CaleyD

That's about right Mantis

He said "minor" so I based that on something within the existing footprint.

You'd probably be looking at over £1,000,000 as it would need to house toilets and serveries etc that are over there already.

I believe the numbers just have to be "contrasting" so Red would be feasible....although I believe anything other than black/white cost more, and as there's only one (authorised) club supplier then we're held to ransom a bit and prices are quite staggering as is - been told it's 000's spent on lettering/numbers in a season!!!

.....and have been in administration before the place even opened!!! Roll on that lottery win

SPL don't give points for stadium looks so it could be gold plated with diamond incrusted seats for all I care.

Not really....they tip toe around the edge of the problem, huckle off any soft targets and claim they are dealing with it....in truth they do little and we STILL have an issue with it in this country.

Already a thread discussing it -

Classic Frying Pan > Fire > Frying Pan > Fire scenario....and with people starting to stick the knife in on the Green deal/situation (and rightly so it would seem) it's gone beyond farcical. At this rate we're going to be playing SPL with 11 teams next season.

I think that's fair comment Manny, but I temper it with the fact that had we not been hit by so many injuries and suspensions last season (which blur past observations, IMO) and seen the full potential of the squad that we would perhaps all be a little less apprehensive about possible signings for the season ahead. Who knows!!!!

Do any clubs run extensive scouting networks these days? I would have thought that with TV and DVD then it would be pretty much a dying trade.

Gordie, it kinda depends on what "slant" you want to put on the finances. Accounts for the last few years have indicated that the business has an average operating shortfall of about £250,000 per year and the situation was worsened by the near £1 Million that relegation cost us which resulted in us selling off the last of the family silver. That's the not so good side. The slightly better side is that we have no real debt...partly because nobody is stupid enough to give us any...and we are scraping by and surviving. With the loss of Dunfermline then we probably do have one of the tightest/smallest budgets in the SPL. Ross C*unty will likely end up being smaller, but they will have people willing to throw a few quid at it for a couple of years (as we did) which will likely give them more spends than us for now. In terms of the squad situation...our situation is no doubt one creating due to the financial situation as we can only offer wages and deals that will appeal to the kind of players we're getting in and in order to stretch the budget as far as we can then that needs bolstering with loan players. There's a common (and mostly true) conception that loan players have part of their wages met by the club they go on loan to, but I believe some of our loan signings may have cost us next to nothing because other Managers and players themselves have seen the value in coming here to train under Butcher and get some game time....which is what I was getting at in regards to "would other Managers have that pull"....so I can't personally apportion the situation to bad management and truly do worry what like things would be under a different manager. It's not nice and it's far from ideal, but it is what it is and the only real alternative is probably to have a squad which contains part-time players!!! I also think our situation this season has been made to look worse because we had more loan players than planned due to injury and suspensions....so we effectively had more "leave" (go home) at the end of the season than might otherwise have been the case. In terms of "local signings", we lost our way with that a bit during our relegation season when we were forced to cut back and it will take a year or two yet to fully recover (assuming we can maintain SPL status) so I expect that situation to improve again in time.

Doofer, I wouldn't class you as one of those who seem to get more of a kick out of beating up on the club than they do from supporting it and perhaps should have made it clear that the second part of my post was not aimed at yourself, just a follow on to my thoughts on the content of this (and other threads of a similar nature). I do understand and share the frustration and concern, I just don't necessarily agree with some people's reasoning. ICT is where it is both financially and in terms of the squad. I don't like some of the stuff that happened to put us here and believe things could have been very different....but que sera. It's not all happened in the last couple of seasons either and I would argue that much of the damage had been done long before that and if not for some of the things done in the last few years (not all of them nice, but mostly necessary) then things could be a hell of a lot worse. We have a choice as fans, we can keep digging up everything that has gone before to use as a stick to beat down current efforts or we can accept we are where we are and turn our efforts to improving things for the future. In regards to Butcher....it doesn't matter who the manager was, at some point we were going to lose the last of the long standing players and club legends. Do people really think it would be any different under anyone else? We are in a situation where....like it or not....the club can only survive and compete by bringing in players with potential as opposed to proven and/or seasoned professionals of the quality some seem to expect and Butcher is better placed than any Manager we've previously had, or could reasonably expect to get, to do that. We're never going to be producing 6 or 7 local lads who are good enough year on year to sustain what we had in the past....in many ways we are the victim of our own success in that regard because whilst we were able to bring guys like Munro, Tokely etc through the ranks along with and have them develop side by side with the club, we now have to be producing lads who can step up to the SPL pretty quickly as we have neither the time nor resources to keep them on the books year on year in the hope they make it. We've just had our most disappointing season ever and whilst I accept that Butcher didn't always play his cards in the best manner possible, it wasn't helped by fate and circumstance pulling the aces from his hand at every turn. IMO, the fact we survived and escaped relegation despite all that is worthy of credit in itself. If some people really think the answer is to sack the management, then I ask who we are going to replace them with and what they expect a new manager to do within the setup we have that is not being done right now. Yeah, it's sad to see Tokely leaving, just as it was sad to see Munro, Duncan, McBain, Wilson, Wyness, and dozens of other leave before them....that's football and despite the doom and gloom stories which are spouted every time it happens we are still here. Same goes with Managers....not everyone likes Butcher, but not everyone has liked any of our previous managers and nor will the all like any future managers. That's fine, but not liking someone doesn't give you free rein to invest stuff and dish out abuse. Again, I'm not getting at you, but some of the stuff that's been posted on this forum lately in that regard has been nothing short of disgusting and it serves no useful purpose whatsoever. I've gone off on a bit of a tangent here, but as with a few of the other threads and trends on here just now, some people do need to look at the bigger picture, appreciate that we have no right to anything and are in a financial position which means we need to operate in a way which is a bit out of the normally accepted/expected parameters. It might not be the most pleasant, certainly at times like this when we are all wondering/worrying about what next season will bring. At the end of the day we each have a choice....we accept our lot are work together to improve it, or we start throwing around the insults and abuse and add to an already difficult situation!!!! That's not to say we can't criticise or comment, but it needs to be done in a constructive fashion.

I believe Tokelys other half works in Aberdeen and he spends all his spare time there so the "settled in the area" theory doesn't really stack up....hence my slight surprise that the stories of him signing for C*unty, which have been going around since before the season ended, actually came to fruition. My biggest worry for next season is our own support....or a small but vocal section of them who are more present on these forums than they appear to be at games. Some seem unwilling/unable to get beyond Munro having being moved on and are caught in the mindset that the Tokely scenario is exactly the same. No appreciation for the fact that he WAS offered a contract and making assumption that it was a contract designed to make him leave. Those people seem so locked in to that negative mindset that you can be sure they will be practically wishing failure on the team (again) this season so they can deliver a stream of "told you so's"....as if their opinions being vindicated in such a manner is more important than the clubs success. I hope that people can achieve a bit of perspective, snap out of it and get fully behind the team before the start of the season.

C*unty probably valued the "P*ssing off ICT" aspect at a couple of hundred a week in itself.

Actually, due to his current domestic arrangements I was very surprised that he signed for C*unty. Thought he would have been more likely to head East.

Been laughing since I heard....the only thing funnier would have been a move to St Mirren

Johndo, I don't think you are the only one who is still angry at **insert name here depending on which version of events you choose to believe** for Munro being let go last season and as others have already pointed out, that seems to be getting projected on to this situation....in some cases to an extent where it seems as if people want to be angry. Makes me wonder if some people follow ICT as it gives them a reason to get angry and rant as opposed to having any real affinity with the team. The ironic thing in all this is that the person who seems least angry and who has long since put it behind them and moved on is Munro himself. That means the only people suffering in any way shape or form are ICT. Grudges and hard feelings use up far too much energy...learned that one long time ago!!!

Total Gent and I hope he finds what he wants/needs at St Johnstone....just so long as it's not the net when playing against us!!!!

What bothers me is....why would a player be so quick to run to the press and basically burn bridges if they didn't already have an alternative in place? The other thing that's not sitting right is that a month ago it was all about "I want to fight for my place and if I don't get the chance to do that then I am off". Now it's "The contract isn't good enough". Sounds to me like Tokely was expecting some kind of guarantee that he was going to get games....he never got that (and no player should) and the "Contract isn't good enough" is a way out without admitting to himself/others that he's not sure if he has what it takes to fight for and secure a regular place in the starting line-up. I don't like the way he and the club are parting company...but the club deserves just as much respect from a player they have supported for 16 years as he does from them. So far I've seen nothing, other than speculation, which shows that the club has treated him unfairly or without respect in regards to the contract offer and HIS decision to leave.

Why should they just be handed land...and public land at that? I have a hobby which also requires a large area (not dissimilar in size to a football pitch) which has to meet certain criteria and I couldn't just go to the council and demand that they give us somewhere, we had to source and pay for it ourselves....this should be no different. ICT had to build a new place to get into the SFL and then spend upgrading to get in to the SPL....it's the nature of the beast. Rightly or wrongly, Inverness City have known the situation for years and we get this story coming up on an annual basis with them pleading for rule changes and/or expecting someone to hand them what they need on a plate.

They probably would be, trouble is a lot of the postings are bordering on the destructive! reading them can not be conducive to the desired effect. ....and a few have crossed the line into destructive and gone beyond that....and not just in regards to the players. Some people on here seem more intent on character assassination than they do in following/supporting the team.

I think you are right Alex...looks like Rangers are trying to decide between just accepting the 12 Month Transfer Embargo, or going back to the Court of Sessions to ask that the original decision be quashed and a different decision, that the case should be sent back to the original tribunal be given instead. The trouble is, if it goes to the appellate appeals committee and they decide on a suspension/expulsion then Rangers have no further means to appeal to anyone and they obviously don't want to take that risk. By asking that the SFA press the reset button then it goes back to the original committee and if they issue a suspension/expulsion it can then go to the appellate committee and if they uphold the original decision then it can be appeal to the CAS...or if stupid enough to try it again, the court of session. Prime example of shooting oneself in the foot.

Not sure what position Green has for taking any action against anyone in relation to football matters as he has not yet bought the club. It would be the administrators that would have to bring action, which suggests they are operating as a puppet for Green.

St Johnstone have a very, very different setup to ours and it is one that is beyond (and has always been beyond) our reach without Millions upon Millions of pounds of external investment. St Johnstone were handed a free, fully equipped, SPL ready, multi-purpose facility in a prime location. In contrast, ICT were forced into an over-priced, badly positioned, poorly planned, facility lacking stadium which showed no hint of foresight (in design or location) and left us with an unmanageable debt for a club the size we were at the time and we've never really been able to overcome that...in fact the problems have been added to because a club already weighed down by lack of funds and debt then had to find the money to expand and over the years any/all assets have had to be sold to keep the wolf from the door.....when you have a business which needs to do that, then it's hardly likely they can find the funds to expand and create new income streams. That's not to say the club haven't made mistakes or that they do everything perfectly....no business does, including St Johnstone. However, St Johnstone are in a position whereby the business can absorb the occasional error, mistake or failed initiative....we aren't. The situation is what it is and there's little to be gained from moaning about the past, but it's not impossible for ICT to get into the position that St Johnstone are in. All that it needs is for the City, it's businesses and it's people* to start giving a bit back to the club that has done more to put Inverness on the map and bring money to the place since 1994 than anything else. *I don't include fans/people who do what they can in terms of buying tickets, merchandise, following the team, giving their time etc.