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Clach in administration


Heilandee

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If I could try to throw some light on a couple of points raised by Stevico earlier....

* David Dowling doesn't actually need to remain as Chairman of Clach in order to remain on the SFA Council. As I understand it something like an Honorary Presidency would suffice or holding a post within another club and I gather that he has had a couple of offers. He has actually offered to step down as Chairman on one or two occasions, including a meeting in the Clach Club in the summer of last year where he was unanimously persuaded to stay on. (I also note from Strathyjags' posts that old fashioned Old Labour Socialism is alive and well with the premise that wealth should be redistributed in such a way as people who are fairly well off should automatically be expected to subsidise loss making football clubs!)

* I suspect that Inverness City still have a long way to go in order to aspire to Highland League status. In particular their finances are a long way short of what would be required for that to happen. I was asked on one occasion by an official of the club how much I thought it would cost to operate in the Highland League. I said that I reckoned ?50-80,000 a year would be right at the bottom end and it was clear that they were well out of that bracket.

Then they would have to gain election to the league. It might be a bit presumptuous to assume that Clach, if they folded, would automatically be replaced by an Inverness team, even though it seems that a lot of people are of the view that the Highland League should or indeed must have a team from the Highland Capital where the league was founded in 1893.

City would also have to have a proper permanent ground which has eluded them so far and there would have to be significant changes in the arrangements for Grant Street (such as to the ?14K a year which the CGF's commercial letting arrangements require them to charge) before that would become a possibility.

* PS - Doofer's Dad. That's a very interesting post looking back to 1993 when Clach pulled out of the merger talks. I would make two comments

** Had they become part of a merged team then Highland League football would have disappeared from Inverness from 1994 (unless some arrangement could have been made for ICT reserves).

** Had the merger continued as a three club effort, I do not think Inverness would have gained SFL status in 1994. However now is not the place or time to write the 5000 or so words needed to argue that case fully! PPS - regards to Doofer! :D

Edited by Charles Bannerman
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If I could try to throw some light on a couple of points raised by Stevico earlier....

* David Dowling doesn't actually need to remain as Chairman of Clach in order to remain on the SFA Council. As I understand it something like an Honorary Presidency would suffice or holding a post within another club and I gather that he has had a couple of offers. He has actually offered to step down as Chairman on one or two occasions, including a meeting in the Clach Club in the summer of last year where he was unanimously persuaded to stay on. (I also note from Strathyjags' posts that old fashioned Old Labour Socialism is alive and well with the premise that wealth should be redistributed in such a way as people who are fairly well off should automatically be expected to subsidise loss making football clubs!)

* I suspect that Inverness City still have a long way to go in order to aspire to Highland League status. In particular their finances are a long way short of what would be required for that to happen. I was asked on one occasion by an official of the club how much I thought it would cost to operate in the Highland League. I said that I reckoned ?50-80,000 a year would be right at the bottom end and it was clear that they were well out of that bracket.

Then they would have to gain election to the league. It might be a bit presumptuous to assume that Clach, if they folded, would automatically be replaced by an Inverness team, even though it seems that a lot of people are of the view that the Highland League should or indeed must have a team from the Highland Capital where the league was founded in 1893.

City would also have to have a proper permanent ground which has eluded them so far and there would have to be significant changes in the arrangements for Grant Street (such as to the ?14K a year which the CGF's commercial letting arrangements require them to charge) before that would become a possibility.

* PS - Doofer's Dad. That's a very interesting post looking back to 1993 when Clach pulled out of the merger talks. I would make two comments

** Had they become part of a merged team then Highland League football would have disappeared from Inverness from 1994 (unless some arrangement could have been made for ICT reserves).

** Had the merger continued as a three club effort, I do not think Inverness would have gained SFL status in 1994. However now is not the place or time to write the 5000 or so words needed to argue that case fully! PPS - regards to Doofer! :D

Thanks for clearing that up Charles, I remember at the time of the proposed Savage or Sutherland takeover there were a number of rumours circulating as to why it fell through, in fact I think I read in a local paper that the SFA reason was why (probably from a prominent Merkinch councillor) it didn't happen.

While I think that Dowling was on a thankless task at Clach , I am not so sure that it is old fashioned Old Labour Socialism is a fair assessment of strathyjags posts. When these guys put themselves up a Chairman do they not think that in times of hardship the fans will expect them to bail the club out, why are Chairmen always reasonably affluent businessmen if they are not going to invest in the club?

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why are Chairmen always reasonably affluent businessmen if they are not going to invest in the club?

Because they have the success and experiences to draw on, unfortunately football is in decline due mainly to television giving too much choice to consumers.

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Theres a few Jambos i work with who are saddened by the news. They used the social club as a meeting point when they went north for games against ICT. Apparently Clach put on a great spread for away fans so i imagine the news will be shared by other SPL team supporters

shame really. My early memories of football in Inverness before i settled on Caledoinian are of Clach. I lived nearbye and my Aunty lives on Kilmuir Road and used to have a sidline view of the pitch.

Im sure something will happen to prevent this, jeez its only a few seasons ago when they were HL champions under Robbie Williamson

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why are Chairmen always reasonably affluent businessmen if they are not going to invest in the club?

unfortunately football is in decline due mainly to television giving too much choice to consumers.

some football maybe on the decline,but some is also on the up,strathspey have been getting over 200+at every home game,and thats with a losing side,i bet if/when they start winning the crowds will increase more

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why are Chairmen always reasonably affluent businessmen if they are not going to invest in the club?

unfortunately football is in decline due mainly to television giving too much choice to consumers.

some football maybe on the decline,but some is also on the up,strathspey have been getting over 200+at every home game,and thats with a losing side,i bet if/when they start winning the crowds will increase more

If you wish to be taken seriously, get serious.

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why are Chairmen always reasonably affluent businessmen if they are not going to invest in the club?

unfortunately football is in decline due mainly to television giving too much choice to consumers.

some football maybe on the decline,but some is also on the up,strathspey have been getting over 200+at every home game,and thats with a losing side,i bet if/when they start winning the crowds will increase more

If you wish to be taken seriously, get serious.

not really bothered abou either to be truthful!

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Far more football fans throughout the country are being lost than will ever be replaced by those who follow new and "upcoming" teams.

Discuss.....I'll add more on my line of thought later as I don't have time just now.

VERY TRUE BUT THERE IS EXCEPTIONS not many but the one i highlighted above is a good example

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well we are a new club in a wee bit of a down fall, and to be honest Inverness lost two fantastic well supported well run clubs to form our New club, i miss them, but have moved on... thats my 10p..

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Far more football fans throughout the country are being lost than will ever be replaced by those who follow new and "upcoming" teams.

Discuss.....I'll add more on my line of thought later as I don't have time just now.

As a new topic I hope.This thread is about the possible demise of an old club, not the support of new ones.

You don't want to get in trouble from the site administrator now, do you?

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well we are a new club in a wee bit of a down fall, and to be honest Inverness lost two fantastic well supported well run clubs to form our New club, i miss them, but have moved on... thats my 10p..

When that happened there was still an Inverness club left in the Highland League and that to me at any rate was desperately important. Now it appears that there is a significant chance that there will be no Highland League football in the place that the Highland League was founded and that would be tragic.

My own feeling is that the best chance initially lies with the efforts being made by a stalwart group of "Clachers" to finance the TEAM as opposed to the club through the next few weeks and keep them on the park. These begin with a meeting tomorrow night. This is happening with the blessing of the Administrator. If this is successful it may just create enough breathing space for someone perhaps to come in and form "Clachnacuddin 2009" to inherit the playing arm from "Clachnacuddin 1990" which could then depart in peace. However there are at least three problems there.

* The pitch and changing rooms would need to continue to be made avaliable.

* The Highland League and the SFA would have to agree to the change and I understand that this may not be straightforward.

* And most importantly Clach 2009 would have to achieve the underlying viability which eluded its predeceeors Clach 1990 and the original Limited Company set up in the 70s. (And indeed from what Gordy said above, a lot of its predecessors across several previous decades.)

Edited by Charles Bannerman
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well we are a new club in a wee bit of a down fall, and to be honest Inverness lost two fantastic well supported well run clubs to form our New club, i miss them, but have moved on... thats my 10p..

When that happened there was still an Inverness club left in the Highland League and that to me at any rate was desperately important. Now it appears that there is a significant chance that there will be no Highland League football in the place that the Highland League was founded and that would be tragic.

My own feeling is that the best chance initially lies with the efforts being made by a stalwart group of "Clachers" to finance the TEAM as opposed to the club through the next few weeks and keep them on the park. These begin with a meeting tomorrow night. This is happening with the blessing of the Administrator. If this is successful it may just create enough breathing space for someone perhaps to come in and form "Clachnacuddin 2009" to inherit the playing arm from "Clachnacuddin 1990" which could then depart in peace. However there are at least three problems there.

* The pitch and changing rooms would need to continue to be made avaliable.

* The Highland League and the SFA would have to agree to the change and I understand that this may not be straightforward.

* And most importantly Clach 2009 would have to achieve the underlying viability which eluded its predeceeors Clach 1990 and the original Limited Company set up in the 70s. (And indeed from what Gordy said above, a lot of its predecessors across several previous decades.)

This would be a good solution so lets hope that we can continue the Highland League tradition in Inverness.

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Dowling has explained in Highland News what happened with the Savage and Sutherland bids,

Sutherland could not have stepped in as SFA rules prevent from having controlling interest in any other club and Savage wanted a larger shareholding than could be worked out at the time.

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I'm sure Clach will survive in some form, they always do.

But if they don't, is there a viable and legal way of having an Inverness based HL team that is controlled (if not owned) by ICT?

Its possible but there couldn't be an interchange of players between the two teams. I believe, a number of years ago, it was looked into but the costs of running two teams was greater than the likely benifits.

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Far more football fans throughout the country are being lost than will ever be replaced by those who follow new and "upcoming" teams.

Discuss.....I'll add more on my line of thought later as I don't have time just now.

As a new topic I hope.This thread is about the possible demise of an old club, not the support of new ones.

You don't want to get in trouble from the site administrator now, do you?

No, as it relates to the situation Clach (and many other teams) find themselves in.

What I think is happening with football in this country is that from top to bottom many fans are finding themselves becoming disillusioned with the teams they follow.

The specific reasons will differ at different levels of the game and at different clubs, some of it will be things which can/should be changed and some of the things emanate from the wider issues with the game in this country.

The reasons aren't really important to this point of the discussion.

So, fans get disillusioned with the team they follow for whatever reason. Some of them will find other things to do on a Saturday, some will seek a football fix elsewhere.

Loyalty for the team onced followed does not totally die, so a disillusioned ICT fan is not likely to follow C*unty, and if they were a Caley or Thistle fan pre-merger then they're not likely to be in a hurry to go stand at Grant St and follow Clach. The only other option open to them is to follow one of the new and "upcoming" teams who are, and never were, a rival team.

If you're a disillusioned Clach fan then ICT (a combination of past rivals) is never going to be a stepping stone for your Saturday football fix, so you start looking elsewhere and you come across teams like Strathspey Thingymawhatsits and Inverness City who you can follow and support without the feeling of switching sides.

The only way to stop the rot, IMO, is for a total change in mindset to the way clubs are run in the country. Ownership, or the feeling of ownership of clubs by fans has been lost, and until it's brought back then clubs (of all sizes) will continue to lose fans.

I fear that it's too late for Clach. Despite having no affiliation to them whatsoever, I do think Inverness should have a team in the Highland League and I think that teams should be better supported....not just by numbers through the gate on matchday, but in the support provided by the city. However, can the City justify pissing money away on a club/activity/organisation which serves such a small percentage of the population?

Depending what mood I'm in I come up with different answers to that. Some days I feel like "feck em, they're not my team, if they can't keep their head above water on their own then let them sink".....and on other days I'm more of the opinion that as one of only two remaining founder members then they should perhaps get a little more assistance then they perhaps do. I'm also very conscious of our (ICT) own situation and the fact that we could easily find ourselves out with the begging bowls at some point down the line and I'm reminded of the old adage....Do Unto Others etc etc.

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I'm sure Clach will survive in some form, they always do.

But if they don't, is there a viable and legal way of having an Inverness based HL team that is controlled (if not owned) by ICT?

Its possible but there couldn't be an interchange of players between the two teams. I believe, a number of years ago, it was looked into but the costs of running two teams was greater than the likely benifits.

When you consider the costs given for running a HL club by Mr Bannerman earlier, then it's no more than we're haemorrhaging on our highest earning squad member.

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Far more football fans throughout the country are being lost than will ever be replaced by those who follow new and "upcoming" teams.

Discuss.....I'll add more on my line of thought later as I don't have time just now.

VERY TRUE BUT THERE IS EXCEPTIONS not many but the one i highlighted above is a good example

Strathyjag the norm seems to be that between 5 and 10% of a population will attend their local football ground. With a population of 2240 I cant se the folks of Grantown swelling the ground by much more than it is at present.

As for Clach, I agree that it would be sad to lose them but I also think the highland league are part to blame. Because there are more clubs, and because there are more long distance travels, its costing the clubs more to compete. these costs, as well as the costs or running a stadium put a great deal of pressure on the purse strings. It would have been much better, a few years ago, if Grant St had been sold off, a stand built on the Bucht and a lower rental payment to the council. Much in the way Fort William's arrangements are.

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[strathyjag the norm seems to be that between 5 and 10% of a population will attend their local football ground. With a population of 2240 I cant se the folks of Grantown swelling the ground by much more than it is at present.

but its not just grantown,but aviemore,and area,s around it also,we have kids from as far as laggan,tomatin and tomintoul come to play for the youth teams,so if there intrest there from them there will be from others in those areas

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Sorry to be an old cynic strathyjags but after a couple of years the novelty will wear off and you'll be left with your bedrock support.

I'd hate to see Clach go under but it's happened to other teams in my lifetime. There's only so much people can do to keep the patient alive.

I've been watching football since that annus horribilis 1966 and sadly, the overall trend is that Scottish Football is dying.

I've been carrying a bit of optimism that ICT can buck that trend - we have a load of young fans who have yet to have kids of their own and bring them along. We're also offering a decent standard (usually), and we're far enough away so that people won't be so bothered travelling away down the A9 to watch the twins of evil, compared to clubs like Motherwell and Killie who are on their doorstep.

You know how they say everything across the pond eventually happens here? Well in 1998 I saw my first baseball game in Toronto and I saw that you have ONE tier of Major League clubs franchises with huge salaries, then the next tier down is virtually parks leagues. Sure the players are nearly as good, but they earn next to nothing.

Now you can see the same thing happening with the Champions League. A dozen or two clubs which are global brands, then wee diddy clubs like us. When I was at school you only had to worry about kids coming in with Rangers scarves (it was a proddy non-denominational school). Now they support anybody they like off the TV including Barca, Real etc. It's quite common in my area for people to have season tickets to Man U, Liverpool etc.

We're all doomed.

Private Fraser.

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Been thinking about this more, I would be sorry to see Clach go but I really don't know why, I can't remember the last time I attended one of their games apart from our pre season friendlies with them. I think it is probably just memories , apart from the hardy 100 or so locals that go to see them would Inverness actually miss them once they were gone, I am not so sure.

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