davie

If I were a linesman, I would execute defenders who applauded my offsides.....

Gary Warren was and continues to be a gentleman who will be missed when he departs. There is, as yet, no definitive statement that this has occurred (except from the P&J, who with the greatest of respect have occasionally got things wrong or reported prematurely in the past) and a load of twitter comment. Gary was an excellent club captain who embraced the Highlands when he moved up here and that’s not always an easy thing to do. I remember him being the man to visit John Horne in Hospital after his stroke and John tells me he greeted him by name at every game he saw him at after that. That kind of behaviour counts. Even after the heaviest of defeats and at times when no other player could or would speak to the press he would be the one who stepped forward. This was a guy who was genuinely interested in what people who were associated with ICTFC thought and did. Every mascot who met him last year was left with the impression of a man who was genuinely pleased to meet them. On the pitch he was an absolute warrior, the kind of defender who could be relied upon to win his personal battles all over the pitch. In no small measure he was responsible for making Josh Meekings the player he was, allowing him the footballing role whilst he did the defending. My only disappointment is for the man, not because of him. If anyone deserved that Scottish Cup final and a winner’s medal it was him and yet he celebrated for his team like a madman despite not playing that day. Look at the booking that ruled him out – defending. On a personal level I will miss the big man. Always positive, always had time for you. I hope that, if the story about Yeovil is true, he enjoys his time there despite being a gashead. He deserves it.

I've got a spreadsheet! The nearest to you would be an overnight at the ibis hotel in Crewe on Tuesday 12th after coming up from the Severn Bridge. That day's itinerary is (gulp) Aust, Chepstow, Monmouth, Hereford, Ludlow, Shrewsbury, Wem, Whitchurch and Crewe. 130 miles, just about survivable. Next day is a mere 101 miles over the Pennines to Harrogate.

Good people of CTO, I have a favour to ask. In a couple of weeks’ time I will be doing a Lands End to John O’ Groats bike ride solo and unsupported. Its 1,000 miles and I’m going to try to do it in 8 days. That is a lot of work and yes, I’m doing to support a charity. This one is very close to my heart, The Smith-Magenis Foundation UK. Max, my grandson, has SMS and you have probably never heard of it. Well, you have now. It’s called Smith Magenis Syndrome (SMS) and it’s there because Max got born without a tiny bit of chromosome 17. It just happens in 1:25000 births, no cause, and no history. What you won't have heard of are the sleep disturbances (he doesn't) the meltdowns, the rubbish eyesight, the amazing ability to cause self-damage, the learning difficulties and all the rest. Max won't tell you about it either because he can't speak yet. He will let you know how much he loves you though at almost every opportunity. Hugs, hugs and more hugs. If you good people want to add to the £1200 or so that we have already raised towards our £2K target, you can go to https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davidbalfour1 and put in whatever you can. Alternatively, I’ve got myself a new and unworn ICTFC home shirt which is signed by the first team squad and which ICTFC have generously donated. If you want it, please DM me on here with a bid. You know you want it and Max and I would be really grateful.

Maybe it’s time to put another tuppence worth in because the thread is getting a bit muddier and some of the other ones are going the same way. There are reasons that the old Board of Directors could not continue, all of them connected with the performance and accountability of that Board. They have all been stated in this forum. Not a single reason that I can identify was or is personal. The regulatory rules were unclear, the governance uncertain, there was little credibility left after two successive unsatisfactory AGM’s, no visible leadership and there appeared stasis in terms of activity and publicity. In that case, the entire Board should bear responsibility and if it is the wish of the people who attended and voted and this last EGM, resign. That is what happened. There is no personal dimension to this. In terms of going forward, CJT needs strong leadership that is willing to put in the hard work and confront the issues. Supporters (at least in this forum) appear concerned about a long standing lack of communication by ICTFC, inconsistent policies and approach to young supporters, shortcomings in the matchday experience and the lack of a meaningful voice at a senior level within ICTFC. These are important issues. In my opinion, they need to be prioritised and addressed in sequence by an interim Board after the upcoming election. At least at that point CJT members will be able to have an informed debate about the way forward and who they want to take them in that direction. As an ex-Chair, I’d be happy to participate in that interim Board in any capacity except Chair. At the moment, the only person showing any willingness to address the issues is Caley D and some of the criticism he’s presently attracting is grubby. His recent history of working for the club is something that should be used to CJT’s advantage, not as an object of scorn. He might well cause ructions in his way of putting his case but he has the tenacious character to front it up and take it on. He also might be able to contain any factionalism. He would make the Club take notice and for that I would support him. At present, people know who Don is and most of you know who I am. I don’t hide behind an anonymous user name when putting my views forward. That isn’t the case with some others on here who appear to be taking an approach that damned the old Board but don’t really fancy the potential replacements that they imagine might be getting the nod as we speak. Heads up, there isn’t a big queue of people wanting this gig and I do think that with the technology at our disposal we can involve people living outside of the Highlands as Directors. So IHE, Kingsmills, Charles Bannerman, Caleyboy, Renegade etc. Stand for election and get involved in whatever capacity you can and influence what happens. It’s hard work but it is fun.

loved that vanilla

sorry hearach. too many shortened isobels out there! it's actually issy fairclough, an appointee of the board.

don, Johnny horne, me, kath Fraser, izzy and Laura grant with two boys from supporters direct on video conference.

Johndo, as far as I am aware, the present SLO at the club is Kristine Fraser. It’s difficult to see what role she would have until the internal business is sorted out and CJT then have a legitimate basis with which to communicate with the club through the SLO. I know that Scotty has offered an equal platform to all to comment on this matter and it has been used by CJT and those wishing to affect change. It’s an open argument – there is no internalisation on my part – and it has nothing to do with people who are “trying to change the face of ICTFC” The signatories to the original requisition for a special general meeting are the ones using a public forum, CJT are choosing not to. I for one am happy to answer any questions that posters on here might have and I’m sure that Don would echo that – in fact we are the only ones who have explained matters. As for demanded confidentiality from Supporters Direct, if you look back at my posts I have quoted them as regards advice and comment supplied. Asked, they were happy to be quoted. If there is a continued silence from the present Board of Directors it is self-imposed. To end it, all they have to do is comply with a legitimate request from the membership, present their arguments in a special general meeting and either stand or fall by them. Davie – my views only

Caley Jags Together is the adopted name of the "Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Society Limited" and it is a limited Company governed by the rules and regulations set out in The Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. You can find the Legislation here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/14/contents The rules that CJT operates under are those described as Model Rules and issued by Supporters Direct. They are the umbrella organisation for Supporters Trusts. Don previously attached those rules in a post on the CJT update thread where they are available to download.

nah, I gave him a shout but he's busy.

I recieved an e-mail yesterday at 6:27pm from Caley Jags together which says "Hi Davie, following a Caley Jags Together Board meeting we would like to acknowledge reciept of your request for a meeting. We are working to make the necessary arrangements to deal with the business raised in your letter. We have set a provisional date of Wednesday 18th April at 7pm, we hope to be able to confirm this date along with the location in the very near future" It's signed by Hamish Wood Company Secretary. Notwithstanding that CJT are required by their rules to give 14 days clear (not provisional) notice of the meeting - and it's not appeared to anyone else, never mind the membership I'm of a mind to ask CJT here and now to make notice of this meeting on CTO. It's as close to a public forum that we have that reaches the membership. It wasn't my request, it was that of the thirty odd others willing to question the Board with me, Don Johnstone and John Horne. Find the venue, finalise your communication and date the meeting 14 days from that time so that all members have an equal opportunity to prepare and be there. After all, some people seemingly needed to firm up travel arrangements before the e-mail above was sent and we can't have that, can we.

why isn't there an emoji for frankly terrified? :)

thanks for the support and celebration of a trophy win against a really stuffy side. Glad you appreciated it.

please do. I'm sure we would'nt want you to bother yourself. Enjoy the shinty.

actually DD, the rule change ditching the ability of the membership to demand a performance audit of the business conducted on their behalf is a fundamental and major change. it needs challenging.

Liz, I have thought long and hard about replying to your post in open forum and exacerbating the feelings that you express. I’ve balanced that against the absolute requirement to make points public and open to comment from any quarter. I have to take your post to task on several points. “The current board is only in place at present to protect the 10% shareholding. In my view if the people who are currently listed as board members had not stepped up to resolve all the issues there was a real possibility CJT would fold and the shareholding lost”. This is the first time that this point has been made, despite all of the prior posts on the matter and is not the case. The Board is in place to ensure the proper running of The Society for the benefit of the members. Don Johnstone can make his own points regarding legitimacy (see prior posts) but if the Board of Directors is not properly constituted it is protecting nothing and is in fact endangering the continued existence of CJT if any of the governance bodies decide to investigate and/ or take action. “There has been many appeals for people to step forward to take key roles. There has been letters issued, e-mails sent and also posts on here to try and get people to come forward” Please review all of the posts about this but I recognise it is difficult to recruit to unpaid posts. There has been no widespread appeal. Those who could help you have been actively excluded. Members have been effectively dumped. What you have done is attempted to recruit from a friendly part of the membership, which is understandable but look at the other posts. You have only succeeded in alienating people. “We have been accused of impropritories however, have been working hand in hand with supporters direct who have confirmed that the board is legitimate”. No one has accused you of any impropriety. What they have accused you of (and I continue that) is being wrong. The second part of what you have said here is a case in point. I have spoken to and communicated with Andrew Jenkin of Supporters Direct and his reply was “Yes, we have offered support to CJT by giving them the latest model rules and outlining the process to them (as we do for all members) - but the Trust ought to have gone through the correct procedure to get these approved by the members and voted through at an AGM before submitting these to the FCA. I'm not sure what has been done in respect of this.” I need not point out it’s directly contradicting your points above. You know that you have submitted these rule changes to the FCA without consulting the membership and you have been warned against that on several occasions and refused to respond. You don’t appear to realise the implications of this. They are: section 398 of the Financial Services & Markets Act 2000 (Misleading the FCA or PRA: residual cases) makes it an offence for a firm knowingly or recklessly to provide the FCA with information which is false or misleading in a material particular in purported compliance with the FCA's rules or any other requirement imposed by or under the Act. An offence by a body corporate, partnership or unincorporated association may be attributed to an officer or certain other persons (section 400 of the Act (Offences by bodies corporate etc.)) I don’t know who you are getting guidance from but I would ask you to recheck it for your own sake. “An EGM can easily be called and the current board totally replaced if thats what is required, however, im not wasting my time organising that if only 20 people turn up and nobody is prepared to take on the roles that are required”. Liz, this shouldn’t have been said. You are Chair of a Society registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and as such you and your Board of Directors exist to represent your membership. If they require you to organise an AGM or special general meeting you must do it, no matter how irritating you find that. Just don’t express it in an open forum, again for your own sake. “The roles that are currently needed to be filled with people who have the time on their hands to deal with everything are: Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary, Membership secretary. On top of these roles, general board members are also required. Ahead of the last AGM which unfortunately I could not attend, there were requests for new board members to stand, we got nobody. So all those people who are quick to shoot me and the other office bearers, please feel free to step, e-mail you intention to stand for board membership and we can put the wheels in motion to get CJT back on track” I’ll deal with this in its entirety. I know the workload required Liz, it’s not easy. I’m sure that your current Board are behind you but I don’t know if I would want to be described as someone “with time on their hands” There are reasons for there being no answers to requests for new board members prior to the AGM because that call was limited to the process I refer to in paragraph 3. Your Board has engaged in a process of refusal to engage with “certain people” (myself included) or give them information that they are entitled to (not granted by favour) as members on the grounds that you believe them to be simply “causing trouble”. It was Kath Fraser who expressed this and it is directly in opposition to the objects of The Society. With the greatest of respect, none of my posts contain any personalised invective and that’s why I have consistently called for the demission of the entire Board, not any one individual. Neither me, nor anyone that I have spoken to on this matter has been quick to shoot you or anyone else. We have put up with months of silence, indecision, backbiting and wrong headedness. Your board has consistently aligned to a position that appears muddled or wrong. Anything that I have said here is backed up by fact and is attributable and that’s the sole reason that I decided to post this publically. Please organise a Special General Meeting at your convenience. We now have sufficient support to mandate this but it would be better for everyone if you instigated it as Chairperson. My apologies for the length of this post.

I’m swithering between being really hacked off or delighted at the OP from CJT. The statement is disingenuous, shows an utter disregard for the membership and displays an arrogance that people who are members of CJT really need to challenge. It’s dreadful but judging by the replies thus far the challenge is exactly what is happening. This Board (whoever it might be) cannot be constituted properly and cannot be valid. The last meeting (the AGM) broke up after being mismanaged (as was the case with the previous AGM) and the Board at that time was left without sufficient members to continue (2 or 3 depending on your viewpoint about electing a treasurer). The Board was not in any way endorsed from the floor. The only thing that was agreed was that Laura should redouble efforts to establish an accurate membership figure and then come back to that membership with a properly constructed AGM/EGM under the rules. No information was given (despite repeated requests) about the rules being submitted for approval or any other business. No minutes have been published. The Board were not “given time” to do anything in regard to appointing casual or co-opted directors and its rules don’t allow for it in the numbers stated. I am told that the input from SDS has been limited to giving CJT the model rules and advising on completing them. Nothing more. It’s important to state that people on this forum and elsewhere have not “borne with” CJT on this. They have become increasingly concerned and exasperated to the point of moving to demit this Board and that is presumably what has prompted this fairly disgraceful statement. DD has asked all of the questions that I would have, I’m not holding my breath on answers. Let’s just get to an EGM and elect a Board who can actually do the job. We still need people to commit to putting their names to the call for a special meeting, can I respectfully ask you to give me a direct message with your membership number and I’ll add you to the list and I will respond to each and every message. We need as many as possible.

folks, I'm grateful for the support. I'll make it clear now that I want neither office nor a long term role in this. the most important thing therefore is to get people on board who are willing and able to form a new board that will operate in the interests of the fans. People have already expressed an interest. a modernised and streamlined cjt has a crucial role to play this season and beyond.

bear with us rene, it will get sorted. wr need people like you

Thanks Scotty. appreciated.

Glover and others. I think we can now safely say that the current Board of CJT seem either unable or unwilling to represent or inform the membership effectively or at all. There have been seven separate attempts to gain a response from them about what they have been doing on this forum alone in the last couple of months without success. Facebook and website queries are unanswered. It’s nearly dead but we can’t let CJT die and then start a rival supporters group because the voting right within ICTFC that is held by CJT would die with it. As Charles Bannerman says that’s the 3rd or 4th biggest bloc within the club and represents the people who make the club what it is. That can’t be allowed to disappear. I’ve been in touch with SDS and asked advice on how to demit this Board in order that we can get CJT on an even keel and operating properly according to its objectives. The model rules (insofar as we know because CJT cannot or will not confirm what rules they are operating under) state that the Board should be informed of the intention of the membership to call a meeting of the society and that the intention must be supported by 20 members or 5% of the membership (rule 32). The Board at present appears to dispute who are or are not members in their view but anyone with a fob, a £1 share certificate or membership number who paid a one off £1 would be regarded as members for this purpose. We therefore need 20 people to take this forward. If you can DM me on this forum, I can add your name to the list. As soon as we have the minimum number, we call the meeting which has the sole agenda of requiring the immediate resignation of the current Board (Liz MacRae, Cliff Sim, Laura Grant and any others) From the date of that meeting being called, the Board may not do anything – other than preparing for that meeting. It’s questionable if, after the way the AGM finished, they are allowed to do any business now that isn’t direct preparation for a Special General Meeting under rule 36.4 and rule 65. It’s a damn shame it’s come to this but it’s not too late to do something about it. We will need people to serve on a new Board. At present I’m talking to various people about how to move things on and there are ideas. We’ll put them out there after we have got the support to call an EGM and certainly before it happens so that the members can make an informed choice about what happens next.

No. I'm a (very) ex-chairperson

Charles, I've been in touch with supporters direct today to see if we can move this forward. hope to post something as soon as possible. this is a situation that now needs to be sorted.

Is there any update on the position here? The timeframe that CJT committed to for proposing a way forward following the AGM has long come and gone, so even an interim statement would be appreciated. Thanks.