New announcer dude on the park

[Fanoffooty]

I couldnt give a monkeys

As long as i see 90 mins of football :021:

& we get a win :clapping03: :blah01:

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Not sure what to make of the squirrel article. There's a lot of positives coming from Mr Sutherland but, as yet, none of the sureties about the future and about the security of the stadium that most want to hear.

Lets face it - the squirrel is a feckin erse licking rodent who has little if no creedence.

[CaleyD]

Glad the club chose to clarify the extent of my welcome at the club via the press today.

I did receive a call last Friday telling me I was welcome as a fan but Darren told me he did not have an answer for me in regard to the other things and I would need to contact them in writing....seems I can save myself the stamp now that a club spokesman has confirmed in the Courier that I am not welcome there to do anything else.

[DAM]

Glad the club chose to clarify the extent of my welcome at the club via the press today.

I did receive a call last Friday telling me I was welcome as a fan but Darren told me he did not have an answer for me in regard to the other things and I would need to contact them in writing....seems I can save myself the stamp now that a club spokesman has confirmed in the Courier that I am not welcome there to do anything else.

They'll be quick enough to take your entrance money though "as a fan".

[Scotty]

That little nugget doesnt seem to have made it into the online edition but I have to say its a crying shame.

I think we all knew that your stand might/would have repercussions, and that you were prepared for the main one which was no longer doing the announcing, but for them to put the kybosh on the other stuff, and to do it in such an unprofessional manner seems to be a case of cutting their nose off to spite their face.

A lot of the initiatives were not prominent ones and you were more "in the background" of them even if you were the "on site" person doing the running around to organise it. Marketed correctly, these initiatives, at worst, would have been self financing and broken even but given the club much positive PR, and at best might have made the club a few quid on a regular and ongoing basis.

At a time when we seem to be lurching from one bad situation to another and our finances may take another hit, (see Courier story about the doubt over our FlyBe sponsorship continuing), the club needs to build bridges and/or mend fences rather than be pushing people away just because they have the audacity to speak their mind and ask questions.

[HighlanderICT]

Thats what happens when you get too near to the truth

[Highlander]

Good luck Donald, there are many of us watching this thread with interest hoping you get to the bottom of things. I fear you and your website will be put under more pressure before that happens though. keep your chin up.

[ed waiter]

You know them good folks over the Bridge must be sitting there with a smirk on their faces at the shambles that is Caley Thistle, I have been a supporter and Season ticket holder for more than 40 years and this is truly the pits as far as I am concerned. I would like to say more but I dare not.

The Head Waiter

[Kirishima]

Contact them in writing? Anonymous spokesman via press? What is this? It's a farce. I'm sorry but if Darren wants to retain some semblence of respect then he had better start showing some. I'm afriad i've heard far too much from the press, and far too little from Darren to be regarding him in any way different from the board. It is a slightly pathetic and juvenile administration at ICT. I'm usually very careful with my words, but, ach, it's beyond repair now. Waste of time.

[Scotty]

Excerpts of the Supporters Charter (from the club website)

[Harry Chibber]

Has anyone thought to ask the club directly through email??

Everytime I've emailed the club they've come back with a response is there any reason they wouldn't on this occasion?

[Johnboy]

Just for the record, the gist of the Courier article is that CaleyD was asked to relinquish his post because he criticised the ownership of the club's stadium and its finances on a fan's website.

He will not now be allowed to continue the Twitter service, or be involved in plans to film home matches for the official Caley Thistle website.

"We parted company with Mr Johnstone because unhelpful and inappropriate comments were simply not conducive to an ongoing working relationship," said the club spokesman.

"He will not be undertaking any role for the club, though he is more than welcome at matches, as a paying customer."

The club hope to appoint a permanent successor for the stadium announcer's role, and has invited interested parties to get in touch. They are also keen to develop ways, electronically and by video highlights of benefitting supporters who cannot attend matches, and would be happy to hear from people who feel they could be of help in this respect, the spokesman added.

What I find interesting here, is that the un-named and anonymous spokesman described CD's comments as unhelpful and inappropriate, rather than untrue, or inaccurate.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Johnboy

[Renegade]

Oh dear, I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that list.

[EWS]

Just for the record, the gist of the Courier article is that CaleyD was asked to relinquish his post because he criticised the ownership of the club's stadium and its finances on a fan's website.

He will not now be allowed to continue the Twitter service, or be involved in plans to film home matches for the official Caley Thistle website.

"We parted company with Mr Johnstone because unhelpful and inappropriate comments were simply not conducive to an ongoing working relationship," said the club spokesman.

"He will not be undertaking any role for the club, though he is more than welcome at matches, as a paying customer."

The club hope to appoint a permanent successor for the stadium announcer's role, and has invited interested parties to get in touch. They are also keen to develop ways, electronically and by video highlights of benefitting supporters who cannot attend matches, and would be happy to hear from people who feel they could be of help in this respect, the spokesman added.

What I find interesting here, is that the un-named and anonymous spokesman described CD's comments as unhelpful and inappropriate, rather than untrue, or inaccurate.

Might I suggest a public show of support for Don at the next home game? Possibly everyone wearing colourful shirts, or T-Shirts that support him?

[Pele_Is_God]

I think you would be wasting your time, the decision has been made.

[EWS]

It's not an attempt to get Don back in the job, more a show that we are unhappy.

Sometimes people do this sort of thing

[CaleyD]

[Scotty]

He will not now be allowed to continue the Twitter service, or be involved in plans to film home matches for the official Caley Thistle website.

Just for the record, the ICTOnline twitter account was setup by this website, not the club and it is us (sometimes even me from Toronto based on openallmics and other twitter users) that update it. It is also us who have seen fit to publicise club events or initiatives via our Twitter feed on non match days.

OUR Twitter service will continue as normal, it just wont be from the announcers booth

[Johnboy]

He will not now be allowed to continue the Twitter service, or be involved in plans to film home matches for the official Caley Thistle website.

Just for the record, the ICTOnline twitter account was setup by this website, not the club and it is us (sometimes even me from Toronto based on openallmics and other twitter users) that update it. It is also us who have seen fit to publicise club events or initiatives via our Twitter feed on non match days.

OUR Twitter service will continue as normal, it just wont be from the announcers booth

I was quoting directly from the Courier article Scotty... These were the faceless, anonymous club spokesman's very words.

Also : Weren't plans to film future home matches evolving through this (CTO) website thanks largely to CD's efforts?

Edited February 9, 2010 by Johnboy

[Scotty]

He will not now be allowed to continue the Twitter service, or be involved in plans to film home matches for the official Caley Thistle website.

Just for the record, the ICTOnline twitter account was setup by this website, not the club and it is us (sometimes even me from Toronto based on openallmics and other twitter users) that update it. It is also us who have seen fit to publicise club events or initiatives via our Twitter feed on non match days.

OUR Twitter service will continue as normal, it just wont be from the announcers booth

I was quoting directly from the Courier article Scotty... These were the faceless, anonymous club spokesman's very words.

Also : Weren't plans to film future home matches evolving through this (CTO) website thanks largely to CD's efforts?

JB - I wasnt sure if that was direct from the article or not but if it was, it is factually incorrect and the club seem to be labouring under the misapprehension that they have ownership of that twitter account. I was just clarifying that the ICTOnline twitter account is registered in my name, was setup by me, and was updated usually by either Donald or Alan (LG's son) or if they werent available or were too busy, by me all the way over here in Toronto !!! The club had no interest and very little involvement in it other than allowing Alan to join Don in the booth. Even the advertising of events and such like to our twitter feed was done proactively by us.

As for the video service, yes we (CTO) have been instrumental in pushing this to the front and Donald had not only secured the services of camera people but also the equipment and the editing technology to create the clips (you are only allowed to show a certain number of minutes per game). We had jointly supplied the storage space on our webserver and were in the process of trying to work with the club to figure out how best to get it online (initially via the official site but potentially - in the future - by establishing an ICT owned media site which we would design and implement for them for free).

There were several other initiatives in the pipeline, all of which would have cost the club not a single penny but would have taken their electronic offering to the next level but I guess its all back to square one now as they seek to "develop ways, electronically and by video highlights of benefitting supporters who cannot attend matches" and presumably do that on a platform that they already know, and have admitted, is not fit for the purpose. NEWSFLASH !!! The ways are already professionally developed, they were just waiting for the all clear to be implemented.

I am bloody angry about this, seething in fact. Some might say Donald's actions could have no other consequence but I say bollocks to that !!! His actions may very well have cost him the announcer's job, and he knew that, but everything else was a joint venture between CTO and the club not Donald and the club - even if Donald was acting as the frontman on the scene - and they have not had the decency to communicate with either of us ...... In fact JB, because this is not in the online courier, your confirmation of the story in the printed paper is the first I have heard that CTO is no longer involved in any of these ventures. Its a very unprofessional way to do business, but if thats the way they want it, so be it, we will move on with other plans and with other projects for other clients.

Funnily enough - we have had some communication from the club this week ..... I received an email this morning asking us to publicise/publish the Sportsmans Dinner info (which we have done) so it seems that they do still need/want us for some things !

[Joonya]

any chance you'd accept 5 quid for a t-shirt with this on it?

[Kirishima]

If I had to guess what was going on at ICT I would say this: The club's policy is to discourage dialogue with the fans. I doubt it is an accident, oversight or coincidence any longer. There is no point, no point, in trying to come up with ideas, initiatives, etc, under this current climate.

All I want to know is why. Why have the club gone down this road? Surely, if as David Sutherland stated recently, that the board are all wealthy, successful, great people, they know you can't treat shareholders and customers with disdain over and over without some eventual repercussions? So, the only assumption left is they are trying to detach the club from the supporters and in turn the supporters from the club. For what reason I cannot yet see.

The board know they are antagonising the supporters, they know it's causing rifts, they know it will eventually result in action of some sort, so it's not a case of reminding them or pointing things out as once was the case. It is not ignorance.

They are not fulfilling their roles as they should. List all the things they have messed up on and it becomes a little bit embarassing.

[PullMyFinger]

Just for the record, the gist of the Courier article is that CaleyD was asked to relinquish his post because he criticised the ownership of the club's stadium and its finances on a fan's website.

Which was and is true, he had been doing so for some time but this was exacerbated by other posters making accusations about the current finances. He's the proverbial "Fall Guy".

He will not now be allowed to continue the Twitter service, or be involved in plans to film home matches for the official Caley Thistle website.

They obviously believe that all media stems from the press boxes. A bit of an archaic outlook in these times of information/communication technological advancement.

"We parted company with Mr Johnstone because unhelpful and inappropriate comments were simply not conducive to an ongoing working relationship," said the club spokesman.

This is very true and I would probably have done the same in the circumstances.

"He will not be undertaking any role for the club, though he is more than welcome at matches, as a paying customer."

Directly undertaking any role?

The club hope to appoint a permanent successor for the stadium announcer's role, and has invited interested parties to get in touch. They are also keen to develop ways, electronically and by video highlights of benefitting supporters who cannot attend matches, and would be happy to hear from people who feel they could be of help in this respect, the spokesman added.

[size=7][font="Comic Sans MS"]HELP!!!![/font][/size]

I cant stand that font but feel it very appropriate for this subject. I am reminded of "The Scorpion and the Frog".

What I find interesting here, is that the un-named and anonymous spokesman described CD's comments as unhelpful and inappropriate, rather than untrue, or inaccurate.

Every football club up and down the country has its problems, instigating a witchhunt could be seen as foolish when you consider that ICT has all its eggs in the witches basket.

[Kirishima]

It's not a witchhunt. A witchhunt is "panic-induced searches for perceived wrong-doers"

There is no panic, there is a malaise.

It is not perceived, it has been in the courts, in the papers, everywhere, except face-to-face.

[PullMyFinger]

What wrong doing has been in the courts?