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Think it's a repeat.

Thanks for providing such a solid and honest response, really appreciated. There’s clearly been a lot of hard work gone into the trust over the last couple of years to get it to this point and kudos to all involved for that.

Have I missed a previous episode of this drama?

It's interesting that the decision makers at the club are the ones who've got us where we are, yet it's the fans who are now expected to show themselves worthy of being trusted and having a say. And then to top it all off we're also expected to pay for the privilege. Are fans really that gullible?

The Supporters Trust launched Stronger Together today at the Fans Meeting at the Caley Club. Full details are on our website (see the link below), but this is the announcement released today: Fan investment is the way forward for a stronger and community focused ICT An initiative that aims to increase the shareholding of Inverness Caledonian Thistle fans has been launched by the ICT Supporters Trust. The group aims to achieve the greatest possible supporter and community influence in the running and ownership of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC. The Trust has called on fans to invest in the Stronger Together Fund, which aims to increase their shareholding of the football club and assist in creating a sustainable football club with supporters at its heart. A longer-term goal of ensuring that a democratically elected fans’ representative sits on Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC’s Board of Directors is also key to the plans. The Trust aims to make sure that the voice of ICT supporters is heard and that fans are communicated to with honesty and transparency. The Supporters Trust already hold 108 Ordinary Shares which carry an enhanced voting right totalling a minimum of 10 per cent. The Trust also holds a further 13,658 Ordinary Shares which carry normal voting rights. Investment in the football club by the Stronger Together Fund will be made at the discretion of the Trust Board, with the prime objective being to increase their shareholding in the football club. The Trust aim to bridge the perceived gap between the club and its supporters, using any income generated by the Stronger Together Fund to purchase shares in the club, with a view to gaining a seat on the Board. They believe that supporter’s issues can then be raised at board level, ensuring fans are properly represented and have a say in the running of their club. Jennifer Aitchison, Chairperson, ICT Supporter’s Trust said: “This is a crucial time for the football club, both on and off the pitch. We must come together in order to ensure the future of the club for generations to come. “One of the most common and regular pieces of feedback we receive is that fans have become disengaged with the club and no longer feel a local affinity. We have already highlighted some instances where the club could be engaging better with fans, through affordable hospitality, season ticket deals, stewarding at games, and where we feel they could be driving better income streams from match, match-ball and man of the match sponsorships as well as player sponsorships. “The club has rightfully been chasing the pounds lately to ensure the long-term future of the club but we also feel that ICT is missing out on contributions that derive largely from engaged supporters who feel they have a real stake in the club. The Stronger Together Fund provides an opportunity for Caley Thistle fans, both locally and around the world, to directly influence the running of the football club.” The initiative gives supporters the opportunity to donate as much or as little as they can afford, either as a one-off payment or by regular monthly contributions. Payments will be made to the Supporters Trust, not to the club. The Supporters Trust launched Stronger Together with a brochure which explains the initiative in detail, and includes details of how to make a donation to Stronger Together. The brochure is available here: https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/stronger-together The launch was very well received by the many fans present at the meeting. The Club Chairman and SLO had been briefed on the initiative during the week, and were supportive of it too. We hope that many fans, whether located locally or afar, will see the merit in supporting this initiative. If anyone has any questions, either post them in this thread, e-mail us at info@ictsupporterstrust.org or by completing the form on our "contact us" page: https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/contact Activity like this has worked successfully for clubs like Falkirk, Morton and Hearts, and we hope to make this scheme similarly successfully over time. An update on the other issues at today's Fans Meeting will be posted in the next couple of days.

And with Airdrie's win last night, it's goodbye to our slim chance of making the play-offs at the other end of the table! No promotion this season, sadly.

Ach - what's the panic - the spondoolicks from the Battery Farm will come through - so we can recharge, flash the cash and bounce around like Duracell bunnies again - heading upwards with Europe as the goal and not trips to Cove and Montrose.

Not a happy clapper but by going off 'stronger together' thread on here it sounds like the relationship between the trust and the board are improving. I just pray that the trust are able to bridge the chasm between the club and the fans. Stadium looks and feels soul-less and without character, as many stadiums do when they are built out of town with nothing nearby. Initiatives like Football memories and the Mcdonalds football festival for the kids go a long way to make a ground feel like a home, but maybe more initiatives to make the stadium feel less souless could include getting some keen individuals from the Honours degree course for art & contemporary practices course from the UHI in to give the place a bit of colour! I wouldn't mind putting money to initiatives like that, although wouldn't go anywhere to securing the clubs future in full time football! "Would be the most colourful ground in league 1"........

Oh, we both know it’s not about me I think ‘floats’ is the word you’re after…

Some may disagree, but I consider this how we will be shaping up by focusing on contract extensions for key members if we remain Championship and less so if we are relegated. Currently it looks like we have the following contracted for next season (I think) - Udjur, Gilmour, Billy, Davidson, Nicholson, Longstaff, Brooks (although If we get relegated I wouldnt be shocked to see Billy & Udjur released if they wanted to leave to cut costs). Priority regardless of division would be to extend Ridgers or Cammy, Devine & Harper along with Hyde, Bray, Cairns & Strachan Beyond that if we remain in the Championship keeping Kerr, Boyes, Duffy & Samuels would be good long term additions All the other loans can GTF as they really havent shown much, the perma crocks and go and those who have failed to deliver or contribute over the last few seasons too - Doran, Samuels, MacGregor, Lodivica etc.

Made a mistake with QP. raith have been pushing DU all season for automatic promotion to the premiership. But 3-1 down to airdrie this evening as I post this. 88 mins played. partick, airdrie, Dunfermline all pushing for a play off place at the right end of the table. Partick were unlucky not to go up via play off against RC. I said hope it doesn’t happen, so I say again “ it doesn’t seem to have done them any harm” resetting and coming back up from the lower league

I’ve now read the Courier’s report on this meeting and I see the Chairman quoted as saying “We bought the ground around us. We didn’t own the ground until last year.” This raises one or two questions for me. Precisely which “ground” is being referred to here? The stadium site - initially 9.03 acres but soon extended to 12.88 - was leased for 99 years in 1994 from the Inverness Common Good Fund who owned the land. This comprised the area of the stadium itself and the surrounding car parks. So is it all or part of this area that the Chairman is saying has been purchased from the CGF by the club? Or is it further land beyond the perimeter? And of particular interest here at this time of financial crisis is - where did the money come from? I imagine that another quote from the Chairman may also attract attention - “Caley Thistle should be a commercial property company with a football club hanging off it.” Thoughts, anyone?

Even by your standards, that's a cracker. Well played Lazarus So the "minefield" that kept Falkirk out in 2003, and on 2 previous occasions, was actually "designed" for ICT Elderly men and big spotty teenager prejudices. Remarkable.

Don't want to be a downer, but difference between us and them is that both of those teams are very well established for going on 150 years with a large, strong fanbase passing down for generations, so a large fan investment is unsurprising. We've been about for 30 years, with an inconsistent fanbase because a large chunk of the city is either green or blue, and a decent amount still holding the grudge from '94 (for whatever reason) and people only take notice of us when we play a Prem team in the Cup or get to Hampden... It might work fine for other clubs, but when we've such a small fanbase that can be considered "loyal", I feel this may end up being a pocket of shrapnel rather than being something that can make a dent

What exactly will a boycott if spending with the club achieve. It could seriously damage the already poor financial position of the club. If it succeeds in removing the CEO and Chairman, then their replacements will inherit a much more difficult situation and so the finances worsen even more. The club needs investment for sure but how we get that I don't know. Greater fan investment similar to what happens at Hearts would be great but, being realistic, cannot see the numbers adding up for ICT. Maybe there is a simpler solution to all this and simply more of our fans could actually turn up for games instead of endlessly moaning.

We simply have to beat them on Saturday. Failing to do so would still have Queens Park in the driving seat for safety even if we beat them the following week. Queens also still have Arbroath to play. We need 6 points from our next 2 games or the only way we will avoid the play offs will be by finishing bottom.

Airdrie and Queens Park aside, the other teams mentioned have a half decent fan base. We don't, most of the glory hunters have drifted away, leaving a small but hard-core band of diehards.

A spell in Division 1 will be a good opportunity to blood our youngsters and build a team from within our own ranks which will hopefully, within a couple of seasons, challenge for promotion back to the Championship.

Interesting. I had actually been wondering if Billy’s contract could be a bit of a millstone around our neck next season, with him presumably being our highest paid player by a long way, but not really providing us with the goals that we would have expected when we gave him that contract.

OMG no it won't. Just as a spell in the championship has been disastrous this would be worse.

Some context to both the above. The comment about being a property business was in relation to the club not being able to generate enough income from footballing activities to sustain a full time team, along with other current activities such as the Academy. By using its assets to generate income it can do so. I’m sure the Chairman said previously the club now owned the ground, opening up opportunities like Red John. On the Battery Farm, the intended purchaser has walked away due to the delays. The Chairman said that a replacement will not be hard to find, but there may be a reduction in value due to changes in the market. However it remains very sellable as it has a grid connection which can be used next year, with most schemes apparently 2027 or later.

No matter how it's spun there are no positives about dropping to the seaside leagues