Tokely Offski - to Countski

[gordieict]

Maybe I am missing it but can't find it anywhere on clubs official site that the clubs longest serving player is leaving

[lukemackay]

The clubs statement from yesterday says tokes, jones, Hogg, and gillet have all been offered longer to decide their futures.

Could the paper talks be premature. Unlikely but possibly.

[Scotty]

Maybe I am missing it but can't find it anywhere on clubs official site that the clubs longest serving player is leaving

The contract offer seems to have been rejected via Facebook and The Sun .... the club cant really make an official statement until its been rejected to them officially.

Gutted as I am about the Tokely situation (and make no mistake, I am gutted about it) - and the blame game that is and will get played - lets all just calm down here. The club wont be issuing statements every 5 minutes about something or other, especially in response to Facebook, Twitter, or Tabloid comments or speculation or because a few forum users demand it ... and we should not be getting our knickers in a twist when they dont do it ....

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Good point - they cant always react in the same manner as they did with Gavin Morrison.

[ICTPaisley]

Maybe I am missing it but can't find it anywhere on clubs official site that the clubs longest serving player is leaving

The contract offer seems to have been rejected via Facebook and The Sun .... the club cant really make an official statement until its been rejected to them officially.

Gutted as I am about the Tokely situation (and make no mistake, I am gutted about it) - and the blame game that is and will get played - lets all just calm down here. The club wont be issuing statements every 5 minutes about something or other, especially in response to Facebook, Twitter, or Tabloid comments or speculation or because a few forum users demand it ... and we should not be getting our knickers in a twist when they dont do it ....

Terry Butcher set Tokely a deadline and Tokely got back to him and told him the offer wasn't good enough. Now seeing as its a few days after the deadline surely someone at ICT has spoken to Ross about his future, after all other players have been given extra time to decide on their contracts. I'm pretty sure the club know that he isn't signing for them and it wouldn't have just been through facebook or the sun. Maybe we'll get a confirmation in a few weeks though about his departure.

[Yngwie]

If he hasn't signed for anyone else and ICT hasn't retracted its contract offer, they can't really announce his departure.

[Joonya]

You make a good point Yngwie in that 'ICT hasn't retracted its contract offer'.

It's made me wonder as to whether Rossco could be waiting on a better offer from another club, and should one not be forthcoming, come back accepting the offer? Who knows?

I've read a lot of the comments made on here and everyone seems to think that the club (or rather, TB) is trying to dismantle the club by releasing players with legendary status. Although I can understand that point of view, I can't really join this particular bandwagon when I reflect on what TB and the club are trying to achieve.

Players who we would never get outwith a loan spell have come and tried to strengthen the side. Davies, Williams, Golobart and others. All players who many have said would make the grade at a Championship level or higher. Andrew Shinnie, Billy McKay and Ryan Esson will be our heros next term, and so long as Foran encourages from the back rather than criticising from the front, we will do well I think.

Rosscoe is now 33 years of age and although I still think he is still a cracking defender, I'm unsure as to if he'd be able to perform at SPL level for another full season. Grant Munro is a classic example of 'finding his level' in that he struggled in the SPL the year we got relegated, excelled at Division 1 grade, struggled back in the SPL and was again sensational at Division 1 level. Division 1 is his level. Perhaps Rosscoe's level is now also Division 1???

[ICTPaisley]

You make a good point Yngwie in that 'ICT hasn't retracted its contract offer'.

It's made me wonder as to whether Rossco could be waiting on a better offer from another club, and should one not be forthcoming, come back accepting the offer? Who knows?

I've read a lot of the comments made on here and everyone seems to think that the club (or rather, TB) is trying to dismantle the club by releasing players with legendary status. Although I can understand that point of view, I can't really join this particular bandwagon when I reflect on what TB and the club are trying to achieve.

Players who we would never get outwith a loan spell have come and tried to strengthen the side. Davies, Williams, Golobart and others. All players who many have said would make the grade at a Championship level or higher. Andrew Shinnie, Billy McKay and Ryan Esson will be our heros next term, and so long as Foran encourages from the back rather than criticising from the front, we will do well I think.

Rosscoe is now 33 years of age and although I still think he is still a cracking defender, I'm unsure as to if he'd be able to perform at SPL level for another full season. Grant Munro is a classic example of 'finding his level' in that he struggled in the SPL the year we got relegated, excelled at Division 1 grade, struggled back in the SPL and was again sensational at Division 1 level. Division 1 is his level. Perhaps Rosscoe's level is now also Division 1???

You'd have to be crazy if you think Golobart and Williams are Championship level players, Grant Munro is a better defender than both of them. Ross Tokely kept Williams out of the first 11 last season, and your insisting he might only be of division 1 level? Now i can understand that people might think Golobart has the POTENTIAL to be a really good player but by no means was he amazing for us. He was here on a 1 year loan deal, nothing else. No one will convince me that he was a better option than Munro just because Golobart had potential to be a good player.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Gringo Jnr - You are completely missing the point. Butcher is clearly "threatened" by the power and popularity of some individuals and needs to be in full control. It is the manner in which he and the club have "treated" Tokely and MunroGrant that is the issue. Even Sutherland made a snide remark at the Munro Testimonial and it is clear that whatever Butcher wants the others jump. He undoubtedly is trying to put together his own squad and his own system but will he change it this season - I have my doubts. Thanfully we have retained a pretty solid "core" of a squad - it does concern me that Ross, Sutherland and Morrsion may well find themselves as bit players again to allow loanees to get starts and again the level of consistency and "togetherness" may be lost.

What now happens with the likes of Gillet and Tudor-Jones will now be defining decisions, especially as they have watched the debacles of the last couple of weeks. No-one can blame Butcher for the departures of Hayes and Tansey as they were always going to move on at some stage anyway. Tade is the puzzler and I can only think that it was as much based on how he was played and dropped and played out of position.

And why would the club go official about Hayes despite nothing formal being decided and not Tokely ?

The bottom line is that it would now be disastrous if we didnt have Butcher at the helm so lets see what he comes up with and how he sets up the system this season. I still have a dread that he will be jumping ship as well.

[AJS]

Sorry got to disagree with that. Golobart may have had a reputation for some eccentric moments last season but at his best he was the difference at times between us winning and losing games and for the ability he showed at such a young age there was little doubt in many minds that he would defnitely hack it at Championship level.

[ICTPaisley]

Sorry got to disagree with that. Golobart may have had a reputation for some eccentric moments last season but at his best he was the difference at times between us winning and losing games and for the ability he showed at such a young age there was little doubt in many minds that he would defnitely hack it at Championship level.

Maybe in the future as yes he is young and therefore has potential to improve but last season he would never have got a game for a Championship side. We'll see where he ends up on loan this season but i'd be very surprised if it was for a team in the Championship.

[lukemackay]

golobart gave his heart and soul to us last season, i think hes 1 in a million, very rarely will you find a player that joins you as a 19 year old who will make mistakes and will always bounce back every time. i think he will go far in his career.

[Tichy_Blacks_Back]

Remember this....

http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/2388544/Give-Tel-a-team-of-Tokelys.html?print=yes

How things have changed. Makes an interesting read now after what has happened since then ;-)

[PaderbornCaley]

Maybe I am missing it but can't find it anywhere on clubs official site that the clubs longest serving player is leaving

The contract offer seems to have been rejected via Facebook and The Sun .... the club cant really make an official statement until its been rejected to them officially.

Isn't Tokely quoted in the papers as saying that he messaged Butcher to say he would not be accepting? Of course the papers could be adding that bit in or maybe he never got the text....

[ICTPaisley]

golobart gave his heart and soul to us last season, i think hes 1 in a million, very rarely will you find a player that joins you as a 19 year old who will make mistakes and will always bounce back every time. i think he will go far in his career.

Would you be saying the same thing if he was 33? What i was getting at with Golobart is it doesn't matter how much potential he has, he was on loan for 1 year only. We won't see any benefit of that so we can judge him on one season only. Age doesn't come into it at all in this instance. Therefore i don't think his overall performances over the season were any better than Tokelys or previous seasons from Grant Munro.

[lukemackay]

may not of been better, but were certainly on a par with them.

all im saying is i was hugely impressed with golobart last season and if i was given the option as manager id take him back in an instant even ifit meant we couldnt keep tokely.

tokelys leaving and was magnificent in his 16 years here and we should be forever greatful but he seems to be spitting the dummy out the pram to me.

where is he going to go? he wont get a better offer not at the stage he is at. i find this move very strange on tokelys part, and i dont buy into the 'terry didnt want him' stories, tokely had the chance to re-sign for us and he didnt take it, i dont see where he is going to go from here.

[SMEE]

Maybe I am missing it but can't find it anywhere on clubs official site that the clubs longest serving player is leaving

The contract offer seems to have been rejected via Facebook and The Sun .... the club cant really make an official statement until its been rejected to them officially.

Isn't Tokely quoted in the papers as saying that he messaged Butcher to say he would not be accepting? Of course the papers could be adding that bit in or maybe he never got the text....

Mobile reception is probably patchy at best above Loch Ness

[Alex MacLeod]

Maybe his phone was hacked

[Scotty]

Terry Butcher set Tokely a deadline and Tokely got back to him and told him the offer wasn't good enough. Now seeing as its a few days after the deadline surely someone at ICT has spoken to Ross about his future, after all other players have been given extra time to decide on their contracts. I'm pretty sure the club know that he isn't signing for them and it wouldn't have just been through facebook or the sun. Maybe we'll get a confirmation in a few weeks though about his departure.

Highlighted a couple of sentences ... 1st is correct, and for the second, I believe the club included Tokely in that list when they made their comment. Rossco (or people close to him) subsequently indicated via Facebook/Papers that he wasnt going back as the contract offer didnt meet his needs. I understand that comment, and I agree it is tantamount to an official statement from the player, but I dont know what - if any - conversations have taken place with the club. If the contract offer has not been officially rejected, the club cant make an official statement.

The fact of the matter is that current Social Media use means that fan forums are constantly awash with news long before an official website can put out the same info. Clubs also have to be very careful about posted stories as they can be held liable in law, and also by the SPL/SFA for the content on official sites. That is one of the main reasons that CTO stopped being the official site 9 or 10 years ago !!! We were offered the chance to continue but the terms meant that we would have had to literally close down the forums or sanitise the content to the point where it was palatable to the SPL ... As over-moderated as users think they may be at times now, that would have been disastrous so we would not do that, and instead we amicably agreed to run in parallel to the official site giving fans an independent voice and not getting the club into any bother !

I know its probably not relevant in this particular situation ... but lets assume the club did put out a statement saying the offer was rejected. If the player had not done so officially, and there was no expiry date on the actual contract he was offered, then whats to stop the player taking action against the club over it? We do not know whats in those contracts, we do not know if deadlines were officially set in those contracts (or just verbalised generically), and we dont know who has spoken to who about what .....

For my own part, I would like to see Rossco playing for ICT next season and transition into an off-field role, and would hope the club considered his impact for ICT not just in the past, but also in the present in the contract offer they made. From the player's comments, it seems clear that he does not think that is the case and given the choice, I would like to see the club make an improved offer to him. I dont think it will happen, but that is what I would like to see .....

Butcher is clearly "threatened" by the power and popularity of some individuals and needs to be in full control. It is the manner in which he and the club have "treated" Tokely and Munro Grant that is the issue. Even Sutherland made a snide remark at the Munro Testimonial and it is clear that whatever Butcher wants the others jump.

I have never met TB but I would have thought he was a 'strong' enough character to not feel threatened by almost anyone? I would also have thought that after the departure of Grant and Russell last year .... especially Grant, that he would be more than aware that kicking another club stalwart out the door this year would pretty much make most fans very critical of the coming season in terms of results ... but then again, as a few folk know, there are more personalities in the backroom team than just TB (or MM) !!!

If Grant does well over the bridge next season, and Rossco is not replaced with a solid and steady defender then the manager has created a rod for his own back whereby fans will be ready to turn on him at the first sign of trouble and use Grant, Russell, and Rossco as the ammunition. Its a very risky gamble, and I hope it comes off, because even I am not a 'happy clapper' right now !!!

And why would the club go official about Hayes despite nothing formal being decided and not Tokely ?

Because Aberdeen went official about the signing, then the player denied it .... what did the club officially say about Jonny ? Not much really !

The bottom line is that it would now be disastrous if we didnt have Butcher at the helm so lets see what he comes up with and how he sets up the system this season. I still have a dread that he will be jumping ship as well.

I can see that happening too. Assuming we do actually lose every player we think we will during the close season then next years team will be very different and if results are weak in the opening 1/4 of the season the pressure will be on, with the added fuel that many fans will be feeling resentful over their perceptions of the treatment of Tokely and others before him. The alternative of course is that TB has scouted out suitable replacements for those players and we unearth new gems (or rough diamonds) rather than lumps of carbon !

Maybe I am missing it but can't find it anywhere on clubs official site that the clubs longest serving player is leaving

The contract offer seems to have been rejected via Facebook and The Sun .... the club cant really make an official statement until its been rejected to them officially.

Isn't Tokely quoted in the papers as saying that he messaged Butcher to say he would not be accepting? Of course the papers could be adding that bit in or maybe he never got the text....

No Tokely is in the papers saying he contacted Butcher to say the offer wasnt good enough and Butcher texted back to say his hands were tied .... no official rejection on either side, and the club position is that RT has been given more time to decide.

[PaderbornCaley]

In the Sun article he also says

“He texted me saying his hands were tied and he couldn’t.

“As everyone knows, there has been a deadline for the players to meet, so I messaged the manager and chairman and said I wouldn’t be signing.

I would take that as him confirming he is indeed offski.

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4351448/Caley-legend-quits-with-blast-at-boss.html

Edited June 4, 2012 by CapitalCaley

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Admirable at times but so innocently

may not of been better, but were certainly on a par with them.

all im saying is i was hugely impressed with golobart last season and if i was given the option as manager id take him back in an instant even ifit meant we couldnt keep tokely.

tokelys leaving and was magnificent in his 16 years here and we should be forever greatful but he seems to be spitting the dummy out the pram to me.

where is he going to go? he wont get a better offer not at the stage he is at. i find this move very strange on tokelys part, and i dont buy into the 'terry didnt want him' stories, tokely had the chance to re-sign for us and he didnt take it, i dont see where he is going to go from here.

Admirable but yet innocently feckin annoying at times !!

[+Fraz]

may not of been better, but were certainly on a par with them.

all im saying is i was hugely impressed with golobart last season and if i was given the option as manager id take him back in an instant even ifit meant we couldnt keep tokely.

tokelys leaving and was magnificent in his 16 years here and we should be forever greatful but he seems to be spitting the dummy out the pram to me.

where is he going to go? he wont get a better offer not at the stage he is at. i find this move very strange on tokelys part, and i dont buy into the 'terry didnt want him' stories, tokely had the chance to re-sign for us and he didnt take it, i dont see where he is going to go from here.

I have to say Luke if TB ever needs to employ a spin-doctor you're the man for that job! ;)

[+DoofersDad]

If he hasn't signed for anyone else and ICT hasn't retracted its contract offer, they can't really announce his departure.

He may have had an offer deadline extended but is the old contract still in place? Is the club currently paying him? If not, he has left. That does not mean that he couldn't still accept the contract offer that remains open. If it does it will simply mean that he has re-signed. If he does sign then that will be a great signing for the club - he has plenty of experience and I have heard great things about the lad.

[Joonya]

Rossco - 33yo who, to me, seemed less interested in the season as it went on. Perhaps his quietest season for us, and much of the time just had his head down and got on with it

Golobart - 19yo loanee with 'the potential' to go further. Gave 110% every week and more than put in the effort to make amends for any mistakes he made (which, once he found his feet) were few and far between.

With all due respect to Sir Tokely, I know which of the 2 I would opt for if I was looking to the future and long-term aims of the club.

For long enough fans (myself included) have said how the club seems to lack ambition by trying to get new talent to the Highlands, and indeed retain them if/when we happen to find a gem. Now they've chosen to do this, the fans are seemingly appalled at this particular change in tradition at our club.

Williams didn't come to us until midway through the season IIRC, so to say rosscoe kept him out the team is inaccurate. Rosscoe himself struggled to maintain his place towards season end, suggesting that he either wasn't as good as other options around him, or that he'd not recovered fully from an slight injury.

I'll add here that I wish rosscoe all the best for the future. A true legend of the club and someone local kids have and will look up to. It's a shame there's so much speculation and/or conspiracy theories around his departure and I would have loved to say a proper goodbye to him. But these things happen in life and in football. Should he and/or the club have a change of heart and he stays, I'll be delighted, but I can't help thinking it may be the right decision for the future

[gordieict]

Rossco - 33yo who, to me, seemed less interested in the season as it went on. Perhaps his quietest season for us, and much of the time just had his head down and got on with it

Golobart - 19yo loanee with 'the potential' to go further. Gave 110% every week and more than put in the effort to make amends for any mistakes he made (which, once he found his feet) were few and far between.

With all due respect to Sir Tokely, I know which of the 2 I would opt for if I was looking to the future and long-term aims of the club.

For long enough fans (myself included) have said how the club seems to lack ambition by trying to get new talent to the Highlands, and indeed retain them if/when we happen to find a gem. Now they've chosen to do this, the fans are seemingly appalled at this particular change in tradition at our club.

Williams didn't come to us until midway through the season IIRC, so to say rosscoe kept him out the team is inaccurate. Rosscoe himself struggled to maintain his place towards season end, suggesting that he either wasn't as good as other options around him, or that he'd not recovered fully from an slight injury.

I'll add here that I wish rosscoe all the best for the future. A true legend of the club and someone local kids have and will look up to. It's a shame there's so much speculation and/or conspiracy theories around his departure and I would have loved to say a proper goodbye to him. But these things happen in life and in football. Should he and/or the club have a change of heart and he stays, I'll be delighted, but I can't help thinking it may be the right decision for the future

Whatever the reason's a legend leaving in such circumstances is not the right decision for the future. Also your choice of the 2 is not an option because when lads like Golabart come in and do reasonably well they will be of and the club has to search for a replacement. Golabart was off at the first chance he got, Tokely committed himself to his whole footballing career at this club and would have been here for another if it wasn't handled so badly. I am not saying Butcher has an easy job but his choice to get rid of established players before he has found long term replacements is staggering