CaleyD

It's Marius Niculae I really feel for right now. The guys come here to play football, he's kept his head down, got on with the job and given 100%...yet here he is stuck in the middle of all the chit through no fault of his. And please, don't give me the "he's being well paid for it line". I've been in well paid jobs where the stress and hassle was unbelievable and all the money in the world don't make up for it.

Already being talked about on the Orion Statement thread.

I don't think Sutherland does himself any favours playing the "I'm only a naive shareholder" card. We know you better than that Mr Sutherland, you've always been straight with the fans in the past, don't start treating us like idiots now, especially when you need our support more than ever. Further to that, the interview with him only serves to raise more questions than it answers. Firstly, you can't pin the blame on one man, these decisions are voted on by the Board of Directors and if the Board have jeopardised the financial stability of the club then I'd expect more heads to roll....will that be the case? Even if you believe that Niculae was on the reported ?4000/?5000 per week. Over 12 months that's only ?250,000...with us having received investment of ?270,000 from Orion share purchase, then they cancel out. Even if you assume the liability for a further 12 months to cover the contract, that still doesn't equate to ?500k to ?600k of a hole needing filled. Why has Sutherland been so quick to bring up the "Share Issue" thing....could it be that I was right on the thread about the incoming Chairman and that he is paving the way for further investment, or indeed, is he about to make another move to take full control of the club himself? I had hoped the response to today's Orion Statement would be a little more savy, but I think it's more likely that we should baton down the hatches and get ready for the fall out as it looks like it's going to be a few days of "he did this, and he did that" from either side.

Fill your boots...people have knocked a lot of what you've said this season and you have been and are about to be proved right on a few things. I just have a feeling that this is one that could come back to bite a few people on the butt (me included) so I'm biting my tongue on it until I have more information.

Just offering up an alternative interpretation, the same as I did months ago when I suggested that Orion weren't paying Niculae directly.

The full story is still to come to bare on this one.....I'd be careful of just how c0cky you get over it.

Again it's all down to interpretation. If AS/Orion purchased shares in the club with the intention of making funds available to fund Niculaes wage....then it's conceivable that the club have already got enough from the deal to cover 2 years wages.

We could do with some divine intervention, what with all the crap that's going in just now.

Spot on :clapping03:

Fair point...however it has one huge flaw. If it was that straight forward then why not simply be clear about it from the outset? I'll tell you why...because it would have caused an absolute uproar that the Board were giving away 12% of the club in order to secure the services of one player for 2 years....and the Board knew it, which is why they were happy to let people continue believing that Orion were paying (at least) part of his wages. No lies were told, but the club made sure it helped the assumption along and did nothing to set the story straight.

I can only assume that as Alan Savage is no longer a member of the ICT Board/Staff then he was unable to get a statement released through the club, or that given the nature of the statement they simply refused his approaches. As his resignation was effective 9th April he would not have been Chairman at that time.

TCF a TCJ....it's all about "Spin" and if you were to go back and read again what was said (in light of the information you now have) then you will see what a few people on here have been saying for a long time "It wasn't what it seemed".

The Orion Group provided the following statement to CaleyThistleOnline this afternoon....... ?In light of various reports in the press, on TV and Saturday?s programme against Kilmarnock Orion would like to confirm that Alan Savage?s resignation from ICTFC on the 9th of April was with immediate effect. We would also like to point out that the signing of Marius Niculae was a unanimous decision of the ICTFC board on the recommendation of the then Manager Charlie Christie. Further it should be noted that at no time has the Orion Group or Alan Savage made any payments to Marius Niculae in respect of a signing on fee, wages or anything else whatsoever. ?

Think he's had that for a while now Don. I'm talking about the unsold shares the club are sitting on. The ones that Sutherland/Tullochs can't buy directly as it would force a situation whereby they would have to then make an offer for everyones shares. As Sutherland is no longer on the Board of Directors at Rok then Rok could purchase these shares without any "legal" conflict of interest arising from the deal. However, due to Sutherlands connection with Rok he would undoubtedly have influence over how they were used....especially as the new chairman is a member of the Old Boys Club and would undoubtedly act on behalf of Rok when it came to voting etc. If this happened then Sutherland (Tulloch/Rok) would be able to carry just about any vote they wanted on the strength of their combined shareholding without the need to keep other shareholders onside. Whether this would be a good thing or a bad thing is open for debate...I'm just highlighting what I feel is very real possibility.

Sutherland stepped down from the Rok Board of Directors at the end of last year. However, when they sold Tulloch Construction, Civils and services the deal was done by way of a "share swap" and Tulloch ended up with a substantial shareholding in Rok Plc instead of getting the ?31.3 Million sale value in cash. I have a feeling that we could see Rok purchase the remainder of the available shares at ICT, basically giving Sutherland a near majority shareholding via the back door. i.e. He won't own them directly but he'll have a say/control over how they are used when it comes to voting.

From what I can gather by digging through all the different handbooks it would be possible for Sutherland and Wood to return and play for ICT but it is at the discretion of the SFA as to whether they grant permission. Provided both clubs were in agreement it doesn't seem that the SFA would normally object. The only time a players registration automatically reverts to the original club is in the case of emergency transfers, where the specific revert date is assigned up front (as with Wilson) or transfers which expire during a transfer window. I have to say though, that this is only my interpretation as the rules are very vague and more than a tad confusing.

I forget the exact words, but he basically belittled ICT and was going on about how it was great to be going to a big club blah blah blah....he broke the story that they (he and Paterson) were off before any official announcement had been made, and only days after they had supposedly penned new contracts with us and had been going on about how committed they were to ICT. The whole TV interview with him that night stank of arrogance and I find it rather amusing that he's lurched from one shafting to another since he left us.....what goes around comes around, as they say.

Fraser...has been fairly consistent this season but there's been a couple of occasions (especially early on) where I thought he could have done with being sidelined for a couple of games as he seemed to be getting complacent. Zibi did come in for a couple of games and I think that helped though. Zibi...On the couple of occasions he played I think he looked the part. Think his "reputation" did him more harm than good with the fans who should be judging him on what he does for us and not what he's done elsewhere. I'd not be worried if he was to remain with the club. Tokely...Suffered this season from not having someone in front of him who he could work with when it came to running the wing. Just have to look at how much better he's been when Wislon has been playing on the right to see how to get the best out of him. Prime example of the fact that our strength (as a team) lies in the consistency of the squad on not necessarily on superstars. McGuire...Has been a bit of a liability since he came in and is distracting other players alongside him who don't seem to have any confidence in his ability to stop an attack. OK as cover perhaps, but would like to see a more commanding replacement. Munro...Has looked shaky for much of the season, but I think that's in part down to the fact that he's often been having to do the work of two men. Looks far more solid and confident when playing with Proctor alongside him. Hastings...Had a good season last season but seems to have gone off the boil a bit again this season. He seems to be giving the opposition far too much space on the left and letting them run at him which means they often get plenty of time to deliver a cross. Also been finding himself caught out on occasion when he's drifted in to the middle. We should perhaps look to try him out elsewhere to see if it's just a positional thing as he may well click in the middle or even on the wing. Cowie...Started off strong and with a bit of flair and that got the fans excited. Seems to be settling in now and finding his feet playing in the middle as opposed to the wing. More than capable of running at the opposition, but just as good at getting a foot on the ball and playing an accurate through ball. The more we play him in the middle the better he's going to get as he starts to get in tune with the front line. McBain...Been a totally different player this season when not being played on the left wing. We've seen him playing great football at left back and he does a power of work when played in the middle. I think the secret here is not to play him somewhere he can hide and is forced to get stuck in...do that and he'll soon lose his "Mr Invisible" tag and become one of the biggest assets we have. Duncan...Probably comes in for a lot more criticism than he deserves, but if we start playing our strongest team then I don't think there's space for him in the middle of the park. Not sure if there's anything to be gained from trying him out alongside Munro to see if he clicks better there when his only job is to clear the ball (which he does well). If not then I can't see him being anything more than cover for us in the middle or as part of a defensive 5 man midfield setup. Black...Very talented individual but I think he might find himself battling against Cowie for a regular start in the middle of the park next season. Competition for that place is going to be tough and if Black can wind his neck in just a little and re-find his composure then it can only benefit team in terms of strength in depth. Might just get a break if we either don't keep Wilson or Wilson doesn't play regular next season and Cowie is played wide. Wilson...We've not seen as much of him this season as we might have liked, but his performance against Kilmarnock was one you might have expected from the Wilson of 3 or 4 season ago. He certainly hasn't lost his hunger and still has the pace to run the wing and sprint for the box. His delivery is as good as anyone else, if not better and we mustn't forget that fact that he seems to bring out the best in the players around him. Proctor...For a guy who is able to drop into so many positions in the team it seems a shame that he only gets used as cover....however, that's his strength and it should not be underestimated how important it is to the team to have someone like that in the squad. Above all else, he keeps the entire right side of the pitch on their toes as they know he's there to replace any one of them should they slip up. Paatelainen...Again he's not a player we've seen too much of. He appears to have some ability, but his failure to get a run of games means we don't really know if he could fit in to the team as a regular starter. I think Imrie might just be the end of him, don't think anyone expected Imrie to gel so fast with the squad andhad he not then Paatelainen might have got more of an opportunity. Good to have as cover for the left, but can't see him being a regular first teamer. McAllister...For the last couple of seasons I've thought that he was just a baw hair off breaking through and getting more regular starts but he has failed to step up to the plate when called upon. He performs consistently in the reserves and often stands out as a class above at that level. Either he doesn't fit into our system with the first team or the SPL is a step above him. I think it's time to cut him loose totally or stick him out to a first division club for a season to give him regular football and see if he can step it up. Bayne...If you got goals for hard work alone then he'd be the SPL's top scorer. Unfortunately you don't and Bayne lacks the dexterity and control to shine as a striker. Can't see him becoming anything more than a bit part player for ICT in the future, where he's used at the beginning or end of games to kill the clock or tire out opposition legs. Wyness...Unfortunate to have been out with his injury as he never really got a chance of a run of games after that. Looked a little rusty in the Kilmarnock game which wasn't surprising, but still did a great job of holding up the ball to allow us to get forward in numbers and the "class" is still there and was evident in a couple of his attempts at goal where he managed to create himself a bit of space from nothing. Lets not be too quick to write him off. Niculae...Don't think there's any doubting the guys ability. Took a little bit to get up to pace but stands head and shoulders above any of our other strike options. His arrival seems to have caused a lot of "pain" this season with players apparently being unsettled by the whole wage fiasco, but the worst of that slowly seems to be getting put behind us and I think we should keep hold of him for at least another season. As I said elsewhere, there's no point in now cutting off our noses to spite our faces. What's done is done and can't be undone, so we may as well see it through. Aside from that we have some young lads who look very promising....whoever out of the above will need replaced along with getting a solid central defender....other than that I think our depth can and should be created by bringing on our own talent. All in all things don't look as bad for next season as they might have done a month ago.

Nobody says you have to watch...in fact, I'd prefer you didn't :015:

You just gonna mouth or you gonna chip in Johnboy? :001: Sponsorship already sees me having both arms being done and nearly a leg. Make me an offer :004:

Click on the link for each event for further information and discussion. Friday 27th June - Barry Wilson Testimonial Golf Day and Dinner - http://www.caleythistleonline.com/communit...hp?topic=6165.0

Think I saw somewhere that he was on ?600 a week....yet he was still working as a parcel delivery man!!! Have to say that I find very little room for sympathy in regards to Shearer following the comments he made on the eve of his departure from ICT.

Not sure what your trying to get at by that, but the club have nothing to gain from Hart, Wilson, Wyness or Paatelainen being in the shop window as they are all free agents in the summer and we wouldn't get a penny anyway.

We were 2 up and not looking under any pressure when we made the first change and then 3 up and coasting to the end when we made the double sub...would have thought the situation was perfect for giving a couple of the young lads some time on the field. It might have only been 5 minutes, but every little counts when your breaking in lads who are totally new to the limelight.

Tokely McBain Hart Munro Wyness Proctor Wilson Hastings Duncan McCaffery Golabek All players who I can think of from the top of my head that played for ICT at a lower level and have done a job for us since we got into the SPL. 8 of them made an appearance yesterday and possibly could have been 9 if Duncan had not been suspended. Proof that you don't necessarily need wholesale changes to your squad in order to survive in the SPL.