Yogi says no more money no more players!

[CaleyMax]

Just read in Inverness Courier that with the injury problems we have that no more players will be bought to fill the gaps. 

I guess that includes strikers as well, hope I'm wrong!. 

Edited August 2, 2015 by CaleyMax
Mistake in spelling

[Row S]

I must say I'm not happy with that especially after not having a recognised fit striker. Having just watched all the Premiership highlights on Sportscene we seem to be the only club that hasn't recruited any strikers. Our lack of attempts on target yesterday was a damning statistic. Okay we have new players who are attacking midfielders (Lopez, Roberts and Mbuyi-Mutombo) potentially capable of scoring but it is very worrying that we have never replaced Billy McKay. The loss of Gary Warren for most of the season is also a big blow for our defence along with all the pre-season injuries. While I hope I am proved wrong I really fear that even after one match we could be at the wrong end of the table for most of the season.

Edited August 3, 2015 by Row S

[Guest Shaun]

Surely he can loan one or two though, or do loans cost money too 

Edited August 2, 2015 by Shaun

[Row S]

I would hope so but we need them in quick. Do the parent club not pay half or more of the loanee's wages?

[Guest Shaun]

Thats what I thought too.

For me we desperately need a striker and one or two defenders!

[Renegade]

It differs deal by deal.  Some will paid 100% by the parent club, some 100% the receiving club.  Others will be a mixture of the two clubs.

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Thats what I thought too.

For me we desperately need a striker and one or two defenders!

We also need a hellava lot more people to attend matches to pay for some of the dreams supporters have after last seasons amazing success on a very tight budget. Austerity - look at the crowds Celtic, Dundee United and Hearts had over the weekend!1

[mcdonnell761]

Also look at the sheer amount of people that live within 10 miles of their stadiums. We are always going to be struggling to get fans to the games because our fanbase is spread over a huge area. I have friends up in Thurso (please don't judge) and for them to come down to a saturday game, 2 adults and 2 children costs them between £100 and £150. People can't sustain that for an entire season.

[PerfICT]

After seeing the match on Saturday, this is simply terrifying news. I cannot believe that we don't have some cash in the kitty to help us out of the spot we find ourselves in regarding a lack of strikers and a stack of injuries. If the chairman is keeping some for a "rainy day", I think he needs to think again - it p!shing down already and January might be too late to save us. Pessimistic - too right I am: makeshift defence for months to come and no strikers - what's to look forward to?

[Sir C the 3rd]

What I find more worrying is what has happened to us scouting players? Other than wedderburn who apparently we looked at, everyone has been brought in as trialists or who yogi thought was good 2 years ago. I thought after last seasons achievements we might just loosen the purse strings a wee bit, have a little faith and back the manager. Also maybe replace the quality we've lost with people of decent quality themselves. Sadly I'm not sure we've done that.

Most clubs looks like they've maybe stretched themselves budget wise this season looking at the players that have been brought in. Perhaps due to the deal with ladbrokes giving them a little extra to play with. Sadly we don't look like one of those clubs.

[Biggin]

Earlier Hughes had said that he was looking to bring in a striker and a defender ( Left Back) so if you say Mbuyi-Mutombo is the striker  where has the money gone that was available for the defender

Playing Raven out of position nor using Williams as a makeshift Full Back is not the answer- now with Warren out we desperately need a defender as well as another striker

we have only played one league game but I already see us in a relegation struggle with probably Hamilton /Partick/Kilmarnock.

The most annoying thing for me is that we have known since January that we had to replace  Shinnie/Mackay and ye have done nothing about it surely we should have been identifying replacements and getting them on board , instead of bringing in trialists

[Sneckboy]

There have been a few posts on various threads regarding 'if Dundee this, Dundee that..', but the reality is, they had double our average attendance last season.

3,733 v 6,966 rounded to
3700 v 7000

Our gate on Sat of 3.3k is equivalent to how many more fans go to Dens every (second) week. It's hugely significant over a season - effectively, with 19 home matches, it's around 62,500 more 'bums-on-seats' than we currently get.
Even at (say a conservative average) of £20 match day spend = 20 x 62,500 = £1,250,000. Over a million quid - a lot of money, and far outstrips our cup win profits.

Aside from the outrageous TV revenue the clubs in England receive, at our level, gate receipts are a pretty good indicator of where clubs will be in the pecking-order.
Regardless of managerial prowess, it's 'all about the money' and clubs will eventually 'default' to their natural level. Rich benefactors can sometimes temporarily distort a club's standing but occasionally, when everything comes together, clubs can punch-above-their-weight, and achieve great things. 
I find it outrageous that some folk think we can 'go to the next level'. Last season was the ultimate. It simply won't ever get any better than that! We are fortunate to have witnessed it!

[CaleyD]

If memory serves, Dundee posted loses of somewhere around £3 Million in their 2014 year end accounts...some people never learn!!

Edited August 3, 2015 by CaleyD

[AlexJones]

Isn't there some kind of new rule that punishments for going into administration increase exponentially with each repeated occurrence? IIRC Dundee have 2 strikes, and if they were to go into administration a third time they would be sent to the bottom tier of the new pyramid system, which given their location north of the River Tay, would be the Highland league.

Spending above our means isn't the answer, it's the equivalent of living large on a credit card and never ends well. We have a more than adequate squad IMO. Don't see the point in paying over the odds for a short term stop gap. Each player that returns from injury will be the equivalent of a new signing. It's too early to write any of our new recruits off. As others have stated, it took Mckay a few months to even break into the first team, then another season to start hitting the net regularly. G Shinnie was a fairly average bottom 6 left back for years before he became as good as he is now. Patience is key, and a hallmark of our progress.

Some elements in our support have gotten drunk on our recent success and now act like OF / Aberdeen fans. We need to temper our expectations. Staying clear of the relegation dogfight is our first priority. If other clubs want to bankrupt themselves to reach the top 6, that's their prerogative. As we've seen with Rangers and Hearts recently, those who live above their means are destined to live beneath their means. And when that day comes, well run clubs like ICT and St Johnstone who didn't get involved in the self-destructive spending race are there to fill the void, as we've seen in the last 2 seasons. 

   

Edited August 3, 2015 by AlexJones

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

I could accept the "cutbacks" if the financial situation was made clearer. I appreciate that there are mega financial pressures in running a club BUT last season must have brought in more money than ever before. So why the struggle. I also accept to a degree the reluctance to open the books to the public eye but WE really need an explanation. 

[Kingsmills]

Also look at the sheer amount of people that live within 10 miles of their stadiums. We are always going to be struggling to get fans to the games because our fanbase is spread over a huge area. I have friends up in Thurso (please don't judge) and for them to come down to a saturday game, 2 adults and 2 children costs them between £100 and £150. People can't sustain that for an entire season.

Maybe so but we have up to a hundred thousand potential fans living within relatively easy travelling distance. I know the club are working on it but it's not unreasonable to attract 4,000 'locals' on a regular basis with those of us who travel a bit further and opposition fans on top.

It was disappointing to see few if any of the additional fans who travelled to Glasgow in May turning out for the first home league game of the season.

[givmeaccccc]

Excellent response by IHE. Last season in comparison to other seasons we must have raked it in. The club should be a  bit more open and willing to share some information with their shareholders and members . Our season ticket sales must be up on last season, or are they? Do we have any additional revenue from shirt sales in May and other club products? Do we benefit from Ladbrokes money?

Not replacing Billy has been a massive error, and where did that money go? 

No one is suggesting that there is a biscuit tin mentality but I reckon that season ticket holders and shareholders should be told a little more about the day to day running costs, wages, expenses etc.

[Harry Chibber]

I honestly can't believe that some fans are actually defending the club if there are no further signings! 

We have gone without paying a transfer fee since 2008? 

It is amazing that Butcher & now Yogi have managed to achieve any sort of success with no financial support 

Last year was without doubt our most successful season and we also received our highest ever financial fee for a player (even if it was a pitiful £150,000)

We are no longer paying the contracts for our club captain and 4 other first team players (inc. Mckay) 

Our attendances have always been what they are ... we have the unfortunate situation that Inverness doesn't keep a high number of young adults between 17 - 30 and I suspect this is the normal demographic for regular attendees for other clubs round the SPFL.

The players signed this season haven't been playing at a high enough standard to demand wages that would even hit the sides of the players wages that left.

IHE's spot on ... the club needs to explain to the fans why they are not backing Yogi if no more players come in to help him out

  

Edited August 3, 2015 by Harry Chibber

[lethenloyal]

May be new to the forum but I can reassure everyone I am not new to watching caley thistle. Questions need answered......why have we had our weakest transfer window in years after finishing 3rd and qualifying for Europe? Why are we signing players from the 3rd tier of France and Spain, Lopez looks horrendous. We need to do more in terms of getting quality players in. Obviously difficult to attract players within a tight budget but if we don't try and better the squad we will eventually end up down the bottom of the league if not relegated.Find it incredible we are so short on the ground again in terms of a squad after the season has started!! We have no decent strikers! One of the first teams in the league playing competive games with Europe and look the least ready out of all the teams in the league!!!!

[CaleyCanary]

Lots of moot points  - Alex is quite right about so many unrealistic expectations this season. We punched way above our weight last time out, this year was always likely to be a disappointment and patience is required.

On the other hand, the Immortal one is also right. It's very strange that currently we seem to be the architects of our own downfall. Financially, last year's success has not generated a large wad of dosh we can spray about but surely we must be in a far better position than we have been at the start of previous campaigns. 

What I can't understand is the failure to secure the services of a half-decent striker since the departure of Billy. It was fairly obvious even when Billy was still with us that we needed additional cover up front and the situation has gradually deteriorated with pressures now becoming more acute in other areas.

So yes, my expectations for this season are realistic but I'd really like to know why we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot.

[lethenloyal]

Moot points or relevant questions?

[Renegade]

I'm sure the last player the club paid money and as far as I'm aware, the only cash Butcher ever paid for a player was around £10,000 for Danny Williams from Kendal Town.  If finances were so tight, why didn't the team fly commercially to Romania?  I and many others did it and per person it wasn't extortionate.

As many previously, the wages of Shinnie, Watkins, Baptie, Kink, Ofere and Ross will have been freed up.  I can't see the likes of Wedderburn and Roberts being on megabucks.  Are the club paying off Russell Latapy as was rumoured?  I certainly find it hard to believe that accumulatively Roberts, Fon Williams, Wedderburn, Mutombo and Lopez are on the same wages as the ones who left, even considering the likes of Horner and Polworth would be on slightly improved deals.  Hughes said in an interview at the start of pre-season and after Wedderburn signed, that he wanted a keeper, another defender, another midfielder and two strikers.  So far (counting Mutombo as a midfielder) we're still short of a defender and a striker.  Now seemingly there's no money left.  Why did he say it if there was no budget for it?  And didn't the club post a profit last year?  And what happened to the link with the agency down south Terry Butcher use to use so much?  I was under the impression it was still going.

This also involves what one would presume to be the club's best selling merchandise, the shirts, not even being on sale yet, with the launch date still unknown and even then won't be on sale, at all, at the club.  Bizarre.

There's just a whole air of strangeness about the whole saga.  Or is it all in our minds?  Will Yogi be our Ivan Golac?  This is the season we'll really find out what the club is made of.

Edited August 3, 2015 by Renegade

[Kingsmills]

I honestly can't believe that some fans are actually defending the club if there are no further signings! 

We have gone without paying a transfer fee since 2008? 

It is amazing that Butcher & now Yogi have managed to achieve any sort of success with no financial support 

Last year was without doubt our most successful season and we also received our highest ever financial fee for a player (even if it was a pitiful £150,000)

We are no longer paying the contracts for our club captain and 4 other first team players (inc. Mckay) 

Our attendances have always been what they are ... we have the unfortunate situation that Inverness doesn't keep a high number of young adults between 17 - 30 and I suspect this is the normal demographic for regular attendees for other clubs round the SPFL.

The players signed this season haven't been playing at a high enough standard to demand wages that would even hit the sides of the players wages that left.

IHE's spot on ... the club needs to explain to the fans why they are not backing Yogi if no more players come in to help him out

  

I honestly can't believe that some fans are actually defending the club if there are no further signings! 

We have gone without paying a transfer fee since 2008? 

It is amazing that Butcher & now Yogi have managed to achieve any sort of success with no financial support 

Last year was without doubt our most successful season and we also received our highest ever financial fee for a player (even if it was a pitiful £150,000)

We are no longer paying the contracts for our club captain and 4 other first team players (inc. Mckay) 

Our attendances have always been what they are ... we have the unfortunate situation that Inverness doesn't keep a high number of young adults between 17 - 30 and I suspect this is the normal demographic for regular attendees for other clubs round the SPFL.

The players signed this season haven't been playing at a high enough standard to demand wages that would even hit the sides of the players wages that left.

IHE's spot on ... the club needs to explain to the fans why they are not backing Yogi if no more players come in to help him out

  

While I agree with much of what you say, the club does need to be financially prudent and remember that without windfalls such as cup finals and transfer fees we tend to have an annual trading loss in the region of £300,000 which is not sustainable year after year. The first responsibility of the board is to ensure that we have a viable business going forward.

That said, we have had two extraordinary years in succession from a financial point of view with a cup final in each year, compensation for our management team last year and a substantial transfer fee this even if it wasn't, as you wrongly say a record for the club, that was the fee of over twice as much we received for Marius Niculae. We also pocketed more in the way of place money than budgeted for and shown a profit on our European adventure albeit a very modest one.

Taking all that into account, I am sure the board can loosen the purse strings just a bit and, in my view they should.

[ICTRoughi]

May be new to the forum but I can reassure everyone I am not new to watching caley thistle. Questions need answered......why have we had our weakest transfer window in years after finishing 3rd and qualifying for Europe? Why are we signing players from the 3rd tier of France and Spain, Lopez looks horrendous. We need to do more in terms of getting quality players in. Obviously difficult to attract players within a tight budget but if we don't try and better the squad we will eventually end up down the bottom of the league if not relegated.Find it incredible we are so short on the ground again in terms of a squad after the season has started!! We have no decent strikers! One of the first teams in the league playing competive games with Europe and look the least ready out of all the teams in the league!!!!

I do not believe we have had a weak transfer window this year, the only issue for me was they were brought in too late IMO.  

I personally think that players like Jordan Roberts, Owain Fon Williams, Nat Wedderburn and Andrea Mbuyi-Mutombo have shown early signs of promise and of course it will take them a little bit of time to get used to playing a higher level of football and also a quicker game than they have been used to in the lower leagues.  

End of the day, if we want to have many players from higher leagues then the club will need some serious investment and I doubt that's going to happen unless some rich arab is looking to buy ICT for his son to play with. If you look at majority of other teams in the Premiership outwith Celtic, most of their signings have come from lower league teams. Wes Fletcher who scored the winner for Motherwell last Saturday came from York City of League 2 in England. 

I'm fairly confident that the club are doing what it's in the best interest of Caley Thistle but like many others I'm concerned that we have no funds left for emergency scenarios like the current injury list. There's only so long that you can get away with having players playing out of position.  

 

[Huisdean]

But did we actually get any place money as no sponsor for the league?. As someone has already said, we continually run at a loss and surpluses in good years have to balance this out. The only real way we will compete financially with some other clubs is to get more people attending matches and that seems to be impossible to achieve.

Having said that, I do think we need new blood on the board. I may be wrong, but it does seem that replacements for the board seem to come from the same/similar sources and we need some more dynamism from the board including a more aggressive stance on issues.