Scotty

to save cross posting this in 2 forums each time, I have added a block on the right side of the page with a topic feed from the ST forum.

I hope this initiative goes well and I have often called for shareholders to offer their proxies to the trust in recent times which is a little different to the current call. With 10% of their own voting rights and potentially a bunch of other small shareholdings proxied to the trust on an official basis, the voting right of the trust could be significantly increased to the point where, like it or not, a fan supported rep could be elected if not amicably agreed to be added (co-opted) to the board. As alluded to above, many power brokers at the club have not had significant personal shareholdings and in one case our chairman at the time had only 250 shares under his name like many of the most basic ICTFC shareholders! HOWEVER, I do have to say - as someone who tried this before - that the proof of the pudding will be when asking people to dip their hands in their pockets regularly. You reference Falkirk and Morton above and I think others have had similar schemes in place at one time or another. In Ian Broadfoot's first book, there is reference to a scheme I tried to start many years ago which was dubbed "Pay a Player" scheme. The general idea was to fund additional budget for Steve Paterson through supporter direct debits each month that went straight to the club, and to the manager's budget in a transparent fashion. This was at a time when we were in serious danger of bankruptcy due to stadium building costs and other debts. I got great feedback from everyone concerned, fans and club alike, I got accosted for more info almost every night I was out, but when it came to filling out those DD forms ... a lot less success. The scheme never officially got started in the end as while we were trying to make sure there would be transparency and SP would get the funds directly, David Sutherland came along and squirrelled away and reorganised all the debt. In a way I am happy it did not take off as I can never be sure if it would have worked spectacularly or have been a cluster**** of epic proportions! History at this point says I tried to do something, which is preferable to it saying I failed! From the info supplied, the focus seems to be on buying shares as far as I can see ... but I am not clear from the post above if another aim is to raise a specific amount for the club, potentially on a monthly basis, and have a say in how it is used. The two aims are separate and different, and the waters seem a little muddy in that post. A lack of clear goals is a surefire way for any project to drift from its initial focus and become messy and confusing. Are you saying the aim is to raise £10K per month from fans to buy shares and the club then get that £10K to go to playing budget? If so, how can you dictate those sorts of terms? It would be more likely to go towards the next hair-brained scheme if no framework for this entire plan was in place.

Sorry IHE, cant agree. I am sure there are lots of nuances, and blame for things can be spread around in multiple directions past and present, but the sad reality is that our club is in the worst situation it has ever been in. In the first 10 years or so we trended upwards, so-called "punching above our weight for a club of our size", reaching the Premiership almost in line with the timescale in the 10-year plan outlined by Dougie McGillvray and followed through by others who came along after him. In the next 10 we continued to trend mostly upwards with the odd blip as we reached our highest ever league position, won the cup, and qualified for Europe. Now we find ourselves literally falling off the edge of a cliff and headed for the third tier in the 9 years that have followed those highs. I hope we reach 30 but there has to be some serious doubt about that. If we go down, I don't see how we come back. DF may be a club man, and a legend to Evertonians or indeed to Tannadice and perhaps even Ibrox dwellers for his "fighting spirit" but there seems little of that in evidence at ICT recently. He inherited a shambles, tried to fix it with the aforementioned cheap loanees as the budget doesn't allow anything else, and its not working. Anyone earning a wage has been shipped out permanently or on loan and there is little to no team spirit that can create that "Dunkirk Spirit" you talk about. The buck for that stops with the manager even if the situation is not entirely of his own making. Off the field, it is impossible to like what we see there either. We seem arrogant and entitled in the extreme when it comes to dealing with everything, from fans to football, especially the concert debacle and, whether you support it or not, also the battery farm. We have done that debate to death, but the concert really hurt our reputation in the local business community. Trust is something you earn and we well and truly burnt that particular bridge regardless of who or what entity legally owned the concert company. As for the battery farm, it seems naive that we would slap our name on it, let ILI try to do the legwork and assume it would be passed simply because it had the ICT name. I can't criticise the club for trying to generate income streams or look for ways to supplement dwindling matchday revenues which have almost always fallen short of breaking even or making a profit unless we had an extended cup run, but we seem to lurch from one hair-brained eggs-in-one-basket scheme to another these days. The buck for that stops with the person in charge of the day to day running of ICT and that would be our CEO. The board do not get a pass either, but I do have to give them credit for constantly dipping into their pockets to keep us afloat ... none of us could do that, and in the absence of a sugar daddy like Uncle Roy, we do have to give them some credit for putting finances into the club. It would be easy to walk away if they didn't care. Perhaps someone there cares enough to do some straight talking to all these points and try to revive the #TogetherNess that we once felt in the ICT family.

Guess the other guy goes by the name of Selháváme then?

from the link: "Such action can reveal a disorganised set of managers – who can’t produce their accounting information in a timely fashion – but it’s also used by companies to hide financial difficulties with their businesses."

There's a fine line between banter and abuse. By all means give a player stick on the field if a performance isn't up to scratch, or have some banter with opposition players and officials, but, like the players, leave it all on the pitch. Once the game is done, its done. There is no reason to abuse/harass players off the field and especially not when they are with their family and/or children. That is wrong on so many fronts. We seem to manage this a lot with players who give it all for ICT at times ... Russell Duncan, Iain Vigurs, Liam Polworth, now Billy ... Billy is and has been a great servant to the club, and his record speaks for itself. He should not have to post the below tweet.

and to the shareholders ...

our 30th year also 🙂

let's debate the topic rather than the moderation actions. Bottom line is that there were several posts that broke our terms of service and we removed them. Whatever your opinion of the CEO, and mine are pretty clear in my posts, it does not mean name calling and personal abuse are accepted. never has been, never will be. We did not close the topic nor ban the poster from the topic, we simply removed (hid) the posts and communicated privately with the poster. That person then complained about the thread title so I removed the 'dictator' reference as that was the easiest option. I really don't have the time or patience to try and please everyone or babysit people. If anyone wants to debate the moderation decisions, then drop me a PM and we can chat. Otherwise lets stay on topic please.

@Charles Bannerman posted a pretty interesting take on his facebook page

Calgary Cavalry in the Canadian Premier League: https://cavalryfc.canpl.ca/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aribim_Pepple

I thik the word we are all looking for (again) is: SEETHING 😉

I think the problem is not only cost but also time as well as the lingering death rattles of traditional printed media in favour of digital or virtual media .. Bryan Munro put a lot of passion, effort and time into the printed programmes throughout the years, and because of help from the likes of Ian Broadfoot and Peter McCallum and others around the club there was never any shortage of interesting content as well as stats and facts for the upcoming games. Throw in a piece or two from the manager or other staff and maybe a player profile or other article and all was good. However, you have to do that consistently, week-in and week-out which Bryan had down to a fine art even if he was still running around late at night just a few days before a game putting finishing touches to it to make sure it was accurate and up to date on the same week as the game. I don't know that we could produce to the same level now, nor sell to the same level and therefore possibly not get the sponsorship or ads to fully pay for it. You also have to consider that matchday programmes are a throwback to the pre-internet days where the info was not at everyone's fingertips so the desire for a printed program is more about nostalgia and that wears off ... I would buy one on my trips if it were available but would there be a critical mass, especially amongst the younger generation, to sustain it. I did download the electronic versions when they were available and found them to be ok. Definitely effort gone into producing them, so no criticism there, but lacked that 'feel' of a traditional programme and the 'love' that a bunch of volunteers were able to pour into something that was a 'passion project' rather than a task. Its funny - Toronto FC tried this in the early years in MLS as there was, and still is, a very large football supporting diaspora in Toronto, with many coming from countries where the matchday programme is traditional. Unfortunately, it flopped after one or two seasons because they - with all their resources - could not find the right balance to get folks to buy it so the stopped. I have about a dozen of them or so and they are all decent quality, informative, glossy, and were only $2 or $3 (cant remember exactly how much). I think they were a bit too corporate and formulaic in terms of the content for each issue, and lacking in enough interesting or different articles between issues. If a 25,000 crowd cant sustain a glossy programme, then perhaps we can let the club off the hook on this one a bit. Would be nice to see it back, but only if it were self-sustaining.

May also explain the 'communist shop steward' comment in another thread about Welsh. (or it may not). If the environment is as utterly toxic as it is being painted, then it would not surprise me that employees talk badly about the situation. It may also explain why the player mentioned wanted everything to flow through him. Not a desire to be a dictator, but, as club captain, to protect the rest of the team from the toxicity behind the scenes by being the figurehead. Very much a standoff and more evidence of the rot at the core of the leadership of the club rather than the player being a wan*** ! As for playing in orange - that long trope is utterly irrelevant! The clubs quoted have one thing in common, and that is that SG was not involved with any of them.

Just like it was never a problem for the website until it was! We had pretty good access until Rae/Crook [then SG to replace her] took the reins, then it stopped and certain other things happened that made the relationship strained. Have had no dealings with SG and only a few conversations with the current chairman. A bit of a shame since all the fans groups are pre-disposed to think positively about the club if they communicate rather than treat us like mushrooms. Confidentiality is one thing, censorship is quite another. SG would do well to remember he is an employee of the club and a large number of those he is ignoring are shareholders. They may only have £250 or a little more in shares, but if he continues to piss off the Trust, and perhaps one or two other larger shareholders then its shoogly peg time if you start adding up percentages who think his position is becoming untenable !!! The strategy is that there is no strategy.

If true, would be interesting to know on what basis. The image in that post tells me everything I need to know. I don't know the guy, never had any run-ins with him, in fact never had a conversation with him despite sending him a potential contact (via the Chairman) during COVID that could have helped the club (who he never even bothered to call) ... but have never heard anyone say a good word about his role at the club (or any other club). If he is now censoring the players from speaking to fans via the podcast or through any other means then that is next level workplace toxicity. The club's appointment of Big Dunc papered over the cracks, as many pointed out at the time, including myself, but that doesn't mean we should forget all that went before, nor should we accept it.

RIP. Like others, I didnt know him personally, but enjoyed his posts. Condolences to friends and family.

Not heard much of that over here to be honest. Although as his mother is from Winnipeg (affectionately known over here as Winterpeg due to the length of, and insanely low temperatures experienced in, Winter), its unlikely that any potential signing for his 'hometown' Valour FC in the Canadian Premier League would cause any media ripple. It would also not necessarily be a step up in level or in wages so perhaps unlikely. John Herdman who gave him his first Canada cap resigned from the Canada job late last year and is now manager of Toronto FC in MLS. He does have a rebuilding job on his hands after TFC finished dead last in MLS last season, but not sure a 30+ midfielder is top of the list unless he sees him replacing Michael Bradley who retired. Nothing I have heard from any friends who have a closer ear to the ground than me.

So long as they make a positive contribution and bring energy to the site it all good. Dont want things to go flat 😉

With the club coming out strong last week, and the weekend missive from the chairman urging all fans to contact their local councilors, I can't help feeling that all our eggs are in this one basket. That scares me a lot.

Twitter post Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC @ICTFC Many fans will have read the story running in today’s Inverness Courier re the ICT battery farm planning application and the subsequent negative recommendation from the Highland Council Planning Dept. Some of our fans will also have heard our chairman Ross Morrison talk about the battery farm application at the ICT Supporters Trust open meeting and how vitally important it is to us as a club going forward and how enormously positive a contribution it would make to Inverness and the Highlands in general as we are as a nation, crying out for such developments. Thanks to our partnership with Intelligent Land Investments who specialise in such things, we are on the cusp of securing our long term financial stability and making a huge contribution to our Highland community with one of the most significant recent Highland contributors towards achieving Highland Council, Scottish Govt and UK net zero targets with over 20,000 tonnes of CO, the equivalent of planting 1 million trees. Further to the above and during this last two hand a half year planning process, we also identified that the fantastic Inverness Kartway Raceway, a Queen’s Award winner and one of the finest examples of pro-active community charities in our region, was working hard towards meeting the challenge of replacing their existing fleet of Karts with electric ones. This would help their CEO Corrin Henderson and his team future proof the charity and continue to provide huge benefit to vulnerable youngsters in our area and reduce the noise from the Kartway centre, and the club was delighted to confirm that on receiving planning approval for our plan, a £25,000 payment would be made to IKR from ICTFC. The full video of the Chairman's statement which he makes in advance of next Wednesday's planning committee meeting can be viewed now

Club Press release 15 mins ago: Statement Begins The club can confirm our Sporting Director John Robertson is leaving the club to pursue other opportunities in the game. Chairman Ross Morrison said “John has served the club incredibly well over a number of years, both as a successful Manager and more recently as Sporting Director. His football achievements here in the Highlands are outlined below and his astute transfer dealings brought in significant funds across his time in charge and throughout that period he was always a brilliant ambassador for the club. His drive to establish the new 10-acre Hub for the ICT Community Trust working with Highland Council, Sport Scotland and the SFA and his input into accessing six figure grants for our Community Trust in particular has gone unseen by almost everyone out with the football club. We wish him well in his future endeavours and he will always be welcome at the Caledonian Stadium.” John first joined the club in December 2002 as he was appointed the club's manager following Steve Paterson's departure to Aberdeen. He then led the team to a 4th place finish in 2002/03 and beat Celtic 1-0 in the Scottish Cup Quarter Finals to set up the club's first ever trip to Hampden. The following season the team went on to win the First Division (now the Championship) title and Challenge Cup double during a remarkable 2003/04 season. In November 2004 Robbo left the club to join Hearts. Upon the club's relegation to the Championship, Robertson would return in June 2017 when he was appointed Manager for a second time and John had to totally rebuild the squad, winning the Challenge Cup against Dumbarton at McDiarmid Park. The following season saw him lead the team to a 3rd place finish and into the play-off places and once again lead the team to Hampden for a Scottish Cup Semi-Final against Hearts, losing 3-0. Caley Thistle were beaten in the Premiership Play-Off semi finals by Dundee United. John had the team sitting in 2nd place during 2019/20 and in the Challenge Cup final when the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season would be ended with us in 2nd place and Caley Thistle and Raith Rovers would be confirmed as joint winners of the Challenge Cup. The 2020/21 cinch Championship season would begin at the later start of October and only with major restrictions. John was granted compassionate leave following a family bereavement in February 2021. Robertson returned back to the club in June 2021 as the club's first ever Sporting Director. Honours/Achievements at ICTFC Scottish First Division title - 2003/04 Scottish Challenge Cup - 2003/04, 2017/18, 2019/20 (joint with Raith Rovers) Scottish Cup Semi Finals 2002/03, 2003/04 and 2018/19 Statement Ends

https://www.fanchants.com/football-songs/inverness-chants/oh-inverness/

Director of Football was originally setup to be a direct link from the boardroom to the dugout not to scout and sign all the players without the manager consent. He may work on negotiations on contract terms, length and other details, and may have to liaise with the board to get approvals and make the occasional case to sign a player if (when) there is no budget, but recruitment falls squarely on the manager (or should). Renewal of contracts would be the same. Cant see Big Dunc agreeing to a situation where anyone else has power of veto over him on purely footballing squad decisions unless it is a monetary issue affecting the club. Sporting Director on the other hand is less clear. The club's own press release in 2021 and the BBC article naming Robbo simply said "The club say Robertson will work on a "number of specific projects. Chief executive Scot Gardiner added that he would be "a great help to the board and myself and his love of the club and the city will help drive us on"." Thats murky to say the least. After Dodds was given the job he further muddied the waters by noting he would be mad not to speak to Robbo about signings: "Dodds says he will have the "final say" over new signings, adding: "But I would crazy not to go and ask John Robertson, who is a football man, and we will be working together to look at players and come up with targets."

A Google search is less than encouraging with his stats!