Scotty

I wish they used "BOLD" :004:

Absent Friend .... Overall, I cannot really argue with you as you do make some valid comments so let me just comment on some of what you have said. I have heard various stories over the last few months about lots of different things from several different people and I must say I am not happy if even a fraction of it is true. Some of it may be from the boardroom, some may not, its hard to tell when there are so many leaks within the club. I can however confirm that some of what I have been told has proved to be extremely accurate (as it has now happened) whilst I concede that some other parts may or may not be getting told from a skewed viewpoint. I hasten to add that not everything I have heard has been posted on here by me. I pick and choose what I post. As for the trust ... I am sorry to say that I would not channel any of my issues through them as they appear to be somewhat toothless. It is disappointing to say this as I know many people involved with it and they are good people, who - in some cases - have worked tirelessly for the supporters for many years, and who are most definitely ICT supporters through and through but whether it is the club appearing to treat them with contempt, or whether they just have not had an issue yet where they have had to be seen to take an opposing viewpoint to the club for more than 5 minutes, the overall impression is that they have become the club's "**** deflector" when it comes to fan issues. PS - not sure if I am one of the 2 you refer to or not, but if I am, please do not question my support for the club. I am no less a supporter because of where I now live or because I question the motives and machinations of certain people employed by it. I would be delighted to sit here and type out positive messages day in and day out and when they do something right, I will do that and back them to the hilt on it but, conversely, after so many years of being "required" to toe the party line, when I now see or hear from multiple sources about some of the shambolic stuff going on behind the scenes then it is fair game as far as I am concerned. Sometimes you have to hint at things as the whole story is not yet in the public domain and sources could be compromised. I concede that sometimes the stories coming out may be skewed to the viewpoint of the person telling it but that is equally true when the club purposely float a story (eg. Warnock) I have been on enough committees in my time that I know exactly how difficult it is to run even a small organisation. I also know that in committees like this there usually tends to be just a handful of people who wield the majority of the power because they have more responsibility whilst others can sometimes be there to just make up the numbers. I dont think the ICT board is like this because one of the (good) things David Sutherland did do in either his first or second stint as Chairman was to reduce the size of the ICT board so that there was less chance of "hangers-on". Even if I do not like some of the things coming from the boardroom, I can both respect and applaud the members involved because of their hard work. However, I would also respectfully suggest that not everyone on the board is of the same mind in every issue, but when it comes down to it they have something called "collective responsibility" that dictates they show a united front in public despite their own personal feelings. Speak to some privately and you may get a different viewpoint. No. If there is a cancer you cut it out. The treatment is horrible, makes you feel very bad, and there is no guarantee it will work but if you allow it to spread it gets worse and ultimately becomes terminal. We spent a good portion of last season watching the workings of the boardroom and it was not pleasant. Anyone who thinks this did not have an effect in every corner of the stadium and on the pitch has their head in the sand. I want to applaud my team on the park (and I always will be it in person or by jumping round my home office in Toronto) but I also WANT to applaud the rest of the team in the boardroom and in the stadium but I cannot do that when they appear to be doing things that I feel are contrary to, or stagnating the development of the club we all support. Some of these people are (or have been) employees whose only loyalty is to the paycheck ... we are fans whose loyalty is borne out of passion and love for the club and although that flame is hard to extinguish, it is not impossible. Here I agree with you 100% :003: We are at a crossroads right now and Marius Niculae is not really the issue. He is merely a symbol of the issue. Do we try to push forward and continue growing as a club or have we conceded that this is our lot, we have reached our peak and the only thing to do is consolidate our position and be happy we are even in the SPL ..... With a practical head on, I can see the argument for fiscal prudence. We have low crowds, lower turnover than most (if not all) SPL clubs and we have been fortunate to stay debt free for much of our existence thanks to the likes of David Sutherland. If he had not come in when he did (the first time), things may have been a lot different than they are now, in fact we might have gone the way of Gretna. I will always be grateful to him for that, and for his steadying hand since then on a few other occasions. He is without doubt a very smart and astute businessman and he has served the club well. However, as has been said before, he either wants to run the club or not. If he does, then fair enough, if not, then whoever is in the position needs to be allowed to do their job. With a less practical head on, I enjoyed the fact that Alan Savage managed to get someone of Marius Niculae's profile to the club and had plans to upgrade a lot of the stadium infrastructure (shop, car park, possibly a bar etc). Regardless of what anyone thinks of Marius' good or bad performances throughout the season I dont think anyone can argue that he certainly raised the profile of the club on the European or even World stage. ICT was mentioned frequently during the Euros, even on coverage over this side of the pond, and I was disappointed that the club failed to try and capitalise on that by perhaps using Marius as the carrot to persuade other players to come here. I will also feel extremely sad if he goes as he will not yield the club as much from his transfer as I feel he could have done on the park. Its a crying shame that the two aforementioned businessmen seemed to be on opposing sides with regards to the development of the club with one favouring a "tiny steps" mentality and the other perhaps taking greater leaps .... As a fan of the club I just think it would have been awesome if they could have met somewhere in the middle, formed what I think would have been a formidable partnership, and taken the club forward in good size steps. DS could rein in AS when his ideas got too large and AS could gee DS up when his vision may have been more parochial.

The figure sometimes quoted for the two years was in the region of ?270,000 which is roughly ?338,000 and this is equivalent to the amount of un-issued shares that Alan Savage/Orion purchased. Who is to say what signing on fee he got or what percentage of the future transfer fee he is due ........ I am sure it will all come out in the wash very soon

see HERE

...before coming up with a reason to reject it sorry, I may be in one of my neggy moods today, but I just do not see the club giving a flying **** about something like this.

not sure about the Romanian one, but the other one isnt even from the right country .......

Graham Bennett is not Gepetto [attach=1]

Absolutely disgusted with the things I have heard over the last 24 hours and just want to comment on the fantasy football piece from the P&J "Inverness will let the player leave in an effort to reduce their wage bill and raise revenue" BULLSH!T - He is being forced out because of internal politics. This has nothing to do with money and nothing to do with football. Its the end game of a boardroom pissing match that went on for the whole of last season and just about ripped the heart from our club. Marius does not want to leave. He is (was) happier than he has been for years at any club. The attacker earns £4,000 a week and his departure would give manager Craig Brewster increased clout in the transfer market. BULLSH!T - As has been stated before, he earns nothing like that figure and the funds to pay his wages are already in place and have been since the day he signed. How exactly it will give Brewster more clout is up for debate. He might receive a small portion of the transfer money certainly, but our club is continuing to expand its growing reputation for treating players like sh!t and few will want to come here unless we pay them a premium wage and thats gonna cost more than Marius so whats the difference ! “We have had a friendly and constructive discussion with Marius". BULLSH!T - telling a player he is not required and will be sold to the highest bidder despite his offer to extend his contract and protect the club's investment and future profit from his sale is not constructive. "In the meantime he has begun training with the first-team squad and will be available for selection until or unless we receive an offer which is satisfactory". BULLSH!T - He is to start training with U-19s from Monday. Time for the mushroom avatar/signature to reappear ..... at least they enjoy being kept in the dark and fed on sh!t [attach=1]

The 1st was always my favourite division ..... even if it is without a doubt the hardest one to get out of. Don't get me wrong, I dont want to see us relegated but most teams in the 1st have a chance of doing something as they are all capable and that fact alone makes it competitive and interesting to watch.

Brewster is in charge of the team, but he is not in charge of contracts, that falls to the Director of Football and the Board. I am sure he can make recommendations or requests in this regard but the final decisions and much if not all of the negotiations take place upstairs as it were.

Given that the housing division of Tulloch has just made a number of site managers redundant then yes it would seem that they are feeling the effects of the current housing malaise. Not sure about the civil side of it though or even which parts Tulloch owns these days. As far as the effects on ICT, they should be minimal I would have thought as we are not so tied into Tulloch money on a day to day basis that it will hurt us. Where it might is if we were looking for assistance as has happened in the past and this may not be as easy to get as before. Our biggest shareholder is of course Mr Sutherland and it is my understanding that he has sold a good portion of the business recently and also diversified is interests in other areas. He is an intelligent man and I am sure he saw a lot of this coming - maybe not all - but he would have seen the signs.

to be fair to Brewster - it is, and always has been, out of his hands !

There's already a loser .... Marius !!! He doesnt know whether he is coming or going and the constant speculation can be doing nothing for his pre-season preparations. Lets just hope that things behind the scenes are a little more clear cut than the press speculation suggests.

Alex, you are always the epitomy of optimism ..... but I really hope you are right :003:

its also just as likely that he may be unsettled by the comments from prominent people associated with the club about how difficult it will be to keep him because of things like wages !!! lets hope that both he and the club can tell each other the truth about future intentions and come to an amicable agreement about where we go from here. I would love to see him in an ICT shirt for at least another year but both parties have to want the relationship to continue and be honest about it !

My comments are not based on any article. I am sure there will be a meeting, it may not be today, but there will be one. My hope for this meeting - whenever it takes place - is that common sense will prevail.

If we had signed or had someone in the side that oozed leadership qualities far more than GM then I would say we should give it to them but as we havent, and there is not, then Granty will do just fine. He had a hard season last year what with the reputed bust-ups, the change of managers, and even his own performances as he tried to grow into the role so hopefully it will only serve to make him a stronger captain. I also find myself agreeing with Brewster 100% when he says that "you can never have enough leaders or winners on the park, no matter who is wearing the armband. Everyone in the team has to take some sort of responsibility" If not Granty then I would suggest Richard Hastings. I dont expect that idea to get much support but I can tell you I was very impressed with how vocal he was and how he tried to rally the troops in the Gold Cup final when Canada were shafted by the USA's 12th man (for a second time).

Sorry Roddy, I disagree. Here we have a player whose career was going somewhat backwards and through a somewhat convoluted set of circumstances involving friendship with someone who supports the club and the business interests and contacts of our former chairman in his country ended up at ICT. He could have gone elsewhere but he chose to come to ICT ... not for money, but because he believed the club could help him revitalise his career. ICT was without doubt a step down from where he had played before but it was necessary for him to do something to turn his career around or he would have continued going backwards. You might think he would be dismissive of ICT or make more of the fact that a few years ago he was playing for Dinamo or Sporting and now he might be faced with the prospect of heading to places like Dingwall or Huntly for pre-season friendlies but no, he has always - in public at least - been very positive about Inverness and Inverness CT and spoke warmly of the club during the Euros (which once again our PR juggernaut failed to capitalise on). ICT on the other hand have become less and less positive about him as time has gone on. The hype surrounding his signing was immense. The outcry over his denied permit was loud, and the expectations placed on him were very high as were the media estimations of his salary. For once, ICT took a chance and despite a slow start most of us have been delighted to see that an ICT player was included in the European Championships. As fans we have become more and more appreciative of the player and most of us would probably be delighted to see him in red/blue next season after a proper pre-season under his belt. A front line with Marius and one of Barrowman, Wood or even Stokes is an interesting and mouthwatering prospect.... Youth and Experience, Class and Hunger etc etc. Yet there is a possibility that despite him costing us nothing, his wages having been covered for two years, and him bringing us a fair bit of positive PR and definitely raising our profile on the European stage just by the mere mention of the club's name during the Euros that he will be squeezed out for one reason or another (some perhaps legitimate as noted earlier, some definitely not). I think it is more a case of "Niculae was a step too far for some ICT officials" than "Niculae was a step too far for ICT". .

From what I have heard, Marius was keen enough to sign an extension during the season (or perhaps at the end of it) because, after a slow start, he was finally enjoying his football again, as well as the area ...... not sure if that is still the case or not, but it was true at one point. If he were to sign an extension then surely it makes sense to keep him and push for a higher league position and the extra money that brings. An improvement of just 3 positions (to top 6) would bring in around half the figure that is being bandied about as a transfer fee and if we could make top 6 then the final 5 games would almost definitely bring in more revenue at the gate and in hospitality. Those who say that Savage mentioned selling him for a "plucked from the air" figure of 500K or that Marius mentioned using ICT as a stepping stone are not wrong and I can see their point - especially if he is not (or no longer) willing to sign an extension. However all the current talk of selling him is coming from one direction only and I wholeheartedly believe that this is neither a footballing decision or a business decision but one of internal politics with the man himself caught in the middle. I hope that this meeting actually brings something positive from both sides so that we dont have to have another month or two of controversy on the boards. Its good for the site hits but not much else, especially ICT themselves !!! It would be nice to think that ICT could sit down, agree an extension with Marius to the end of 2009/10 or beyond which would protect their interests but also give Marius some options if certain teams came in or certain transfer fee expectations were met. That way everybody - including the oft-forgotten fans - wins.

Hastings has been playing at centre half for Canada for the last year or more - primarily because the left back slot is already taken - and quite frankly he has done very well in that role. When he was first recalled to the Canada squad people were criticising the decision quite loudly but after the Gold Cup, where he played every game, up to and including the final, in central defence, the criticism was gone. I am not saying people are raving about him, but nowadays when discussing lineups on various fan forums, Canadian "soccer" fans seem to type out a team list and put him in at centre half without a second thought or without much debate ... its other positions where there are heated discussions. Incidentally, he was also named to the best 11 of that tournament .... in central defence.

I believe you may have hit the nail on the head unfortunately.

He has a future in PR once his playing days are over thats for sure ..... "It would be silly to say what my future holds before the meeting and then have to say something different afterwards, so I will wait."

Apparently Paul Dickov has been offered a contract with Toronto FC and there is speculation (rumours even) that Darren Huckerby may also come !!! Source: National Post

Ticket Info now up http://www.clarets-mad.co.uk/news/loadfeat...1&id=396669 Saturday 2nd August - kick off 3:00 p.m. Prices Adults - ?8 Concessions - ?5 Under-16s - ?2

I feel a little sorry for County and Dunfermline as it sounds like a paperwork issue that could be resolved quite easily, but not so much for Dundee as theirs was because they didnt have the personnel in place to satisfy the requirements. Having said that, all of this is contained in the club licensing documentation and clubs know what they are supposed to have in place and when it is to be in place so exactly why they are "raging" or saying "We will take this to the highest courts in the land" is a little beyond belief as it is their own fault and not the fault of the SFA. If you could say anything about the SFA it would be that they are perhaps being too rigid in applying the rules and should allow the clubs a grace period in which to comply.