CaleyD

There's nicotine in an electric cigarette

Your wish is my command....see you in 7 days. If anyone has an issue with the actions of myself or any of the site moderators then they should PM us (or another moderator) to raise their concerns. Posts such as this one will be locked (and later removed) and no discussion will be entered into on them.

See you in 7 days. P.S. Thread closed because we already have another of the same ilk.

No, and the stadiums safety certificate is issued on the basis of it being entirely non-smoking (probably insurance also). How easy/expensive that would be to change I have no idea. Just do what I did about 6 months ago....ditch the real cigarettes and take up electric cigarettes, massively cheaper and you can use them wherever you like.

Mahonio....grow up!!! Your "I'm a spoiled 14yr old" tantrums after every loss get rather boring and tiresome. They were last season, they are this season.

You're right, we don't have 3 to 5 years to sort things out and I wasn't suggesting we do. Things have to start changing (for the better) now....but it will take that length of time, IMO, to get back to where we were in terms of the relationship between the club and fans that existed prior to our entry to the SPL and started going down hill from then on. How long it will take to reverse the trend in terms of falling numbers...I have no clue. It needs to happen quick, and it needs to happen in conjunction with the above. I know I keep on about the lack of money, and part of the turnaround needs to be looking at ways to fund certain things. I don't buy into the theory that Directors should exist to keep dipping in to their own pockets to finance things and in fairness to some of our Directors/Ex Directors, they have done more than their share in that regard. Yes, you could argue that they are merely funding their own mismanagement, but like it or not, football clubs in their current form are not sustainable businesses....and whilst doing everything else that needs done, a sustainable model which doesn't rely on handouts also needs to be put in place. (I'll save you the lecture on my thoughts about the need for community business models as I'm not sure a single post can be that long) There comes a point when you have to stop playing the blame game and accept that if you want change then you have to play your part in bringing it about. Have the club made poor decisions in the past?...sure. Have the fans been less than supportive at times?...sure. Does that change where we are at now and what needs to be done?...not in the slightest. I would, personally, whittle that list down to just 2 points....the last two. Ultimately the Board have very little control over the team, how they play and what they do. They can only provide a pot of money which is used to employ management and players, and beyond that it falls to the manager to make it as successful as possible within the budget he has. Levels of success and entertainment are subjective, and the board would be chasing their tail and getting involved in things they are not expert at (or expected to be expert at) if they were to try and interfere with that to any great extent. The second point...get points three and four right and point two takes care of itself, so let's not get hung up on it as a separate issue. Beyond your list, the club need to be looking at the non fan/match/football related activities which are needed to help support everything else. I don't know what goes on in terms of functions/conferencing etc on a day to day basis, so I'm in position to comment on where that is at, but it's not an area which should be ignored....far from it. I can't/wouldn't try to speak on behalf of the Directors of the club...but I think the fact that they have realised and accepted that things are broken is an important first step. The increased communication and working relationship with Caley Jags Together also indicates a willingness to go looking for reasons to why we are where we are and ideas on how to change it. That's only the very start of the process, and yes I do know for a fact that there's more to come. I'm not in a position to give any detail on what that it is, and that's partly down to not having full facts/details on the next step...but one is definitely in the pipeline and I fully agree with and support what I know of it so far. As much as some people might like to accuse me of having "crossed over" or being a "poacher turned gamekeeper"....I can assure you that I absolutely share all the same frustrations and disappointments as every other fan. The difference for me now, as I have said, is that things are changing and instead of wasting time and energy on being angry and upset about it, I can now spend that time and energy doing things to try and change it....either through my involvement with Caley Jags Together, or directly with the club. Yes, I do work (and need to), but I'm fortunate, I think, to work for myself and that allows me a lot of flexibility with my time. Wish I could do more, and if some rich person out there wanted to pay me to work full time for ICT then I would happily give up my other work...maybe I'll win the lottery instead!!! In saying that, it's not about how much a person does, I would be happier seeing 1000 fans give 1 hour a month than I would seeing 10 fans giving 100 hours a month....because that would be the surest indication of all that the ICT Community (Club, Fans, City, Businesses) were getting things right and everyone was supporting the club/team. All that aside....I think you, me and many others are saying we want to see much and such the same thing. I also accept that I am in a position where I'm seeing more day to day to convince me that the club board have turned a corner in terms of their approach/attitude to things and that news/message needs to be getting out there more in order to show others the same thing....point very much taken on board and will be fed back. I guess what I really want to see from fans is a bit less of "the club should be doing...." and a bit more of "how can I be doing". Again, I accept that the club/Caley Jags Together need to facilitate that and that point has been taken on board also and will be fed back. Anyway....off to hide as the "not at the game, but know everything must have been bad because we got beat brigade" will be out in full force and I find that more demoralising than anything else that's going on with the club just now.....!!!

Got to be better than saying Absoulootely.

Aaron Doran also been called up for International Duty. Congrats to them all....doing themselves, their country and the club proud.

Bridge Ender/12th Man, I am taking on board what you are saying and I'd be the first to admit that we're not (yet) getting everything right with Caley Jags Together (Trust name is no more). We're very much in a period of transition right now and part of the process is dividing up the organisations activities and assigning directors to them with a view that they then recruit from the wider membership for assistance...so we're already moving along the road suggested in terms of getting more people involved and once these groups get a proper handle on what they are needing then we will be able to go out there with more specific requests from our side of things. I know the club are also looking at doing something similar and Caley Jags Together will have a more formal link in with that. There's a reason why we are where we are and why it proves so tough to get fan assistance. As frustrating as I sometimes find it I know it's not going to all be sorted over night and actually see it as a 3 to 5 year project to get back to anything like the "working together" culture we had pre-SPL when fans really did feel a part of the club instead of just feeling like a (poorly treated) customer. We all have a part to play in that, even without having to be asked, even if it's just sharing a story/post on Facebook/Twitter or acknowledging the positive changes from time to time. e.g. We've got 3 players who have been called up for international duty next weekend yet the threads on here about it have very little comment on them. That should be a big deal for the fans of any club and we should all be shouting about it every chance we get.

Jeez Don! You've contracted a REALLY serious case of poacher turned gamekeeper there!!! :lol: Not at all Charles...one thing I could never be accused of was not voicing my opinions and raising my concerns (or at least attempting to) directly with the club. I still do that, but the difference these days is that they are listening and they are allowing myself (and others) the opportunity to be a part of changing things. That means that instead of having to spend hours/days/weeks/months/years trying to make myself heard, I can now dedicate that time to more constructive pursuits and everyone's a winner.

You can't write a letter/email to the club, but you have no issue posting it on the forums....how does that stack up? There's some things that can be raised by the club on behalf of others, but when it's a personal complaint about individual treatment (especially involving a third party contractor) then there's very little that can be done without a direct communication from the person involved. Whine about it on here all you like, but it is achieving nothing.

I've sent out 9 or 10 emails/newsletters in the past year to members and at least half of them have contained a request for members who wish to assist to get in touch....had a grand total of zero responses. Like any project, there's only so much resource you can throw at something that's not working before you have to accept that time would be better spent on other things. In saying that, with the recent coming together of the two fans groups we have undertaken some internal restructuring and will be continuing with that. Part of that exercise will involve us becoming more visible and getting out there and speaking to members and fans more regularly, and perhaps that approach will prove more fruitful. There's no shortage of ideas and things we want to be doing, but we also suffer from some of the same issues as the club, insofar as the existing resource within the society being stretched to the max (and then some). We've doubled our membership since the start of the year, but unfortunately we've not (as yet) seen that translate into more people getting hands on....and it's definitely something we are working on, and will continue to work on. What we have to be careful of, and we've had our fingers burned with it in the past, is committing to things on the assumption that people will step forward and help....because when they don't then things either fail (and we get criticised when they do) or the same few people are left having to pick up the slack and are left demoralised by the lack of assistance. A prime example of that is a couple of summers back when there was umpteen complaints/moans about the state of the North Concourse and Toilets. The club agreed to provide all the equipment (and lunch/refreshments) and the (then) Trust said we would get the bodies to do the painting. We put out the request for assistance and couldn't even get a half dozen people to give up a couple of hours to come and help. The result was that the club ended up having to hire someone in to do it. Similar situation this past summer when fans wrote in their hundreds about only renewing/buying season tickets if the club voted against Rangers in the SPL....then didn't uphold their end of the promise. As I said above, for years I was critical of the club for being a "closed shop" and not allowing the fans opportunity to do for themselves where the club were/are unable to provide. I got a lot of backing for my thoughts and opinions on that at the time....but where are all these people now when that opportunities are there? Easy to sit behind a keyboard and criticise whilst demanding this and that, but it is become more and more apparent that far too many people are just not willing to commit when push comes to shove. I just hope that someday that changes, and that it changes before it's too late or before the change is brought about by the need for us to be out there with the "Save our Club" buckets. Not intended as a go at you or anyone specific, it's a general frustration and we are grateful for the assistance we do get,,,,just need more of it.

LATEST NEWS: New signing Phillip Roberts has also been called up for the Republic of Ireland U19 squad and will accompany Connor to Riga..

I don't disagree, but there's only a finite resource available and this is the point I am getting at. Instead of "they should be doing this and that", how about a few more people start asking "what can we do to help the club and free up resource so these things can happen?". If you can pen an article, great...volunteer to come in a couple of times a week to collect the info and put them together. If not, then perhaps you have a skill or can assist in some other way so as to free up time from someone who can.

That's assuming he's costing us anything.

We have one of the best community departments in the SPL with awards coming out their ears for the good work they do. I know...why do we not know about it...comes back to what I said above. Would you rather stop them doing the good work to take time to tell you about it, or would you rather they kept on doing the good work?

Georgeios, if you feel you have a genuine grievance then you should take it up with the club. By doing nothing then all that's achieved is that wrong behaviours go unchecked and you risk it happening to someone else. There's absolutely nothing to be gained, from the clubs point of view, by not taking it on board. They hire a stewarding company to provide a professional service, if they are not getting that and the actions of said company are having a negative impact on the clubs relationship with the fans then it needs to be sorted. Also a little ironic that you criticise the club because you think they will do nothing when you have quite clearly decide not to do anything yourself. If it happens again (to you or anyone else), then who is to blame? The club for not fixing something nobody told them needed fixed, or you for not telling them and giving them the chance to put it right?

Far more information coming out through the website, use of Facebook, YouTube...all things which, whilst fan driven, were a million miles from being viewed as priority by the club just a couple of years back. All the stuff over the summer where the Club listened too, and supported the views of the fans on the Rangers fiasco. A Chairman with an open-door policy who will happily speak to anyone who wants to go have a word with him. We do not have the money to be employing marketing gurus....you do realise what a marketing expert costs right? I actually think people are confusing the need for marketing experts with the need for a communications officer or something of that ilk....and I would agree that communication, whilst getting better, is a long way from being where it should/needs to be....but when faced with the choice of doing good, or taking away from that resource and doing less so you have the time to tell everyone you are doing good then which would you rather see? We can mump and moan about not having this, or not having that, needing this, needing that....etc etc etc. But that doesn't magic up the money that would be needed to facilitate these things. Like it or not, the only way ICT is going to move forward is if we all take what's there and do our bit to make it better. There's not going to be experts in this, that or the next thing hired, so you are as well to move beyond that idea and look at where/what we can do (for free) to assist. It's not even about "investing" better in things...there's no money NO MONEY, NADDA, ZILTCH, FECK ALL...to invest even if they wanted to. So, once again, any idea/suggestion that starts with..."we should invest in/spend money on" is pretty much a non starter and a waste of breath unless people are willing to help resource/finance it from external sources. It's a really crap situation to be in, we can get all upset and angry about it and change nothing or we can pull together and work our way out of it and get to the point where perhaps we can afford to invest in all the things everyone thinks we need.

I don't know anything about EFFECTIVE marketing so I don't see how I could help. Since inception this club has relied heavily on volunteers (workers) and they will always be needed to help where required. However, our ability to attract new customers and get old customers back is non-existant and far beyond the capabilities of someone like me. We need to EMPLOY PROFESSIONALS who are accountable, know what they are talking about and can evidence their success in this field NOT volunteers who have the club at heart but have no professional experience. You are very much mistaken if you think there's nothing you can do to help with the marketing of the club. Each and every one of us has the power at our fingertips to be an ambassador of the club...it's never been easier. e.g. It takes seconds to share a story or link about ICT on your facebook/twitter or to post something positive and encouraging about your team. In the canteen at work, over lunch, waiting for a bus, standing in the queue at the shop, sitting in the doctors waiting room...all opportunities to strike up a conversation with someone and slip in mention of ICT. Ok, so the club don't get everything right, but if you choose to focus only on the negatives when communicating with people then they will be left with a negative impression of the club and will likely never become another person spending money at ICT and without people spending money then we'll never have the funds/resources to undertake the bigger things. This forum is visited by thousands of visitors/guests (not the regular users) every week. Without doubt some of these people will be newcomers to the area, tourists, visitors or whatever looking for a bit of information on the local football team. They'd be a bit naive to expect to come on and see nobody making critical comment about the not so good parts of the game....but when they come on and see endless negative content then they're not going to be rushing down to the next game. As I said, things aren't perfect at ICT and TCS....but I believe they are getting better. How about we concentrate a bit more on that, or at least temper our propensity to whine and moan by acknowledging that (as far as is within the clubs control) things are getting better.....both on and off the park. I've been arguing for the best part of a decade against the dangers of the business/customer attitude that took over at ICT after we got to the SPL. I strongly believe that there is realisation within the club of where things have gone off the rails and also a desire on their part to be making changes for the better. If that wasn't the case then I'd still be arguing the case instead of redirecting my energy and effort into encouraging people to work together. The club do not need any more convincing of the need for change....and they cannot move forward with exercising the change that's needed without the help, support and backing of the fans. It's almost as if we have slipped into a parallel universe where the prior situation with club and fans is the total opposite to what it was. The club are trying hard to change, but it's the unwillingness of the support to embrace and help with that which is preventing the progress being made....rather bizarre!!!

http://ictfc.com/news/team-news/605-top-gunner-is-loan-star

What would you like to volunteer to help with in order to make these things happen?

From what was said above, it was the copper who checked his pockets.

Not even a 1 year deal, he's only signed till January. He can't be all that if he's struggling so much to find a club.

Yes....appreciate it doesn't help with viewing, but you can order from the shop via phone as well.

It certainly doesn't help, and it would be unwise to ignore it when people who have followed ICT through good times and bad, home and away, are telling you that they are about at the end of their tether due to the attitude of fellow fans...as opposed to a poor performance on the park. It's actually getting much the same way on this forum...I no longer enjoy visiting here, it's become a chore and if not for the fact that I have a stake in it then I'd be a far less regular visitor. Not because of the football, but because of a small but hugely disruptive minority who do nothing whatsoever to give ICT, the fans, the club or anything a lift. So much so that they have become a part of the overall problem.