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A Sofa In San Tropez

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Everything posted by A Sofa In San Tropez

  1. This is the end of the Muirfield Mills @ ICTFC era. It was a much heralded arrival, although initially shadowy in its existence, it excited many, but ultimately what did this reign deliver to our 25 year old club? The achievements, successes, follies & setbacks will no doubt be discussed & debated by supporters far and wide. There has been a fair amount of manoeuvring behind the scenes over the past few months. These resignations are hardly a big shock. A duo & an individual, whom have considerable funds to plug the gaping financial chasm & in time, drive the club forward have been diligently active in the background. Both have continually refused to release further financial assistance until MM move on. Actually, the dynamic duo have in the not too distant past, poured £££,£££s into the ICT coffers in order to fill a rather large accounts oversight which had effectively rendered the club trading as insolvent, a drifting ship, so to speak. This enabled MM to continue, albeit temporarily, however. Further holes in the accounts have been looming closer & closer. The openly public, and slightly nauseating and alarming MM appeals for new streams of income, new investment & fresh blood on board fell largely on deaf ears. Although some heard the cries, there was an unwillingness to flourish more £££,£££ s on what they now considered a financial basket case. No more back seat bail outs for MM. Naming rights to the stadium were heralded as a future star big earner that would help in part, to steady the drifting ship. In reality, the spreadsheet trudged on wearily, unattractive to investors & somehow becoming increasingly feral as large sums were spent on CEO's, confidentiality clauses and pay offs, big wages splurged carelessly on General Managers, Accountants, Catering + Cooks, Commercial Managers, Academy Directors etc etc. This ever upwards spiralling increase in off field wages has been a massively damaging and game changing own goal this Club could ill afford ( pun intended ). The dynamic duo & an interested individual, reeled in horror as the financial outlook darkened dramatically in what seemed like a shooting ones own foot, several times, scenario played out again & again. Yes they have £££,£££s, but they also had business acumen and savvy & crucially they have extensive knowledge and experience of the internal operations of Football boardrooms and a vital understanding of the world of Football business, which exists and is very unlike any other business model. One individual is doing the ' hockey cokey ', in that, one week he is in ... the next he is out, in ... out... in .... out.... ( shakes it all about ). The individual knows exactly what is under the bonnet of the ICTFC vehicle and what tred is left on the ICT financial tyres. For the moment having, kicked the tyres & checked the dip stick, he is out, sticking to keeping the Lilywhites balance sheet bright. The Dynamic Duo however, have been building solid foundations, which is an area they could be said to have considerable expertise within. The plan has to be based on the tough financial climate in which this Club resides. A business plan that is capable of satisfying the observations and prodding of the Scottish Football governing bodies. A blueprint that is both fiscally prudent, resilient and sustainable & shock proof. This has been an ongoing process & it has to be professionally and meticulously administered, vetted & thoroughly robust. Perhaps these resignations have signalled that the above phase of construction has been completed.
  2. Mixed feelings regarding County's relegation. Having zero Highland clubs in the top tier of Scottish football isn't great for many reasons. It does however, give us some respite from their fans gloating and from having the upper hand in attracting some players. Though they may still hold that advantage with financial clout. They will have parachute payment + Celtic Euros alongside McGregors bucks. Although strong and reputable chatter about Roy's diminishing involvement both as Chair + financially over the next few seasons should concern the Staggies ranks. I believe Vigurs options may now have been curtailed. With County out of top Division + D Utd also resigned to life in the Championship those options look less attractive. Does that increase our chances of keeping him? I certainly hope so, fantastic player for us. Dunfermline still in the hunt and further afield the torn faced bitter one and his dad wants him at Plymouth, whilst an SPL club reported to be sniffing too. Is his agent playing with a straight deck, possibly not. I do think, despite getting rid of McIntyre prematurely ( not Dodds though - he's a wee clown ), they boobed badly in going for the 'bling' of Coyle but have fallen on their feet with Kettlewell and in part, Ferguson, but I am of the opinion , it is Kettlewell as boss, Ferguson as assistant. Not sure why it's labelled as a joint management duo. They do have a more robust and a more joined up thinking type off infrastructure behind the scenes and it is resourced well. I look forward to the El Kessocko's being highlighted on our fixture list next season. Development of the areas around our stadium could be extremely vital to what kind of future we have as a Club. Interesting......intriguing,... most certainly!
  3. The only constant is change. Change has to be "managed". Therein lies the problem.....
  4. Is this a 'called for Sgm' reps + CJT Board meeting only?
  5. I am actually saddened by the incompetence of these recent CJT attempts at communications. Awful, just rank awful standards. Talk about operating in ever decreasing circles!! These are the very same people on the board, pretty much. They have just jiggled about a bit, so to speak. Dear oh dear, the collective arrogance and contempt they must have for supporters and values are starkly obvious. It is embarrassing for the Club and for it's proud supporters and just about everything connected to ICT to have a Supporters group run in such an odious and in a fashion akin to a insular clique. Perhaps people are unwilling to offer their services as anyone who seems to do so and makes it known are seemingly viewed by the board as an usurper, a malcontent or as an integral threat to their own coveted position. I beggars belief how they can make such a farcical hash of even such run of the mill communications and administration matters. For goodness sake, how do they fair when having to deal with more complex and challenging affairs of CJT. They obviously just don't cope, can't cope, fingers in the ears and la la la la la la, "we are the only people that can be on the board" type of complex. Another thing, ( a bit Colombo there ), didn't some of these board members leave, step down at AGM. I am pretty sure they did.....odd, very odd.
  6. Very worrying that financially the Club is still in such an insecure state. New money is still required to come in from external sources to enable the Club to even remain solvent. The current board admit that to be the stark reality of the current financial situation. Take of the gloss of the statement and it can be viewed as akin to waving the white ( financial ) flag. Is this an admittance that they have done all they can, invested all they have / all they are willing to. Frightening times indeed. Those fresh sources of money seemingly have to see their new money go into ICTFC and then work within the current Muirfield Mills board + structure. Unless that prospect changes I find it difficult to imagine it to be an attractive investment to anyone, especially bearing in mind that any investor will definitely not receive any return on their money. Reasonably deep pockets will be required to have the Club operating on the current business model. I would say the fresh money must come from sources with an affinity for the Club, perhaps even a previous history with the Club. Would any potential investors have the financial muscle to pay off the Muirfield Mills investment?? ( circa £200k ). This pay off before a penny goes into Club and a new board formed to move it forward. As I say frightening times for the Club indeed.
  7. Ask yourself who would you rather defend against? Baird or Oakley. My response would be Baird every time. Oakley would be a total nightmare to defend against. Great physicality, powerful strong running, good work rate, a total nuisance for any defender. Oakley is better in the air, brings others into play well, chases + harasses defenders pressurising them. Ok, George can sometimes be a little naive in his positional sense, most notably when we don't have the ball but he is definitely developing. I like Baird too, I just do not see him playing as a lone striker and being able to grab u s the necessary and vital goals. Possibly play him in behind a striker, but that would require a change of formation to a system which I feel does not best suit the rest of our players currently. Unsure if he can be a wide attacking player either, we most definitely have better in those areas, Jake, Aaron, Conor Bell can do a job there too and young Daniel MacKay is a hard running direct lad who deserves a few more chances to build experience. If we were to go two up top, my current preference would be Oakley + Austin, and if it was 1 up top and one in behind, my current preference would be Bell in behind Oakley. Those two formation tweaks would however require us to go with just two central midfielders, which we are not strong enough defensively with, hence Robbo playing with 3 in the middle. That middle 3 gave us the platform for which we became far more solid and we went on the unbeaten run and our relative improvement in results from the earlier weeks o f the season when the two central midfielders weren't capable enough to provide u s the necessary balance. The system / formation should suit the players, always, rather than players being shoe horned into tactics that are unsuitable in order to fit a particular player into a side. That can cause much disharmony IMHO.
  8. I agree wholeheartedly with your post Charles. The ICTFC Social Club has seriously declined in terms o f it being a good place for ICT fans to enjoy a blether + a drink. Dismayed by the picture of the Abestos Stadium and the scene you describe as a type of place where Rangers followers dwell is, tragically I may add, become commonplace at the Club. That has driven many people away and they are not returning.
  9. Delighted for all involved with ICTFC at this announcement. I view it as great news and great business for the club and a major platform from which to continue our clubs history from. In my mind, Tulloch have been an absolute God send, for want of a better term, for our club. I admit, I was a little sceptical of Muirfield Mills and Rae being at the helm initially, but their endeavours should be roundly and loudly applauded.
  10. On reading accounts of the recent AGM, was it even legal / accepted under society rules? Board members should be prepared for an AGM, know the rules etc. 700 members, majority of whom seem to have not been even contacted ? Can the board nominate and elect a new board member when it is so complicit in bringing the rules of t h e association into disrepute. ( absolutely no offence intended to Mr Sim ). This is quite shameful and the CJT board for whatever reason (s) appear to have acted inappropriately. How has it slipped into such a shameful state of affairs? Deplorable, quite frankly. Communication is a basic and fundamental function of such an association and it appears the current CJT board are unable or unwilling to offer even the minimum of efforts to serve their association and membership. Perhaps they should either explain their reasons or motives for fair hearing (although it appears that that time may have already passed) or simply resign and allow others, suitable and willing, to take up board membership and drive CJT forward into a functional future, o n e that befits a supporters association of a professional football club such as ours. It will take much determination, spirit and the utilisation of many skills to pick up this fallen and failed organisation. In the current climate where the Football Board of ICT numbers only four and faces a possible potentially damaging campaign by Savco ( Savage/MacGilvary), it is imperative that supporters retain their 10% voting share. Does o n e of the current board not work for with Savco's close allies ? If so, clarification on that position should be sought. CJT for t h e future, for the fans, of the fans!!
  11. Inversneckie Sports Breaking News Like Min' Connor McGregor's management team just off the phone looking to set up a brawl with Polly! Kellacher interested in moving down a weight division or two to get in a bout it with Cornish (pasties)! Seriously though..... All football clubs at all the various levels have their fights, brawls and altercations, but ffs not in front of the paying spectators and media lenses if you can help it. Robbo needs to get a grip on the gripes in that squad, far too many bad vibes from certain players leaking out.
  12. Both Susan and Collin Seedorf are currently receiving treatment for injuries.Not thought to be serious injuries, more niggling than persisting. They are about at the club, they attend games, light training / physio work permitting and could be back in a couple of weeks. Probably Seedorf back ahead of Susan.
  13. Susan, on returning from injury appears to have picked up another knock and may be out for another couple of weeks minimum.
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