Achfary

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...).

An excerpt from P&J Doran 'can't even run after his kids' He said "I have had two surgeries booked in by the physio, Dan (Cluett), for May 22 and May 29, and the club cancelled them both" ... "I got injured on April 19 and the scan showed I had a ruptured ACL and the consultant said I needed surgery. Then I had a meeting with the club. One of the directors is a retired knee surgeon (Panos Thomas), and one of the options put forward was I should try and rehab it - but you can't rehab a ruptured ACL and try to play professional football." [Apparently, after cancelling it, they said they would pay for it in June, but they haven't yet, hospital is wanting payment, and he is going to have to pay for it himself if he doesn't get a reply this week]. Shane Sutherland on X not exactly holding back!

Probably why they felt the press was needing to be warned off. Whether the business case is sound, the moral case isn't - and together with the legal case, these are touchstones of any strategy. It's clear none of these have been developed by SG or the board. The wider ramifications of Kelty, Cammy, Ridgers, Doran, Ferguson's wage etc.- all played out in the media in the last few days- are that sympathy for the plight of the club must be ebbing away, among neutrals, and if Wednesday brings news of administration, and an appeal for season ticket money, such stories do little to help a call to arms. Death by a thousand cuts.

No idea - but it's safe to assume there's no live medical insurance for Doran. Yes, it may be that the club never had such insurance - true - and just paid as they went (or not as is the case). I think assumptions -within a logical framework - are still allowed, that professional sports clubs either have insurance or a plan B? But if there was no insurance, and no money was ring-fenced for such eventualities - then there was no duty of care, and this idea that the ex-Chairman was a "fan Chairman" can be binned. But yes, let's pick holes.

The board made a conscious choice to not keep up with medical insurance for player injuries. It did, however, forecast enough to pay Ferguson a quarter of a million a year, for multiple years. Ask the 8-ball stuff. [edit: Knee ligament repair (ACL) surgery cost is 7-8k, not much more than a week's wage for Ferguson]

Now the board plays the fiddle while Rome burns. Ferguson has been paid how much since being hired - £180,000 according to the lower estimate by The Times? That's before all the extras that come associated with it. A quarter of a million a year. God only knows what ever-increasing sum Gardiner has managed to weasel out of the club in the last five years. While the club has always been up and down, looking for a transfer fee here or a cup run there, the two expenditures above should never have been allowed. Then there's Dodds and Robertson's too. If ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas. When (if?) admin is triggered, the straw is because the board recklessly (and needlessly) spent big, thinking they'd have millions from Battery Farm and Statkraft. They gambled, and as usual, it's the fans who lose.

Well quite - hoist by my own petard. All sane costs, e.g., ones that don't also cause administration, just by a different route. So, poor choice of words on my part.

How to avoid administration? 1) Ross and co. state - either publicly or via the Insolvency Practitioner and to potential new boards - that they would write off their loan accounts in order to save the club from administration/help facilitate a takeover. 2) A new, competent board with the necessary nous, gravitas and resources are quickly attracted by that, and put in place, and able to soothe any ruffled feathers among other creditors 3) 1 & 2 allows the insolvency practitioner to state an administrator is not needed (denying the SPFL Board a whiff of an 'insolvency event') The fact that the board and CEO feel the need to try and 'discourage' the press from making enquiries doesn't instill confidence that no.1 is on their minds. The wall of silence doesn't help, and so neither of these actions/inactions suggest paving the way for a seamless transition of power to no.2 If the IP appoints an administrator, even if a flood of season ticket money, Stronger Together monies, and new owners/benefactors came in and steadied the ship post-administration, the SPFL board could just cite a lack of SFA licence and allow two teams in for 25/26 season. The current SPFL Board may have no such intention - but it could change - the sword of Damocles would be hanging over ICT until the licence was able to be re-obtained, in December 2027 (or about then) Thus, administration must be averted at all costs, and 1 & 2 need to happen - very quickly. That's assuming liquidation isn't where the current board's AWOL accounts point. 'No news is good news' (even through press intimidation)?

ICT's SFA license was approved in December last year (Silver) which covers the upcoming season, and it's not 'lost' as Dougal says, but more as STFU says, it would just not be awarded again for next season When ICT next has its SFA review, in (or after) Dec 2024, STFU is right that the SFA would not license a club that had experienced an "insolvency event" in the preceding three years, under almost all circumstances*. It is not that clear cut though, as Fraz and Snorbens point out, the SPFL rules and regulations allow for a waiver, relaxation or period of grace - and it appears from those rules that the SPFL Board have full authority to permit a club to continue (but the opposite also holds...). As IBM and Galiant Grunt highlighted, Kelty (!) and Edinburgh City, have gone beyond the March deadline, are not Bronze, and are getting re-reviewed this month, so may need this waiver, relaxation, period of grace. Being at the whim of the SPFL Board as to whether ICT can still be in the league next season, or the one after that, regardless of a 15 points deduction in this, is reason enough to avoid 'an insolvency event'! The Times reporting over the weekend that Duncan Ferguson was hired for between £5000-7000 per week is scandalous. If there is a potential reputable new consortium wanting to come in, and they are put off because the loans from directors and Chair to hire Ferguson, Gardiner etc are called in, then while ICT may be financially bankrupt, Ross and the directors will be morally so. *unless a sole creditor got a court order, but it was rectified within a fortnight - no harm, no foul

The entire board are reprehensible.

Can we surmise it's so SG can answer the insolvency practitioner's immediate questions, unlock the filing cabinets, open the books. If administration does happen, and the administrator calls for season tickets to be purchased while Gardiner is still on the premises, it would be a major block and mis-step. But that being the case, any half-decent insolvency practitioner/administrator would soon show SG the exit, to join the other gardening leavers, to get the best deal for creditors - which includes maximising season ticket money.` It is very, very positive that there appears to be buyers - I just wonder what Ross and directors' conditions will be.

The floating charge that Ross has doesn't exactly chime with 'never to see it again' - if he, and the other directors with loan accounts, do a John Boyle - then it's a donation and they join the hall of fame alongside Tullochs etc.. If not, it's very much an investment, and could still be a good one for them. Too early to tell which way they will pivot, but it'll be the second thing on the insolvency practitioners' mind, after season ticket money.

At the 2017 AGM, fans were told that the transformation of ICTFC into a community club would be done by 2019/2020 and that the club would live within its means, be transparent and involve the supporter’s trust... When the season ticket call comes out, it will almost certainly not come alone - there will be an emotive plea to unite and 'get behind the club' attached to it, and all the usual stuff. The only difference is that it will be an administrator from a solicitor's behind it. That is the fan's core investment. It has brought millions of pounds into the club. The fans are the best investor a club has! They don't ask for, or get, a floating charge. "Ah, but they get entertainment!" - in an age of YouTube and PPV TV with the best football products available from anywhere in the globe, live, into smartphones...being from "Inverness" is doing a lot of heavy lifting now for this investment, especially when under Rae and Morrison the fan base has been seen as something to be endured. Genuinely opening up the club more to the supporters trust -as was promised - would create more revenue. Sadly, because the last two Chairmen have reneged on the 2017 AGM, and wasted hundreds of thousands of their, but also the fans', investment (which they currently expect back-no recourse for the fans), supporters will yet again have to set aside being lied to, and blindly put money in to retrieve the situation. That has to be recognised in the model that goes forward - substantive fan representation. As Doofer's Dad says, it's now a pre-requisite for the club to move forward constructively. And I believe it would lead to a lot more investment.

If it could be relinquished by the club in 2001, then it could be again? It was rental debt in the past, so could be again. If Statkraft were going to rent it, it does have revenue-making potential. So, the lease owner going ahead is v. important. As for wording of Highland Council's 99-year contract terms, what that says/allows must be available somewhere? Well, in days gone by, some teams rented out the playing surface to sheep farmers for their sheep to graze on. But in this case, perhaps a fishing tackle and supplies conglomerate?

The tangible assets - the overall 70 years left on land leases (stadium situ, adjacent car park), land sub-leases (car park area), stands, pitch, floodlights, plant/machinery (others?) - prime site. Intangible assets such as players' transfer value - if only! Johnston Carmichael LLP, or other Insolvency Practitioners (IP), will likely first put out a desperate and urgent request for fans to buy x number of season tickets, to save the club from insolvency. From then suppose it's the IP that calls the tune - appoint/be an administrator to do/oversee some/any of the following to get out of administration: sell the leaseholds and other assets (e.g., a Dundee), or a group could do a takeover via share-buying (e.g. a Livingston - unlikely for ICTs context), Ross and directors could waive their personal debt (e.g., a John Boyle at Motherwell), or administrator could invite formal bids to buy the club (and whoever gets preferred bidder status attempt a CVA with Ross, directors, RBS and other creditors for pennies in the pound - e.g., a Hearts), or if none of those - liquidate (e.g., a Gretna, a Airdrie). Whichever, Ross is -technically - sixth in line: (1) secured creditors with a fixed charge - ?, (2) insolvency practitioners’ fees and expenses (3) preferential creditors - PAYE staff/HMRC (4) secondary preferential creditors-HMRC again (5) prescribed part creditors - any ring-fenced fund for unsecured creditors (6) secured creditors with a floating charge (7) non-preferential creditors-suppliers (8) shareholders. But only the courts /administrator will know the ranking (as number of unsecured creditors, assets, and the actual loan agreements with ICT could influence it). This is why the 'Accounts Overdue' in Companies House is such an issue - the failure to file those speaks volumes about the last gasp nature of Statkraft - it really was their last hope - and it looks like the CEO and Chairman overplayed their hand there. It also means the scale of severity of the issue is not known outside of the board - giving advantage to the creditors. Those on the Trust will be kept occupied (beyond the media enquiries) - not only in what they choose to do, but what they choose not to do. I wish them well and it seems they are positioned well so far.

-Remember to order the seats for Hearts' new main stand (v.urgent) -Email Cammy Mackay to buy footballs for the Youth Academy -Text Robbo to see which other club's games he should start attending to butter up gullible Chairmen

A list of people that may have led/lead to administration (through their actions, to differing degrees): Graham Rae Ross Morrison Scot Gardiner Duncan Ferguson A list of people that did not cause administration fans ICT non-executives / staff Local businesses In terms of Kelty, that would have caused administration, but it didn't come to pass - as the Statkraft deal (worth over the lifecycle of between £1.4m-£1.7m) fell through. I'm surprised by posts saying 'fans/trust got what they wanted'. Over the last seven years, Graham Rae, Ross Morrison, Yvonne Crook, Scot Gardiner, Battery Farm rejection, Concert Company Ltd liquidation, Statkraft withdrawal, Kelty cancellation, Company House accounts overdue, Billy Dodds, John Robertson, Duncan Ferguson...and Ryan Christie having to buy footballs, it's the fans who get the bill because they expressed outrage alongside Duncan Shearer, Ryan Christie, Alan Savage, Roy MacGregor, Richard Gordon, Tom English, etc.? Don't distract from all that just because of a contrastive expression! Lenders - especially Ross - could automatically trigger administration, very easily. This Kelty chapter looks to be over. The next chapter, "Statkraft: the goose that didn't lay the golden egg" - is why Ross walked from both Chair and Director, and probably to move on to the next act: Lender. Gardiner and Kelty pale in comparison to what Ross does - or doesn't do - next.

A colleague! The board are all retired, except Graeme and Scott Y as newer appointments, . Gardiner is largely unimpeded, at least was under Ross, hence the mess.

When Boris Johnson gave the now former MP Rory Stewart a senior cabinet post, he gave him the Africa brief. Rory wanted and expected Middle East, justifiably - he had been deputy governor of Iraq, director of an NPO in Afghanistan, and spoke Dari and Urdu fluently. His puzzlement at getting Africa, a continent he'd never set foot in, was explained to him by a colleague as thus: some leaders won't choose people for roles in which they have a knowledge advantage over said leader It's normalised that fans are to be kept at arm's length - but it is just absurd at non-profit making ones. The fact that the ICT boardroom has been like the bat cave for years is a choice, evident by the hurdles/shutters Ross et al put up to stymie the Trust's proposal At ICT, there are a number of very relevantly-skilled professionals that would volunteer, of course many have done so in the past, but CEOs and MDs eventually alienated them. Hopefully a stronger and emboldened Supporters Trust and fan-led new media will sharpen consultation/scrutiny of future choices of stewards?

Well said. 100%.