CaleyD

Keep going North....

A different viewpoint....but where is it?

Whether you're a Robbo lover or hater or something in between and regardless of what you think of any of the players; we need to find a way to make it work because we can't afford to replace any of them.  All the stamping of feet, angry words, threats and whatever else won't change that fact.  I'm not saying people can't be angry/upset...there's every justification for it...just need to realise it won't change things.

0-3 win on the road coming up

With one concert already announced and (at least) one more to be added, it's going to be tough to squeeze it in next summer as well.  Good luck.

1 hour ago, Satan said:

Time to go shopping for centre backs, ours used to be so tight, now they are leaking goals at an alarming rate .

Good players don't become bad overnight...just need to sort out what's stopped working and put it right.

Wonder what odds you'd get for Shelley Kerr?

On 10/30/2019 at 8:45 AM, TheMantis said:

Sad news. The song was sold at the stadium on a cassette (a what?). Unfortunately lent mine to somebody (you know who you are ).

Wasn't me was it?  I got the tape from someone years ago and can't recall who!!!

The song was available online on the club's Audioboom Channel, but I see that everything has been deleted from there for some reason.

BDU, I agree with much of your post; but on the subject of fans spinning this situation, I don't.  The moment you start using terms like "true supporters" or "bad supporters" (or any other adjective) then you are immediately pigeon holing groups of fans....intentionally or otherwise.  When you then attach those comments to posts relating to those who attended a costly dinner, it's not spin to suggest that the person posting believed those at the dinner to be "truer" fans than those who were not.....consciously or otherwise.

If the club and it's representatives simply valued all fans on the basis that each gives what they can, when they can...then perhaps that generates a better vibe and encourages more people to further support the club.

We have, for quite some time, been subjected to messages from the club which fall into two categories....

1.  Constantly seek to blame "fans not showing up" for all of our woes and threatening what might happen if they don't support the club.

This narrative is one which threatens people who aren't coming to games anyway....so if things deteriorate, they're not going to give any more of a hoot than they do now.  As such, it's a narrative which will achieve nothing positive.

2.  Generates a sense that the more money you give the club, the better a fan you are.

The club have been milking the existing fanbase for about as much as they can for a long time, so to suggest that we now have some kind fo fan class system based on the level of financial support an individual affords is only going to alienate the very people the club needs now more than ever.

If you want to rally a support then look back to Terry Butchers time with ICTFC.  He was a man who rarely made comment about people not coming to games and/or supporting the club; choosing instead to concentrate on praising those who did.  It's something he does even to this day and if you look at the recent video doing the rounds from Ross Grant where Butcher is interviewed, he talks about how great the fans were who supported the team and not decrying the fact there wasn't more of them.

I have spoken to a few people at the club about this in the last few months and tried to explain/warn that it comes off exactly how this facebook post by Jim Oliver has been received and interpreted by many.

IMO, ill-advised and poorly crafted comments such as this...and the wider narrative being employed by those speaking on behalf of ICTFC right now...is doing more damage than performances and results on the park which have been pretty decent apart from a couple of recent blips.

Time to flip the script.

David Balfe, in the aforementioned "Bring it on Home" extended version (B-Side) at 4mins 30secs, predicted that ICTFC would qualify for Europe.

20 hours ago, CaleyCanary said:

Thanks for the update CaleyD - how many turned up for the meeting?

Looked to be about 100 or so.

7 minutes ago, Gringo said:

Just loaded it up in time to see the Brora goal

 

Any chance you can not watch the 2nd half, Jonah?!

There was no indication at the EGM that the club intended to cut anything other than youth/dev in order to bring spending down.  The £500,000 (£250k of which has been pledged) needed to get to the end of the season (and we don't know what other extra new money has already come in this season) did not include what was needed to get youth to end of season...we weren't told how much is needed there.

I've raised this point before and received all kinds of abuse for "being negative" etc....however....relegation reduced income by circa £1 Million.  The club claims Robbo has reduced playing costs by circa £1.1 Million.  That means the books should have balanced...but they don't.  We are about to report circa £900k loss for the last accounting period, which means that there's been a circa £1 Million increase in costs elsewhere!!

The "plan" at the EGM was to find a way to keep funding that hole (is it still near £1 Million?) by just lobbing donations into it until such time as we get promoted or....and this bit was lots of words and not much substance....maybe open a cafe, maybe get some concerts, maybe re-engage with local businesses/community, maybe get more fans through the gate etc.  All great ideas...hard for me to say otherwise as all of them and more were in a document I gave to the previous chairman (Rae) 2 years ago...but they don't come anywhere close to plugging a £500k+ (maybe still as much as £1 Million) black hole anytime soon.

Ross Morrison is clearly passionate about the club and I trust his motives are entirely honourable...in short, I believe he's one of the good guys.  However, talk of managing expectations has to start with managing your own and if the expectation is that people keep throwing money into a black hole with no plan of any substance to turn things around and make the club self sustaining...and soon...then the much needed shorter term investment is going to be slow in coming...if at all!

Nobody wants to be the one to make cuts, but we can't keep running a championship club with a premiership club cost base.

A friend messaged me after the meeting and I fear they hit the nail squarely on the head...

1 hour ago, Buster said:

Is it true that the CEO told people last night that Youth is only costing £200k and the other £300k is the cost of the Development Squad?

£205k on Youth and £285k on Dev...so close enough.

Just now, caleyboy said:

Assuming we go into Admin surely the FT shares would also be diluted to zero ?

I have no desire to get into a long winded discussion on the situation as there's simply not enough info in the public domain....however I am willing to stick my neck out and say that I believe administration is highly unlikely.

My thoughts on the departing Chairman and the regime he was associated with are well document, along with my thoughts on where everything was heading over 2 years ago, so no need for me to go over any of that again.

All I will say is that even with the best will in the world, nobody is going to finance the £800k+* per year hole in the budget that has been generated by the departing regime....and that's on top of any borrowing which may or may not need paid back....so whoever comes in will have to make some really unpopular decisions because we have teams on and off the park that we clearly cannot afford; not even in the short term.

The only question I have is whether or not Muirfield Mills will pass on control of the 700,000+ shares that sit with the Football Trust which they got control of for £1...but I guess that will be one for the EGM.

*Probably nearer a £1.2 Million hole as much of it will have been masked by cup money etc.

3 hours ago, Scotty said:

In my opinion - now that it seems to be running more efficiently - the best thing any of us can do, especially if we have shares and cannot go, or have not setup a proxy with someone else, is to proxy them to the Supporters Trust in case of any voting. I already have a proxy setup or I would do that myself.   With a 10% voting right on its own, bolstered by however many small individual shareholder proxies, I would be confident they would have to be listened to, would do what is in the best interests of the club and its supporters, and could certainly have some influence in any decision making.  I said it a couple of years ago, but we need them more now than we ever did at any time in the past !  

Great idea, just a shame that the club haven't sent out any proxy forms

Thanks to everyone who contributed towards the incredible £2600+ raised in my brother's name for CHSS.

The page is still open for a few days if anyone else wishes to donate.

In 2017 I set the goal of getting myself fit enough to complete the Loch Ness Beast Race in 2018....which I did, having lost 12 stone during my preparations. That race was for me...

This year I’ve decided to BEAST myself to raise vital funds for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland in memory of my brother, Michael Miller, who passed away suddenly and without warning on the 21st February 2019 at the age of only 47.

Please help CHSS by sponsoring me and giving whatever you can.

Thank you in advance for your generosity, it means a lot

https://beastlochness19.everydayhero.com/uk/big-don

Not the first ...but a cracking job and not as easy as you guys make it appear.  I always enjoyed doing them with Iain Auld and various others over the years...even if my/our proximity to the club meant we had to be mindful of the tone and content

This is not a merger argument...it's not even an argument IMO...it's about people expressing an opinion that the club has failed to properly recognise the clubs roots in both strips released for our 25th Anniversary.  Regardless of how good, bad or indifferent you think the strip is as a design...it can't be argued that it fairly represents the club's roots.

Also...why do we need to bury the events and histories of the clubs sacrificed to bring ICTFC into existence?  To try and do so is utterly disrespectful to those on all sides at the time, to those who moved forward and worked tirelessly to try and ensure it was a success and even to those who decided not to follow ICTFC.

The solution is pretty simple....FAIRLY represent the 109 or so years of history from BOTH the pre-merger clubs.  Do that and the constantly recurring "they get more recognition than them" issue goes away and all fans...young and old alike...can properly embrace all 134ish years of history.

One Great Club - Three Great Histories

Let's celebrate it, not obliterate it.

2 hours ago, Caley Stan said:

A trialist starting at Rothes and another on the bench at Forres. Who they?

Esson and any of the players awaiting International Clearance must be listed as a trialist due to them not being registered ICTFC players.