Contract Situation

[CaleyHedgehog]

This statement from the board is, to me, confirmation that the discussions that we take part in on CaleyThistleOnline are being witnessed and considered by the board and therefore our opinions are valued. Rather than a 'them and us' type of club, we belong to one where we all have roles to fulfil and without all the different groups considering each other, we would not have ICTFC. Well done to the board. Thank you for listening. (Now if you could you just find a contract for David Raven, I'll buy the cakes for your next board room meeting?).

[RiG]

One for the conspiracy theorists amongst us - has that statement been put out in response to some of the recent comments from Hughes about lack of money? Interesting to note that Hughes is allegedly working with the highest playing budget of any ICT manager yet he's still moaning about a lack of funds.

[IBM]

Good news indeed, I hope this will give the team a boost for the last four games.

[Scarlet Pimple]

Well thought out and informative. advisement. Just the ticket to settle the team as they enter the unknown of another season.

I wonder where, and whether, Ferguson could slot in here? From what I have witnessed he does seem to be  an ambitious and hard working ICT man with more than a bit of skill. ?

[ictfcsince94]

8 hours ago, RiG said:

One for the conspiracy theorists amongst us - has that statement been put out in response to some of the recent comments from Hughes about lack of money? Interesting to note that Hughes is allegedly working with the highest playing budget of any ICT manager yet he's still moaning about a lack of funds.

Yes.

and the line about players playing for contract offers is clearly a kick up the arse to everyone that's started their summer hols already. Hopefully it'll make the run in a bit more meaningful and entertaining.

its clearly a response to yogi's moaning- you know the budget, you have done for a while go and find some people worth signing and we'll sign the cheques! 

We would like to keep Miles, and we know he is keen to stay.

I hope they can secure him for a while longer, not a prolific scorer, but if played in position may well put more away. Also a much needed injection of pace in the team

Edited April 29, 2016 by ictfcsince94

[bdu98196]

The statement from the club clarifies and adds the transparency we have been seeking but doesn't still align with the message from Yogi. There is another interesting article from the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36165670 - this suggests the public targets from Partick are now outwith our reach.

If as suggestions around that Doran is about to resign, hopefully he can provide the missing creative spark, also given that Vigurs staying seems likely we are close to a starting 11. The comments about quality over quantity perhaps suggest that some of the 'emergency' signings due to our injury issues maybe on their way as they just haven't cut it at this level - Hughes, R.Williams, Fisher, Wedderburn are 4 that spring to mind - Roberts has disappeared so whether he is no longer in the plans or has agreed to go elsewhere its safe to assume he is gone and Mutumbo is really a player that's 50/50 - he has got better but will he make the grade longterm.

The striker position is the huge concern, where to find that goalscorer? Is always a gamble - Storey started well but has faded a bit perhaps due to loss of confidence and also being out of position. We see Billy McKay scored goals for fun with us but at DUtd cant get a run going, we had Sam Winnall and he never looked anything like a player when here but is now top scorer in League 1 down south - somewhere a gamble has to be made because we cant afford a proven scorer unfortunately.

 

Edited April 29, 2016 by bdu98196

[Libero]

Great to hear the clubs thoughts and see that they have been putting substantial (for this club) resources his way

A little bit worrying that the board and JH dont always seem to be on the same page however. Any requests JH may have for more funds from the board should be kept strictly confidential IMO. He already has the largest budget we have ever had so for him to be demanding more is frankly ridiculous. He has worked at smaller clubs than us with smaller budgets and been able to sign decent players so I personally think he needs to act a bit more professional with the media and respect the private nature of budgets.

All things being well our clubs board should not have to come out with statements like this and its my guess that this has only happened because of the ill feeling that has arisen from JHs comments in the press about lack of funds.

[RiG]

Agree with that. It's an absolute "Sit down" statement from the board to Hughes and his recent comments.

[MuirtownJaggy]

I suspect JH may be angling for the D UTD job once Mixu is released, and this lack of funding and ambition talk is part of his escape clause!!!!!

[lightwelter]

I would hope JH isn't thinking of leaving after just signing a new contract. Dundee United will not be in a healthy financial position so I'm not sure they can afford to sack Mixu, never mind bring in a manager who is already contracted. I also think Mixu has been a bit unfortunate and he should be given a chance in the championship. 

Press and Journal saying that Doran is about to sign a new contract, which would be brilliant news for the club. He's such talented player and has been sorely missed this season, his creativity and ability to beat players is exactly what we've been missing. It's crazy that he's only 24, he's been around for years now! I'm slowly starting to feel quite hopeful for next season and I hope the upcoming signings fuel my optimism! 

[PerfICT]

I'm delighted with this announcement for so many reasons.

First - brilliant news for both Liam and for the club. He's really come on this season and it is great to see another local lad making it - 3 years is wisde too: if anybody wants him they;ll have to pay!

Second - at last a statment from the club! This has been very well-crafted, with information that we've all been seeking and guessing (sometimes wrongly) about. For example, timely efforts were made to keep Danny Williams, but he chose not to accept the offer in December, which is his right. Now we know. Equally, it seems that Aaron Doran is the main target. Still a risk in my opinion, but the club doc seems to be advising that he's healthier than some others, so that's good enough for me. Also some new faces in the pipeline (but obviously not the Partick Thistle lads), so hopefully exciting developments there.

The pieces are finally starting to fall into place for the first team, with 3 of the back four sorted, Draper and Tansey (hope we can keep him), Polworth, hopefully Doran and maybe even Storey. That leaves a goalie, right back (I wonder if there's somebody who might be interested?) left-sided midfielder and the supporting cast, with hopefully some of the young guns pushing for places.

I agree with some of the comments above - there seem to be some different messages coming from Yogi and the club....

[ICTRoughi]

I find it a little bit unnerving that John Hughes had the biggest budget of any ICT manager and wasted it on mediocre players like Dani Lopez for example. 

[ThorburnGolf]

20 minutes ago, ICTRoughi said:

I find it a little bit unnerving that John Hughes had the biggest budget of any ICT manager and wasted it on mediocre players like Dani Lopez for example. 

You win some you lose some.... we can't afford out and out proven players, so we have to take risks, on occasions they pay off as they have done in recent seasons, this season admittedly it hasn't been a great one for the new signings, however hopefully the retention of the backbone of the squad and a couple additions that come in and pay dividends and we could be battling and getting back to top 6 football next year.

 

1 hour ago, MuirtownJaggy said:

I suspect JH may be angling for the D UTD job once Mixu is released, and this lack of funding and ambition talk is part of his escape clause!!!!!

Why go to a club in the championship that is clearly on a massive downward spiral?

JH comments about funding are clearly to do with league position and prize money, its tough for him to compete on the budget and he's covering his own back with comments which is fair. How can he be expected to replicate last season consistently on the budget he and the club has? I think that is his position to make us the fans a bit more realistic in our expectations.

The board have obviously stated a budget now we are staying up, but to me looks like they have indicated a willingness to give a little more should we finish 7th and win a bit more in terms of league prize money. I like the fact that JH is honest about these things, personally I think people are reading too much into things regarding an in house feud between board and JH.

Biggest budget we have ever had.... good to read.... but still going to be one of, if not the smallest in the league so lets be realistic on expectations regarding this statement and not expect miracles.

[+bughtmaster]

The reason J H had the Club's biggest budget was because of the injury crisis and the loss of 'Stars' which was very severe, Players had to be brought in hurriedly for cover.

OK  some of them didn't make the grade but to me that is understandable, they were new, had to fit in to a different style of play and had in some cases to play out of position, not easy from any angle.

J H may not get everything right but he has had more success here than any other manager we have had, we should be grateful for that and there is every chance that the new season coming up will see us back to quality play and good results.

[bdu98196]

Players like Dani Lopez were a gamble, we got players injured during pre-season last year so some were stop gap signings with limited success - as much as I'm not a fan Vigurs has been good as has Mutumbo in flashes, however the bigger concern isn't the cheap, available, emergency signings but the likes of Wedderburn & Horner who were specific targets and are struggling to step up.

Moving to DUtd IS a step up, we are a club with a smaller fan base and budget, just because they are below us in the league that doesn't make them unattractive much like Hibs and The Rangers. Last Sunday night I passed Yogi on the A9, presumably going back home to his family - I have no idea how many times a wk he makes that trip but I know that even occasional journeys frustrate me so can only imagine a few trips a week will drain your sanity. Although Yogi signed a longer contract that doesn't mean his family and personal life should be less important than his professional - if he got offered a good profile job closer to home, I think he'd take it, any one of us would.

In some aspects I criticise Hughes, but its important to try look beyond just the obvious and try understand the bigger picture, yes mistakes are made but we have also had success. A few years ago we had a transition when some stalwarts were moved on and some fans thought the club would implode and die, then after a few years we had our most successful ever periods of 2 consecutive cup finals including winning one and entering European football. After making it onto the radar in the media and for other clubs we have had key players poached or leave for better prospects/finances so are yet again in transition - Yogi needs to change his negative attitude in the press and playing style but still deserves backing to see what he can do next year and where he can take us.

[Huisdean]

2 hours ago, bughtmaster said:

The reason J H had the Club's biggest budget was because of the injury crisis and the loss of 'Stars' which was very severe, Players had to be brought in hurriedly for cover.

OK  some of them didn't make the grade but to me that is understandable, they were new, had to fit in to a different style of play and had in some cases to play out of position, not easy from any angle.

J H may not get everything right but he has had more success here than any other manager we have had, we should be grateful for that and there is every chance that the new season coming up will see us back to quality play and good results.

Totally agree with this, something that some posters appear to have overlooked.

[Renegade]

3 hours ago, ICTRoughi said:

I find it a little bit unnerving that John Hughes had the biggest budget of any ICT manager and wasted it on mediocre players like Dani Lopez for example. 

Oh now come on!  'Mediocre'?!  He wasn't that good!

[Shorty]

JH has signed 16 players in 2 seasons and only 4 of those have made any real impact (Ofere, Vigurs, Storey & Fon Williams).  If rumours are right, none of those 4 were scouted or found by the manager.

A couple of others have had long term injuries which is out of his control, but there's players fit who are not being utilised and ones being utilised who are a waste of space.  We would have done as well, if not better, by using more of the U20's over the season instead of blowing a barrowload of money on duffers.  No need to scratch heads over where the money has gone, you can see it right there, wasted.

[Kingofthenorth]

Not sure how I feel about a management system that believes Danny Devine is worthy of a contract but not David Raven...

[bdu98196]

40 minutes ago, Shorty said:

A We would have done as well, if not better, by using more of the U20's over the season instead of blowing a barrowload of money on duffers.

This the same under 20's that are bottom of the development league http://spfl.co.uk/development-league/ 

[Alex MacLeod]

10 hours ago, bdu98196 said:

The statement from the club clarifies and adds the transparency we have been seeking but doesn't still align with the message from Yogi. There is another interesting article from the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36165670 - this suggests the public targets from Partick are now outwith our reach.

If as suggestions around that Doran is about to resign, hopefully he can provide the missing creative spark, also given that Vigurs staying seems likely we are close to a starting 11. The comments about quality over quantity perhaps suggest that some of the 'emergency' signings due to our injury issues maybe on their way as they just haven't cut it at this level - Hughes, R.Williams, Fisher, Wedderburn are 4 that spring to mind - Roberts has disappeared so whether he is no longer in the plans or has agreed to go elsewhere its safe to assume he is gone and Mutumbo is really a player that's 50/50 - he has got better but will he make the grade longterm.

The striker position is the huge concern, where to find that goalscorer? Is always a gamble - Storey started well but has faded a bit perhaps due to loss of confidence and also being out of position. We see Billy McKay scored goals for fun with us but at DUtd cant get a run going, we had Sam Winnall and he never looked anything like a player when here but is now top scorer in League 1 down south - somewhere a gamble has to be made because we cant afford a proven scorer unfortunately.

 

I hope not. We need him. Also how can you judge that Fisher hasn't cut it at this level. He played half a game for us then got injured. Second your comment on Billy McKay is a bit out. He scored 54 times for us in 121 games. Thats 2.24 games per goal. Hes scored 12 in 26 games at United. Thats 2.16 games per goal. Sam Winnall ony made two starts for us and he was on loan.

[CaleyD]

Mckay......small "k".

[bdu98196]

Considering there has been talk on this thread and others of Doran re - signing then you seem to be the only user who had a problem with the missing hyphen, so to clarify it's expected that Doran will sign a new contract.

Fisher - based on his limited contribution whether injured or not  he has failed to prove himself at this level so far, you may disagree but does being injured for 6 months make an ideal candidate to offer a new deal when he hasn't shown he can play SPFL level?

Mckay stats - must be good to have time to research that, doesn't change the statement that he has struggled to get a run going scoring goals sporadically - plus if he fails to score tomorrow the stats at DUtd will be worse than ICT or do you class his time at DUtd a success?

Winnall on loan or otherwise if he had been ready and proved capable at the level required he would have had more game time, hence 2 appearances only. He is an example of a gamble which never worked for us but has elsewhere.

[Caol jag]

could otj be coming back in?

[Scotty]

doubt it considering he retired on medical advice after re-injuring himself a short time into his Falkirk contract.