Scotty

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

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.

For me the question is whether the leadership is there to galvanise that mindset in the players. I don't think Big Dunc has that belief so if he doesn't have it, he can't pass it on to the players. Barring a miracle, we are headed for administration and a 15-point penalty at a minimum. If that happens, DF has already given up and needs to be replaced with someone who will try to have the players scrap for every point ... I would rather go down fighting than meekly give up.

fixed it for you. I do sympathise a little with him because the administrator is going to cut anyone who gets a high wage or who is getting put up in accommodation or generally has a large footprint in terms of cost in some way. That will leave us with the boys really and that would be a tough ask for any manager, let alone one that can't buy or even loan a win.

Probably not... but... The biggest local celebrity right now has to be Karen Gillan - starring in blockbuster movies with The Rock, and in the Marvel universe ... as well as apparently a guest role in the Simpsons last year (didn't know that one). I am sure MikeysLine benefitted greatly when she started posting about them. Was she ever an ICT fan? Might she be persuaded to tweet something out or ask some of her billionaire friends if they want to finance a football club? If its good enough for Deadpool to own a club... 😉 edited to add: This is exactly the approach I took in 2019 when the club asked for similar ideas and I ended up asking someone over here. I figured nothing ventured, nothing gained and was shocked to get a positive response. Shame it was never followed up when I passed it along and when they re-visited it this year, the guy who had been keen previously basically said "thanks but no thanks" as they had moved on with different plans since then.

Duplicate topic. already discussed in various others. closed.

For me, it is, as I have had good interactions with Graeme over the years, but I accept that others may have a different perspective. Your scenario does make sense although a simpler explanation would be that he did indeed get rid of the inept individuals who were correctly blamed and put pressure on those left behind to remove the wool from their eyes. After the audit it seems obvious he is now managing expectations of both the board and the fans who wanted to see someone (other than Makwana) ride in on a white steed and save us. The £300K issue quickly became £900K and is now £1.6m per year. Barring the aforementioned single rider, then we are likely looking at the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse, and administration is likely the only way to get out from under the shadow of these decisions made over the last few years. The real explanation - like the assertion that there are always 3 sides to any story - are likely somewhere in the middle. Like you I want AS to succeed, because if he does, then ICT still exists, and the thought that it might not doesn't fill me with any sort of joy. With likely close to £1m in the game by the time he has paid the administrators (as promised) then I am prepared to give him more latitude than some, especially as he has previously been chairman and main sponsor of the club. He has got skin in this game and is the only one with any significant financial clout that came forward to try and sort this mess out.

if admin beckons, as it seems, then from the ashes .... AS or SY heading the board, CC as CEO or DoF (if we need one) and any one of multiple former players working in the local area (or willing to come back - no accommodation provided) as coaches to step in and manage us from what appears to be a likely drop to League 2 back up as far as we can go (Tokely? Esson? Tremarco? Warren? Raven? Imrie? other?) . Perhaps they can be mentored by Steve Paterson in the background. Think he knows a little bit about getting ICT promoted!

Going forward, I would like to see only Scott Young remain of the current board. He is newer on the scene, not tarnished with the same brush (quite so much) and I know he has been working with the Trust and others to try and be more open, even before SG was removed from post when talking to fans was almost seen as treason in the corridor of power. It's a hard one with GB, I do believe he has the club at heart, and there is a rumour that he did tender his resignation at one point several months ago but rescinded it. However, at the end of the day he was there through much of the past few years of the Gardiner hurricane, and as a former ICT player himself should at the very least been somewhat vociferous when players were being treated like sh1t or at the very least speak with them about things. Several players have said no-one spoke to them at all and that is plain wrong. Inaction on this front is tantamount to condoning it in my eyes, but that's just my opinion. If AS believes he is not tarnished or has something to bring to the table going forward, then I can live with him still being in post, but if it's the same old 'jobs for the boys' or sentimental positioning because he was a player and now owns the Caley Club then no thanks. I would like AS to remain in some capacity. By the time this is over he will have dropped nearly £1m into the pot and restored some sanity, albeit too little too late it would seem. If we are to come out of this, then we will need strong leadership, and all hands to the pump. We will also need governance and sensibility if we do start to take small steps and someone wants to start taking more risky bigger steps. He - I believe - can provide this, assuming he has the stomach for it and doesn't want to just relax like most 70+ year olds. As for whoever else comes on board ... I would hope this is where the Trust can gain a representative for the fans. If we are headed for administration then Stronger Together monies could hopefully be used to secure a shareholding and representation. Other than that, it has to be someone bringing something to the table and hopefully not serial fantasists or venture capitalists or equity partners ... any of those and we are well and truly f***ed !

The same time as we would when the league pull that stunt in reverse !!!

The troll has had enough attention., banned from topic.

No we don't actually pay £125K per year for anything as a fee, it's a commitment. We have committed to spending a minimum of that amount on merchandise each year for three years. Typically, that means you should get a better discount or lower unit pricing if you are willing to commit to a multi-year deal, and therefore more profit when you sell it, but who knows what this particular deal has in the details.

I would say uncomfortably numb to be fair, but this is today's playlist.

fair play to him for doing that, now if he can only swallow the rest of his pride and speak to potential mentors in the game who might help him become a good manager, he might stand a chance of turning things around.

I cant, I just cant ....

I guess Panos is off to casualty to get the splinters removed ... Could do far worse ...

Guess we will never get the answer to the question about walking off Doran's ACL injury!!

BREAKING .... press release just issued