Kingsmills

Oh dear how depressing, a thread on this site regarding the draw for the Alba Cup. Let's hope there's no another such thread this time next year !

Must be a wind up. Nobody could genuinely hold these views !

Nairn County.

I would be very surprised indeed to see either Foran or Morais with the club next season. Other clubs will be able to offer more money and the prospect of playing at a higher level. From their professional point of view why would they want to play theit trade in the first division with ICT ?

Good for them.

For anyone who cares and can be bothered we are about 90 minutes away from a virtual relegation to go with our very real relegation on Saturday !

Sorry to see you go. I'm sure you will get your chance elsewhere as you clearly have great potential. Good luck !

I have to say that of the list of players not being offered new contracts Vigurs is the only surprise and, in my opinion at least, the only mistake. I think the boy has great potential and could do a job for us in the first division next season.

Hibs had home crowds in excess 10,000 in the first division so were able to spend their way out. Dundee United had much greater resourses than we do. While not beyond us bouncing back in one season will be far from easy. Dundee have recently had a cash injection as well as a number of years experience of the division and a vastly experienced manager. In my opinion, they start as favourites.

Think if you look very carefully you'll understand why folk are laughing at you. Those prices are for half season tickets for 08/09 season To prevent any confusion whatsoever thread closed.

It is ?250,000 in the first season and ?125,000 the next asssuming a second consecutive season is spent outwith the SPL. I'd be prepared to guess that next years payment has ben spent already covering two sets of managerial salaries since January and paying the salaries of the raft of players brought in to try to stave off relegation.

Thanks for that. Good luck in the Cup next week.

come on ma old jeggie mate - The muppets and Brewster have put us on the edge of non SPL inclusion EVER - They have tried to save themselves with the Butcher move and it has misfired. I fear you could well be right IHE. What happens in the course of the next two or three weeks could shape the club's future for years to come.

For all sorts of reasons I'd much rather still be in the SPL. For those of us of a certain age who spent decades watching teams of milkmen, posties and cival servants giving their all in the Highland League with only occasional forays into the early rounds of the Scottish cup or the odd friendly againt Old Firm XIs to leven the fare seeing the top players in the land playing in Inverness seemed like a fantacy even after 5 full seasons.I, for one, never thought I would see the like in my liftime. I can't wait for these times to come again. In the meantime, it is a consolation to start a fresh league season with some actual prospect of actually winning the competition.

With respect to Wyness101 all they money we've made in the SPL has been spent over the last 5 years and a bit more on top. Running an SPL team doesn't come cheap !

With regard to Yngwie's post, I'm surprised a board meeting should be discussing these issues tomorrow night. It was crystal clear by November, at the latest, that a plan B was required and it would be a worry if the details of that plan B finalised weeks, if not months, ago. I would have thought and hoped that by now all that needed to be done was for that contingency plan to be put into operation.

As far as expenses are concerned, we presently have a irector of Football who, according to the accounts, receives amoluments of ?50,000 and a Chief Executive who is likely to be on a higher salary than that. That Director of Football, although no doubt having the interests of the club at heart, so fit to allow a naive manager, to start the SPl season without a single experienced striker on the books. Most of us could see at the outset that that had the clear potential to land the club precisely where we've ended up. The Chief Executive has no prior experience in football. Surely one obvious saving is to combine the role by getting in a Chief Executive with a football background therby dispensing with the ned for a D.O.F.

Having had 24 hours now to reflect on yesterday's news the more serious I believe the consequences could be for the club. Conventinal wisdom is that relegation costs a club in the region of one and a half million pound in the first season alone. I'm begining to wonder whether the consequences for ICT could be even more serious than that. Our financial position would no have been all that rosey even if we had escaped the drop. Last year we posted our first loss since joining the SPL and it was a fairly substantial one although far from unmanagable on our SPL turnover. Since then we started the season with the highest wage bill in our history by some margin if you strip Marius Niculae's single season with us out of the equation. Since then we've added Byrne, Foran, Gatheussi, Kerr, Mihadjuks, Morais and Odhiambo with only Cowie, Mcallister and Wilson coming off the wage bill. Further, we have effectively been paying the salary of two sets of managerial teams since January. Quite an extrordinary combination of expenses which would not have been budgeted for at the start of the season. On the income side our income from SPL prize money will, by virtue of finishing last, be about ?300,000 less than we've been used to by typically occupying an average of eighth position since joining the top league. That's compounded by the fact that crowds are down by about 400 or so on previous SPL seasons and I'd be astonished if commercial income was not also considerably reduced in the present economic climate. There's been no sustained cup run or even live TV match largely as a result of our nemisis Falkirk dumping us out of both cup competitions. There might yet be a liability running weell into six figures should Niculae be successful in his court case against the club.That would have put us in a bad enough position from a financial point of view even if we had stayed in the SPL so goodness knows how we will cope down a division. I know that there is the parachute payment of ?250,000 but that will hardly cover the additional wage bill we've been carrying since January. In the past it might have been possible to approach the bank but these days they are hardly lending to anyone far less impoverished first division sides who don't even have any land or buildings to offer as security against any such loan. There's always the possibility of major shareholders dipping their hands in their pockets but given that the construction industry has suffered more than most in the recession would they be willing, or indeed able, to ? I have to say, taking all of the above into account, I'm greatly concerned particularly, as commonly seems to be the case, our SPL exile lasts more than a single season.

I doubt that the club will use the terracing. It's not as though we would need the additional capacity. I also doubt that the away stand will be in use for the majority of matches as most of the smaller away supports will be accomodated in the south side of the main stand at lower cost.

It might only work for one season given his age but I'm sure Barry could still do a job at first division level. With a bit (lot) of luck one season might be all that's required.

It's not the fault of Falkirk that we were the worst team in the SPL over the course of the season. Best of luck to the Bairns on Saturday.

I don't know what the story is regarding Butcher and Esson but I would be very disappointed to think that he might have let any personal bitterness which may have developed between the two stand in the way of fielding our most reliable 'keeper.

Dundee are likely to start as favourites. They've recently had an ionjection of cash which means they are likely to be better funded than ourselves with the advantage of having several seasons experience of the division and a wiley and vastly experienced manager in Jocky Scott. Dunfermline, Partck and Q.O.S are also likely to provide stiff opposition. It will not be easy !

Brewsrer was a hopelessly inadaquate manager but I for one don't blame him for our demise as he clearly did his best the problem being that his best was far from good enough. He was a poor coach, motivator and utterly clueless tactician. None of that is his fault few of us would have done any better. Blame lies squarely with those who sought fit to reappoint him ahead of much better candidates when his shortcomings were already exoposed by the fact that he was dragging a Dundee United team for which he had a life long affection headlong towards relegation despite having access to financial resourses ICT could only dream about. hat initial error, recognised even at the time by a clear majority of fans, was compounded by the fact that they delayed taking action for weeks, if not months, after it was clear to all concerned that he was leading ICT to precisely the fate Dundee United saved themselves from by dispensing with his services just in time. Had they acted even in December it's highly unlikely we would be in the position we are today.

He may not be the most articulate manager in the league but Falkirk have progressed steadily under his stewardship so he clearly has something about him.