Dear Mr Cameron,

[+bughtmaster]

My thoughts have not changed, a football Club who has brought such disrepute upon the league, cheated all it's fellow clubs out of considerable monies and trophies should be expelled from the SPL and any reborn or resurrected Newco should start in the lowest division.......... if any.

If any Clubs are voting otherwise then they are compounding the felony and also bringing further disgrace to Scottish Football.

I most sincerely hope Inverness Caledonian Thistle will vote Glasgow Rangers in any guise out.

Make this the start of returning to honest football and set a precedent for other Countries.

[Yompa]

Dear Mr Cameron,

My wife and I started watching Caledonian Thistle (remember there was no Inverness back in those days) in 1995, during the club's second season in the league. Since then, our family (ourseleves and our three boys) have supported the team the length and breadth of Scotland, enjoying (and sometimes enduring) the highs and lows of life on the road as a football supporter. Memories such as being one of the 'Stranraer 2' the night Jim Farry made Inverness return south, just 48 hours after a frozen pitch saw off our cup tie; being one of the 'Berwick 17' the night we got dumped out of the league cup; the 5-1 humping we took at Cappielow on a Friday night before Scotland hosted England the next day in the Euro playoffs; Feb 8th 2000; Caledonian Stadium when (a) we got promotion to the SPL the first time (b) we got relegated; the 7-0 game Somerset Park; the 4-3 game at Livingston... the list just goes on and on... these are the memories that define the very soul of a football supporter. It's not just about the result, it's about how you got there: it's about the journey.

I believe that whatever you achieve in life, you must earn it; indeed the satisfaction to be gained by doing things the hard way, the proper way, far outweigh anything that you can get on the cheap. Ask any Caley Thistle Highland Marcher how it feels when you get to that ground at the other end of the walk...

And so to 'The Rangers Football Club'... this football club has no history for it is a new club. It may have a ground and wonderful training facilities, but it (currently) has no players, and hence no team. I have spent 17 years on the road with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and here we are, about to welcome our neighbours from over the bridge into the same promised land that we have been part of for so long. Seventeen long years that Highland football has taken to sit at the top table... But now, because it suits the commercial interests of not only the Central Belt majority but the mainstream Scottish media, whose very existence has for so long depended on what was once The Old Firm, we are being force fed the notion that Scottish football needs The Rangers in the SPL. It does not. The Rangers have not earned their right; indeed they have not yet earned their right to any place in the Scottish league. The likes of Spartans and Gala Fairydean have, in my opinion, every bit as much of a right to a place in the league.

So in summary, I would say this: if there is one part of Scotland that should understand how it feels to earn the right to play in the SPL, that place is in the Highlands. There is absolutely NO WAY that The Rangers FC should be granted a place in the SPL without first having earned the right by promotion through the league structure, and in the event that it should happen, then my family will never again return to the Scottish game.

[Govan Jaggie]

I shall keep it simple. It is morally wrong to allow a club that cheats it both football and the public the right to walk straight back in. They would not vote for us. Vote NO Mr Cameron.

[RiG]

... the true ones like myself who renewed mine 2 weeks ago...

Just to check something, and apologies for going off at a tangent, but you are only a true ICT fan if you renew your season ticket? That's a very big soapbox you have there.

As for NewCo this was part of the reason why I didn't renew. Any move to parachute New Rangers into the SPL would completely undermine the set up of Scottish football. As Proctor says, why should teams live within their means when they can go down the easy route of admin, liquidate and then jump back in and start again? It would be a completely abhorrent decision.

[TopSix]

I can't be bothered with some folk making out they are 'superfans'. I agree completely with what RiG has said in the post above.

[+bughtmaster]

I do not aggree with roby, there are other ways you can be a supporter of a team, for a start you can go and cheer them on when you can afford to, or when it is possible for you to get there

Much more of a supporter than going there and moaning at them just because you bought a season ticket !!

[hislopsoffsideagain]

I agree with RiG as well, especially as I know his reasoning behind not renewing his season ticket.

For what it's worth, I renewed my season ticket 3 weeks ago. That doesn't make me a superfan - in fact, if we bow down and let Rangers in, it makes me a bit of a spanner.

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

It is highly symbolic that the SPL vote is on Independence Day. At long last 10 clubs have the chance to level the playing field in Scotland which in years to come will provide a far more exciting product. Rangers newco have 16 days to cobble up a team, produce a credible business plan, accept a series of fair punishments, and then provide guarantees. Let's be honest, they may not do walking away, but running up this hill could be too much for them.

If they are accepted into the Third Division, maintaining Ibrox and the Murray park Training Ground may not be sustainable for King Charles.

So Mr Chairman, ask to see which players they have signed, where are their income streams to sustain those expensive contracts, and how will they cope with the general running expenses of such a big club? They seem like a club in turmoil with one takeover after another. This is not the type of club Scotland's Premier League would wish to welcome in as a new member. It has no history, hours after being formed we saw protest marches being organised.

[12th Man]

I wonder how many abstainers there are now, who are adamant they wont return to ICT/ SPL if ICT vote YES.

Does this mean that if people power wins and they are no longer in the SPL, will the abstainers rush out and buy season tickets.

[Alex MacLeod]

I wonder how many abstainers there are now, who are adamant they wont return to ICT/ SPL if ICT vote YES.

Does this mean that if people power wins and they are no longer in the SPL, will the abstainers rush out and buy season tickets.

Who or what is an abstainer? If due punishments are meted out then I will be happy enough to purchase two season tickets for next season. My views are nothing to do with whether ICT vote yes or not. My view is that if this cheating club is not punished to a level suitable to the crime then I want nothing whatsoever to do with Scottish football. Football, for me, is a hobby that I can ill afford as it is without having to spend my hard earned to finance such blatant disrespect for the law. My view is that if any club votes in favour of Rangers then they are doing no more than aiding and abetting law breakers. Everyone who has an honest conscience should be standing up for what is right and decent and not what'll make a few bucks.

[Doofer]

This is what i am sending to Mr Cameron:

Dear Mr Cameron

I am a lifelong Inverness Caledonian Thistle supporter and have been since Inverness Thistle and Inverness Caledonian merged to form Caledonian Thistle in 1994. My first match was a home game at the old Telford Street and I have never looked back. Since then, my love for the club and love for the game in general has grown and is one of my favourite pastimes. I have also been a shareholder in the club for many years.

As a lover of football I feel it’s the right thing to do too write to you today and express my personal feelings regarding the vote to allow a Newco Rangers into the SPL

I feel this situation the SPL and the clubs in the SPL now find them self in is very dangerous territory. Whichever way ICT decide to vote could have serious repercussions for the club.

Voting Yes, to allow a Newco Rangers into the SPL is just an unacceptable and unthinkable scenario. Rangers have acted recklessly, unprofessionally and selfishly and to reward this severe mismanagement with a place in the SPL for a Newco Rangers would be nothing short of an embarrassment for Scottish football. Many fans feel so strongly on this issue that they would lose faith with the game if a Newco Rangers were voted into the SPL and as a result, attend fewer games, purchase less merchandise and even not renew subscriptions with TV companies that broadcast SPL games, all of which would heavily impact on a club like Inverness.

Voting No is the only way to ensure the integrity of Scottish Football. Rangers cannot go unpunished for their actions and justice must be done. If the situation involving Rangers was happening to another SPL club like Inverness, Kilmarnock or St Mirren for example then I strongly believe that there would not be all this media coverage as we would be chucked into the 3^rd Division without a care. The only reason Rangers have not been placed at the bottom tier of the system is because of money. If a Newco Rangers are admitted into the SPL then it will be for financial reasons only and the integrity of Scottish football will be indefinitely tarnished.

So Mr Cameron, I urge you to vote NO in allowing a Newco Rangers admission into the SPL. It’s the only way to vote and it is the right way to vote.

Yours Sincerely

Douglas Mutton

[+DoofersDad]

Reading some off these posts makes my blood boil. Are we meant to be i c t supporters or what ?This threatening not to renew your season tickets unless our chairman votes against the newco is shameful .Regardless the rights and wrongs of the rangers fiasco we are supposed to be Caley jags fans and the true ones like myself who renewed mine 2 weeks ago will back the club whichever way they decide to vote . Seems to me that many off our so called loyal fans are looking for an excuse to jump ship !

Nothing to do with jumping ship. If you read all the posts of those with the same opinion as myself you'll see that, if sporting integrity is not upheld and the newco forced to apply the the SFL, then we are turning our back on football. As I've said on a few post I cannot bring myself to support a sport that allows lawbreaking and tax dodging to go unpunished. If I dont pay my taxes I'll be severely punished. The same must apply to any business.

I don't think I would go as far as Alex but I have some sympathy with the point of view. For me loyalty needs to be earned and I will not blindly support the club regardless of how it behaves. If the club votes for Rangers newco to be admitted to the SPL then as far as I am concerned they will have lost any right to expect me to support the club through thick and thin. To be honest, I don't really know what I will do but I guess I will stop being a fan and become someone who watches games of football from time to time for purely selfish reasons. What I do know is that if the club does vote to admit Rangers newco to the SPL it will be the darkest day in the history of the club and I will be disgusted with them.

[+DoofersDad]

Dear Mr Cameron,

I am writing to urge the representatives of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club to vote against any proposal to allow a Rangers newco entry into the SPL on July 4^th. I am sure the club is well aware of the views of fans and the wide range of valid arguments being aired on CaleyThistleOnline and therefore I will restrict myself to a few points which I feel are particularly pertinent.

The wrong doing of Rangers is without precedent. The scale of the financial irregularity and debt is on a scale unseen before in Scottish football and must be punished severely. Of course, I understand the argument that any application is about the newco and not the old regime and therefore legally the newco is not responsible for its wrong doings. But equally, the newco must not be allowed to benefit from the status in the league which the old club had – a status which was achieved by financial practices which have left a tax debt of millions and dozens of creditors penniless.

It might be interesting to consider just where Rangers might be if they had acted responsibly in clearing their debts. If, instead of buying players they could not afford and paying them inflated wages, they put income towards paying their taxes and companies who had provided services to them, then their playing staff would have been much less competitive. Who is to say they would have survived in the SPL in that situation? So why should the club (yes, I know technically it is a new club but we all know it is still Rangers) be rewarded with a place in the SPL because of its appalling behaviour when it might be playing at a lower level had it acted responsibly?

A Rangers club has no right to be in the SPL. A place needs to be earned just as this club has earned its place and our local Highland neighbours have earned theirs. Other clubs also work hard and honestly to reach this level and it would be offensive in the extreme to see a newco Rangers with no history gifted a place on the back of the old Rangers former position in the league. Entry to the SPL should be on merit and as Rangers newco has no record of winning a single game of football, then any application should not even be considered for a vote. It should simply be thrown out as being frivolous.

To my mind these arguments are strong, but we keep hearing arguments that other clubs will not survive without Rangers. This is scare****ering nonsense on several levels. There will be some loss of revenue but there will be more interest in a league without Rangers and that in turn will bring in additional revenue. In addition, if Rangers are admitted to the league many fans will simply lose their faith in the game and the club and will stop going or will attend fewer games. I for one will certainly not attend matches involving a Rangers newco if they are admitted.

It is difficult to be sure what the financial consequences will be but clubs survive fine in the SFL without Rangers and Celtic and it is for clubs to manage their affairs appropriately and in line with the income stream they get. If the Board cannot manage that, they should make way for a Board that can.

But this is not a financial issue. It is an issue about the principles which are important in sport. It is an ethical issue. Whichever club is elected to the SPL they must be elected on merit. That cannot be a Rangers newco and if the club votes for them then it will be, by far, the most shameful day in our club’s history.

Please, Mr Cameron, vote “no”.

[Joe DiMaggio]

If there is a space in the SPL (which there is) it should go to the 2nd place team in the first division. A new club can not saunter up and want to join the Scottish Leagues starting in the top league, skipping all the other professional divisions. every new club wanting to join the Scottish Leagues has had to start in the bottom teir and there should be no exception for this club.

On the money front it is probably a good thing for ICT and the SPL. Some people here have mentioned money from games at Ibrox, we get no money from these games. The crowds we get against Rangers are being replaced to similar crowds against Ross County so we are not losing out in that respect either. It also doesn't matter how many games we have on tv as tv money is determined before hand.

Sky have already said that they will stay in Scottish football and this new club not being in the league does not affect next seasons tv deal at all. What they will possible want to do is re-negotiate the future deal wich is one the table. This new club will most likely be back in the spl in 3 years anyway so it would only have an effect for 2 seasons and that is if it is reduced which is only an if at the moment and no one knows by how much.

The most important thing though is if this new club is not in the SPL then the 11-1 voting system which at the moment guarantees the OF the majority of the league's money can be scrapped and a fairer distribution of money can occur. At the moment 1st and 2nd receive a far higher percentage of prize money with a major drop to 3rd place. If the money is distributed more fairly there is a very good chance we would recieve more money even if the tv deal is reduced!

[PaderbornCaley]

The most important thing though is if this new club is not in the SPL then the 11-1 voting system which at the moment guarantees the OF the majority of the league's money can be scrapped and a fairer distribution of money can occur. At the moment 1st and 2nd receive a far higher percentage of prize money with a major drop to 3rd place. If the money is distributed more fairly there is a very good chance we would recieve more money even if the tv deal is reduced!

This. I'd also like to add that the Sky / Espn money (even if it is reduced) could and should be split equally between the 12 teams (instead of most of it going to Rangers (Oldco) and Celtic. The non-Old Firm teams including us have everything to gain. Seize this opportunty - it may be the last chance to save the game in Scotland.

Please vote no.

[Scarlet Pimple]

A rose by any other name smells the same. Rangers Newco, or whatever other name one twists and turns to call it , it is still Rangers F C in another guise. A wolf in sheep's clothing, no less because the ramifications of allowing this club back into the SPL will be far-reaching and this act will remain in the memory for a long time.

It will be nothing less than a completely cynical, self-serving betrayal of all that's good in scottish football.

End of story.

[PullMyFinger]

The NewCo do not get a vote.

The SPL share still belongs to the OldCo, and it is they who would get a vote....and in that regard it would now be the Liquidators who would cast that vote.

There is an argument that the SPL share should be withdrawn from the OldCo, but it's not straight forward and very much falls into the realms of "interpretation" of the SPL Articles of Association.

From BellaCaledonia

Once again the media is failing and the rules of Scottish Football, are being ignored. These are SPL articles…

http://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2012/06/18/the-man-from-tea-12/

RFC(IA) hold the SPL Share.

D&P claim to have sold the “club” to Sevco.

RFC(IA) have ceased to be the owner and operator of a Club, therefore they have ceased (under SPL Article 6) to be entitled to hold a Share.

Article 14 tells us that a Qualified Resolution is required to agree who gets RFC(IA)’s share.

A Qualified Resolution required a 21 day notice period for the General Meeting AND must be passed with a 90% majority.

1. Rangers don’t get to vote.

2. 10 from the 11 remaining clubs have to agree to the recipient of the RFC(IA) Share.

Please don’t let Doncaster away with ignoring the SPL Articles.

Don’t allow the 8-4 myth to become reality.

[StockholmSyndrome]

A rose by any other name smells the same. Rangers Newco, or whatever other name one twists and turns to call it , it is still Rangers F C in another guise. A wolf in sheep's clothing, no less because the ramifications of allowing this club back into the SPL will be far-reaching and this act will remain in the memory for a long time.

It will be nothing less than a completely cynical, self-serving betrayal of all that's good in scottish football.

End of story.

A-freaking-men. A lot of already disillusioned people will be very angry if this happens, and it will only end up further damaging the already frail health of the Scottish game.

[old caley girl]

Jim Spence on beeb reporting Dundee United have only sold 1700 season tickets to date when normally they would have sold about 5000 by now. Fan power certainly making this club sit up and take notice then!

[+Wanderer]

Just noticed we have 2 home games v County (full south stand on both occasions presumably) and only one home game confirmed for Team12 next season.

All things being equal (STs, TV, sponsors etc. - and I do appreciate there's a fair bit to go on that score), can't see any great drop in gate receipts if T12 turned out to be Dundee.

Or am I missing something?

[Doofer]

Jim Spence on beeb reporting Dundee United have only sold 1700 season tickets to date when normally they would have sold about 5000 by now. Fan power certainly making this club sit up and take notice then!

Does anyone know how our season ticket sales are going?

[Joe DiMaggio]

Jim Spence on beeb reporting Dundee United have only sold 1700 season tickets to date when normally they would have sold about 5000 by now. Fan power certainly making this club sit up and take notice then!

Motherwell's are up 30% though.

[Joe DiMaggio]

Incase anyone hasn't seen them. Here is the fans survey results-

http://www.splsurvey.co.uk/SPL_SURVEY_Newco-FFP-Results.pdf

[TopSix]

I think it's pretty safe to say Mr Romanov will be voting no... http://www.heartsfc.co.uk/articles/20120621/vr-statement_2241384_2818454

[CaleyD]

Joint Statement from the Club and Supporters Trust - http://ictsupporterstrust.co.uk/news/trust-news/240-joint-statement-from-club-and-trust