Yngwie

If politicians want to help they could 1. Get serious about dualling the A9 2. Make sure the battery farm gets approved

Erm, the reason we have not relied heavily on central belt players is because they won’t flipping move away from their homes, that’s the problem! You might not trust SG, fair enough, but do you think our previous managers were all lying when they have told us this over the years? You also mention Bobby Mann, one of my heroes, an example of how we can recruit. We tempted him north with the opportunity of full time football and it worked out well but he jumped ship at the first opportunity to go back down the road to his wife, despite helping us to the Premier league. We had great success recruiting from the lower reaches of the English system instead, but the next Warren or Tansey is not going to relocate to play League 1 football in an astroturf based part time league that gets pretty much no media coverage. And in terms of persuading players to relocate, there’s also a huge difference between being able to offer £1,500 a week, to £1,000 a week, to £500 a week - the pond we fish in becomes a puddle!

The order in which things will eventually disappear if the club is starved of revenue: 1. Players 2. The club itself 3. Scot Gardiner

Especially when it is a done deal, contract signed.

I know I’ll be in a small minority here but I’ll support the team regardless of where their training facility is, be it Fort George, Kelty or the moon. I think it should be in Inverness but there are things that matter much more to me like seeing an ICT team playing entertaining football, showing passion and commitment, and winning matches. Training location does not determine those things. This season we had a team who did live and train in Inverness and they were pretty awful. More concerningly they offered no passion, no indication of playing for the city, the fans, or the badge, culminating in the shameful capitulation against Hamilton. Training in Inverness did not prevent that. It’s far more important for me that we have the right players and the right manager and we don’t currently have either. That for me is the biggest deterrent to going to more games. I acknowledge that I don’t live in Inverness and I understand that those who do will attach much more importance to feeling an affiliation with players who live locally. I want that too, of course, community connection is very important and something the current regime has failed miserably at. Whatever happens I am still an ICT fan and won’t stop being one just because the current custodians of the club have done something I don’t like.

I know, one of the many surprising things about this plan is that they wanted to do it even if we stayed up. But the recruitment challenges we are faced with are considerably worse now.

I don’t think anyone has said that? The ones that are open to it usually enjoy it when they are here, the problem is that most Scottish players don’t want to move north - not the opinion of me or SG, it’s the reality that a succession of ICT managers have stated publicly. We could help overcome it in the past by offering a shop window and more money than the players could get elsewhere, as well providing accommodation. Not so easy when you are in League 1 and trying to avoid administration.

The majority of Scottish footballers will not seriously consider relocating to Inverness, certainly not for a mediocre salary and a 1 or 2 year deal. We are therefore fishing in a much smaller pond than our competitors, that is the sad reality.

It’s certainly true that one of the many factors that got us relegated was the failure to bring in good players last summer to replace the ones we had lost. Davidson, Brooks, Lodovica and Longstaff. Good grief, that was the best we could do, as a Championship side that was already spending beyond its means. Not sure we can blame it on Dodds and Robbo for being inept in recruitment, we know that they tried to sign better players like Wetherspoon but couldn’t get them.

George Oakley going from Morton to Ayr.

No jokes about it (yet), but was discussed. Cosgrove against it, specifying rather oddly that it was the “wrong time” for this move, Cowan much more accepting of the need for it, but both acknowledging the consequences it has for club identity.

The problem is, voicing concerns is one thing, but stepping up to the plate and doing something positive for the club is another. We’ve been in decline for years and the major shareholders have just sat back and let it be someone else’s problem ie Ross Morrison, who I think took it on because nobody else wanted to and I’m sure would happily step back if someone had a better plan and the money needed to deliver it. Someone told me he is currently £1.4m out of pocket. Not that I’m criticising the other big shareholders for doing nothing - they all had their time, put a load of money in for no return, had varying degrees of success, then let someone else take on the baton. Wouldn’t it be good though if the current crisis was the catalyst that inspired someone with money and a better connection with the fans and city to step in and give us a better future than we currently face.

Speaking of BBC, I suspect we’re going to get a mention or two on Off the Ball today - it’s gonna be an even harder listen than usual! On at 12 I think.

I’m afraid you’ve lost me.

Not sure wha5 you might be alluding to with your cynicism, but I think we have all assumed that it is Kelty because they offer the nearest suitable facility that is available at the times we need and is accessible to the central belt motorway network and to the A9.

I guess the difference is that in the past we were able to offer players the chance to step UP in standard, and to increase their wages. We paid good money that made it worthwhile relocating for. Now all we can offer players is to come and play in League 1 for what in many cases would perhaps be little more than they could earn in a minimum wage full time job. Much less appealing. Sad times for us.

One of the many surprising things about this announcement is that it has come completely out of the blue and hadn’t leaked out through the usual online rumour mills. It’s clearly been getting worked on for a long time involving people at both ICT and Kelty, and somehow everyone involved managed to keep it under wraps. Just an observation.

I’m sure I’m not the only person hoping to wake up and find that the last 7 days was just a nightmare.

Steady on, nobody is saying anything remotely like that!

I think it is fair to say that, whilst the Board would know this wouldn’t be a popular move, they underestimated the strength of feeling about it and probably thought that people wouldn’t really care much where the players train as it doesn’t affect the fans.

No, because you have to settle all your football creditors first. Same reason why we can’t avoid paying off Ferguson!

Might be wrong but there was not a comment from the club representative at a recent meeting that the club was investigating finding better training facilities?

We’ve clearly already signed a contract with Kelty, so even if the decision somehow gets reversed I presume we’d still have to pay for their facilities for however many years we got commitment for.

Presumably they would have considered St Johnstone first who are slightly closer and have great facilities for grass and Astro next to the stadium, but they are full time and therefore using it when we’d want to.

I’m not supporting it, I’m explaining it!