Jump to content

EGM called on 3rd October


RiG

Recommended Posts

What even happened to that 10k or so that went to the finals in 2015 and then the near sell out game vs Astra? I'd say barely over a few hundred still actually go, and we've brought in some new people since, it's shocking how many we've lost. (I assume) they've all gone off to C*unty when we went down (as we still had packed stands for most games, and not relying on the away support to raise it past 2000) and they were just bandwaggoning. As they have done for most of our big milestones (this year's Scottish Cup Semis comes to mind, haven't seen most of the support since)

But I think it's more down to our lateness in getting a League side here. It took a little over 100 years to get a side established, whilst Aberdeen (the "local" SFL side) had the backing of the invernesians who wanted professional league football.

The only way to win these people back is pushing for promotion, then work on becoming an established Premiership side, and continuously push for a top 5 finish, and if we're feeling daring, pushing for Europe. Otherwise, we'll be stuck with a dwindling attendance...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The issues of footfall have been discussed to death elsewhere on here (some really good threads and posts worth searching for), but the reality is that even as you suggest the club get established and challenge for Top 6 every season there wont be a significant numbers increase (remember when we were in the Premiership) - the big issue is the lack of connection between the fans, club & city and the inability of the club to effectively take advantage of success and positives to use as a marketing tool to draw 'new' or 'lapsed' blood into the stands.

 

  • Agree 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Huisdean said:

Dunfermline, the Dundee clubs, Patrick Thistle and even Falkirk all attract substantially more fans than us. If we cannot attract more fans then part time football is the only solution. If that happens, the fans have only themselves to blame.

Falkirk aside, these clubs have their grounds within easy reach of the residential areas and not stuck out on a limb like the TCS. They also have better facilities for the match day experience with regards to local pubs etc. I think this makes a big difference plus the fact these clubs have been around a lot longer than ICT. There is still that lack lustre feel and apathy towards ICT in and around the Inverness area. The fans are there - this was proved a few times in the cup runs but getting them to go every week is neigh on impossible. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are lots of factors at play here.

For a start, the dropoff in income compared to being in the Premiership is huge - the difference in prize money, TV money, sponsorship opportunities and attendances (both home and away) is enormous. I'm pretty certain that most of the full-time clubs in our division either made significant losses (us, Dundee United, Partick Thistle) or relied heavily on handouts (Ross County, Dunfermline, QOS, Morton) to get by.

Unfortunately the nature of things is that if you spend beyond your means and don't get promoted then you're in financial trouble, but if you balance the books you're probably at risk of getting relegated to League One and losing further income.

Moreover it's all very well complaining about poor attendance but the fact is that people clearly would prefer to spend their hard-earned cash in other ways. Cost, apathy, inconvenience - for whatever reason people aren't coming to games and no other club has found a magic fix to this problem other than success on the pitch (which as stated elsewhere didn't exactly lead to a hike in our crowds either).

The bottom line is that the club is not currently sustainable without investment from outside (I say 'investment' but it's basically handouts) and we're not unique in that respect. The difficulty is finding someone wealthy who is willing to waste their money on such a venture. That I suppose is what the EGM is about.

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As stated before our lack of attendance has been discussed at leanth and how to get people through the gates is the issue we can't seem to overcome I've seen some great crowd's before but we just can't seem to hold on to them for whatever reason. It's heart breaking to see the sparsely populated stands now and without a rich sugar daddy to bank roll us like other clubs have it's hardly no surprise we will probably end up announcing even more losses. I for one love this club and even if we ended up back in league 2 I'd still be making my trips over. Only wish more people could see what I see in this club. Flying out tomorrow for the QOTS game and I'm really looking forward to it as I always 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm normally of the opinion why worry about something that you can't influence and while what happens at the EGM, or the outcome of it, can't directly be influenced by me alone, it's not an attitude that sits well with me on this occasion but then what can I do.

Indeed if everyone had that attitude then we would be in a far worse situation than we currently are.

I like to think that I contribute as a fan when I can all-be-it would love to go to more games, probably all I could do is buy a ticket for each game even if I couldn't go. I would say that's an extreme measure though.

That aside it'll be interesting to hear what the content of the EGM is and what it brings in the short and the long term, I'll reserve judgement on why it's been called until I know more information. 

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my opinion - now that it seems to be running more efficiently - the best thing any of us can do, especially if we have shares and cannot go, or have not setup a proxy with someone else, is to proxy them to the Supporters Trust in case of any voting. I already have a proxy setup or I would do that myself.   With a 10% voting right on its own, bolstered by however many small individual shareholder proxies, I would be confident they would have to be listened to, would do what is in the best interests of the club and its supporters, and could certainly have some influence in any decision making.  I said it a couple of years ago, but we need them more now than we ever did at any time in the past !  

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is  allegedly a rumour, among some County fans, that Uncle Roy is now also putting money into ICT. Something to do with him divorcing his wife and her wanting half his fortune. I have no idea as to the validity of this.....im merely relaying what i heard.

Edited by SMEE
  • Funny 2
  • Facepalm 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, SMEE said:

There is  allegedly a rumour, among some County fans, that Uncle Roy is now also putting money into ICT. Something to do with him divorcing his wife and her wanting half his fortune. I have no idea as to the validity of this.....im merely relaying what i heard.

Get Auntie Wilma in to back us with her half. ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, SMEE said:

There is  allegedly a rumour, among some County fans, that Uncle Roy is now also putting money into ICT. Something to do with him divorcing his wife and her wanting half his fortune. I have no idea as to the validity of this.....im merely relaying what i heard.

doubt that very much

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Scotty said:

In my opinion - now that it seems to be running more efficiently - the best thing any of us can do, especially if we have shares and cannot go, or have not setup a proxy with someone else, is to proxy them to the Supporters Trust in case of any voting. I already have a proxy setup or I would do that myself.   With a 10% voting right on its own, bolstered by however many small individual shareholder proxies, I would be confident they would have to be listened to, would do what is in the best interests of the club and its supporters, and could certainly have some influence in any decision making.  I said it a couple of years ago, but we need them more now than we ever did at any time in the past !  

Great idea, just a shame that the club haven't sent out any proxy forms ?‍♂️

  • Like 1
  • Agree 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, CaleyD said:

Great idea, just a shame that the club haven't sent out any proxy forms ?‍♂️

Just thinking that myself. Got home from Lewis late last night to find the letter. I’ve always used my proxy in the past but this is one I would have attended, but I’ll be on the high seas again and out of the country. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/19/2019 at 9:37 PM, Fraz said:

You mean the 'fans' who can't be arsed coming? Guess they'll not be that bothered. 

Was that the case yesterday? Crowd of 1760. Can't really blame it on poor performances I don't think.   :ponder:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The sad thing is that, probably an extra 500 to 1000 fans each week would make a huge difference to the financial situation at the club. The city of Inverness appears to have no or little affinity from the public and probably not helped by local politicians who only come out of the woodwork to support the club when it is to their benefit to do so (David Stewart excepted). Maybe the club has to use the dreaded, use it or lose it ploy?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Huisdean said:

The sad thing is that, probably an extra 500 to 1000 fans each week would make a huge difference to the financial situation at the club. The city of Inverness appears to have no or little affinity from the public and probably not helped by local politicians who only come out of the woodwork to support the club when it is to their benefit to do so (David Stewart excepted). Maybe the club has to use the dreaded, use it or lose it ploy?

Totally agree. I just hope what I am hearing does not materialise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Huisdean said:

 Maybe the club has to use the dreaded, use it or lose it ploy?

Certainly hope it never comes to that but in today's fiscal environment it wouldn't be  beyond possible.

The City has never been full of love for our club.  Inverness is a city that attracts tourists from all over the world and I doubt that any of these visitors know the city has a football team. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, Gringo said:

The City has never been full of love for our club.  Inverness is a city that attracts tourists from all over the world and I doubt that any of these visitors know the city has a football team. 

Which for me falls firmly at the footsteps of both the club (board) and its inability to engage with local community. Most or almost every club has some kind of presence in their town centre, but we fail to capitalise on this. Its been said before there are basic steps being missed

Ticket kiosk or pop up shop in town (utilising the empty retail units or areas such as Falcon square - especially on match days)

Without wanting the town to look tacky with posters and banners, simple lampost style flags with the club logo/branding in a few places - show a presence

A good social media presence both standalone but also tied in with the local community, such as community groups, local press, even the tourist board & council

Most important make matchday an experience worth talking about!!!! For example - Getting over these sole sourced catering contracts (lets not even open that can of worms ) to open up outside the stadium  with local food stalls, some music or entertainment and even local beers etc. Longterm traders pay a fee or % to have a pitch which will hopefully make money but also fans want to turn up a bit earlier and enjoy being around the ground - The internal catering may suffer a little but overall during the game fans will still have no choice but to buy from there.

 

The summer has now passed and we are heading towards the time of year that its cold, wet, catering is bang average (at best) and fans feel the club don't care. The fan numbers will probably stagnate or drop further regardless of on-field performances (unfortunately) excluding the occasional 'big' game. There really are more negatives reasons its hard to counter argue as to why the 'fair weather' fan wont come leaving just 'die hards'. Its a sad state of affairs but businesses need to learn from mistakes to grow, adapt and survive yet for years the same issues have been cited with minimal changes or improvements.

Edited by bdu98196
  • Like 1
  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, bdu98196 said:

Getting over these sole sourced catering contracts (lets not even open that can of worms )...

I see what you did there...will they take the bait?? ?

Having outlets in the city has been mentioned before but the costs of doing so will outweigh any potential profit so I think we're flogging a dead horse on that idea.

I echo your thoughts re tacky posters but the odd lamp post flag wouldn't hurt I don't think. Local pubs (except those that support County like Foxes) could / perhaps should display something at least.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe it would make sense for the club to open up a shop in one of the many empty lots around town, the high street is usually packed with Tourists, so it'd get us exposure, as, an industrial estate, is hardly a tourist hot spot. We've got a similar situation to Stoke City, both of our stadiums are based in an industrial estate next to a major road. However, they have a club shop in the shopping centre, and when I visited, it was packed (not the store, but it did have reasonable foot traffic) and there was quite a fair amount of tourists. Not sure if it was cos they were a Premier League club or not, but having a club shop away from the stadium, is going to give us more exposure. Hell, Celtic had a club shop in the Eastgate, and we had a wee corner of the Victorian Market for a little over a month when we made the Scottish Cup Final...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Jack Waddington said:

Maybe it would make sense for the club to open up a shop in one of the many empty lots around town, the high street is usually packed with Tourists, so it'd get us exposure, as, an industrial estate, is hardly a tourist hot spot. We've got a similar situation to Stoke City, both of our stadiums are based in an industrial estate next to a major road. However, they have a club shop in the shopping centre, and when I visited, it was packed (not the store, but it did have reasonable foot traffic) and there was quite a fair amount of tourists. Not sure if it was cos they were a Premier League club or not, but having a club shop away from the stadium, is going to give us more exposure. Hell, Celtic had a club shop in the Eastgate, and we had a wee corner of the Victorian Market for a little over a month when we made the Scottish Cup Final...

Have you costed this idea? Business rates are pretty high, unless there are copious reliable volunteers then staff costs are high, technology and other start up costs could be high.  If this fails, then the club's balance sheet worsens. There can be no guarantee that this suggestion will result in a significant increase in revenue to justify the expense...I may be wrong but am happy to see your proposals. I am sure the club would too if it is viable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's kind of what I was getting at with community & council integration. Nowhere around town do pending matches get advertised so unless you are already a fan you wont be tracking match days. Whether it be an simple pop up kiosk on the Fri/Sat morn (could be just a wooden stall really) in Falcon Sq or the council waving rates to get short term use of an empty shop unit (win-win for both parties as it removes empty units). It can happen in other towns so why not Inverness or is this just symbolic of the disconnect that exists.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, bdu98196 said:

Most important make matchday an experience worth talking about!!!! For example - Getting over these sole sourced catering contracts (lets not even open that can of worms ) to open up outside the stadium  with local food stalls, some music or entertainment and even local beers etc. Longterm traders pay a fee or % to have a pitch which will hopefully make money but also fans want to turn up a bit earlier and enjoy being around the ground - The internal catering may suffer a little but overall during the game fans will still have no choice but to buy from there.

This. 

The location of the ground is a pain in the a*** in some ways but it could also be a plus point. Its one of the most picturesque stadiums in the land so why not make use of that fact. Close the road to all but football traffic along the frontage between the entrances to the home and away car parks (ie. no through traffic) and have some form of entertainment/commerce there on a regular basis.

A farmers market where the small traders have minimal overheads might be good, small business with their cottage industry arts and crafts also. If people come to that then it also attracts the other businesses that need the footfall like bouncy castles or face painting etc. This would all have to be self-financing or worthwhile to the traders and club alike so either there is no charge to them (initially) or someone tries to sponsor any costs.  If it is successful, then the fact that the traders and/or entertainment is there should drive crowd levels up a bit. If the club themselves also have the shop and the bar open then they also generate revenue from this too. Speak to community groups, scouts, kids sports teams, schools and what not and offer them tickets for the game if they can bring something to the table in this regards .... its not like tickets are scarce anyway ! 

If it becomes popular as a known monthly/quarterly event it also then becomes easier to talk to the powers that be to provide transportation or easier access to the area .. more than just the Caley Club buses.  

 

6 hours ago, Jack Waddington said:

Maybe it would make sense for the club to open up a shop in one of the many empty lots around town, the high street is usually packed with Tourists, so it'd get us exposure, as, an industrial estate, is hardly a tourist hot spot. We've got a similar situation to Stoke City, both of our stadiums are based in an industrial estate next to a major road. However, they have a club shop in the shopping centre, and when I visited, it was packed (not the store, but it did have reasonable foot traffic) and there was quite a fair amount of tourists. Not sure if it was cos they were a Premier League club or not, but having a club shop away from the stadium, is going to give us more exposure. Hell, Celtic had a club shop in the Eastgate, and we had a wee corner of the Victorian Market for a little over a month when we made the Scottish Cup Final...

Given that the town centre manager - a former CE of Inverness Caledonian Thistle - and his wife, the Eastgate Centre supremo are always trying to figure out how to stop the town centre consisting of just pound shops, charity shops and pubs, (or shuttered premises) then this should be a no-brainer.  Is it better to get a nominal fee for something like a pop-up shop or to have things empty. A win win for all I would say and have said for years. 

 

4 hours ago, CELTIC1CALEY3 said:

Have you costed this idea? Business rates are pretty high, unless there are copious reliable volunteers then staff costs are high, technology and other start up costs could be high.  If this fails, then the club's balance sheet worsens. There can be no guarantee that this suggestion will result in a significant increase in revenue to justify the expense...I may be wrong but am happy to see your proposals. I am sure the club would too if it is viable.

All of your comments are correct but if you think a little bit out of the box this doesnt have to be the case .....

As above, firstly speak to the people in the town management and see if there is room for negotiation on things. pop-up shops are not typically expensive given their nature but there is or would be some element of cost so that has to be factored in. It depends how desperate the town centre folk are to make their product more attractive too ... its a potentially symbiotic relationship. Also, ICT - and other football clubs - are not like a traditional business so I would suggest they do actually attract volunteers to man something like this more easily than some other businesses. We are invested in the club with our hearts as well as our wallets so getting us to do something free or for cost is a lot easier. I would agree it tends to be the same faces doing the volunteering, but people do volunteer. The problem sometimes has been the club being aloof to those offers, turning them down for some reason, or treating people badly when they are doing those favours. As for technology costs then I do disagree here. Over the last few years the IT infrastructure at the stadium was improved so connecting remotely to it should not be an issue. Also, I encounter small one-person  businesses over here now all the time using their PHONES as their entire gamut of technology. Our church has semi-monthly craft sales on a Sunday after service and a nearby indigenous centre also has them on a similar timescale and virtually all of the vendors now take cash or credit card. Credit card is enabled by attaching a "square" reader to the lightning socket of your phone .... you can buy them for $10 here. As the club already has a vendor agreement with credit card companies I would doubt the start up or other costs would be significant. 

   

Edited by Scotty
  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Late to the party but pretty much nail on head with most.  Successive regimes have clattered on about reconnections with both the fan and business community but I for one must confess to seeing very little evidence and I qualify for both.  Although not a big business.  That said spoke to Dave Mackay at the club and there are various sponsorship opportunities available with vastly varied budgets so a step in the right direction. A good guy.  Just not sure if the club are doing enough to get this out there - can’t rely on one person.  Think I will attend EGM though as a shareholder- could be interesting......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Scotty unfeatured and unpinned this topic

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. : Terms of Use : Guidelines : Privacy Policy