big cherly

Pumping money to keep the club going when no other local came forward or stood up was admirable (and I’ve spared no word commending AS on this forum for what he has done). That said it doesn’t mean he is the automatic inheritor or what’s best for the club going forward. Simply put I want more than a single horse race to become the owner(s). AS might have the clubs best interest at heart. I’m sure Morrison, Sutherland, McGilvary et al would say the same. First and foremost AS is a businessman and profit (for him) is the cornerstone of any / all decisions he takes. AS makes it clear he wants full control of the club. Likelihood any other owner may want the same. Simply unless others come forward and explain their plans we don’t know. Maybe that can’t be any worse than the past decade. Locals to a man I believe! We (fans) have been keen to back enthusiastically just about every new regime promising great things that for the most came unstuck or failed. Having a bit of competition at this juncture offers a better chance IMO of achieving some much wanted improvement. Be they from China, Canada or Kelty I don’t care, as long as they can succeed to this aim. bc

Personally I’d like other offers to be submitted above AS’s. That may offer the lower shareholder a better outcome than what’s on the table with AS. It raises a point that has been in my mind for some time now, in so far does BDO have a decision on who or can they recommend is the preferred bidder/offer. Ie does the potential return of creditors / shareholders trump a lower offer (AS) that carries the backing of the fans. In simple terms an owner with some credibility and track record of investment with a plan, against an unknown person or company/org that offers double??

As of right now, AS’s offer is the only show (offer) in town that has been made public. It’s got its pros and cons as all buyers do. Biggest thing going for it is AS is a known entity, he’s got a bit of dough, singlehandedly kept the club alive in its darkest hour and ultimately wants the club to be run financially (a lot) better. Downside for me would be his age and health for what would be a demanding job for the next 3 / 5 years and being the figurehead during that period. No obvious successor plan. My own preference is one if the other interested parties is a bigger operation / company that have no past connections want to take over and puts in a higher bid. New dawn and direction so to speak! bc

Hi E4C, I like the ribbing each fans give each other on forums and more so at matches. Elgin is up there in the list of teams and fans to get one over, however I don’t ‘hate’ Elgin, or come to that, any other team or their fans. You don’t need to look too far under the mask of other Scottish club fan forums (the premiership being a pit of some sad and bent minds), to see how or where this malignant path leads to. I’m sure we can rile Dingwall and Elgin fans without destroying any banter. bc

Interesting E4C. Every game is meaningful. And whilst any Annan victory now brings those teams above us closer, for me we have to focus on staying above Annan. I don’t know when Musa is back but I feel we will need his presence to help get there. Nothing against Aiden in goals for us against Alloa, just he is ‘green’, smallish and slight of frame, and expect teams I fear would exploit these facts. Remi Savage is out for at least one game, so that influences my prediction. Annan have an equally tough last six matches. So for what is worth: We stay up with a game to spare but it’s a fraught first four remaining matches. LDDLWD bc

Where does anyone say they will??

Spot on Scotty! I was hesitant about expressing an opinion as last week as I was just pleased we had some positive indication the club could avoid going into liquidation and retain the Scottish league licence. It was also revealing as it was despairing that the same old egos emerging as pack that will unite as the new ‘saviours’ of the club going forward. I’m hoping for the best and a new (completely different operating governance) structure is in place and not a retread of the past. The devil is always in the details however, and ‘old dogs and new tricks’ is a well used phrase, let’s see if there is a chairman, CEO and board group that can work together with the club’s interest above any personal leaning. Only time will tell!! My preference (that others had earlier muted), was for a completely new outside individual or group to take ownership and work with AS for a period until they could take full control of the reins. A birdy mentioned that a Canadian party was one of the interested parties . Know anything? bc

Jeez, thanks Charles (I think). That’s us on a good day. I know the point you’re getting across we have a loyal fan base. But if we run the average gates back from the championship (ignore the premier league as we don’t belong there), then what is the figures and trend. (I don’t know, it may be constant at 1650-ish?). My common denominator for club status is fan base. Simply put the larger your home fan number the better your team (over the piece) succeeds. If I take the championship this season, if we ICT, believe that’s where we rightfully should be then 1650-ish would have us in third bottom place (taking one of the bottom ones drop down). Before the posters come in with past playoffs how many overpriced players from the south were in those teams! (Where did that lead). The ‘big’ team in the highlands soaring on in the premier league right now started out with a more modest fan base, but they have succeeded (won the battle?) for supporters in the area. Just put it out there for when we get oot ‘o’ admin. bc

Just a couple of points from yesterday’s match that was somewhat worrying for me. 1) The loss of Remi Savage through the red card for the next game. (Assume it just one game?). Danny had a better than usual game on Saturday, but he can be haphazard more times than not. Remi acts as an old sweeper type role whilst having the height for centre half and provides cover for Danny. He will be missed I fear!! 2) The crowd attendance on Saturday was a concern! 1650-ish doesn’t auger well as we head into the remaining home run matches. Weather was good for mid March and Alloa offered the appeal of an open match. The crowd has been ever so slowly dropping since the high of the Cove match level. Maybe all the negative press through last week had its effect, but it’s clear to me we will need more fans to get of there butts for the remaining home games. The years (decades) of not investing properly in fan recruitment is now having its full effect. The players will need the supporters more than ever in the coming matches. I don’t know what the immediate answer is, but fan apathy is a worrying concern for me. bc

I still think Billy has something to offer to the team in the remaining matches. His legs can’t respond to what his mind asks, however he does have experience of how to handle difficult periods of the game. The match against stenny being an example when I thought he pulled the team forward after Alfie B went off injured. I agree if we had a younger centre forward or point man then go that way. Trouble is we are limited in what we have in numbers and quality of players. I would have Billy as a sub to be brought on at the appropriate moment of a game. This would be SK decision, but without incurring the wrath of devotee's I agree with others we took too long to make changes today. Last tuppenceworth, apart from the result, I throughly enjoyed today’s game. Had just about everything, including overpicky ref. bc

Billy has always striked his penalties straight down the middle. Most of the time the ball ends up in the net as normally goalies opt to dive to one side. Agree though it’s time someone else took over. bc

Half time 1-0. Thought we were going to blow Alloa away after a great opening goal and play for 30 minutes. All over them and well deserved lead. Alloa slowly coming more in the game. Feel we are the better team and if we get a second goal, the three points are ours. bc

Couldn’t agree more about why we are all on this forum, - going along to watch our team play football. Cheer or groan and forget everything else in your life for 90 plus minutes as the game plays out. Dumbarton are too far back so will finish in bottom place. Last Saturday morning I was convinced we were looking at 7th or 8th place. Now every game remaining has meaning (which is great-that’s what makes me want to keep attending). Reading the P&B the Alloa seem to be having their own problems, so whilst respecting them we should not fear them. Not sure how well set up but something tells me we will probably have a defensive mindset for a large part of the match. Predict -draw. bc

I for one was pleased BDO were not present. Maybe some progress can be made now. BDO have more than made a healthy return for their overseeing the Administration to date, so maybe they feel things can move forward quicker. bc

I agree RBC, talk of a new stadium is exactly that, - ‘talk’. However in the ongoing mess that is the negotiations (misused term here), AS has very little wriggle room left in these talks and the threat of moving to a new stadium is a legitimate point to press. Put aside for now (I know, I know), where would play if we survive, it will have serious financial consequences on the lease holders RM DC and anyone else in that boat. Put simply it’s a doomsday play but one RM and the rest of them go down with the ship. For now everything regarding any negotiations comes down simply to money (and what level is an agreement reached). As AS says we have an albatross in the way of the stadium running cost for a ground that we normally fill a quarter of with fans. bc

No reply needed! More on!

Great to see we Scots can always see a dark humour when things begin to look a bit bleak. Well done all. I’ve been nagging and picking on some posters recently that do not agree with my view. Seems oh so petty and insignificant now when the clubs existence is on the line. Just want say well done, bringing the spirit above, makes me more confident we will come out the other side with the club intact. bc

The threat to hand back the stadium is the strongest (possibly only) remaining card AS can play. Fan pressure on RM et al, has failed to date, and I see no inclination that will change. AS has said he’s put in enough of his money and will walk if others are not forthcoming. I personally disagree Joe Public (taxpayers) should cough up as only a small fraction has the slightest interest in football or the club. They are rightly more interested in the pot holes getting repaired. So if RM, Cameron and the rest are unwilling to budge, then dumping the stadium is the right threat. It’s either liquidation or continue in a much smaller (viable) operation at another ground. - They exist! bc

Excellent summary Charles, well put. Only we have a couple of tough vices to abate and deal with, self-interest and greed! bc

I know the latest statement by BDO/AS is as stark as it can be given the negotiations appear to have come to a shuddering halt. There’s going to be an uncertainty hanging over the club until we get a settled resolution and outcome. The biggest immediate impact is of course on the players. It takes the wind out of there sails and must leave them a wondering about what the future holds. The statement today can only help the clubs we are directly fighting against relegation. Liquidation by ICT alone will almost certainly save any club finishing below that happen to end up in 9th place a safety line. bc

I posted the above a week back hoping there was enough willingness between the main players to attempt to see a way forward to a settled position. Clearly the gap, egos and embitterment remains stubbornly as obstacles to any deal. I know Cameron has taken umbrage against Savage and wants him to ‘Sweat’. When you have this spiralling and deteriorating relationship its difficult to see a settlement anytime soon. I think we have entered the ‘who blinds first’ stage in a poker game with the club the at the heart of the ‘pot’ and the car parks the bargaining chips. All messy and a bit of serious brinkmanship on the go with people picking sides. Finish the season still in Admin? Maybe CaleyD can shed light on Administration options when faced with a deadlock, set a deadline (again) or go into liquidation?? bc PS - I envisage Cameron, Sutherland and Morrison see BDO the mouthpiece of AS (handpicked and paid by) and hence kept at a distance!

Same question to the same person. Substantiate and provide your evidence. Or is it just exactly what it is!!!

Just out of interest what posting on this forum topic regarding the fans comments do you object to, that you consider vitriol or disgusting? I believe any criticism I’ve read is valid, opinionated and fairly put? bc

Understand the underlying point you make OCG. I believe every one of the ICT fans that turned up on Saturday want to be able to continue to sit on their seat come August and support the team. However with respect the survival of the club and how we perform on the pitch are two separate matters. Any interested buyers will maybe keep an eye on the team’s results but it will have little or next to no bearing IMO on their decision to invest or not. On the football side, the team on Saturday were running-on-empty. Absence of (key) injured players was evidence of just how important they are to the team. Yes Annan were time wasting, fainting injury, awful to watch, (to us) and rode their luck. But that’s their job. They turned up with one object in mind, go back down the A9 with 3 points. If they lost yesterday they understood that was their chance just about gone to get out of 9th position. We were unable or incapable to change the outcome to swing the game in our favour. We had plenty of time to grasp the way we were set up and playing wasn’t working. So bad day at the office. Learn from it and put it behind us (it’s history now). I look forward facing Allow on Saturday. Completely different type of game I would expect. bc

Yes, pay our money, every right to express an opinion, (just like you have done here). I personally have stated that what the manager and team has achieved so far is nothing short of amazing, and if we avoid relegation it will be recognised when we look back as one of the clubs greatest feats. We were all disappointed (I think) about the performance and result on Saturday having come of the ‘high’ of Tuesday nights extravaganza, but let’s not kid ourselves Saturday was not a timely warning! The team (SK - BM + players) has done well clawing back 15 points, with a good number of results ground out with a single goal. The loss of Alfie B and Louie L may be significant for the remaining games to come as Saturday displayed all too well for me. I’m optimistic we still have a better than good chance of remaining in division 3, but it’s going to an anxious few weeks for me. Respect your view, but equally I will continue to respect others that don’t. bc