DoofersDad

One would expect SG to play down any financial difficulties on national radio.  One also recognises that most football clubs have financial difficulties, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be concerned about the situation with ICT.   Let's just remind ourselves of what the official financial report actually stated. The accounts reported a loss before tax of £835K and net current liabilities (debt) of £1.71M which is up  70% from the previous year and from the last Covid free year in 2018/9.  The accounts do not report a turnover figure, but from memory, turnover in previous years has been just a little over £2m.  

Whether you consider those figures as representing a crisis or not is maybe a matter of opinion, but they are certainly a significant concern.  The new auditors stated they had "material concerns" about the viability of the club relying on unproven income streams and savings on operational costs. The club waited till the deadline to post the latest accounts and has had no AGM since the previous accounts were posted, also at the deadline.  It is not a pretty picture.

Personally I don't think the club is in immediate risk of going bust, but unless some major financial windfall comes along, it clearly needs to find someone to pump record sums of money into the club to stop the finances getting even worse than they currently are.  One hopes that when the club finally has its AGM later this month, there will be a little more openness about the financial situation than we have had to date.  As things stand, unless we can somehow win promotion (or the cup!) this year, cuts to the playing budget seem inevitable.  If that happens, getting out of the Championship at the right end will get more and more difficult.

1 hour ago, bdu98196 said:

Considering the amount of empty car park space and number of aimlessly wandering stewards, never understood why we can put up a few outdoor benches, some barrier chain and a few speakers to do this. Since covid, it's never been easier for hospitality to have outdoor space for patrons.

Our matchday experience has so much room for improvement.

Have you completed the Supporters Trust Matchday Survey?  There are free text boxes in the survey to allow responders to expand on the basic yes/no and ratings questions.  This provides the opportunity to give some examples such as you have outlined here.  If the survey shows that people in general are unhappy with the food and drink availability, this kind if detailed feedback will allow us to put into the survey report that not only are people unhappy, but it is something the club could act on because other clubs are successfully doing it.  The more people who complete the survey the more valid the answers will become.  I really would urge anyone who has not yet completed the survey to take a few minutes to do it as every survey completed gives the fan base a louder voice.

On 3/4/2023 at 10:04 PM, Leaky Blinder said:

I filled out the survey. I did have a ST even through covid although not this season ( I have 4 dependents and cornflakes are now £4 a box ! ) I don't get the question around the whole matchday atmosphere though. As an old school terrace dweller part of the matchday experience was getting in and building the noise before kick off not suffering loud music and contrived "entertainment" We the fans should drive the atmosphere its no coincidence that since the demise of standing its the away support that make the atmosphere what it is at many grounds.  

Thanks for filling out the survey and for your feedback here.  By their nature, surveys have to rely on yes/no or scoring answers to specific points in order to be able to draw valid conclusions, but there is also space for free text answers which provide the opportunity for people to give a bit more detail on things you think are particularly important or which the survey doesn't pick up on.  I understand you point though.  I'm an old school terrace dweller myself.

I'll round a 4.5 up to 5.

That was a really important win today.  As we move into the final round of matches, any lingering worries about the potential of relegation should be gone.  We sit on 36 points and even were we to lose our last 9 games, 2 of the bottom 3 would need to significantly up their points per game ratio to catch us and put us in to the relegation playoff spot.  The pressure is off us now.  We are not expected to win our bonus cup game on Friday and nor are we expected to reach the playoffs, although both are well within our capabilities.  Hopefully this will allow the team to play with a bit more freedom and produce the kind of football which the fans have only seen sporadically this season. Of course, the team needs to get the fans behind them with some good vocal support.  That has been in very short supply this season, so hopefully that will change on Friday. Kilmarnock are on a poor run of form just now and their priority must be Premiership survival.  It is a very winnable game with a trip to Hampden as the prize.  Our season could, all of a sudden get a whole lot better.

HT. 1-0

FT. 2-1

ICT. Billy Mckay

Ayr. Mullin

Crowd 2263

The Club has now also posted its Confirmation Statement on the Companies House website.  This list all the shareholders together with the number of shares they hold.

Welcome back, Charles!  Re the AGM, the Chairman’s statement states it will take place on 28th March. 

That's a very welcome, albeit overdue, statement.  Good to know that there is now an AGM scheduled at last.  The devil is in the detail as always, and at the moment there seems to be a reliance on optimism that various initiatives will bring in much needed cash, rather than any form of assurance that they will. Interesting to note the comments about the disappointments of this season being dealt with internally.  Also disappointing that whilst the Chairman makes several references to the wonderful and loyal fans, there is nothing in the statement to indicate any desire to engage with them.

3 hours ago, RiG said:

We haven't started losing money since Gardiner arrived. It's been an issue before his time as well. 

Also true.  As one senior person at the Club rather grudgingly put it on Gardiner's appointment, "at least this one knows how many players there are in a football team!"

1 hour ago, hislopsoffsideagain said:

When you look at other full time clubs outwith the Premiership they are all running losses. Some (Queen's Park, Falkirk) are even worse than ours

 

That's true, but there is no doubt that our situation is getting progressively worse and there is no sign of the club doing anything other than produce some vague assurances over projects which may or may not bring some money into the club.  In the meantime, the club ignores the fact that we also have some distinct advantages over other clubs both in and out of the championship.  The population of Inverness is bigger than or on a par with many of the sides both in the Championship and the Premiership.  Many of those clubs also have the disadvantage of either other big clubs being located in the same town/city (Queens Park) or being close to other towns with well established clubs (Hamilton).  Inverness is a growing city with a population of roughly 70,000 and a pretty wide catchment area beyond that.  Regardless of the vagaries of who locally chooses to put significant money into what club, we have the potential to pull in bigger crowds and attract individuals to support the club in other ways.  

The club likes to brand itself as a family club, but it seems to be the sort of family where family members never speak to each other.  Without the kind of substantial long term financial support our neighbours across the bridge have enjoyed, it is particularly important that the club reaches out to the supporters and the wider local community.  It should be said that the Club's Community Trust does a wonderful job, but far from trying to integrate itself as a pivotal part of the City's fabric, the football club seems, if anything, to be alienating itself from the community which is its life blood.  Nobody is saying it is easy to attract bigger crowds, but that shouldn't stop us trying.  It also means the Club should do all it can to stop even more of its long term fans from drifting away.

One has to take into account that the accounts refer to the 2021/2 season which was only slightly impacted by the Covid pandemic.  Normal income streams therefore returned and one would expect financial figures to be improved from the previous Covid ravaged season.  But they are not.  There is much to be concerned about. 

The accounts show a loss before tax of £835K and net current liabilities (debt) of £1.71M which is up a staggering 70% from the previous year and from the last Covid free year in 2018/9

Whilst the new auditors accept that the Club Directors are right to proceed on a going concern basis given the stated plans for addressing the financial position, they do have "material concerns" about the position.  Yngwie  explains the position very well above.   One also has to question why the club felt it necessary to appoint new auditors.

The report states that the financial projections are reliant on uncertain sources of income and operational cost savings.  The club will presumably not make operational cost savings if it pays more on player wages.  Clearly projections would be altered in the unlikely event of us getting promoted, but assuming we don't, then there seems to be little chance we can offer much to encourage players like Robbie Deas to sign a new contract or to bring experienced and proven players in.

It also states "the company remains reliant on player trading, new funding streams and the continued financial support of its directors, shareholders and supporters".  Just where is the prospect of making decent sums for player trading just now?  Much of our squad will be out of contract at the end of the season and can simply sign for another club with us receiving nothing.

If what STFU says is correct and 3 current Directors have already in effect resigned, then that is extremely worrying unless their departure is linked with the arrival of others who can put in significantly more money than the retiring directors have in the past - and they have put in quite a bit. 

The continued support of shareholders is far from guaranteed when the club is in blatant breach of its Articles of Association having failed to hold an AGM since September 2021.  There has been no AGM since the previous year's accounts were published last February and they, like the 2021/2 accounts just published, were submitted to Companies House on the absolute deadline for submission.

The continued support of supporters is also far from guaranteed when crowds are clearly falling and many season ticket holders are saying that they are unlikely to renew for next season.  If the Club wants to galvanise the fans in support of the Club, then it should be looking to work constructively with the Supporters Trust.  Sadly, it only engages grudgingly and fails to capitalise on what the Trust could do if only supporters could see the Club working constructively with the Trust.

It is unfortunate that the accounts have been submitted to Companies House without any statement on the Club's official website.  This again shows contempt for shareholders and supporters.  Perhaps now that the submission has been made, there will be a statement and a date set for the AGM, but in the meantime, the Club has to understand that their lack of communication, their lateness in filing the accounts, the change in auditor and their failure to hold an AGM in due time, all point to a suspicion that they have something to hide.

The football club doesn't belong to the Directors and the management, it belongs to the shareholders and the fans.  We will still be here long after they have gone.  Despite the Club's long term distancing themselves from the shareholders and supporters, there still remains a lot of goodwill towards the club - but it is palpably disappearing.  If the current Directors and management want to benefit from the goodwill which remains and re-kindle that which it has lost, they need to change their ways and change them soon.  Either that or make way for others who actually understand that the supporters are the heart and soul of the football club.

The accounts for 2021/2 and for previous years, together with other documents can be viewed on the Companies House website.

Thanks for the interest.  Can't say when the findings will be released because it will take quite a lot of time to work through the results and check everything.  Obviously we want as many people to complete the survey as possible but the more that do, the longer it will take to process the results and prepare a report.  It will certainly be posted on here.

HT  1-0

FT. 3-1

ICT. Cairns

Opp. Robinson

Crowd. 4884

The purpose of the survey is twofold.  Firstly it is to try and identify the issues which would make the match day more enjoyable/comfortable for regulars.  Secondly it is to identify factors which currently put people off from coming more often or at all.  Clearly this is about issues other than how the lads perform on the park.  Some may say that we all know what the issues are, so what's the point?  The point is that if a small number of people tell the club that something is wrong, the club will say they can't make any changes just for a handful of folk when everybody else seems fine with the way things are.  People will have a moan to friends and family but few actually feel able to complain when things are not right and the club seems to take the view that people don't complain to them, then they are happy with how things are.  What a survey does is to give a voice to everyone and then (if sufficient people complete the survey) it provides evidence of the extent and depth of those views.  For instance, if 2 or 3 individuals tell the club that the food offerings are poor and over-priced, the club will ignore it.  If 200 of 300 people completing the survey say it is poor and over-priced and 50 of those say they rarely if ever buy it as a result and another 50 say it is a reason why they rarely go to matches, then that becomes rather hard to ignore.  It is therefore really important that as many people as possible complete the survey so that issues can be identified and prioritised for action.

It follows from this that we are particularly keen to get the views of people who rarely attend matches.  Dwindling crowds is a real concern, and if aspects of the matchday experience other than the football is what is putting people off, then addressing those issues will help to attract people back.  It will also, of course, make for a better experience for the regulars who are currently putting up with any shortcomings.  Therefore it would be incredibly helpful if folk on here could forward the link to friends, family, colleagues etc who are not regular supporters and who might not hear about this survey from any other route.  Your help in doing that would be much appreciated.

https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/survey

Ah.  You're obviously new to the Board, otherwise you would know that the CEO has the final decision even if everyone else votes against him!

It's a state of mind issue.  It sounds as though the commitment was there today and lots of chances were made.  But they weren't taken.  Against Livi when there was little pressure we had 4 attempts on goal and 3 excellent composed finishes.  So we know the guys can do it.  In the last two games we have had far more and easier chances but not taken them.  Even the best players make bad mistakes and players at our level will make plenty of mistakes.  What they need to know is that they are not going to blamed or bawled at every time they make a mistake.  They need to maintain the confidence that whilst they will make some mistakes, they will get it right often enough to make a difference.  It seems players are panicking in front of goal and either rushing it or overthinking it.  The coaching staff need to give them the confidence to help them relax and focus on the job in hand rather than worrying about making a mess of it.  It doesn't look if that is happening.

8 hours ago, tm4tj said:

Here's the evidence it was all Dodds' fault

Looks to me as though Martin gives him a pull back just as he's kicking the ball. Shaw is then looking at the referee expecting the foul to be given.

I think that is good management.  He is showing belief in the squad that let him down at the weekend and now has every right to expect 100% effort from the first whistle to the last.  None of them should be in the slightest doubt as to what is expected of them.

HT. 0-2

FT. 2-3

ICT. Billy Mckay

Opp. Tiehl

Crowd. 1161

And me.  Back to a 3.  2.5 really but rounded up to a 3.   Sort of wonder which play-offs the club is aiming for on that 2nd half performance.

2171 is, I am sure, what was announced at the game.  It was 1852 at the Morton game and with only a handful of Hamilton supporters, I can't see the figure of 2471 being correct.

For various reasons, I've not been able to get to too many games this season.  After the rave reviews from the cup game last week I was rather looking forward to the game today.  And we started confidently and  brightly with good movement and sharp passing to create chances that should have been put away.  We were sharp off the ball too and won possession back well.  But after 20-25 mins the confidence seemed to ebb away and bit by bit, Hamilton began to come into the game. By half time they were looking much the better side.

 A bad error in midfield led to Hamilton taking the lead early in the 2nd half and from then on we seemed to abandon plan A.  This was unfortunate because there didn't seem to be a plan B.  We never looked remotely like getting back on level rems apart from a good header by Devine which produced a magnificent save from Fulton.  With the need for creativity getting more and more urgent, Dodds took off our 2 most creative players and we duly went 2 down.  Penalty or no penalty for number 3?  I don't know or care.  We shouldn't have been in the position for the referee to have to make a decision.  Too many players looked to have given up by then.  The second half was awful, but the really worrying thing for me was the way the players seemed to lose the confidence and the courage to play the way we know they can.  There are no easy teams in this league and if we are to have any chance or reaching the play offs we need to keep the intensity and the courage from the first whistle to the last.  Play like we did in the 2nd half for the rest of the season and it would be hard to see where the few points we need to avoid relegation would come from.

Just a shout out for young Henderson who was the one player always looking for the ball and always looking to do something with it.  His end product wasn't always great, but at least there was an end product.  Shaw made the error that led to the opener, but apart from that he looked to be the player most likely to open up the Hamilton defence.  On the back of the Livi game, we had a decent crowd today.  Sadly many of those who turned up will be reluctant to do so again any time soon.

HT. 2-0

FT. 3-1

ICT. Billy Mckay

Opp. Ryan One

Crowd. 2023

3,4.  Obviously a great win against Livi, but lose at home to Hamilton and we will be starting to get cut adrift from the play off places.  Need a decent win against Hamilton to push the ranking up to 5.