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Gardiner/Morrison will be hoping that takes the heat of them for a bit. We can't let it. The club is rotten to the core and whilst Dodds needed to go, so do the aforementioned.

and... a big waste of money.

Nothing is going change until Scott Gardiner is out of this club,no respect for the club and absolutely no respect for the staff.

Another vote for Tam Courts here, would also accept Ian McCall. Wouldn't be happy with Neilson or Locke although wouldn't be surprised to see them as an old friends act. Absolutely avoid anyone who has had the post before (looking at you John Hughes!) If Gardiner had any shred of dignity he would get out of our club, I fear us becoming a Falkirk and unable to get back up the leagues - for which I blame him.

I've no idea if the Club have someone in mind, but their statement did include an email address for applications. If you think you could do better than Dodds, the address is footballdept@ictfc. Let's hope they look at that account more than the slo@ictfc one or we will be without a manager for the rest of the season.

I got the impression at the Club's AGM that Gardiner had wanted Dodds gone in the middle of last season, but that the late upturn in form and the cup run saved him. Now the club have sacked him just 5 league games into his new 2 year contract extension! Obviously the results so far have not been good, but to sack a guy just 5 league games after extending his contract is a pretty drastic and expensive change of mind. So just what has happened? It would have been good to be a fly on the wall for the discussions which led to the decision. There are some mitigating factors. Firstly, the later finish to last season with the Cup Final undoubtedly had a knock on effect in terms both of contract uncertainties and in getting players back to match fitness after a much needed end of season break. Secondly, whilst results have been poor, performance wise we are not far off it. Much has been said about our defensive howlers, but yet we have not lost a league match by more than one goal. At the other end, we are averaging more shots and more shots on target per game than our opponents manage. Then on Saturday against Raith, the general performance appears to have improved with there being a consensus that we were the better side. It hardly seems to justify such a radical change of mind, and yet less than 24 hours later, Dodds is shown the door. This must be about more than a few poor early season results. It seems to me that defenders are making mistakes and strikers are not finding the net because they are low on confidence. And they are low on confidence because they are worried about being publicly criticised by the manager. Too often, Dodds has made criticism of players in his statements, and whilst not naming them, it has been crystal clear who he has been referring too. It seems to me that Dodds has lost the dressing room and that will be why he is going. Having said, that, he will not have lost the dressing room just in the first few weeks of this season and we all know of his fallings out with players previously. It just makes it all the more bizarre that the club should award Dodds with a new contract only to sack him 5 leagues games later. Sacking Dodds was the right decision, but the timing of it illustrates how dysfunctional the management within the club has become.

Scot Gardiner is so bad for our club it’s unreal . This guy has a streak in him that likes to cause controversy and trouble . I wonder what sort of wage he is robbing the club for . Certainly never heard a good word said about him . Bad bad news of a guy and like u say if he wasn’t our ceo we more than likely would not be in this mess we find ourself in . This guy needs shown the door and take his controversy with him .

You cannot solve a problem with the same kind of thinking that got you in to it.

Gardiner/Robertson/kellacher all need to go also

Jeez that is one of the best ways ever to avoid a feckin round in the Innes

Well that was a waste of 3 months.

O'Dea was captain at Toronto FC for a while. Great leader on the park, a fan favourite, and apparently a pretty decent bloke off the field. Not sure where he is at with coaching badges but looking at his coaching career with Motherwell then Celtic U18s and now Celtic B then he might be a better candidate than some.

Just another indicator of how out of touch the CEO/Chairman are with fans views.

He's certainly been slagging off Dodds and his management publicly at other clubs and I heard it myself at a training event a few weeks ago. I thought it was very unprofessional.

That was an expensive mistake then whoever decided to give him the 2 year deal needs booted out the door. Interesting in the statement they go on about getting to Scottish Cup Final but off course no mention of the winless run last season where most would have been sacked then but oh no they gave him another 2 year deal . Not holding out much hope on them appointing someone new which is what club needs complete clear out of coaching staff and that includes Kellacher he has hung around far too long . Robbo will have to learn names of players before Saturday

Putting Robbo in charge, albeit temporarily, is a ludicrous situation and IMHO another slap in the face for the fans. Dodds was always going to be the fall guy. It would not surprise me that they put CC in the hot seat / limelight and Robbo assumes a guidance role. This management team must think we are all so stupid not to see through their Self-Preservation ploys. They will eventually go but they are causing more damage week by week.

I don't like seeing anyone losing their jobs,but the time had come to call it a day on the tenure of Dodds and Wilson.Certainly both had lost the support of fans and we can only assume some of the players, other wise they would have dug in and given all for a result.That said if they were encouraged to play a certain way and style what could they do about it as to ignore the instructions would mean them being dropped. I believe on paper we are a reasonable team and we just need someone giving the boys the right vision and direction,being realistic ,honest and above all open and transparent with a good football head. When we went so many games in the last two seasons without a win,then this pattern is being repeated in season three,you just wonder who decided to give Dodds a new two year deal and was that the same person who decided he should be sacked three months after giveing him this deal. If so that persons jacket should be on a shouglie peg. I don't think the CEO supported Dodds or the team as he should have done. Communication is the key element devoid within the hierarchy of ICT and this now needs ro be addressed also, but first let's steady the ship. Callum Davidson is the man for me Hopefully all at ICT will look at themselves and see what they have done to our club and then reflect and reset and move forward having learned some hard lessons.

2 out of the required 4 or 5 now gone. I had a lot of respect for Robbo until recently, but given he would seem to rather be anywhere but where ICT are playing on a Saturday, in the midst of this crisis, then he has to go too, as does the CEO. I have not heard anyone say anything positive about him in the whole time he has been here and the one prospect I personally set up for him needed only a single phone call to discuss a possible link beneficial to ICT but according to the other party that phone call never came. As for SK who has survived multiple managerial changes, and our chairman RM, I will leave those closer to the sharp end to make that determination as I really don't know the daily machinations from this side of the pond. I know from talking to the chairman in the past that he was a supporter long before he was the chairman so if its a Kenny Cameron type of "loyalty error" then I could see him stay on but anything else and unfortunately he may have to fall on his sword as well.

I agree that whoever gave Dodds a two year contract must leave ICT. Letting Dodds depart after the cup final was obvious for all concerned and would have been the best for the man when compared to both his and our situation now. I was pleased to hear Charlie will be involved in the interim, I’d expect an improvement with him in the dressing room.

Totally agree or we are cementing over the cracks only .

What a fantastic decision to award him a 2 year contract! Who was responsible for that and how much has it cost the club? One more head, at least, needs to roll!

Gardiner has to follow suit

Hopefully thee who sacked him is next to go

Correct decision. Results excluding the Scottish Cup over the last 10 months just weren't good enough and there was an inevitably about this. Its a shame to see anyone lose their jobs like this but it had to be done for the good of the club. The problem is that do any of us trust those in charge to get the next manager decision correct?

Dodds Sacked Club Statement It is with much regret that the club has taken the decision to terminate the contracts of Head Coach Billy Dodds and his Assistant Manager Barry Wilson with immediate effect. Assistant Manager Barry Wilson is a club legend and he has more than ably served the club as player and coach. His many years here as both, and the respect with which he has been held, shows our appreciation of his service. Sometimes in football we have to make difficult decisions and both of the decisions outlined above fall very hard into that category. Sporting Director John Robertson and Academy Director Charlie Christie will take charge of the team in the interim period while we endeavour to find a new Head Coach in short order and applications will be accepted at footballdept@ictfc.co.uk To be honest, it's not difficult to see why this has happened. Over the last ten games played we have only beaten Inverness Clachnacuddin in the Inverness Cup Final. So that leaves eight defeats and a solitary draw. Here's the reasons below. But should other heads roll as well? Billy was short changed on the park, and off the park we have been a shambles. 18th 7:45:PM Dumbarton (A) League Cup (Group E) 1 - 2 505 25th 7:45:PM Airdrieonians (H) League Cup (Group E) 2 - 3 1,115 30th 3:00:PM Dundee (A) League Cup (Group E) 0 - 1 2,337 August 2023 5th 3:00:PM Queens Park (H) League (Champ) 1 - 2 2,030 12th 3:00:PM Ayr United (A) League (Champ) 0 - 1 1,989 22nd 7:30:PM Clachnacuddin (A) Inverness Cup (Final) 4 - 1 500ish 26th 3:00:PM Airdrieonians (A) League (Champ) 1 - 2 1,688 September 2023 2nd 3:00:PM Dunfermline (H) League (Champ) 1 - 1 2,388 9th 3:00:PM Arbroath (A) Trust Trophy Rnd3) 2 - 4 780 16th 3:00:PM Raith Rovers (A) League (Champ) 0 - 1 2,846 Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts One point from a possible fifteen is not acceptable. 1. Raith Rovers 5 4 1 0 10 6 13 2. Dundee Utd 5 3 2 0 11 2 11 3. Partick Thistle 5 3 1 1 14 6 10 4. Arbroath 6 3 0 3 10 8 9 5. Queens Park 6 3 0 3 8 10 9 6. Dunfermline 5 2 2 1 6 4 8 7. Airdrieonians 5 2 0 3 5 10 6 8. Morton 5 1 1 3 7 12 4 9. Ayr United 5 1 0 4 3 12 3 10. Inverness CT 5 0 1 4 3 7 1 From the outside looking in, some are wondering why we have sacked such a successful manager? Well, closer inspection will reveal more. He's an affable sort of guy. However, it's been the 'jobs for the boys' 2 year contract that has stuck in most peoples throats. That in itself is not down to Dodds. After all, who would turn that down after a couple of mediocre seasons where we have failed to get promoted and only made the Scottish Cup final by default after Queens Park messed up. All that did was paper over the cracks! We went on massive winless runs over the last two seasons that almost gave the impression the remit was to not get promoted as we are not ready for it. The style of football has been likened to our worst ever hoofball or Doddsball as it has now become known as. Excuses have been piling up and many fans have openly said they won't be back unless there is a total clearout. Well it looks like the root causes of this have removed Billy and Barry (a club legend sacked by association) to deflect from their own inability to run the club. Failed ventures (Inverness Caley Thistle Concert Company Ltd), broken promises (communication), where's Wally Robbo (invariably Dingwall), what does our CEO do and who or what is our SLO. Communication with the support has never been so poor, it's almost as if we have become an inconveniance. Lack of quality on and off the pitch. From the fans point of view it appears that we are paying hefty wages and get little in return for this. Who on earth thought it was a great idea to release an orange away strip on July 12th? Surely we don't have sectarian bigots running our club? I'd like to think we are above all this nonsense, however many believe this is what we have become under the present regime. What's the answer? It's time for a total revamp before we plunge into that abyss from which it's very difficult to emerge from and obscurity beckons. Hopefully this is just the start... Let's get back to being the family club we once were and made us all proud. View full article

He was interested in 2007. And our 'next game' back then was Dundee United. Experienced. Still got it. Would get respect of the players straight away. A favorite with fans everywhere he's been. And he wouldn't take any **** from above. Maybe get those ties in with Sheff Utd again like we had before? Youth development etc. People may laugh, but I think worth a consideration

There would be an uproar if that was to happen . His coaching wasn’t great neither it was Donald Park his number 2 who was the fantastic coach in that partnership

Barry Robson? We’d have to wait a few weeks until he becomes available.

I agree with the sentiment of @IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER. JR is not the solution, and in many eyes, he's our very own Nero rather than Hero. fiddling while Rome burns. However, I have to also say @Moogthurso makes a good point also. When he stepped down, he did so ostensibly because he realised the depth of his personal mental health challenges and sought help to deal with them whilst very much in the public eye. No stigma or pointing fingers for that, nothing but respect. It shows mental strength to admit and deal with your issues in that way, and even to agree to take on the very role that caused the challenges in the first place. Lets not forget that Charlie also stepped away for personal/family reasons from the same role where - it has to be said - he had got some pretty good results. With all due respect to both, hopefully this is a temporary measure until we get the right person in the job, but the change should NOT stop at just the scapegoat.

Yes, just got the news that the Huddersfield game midweek will be his last. Good at taking teams out of the mire, and always said he'd love to coach in Scotland. Great experience, could get a younger coach as his assistant, to eventually take over.

John Robertson has wanted back in the hot seat for a long time. Watch this space he'll get it full time now.

Maybe it was the realisation that Billy Dodds couldn't even beat Raith Rovers that was the end of him. For what it's worth, Caley Thistle only lost to a late goal away from home to a club who went top of the Championship as a result of their victory. And by all accounts the visitors put on their best performance of the season and squandered numerous chances of their own. But Inverness had this absolutely mental record against Rovers where in twenty-three years and thirty-four competitive matches their only defeats had come in penalty shootouts. However bad it got, Raith Rovers was at least a guaranteed point. But not any more. Of course, if that was the actual reason for Dodds' dismissal on Sunday night then that would raise significant questions about the people running the club. But then choosing to sack him after the Raith defeat - rather than after one of the many worse performances and results in recent months - raises enough questions. As does the fact that he is only three months into a new two year contract that he was given after ICT's Scottish Cup Final defeat to Celtic. Oh, and don't forget how the decision on Dodds' future was left all the way until after that match in early June, which was not exactly a show of confidence in the manager and which can hardly have aided preparations for the new season. Or how, despite the club making somewhere between £1million and £1.5million from the aforementioned cup run, the squad actually seems, on paper and in reality, drastically weaker than it was last season. That's not to suggest that Dodds is some sort of victim here. The cup exploits distracted neatly from a lacklustre league campaign as Caley Thistle finished sixth, their lowest finish in twenty-three years (though had they won their last match they would have come third). Whilst some of the criticism of his tactics by supporters was over-the-top, the slow-tempo, possession-based style was exposed by teams that pressed high up the pitch - after all the Scottish Championship is often short of quality but rarely short of energy - and was ineffective when chasing games against defensive-minded teams. But Dodds' first season in charge ended with a playoff final where, at half-time in the second leg in Perth, Caley Thistle fancied their chances of promotion before a second-half capitulation to St. Johnstone. He was not the next Sir Alex Ferguson, but nor was he the next Richie Foran. Sometimes things just go stale; his tenure of more than two seasons is well above the current average shelflife of an SPFL manager. The biggest concerns stretch back to his appointment in the first place. In March 2021 Dodds was brought in as a coach by Neil McCann, who had taken over temporarily after John Robertson stepped out of the dugout for mental health reasons. When it became clear Robertson was 'moving upstairs' to become sporting director, it was McCann's job if he wanted it...but he didn't want it. A few weeks later Dodds was appointed, to the surprise of nobody even though he had never held such a role at a club before. There was certainly nothing in the public domain to suggest the club had conducted an active search for a replacement or even interviewed outside candidates. This left the feeling that Dodds, who already lived locally, was the cheap and easy option. This turn of events felt very reminiscent of Robertson's appointment as Richie Foran's replacement back in 2017. It also leads to understandable suspicion amongst the support that Robertson - whose relationship with the fans has taken a hit recently with his media work for the BBC (or to give out man of the match awards at Brora Rangers) when his club are away from home - will simply be parachuted back in to his old job. That would be the cheap and easy move again, but then we come to the fear that this is the way the board have to go. The aforementioned cup windfall seems to have been used to save the directors from paying the bills this season; that is not all that unreasonable given the club made a loss of more than £800,000 in 2021-22. There are lots of rumours flying around suggesting that things are even worse than that, though to be fair such tales have done the rounds since relegation from the Premiership in 2017. There is no sign of a wealthy benefactor coming over the horizon any time soon, and when one looks at the list of current shareholders the same old names from two decades ago are still there. Directors come and go but there is no sign that newcomers bring about any meaningful change; the most curious one in recent times is Panos Thomas, a retired orthopaedic surgeon whose only notable role in football previously was as the frontman for an attempted takeover of Watford more than a decade ago by the disgraced businessman Laurence Bassini. However in his nine months at the club there has been no sign of anything so exciting happening in the Highlands...except for claims in the last set of accounts that the club is heavily involved in a hydro pump scheme and a battery farm plan, as well as being in position to be part of Inverness' upcoming freeport. If these ideas already sound pie-in-the-sky, the fact they are being touted by CEO Scot Gardiner - who is not exactly well loved amongst Dundee and Hearts supporters for his spells in a similar role at each of these clubs - does not lend them significant credibility. And in football financial prudence is rarely rewarded. One has to run just to stand still. Amongst their Championship opponents are Dundee United, Dunfermline, Ayr United, Queen's Park and Raith, all of whom have significant backing from their ownership. And if Caley Thistle go any further backward it means relegation. That would surely put their full-time status at risk. If the club goes part-time then, given their location, that would in turn surely mean competing for players in the same sort of pool that the likes of Elgin City fish. There would be no realistic way back to even the Championship under those circumstances. In October 2016, St. Mirren pulled the plug on Alex Rae after a nightmare start to their Championship campaign and replaced him with Jack Ross. They still nearly went down that year, but it was the wakeup call they needed. In 2017-18 they were promoted and they have been Premiership stalwarts ever since, a small club punching above their weight in a way rather reminiscent of Caley Thistle a decade ago. Maybe - hopefully - this will be Caley Thistle's St. Mirren moment. Those in charge of the club need to make sure it is, or football in the city may never be the same again. Lawrie Spence has whinged about Scottish football on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly. View the full article

In the Club statement announcing Dodds' sacking, the Club stated "We have great plans for the club as we head towards our 30th year." Would the Chairman kindly tell us what these plans are?

The decision made regarding Dodds is undoubtedly correct. He had lost the fans and we are on our third atrocious run of his tenure. I believe we had two seasons when we would have been promoted had we not had mid season collapses. The start this year made things untenable, as highlighted repeatedly here. We also played predictably in many games and teams knew how to play against us. However, we should also recognise that he got us to the play off final, and therefore closer to promotion than anyone else has managed since our relegation, and, with a bit of help from Queens Park, to the Scottish Cup Final. As a result we had great away days with a large support at Perth and Hampden twice, whilst enjoying beating Livingston and Kilmarnock in the cup run. I stress I agree with the decision but we should remember the good days as well as the bad. Now we need to turn things round, starting on Saturday.

.... and thus can have no idea how we've been playing and what has been going wrong. Sure, there are probably videos to study, but that is no substitute for being there, watching and feeling events unfold in real time.

I think the club are missing the point here regards JR the majority of fans also don’t want him at the club as he really wasn’t there even giving his support to a club paying his wages ,whether he liked Dodds or not he was happy picking up his wages and disappearing to anywhere but where the team were no match day . Could be an interesting weekend

Gardiner has poisoned our club. If we didn’t have him as CEO we’d never have had Dodds. I’d take Ian McCall or Neil McCann if there was any chance.

I’m surprised we’ve taken this step but see it as a positive. We all know it had to happen, but who made the call? Morrison? Gardiner? Time may tell but I hope this is a sign that the Board (or maybe even the CEO) have noticed the views of fans and taken a decision they maybe didn’t want to make but they realise they had to to stop the decline of the club. Goodness knows what deal Dodds was on. Hopefully it was performance related so the pay off is not damaging to us. Robbo and Charlie need to steady the ship, starting on Saturday, but it sounds like neither is in the frame for the job. I believe we have a squad that can compete at the right end of the table. I hope they now have the chance to show their real capability. I wonder if Doran will now get a start? Recent starting line ups looked to me that they were either “hope for the best” or drawn out of a hat. I never like seeing anyone lose their jobs but this decision had to be made. I just hope it means onward and upwards for us as we’ve 31 games to right the wrongs.

I'm in the deflected camp here. Sack the fall guy's and hope we can keep our jobs.... What do the trust make of this???

John Robertson assisting charlie ? He needs to go too along with Gardiner club is in a bad position because of those 2 .

I’m personally waiting on yet another thread being made before I make my decision on this one.

Can we have Ted Lasso instead

JR took time out due to the stress of managing during covid while multiple people were suffering at the club due to long term effects while at the same time dealing with multiple personal impacts. Listen to the podcast about it. The fact he held it together for so long . Helped get support in to keep the club going in his absence and asked for the time off shows his strength not his weakness.

Agree!!, Yesterday’s man and too tarnished by showing he would rather get a purse by commentating at Dingwall knowing it would irk the ICT fans (basically giving them ‘the fing-ir’)! What that action and image did whilst being the ICT ‘Director of football’ as our team went on defeat-after-defeat won’t be forgotten or forgiven by me! Know it’s interim and CC is their as a crutch to share any flak if results are poor, however knowing JR previously had to take ‘time-out’ due to pressure, is this a responsible decision by the those that made it? Smacks of self preservation for me! bc

He’ll probably head for Dingwall and go Fuk where am I going . **** wrong club

People finally waking up to these frauds

Poor guy gonna have to remember to show up to ICT games every weekend.

My granny.