Scotty

Scotty - Queens Park @ 2.25 CDN Girl - Partick @ 2.00 SOS - Ayr/ICT draw @ 3.30

Scotty : Stirling Albion @ 2.20 CDN Girl : Peterhead @ 2.40 SOS : Ayr @ 2.25

Scotty: HT: 1-0 FT: 2-0 1st ICT: Walsh 1st Opp: Miller Crowd: 2122 CDN Girl HT: 0-0 FT: 1-0 1st ICT: Welsh 1st Opp: Zanatta Crowd: 1777 SOS HT: 1-1 FT: 2-1 1st ICT: Storey 1st Opp: Miller Crowd: 1933

and thats where the parents come in. In my post above I commented that I realised my son had reached his limit with one program and moved him to another .... none of these programs are free and the higher you go the more it costs but you will do for your kids what you think is best regardless of that cost. Thats also what my friends have done .... their son is really good IMO and they want him to reach his potential so thats why they do it. In both cases the kids love their football so that does make it easier .....

tend to agree .... If I take my own boy into the example here ... we have been taking him to football since he was 2. He just turned 6. From age 2-5 he went to something called little kickers. it was basically all about exercising and burning energy and using a ball sometimes rather than anything i would categorise as training. As he got older the ball got used more and learning of skills was introduced. From his mouth and my eyes, we knew he had reached his limit with this program a year ago and had to go up a level. From early summer this year until now he has been going to a local football club 2 nights a week. first night is training second night is a 'game'. This is more like training proper with the first night focusing on specific skills with the ball and the second about applying them. This team takes you from age 5 up to university age for competitive football so he is in on the ground floor as it were. If he is good he will go down the competitive route, if he is not he can choose to go down the leisure route which goes all the way up to my age ! 3 weeks ago he started a new training regime, this time with Toronto FC juniors. TFC have one of the best academies in North America - and poured millions into it as a condition of entry into MLS - but as a parent I know I have to be realistic ... My son is unlikely to be the next Ronaldo or Neymar and even if he does get picked up and tracked into the main academy program once he reaches age 7 or 8 years old then 95% of those who go down that path will fall off somewhere and not make the grade. 10s of thousands of kids have entered the ranks of the academy over the last 10 years .... and only about 20 have made it to the first team squad and only 2 or 3 of those are still at the club and appearing more than a handful of times a season. They either move on to other clubs, drop down to TFC II which plays in a lower league, or drop back to CPL or NASL and find their level. This is how it is the world over. ICT seems similar in that respect ... we have the hotshots for the young kids and then we have other outside outlets like kids coaching or TOFSS which was setup by former ICT captain Ian McArthur if I am not mistaken and now has Carl Tremarco as the newest franchisee (for Ross-shire), and we also have a route for the kids with ICT. One of my friends' kids is currently going down that route ... he was in hotshots, was also in TOFSS and is now playing for the ICT youths. Incidentally - they are always fundraising too as they do not get their costs covered by the club so whatever the club do give them it definitely doesnt cover everything. If we are paying 500K per year for our youth program then that is for wages, administration and covering anything else we are required to have in our licensing ... its not for niceties, freebies, or frivolity as far as I can tell. If we have a "highland" academy combining some HFL and SFL sides then, the players themselves will know where they want to go .... if its ICT/RCFC then it may be by choice if we are at the same or similar levels, but if we have differing teams at differing levels combining to share costs then the parents and/or coaches should realise this and make the best and most honest choice for their kids. I also think myself that training or youth development should be part of the core program run by the league and that it should benefit from government funds as part of a national fitness or youth activity program and perhaps be independent of but tied to the clubs in some way ... that way we can take some of the potential for bias and/or accusations of unfairness out of things .... this could very well be a whole separate debate on another thread .....

As you should ..... I have the opposite experience of him on several different fronts. As a paying customer in hospitality, as a (heavily discounting) service provider, and on a personal level when crossing paths at a recent funeral. The first time (in hospitality) was the first time I ever met him. I was with my wife and child and I felt like something on the bottom of his shoe when I was introduced to him. I had never spoken to him personally or in email up to that point and it has probably clouded the very few interactions we have had since then .... It has certainly made me take a more critical eye to every deed, action or word ....

That doesnt mean there wont be any votes to be taken .... Right now you are facing going into a meeting with only 3 directors and if the rumours in this thread and going around outside of CTO have any truth in them there could be a board of 1 by the time everyone has sat down and introductions are made ... At the very least any new board members would have to be voted in, even if its a rubber stamp job. I am prepared to be corrected, but I dont think a board of 1 - or even 3 - could co-opt new members as they are not quorate and even if they can those appointments need ratified with a vote. However, if anything 'extraordinary' surfaces at the meeting then the 10% voting right of the trust is crucial. It may not be enough to swing a decision one way or another but that 10% voting right represents the fans and supporters of the club and speaks volumes about the mood of the support and the supporters opinion on what should be important to, and the best way forward for the good and benefit of the club. With all due respect, anyone on the trust board who thinks that the 10% voting share is not important should perhaps give themselves a wee shake and take another look !! It has never been so important !

Your loyalty to Mr Rae, for whatever reason, is admirable but we will have to agree to disagree on your assessment of the situation. I have had dealings in some capacity with virtually every iteration of our boardroom over the years and lets just say that some were far more organised, personable, and capable than others. I have absolutely no doubt that anyone who has 'donated' their funds (Weekend Hackers's distinction is correct IMO) had the best intentions coming in, especially those who had a plan they thought would work, but as we have seen a few times, the viability or implementation of those plans often had severe issues or were chock full of inefficiencies and wastage costing us money we didnt have. The last two years are another example of this. The best post in this thread is from A Sofa in St Tropez on the first page. Absolutely nails it as far as I am concerned.

No cheer leading here ... just want someone willing to run our club properly and capable of doing so. Who they are is irrelevant, what they can do is what matters.

absolutely agree. and to be blunt there is no sadness on my part at this turn of events. Its the impact of his tenure that I do worry about. I had dealings with him as a customer, as a service provider, and as a shareholder ... none of those interactions were satisfactory.

Legends : First for me would be Ross Tokely. Maybe not our most skilful player ever but a guy who played more than 500 times for us and in every division. Each time we went up people wrote him off but he stepped up a gear. Other legends would be the likes of Bobby Mann, Alan Hercher, Barry Wilson, Ian Stewart, Dennis Wyness, Charlie Christie. Charlie must surely be a shoe-in for that as a player and a manager, a guy who has been around the club in so many different capacities since we were formed. Memories - too many to count but if you are looking for iconic moments then for me its got to be that picture captured of Paul Sheerin on Feb 8 2000 after his penalty or maybe David Raven (and the squad) on the guitar after our cup win. I am sure I will probably edit or add to this post as I think of more but thats the first ones that come to mind.

This. The location of the ground is a pain in the a*** in some ways but it could also be a plus point. Its one of the most picturesque stadiums in the land so why not make use of that fact. Close the road to all but football traffic along the frontage between the entrances to the home and away car parks (ie. no through traffic) and have some form of entertainment/commerce there on a regular basis. A farmers market where the small traders have minimal overheads might be good, small business with their cottage industry arts and crafts also. If people come to that then it also attracts the other businesses that need the footfall like bouncy castles or face painting etc. This would all have to be self-financing or worthwhile to the traders and club alike so either there is no charge to them (initially) or someone tries to sponsor any costs. If it is successful, then the fact that the traders and/or entertainment is there should drive crowd levels up a bit. If the club themselves also have the shop and the bar open then they also generate revenue from this too. Speak to community groups, scouts, kids sports teams, schools and what not and offer them tickets for the game if they can bring something to the table in this regards .... its not like tickets are scarce anyway ! If it becomes popular as a known monthly/quarterly event it also then becomes easier to talk to the powers that be to provide transportation or easier access to the area .. more than just the Caley Club buses. Given that the town centre manager - a former CE of Inverness Caledonian Thistle - and his wife, the Eastgate Centre supremo are always trying to figure out how to stop the town centre consisting of just pound shops, charity shops and pubs, (or shuttered premises) then this should be a no-brainer. Is it better to get a nominal fee for something like a pop-up shop or to have things empty. A win win for all I would say and have said for years. All of your comments are correct but if you think a little bit out of the box this doesnt have to be the case ..... As above, firstly speak to the people in the town management and see if there is room for negotiation on things. pop-up shops are not typically expensive given their nature but there is or would be some element of cost so that has to be factored in. It depends how desperate the town centre folk are to make their product more attractive too ... its a potentially symbiotic relationship. Also, ICT - and other football clubs - are not like a traditional business so I would suggest they do actually attract volunteers to man something like this more easily than some other businesses. We are invested in the club with our hearts as well as our wallets so getting us to do something free or for cost is a lot easier. I would agree it tends to be the same faces doing the volunteering, but people do volunteer. The problem sometimes has been the club being aloof to those offers, turning them down for some reason, or treating people badly when they are doing those favours. As for technology costs then I do disagree here. Over the last few years the IT infrastructure at the stadium was improved so connecting remotely to it should not be an issue. Also, I encounter small one-person businesses over here now all the time using their PHONES as their entire gamut of technology. Our church has semi-monthly craft sales on a Sunday after service and a nearby indigenous centre also has them on a similar timescale and virtually all of the vendors now take cash or credit card. Credit card is enabled by attaching a "square" reader to the lightning socket of your phone .... you can buy them for $10 here. As the club already has a vendor agreement with credit card companies I would doubt the start up or other costs would be significant.

THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Inverness CT -V- Queen of the South PREVIEW 21st September @ 3pm, Caledonian Stadium Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC

Scotty : Forfar @ 2.05 CDN Girl : Peterhead @ 2.25 SOS : Dundee @ 2.20

Scotty HT: 1-1 FT: 2-1 1st ICT: Walsh 1st Opp: Dobbie Crowd: 2455 CDN Girl HT: 0-0 FT: 1-0 1st ICT: White 1st Opp: Hamilton Crowd: 2721 SOS HT: 1-0 FT: 2-2 1st ICT: Storey 1st Opp: Dobbie Crowd: 2554

In my opinion - now that it seems to be running more efficiently - the best thing any of us can do, especially if we have shares and cannot go, or have not setup a proxy with someone else, is to proxy them to the Supporters Trust in case of any voting. I already have a proxy setup or I would do that myself. With a 10% voting right on its own, bolstered by however many small individual shareholder proxies, I would be confident they would have to be listened to, would do what is in the best interests of the club and its supporters, and could certainly have some influence in any decision making. I said it a couple of years ago, but we need them more now than we ever did at any time in the past !

This is the letter and agenda sent to shareholders. Rumour has it we are going to announce a significant increase in our debt .... the letter seems to give clues on the potential numbers and that seems pretty close to the figure I have heard on the grapevine. The other rumour is that we may see a similarly significant change in the boardroom with several departures and some new blood. Letter 18.09.19.pdf 2.pdf 1.pdf

Not sure Hearts, or Robbo for that matter would go down the same route again. When he went there before he said something like it was the only team he would have left ICT for and I dont think any of us could really begrudge him given the connections. It may be different folk in the background now but despite having a decent run as manager he still got sacked unceremoniously and most would say unjustly .... His later stints and experiences at County, Livi, and Derry likely did nothing to make him feel good about management and his tenure at East Fife was also pretty short. We tempted him out of managerial retirement in 2017 and despite our own unfortunate experience of having someone manage us more than once he has also been reasonably successful second time around given the financial constraints he has to work within. We often talk about players being the right fit for a team .... the same applies to managers and I think Robbo is the right fit for us and he knows it as do our directors and board. Why would he leave one of the safest jobs in football and go back to the potential managerial merry go round that the Hearts spotlight would bring.

Having done a little digging, I believe you are right.

THE MATCHDAY THREAD Discuss ICT & other games in this thread as they happen Dunfermline -V- Inverness CT PREVIEW 14th September @ 3pm, East End Park, Dunfermline Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Media Coverage AUDIO COVERAGE BBC Sportsound BBC Sportsound [UK Only] LIVE TEXT (ONLINE) Sporting Life BBC VIDEO SPFL YouTube Channel ICT Official YouTube Channel TEAM LINEUPS TO FOLLOW Tweets by @ICTFC Tweets by @ICTFC

Scotty HT: 0-1 FT: 1-2 1st ICT: Walsh 1st Opp: Nisbet Crowd: 4411 CDN Girl HT: 0-0 FT: 0-1 1st ICT: White 1st Opp: Dow Crowd: 3931 SOS HT: 1-1 FT: 1-3 1st ICT: Storey 1st Opp: Nisbet Crowd: 4223

Scotty : Stenny @ 6/5 CDN Girl : Stirling @ 7/4 SOS : Dumbarton @ 7/5

Many Thanks to all who paid. we are now fully paid up for the player and I will make arrangements to confirm everything with Emma

Judging by his Facebook, and the chat I had with Gringo Jr yesterday, he is fine and just having a well deserved break on the south coast ?

3 slots left ....