IBM

23 minutes ago, AlexJones said:

Looks like the excellent run of form and clean sheets (that had us looking like a shoe-in for the play offs) is well and truly over. Can't help but see the decline starting roughly around the time of Ravens departure, and subsequent re-shuffle of the back 4.

Is it not when Warren came back into the side?

20 minutes ago, DoofersDad said:

I for one certainly hope so.  He took over with the club in a dire situation and has had a major rebuilding exercise to do.  On a shoe string budget he has managed to bring in better players than Hughes ever managed with all the resources at his disposal.  He has also had the team playing generally fairly entertaining football.  Note that despite a rather lacklustre and disappointing performance today, we still had 15 shots on goal with 6 on target according the BBC stats.  It was a rare game with Hughes in charge that we reached those dizzy heights.  I'm rather enjoying the games this season.

You are right DD but some people can't see the wood for the trees 

Your not a fan of the chairman Caley D 

From the club website today.

http://ictfc.com/news/club-news/2138-stadium-green-light-is-welcomed

Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC has warmly welcomed a decision by the Highland Council’s City of Inverness Area Committee to agree the transfer of the lease of the main stadium at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium and the North and South Stands from Tulloch Homes to the football club and also to permit access to the car parking areas for the foreseeable future.

The move has been agreed in principle by the Committee, as trustees of the Inverness Common Good Fund, and the transfer of the lease will now be finalised by legal representatives of the two parties.

From the football club’s stance, a successful outcome to these detailed negotiations places the club in a much better position to attract future investment. The asset will also boost the club’s balance sheet.

It also means the club would no longer require to pay an annual rental of £205,000 to Tulloch Homes and would see a write off of a rental debt to Tulloch Homes of more than £300,000.

Going forward, the club will pay £15,000 per year rent to the Council, as landlords, for the stadium and stands and £15,000 per year to Tulloch Homes, as holders of the lease, for the car parking areas.

The club had advised at the recent annual general meeting that further inward investment is required to ensure the immediate future of the club and to lay the foundation for a more sustainable financial model taking the club forward. Importantly for the club, the short-term sub-lease for the car parking areas will be in place until Tulloch Homes secure planning consent to develop the car park site but would be subject to a minimum period of three years. 

Tulloch have also confirmed their intention that any future development on the car parking areas would recognise the need for Caley Thistle to use the Stadium and Stands 24/7 for football and related purposes and that all such development, will require to comply with Planning and Building Regulations, Safety, Police, Ambulance and Regulatory rules then in force and key to Caley Thistle maintaining the Stadium’s Safety Certificate. That way, Caley Thistle will have no future concern regarding its ability to access and operate from the Stadium and Stands Site.

Graham Rae, Chairman of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, said: “We are very pleased indeed that councillors have agreed in principle to the new lease arrangements. This is crucial to the future of the club. This recognises the hugely important role we play in our community.

“Once the legal documents are signed, we will have a stadium on our balance sheet and be in a stronger position to attract inward financial investment and pursue other income generating initiatives, such as auctioning the Stadium Naming Rights.”

He said the club were very grateful to Tulloch Homes for agreeing to the transfer of the lease, which they first announced in December of 2016.

From the clubs website today.

http://ictfc.com/news/club-news/2137-countdown-to-ict-25th-anniversary-celebrations

We have begun the countdown to marking the club's silver jubilee.  The 25th anniversary commemoration will kick off in one year’s time - on 24 February – the date in 1994 when the board of the new club, comprising representatives from Inverness and Nairn Enterprise as well as the former committees of Caledonian and Inverness Thistle met for the first time at Balnain House, Inverness. The landmark birthday is seen as a great opportunity to relaunch the club, generating new interest within the community and give loyal fans many exciting events to look forward to. An organising committee has been set up to draw up a memorable programme of events.

Chairman Graham Rae said: “ICT 25 gives us the chance to generate huge interest in the club.  We want to engage with our supporters to capture all their ideas for a truly memorable year of celebrations.  There are opportunities for existing and new sponsors to back the club, which generates £5 million per year for the local economy. We have a proud history and a very bright future ahead.”

Some of the high level ideas being suggested for the year of celebration are:-

Organising a keynote match against prominent opposition

Creating a memorabilia museum within the stadium, featuring a hall of fame and memorabilia

Producing a film and photo-led book on the club’s history

Staging events such as a celebration dinner/golf event/reunion

Creating new merchandise including, a special commemorative strip.

The club’s first competitive game was played on 9 August 1994 – a 2-0 win over East Stirlingshire at Firs Park in a Coca Cola Cup Round 1 tie. The club’s first Scottish League Division 3 match followed on 13 August – a 5-2 home win over Arbroath.

One personality who has been associated with the club since its formation is Charlie Christie, who played more than 300 games for the club, managed the club and is now Head of Youth Development. Charlie is playing a key role on the organising committee.

Charlie was Man of the Match in the club’s unforgettable Scottish Cup victory over Celtic in February 2000 and his son, Ryan, featured in the historic side that lifted the Scottish Cup in May 2015 and is now a Scottish internationalist.

Charlie said: “There have been so many good times in the short life of our club and it is our aim to involve as many people as possible who have played a part in creating such great memories.”

1 hour ago, PumpFake said:

Disappointing, but our league season is effectively over now. Sad also that an injury to our best defender, picked up in a nothing competition, has directly contributed to today's result that puts the playoffs beyond us.

How do we stop ourselves from becoming the next Dunfermline? I think we should start with the basics like sorting out the state of the pitch, setting up an effective fan group, and getting rid of the numerous passengers in our squad. This can all be done cheaply, as we have shown in the past, if those in charge are smart enough in their decisions.

Donaldson picked up a hamstring injury in training on Thursday and the pitch is needing major work done that will have to wait till the end of the season.  jingsmonty is right about the undersoil heating, the ground staff can't spike the pitch to the depth they used to as it will damage the heating pipes.

3 hours ago, Caman said:

I agree with the first part of your post. But I don't know about Billy Mckay. I think he is yesterday's man now. 

Your right there Caman. 

25 minutes ago, finmack said:

Correct. Still nothing on the ICT website about the cup final.

Might be nobody's taken over from Caley D

25 minutes ago, finmack said:

Correct. Still nothing on the ICT website about the cup final.

2 hours ago, Hiro said:

Sensible location and date but the kickoff is a little odd.  There's no restrictions to showing a 3pm kickoff as its an international weekend so seems slightly random.  It may stop myself and others getting to the game. A 3pm kick off would let me fly into Glasgow/Edinburgh, get the train to Perth and then fly home same day.  Its probably not possible with that time. 

Come over for the weekend and take your son over for his first ICT cup final.

14 minutes ago, jingsmonty said:

Thought Vigurs played well, apart from the penalty miss...

And his free kick ?

17 minutes ago, Shorty said:

Cut the groundstaff a bit of slack. Hard to prep/fix a pitch when the board won't (can't?) give them funds to hire in the equipment or get the supplies needed.

They spend an hour at home on their ride ons a couple of times a year and think they know better.

Shambles.

The pitch is in a shocking state but I know it's not down to lack of effort by the ground staff and also know the club has no money to relay the pitch. 

3 minutes ago, DoofersDad said:

Well there’s a lot to talk about after that. But in summary, it was a game of two halves. 

And the second half was s***e  but glad we are through to the final.

26 minutes ago, Renegade said:

It's only fair to have exactly between the two clubs - Claggan Park, Fort William!

I am sure the pitch will be better than ours!

6 minutes ago, DoofersDad said:

Here's hoping we get a good crowdie on Sunday.

Yes I hope so!

6 minutes ago, DoofersDad said:

With our current budget it is more likely to be a bottle of milk laid down by Stratton's dairy 25 years ago.

That will now be crowdie 

1 hour ago, caley100 said:

Unfortunately there are a hell of a lot of people living in Inverness who aren't Invernessian, and don't have much affiniity with the local football club.  This will change hopefully as the youth coaches work with schools etc, agian hopefully bringing youngsters to matches.

And worse than that there are a hell of a lot go over the bridge 

5 hours ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

The past was marvellous but now history, the present is full of doubt whilst the future is now ALL about survival. A journey that unfortunately appears to be out of our hands. I hear that there is the inevitable sugar daddy saviour waiting in the wings but there are even elements of that really worry me. Every club makes mistakes but our glory years were also years of mismanagement. Some people were in it for more personal gratification and appear to have simply ignored the potential perils of success, oh  and let's face it we are not ready to jump back up to the top division. 

 

If its the same sugar daddy that I am thinking about I would have my doubts as well.

10 minutes ago, bughtmaster said:

If we are, as we are supposed to be,  a progressive football club then there should be at least weekly press releases updating behind the scenes progress on innovative developments pertaining to the club on and off the field.

Efforts should be made to stimulate interest in ICTFC in order to keep the loyal informed and to try to build up the fan base.  Do we even have a Press Officer ? or spokes person ??

What happened to Gordon Fyfe?

11 hours ago, hislopsoffsideagain said:

I think it's probably best to judge Robbo and Brewster's two spells separately - Robbo's because circumstances are different and they are 13 years apart, and Brewster's because his availability as a player made such a significant difference in his first period in charge.

Here's how I'd rank them, from last to first:

10. Foran - an absolute catastrophe. Tactically inept, clearly unable to manage a squad and absolutely hopeless at signing players. If we'd ditched him even in March 2017, we would have stayed up. His spell in charge has done this club a huge amount of harm.

9. Brewster's second spell - after an initial strong start things went badly wrong and the last eight months or so were awful. Another manager who struggled tactically and who wound up all the players the wrong way. And giving Andrew Barrowman a three year contract on a big wage?!

8. Baltacha - certainly had some challenges to deal with, given it was our first year in the league. But not even finishing in the bottom half of the Third Division with that squad was a disappointment and too often our style of football was dull as ditchwater.

7. Robbo's second spell - Controversial perhaps, but the bottom line is that we're still only seventh the Championship even though things have certainly improved after a terrible start. Assuming we don't go back up this season, the big test for him will be improving the squad this summer despite a likely reduction in budget.

6. Christie - I have a soft spot for Charlie, who signed some decent players and who often sent out the team to be quite adventurous. And the 2-1 win over Rangers in December 2006 is still one of my favourite ICT moments ever. But he couldn't crack top six.

5. Brewster's first spell - we went from relegation candidates to missing the top six on goal difference in five months. His ability and leadership as a player were undoubtedly huge factors. He also brought in Craig Dargo and established Ian Black (signed by Robbo) in the team.

4. Robbo's first spell - beat Celtic in the cup in his first half-season, won the first division and got us to two cup semi-finals. He had started getting us on the right track for survival when he left for Hearts. Oh, and he signed Darren Dods, who improved our defence about one-hundred fold when he got in the team.

3. Paterson - deserves his legend status because of our rise through the leagues and that incredible win at Celtic Park (and the oft-forgotten win at Tynecastle two years later), along with the reckless attacking football that we played. That said, he had a lot more to work with than most managers in the bottom two divisions did, and couldn't get us over the last hurdle. Not our best manager, but the guy who was managing us when we were the most fun!

2. Hughes - I imagine this will be heavily criticised! If this ranking was entirely on coaching ability he would certainly be top (he turned Carl Tremarco into a footballer!!!) and if it was entirely on transfer market success he would be near the bottom. Bottom line is he took us to third in the league and a Scottish Cup win, feats which may never be repeated - and did so with us playing some pretty sexy football. The fact that his reign started and ended pretty badly shouldn't detract from that.

1. Butcher - obviously left us in pretty acrimonious circumstances, and no-one would suggest that he was a tactical genius. But...he nearly kept us up in 2009 (we were five points adrift when he took over). He got us back up at the first attempt. He turned us into a top six team. The number of quality players he signed was quite remarkable. And man he was good with the media, talking us up all the time.

 

(puts tin hat on, awaits incoming fire)

You have some memory Hislop great report 

He might still be on the ICT payroll 

I noticed in todays birthday ICTFCkev is 18 today, happy birthday kev you can now have a drink 

15 minutes ago, Renegade said:

I understand what you mean with Baltacha (and unlike some of you old folks I never saw his ICT side!).  But was he really any good?  He was barely in the job to make that much of an impact.

Also, whatever happened to Clacher_Holiday2?

He was better than Richie Foran 

17 minutes ago, Renegade said:

I'm not opposed to imaginative public art but that River Ness Pier thing looked awful.

I totally agree with you on that one.

28 minutes ago, Renegade said:

I remember reading a while back that the route was going to take the Clachnaharry route and then hook round where an Inverness South railway station was planned and then it head down the Great Glen from there, with stops planned at the aforementioned Dochgarroch and Lochend.

But the Lord of Dochfour would not let them build across his land unlike other land owners further north who had business interests who were keen to have the railways.

On the south side of Fort Augustus part of the line could be reused but where the old station was at Fort Augustus is now the school.  The railway went from there across the canal and river Oich and on to the pier on the south of Loch Ness where it met the steamship.

As snorbens said there is not the room along with the road on either side of Loch Ness.