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I will be fair Charles Bannerman I don't have by any means your knowledge on Caley but here where I stand. When Caley won the cup and beat Falkirk they were meant to have gained something like £500,000 from it and I also did read before that Caley was a club which was actually in profit I can't remember where I read it off but it said that Caley was in profit by around £100,000 so I thought to be fair the club was doing okay or good money wise since in fairness for any club to be in profit being a football club is very unlikely . I also knew of the football club often getting players out of contact so they would not have to pay big money for them so I thought overall the club to be fair money wise was in decent position . The whole Caley having money problems to be honest came out of nowhere for me Thanks for the wonderful reply back on Caley I did find it very interesting to read.

Good question indeed, Blair. Let's first state that a club playing high level Scottish football in front of 3-odd000 in Inverness isn't fundamentally financially viable, before going back a bit to start the financial thread. Input from Tulloch disposed of a £2.3M debt in 2000 and thereafter, combined with good housekeeping, got the club playing SPL football debt free in a compliant stadium in Inverness. Even by 2006/07, I understand that Charlie Christie had a £650pw wage cap imposed on him. Thereafter, with the club needing to stand on its own two feet, it became a case of relying on windfalls to balance the books (roughly). These principally took the form of performance windfalls for league placings and cup runs, player transfers - most conspicuously Ryan Christie's - and the sale of the Social Club. CJuice raises a valid issue about other possible transfer revenue and, albeit in the context of guys simply going for nothing on pre-contracts, performance in this respect would be worth evaluating - remembering also that your team takes a hit every time you sell a player. I get the impression that expanding player budgets began under Butcher who seems to have been adept at persuading chairmen - but in return made some very effective signings and brought in performance income. The real problem, in my view, began with Yogi and continued under Richie Foran. Here the signings were far poorer value for possibly still increasing money and, I suspect, began to pressurise the finances - with decreasing effect on the field after winning the Cup, largely with Butcher players. These were replaced by YH and RF with inferior but at least as expensive signings who effectively earned the club a very expensive relegation. This year's accounts - presumably due soon - should make interesting reading although they are never required to be as revealing as many would like. Notwithstanding, they are likely to continue a story of the legacy of the club having, under YH and RF, paid more and more for less and less.

A very tight competitive game in which we had the better chances. Mulraney played well but should've scored when clean through in the 1st half. Bell was more composed with his 1 on 1 in the 2nd but Alexander made a brilliant save. Polworth and Vigurs stood out again, although perhaps not quite at their best. They were both down with knocks during the game and you wonder what we'd be without them. Superb support.

It's a fair question Blair. Personally I think we've slightly been victims of our own success. After winning the cup (and reaching another final), aside from Christie, we completely failed to capitalise financially on the transfer of players their success attracted from elsewhere. So many good players have been lost for nothing. Unfortunately many of these good players were brought in through excellent scouting/trial work from Butchers teams tenure for next to nothing - if you then fail to profit from players leaving you have to try and replace them for next to nothing. It's near impossible to continue to find like for like gems from free transfers and released youths. Which is our market. So we've unsuccessfully been able to adjust to the loss of key players and not been able to replace them (we'd never replace Christie tbh). The board in some respects have perhaps shown complacency in this respect. They also did not manage to capitalise on our cup win commercially. They never truly seized the opportunity. Instead of attracting a new fan base we've lost fans. It's only really in hindsight that Foran turned out to be a poor manager. The club didn't act quickly enough in that respect perhaps.... But how often are clubs criticised for being trigger happy?It's a tough call. They held firm. It didn't work. Perhaps in the long run relegation might be good for us. Not financially sure, but it gives us the chance to start afresh. We might not be promoted this season but there's no reason not to build for next and be optimistic about our chances. We believe.

I have thought for a while regarding Caley the board were the cause of most of Caley problems overall regarding the team and I thought the board always acted like they were still in the Highland league. The reasons for me thinking that they always seem to pick whoever the cheapest for players or football managers. Refuse to kick out a manager when they do bad. The portakabin I was always surprised how long it stayed at the club even when they were in the Scottish Premiership.

Some achievement by Yngwie as well checking through all these results! ?

Sixth consecutive clean sheet, sixth game in a row undefeated. A point away against one of the form teams in the division. Surely nobody can be too unhappy with that after our dreadful start to the campaign. It might be too late to mount a serious promotion push for this season but we certainly now seem to be laying the foundations for having a proper go next. Mid season respectability and run in the Scottish Cup would represent decent consolidation. Goal scoring remains an issue but that has been the case since Billy McKay left first time around. However, our early season defensive incontinence seems well behind us and the coaches and players including the much criticised, by myself as much as anybody, Mark Ridgers deserve great credit for that. We now, for the first time in a couple of years, appear to have a solid foundation on which to build.

sort of satisfied but sounds as if we should have grabbed a winner. Defensive set up sounds so promising with another clean sheet. maybe should have given young Mc kay a run out, he just might have that killer instinct.

0-0 Half time. Donaldson and Tremarco both on yellow cards.

Mulraney misses a one on one with the keeper after being put through by Polly

One thing this thread screams out is bring back terry butcher!

Very harsh and clear agenda against Yogi. His time at Falkirk? You fail to mention he actually managed them for 6 years winning the first division twice (Brockville not up to SPL standard). You also failed to mention that he established them as a solid SPL team. You seem to also have forgotten in your Hughes summary that he got them into Europe and the Scottish Cup Final. In his one full season at Hibs, they finished 4th. Most Hibs fans would be happy with that kind of finish these days. He was unfairly sacked at the beginning of the next season, after a poor start. Livingston? Steadied the ship. Hartlepool? Already bottom of league and if you speak to any Hartlepool fan they'd say that they improved under him and nearly pulled off the great escape. Of course, you know about his time at Inverness. But it was Butchers squad so Yogi shouldn't get any credit I suppose eh? Rovers? Already doomed when he took over. Overall, his managerial record is quite impressive but then again, all the people that were against his appointment in the first place need someone to blame now for the state of the club.

Kingsmills, I think there is a danger you're coming across as an obsessive with an anti-Hughes agenda, while its clear from the various posts you have an 'issue' with him and clearly prefer ICT to have 'ICT people' in charge to give no credit to the guy based on his achievements not just with us but other clubs too regardless of who recruited the teams does seem rather imbalanced. To suggest he was the primary problem with everything wrong at our club is mis-guided afterall someone at the club gave him the job.

The Hughes drum has been banged to death from both sides and is somewhat tiresome. We should look back favourably at his tenure of what he achieved on the park - regardless of how the finances are played out afterall the board gave him the money to spend and if that was more or less than others he achieved the maximum he could with what he had. Perhaps he did ask too much looking for additional investment but his role was to take the team as high as possible and achieve whatever he could and if he felt keeping key players and bringing more in then that was his job - its for the board (rightly or wrongly to say yes or no). The real failing as has been for years is the board and the people of Inverness - the board failed time and time again to capitalise on our success and bring in more footfall, the people of Inverness have failed in supporting their local team and choosing only to show face at finals or OF games. But now the board since the JH tenure are dragging us backwards, they failed to deal with the management issues that were created by first block JH moving, then failed to support him financially knowing his ambitions. They picked cheap options and bad recruitment at player and management level, allowed lies to be pedalled about players and now the total disarray both on and off-field is driving the remaining fans away. Be under no illusions the board are firmly to blame for where we are and the sooner there is full transparency and statements of intent & structured plans for moving forwards, not just false promised like the Muirfield Mills money etc then we wont get this club back on track. No fans = no money = constant plummeting through the leagues.

Yes some excellent points put across but why apportion so much blame to John Hughes ? If the Board had had the guts to follow John's demands, when the side was at its best re. player potential, given him the money to retain the players he wanted to keep and /or during the horrendous injury period to buy the right replacements instead of second choice money to take in lesser able players,we in all probability, would be where Aberdeen are now. The football our Team was playing at it's peak was the best in Scotland and a joy to watch. Unfortunately it wasn't to be and now we are paying the price. It is doubtful if we will ever again reach such dizzy heights but I am still backing Robbo to stabilize the Team. i.e. subject to forward thinking by the new Board and getting some decent loan signings in to give us some extra impetus to spur the present compliment into some form of belief in themselves and the required attitude on the field.

John Hughes and the board who backed him. He stretched our finances unnecessarily, then put himself in an untenable position knowing fine he would require to be paid until further employment was found, forcing us into converting Forans playing contract into a managerial one. Foran wasn't ready but was never going to turn down the offer.