" : Alan Savage [30/07/2024]" If ANYONE - and that includes AS - is treating ICT as a power play or a plaything like that proverbial train set then that is not right and is not acceptable. Like everyone else here I want what is best for our club, but also like most, I am just a normal working guy, and just can't afford to 'do the right thing' by the club in that way. I will do what I can in terms of shares, donations or merchandise purchases, but I cant match what Savage, Morrison, Sutherland et all have done in the past or may do in future. Currently, I will give AS a fair bit of leeway as he has stepped up and put money where his mouth is (again). All of those power-brokers who were at that meeting have similarly done their part at one time or another including RM who we know made some bad choices but still sunk seven figures into the club. The minutiae and semantics of that is for another topic. There are also a lot of other instances over the years where previous leaders of our club have done unseen or unknown things to make sure costs were controlled at the club, picked up by someone else, or paid out of their own pockets. I can see AS' point to an extent in wanting control. When he was chairman previously, he did not have that and there were well documented power struggles and personality conflicts that basically led to his resignation. I know I am over-simplifying that part of our history, but I can see him not wanting the same scenario this time around if he is trying to save the club and ends up meeting 10 different dissenting voices each time we try to take a step forward. I have reservations over the 100% ownership thing unless it comes with some form of protection and succession plan should he himself lose interest, or possibly more likely, that as he ages, he is less able to manage the day to day running of a football club and those who take over from him are uninterested (the Gretna scenario). If 'clearing the decks' so to speak is simply a mechanism to tidy up and remove current shares and debts and then to offer these to a new owner, or as a brand new public share issue, then that's more acceptable but as someone said, the devil will be in the details and we dont have those details. For me however, the 10% voting right of the Trust should be non-negotiable. Their relevance and value has always been questioned in some corners over the years, but there is no denying what they have also done during this time, the value it brings, and hopefully that they will continue to do provided they have some say and some skin in the game... The other thing here is to wonder about the end game. Something that sticks in my head is the mention of relocation to UHI. Personally, I am not against this as such. I love the Caledonian Stadium, but if we are honest, and look at it in terms of practicality, the stadium is not in the best location, and a smaller purpose-built stadium, with training facilities, shared with UHI and perhaps sponsored by donors to UHI or corporate sponsors, and with shared costs makes a lot of sense provided it could be financed somehow. This would free up the current site for other activities if that parcel of land could be added to the freeport. I have no idea if any of this is possible, but provided any activity in this area was for the benefit of the club and secured a future for us then I would not be automatically opposed. I am not opposed to any consortium or person making a profit from this kind of venture, provided the club gets its fair share and does not get ripped off. The city is not so big that UHI is too far away. The transport links are ok, and if there were public transport on matchdays then this makes it just as convenient for some (and inconvenient for others) as the Caledonian stadium. Time will tell whether we are erecting a statue of AS and other benefactors in front of the Caledonian Stadium (wherever it is) or if he is written into history with some of the others who are on our personal sh** lists because we regard them as having tried to kill our club. For me, the club would already be dead thanks to the actions or inactions of others by now, so AS is still on my statue list and not my **** list! I really hope it stays that way!

There's also an impact in training where things like mini/small games can't be undertaken to the same extent through lack of numbers. Players may also be less likely to commit as physically during games because they know if they pick up a knock (or a booking that leads to suspension), there's less cover available. Whatever way you look at it, having a third (or more) of your squad out, no matter who they are, is bad.

We don't know if BDO have set any new deadline for offers at this stage. It's almost a week since AS put his offer on the table and we've heard/seen nothing from BDO (or anyone) to suggest they're even considering it. They are not obliged to make any public announcement, and I wouldn't expect them to. AS seems to be the only one who wants this to play out in the public eye, and I don't imagine BDO will have been too pleased that he was dropping details of interested parties (even if it was only the country they are based) during a press conference...or that he used the club as the platform to do that. NDAs exist for a reason. Also, what happened to agreement from the meeting that everyone remain silent until a deal was done? If you're making an offer that requires everyone to cooperate and move quickly, you don't start by annoying them all and breaking agreements. As has been talked about already in this thread, it's very reminiscent of what appears to have happened last August when apparent agreement between the same group of people broke down.

Cmon let’s be positive. When we were deducted 15 points I bet most would have bitten your hand off to be in this position with 6 games remaining. Let’s not forget what’s been achieved

For quite a while I predicted 6th. Right now I'd bite your hand off for 8th.

Let's hope it was just "one of those days". That was my first away game for quite a while and it was so disappointing to see such a poor performance from the boys. Despite disappointing results in the last 2 home games, they played much better in those than in this dismal defeat. As Scott says, we weren't too bad to start out with and we got into a lead with a smartly worked goal from a quick free kick. Unfortunately, we conceded a soft goal soon after and from then on Queens seemed to be fired up and our heads went down. With Savage missing from the back line and Nolan taking a knock and having to be replaced early in the 2nd half, we needed the midfield and front players to step up and keep the ball at the other end. Instead it was pretty pedestrian stuff with nothing like enough movement or driving forward. Queens showed them often enough how to do it and were quicker and more positive than us all over the park. We can maybe moan about the disallowed goal and the failure of the ref to award a stonewall penalty, but the fact is that for the last 60 minutes of the match we were totally outplayed. I looked over to the technical area and I had this image of Big Dunc standing there in his pullover in the driving rain, hands by his side and making occasional gestures to a player to pass the ball backwards or not to encroach beyond the half way line. Yes, it really was that bad!

History tells us that every time we are in a relegation dogfight, we get relegated.

Casualty List Luis Longstaff (groin op recovery) Alfie Bavidge (hamstring recovery) Lewis Nicolson (knee op recovery) Jake Davidson (knee op recovery) Calum MacLeod (hip) Ethan Cairns (appendix post op) Jack Walker (tonsilitis) Shae Keogh (calf) Ben Corner (knee cartilage recovery) No word on James Nolan yet