Kirishima

Radio...its gonna be bigger than Setanta in a few years! I heard that there have already been lay-offs amongst the rank and file staff.

I would say that the best way to help the club is to use the Hospitality more often. It requires no outlay by the club or extra efort. For example, if people had a way of pulling together money etc rather than just individuals it would be a lot cheaper. For example: Each month people submit their spouse/child's birthday month to a confidential e-mail (manned by a volunteer) and then are contacted to offer them to pay a percentage of the hospitality room, depending on how many people responded for that month. If they decline then fair enough, no harm done. Anybody who is in a company try to get their workplace to have a funday at the stadium, in the name of teambuilding/bonding Do a competition, where everyone puts in 5 or 10 quid for the chance to win a hospitality suite for the day (would need lots of work) Charitable organisations or individuals hold an event there I think that hospitality money will be vital now more than ever.

Ok, so, Directors - 50k, Chef Exec - 50k, DofF, - 30k, Commercial Manager, 30k, 10 other staff @ 15k. Thats all the money gone in one year. Now, the club still has to pay players, manager and asistant manager, stewarding, travel costs, upkeep of stadium, all this while having a fraction of the revenue. Well, I am surprised that the club have not downsized considering. I think that ICT will be in debt by this time next year. Its all good and well people sticking their hands deeper in their pockets but charity begins at home.

That...is not...good.

Do many SFL clubs have a Chief Executive and a Director of Football? Nothing at all against them personally, however if we are hanging on to the hope that the 250,000 parachute payment is the only reason why we should go straight up, isnt it feasible to protect it? For example, I would imagine that a Chief Executive and Director of Football together represents a figure of somewhere in the region of 65,000 + a year. Add to that 20,000 for every "normal" staff member, say 7 of them, and hey presto - money gone. And thats before TB and MM are paid I know well that a club doesnt run itself, however it cant just be the playing side that is reduced, imho.

Is anyone else worried about how the club will be able to maintain the status quo? Personally, I feel the 250,000 parachute payment is laughable, and that the club, by next season will be in quite a tough spot. Look at what has been lost: Setanta/BBC TV/Radio money SPL league position cash Gate receipts (Old firm/Aberdeen) To counter that the club have let go of a few players, none of whom were big earners and have to be replaced anyhow. The 250,000 wont even cover non-playing staff for a year, never mind new players, existing players etc. Where else can costs be cut?

While players are getting axed here there and everywhere, it seems that the only thing staying the same will be the positions and salaries of the executive management. Their "straight back up policy" is another way of saying, "cripes, cant justify my job in the 1st div for long." I wonder how much of the 250,000 pound parachute payment will be allocated towards keeping some in the lifestyle that allowed them to take their eye off the ball, quite literally! (Note to editors: I am a Communist)

For me, what the heck is the SPL, SFL and SFA doing to protect clubs from rogue owners such as Gretna, Hearts and Livingston. Seems like anyone can come in, run up bills and then bail. If i were the Livi fans I wouldnt put a penny into the club unless the present owners agreed to leave asap Edit: typo

IMHO the squad, for a long period of time, was lacking in depth, quality and competition. Brewster and Bennett are responsible for that. The board, if they blocked spending, are culpable too. Had we had Foran, Morais, Mihadjuks earlier (or other such additions) then I believe it would be a different story. Personally, I think that ICT cannot afford Mike Smith and Graeme Bennett as we are now a Div 1 side.

Tosh. I like to keep all my eggs in one basket so i can count my chickens before they hatch

To be honest, the letter and the author are pathetic. 1) Obviously the author was "inspired" by the complaint letter sent to Virgin boss Richard Branson, which was all over the media. This was a poor imitation, nothing unique about the idea http://uk.news.yahoo.com/blog/editors_corner/article/11975/ 2) For the first part of the letter he is mocking the fact they were tied against Dunfermline, before the game had even taken place, nothing to do with AFC, but more to do with the author's arrogance. 3) "Jamie Langfield kicking like he?d suddenly developed multiple sclerosis" Now this is offensive. Many people have a friend or family member at one time or another who develop this illness. Specifically for AFC, Brian Irvine, who I admire hugely, has this debilitating illness, and showed great courage and resolve. To use this to mock someone is frankly disgusting. In again with the Stephen Hawking analogy. 4) what relevance has the mascot of Dunfermline got to do with JC? Now i know that this letter was supposed to be tongue in cheek, but this is not such a letter. Its is the result of an arrogant, petty, bored and offensive person. No real fan of AFC would have used MS as a mocking point, considering how the vast majority of their "real" support gave Brian Irvine the amount of well-wishes he received. As ajsict92 said, "Ok, at least when we submitted a letter to the board about the clubs issues we knew how to behave ourselves."

My top 5 ideas in detail: A) "This is your life" type fan segment - a season ticket holder can nominate another season ticket holder, and they get asked 5 set questions midweek before a game, via e-mail, for example 1) Favourite player 2) Favourite ICT moment this season 3) Match prediction - prize if correct 4) What player from todays opponent would you take when he begs to join ICT 5) Anybody wants to say hi to. Then read out at half time All important song-tailored-to-players-name-after-they-score for example, Richie Foran - Rawhide themetune, Mihadjuks - Its Magic! Ross Tokely - Local Hero tune Brian Kerr - Monty Python Life of Brian tune, Im sure people can think of better and more but get the gist C) Pre-recorded Pre match statement from Butcher or Malpas- more interesting than just listening to songs for 50 mins before the game. D) Player's Top 5 ......... - a rotating Top 5, for example one week Pavel answers his Top 5 holiday destinations, the next week its Tokelys Top 5 soft drinks, etc etc E) Something for the away fans - a tongue in cheek type thing And the beauty of it is, it can all be pre-recorded, instead of listening to mind numbing music over and over in the cold, we can have something interesting to listen to, of course still music in between, but might break it up a little bit. Just my tuppence worth

Good idea, especially for the Juniors. The most a Junior can realistically afford is a fiver, after lets face it, more important things like clothes, cinema, McDs, bowling etc, so i would like to see that price remain there or thereabouts. Im not a junior and i dont have kids, but i think the club should be doing more for the Juniors. And the OAPs too. This is a great start.

To be honest, if Jud stepped in to cover, nobody here is slating him per se. Its the fact that the club are responsible for matchday atmosphere and should have training and support, fan feedback, requests, etc. Its not directed at one person, more, how can the club, fans and ICT alike, work together to help take the matchday announcing to a new level. I wouldnt do the job, as i would choke, so fair playto those who do, I would like to hear 1) Songs tailored to a players name when they score 2) A pre-recorded statement from Terry Butcher 3) a Player/Fan profile (Favourite food, player, etc) 4) Little known fact (Stattos corner) As CaleyD said, fan involvement is key, it doesnt necessarily have to be in the form of being the actual announcer, although that would be fun, especially for reserve matches as a try-out, but something where everyone can be a part of it.

Its an important job richt enuff. I havent heard him but it is essential to the matchday atmosphere, so has to be entertaining, creative and above all professional. What do others think? Good or bad?

Happy Birthday!

by Pilot: "Whoa whoa whoa its Mihadjuks, you know, never believed its not so..." by Frankie Lane (Rawhide them tune): "Foran Foran Foran, keep those goals a scorin'...Foran"

Hi Robbo. Great to have you back on here. Have you considered doing what Alex Miller at Jef United Chiba has done and tried coaching in Japan (or Asia)? Would you coach outside Europe if gthe opportunity arose

David Sutherland (Tullochs) owes the Supporters Trust an apology for his media comments. Graeme Bennett needs to explain why a) Cowie, Black and Fraser decided to sign PCAs, were they offered realistic deals? No problem if they were after more money than the wage structure allowed but its not good to keep it a secret. Beyond that, anything else is just **** stirring

From P and J TB: I really appreciated the supporters wearing bandanas, not a good fashion statement, but very good for me. Well done to all who gave TB a big welcome

Mmm...we need to go on a run of 3 wins to pull us out of relegation. Assuming we dont get anything tmrw (its a tough call) but by the end of this month we will have had 3 home games after the Celtic one...9 points against Killie, Well and Hibs. Job done!

Yeah, I think that as with Gretna, a new team would be admitted and extra teams promoted in the SFL. I foresee no Livi or Hearts in 3 years...Hibs will have a huge catchment area!!! Farcical, no regulation by SFL or SPL, just like the banks

A professional! Superb! Can you imagine how much more motivated the players will be listening to that kind of quality? Great stuff. Frank, open, positive, direct, clear, concise....

Monkeys are not indigenous to Inverness. It would be ridiculous to be represented by something that doesnt even exist in the area. Nessie is much more appropriate