Scotty

Great summary. Between Savage, Christie and Young, I think we have the nucleus of an off-field team that can take us forward. I hope they can work with the administrator(s) to sort out all the other myriad of complications I am sure will arise or have already arisen. If they can right the ship, then perhaps there is more chance of us attracting a 'benefactor' like Povlsen than some hedge fund or equity fund sharks. Worrying times ahead, and like the old Caley fanzine, I think we are definitely 'on a Life Support Machine' but we can emerge out of ICU and once again be ICT. Nothing else bears thinking about!

That was one of the first outward/public warning signs for me. We had a great media team, and Andy was doing a stellar job on the camera work. Equipment and technology were in place, and we had - I think - Ross Tokely and other guest commentators coming on some weeks so it was of interest to fans outside Inverness and certainly could have developed and matured way better than what replaced it. I had the opportunity to be one of the guinea pigs for a few games early on and it was great, but all that got pushed to the side and privately I was told at the time it was "...because it was not his idea". I don't recall who told me that, but it was a red flag for me. For me another was in 2019, not long after he started, and before the pandemic hit, that he and Ross Morrison asked for money generating ideas from the fans. I made a speculative call and email and got a bite I never expected offering assistance to the club in a manner 'to be discussed'. I passed it on to the chairman who said he would get the CEO to make the call. That call was never made despite the chairman's (initial) protestations to the contrary on the podcast that he backtracked on when Sandy pressed him on it. That ended it for me with the CEO as the guy over here was really interested and all that had to be done to initiate things was to dial 13 digits on a phone to initiate a conversation and see where it went. There are plenty of other instances and gossip about various aspects of his reign at the club and I am sure there are hundreds more I haven't heard about, but I will be circumspect on that front for now. Yeah, recent comments didn't ring true to me. First you had him say he was 'the best i could find' which is not exactly a ringing endorsement, then you had him pegged as being vilified. I never met the man (SG), I never want to meet the man, and I definitely have my own opinion about him where there is nothing positive to say, but his alleged treatment of staff, players and fans leaves no room for anyone to make an accusation of vilification on his behalf. However, I will say the rot did not start with Gardiner, it started before him, with Rae and Crook in my opinion. That is often overlooked in recent conversations, primarily I think because SG was so good at making people dislike him.

I know that SY has kept a relationship going with fans through the ST when others clammed up or publicly called out our fans the way our former CEO did. Would like to think he also dissented at a board level but no idea if that's the case or not - and as pointed out, we likely never will. Time will tell, but yes, he at least is stepping up and trying to keep things together. The others who are left, as far as I can see, have really said nothing, and in the case of Grassa, that really disappoints me. As a former player and Director of Football he should have been front and centre when relegation happened and when our players heard nothing from manager, CEO or any other directors. He should have been privately or publicly screaming from the rooftops that the players deserved better than that. As a local boy, I would also have expected to hear more from him about keeping the club alive and doing everything we can to avoiud, or as seems the case now, manage our way through, administration. As for those who have slunk off ... no comment needed.

Perhaps some people prefer to forget that through that period of time there was actually a system and process in place where successive chairmen stuck to the plan of fiscal responsibility that was initially laid down by Tulloch/DFS when we almost went down the path we are going down now in 1999/2000.

Scotty HT: 0-0 FT: 1-0 1st Scorer ICT: Mckay 1st Scorer Opp: Todd Crowd: 1613 CDN Girl HT: 1-1 FT: 2-1 1st Scorer ICT: MacKinnon 1st Scorer Opp: A Smith Crowd: 1800 SOS HT: 1-0 FT: 2-0 1st Scorer ICT: Brooks 1st Scorer Opp: McGowan Crowd: 1555

sorry - someone needs to explain this to me in simple terms? Does this mean someone has wiped out some charge hanging over our head or some banl lien that may have been in place? If so, does that mean there may be wheels turning we are not aware of?

Scotty: ICT @ 1.66 CDN Girl: Kelty @ 1.95 SOS: Arbroath @ 1.95

Press Release I just received: The Directors have signed a Notice of Intention to appoint Administrators to be filed at the Court. We envisage that the proposed Administrators will be appointed on Monday or Tuesday. A plan is in place to allow the club to continue to trade whilst efforts to secure a long-term future are explored. ICTFC Board of Directors

I am actually ok with Don Lawson fronting this bid and rallying around other local folks to get something in place. He is known to be a football fan, albeit County, but I am sure his business gets plenty of income when there is a successful football team in the area - or two teams so one of them is at home every week. Thats his incentive, I am sure !! Hard to know how OK this is without knowing the names but it says former directors and current large shareolders. I would have questions if one of them was Rae as this is where our decline started in my opinion and he - and the CEOs he employed - both proved hard if not impossible to deal with.

Yeah, that's the area I am in (slightly to the right of the goals, not in amongst the absolute nutters right behind it). My section is more sedate but still stands and chants all game Thats all for another thread though. Quite a few ICT supporters I have either taken to games or who have been here on their own and even a few in the stands regularly like @luvgravy. They will be adjusting the stadium this year in preparation for the World Cup in 2026 but as far as I know, the two ends will only have temporary structures that will be taken away after the world cup. Unfortunately I also agree, but perhaps he might come back to the table if or more likely when we enter admin. He doesnt then need to deal with all the debts or people who may not have impressed him or his representatives during any talks. I live in hope as he would be our dream benefactor. This is the worry ... and very likely our current board might be tempted to take an offer, ANY offer, that staves of administration regardless of the long-term sustainability (or lack thereof) of that offer. We are not in a strong position to negotiate or ask/demand favourable terms. If we are just going to lurch from almost admin now to absolutely admin in six months' time, I would rather do it now. If we get relegated as a result then so be it, we can rebuild and refocus (hopefully) and start the journey again. If we wait six months until the end of the season and have a dalliance with an "elastoplast owner" in the meantime, then our current manager may find it impossible to motivate his troops and we get relegated anyway, then start 2025/26 -15pts in League 2 at best, with even more uncertainty about dropping into the pyramid or worse. Personally, I have to say I don't want anyone owning the club that is listed as a 'capital', 'equity' or other hedge fund like organisation. We are not a profit-making enterprise and that's typically all those are interested in. If we dont make a profit, then asset-stripping to the point of getting the land or the stadium is all that they must be interested in IMHO. I would love for Povlson to come in and spend a little bit of money based on wanting his 'local' team to do well. Get us back to the Premiership perhaps and maybe a dalliance with Europe on the odd occasion. That really has been our pinnacle up to now. The idea that the North Coast 500 route could have a start/end point at the stadium might be a way to drive more business to the stadium area (no pun intended), and perhaps adding some services for these people starting out here, or the long suggested hotel that has been talked about for one of the corners of the stadium for decades might help generate some revenue for the club. However, I also understand a lot of people have concerns over the impact of increased traffic on that route so anything tied to that may be controversial.

Would the likes of Morrison & Co. who we heard were initially willing to convert debt into equity that presumably came from unissued shares, have enough of this equity (if they now agree to it) to reach this total and be prepared to sign on the dotted line to write off their debt on that basis? If so, then presumably the £1.2m would be going to them and wiping out debt on paper rather than in real life? I cant say I can even begin to understand all the different convoluted pathways that may be involved, but like us all, I just hope they converge to the same spot which involves ICT survival.

no interest in his own views either then?

I thought that too. Yup. I do seem to recall this. Yup, it feels like The Caledonian Stadium down by the lake in early March when the temperature can drop to -20 or -30!!! Other than money which they have loads of, there are lots of parallels with ICT, not least the sporadic periods of success followed by longer periods of absolute mediocrity but thats what happens when you support your local team rather than glory hunt, I guess. I think that was the game (2022?) where Lewis Morgan scored a hat-trick and also had one disallowed. He always plays well here for some reason. I watched that from the comfort of my front room. couldn't even give my tickets away for free for that one

I think there are more subtexts here (including brinksmanship about signing over the debts as mentioned way back at the start of this process) ... but essentially, reading the article yes, that's about it. The businessperson is willing to put in 1.2m for 50.45% of the club. This might get us to the end of season. What happens after that? We can't really judge that unless we know who it is. Are we comfortable with giving a controlling stake in the club for that amount of money that will see us limp to the end of the season and then require another 3 or 4 mil to survive next season ... Personally, I really don't know what offer or person is best for the club. I just know I want my club to come out the other side, still existing, still in Inverness, and with a sustainable business model in place. If that means it takes 10+ years to reach the Premiership or the top end of the Championship then so be it.

... and this year's panto would definitely have its classic villain.

paywallreader.com Would have been great if Anders Polvsen was interested. We could make him a multi-millionaire! Don't think any conflict with Scandinavian team really exists otherwise Red Bull would not be allowed to own Salzburg and Leipzig and the group that owns Man City would not be allowed to own them plus Palermo, Troyes, Lommel, and Girona. The idea of "Multi-Club Ownership" (MCO) is not anything new and is gathering pace.

Rich maybe ... but not great since 2017! More lows than highs over their 18-year existence so far. Agree with you on the Scandinavian inspiration. Lots of smaller clubs there that seem to have done very well with meagre resources and other challenges. Iceland also completely overhauled their football organisation but that might be more suited to looking at the national setup than a single club. Whatever we do needs to be methodical, sustainable and most importantly community focused so we can at least try to get the city back on board.

I have season tickets at Toronto FC. I pay about CAD$450 per ticket per year which is about £250. (These are the 'cheap seats' in the supporters' sections). They dynamically price the individual tickets at 3 different levels so the face value on the ticket can be anything from about $15 to $50, but it averages out to about $28 per game (£15) that I actually pay per ticket. For that I get to see the likes of Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi in a TFC shirt each week (when LI is not injured!). I also took my boy to the recent Miami game where he got to see Messi, Suarez, Busquets et all and even a rare cameo from the aforementioned Insigne. Think there was around 32,000 at that game (capacity) and some people paid thousands of dollars for a ticket, but season ticket holders happily went along for their $30 bucks! The big difference though is the sheer scale of the finances. Toronto FC are financed by a mega-rich corporation called MLSE that could basically print its own money if it wanted to. Fans say it means "Making Lose Seem Easy" but despite on-field performance issues at all their teams, off the field Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment own TFC (MLS), Toronto Raptors (NBA), Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), and others, and just tweaked their ownership group where Rogers Communication - the largest cable TV operation in Canada - bought out one of the other partners (Bell), and brought the Toronto Blue Jays (MLB) into the ownership portfolio so they now own every professional team in Toronto. They also own pretty much all the major sports arenas in the city as well as concert arenas and are in the process of building a new open air concert venue (50,000 capacity) in the north of the city (right next to TFC's state of the art training facilities) where Oasis will play next year. Their sports teams generate TV revenue that goes right to the owners. They own all the arenas so make a killing out of concessions and renting them out for other events. They are also masters of merchandising and marketing so lots of revenue flow. Not sure about the other sports, but I know Lorenzo Insigne was the highest paid player in Major League Soccer until Messi came along. I think Messi gets in the US$20m range plus all sorts of commission from Apple TV and Adidas to take it up to a reputed $60m per year, but Inisgne is on US$15m a year and Bernardeschi on $7m ... crazy money we can only dream of personally, or for ICT. [source: here]. On the flip side - my son wants to go to Germany on one of our next trips because he likes Bayern Munich (because of Alphonso Davies and Harry Kane). Looking online, their tickets are almost impossible to buy unless you are a member of the club, but where you can, they seem pretty pricey. ICT cant match either of those teams. I think we could give away all our tickets for free and still not fill the ground. Some economist needs to crunch the numbers and see where the sweet spot is between ticket price and revenue. 1000 people at £20 is better than 1500 at £10 unless you can somehow get those 1500 to all spend the other £10 (and more) on merchandise, drink or other items that ICT get the money from. The quality of the concessions at the stadium also leaves a bit to be desired! burnt sausage rolls from the one pie window is pretty restrictive. People are likely sick of me mentioning TFC but its where I get my footie fix on a regular basis and however bad the team play, the owners are masters at squeezing every dollar out of you that they can so perhaps we can take something that works here, reduce the scale and make it work for ICT. At TFC most of the concessions rent their spaces and the club makes money regardless of whether they make a profit or not. There must be 200+ different concession stands to choose from at BMO Field. The ST has given the sports bar a lick of paint and a bit of a refresh which is great. Things like this to enhance the matchday experience are a good place to start. Small incremental improvements are all we can do at this stage. Could we replace the really bad sausage roll window with something better? Maybe food trucks in the open corners? We charge them a flat fee, initially a low amount, but review regularly based on the level of crowds we get. If the average gate goes up, then within the contract it is stipulated that so does the concession fee as there are more potential customers. Fans win as competing outlets will usually try to either cook the best food or have reasonable prices and there may be more variety than carbon-dated sausage rolls and pies. If we can find a way to lease/rent out certain aspects of the matchday experience then this - to me - is the way to go. Season tickets are effectively a lease as the STH lease their seats for a year and the club gets the money whether you go or not. Concession rental as suggested is another. Are there other areas of the matchday that could be monetised? Could the 50-50 draw go online? At TFC I can use their app at home to buy a 50-50 ticket even if not going to the match. Does our ticketing system have any way to do something like this? Just throwing out a few ideas - which may or may not be realistic - but at worst, I just get told its a silly idea. The scary part is what he did, or could have done, in those 9 weeks. The difference between the Daily Mail and the P&J articles for me is that one sounds like one person telling the world he is perfect and hard done by, whereas the other, while anonymised for obvious reasons, rings true on several different levels. In my mind's eye, I can see or hear the players or club employees saying all of these things as I read the article. I know which publication I believe more, even if there may be elements of truth in both.

That’s my point though. He seems to be conflating different timelines and events to suit his side of the narrative. I have read all three parts of the article and his responses or rebuttals on any of the points are either downright disrespectful, churlish or sound like a vat full of sour grapes. He can say whatever he likes but if we do enter administration then it would seem the vast majority of supporters will put the blame firmly at his feet.

That P&J article is something that should be classed as a must-read, especially if you were able to hold your nose long enough to read the two articles in the Daily Mail. This part stood out for me from part 1, as the timeline is skewed. The ST asked fans not to buy season tickets and merchandise before an insolvency practitioner was ever mentioned and you haven't really resigned if you are still in the building for (if rumour is to be believed) potentially up to a year.

Online here for anyone who wants to read through that nonsense. A few classic quotes: "Pursuing a claim against his former employer, picking over old scabs held no appeal." really? "Gardiner said he plans to pursue a defamation action against Savage, the Inverness board and unspecified others." "Gardiner, who quit after a takeover bid by Seventy 7 Ventures was rejected in August, warns that administration would be a ‘hellish’ experience" "Gardiner believes administration could still be averted if the board gave serious consideration to a fresh rescue plan from Seventy 7’s Ketan Makwana" "I have put thousands of pounds of my own savings into ICTFC to help pay wages at the club" https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13951097/Former-Inverness-Caley-Thistle-CEO-Gardiner-warns-administration-devastating-club-community-says-rescue-plan-place.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13951191/EXCLUSIVE-INTERVIEW-plan-save-Caley-Savage-stepped-former-chief-executive-Gardiner-weeks-turmoil-left-proud-Highland-club-brink.html

A team that can't score goals, and a manager that has given up ... Hate to be pessimistic but: Scotty: HT 1-0 FT 3-0 CDN Girl HT 2-0 FT 4-0 SOS HT 0-0 FT 2-0

GTF !!!!

If we retain the services of the current manager, then we are the lame duck and will be relegated. He all but conceded that yesterday and over the last two seasons has shown nothing to indicate he can get the best out of any of our players be those veterans, loanees, or youngsters. When he comes out in the press to say that with a 15-point penalty, we will be relegated then that is not a rallying call, but the talk of someone who has given up. He might privately believe we will be relegated, and he may be right depending on how decimated our squad becomes under an administrator, and he might even publicly say it, but I would expect any manager to also say that while it may happen, we will fight tooth and nail to try and prevent it. His on-field reputation is as a hardman, battling with opponents and not giving up, but it has not translated to football management. For me, we need to replace him, but the question is with who. I said in another thread about one of our former players like Tokely, Esson, Warren etc. but as pointed out, perhaps an administrator would not allow this, given it might cost compensation to the club any of them are at currently. Looking inward, I would be happy with Charlie as a short-term measure (if he were up for it personally) or perhaps there is someone else locally who has the qualifications and is currently not in a position or is in one that would allow a 'mutual termination'. If they are willing to get the players battling on the field to save the season and potentially the club, then that's already better than what we have.

Same board in place though ... the lights are on, but nobody is home in that graphic.