sheepslagger

I, for one, am very sad to see her go. I really liked her and got on extremely well with her. Its a total bugger that shes gone , especially at this time as she had loads of different things on and different ideas to promote the club.  She most certainly had the club at heart and worked 7 days a week for all the time I ve known her.

Hopefully we can get a suitable replacement in who has the same enthusiasm in as quick as possible.  Any potential candidates names would be welcome .

We need someone on the ground with business and commercial local knowledge that  has vision and doesnt mind getting their hands dirty.  

Apply within !

I'm no going to put a hex on anything,  so I ll not go any further than, I m very much looking forward to the 13th or 14th of April !!!!!!

Love it !

I did 10,000 steps walking about Dundee city centre with my Caley coat on pi55ing as many Arabs off as humanly possible. A very good day to be a Jaggie !!

Roll on Hampden !

On 2/27/2019 at 1:23 PM, MorayJaggie said:

I have to admit having lived in Aberdeen and now Angus for past two years this is similar to the aberDNA idea Aberdeen fc introduced at the start of this season. Over 11000 AFC fans signed up to a 2 year commitment and got certain benefits like season ticket discount, merchandise discount entered into a draw for hospitality chance for juniors to win a mascot package discounts to cup games and they were given different levels they could donate monthly from £10 to I believe £50 a month those on the higher donations were also given a free home shirt. 

 

Yes we are smaller, we are not going to get the 100,000 + quid this generates for Aberdeen but it has been ring fenced for the Aberdeen playing budget. If you could ask the fans what they would like the money to be contributing towards, what they would like to get back from the scheme and what level of contributions could be made, then devise a plan and present that to the fan base, hopefully It would invigorate many among the not only regular attendees but folk like myself who live large distances way to help contribute regularly towards the success of the club in the future?

So do you think that a similar idea to the aberDNA would appeal ?  Im trying to find the best way to put it forward and it would be good to try and copy the best bits of other clubs initiatives to make our as good as we can get. Attractive for our fans.  Agree that the funds should be ring fenced for what they are being put in for, be that the Youth system or directly to the players budget.  I m sure the Players budget would be the more appealing as the results of the donations would be almost immediately evident.  Hopefully !  

If anyone has knowledge of other clubs foundations etc please let me know your thoughts on them. Hit or miss.

As everyone is entitled to their own valued opinion I ll leave the answer to the question to yourselves but I would say that but on the basis of the context of the stories and my recollection of them, I m no sure where I m sitting. The Pied Piper memorized poor unsuspecting innocent youngsters into something and somewhere they didnt know where they were going and when they got there didnt want to be. Dinna think there are alot of poor unsuspecting innocents here !

The Samaritan.  The victim of a savage assault was beaten and stripped and left to die.  Clearly in need of immediate help his fellow Jews, even a priest, walked by and did nothing , leaving him to die . The only one that did anything was a Samaritan.  

And the Samaritans and Jews hated each other, for some reason, so no I m no the Samaritan

On the matter of crowd funding I m going to push forward with this cos there is still no sign of the Fairy Godmother appearing on the horizon from Far Far away Land yet and in the absence of this contingency plans have to be made.

While Rome burns we cannae be fiddling.  Positive steps need to be taken and we need to do them as soon as possible.

After watching the game against Dunfermline then on to beat County in the next game, this was so so similar.

Robbo got it spot on. The Tuesday performance was a gear below that yesterday. He gave United something on Tuesday to take it all back yesterday.

Our lads were immense.  Fortress Tannadice !  Played them off the park from start to finish.

It indeed is a fine day to be in Dundee !

Perfect !

4 hours ago, bdu98196 said:

Football clubs are a business and not a charity, we have a board of directors who need to see that there are several factors that need addressed for long term stability and development

- reduce playing budget, get rid of high earners and jobbers then introduce youth

- develop a plan for long term success and stability, even if it means relegation to League 1 and P/T team - invest more into youth teams and building a you squad with marketable assests

- increase footfall - establish why with a marketing & communications director we are worse than ever

- clear out boardroom dross and get fresh ideas and people instead of those looking to ego boost and maintain an old boys/girls network

Sort out some of these points and have the club put together a business plan outlining what as fans we would be investing in and there may be some interest - right now its just throwing cash into a bottomless hole to help bridge the mismanagement & financial gaps that the directors need to address.

So you'd be happy to lose the youth?. Go part time ? 

Please also if you could quantify and clarify your boardroom points I'd be all ears. Along with the long term plan.  

Personally I don't have an ego that needs boosted and I m pretty sure none of the others do either but if you think you can do a better job by all means get in touch . My email.is ross.morrison@ictfc.co.uk

I do this for nothing.  I've put a bloody fortune into our club to keep it going so glib remarks like that **** me right off. 

2 hours ago, Sir C the 3rd said:

Firstly, Ross I wish you well in your new role and hope you make a success of it. I have liked the way you have engaged with the fans on here in your first couple of weeks.

I’m not sure how I would feel in contributing even more money to the club. I have been an ICT fan for 25 years and a Thistle fan for 10 years previous to that. I’d say I’ve probably had a season ticket for on and off for about 25 years of those 35. I will have contributed thousands of ££ in tickets, merchandise, car parking, food and drink at the stadium plus at the social club and wider throughout Inverness and Scotland for away games. Why would I want to contribute even more in addition to that? Why should fans of other clubs pay what we pay but get Premier league football, new signings, good catering, nice stadium, not seeing all their best players leave, positivity. But we don’t? It’s not my fault all the supporters and money have all slipped away. It’s the job of the people in charge of the club to keep the fans engaged and look for constant new investment. This hasn’t happened, clearly. I’ve kept my side of the deal.

That said, personally I am willing to give this new board a chance. I feel it has a willingness to recognise there are big problems that need addressing. For any additional investment from fans though there needs to be tangible benefits. Wether that be free hospitality for a game or even a discount at the catering outlets. Just something. We can’t just be taken for granted all the time. Robbo blaming the fans the other week was a big own goal for me. Rather than moaning about them he should of been thanking them profusely for turning up and keeping the club going when so many others have turned away.

Also, I’m not sure how I feel about using any additional money from fans to give to players wages. I feel in general that footballers wages are completely out of control and that filters down to our level. I’m not sure how I’d feel if I was contributing extra money each month and that money was going to guys on good contracts playing in the Scottish championship, who then disappear when another club with even more money turn up. These guys are probably earning more money than some fans and it doesn’t feel right to me.

Ross, it’s not easy and you have a hell of a job on your hands, but I wish you every success with it. I probably would contribute a little extra if you follow through with positive changes.

I have my Thistle boys club membership card from season 76'77 . I was number 7. The money I've put into the club in the past is in the past and I agree the best answer is to get a winning team on the park entertaining the b'Jesus out of all and sundry but in the meantime we need to try and establish a firm financial reliable basis for this club, our club, to survive. 

Without outside help from us, or an Ann Budge etc, it won't. 

I ve put well I to six figures iinto the coffers and I'm running on empty now so formulating a plan now is most certainly required 

1 hour ago, ictchris said:

There isn’t the same possibility for the sort of scheme that Hearts ran. Living in Edinburgh there are a lot of armchair Hearts fans who contributed to the Foundation while rarely going to games. My brother-in-law pays into it and he probably goes to two or three Hearts games a season. We don’t have that sort of fan base so the people you’d be asking to pay for it would be season ticket holders, it’d effectively be a price rise.

Rather than trying to squeeze more money out of our existing season ticket holders we should try and encourage people to come back through the turnstiles. The reports in the press say that we are 30,000 fans down. We must have a database of people who have bought tickets for games but don’t have a season ticket or used to have a season ticket but don’t anymore. Have we reached out to this group of people to find out what would bring them back?

The main thing is to get a successful team on the pitch. If we get to the Scottish cup semi final and somehow manage to win promotion it will be the best way to boost things. 

 

 

I'm not sure , just because we have a smaller fan base than Hearts we are that much different. We have smaller everything but importantly no real pressing debt   just cash flow.

3 hours ago, lizi said:

I agree - any crowdfunding must go direct to ICT.   If not, I for one won’t be contributing.  

 

it would go direct to ICT that's where funds are required. 

1 hour ago, LundavraJag said:

I would be interested in hearing more, as would members of my family. I'm not sure how I would feel about paying for a journeymans wages for one but if it was put to good use such as youth development as mentioned above and there was fan representation then I would be happy to contribute.

We could have two funds , with the contributions going directly into the player budget or youth........or care and maintenance !!!

51 minutes ago, DoofersDad said:

Ross, a question. Is your suggestion just flying a personal thought or is this something the Board has tasked you to raise here? 

I agree with Caleyboy that the Supporters Trust would be the channel for fan involvement with the idea. Personally it is an idea which I think might be worth exploring but I cannot speak for the Trust Board as it is not something we have discussed as yet. 

DD,

I m flying a personal thought which is bourne out by real and credible concerns that the club is looking at losses for another year . Just common sense . Its my idea . They ve all seen it cos they now know who the mysterious Sheepslagger with the nice bike is ! 

For instance if the fans monthly contributions were going directly into the managers budget this would be a way that they could see their hard earned going to immediate good use.

Rathar than a the care and maintenance budget !

Are there 500 -1000 fnas out there   up for putting £5 - £10 a week into the club ? 

51 minutes ago, old caley girl said:

Thats a point! Who would be our Ann Budge? 

The point of this is Ann Budge invested to get them.out of admin and moving again. They d gone bust. We haven't got an Ann Budge but on the bright side haven't gone bust.  

We have got their amount if fans. From recollection they have 8000 members contributing , but that shouldn't put us off.  

Definitely give the fans the influence.  As in governance and decisions. 

https://www.foundationofhearts.org/

I d like to run this idea past you all and gather thoughts.

Back in June 2013 another one of the Scottish stalwart clubs went into administration. Hearts went over the edge and were only saved by Ann Budge and brought back to life . After that the Foundation of Hearts was founded and since then it has grown and provided their club with a steady substantial income derived from their fans.  This looks like sustaining Hearts for the future, as long as the governance remains as it is at present. 

My question is what is the reaction to a similar Foundation being set up ICT and being funded in a similar manner.  eg by fans on a regular monthly basis.

Any cursory glance at out accounts would confirm that to remain in the way we are, and have been, we have lost money over the majority of years we have been in existence, and what we require is a way to have financial security in a similar way to what Hearts have now, but have it in place before the brown stuff hits the fan . unlike Hearts did.

Rather than re invent the wheel , take the basis of what Hearts have done and copy their best bits.

This is a business that at present does not attract enough dosh and cannot continue for ever to incur losses, so we either find a wandering Abramovich with an open cheque book or prepare for the future with a sustainable model, in a similar manner to our Edinburgh cousins.

Thoughts ?

On the West Stand queery There is no real problem about standing there , its just about stewarding.  I ve suggested we re allocate stewards but it would be helpful of you could put any requests to the email address ross.morrison@ictfc.co.uk  I can then forward them on to whoever and can hopefully get them dealt with.  Also I ll lose any questions on the forum cos of scrolling through and missing things. You know what I mean.

Anyway you now know where I am . There s no hiding place !!

The games are scheduled to be played at 7.05 pm cos the new BBC Scotland channel news starts at 9pm .  Thats the only reason.  Its not ideal for the clubs especially if you take into consideration the possibility of hospitality sales.  I m afraid the clubs had no say in this and the kick off times were only told to us at a meeting with the BBC a couple of weeks ago.  Personally I think they could move the news one night a week to 9.30 start.  Whats the harm?

From recollection there will be 26 games per year and we should have 2 home games televised. 

Email is sorted . Up and running . Myself on the other hand has a heed like a box of rockets after going a bit mental last night.

Spoke to Yvonne CEO, and she ll be getting copied in to help me direct questions , requests etc.  

Usual service will resume the morn.

What a game !!!! If Carlsberg made Scottish Cup replays.

I ve asked the lad at the club to make sure its open and I can get into it. It will definitely sorted in the next 24 hours. 

I can assure you that Im not relishing in our limited progress this year.  My wee lad was in tears after the QoS game a few weeks ago. I ken how he feels. I ll be up the morn again. And again . Please come and say hello the morn if youre passing.

F**k me gently, we need a win the morn.  

From what I know Liam Dalgarno and Gordy Fyffe on our Board along with Charlie Christie are organizing a load of other things for the 25th anniversary. This is just one thing .  The tickets are`nt cheap at £100 plus VAT per skull but hopefully we can raise plenty dosh for the club.

To be honest  cannae mind getting an email about it myself.

I ll try and find out where the list of things that are planned for the ICT25 year are. 

Hers a thought, I ve got an email address at the stadium which I havent used yet. I ll make sure its up and running tomorrow and if I dinna get back with answers in reasonable time get back to me and remind me.  I ve got my own businesses down in Dundee, where I live and work, so i havent got buckets of spare time but I can sometimes forget things . 

ross.morrison@ictfc.co.uk

On the West Stand , it makes sense for folk wanting to stand.  If its a cost issue , which makes sense , I ll get back and tell you.  Cannae see any other reason. It would help if you send me bullet points so I can put them forward.

I ll see what the steward crack is with the stewards. Personally over zealous stewards can seriously **** me off . 

Thanks for taking the time to contact with me.  I ll do all I can to help our club. 

Cheers

Proud to be a Jaggie !!

On the Angus Beith question , Im up tomorrow and will ask Robbo what the outcome is but from what I ve been told in the past is that there was a recurring injury which was expected to clear up but just hasnt up to now so it doesnt look good for the lad.  

I ll ask John to clarify the situation when I see him.

The other question that was asked was George Oakley. The club was between a rock and a hell of a hard place.  We did not want to lose him but contract up in the summer and he wanted to play SPL football for Hamilton and it was one of his old gaffers that he knew he was going to......we were buggered ! Sad , cos I really liked him.  He gave 100%, when he was on the pitch.