ICTFC Squad Update 21/22/23/

[Kingsmills]

A rare point for Fort William this evening.

[Robert]

Another of our youngsters, Robbie Thomson, was highly praised by the Clach Manager in today’s Courier. It seems he is both a winger and a playmaker for them. 

[Robert]

On 4/11/2022 at 10:06 PM, Kingsmills said:

A rare point for Fort William this evening.

And a win tonight with young Cairns amongst the goals. Seemingly Strathspey didn’t give him much game time when he was on loan there and he really enjoyed scoring against them.

They were already condemned to a play off against Banks O’Dee to retain their Highland League status.

They will be underdogs but I hope they win. I was brought up there and football was very much secondary to shinty, but it would be sad to see them drop down a level.

 

[Robert]

Our physio, Dougal Sim, is retiring at the end of the season and the club is recruiting a replacement:

https://ictfc.com/vacancy-first-team-physiotherapist 

I am sure we all wish Dougal a long and happy retirement. 

Edited April 28, 2022 by Robert

[SMEE]

To those in the know. Who is signed up for next season at ICT?

[CaleyTennis]

I was just going to use this thread to ask the same question and then ask who you'd keep and release etc so I will let you post thoughts on that :)?

We know we've lost McAlear, Chalmers and Hardy back to their parent clubs and Kirk confirmed on Radio AND TV that he's leaving which is no surprise.

 

John Robertson did state before the match that he's been in England scouting which is good because we certainly needed to strengthen and increase the squad no matter what league we ended up in. 

Imho, if we do keep the nucleus of this squad and add to it that we're well capable of winning the title as we proved this season, all we need to do is stop losing points to the teams at the bottom of the table.

 

I still believe in this team but we HAVE to aim for the title as I'm frankly getting sick of being in this league, it been far to bloody long!

[Jaggernaut]

As far as I believe, but don't take it as gospel, we have Ridgers, Deas, Carson, Magregor, Billy Mckay, Walsh, Harper and Allardice all signed up, I think the rest are contracted till 31st May 2022.

[CaleyTennis]

Hopefully we offer a contract to Austin Samuels as he is a good addition to the squad.

Sam Pearson and Logan Chalmers are two I'd take back but that depends on Bristol City and Dundee Utd and who they release. 

 

Oh and I saw on Twitter that Danny Devine is close to a new deal.

[TheStickyBandit]

I believe Austin Samuel was signed on an 18 month deal in January so should have him for next season i think 

[CaleyTennis]

5 hours ago, TheStickyBandit said:

I believe Austin Samuel was signed on an 18 month deal in January so should have him for next season i think 

You are correct 

https://ictfc.com/austin-samuels-signs-for-ictfc

 

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/scottish-premiership/endendevertraege/wettbewerb/SC1

Not sure how many of these will be viable options or even available but it's worth a look 

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/scottish-championship/endendevertraege/wettbewerb/SC2

A more realistic one also worth a look ;). 

I'm not going to fill this thread with links to out of contract players at English and Scottish clubs as that will clog up the thread and tbh we have a Sporting Director that will deal with signings etc so I think we need to trust him 

Edited May 24, 2022 by CaleyTennis
Adding link

[hislopsoffsideagain]

Signed up for next season:

Mark Ridgers

David Carson

Robbie Deas

Cameron Harper

Scott Allardice

Roddy MacGregor

Tom Walsh

Billy Mckay

Austin Samuels

 

Definitely leaving:

Reece McAlear (end of loan)

Logan Chalmers (end of loan)

Joe Hardy (end of loan)

Kirk Broadfoot

Ryan Fyffe (signed for Buckie Thistle)

 

Out of contract:

Cammy Mackay

Danny Devine

Wallace Duffy

Harry Nicolson

Lewis Nicolson

Aaron Doran

Lewis Hyde

Sean Welsh

Shane Sutherland

[+snorbens_caleyman]

3 minutes ago, hislopsoffsideagain said:

Out of contract:

Shane Sutherland

I hope that the club offers some sort of contract to Shane, or, at the very least, makes all its resources available to him for his rehabilitation.  There's a moral obligation to do so.

[No Shin Guards]

I say, I'm mixed about Shane Sutherland and Aaron Doran. 

Shane - If he is out for months can we afford that? Football wise and financially?

Aaron - Is he past it? He should at least have hit the target with that shot last night. He must be one of the top earners. A contract with basic rate, plus maybe a bonus if we get promoted?

Eh what?  

[Kingsmills]

From the out of contract list, my priority would be Welsh and Devine.

Doran has been a magnificent servant over many years. However, it has become increasingly obvious this season that over a decade of significant injuries and gruelling rehabilitation have taken their toll.

It would be with considerable reluctance and great sorrow but with such a limited budget and a thin squad, I fear that the time has come to bit a fond and immensely grateful farewell.

[Caley Mad In Berks]

Doran is well past his sell-by date.  We have been loyal to him for years, many of which he has been injured about half the time.  He hasn't performed at a decent level for at least a couple of years.  Time to say goodbye.

[forresjags]

Lewis Hyde looks a decent prospect and one we should invest in.

Priority has to be 2 new full backs one either side.

Big question mark over Robbie Deas also, sell or keep and at what price could we realistically expect for him

[RiG]

Devine is meant to be signing a new deal with us. McAlear hasn't ruled out returning to Inverness but I'd be stunned if that did come true. Welsh, Sutherland and Duffy would be worth new deals.

I expect Deas to leave in the summer and wouldn't be shocked if Carson also returned south. Not that I want either of those guys to leave but Deas has been superb for us for a while and has been attracting attention from top tier clubs whilst Carson may want to move closer to home / family.

We simply have to sign left and right backs in the summer together with wide midfielders. Whilst we seem to have decent numbers in the middle our wide areas are sorely lacking and have been for some time. 

[+snorbens_caleyman]

14 minutes ago, RiG said:

We simply have to sign left and right backs in the summer together with wide midfielders. Whilst we seem to have decent numbers in the middle our wide areas are sorely lacking and have been for some time. 

And we need a reliable goalscorer.  But then again who doesn't?

Despite our apparent inability to score whilst creating lots of pressure, we ended up with the second highest goals-for figure, one behind Arbroath.  Third-best goals-against, significantly better than the seven below us.

We basically need more strength in depth throughout the team!

[+Hiro]

Devine (and possibly Welsh) should have a new contract announced shortly.  Discussions are well underway- I think Danny alluded to that yesterday.  Of the other out of contract players I'd expect Hyde and Cammy Mckay to renew their deals.  No idea about the other youngsters but it will be interesting to see what happens with Doran. I'm not sure his performances justify a new deal however I'd be gutted to see him leave.

[hislopsoffsideagain]

Given how few players we have signed up, losing Deas or Carson would be pretty grim even if we got cash for either.

 

The situation with Sutherland is tricky; we really should be looking after him but on our budget can we afford to pay a player who may not play at all, especially since we will probably be light on numbers as it is?

 

Sounds like Devine and Welsh are coming back, and it would be a surprise if Cammy Mackay and Hyde didn't stay too.

 

Doran has been a wonderful servant to the club but certainly seems be trending downwards. Hard to justify keeping him on. Is he not entitled to a testimonial by now?

 

I remain unconvinced by Duffy and I suspect the management team are too.

 

[TheStickyBandit]

I honestly can't see Reece staying on with us tbh. There was an article where he said he had achieved his goals at Inverness not long ago. I know the article alluded to a pun on the amount of goals he had scored for us and game time he had. However I also took that as in he had achieved what he set out to do with regards to first team exposure and putting himself in the shop window for when his Norwich contract ran down. I expect he may end up at a lower table SPL club like Kilmarnock or dare I say St Johnstone as they also have a few players out of contract

[RiG]

I can easily see McAlear popping up OTB...

[+Fraz]

22 minutes ago, hislopsoffsideagain said:

Doran has been a wonderful servant to the club but certainly seems be trending downwards. Hard to justify keeping him on. Is he not entitled to a testimonial by now?

 

 

[+snorbens_caleyman]

1 hour ago, hislopsoffsideagain said:

The situation with Sutherland is tricky; we really should be looking after him but on our budget can we afford to pay a player who may not play at all, especially since we will probably be light on numbers as it is?

I would be horrified if the club just walked away, and I can't imagine that it will.  They did what they could to help Robbo last year, and indeed he mentioned that last night.

Regardless of the contract situation, I would expect them to make their medical and physio resources available to Shane, to complement whatever he may receive from the NHS or privately.

I would also expect the club's legal team to ensure that he receives any benefits that he may be entitled to.  

There must be an option of paying him a reduced wage - not a full first-team salary - for a few months, to keep the wolf from his door.  Then, if he regains fitness, he can decide if he wants to play again and the club can decide whether to re-sign him as a player.

Finally, I know absolutely nothing about football insurance.  As an employer, the club must carry insurance against its employees being injured, but whether that extends to players in matches - which would surely drive the premium sky-high - I have no idea.

[Robert]

I have no idea how long Sutherland will be out for, but we must stand by him and offer him new terms.