CaleyD

There's no way they, or any club, is going to hold 1000 seats for general admission when they have people wanting to purchase season tickets. Good marketing ploy though....send out information that you might be about to pull the plug on Season Ticket sales due to demand and then sit back and watch as all those dithering or on the fence race to snap them up for fear they might lose out.

I've found a way to ensure ICT have sell out crowds for every game.....close sections of the Stadium and reduce capacity. Not sure why it never dawned on anyone before, but it seems the Olympic Committee have cottoned on to the concept and are using it to reduce the number of unsold football tickets by 500,000!!!! Pure genius - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18869911

And your reply was ............ "Report as Spam"

I believe they were having some issues with the system today (not from the clubs end) and it looks like they are still working on it.

Libero, I have details of a few companies who offer such a service...the biggest problem I have had with trying to get it off the ground is the charges that apply for rental of short code/words and the fact they take a not insubstantial chunk of the entry money. Not sure if it's sensible to ask fans to "invest" £2 when in reality less than half of that could end up going to the club....although I also realise that half of nothing is better than 100% of nothing. Fire me over the link for the company you have and I'll take a look though.

I got an e.mail from him saying someone had provided my name as a possible participant for some group of investigators he's looking to put together!!!

That's because during the initial consultation on the Fans Charter (which some ICT fans participated in) it wasn't one of the top reasons. I don't think any of the ICT Fans at that initial meeting ranked it very high on the list of priorities for a good matchday....in fact it seemed to come as a bit of an afterthought!!!

You could always paint on your own red stripes.

I totally believe that is what people are telling you, and it's probably what they believe themselves. It surprised me also, but when you start to drill down into the reasons then the on the park aspect quite quickly turns out to be far from the deciding factor. Once you start to think about it, then it starts to make a bit of sense. After all, how many of us starting following ICT because of their silky smooth world class football and habit of winning everything the competed for? Ok, so that's taking it to the extreme, but for most "the calling" is so much more than what happens on the pitch. ICT is about more than 90 minutes on a Saturday (TV permitting!!!) it's the chat we take part in about them all week on here, it's the banter with mates in the pub, it's the banter and craic with the opposition fans, it's about letting loose at the game with a bit of chanting and a sing song, it's about spending time with family and friends and having that common interest. I'm not saying what happens on the park has nothing to do with it....but most of us have followed ICT up through the leagues, so playing in the top flight was never the initial draw, it's certainly not winning cups and we could probably all list a few losses among our "best days out". Test they theory...next time someone tells you they're not coming to the football any more because the performances on the pitch are crap, take the time to question/talk to them a bit more about it and see if some/all of the above is not a bigger factor. The good news is that it's easier, if people are willing, to put these things right than it is for us to have any influence whatsoever on the pitch...in fact, the only way for us to influence what happens on the pitch is to improve what happens off of it, get more people along supporting the team and give the club more money to invest in the playing side of things. Complete the Fans Charter Survey I just posted information about and see what comes out the other side when the results are compiled....you'll probably be far more surprised than what you are now.

FANS CHARTER : HAVE YOUR SAY!!! How can a match day experience improve? Have your say through this online survey – which is independent of the Scottish FA, SPL and SFL - and contribute to creating a Fans’ Charter which will help make your football entertainment even more enjoyable. James Proctor, who has worked with fans’ organisations for ten years, is the project manager for the Fans’ Charter. He has, in the last three months, been speaking with individual supporters and has contacted supporter groups to find out their views on going to watch football. “This led to ten meetings across Scotland where I listened to the good and bad points of going to the game from supporters of 18 different clubs,” James explained. The discussions produced five areas which a charter should seek to address. 1. Participation – atmosphere, singing and chanting are all created by fans. A charter should recognise that fans are an important part of the match. 2. Fan Relations – the relationships between clubs and fans. Good communications between the two should be recognised as contributing to a good match day experience. 3. Fan Behaviour – Abuse and equality issues such as racism, bigotry and offensive comments should be addressed in the charter with a view to creating a more positive and inclusive environment. 4. Safety Authorities – Stewarding and policing are areas which contribute to a good or bad experience of the game and also have implications for safety. These rights and responsibilities should be balanced in the charter. 5. Facilities – Seating and standing choice were the main issues here, specifically how they affect the enjoyment and safety of supporters at the game. “The objective of a Fans’ Charter is to take a step towards addressing some of the reasons why fans don’t come back or why they find attending matches far from a hassle-free experience,” James added. “This survey offers fans their say on what issues will be included in the charter. “It’s not simply about the outcome. Listening to fans opinions is an important part of this journey into understanding what fans think, why they feel the way they do and what they want in the future. “I would ask all fans to fill in this survey to help improve the match day experience.” Some of you may recall my looking for ICT fans to participate in the initial discussion on the above not that long ago. This survey is the outcome of those initial discussions and is designed to take the process to the next stage by seeking a wider input. The link to the survey is - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7J8L6XG - and we need as many people as possible to complete it....it will only take a few minutes to do. We need to get as many football fans in Scotland as possible to input to this via the survey, so please help by sharing the link on your facebook pages, twitter etc and encouraging others to also take part. The twitter hashtag is #fanscharter. Please feel free to use this thread to discuss the Fans Charter. I will do my best to provide/get answers to any questions that arise. P.S. James Proctor referenced above is not to be confused by the CTO Forum user of that name....not the same person.

If it was left to me we'd end up with Blue and Red Tie-Dye The main thing is that sales seems to be going well...long may that continue.

CD I understand what you are saying but all this interaction previously about brand ICT and this is the result. If the club were serious about that then they would not be changing it again. Yes I like some others would prefer to see blue and red stripes as part of that identity but that does not appear to be the case. If our strip is going to be predominately blue (top, shorts, socks) going forward then fine but can the club just decide on it so that we can create a recognisable identity that is part of this so called ICT brand. I am sure St.Mirren, Kilmarnock and Celtic (Palace and Barca even) fans would have a similar response if their first team kit was changed to a similar design. I am with KB on this and I just think it was another lost opportunity by our club. God I would love to be at just one of these boardroom meetings to see what is on the agenda and how these issues are discussed. One thing is for sure at present 'one step forward two steps back' is just about right to describe those providing direction for our club. PS - I suppose nobody out there has access to any MoM - I need to be cheered up I get that and I don't disagree with the idea of creating an "identity" via stripes (or any other design). What I was getting at is that just because it's not striped does not automatically make it a horrible shirt....which is the stance some people seem to be taking. I'd like to see the wardrobe of these people to see if all their clothes are striped!!!

Have to laugh at all the "Hate it because it's not stripes"....sound like a bunch of spoiled kids who throw the toys out of the pram because they wanted a red ice lolly but got an orange one instead. Nothing wrong with the orange one, it's just that it's not what they wanted, but suddenly it becomes disgusting and you'd think someone was trying to poison them with it.

All the studies I've seen and discussions I have taken part in show that what happens on the pitch comes way down the list of factors which effect a persons decision to attend a football match. Results/Style of play tend to be just an easy excuse for those who find the overall football** experience far less enjoyable. What clubs need to do is to drill down into things a bit more to get to the bottom of it as it will be slightly different for different clubs. What we as fans can do to help with that is to take a look at our own interactions with out clubs and be more specific about what "turns us off"...and communicate that via constructive criticism and offer up ideas as to what could be done to improve it. That way clubs don't have to try and be mind-readers and it forces them to think about investing in changes off the pitch as well as on it.

Was there not an agreement at one of the recent meetings that any SPL club that gets into financial difficulties as a result of Newco not being allowed in would be shown leniency? i.e. budgets have been set and if a team go into administration because of espn pulling out (for example) this season they would not be punished? Or was this just a proposal? Half right....the change in rules state that if a club suffers and insolvency event as the result of a "Force Majuere" (event outwith their control) then that will be taken into consideration when deciding on/applying sanctions. Should also be noted that the points deduction is now 10 points or one third of previous seasons total (whichever is higher).

A pretty smart ICT coloured tie if I do say so!!!

So you can only be a "true fan" if buy the shirts then? Doesn't matter how many games you go to or how much money you spend supporting the club, it all comes down to whether you buy the shirt or not! There's nothing worse than a self-proclaimed uber-fan. Looks like a cheap buy-in to being a fan for you there, Renege....shirt's far cheaper than a season ticket!!!

On the balance of everything I think this was probably the right decision. The SPL (rightly) introduced rules which were intended to introduce a "If you come last you get relegated...regardless" and that's how it should be. I would even argue that when reconstruction takes places for 2013/14 then the bottom team from the SPL should automatically find themselves in whatever second tier is formed. Most importantly though is that a decision has been made without any fecking around and nonsense....we've had enough of that....and as unpalatable and unfair as it may seem to Dunfermline and their fans, I really hope they accept it and allow us to get on with looking forward to some football. They should be more than capable of finishing at the top end of Div 1, so hopefully we'll see them back at TCS in the league in 2013/14.

Don't worry, that close up is of me wearing it, so it actually has incredible slimming properties.

Why don't you ask your puppet master, they seem to know everything else!!!

If you're standing your hand, Charles, then I'll be there.

DVD productions costs, and buying the rights from the SPL to allow us to reproduce them would prohibit such a venture.

I quite like it, but then again I don't get hung up by the whole "not enough this that or the next colour" or "where's the stripes, starts, polka dots" carry on and just take the design for what it is in it's own right. The fact so many are "hating" it is also reassuring, as I'm pretty sure the last strip to get that reaction ended up being one of our best sellers!!!