CaleyD

I edited your post as it was out of line. Regardless of any thoughts and opinions on how good, bad or indifferent they might have been, they stepped in to assist at the last moment and don't deserve any grief for doing their bit. ictdavid, I suspect someone was yanking your chain. If ICT's books show any payment for a Stadium Announcer so far this season, I can assure you that money has not been coming to me.

So did we (I think). Despite other goings on I hope to still be able to sort out highlights and help get them on to the official site, but that very much depends on what happens in the next couple of days.

12th Man makes a fair point, but it's not as if I was any different now than I was when I started doing the announcing so they knew exactly what they were getting and when I talked to Mike Smith about it at the time my "opinionated" nature was discussed and was deemed not to be an issue as he trusted that when I stepped over the door then I left those opinions behind and picked them back up again on the way out. Those I have ever had dealings with at the club know that if they tell me something in confidence it remains in confidence and if they want information passed on then I'm happy to pass it on. Most of the time that information comes by way of an "official" notice/statement and sometimes it comes as a "it might be good if the fans knew this but we don't want to make an official comment". It wasn't uncommon for me to stop people during conversations and tell them not to tell me things because I didn't want to be the one it came back on when the Inverness Grapevine kicked in. I like to think that I give credit where it's due and any criticism is constructive and I'm always willing to back that up with actions and do my bit to help where I can....I'm also not so naive as to think that when I criticise it doesn't hack a few people off. "It's only one side of the story" is often a line trotted out in defence of the club....but why does it have to be only one side, and why is it that we rarely here things from the club first and when we do the communications are often contradictory and full of holes? "Conspiracy Theories" and "Speculation" are other favourites among the defenders of the realm....all I say to that is that they wouldn't be needed if the club talked TOO us and not AT us in an open and honest manner. So yeah, as I said in my first post on this earlier, I appreciate the club were within their rights (setting aside the SRU issue)....but had they taken the time to talk to me and explain the exact nature of their concerns then we might have been able to sort something out or come to some agreement. Instead they chose to remain behind their wall of silence and send someone else out to do their dirty work. How would you react if your Manager came to you and said you were sacked because the Directors didn't like something you had said in the pub, but he couldn't tell you exactly what it was and the Directors weren't willing to discuss it with you? And what if you'd heard about it over a cuppa with friends in the canteen hours before you had been told officially? It's not what they did, it's how they went about it.

My ass is quite firm tyvm And if it was a choice between me going or Brewster coming back then I think we won :angry:

Ouch. I don't see what right they had to do that if it was an arrangement you made directly with SRU. I'd be as mad as hell if it were me. I was looking forward to that rugby match.... I won't be going now. Nah, support the Rugby. This has nothing to do with them and the first thing I did was contact them to let them know the situation and they were very understanding. I didn't push the issue as I didn't want to cause them any hassle...more important they put on a great game and we stuff the French :angry: I'll be there...even if it's in disguise :(

I was (officially) sacked from my (voluntary) Stadium Announcers position on Friday afternoon, although I had already been tipped off as others knew in the morning that it was going to happen....even though the decision wasn't apparently made until a meeting of the Board at Friday lunchtime!!! On Monday 11th January I was asked to stay back after another meeting by Darren where I was told that the Board were effectively issuing me with a warning that I refrain from posting any negative comments about the club and it's finances on the forum or I would be removed as Stadium Announcer. I refused to accept any gagging order and, as Darren could not provide any specifics about what it was I had said which had upset them, I suggested that it might be an idea that I meet them to see what the problem was.....this meeting never happened and nothing else was said....until yesterday. I had been out and about all day and noticed about 5 o'clock that I had a voice message on my phone. It was from Darren saying I needed to call him as a matter of urgency. I returned his call and was told that following the Board meeting that afternoon he had been instructed to remove me as Stadium Announcer. I had been due to do the PA for the U21 Rugby match on the 5th February, something which the SRU had contacted me directly about and I would have been working for and being paid by them. Darren informed me that he had contacted the SRU to say that I was no longer available...in effect, interfering with a private contract and denying me the income deriving from that. When I asked what if I would still be welcome to go in to the Stadium to do other things I was involved with like the video for the match highlights and the live twitter updates he did not know....apologies to those who rely on the Twitter feed, but now you know why they were few and far between today (Scotty had been doing them based on news coming in from other sources). I also asked if I had been banned from the Stadium altogether and he did not know. I'm still awaiting the call confirming those two situations and thought it best I remain away from TCS to prevent any problems....although I very much doubt I would have had any motivation to attend anyway. I avoided posting anything on the matter last night. In light of the snow falling outside I had an inkling the club would need volunteers to clear the pitch today and I did not wish the treatment of this one volunteer to put others off from doing their part and I certainly didn't want the finger being pointed at me for poisoning people against helping out and ensuring the game went ahead......I hope all volunteers today were vetted on the way in to ensure none of them had ever said anything negative about the club? I appreciate that the club are within their rights to dispose of my services, what stinks is the manner in which it has been done and the fact that many issues have been overlooked and not taken into consideration....very likely for reasons of self preservation. However, because I choose not to hide behind an anonymous username when speaking my mind it would appear that I have been singled out from among those connected to the club who post on here.....such is life.

Ok, so he can be criticised a bit for missed opportunities...but you can't miss them if you're not getting in to these positions to begin with and we have nobody else doing that right now. If he was keeping someone equally creative and more likely to score out of the team than I might agree with the OPs point of view....but he isn't. The fact he's getting in there and looking dangerous also means that the opposition need to keep a man on him and this opens up chances for others (which they seem to be taking). It was a bit like some of the games when Marius was here....the opposition were so intent on marking him out of the game it was leaving huge holes for others to take advantage of....it was just unfortunate we never had anyone alongside him capable of exploiting that on a regular basis. Sometimes you just have to step back and look at the wider picture.

I know how they feel

The way things are going at ICT, they might be able to have TCS all to themselves!!!

Aberdeen being torn a new one by Motherwell.....shame

When you slap your head in disappointment...make sure you don't have phone in hand at time. Sore head and bust screen on phone. If you are the person that was texting me, try again as I had to change sim to new phone

But on this occasion....deserved :(

Apart from on this forum, which still has quite a restricted readership, you do not, however, seem to have been doing so very publicly over these years. If you are so convinced that this is the case, why don't you phone a newspaper and set in motion a story beginning something like "A senior member of the ICT Supporters' Trust is questioning the manner in which ownership of the Caledonian Stadium was transferred when the Inverness club hit financial trouble almost a decade ago....." Or why don't you offer me the story exclusively for the BBC? Or indeed issue a statement to all local media (who would of course all then seek a response from the relevant people)? Maybe that is the way to go Charles and I shall certainly take on board your advice. However, I would prefer that the Club Board and Major Shareholder/s simply tell us why it happened the way it did and not the way we were told it would without the need to go washing the clubs laundry in the newspapers. There's also the fact that I've had my fingers burned by the media/press in the past where I've said one thing and they've printed something totally different or put their spin on it and made a story out to be totally different than what it should have been. At least on here people can see exactly my views and any confusion can be questioned and clarified. I would also point out that I would never, without their backing, use my position on the Trust Board as a point of leverage in the way you suggest.

I want to make it clear that my main objection in regard to stadium ownership are more to do with how it happened as oppose to it happening at all. What bothers me and needs answered is why it ended up in the hands of a private individual/business when we were told it was being moved to a Charitable Trust. Some might think that it makes no difference, but it makes a big difference. A trust, especially a charitable trust, must be set up serve a specific cause. When the Charitable Trust was being talked about we were told that once it cleared its feet of the debt then any income it made would be used to benefit the Inverness sporting community. We were also told that ICT would have a stake in that Trust, and as such, some say in the activity of the trust and a legal right/claim to any benefits realised by the trust. In effect their was always the thought/belief that "ICT will get something back from the deal in future" and benefit in both the short and long term. How would you feel if you had a Trust fund, only to discover that when you turned 21 and were due to start receiving that the solicitors had actually given everything to a private individual who was earning from your money/assets and had no legal responsibility to give you so much as a penny? And to then rub salt in the wound they wanted to charge you rent to remain in the family home? I've been raising (and investigating) these concerns for years so my thoughts and feelings on it are not driven by any "low" that came from relegation or the rapid decline we seem to be witnessing as a result. For the most part, ICT got to where they did thanks to the efforts of those on the playing/coaching/management side. Our off field activities have always been a run in a reactive shambles, the "we'll take care of that when it happens" approach, and it should be no surprise to anyone that this has finally caught up with us. Furthermore, I have never been an advocate of the "Directors should be throwing in their money" argument. It shouldn't, for the most part, be needed. To qualify that, I appreciate that running a football club without occasional investment is a near impossible task, but there's many ways to attract that investment/sponsorship which go beyond selling the family silver and it can even be done without the need to sell shares...at least on a permanent basis.

Tired of watching this now!!!

Well Donald.... over to you :moon2: My theories on that are well documented throughout this site and it's actually quite interesting to see people claiming "As I said" on things I have been saying for years in regards to the direction the club was heading and things that were going on. A quick look at the Local Plan for the development of the Harbour and surrounding area will give you some idea of the value of the land the Stadium sits on, and Sutherland got it for a song in comparison to it's real (potential) value and the investment made since then (which is much exaggerated) is nothing in the grand scheme of things and Sutherland has had that money back (and more) from the rent ICT pay. In effect it has cost him nothing and he is set to make a very tidy profit at some point. As he's no spring chicken then it wouldn't surprise me if he was looking to realise a return on that "investment" in the next couple of years and a football club which is struggling financially and which doesn't need a 6000 seater stadium is far easier (and cheaper) to relocate than a flourishing SPL team. How's that for a conspiracy?

What about the 5 sites that were looked at in 2002 when ASDA were looking to build a ?25 Million Store on the site of the current stadium? If memory serves, and I may have some info on it somewhere, the Bught was deemed a very favourable option for a proposed move at that time and ICT were set to be made an offer far in excess of the ?2.6 Million we sold out for.

Something tells me the minimum was lowered/removed....but don't quote me on that.

The thought of the current mob investing more money and taking a bigger share in/grip on our club scares me more than administration.

Which is exactly what you are doing by posting this.

Just to clarify, I do think that it would be great to have a larger travelling support and I would love to be able to be a part of that more often. There's many reasons why it isn't as big as some think it should be (and the same could be said of the home support), but whatever way you cut it...turning on each other is not the answer and does little to improve the situation. In fact, it could probably be argued that it's counter productive. Only by working together, taking time to listen to the situation of others and working (where possible) to improve things can change be brought about. I don't have all the answers and my answers might not be the right ones, but I do know that the more people you have working towards improvement then the easier, and more likely, it is to happen.

With a bench consisting of..... Esson Wilson Mann Juanjo Dargo Probably a few others out there from the past who could still hold their own in the squad as well.

I don't think Butchers ability or drive to find a replacement is in question. However, if Bully has departed then it's likely to have been based on financial reasons and unless Butcher knows guys willing to come and play for free then there's really not much he can do about the situation.

Setting aside the old "never going back" argument. If you took all the ex-ict players who are still playing and put them together with some of the existing troop we'd have awesome team who, even with a few extra years under their belts, would still be a force to contend with. Wouldn't do much in terms of building for the future, but as this is a "Good old days" thread I've ignored that point :001:

I'm quite willing to listen to alternative thoughts and ideas.....so if the "low mood" doesn't exist then what is the reason for the drop in attendances etc?