CaleyD

Booked in for my Jabs on Monday.....so will be safe for me to head down for this one.

Only just realised today that they have borrowed (and it would seem already spent/squandered) £24 Million against future Season Ticket sales....no wonder Whyte is delaying publishing the accounts and holding an AGM!!! That must put them in excess of £80 Million in debt and no doubt they're racking up other debts elsewhere all the while as well.

Entirely up to the SPL whether or not they wanted to transfer Rangers SPL status to a new company.

Think I preferred the days when Politicians just said "No Comment".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-16833798 David Cameron to the rescue? Think he's setting a dangerous precedent by getting involved and throwing any weight behind swaying a decision one way or the other.

We clearly do have a problem for "big games" as we're now giving away large sections of the stadium to the opposition...something we've not had to do so much in the past but is becoming more and more apparent. Accountants and penny counters might not see that as an issue so long as the money is coming from somewhere....meanwhile we trundle on in ignorant bliss that average attendances are holding....without realising that home support is falling. We sit around scratching our heads as to why the figures for people through the gate are the same but income for the year is down because nobody has connected the dots and realised that the lose in home support means we're not selling as many season tickets or as much merchandise, hospitality etc. Looking at Rangers situation, how long and how sensible is it to rely so heavily and place as much emphasis on the income from these teams? Surely a more sensible business model is one where you build your own core customer base...at least to the point where you can sustain your existence on that income...and then view income from others as a bonus!!! In one hand we argue that the loss of the OF wouldn't be the problem some people say it is, then on the other we say that we can't do without their cash....which is it? P.S. I don't think you are alone in your thoughts....the club obviously think the same, hence the prices and the discussion it has generated. I may be totally wrong and sometimes my view on things can be a bit idealistic...but if it generates a bit of thought further up the chain and the outcome is something (maybe not even my ideas) which improves the clubs standing with it's own fans and gets a few more through the gates for any game, then all is good.

Scottish Football is terminally ill...even without the whole Rangers thing. The best thing that could happen is it being administered a lethal injection. There's still some hope of rebuilding it, and rebuilding it for the better...but the longer it drags on in it's current state the more that hopes fade along with the will of the fans who will ultimately be the ones who are still around to pick up the pieces. Rangers administration could be that lethal injection, but only if the rest have the balls and the long term vision to see beyond the short term pain. Unfortunately I fear the rest do not have the balls and despite what they may say publicly, they will be scrambling like mad men behind the scenes to not only keep Rangers in the SPL, but keep them competitive with Celtic.

I don't think it's got anything to do with people wanting things for next to nothing, certainly not where I am coming from on this. I'm not a kid and I don't have kids so having a better price for them (and my main gripe is kids price, not concession price) saves me nothing. However, I am of the opinion that, as with a lot of things, if you work to bring in the kids then not only are you working to secure future income, but you are going to inevitably bring adults in along with them. As well as the "can't afford" excuse, you also have the "value for money" excuse and "can't justify spending" excuse. If people don't want to do something they will always find an excuse....but that doesn't mean we shouldn't work to try and negate some of those excuses and try and bring in those for whom cost is a genuine factor. I don't accept the defeatist attitude that "people would rather spend X amount on this or that instead". Until that money is gone from their pocket we still have a chance to encourage them to spend it at/on ICT. I think this is the main point where our views splinter. I'm of the opinion that the big games can achieve an increased income without the need to forego rewarding those who support the club week on week AND bringing in potential new long term fans. It's the "big" games that are more likely to attract new bums on seats, so we should be capitalising on that, not only for short term gain, but long term benefit. Here's how I would have priced up this game.....or something along these lines. Specific numbers are not the point, just the showing that you can achieve all goals if you are willing to just think a little about things. Make West Stand the "Family Section". Priority ticket sales for season ticket holders from the existing family section...£15 Adult, £5 Kid. General Sale £20 Adult, £5 Kid (Kids tickets can only be purchased in conjunction with adult tickets). North Stand. Priority Ticket Sales £20 Adult £5 Kid, General Sale £25 Adult £10 Kid. Main Stand. Priority Ticket Sales £25 Adult, £10 Kid, General Sale £30 Adult, £15 Kid. South Stand (Away Fans) £25 Adult, £10 Kid Main Stand (Away Fans) £30 Adult, £15 Kid (assumes we give over the section at the end) The reduced Priority Price would be available to Season Ticket Holders ONLY. Other priority qualifying groups must pay the general sale price. This rewards those who have ploughed hundreds of pounds into purchasing season tickets and stops those who are paying only £5 or £10 a year to be members of other qualifying groups from ripping the piss out of the scheme...but still giving them the chance to get tickets in advance of the wider general sale. Maximum of 1 additional Adult ticket and/or 2 kids tickets at reduced price over and above your own ticket (you can have more, but you pay general sale price)....again to stop people ripping the piss out of the scheme. The General Sale prices are largely in line with our league ticket prices (for Adults) so the casual pay at the gate punter isn't being screwed over. Kids prices are kept reasonable so as bring them along to games isn't a huge financial burden on people. Cheaper Family Section in West Stand opens up the existing family section seats to be sold at same price as rest of stand. If those in there want cheaper they move, if not they are welcome to take seats at the stand prices. Main and North Stand season ticket holders get a chance to purchase "A" class game tickets at "B" class prices....as it is, Main Stand Season Ticket holders are getting a bigger discount than North Stand (based on usual prices). Those who attend regular but not enough to justify having a Season Ticket are bound to know someone who does and they can get a chance at that reduced ticket price via a friend. What's more....the setup adds value to being a Season Ticket holder. As I said earlier, I can't remember the last time that season ticket holders got a free cup game or whatever. Maybe that's a thing of the past and I have no idea if other clubs still do it, but offering a reduced price priority scheme adds back a bit of value and gives another thing to add to the reasons why you should buy a season ticket. Impossible to guess at exact numbers, but I would say that the above would find us not too far off what we're going to bring in from doing the flat £20/£15 price....it may even bring in a little more. More importantly, it should bring in more of our own fans....and dilute the effect of away fans in our end. I have deliberately ignored other concessions. Why? Because I would scrap them all (insert half a tongue in cheek smiley).

I totally get all that, but digging your heals in and ignoring the fact that you are driving away your own fans, or failing to realise that you are no longer competing with the other forms of entertainment on offer isn't going to make it any better in the long term and will only hasten the demise. We can go around with the attitude that "if people choose to spend money elsewhere then hey, ho" or we can try and compete and win back some of that spend...not just for one game, but over the longer term. That doesn't have to mean accepting a reduced income, but it does mean we need to take some time to think about what we do and how we structure it so we are catering for as many of our OWN fans as possible. ICT don't have it all wrong, our season ticket options are among the best in the league...so it does surprise me a little that the club should work so hard to bring those people in on a regular basis and then effectively show them a big fat two fingers when the OF come to town. I'm sure that wasn't the intention, but that's how some people feel about it. I'm a great believer that sometimes you just have to do what's right...something which ICT are not beyond realising. You just have to look at the offer they are giving following the St Johnstone postponement and them offering Hogg the new contract. Neither of these things makes the slightest bit of financial sense, but the good will that will come as a result of such actions is priceless.

Trampolines or Castles?

Freedom of choice to purchase only exists if the product is affordable in the first place. I wouldn't say that the over-pricing is an abuse of power, but I do think it is short sighted and does nothing to build for the long term. As I have said already, I get the whole "maximising" income thing....but there's a point at which it has to be accepted that it does more harm than good. Matches against Celtic stopped being High Profile a long time ago for ICT....in fact, there's no such thing as a high profile match involving any SPL teams given the number of times they play each other a season....that will be part of the reason they are no longer the draw they once were and why it's not only the "Big Game Charlies" that are staying away but the regular fans, the fans that could once be depended upon, are staying away also. These people no longer consider a 5th round match v Celtic to be worth paying a premium to see....even if we have tried to roll out the "Remember Feb 8th 2000" hype card. It's all about finding the balance. Those who regularly support the club should not be left feeling ripped-off or unappreciated, your turn up when they can and pay at the gate supporter should be no better/worse off, you should be accessible to potential future fans who do see it as a big game worth attending...let's face it, a good cup performance and the atmosphere that comes with it will be more likely to bring them back than a dull run of the mill match v Dunfermline or whoever. I think what's hacked me off the most is this attitude that "If ICT fans won't pay then screw them, we'll sell to Celtic". First thoughts should be how do we do something to bring our OWN fans through the gate, not how do we get more away fans in there. Club must charge home and away fans the same for comparable seats....hence my suggestion that they could do so using the West Stand without the need to offer it to Away Fans. Heck, if they wanted too offset the reduced ticket prices in the West Stand then they could add £5 on to the cost for the Main Stand.....they seem to get away with that for the league, don't see why it couldn't/shouldn't be done for Cup Games.

The thing is, it's not the "turn up for the big game" brigade that are bleating. It's people who are there week in week out supporting the club. When was the last time these people were rewarded for their support by way of a free cup game as part of the season ticket or the like? There's only so far you can squeeze the loyal fans before they too start disappearing, and the fact that we don't appear to be getting even the core support along for this game demonstrates that this point has been reached. What's worse is that instead of identifying this issue and addressing it the reaction seems to be "Screw you, we'll just sell the tickets to the opposition instead". As I said already, if the club didn't want to give reductions to visiting fans then all they had to do was limit offers to the West Stand. Make it available to priority groups so that those who do support the club regularly get first dibs and everyone is a winner. I must admit I find your thoughts on this rather surprising given your recent opinions elsewhere on fans standing together to take the game back and rid it of the things that are discouraging people from attending. I'd say that excessive prices do far more to discourage people than searches....no?

IMO, Jonny isn't going to go anywhere he's not going to be playing....not in his nature. I don't think he'll go in this window...and whether or not he goes in the Summer will depend on what he can do between now and the end of the season (to attract interest) where he thinks ICT are heading next season and whether or not he thinks that will provide him with room to grow/develop any more. I don't buy the argument that we should blow any money coming in on giving him an enhanced contract. The club can't break even as it is, and getting the books to balance is far more important than any individual player. I we can't afford to give proper childs prices for a 5th round cup match, then there's no way we can afford to blow money on increased player wages.

I think the enforced changes so far this season will be our making in the chase for a Top 6. Most players have all had a bit of game time with each other now and the only "System" they are familiar with is a changing one. We've seen Butcher make 7 changes and the team go out and give an equally impressive performance to the team from the previous game. Players should take confidence in that and Butcher should embrace it. Going in to games where the only thing the opposition can expect is that we're not likely to do the same as we did the week before can be a big plus. As for Nick Ross, it's good to see him stepping up and putting himself into positions and situations where he is being noticed and where he is willing to have a go. OK, so it didn't pay off form him in terms of shots on target on Saturday, but he's also cutting the opposition defence to shreds with intelligent play and through balls....and the more chances you create, the more goals you will eventually score. There's not a player in our squad right now who doesn't deserve to have their name on the teamsheet for any given match....and that's going to worry other teams more than it should be worrying us.

Doesn't get away from the fact that ALL other fixtures make some kind of effort to provide tickets for a variety of budgets....we have a flat rate £20/£15 throughout and there's no excuse for it, IMO. It's all fair and well to play the "in the current climate" card....but it does nothing but fuel the viscous circle that is dragging the game down. When/how do we break that circle if we continue to sell out to the opposition at the expense of building our own base? What would happen if that option was no longer there? Who would the club be looking to then to dig them out of the chit? Clubs constantly go on about how hard it is to attract fans away from the top 2 and get them following the local team....yet here we are handing them everything they want on a plate. How much does the pound made today cost us in the future?

Football wise, I relish the idea of having the derbies back. Hard to foresee any monumental crash in performance, but you never know and it's amazing how a couple of weekends of results not going a teams way can swing things.

Why have you only shown the top prices Alex? I can assure you that I went through them all and EVERY match has a £5 child ticket available, including Hearts (although a couple are U12). St Mirren even have a £2 ticket available. I totally appreciate the need to maximise revenue....but it does piss me off when that's taken too far and infuriates me even more when it's then thrown in fans faces that if they don't pay up then we'll just sell seats to the opposition. The club could make a decent amount from the game AND still look after their own. After all, this is almost certainly a "bonus" in terms of the income that was budgeted for the season...is it really so important that we get £70,000 instead of say £50,000 (purely theoretical figures)??? I understand that the same price needs to be charged for the same seats in either end and that causes some issues in operating the usual family section, but why not use the West Stand to offer something that's better value for OUR fans. Make it the Family Section and charge £10 adult, £5 Child. Do it because it's the right thing to do and don't be handing it to the opposition because we can squeeze more money out of them. What value do we place on an extra 1000 HOME fans and the support that gives the team? Don't get me wrong, I'm of the opinion that Inverness does not give ICT the support it deserves, but sometimes we make it far too easy for people to make the decision to stay at home. When it comes down to it though, whatever way you try and justify the prices, the fact remains that ICT Fans (and some of them I would class as fairly die hard in the past) are deciding not to attend because they feel the price is not justifiable. If the die hards are turning their back on matches because of price, how on earth do we expect to attract new fans? Cup games have, as far as I can remember, always been cheaper because they were seen as a way to draw in new fans, get them caught up in the cup atmosphere and hope they come back more regularly....a philosophy that has long since been thrown out the window, and which is only adding to the long list of things that are killing the game.

Spoken to a few people who are being put off by the price...the £15 concession seems to be a particular turn-off and is by far the most expensive of the round with every other game offering a £5 child ticket of some kind (even Rangers v Dundee Utd).

It was tough to play football out there today, especially for the likes of Hayes and Tade who like to run with the ball. Not sure I've ever seen our pitch cut up so much during a match in my life...but a combination of wet, cold and the need for USH won't have done it any favours and will have been tough for any real work to have been done on it. Here's hoping for at least a couple of decent days before next weekend so we can get some growth/repair into it. The first half was a pretty insipid display from both teams. Second half we came out the hotter and as has been said already, we should have buried any one of about half a dozen chances. Think some people are being a bit harsh on Nick Ross for missing his chance near the end. Being in the Main Stand I didn't have the best view, but it looked like a high ball that he tried to get a foot on and if he'd only managed to get another couple of inches higher with the foot he would have got solid contact instead of it coming off the outside of his foot and it skying over. Match Report is up on the Official Site, complete with Butcher and Gillet post match audio interviews - http://ictfc.com/matches/reports/392-report-ict-v-st-mirren

Pretty dull first half...from both teams who just seem to be going through the motions. Winner is going to be whoever wakes up first and takes the game by the scruff of the neck.

Keep your hair on....more chat about him on another thread -

Now that he's playing a holding/defensive midfielder type position, I'm happy to see him signing a new deal.

Had confirmation on the pronunciation of his name today and it is "Napa" as in Ayai Napa....so silent G and silent K.

Yeah, and there's every likelihood that's what would happen because police won't have the manpower to start searching those who refuse stewards or to start lifting everyone who refuses them, but being asked to submit to a police search isn't an optional thing and they would be quite within their rights to lift him. Try refusing a search at an airport and see where that gets ya!!! Either way, you just know that he's going to be a wee gobshite and walking away peacefully isn't going to happen, especially if he's got a few mates in tow. I've said from the outset that we don't know how much "intelligence" the decision to search everyone is based on, so we can't really say for sure if it's heavy handed or not. One side will tell you it's extensive, whilst the other side will claim the opposite....the truth will be somewhere in between. That's not really my concern, my concern is...as I've said...that an organisation such as the Celtic Trust has issued a statement which is only going to serve to exacerbate the situation. The attitude seems to be that if the authorities do not bend to their will then they will seek to make life even more difficult for them. That helps nobody and all we end up with is a battle of wills with each side digging their heals in further and further until something finally gives and all hell breaks loose....and when that happens their will be no winners and the whole of Scottish Football will receive another coat from the tar brush.

So you do pronounce the g? I wondered... Incidentally, can anyone tell me definitively whether the g in 'Gnasher' was/is pronounced? When I was a kid, the Beano readers at school could never reach a consensus. silent G.My dad worked for DC Thompson for some time, in commando comics, so he knows. Which Commando Comic did Gnasher appear in? I don't remember reading that one