Achfary

Time to get Alf Inge Haaland in as assistant.

It does seem like a purge by CEO and manager. Cammy Mackay, Doran, Ridgers, Esson - that's a nucleus, and a lot of history and heritage gone, never mind very capable, young homegrown players let go to play at higher levels (Carlisle, Morton). Also physio and other staff too? There's no area of the club that isn't in disarray it seems.

Well, The Trust are in the Courier now stating they haven't seen any progress since being given assurances almost two weeks ago. That is hugely worrying and disheartening. The board were clearly content to let the club wither, that much is clear, but now they seem to be signing the DNR form. Why won't they constructively work towards a transition to new ownership given their "cry for help"?. They must have their motives.

You have to feel for the ICT staff. Six of them resigned because of the previous 'CEO' (not a CEO) Yvonne Crook. Then who do they get after that? Snake oil salesman SG. I have every sympathy with the decent folk at the club such as Liam who have had to endure a long line of very suspect and dubious appointments as MDs/CEOs.

These titles must be on the board's bookshelves 'Babysitting' by King Herod* 'Whistleblowing' by Paula Vennels 'Public Transport' by Jeremy Clarkson 'Running a football club' by Scot Gardiner The sorry, sorry fact of the matter is that even at his very best, even at his very happiest, SG made massive unforced errors (talked himself out of the Rangers job, got himself the heave-ho from Dundee for shirt sponsor debacle, got himself the heave-ho from Hearts for stand seats debacle). The last two he said were his greatest achievements! Can you imagine how positively he is shaping things at ICT now that the bald man foiled Pixalot, too many acts foiled Concert Company, Norwegian accountants foiled Statkraft, Highland Council foiled Battery Farm, parochial fans foiled Kelty? You don't even have to second guess his mindset right now, he already told us (P&J) What would your enemies say about you? "I always liked a quote that I thought was from Sir Winston Churchill but it turns out it was from the great writer Victor Hugo: “You have enemies? Why, it is the story of every man who has done a great deed or created a new idea. Do not bother yourself about it; disdain.” So in short, I couldn’t care less. Disdain is good" (SG) The board, whether out of ignorance, laziness, apathy, Stockholm syndrome, or all of above, continuing with him as their preferred agent are deserving of censure. All the bumpy, overgrown, precarious, pot-holed, highway-robbing, samaritan-abandoned, rock-falling, litter strewn, landslid, flooded, dim and dismal roads lead to SG. The fact that Savage refuses to acknowledge him speaks volumes. The chickens have come home to roost, but they can't get in the coop because SG has a wrong tree in it to bark up, a ball to drop, some milk to be spilt, a messenger to shoot, toothpaste to be put back in the tube, a rake to step on, an apple cart to upset, an old dog to teach new tricks to, a boat to rock, a dead horse to flog, and our chips to p*** on *stolen from MidMorningMatters

The Trust's role is described here and I find their website quite informative, but the board will obviously be best placed to say. They are looking for at least three new board members by December this year. The surge of new members and the jolt of the last two months will surely invigorate it further? Very fair point - it could easily be tokenistic, credibility is key, and I agree it is not a panacea or silver bullet either, but marginal gains can lead to more. If the Trust is not being involved at all, it just doesn't bode well for other fan-led stuff. The amount of rolling back on other fan involvement avenues is noticeable. So the Trust, with its voting rights, is kind of a proxy. All told, it is dependent on the calibre of any new ICTFC board and decision making and appointments. The week ahead will surely bring news?

It's totally understandable to want to know what the Trust knows or has learnt. We are in Fergie time and we are not exactly flush with options! There's so much secrecy and ill-feeling towards the ICT board, 'CEO' and 'manager' it's hardly surprising there's frustration. But I also dearly want the Trust to play an integral role if there is a new and improved board incoming. They won't get near any board, ever, if they are seen as a leaky ship. Even if - sometime in the future - there was fan representation on the board, they'd not be able to be completely candid, usually out of legal obligations to others, rather than any SG-like desire. I also imagine any prospective interested parties want to remain anonymous while they make enquiries - so revealing anything might actually be an act against the fanbase? It's the incumbents on the ICT board, the outgoing CEO and manager that need to speak out. False equivalencies are common whenever there's deep negativity. If you paint everyone negatively, it only benefits the charlatans like Gardiner. I imagine the Trust are similarly displeased about the impasse and timeframe now, but likely have to defer to the terms of those doing some due diligence/fact checking. CC - It's massively frustrating, definitely, but I guess that if they did divulge, it'd be crossing a line, and would probably only please SG. The Trust has (at least) a 10 per cent voting right and so it's very good it is being consulted (and probably not at the invitation of SG). In the same way the Wyness Shuffle guys had to bite their tongue (to an extent) with Ross on, the ST likely need to respect the other parties' wishes? It's definitely not comfortable - I bet they are feeling uneasy too - but if the Trust are kept at arm's length, then an ill wind blows for all of us, so I'm viewing it positively (but warily). I see ST as reluctant hostages to fortune, but as a member of ST, I have faith in their decision makers. I know hope is not a strategy, but as Christine McVie famously sang: I never did believe in miracles, But I've a feeling it's time to try

Knows 10 times more than the board- likely. Rangers Commercial sales manager, Tottenham Hotspur FC Commercial manager and Acting commercial director , Dundee CEO, Hearts COO. The problem is that he wasn't actually competent in these roles. In his second and last year at Dundee, he messed up the shirt sponsorship with no fewer than four potential firms (allegedly) -. It's telling he was 'restructured' out of the club on June 29th 2014 when a week later, July 7 2014, Dundee announced their quite ludicrous new shirt sponsor - 'Hangar Records' - set up less than two years before, dormant, and which never had more than a couple of hundred quid to its name ...which was registered to the son of the chairman. Scot had worked his 'magic' on other sponsors so that's all they could find to save face for less than a year... Dundee non-statement (egg on face) led to a job at Hearts. He was binned again at Hearts because there were no seats ordered for their £14m new stand! That led to them having to play at Murrayfield until the seats arrived- and another exit. Widely reported as a debacle of his doing ! I'll skip over the connection that brought him to the ex ex Chairman's attention while attending games in Inverness as a Rangers Spurs ICT 'fan'... Ultimately, Scot has been out of depth at every club, costing them money and embarrassing them. With ICT: From Daily Record about ICT late 2019: "Administration? Not a chance", he insists... “Our crowds won’t get to 10,000 but I’ll run us correctly. We won’t lose money, we’ll make it " "Take it from me, it’ll be like the tortoise and the hare – Inverness Caley Thistle will win the league" From P&J late 2019: If you were in power in government, what would you change? "I would also invest much more in areas like the Highlands and islands (Kelty??), as they don’t benefit from many of the initiatives enjoyed by more populated metropolises." What do you still hope to achieve? "In the short term, I want to make Inverness Caley Thistle FC financially sound and a pillar of Inverness and the surrounding area – and to get the team back into the Scottish Premiership for good" From Courier Sep 2023: Scot Gardiner says Duncan Ferguson was always Inverness Caledonian Thistle's top target to take over as manager – so much so that they cut the interview process short to appoint him Gardiner confirmed that it was ICT that initially approached Ferguson – whose only permanent previous managerial experience was a short-lived spell at Forest Green Rovers – rather than the other way around This is why the thought of him dealing with any interested investors is such a ludicrous proposition by Graeme/board. He is no CEO, never has been, the board have been taken in for years, and now is negotiating the future? Madness.

[previous acts of folly, Y. Crook, etc., not included] Acts of Pure Folly by the Board 1 the 'Magnificent 7' board was in fact only Ross but in complete thrall to Scot Gardiner (result: no goodbye for Liam, Kelty, Statkraft, Concert Company, Ferguson, insolvency practitioner etc etc etc). Act of Pure Folly by the Board 2 after act 1, allowing the club, post-relegation and post-insolvency practitioner advice, to be 'led' by a hugely discredited and ill-reputed staff member, working resignation It is this second act of pure folly that has led to the discombobulating situation where Hall of Famers leave the club without even a perfunctory, cursory acknowledgement (never mind the medical care or testimonial). Act of Pure Folly by the Board 3 On 06 June, a director - 'Mr Bennett' - broke ranks/silence to say the board had issued a "cry for help" / "war cry". The Courier said: In an exclusive interview with The Inverness Courier, club stalwart Mr Bennett confirmed how despite Scot Gardiner resigning as chief executive he is leading the drive to find new investments or a new owner. Yet another act of pure folly. Why would/How could the board - such as it is - leave the fate of the club's future to the Chief Architect of its downfall? This is the time for the board to right the wrong(s), take on the lead of negotiations with interested parties - whatever they may be - and advocate among themselves for the best outcome for the club, regardless of self-interest. Goodness knows there's baggage, but no supporter of the club - past, present or future - or regular staff member - got the club into this sorry position. It's not the time to be self-serving: legacy and integrity go hand in hand.

Trigger on ST did need to be pulled, as did kit, and something is better than nothing, but why is there still no improvement in comms? Maybe it's splitting hairs, guilty of doom and gloom, and missing the big picture, but it does need to be better than it currently is: They gave a very fond bon voyage to Ross -fair enough - but nothing about Cammy, Cameron, Mark, Aaron, Wallace...that's wild! "...as a Board [and as a club], we now respectfully ask the supporters to..." The current board have zero credibility after Aaron! "The Board of Directors at ICT would like to thank the fans for their patience at this difficult time" - 'patience'? Who has been patient? Tin-eared. "Scot is now serving his notice and will be continuing to help the Club get through this difficult period". Eh? we hope the Caley Jags fans can also rise to the occasion when we need you the most overlook the omni-shambles in the last six months, and our inability to do even the most basic tasks such as accounting, speaking to the players, or duty of care... [suggested edit] The Supporters Trust must have had a good reason to have backed the statement, but can they use their influence to improve the comms?

Another great podcast. If we do get a rescue, hopefully the incoming group is willing to work with Wyness Shuffle, Supporters Trust, Travel Club, CTO etc. and not against as there's no negatives, and only positives (unless you're charlatans like Crook and Gardiner, or have something to hide like the accounts - "if you've nothing to hide, hide nothing" as the man said) Anyway - very interesting what Ridgers said about how much the supporters (not only in stadium but on social media) influence the players. All the more reason for the executives to facilitate multiple ways to build affinity and connection between the city and fans and the club - not just for the fans, but for the players, results and ongoing success!

Shane Sutherland on X said that £5,000 covers some of the surgery. According to a rudimentary search on Google just now, looks like £7,000 is common. Shane also had follow up costs after his too, so I think the target was on the low side. His X said if it exceeded costs it would go to charity. Also said Aaron is stunned by it all.

That would require integrity, morality, and human decency, which are traits that this board obviously do not possess. Most on the board are retired and I imagine don't give two hoots, while the other two are conspicuous by their silence. I'm sure the mental gymnastics they have performed on all this has inured them to any feelings of shame or culpability.

That plan won't do at all, no sir. Ross (and the directors) is likely banking on the club limping on with another consortium, with the proviso they service his 1.5m debt. Or in a CVA, we could be going back to pre-2018 and paying him an annual stadium rent of £205,000 (or whatever 2024 prices would be) and signing over the lease of the car parks so he can sub-lease it to Statkraft for £300,000 per year (or whatever discount they give on the ransom they tried to charge our Norwegian friends). Or perhaps get the administrator to package it up to someone else and give him hard cash? Of course, as a fan, he wouldn't sink the club because he spent like a Babylonian King on crap, but wants the fans to pay for that...

We now know who the members of the SPFL Board will be, and who will call the shots if we fall foul of rules & regs, after yesterday's election: Michael Nicholson (Celtic), a sports law specialist and former solicitor Malcolm McPherson (Hibs), a corporate lawyer James MacDonald (Ross County), Director of Global Energy Group (and etc. etc.) Paul Hetherington (Airdrieonians), Property Asset Owner/ Businessman Graeme Mathie (Ayr United), ex-player, ex-Hibs sporting director, Andy Allan (Alloa Athletic), chartered accountant Allan Maitland (Clyde FC), former manager of Clyde, and Hamilton and Alloa In addition to the regular members: Neil Doncaster (SPFL chief executive) Murdoch MacLennan (Chairman), media exec., former CEO at The Telegraph, Karyn McCluskey (Independent non-executive director) If administration happens, it will be the ones above who can make or break whether SPFL 25/26 has ICT in it (assuming 24/25 happens...).