Kelty/ Is this a joke - merged thread

[+Gringo]

8 hours ago, RednBlackComeback said:

50 years ago Thistle were wrongly refused entry to the Scottish league, with the reason given that Inverness was too far to travel for visiting clubs!

Maybe that was a case 50 years ago as road and rail were a lot slower back then. Defo not the case these days. Still a feeble excuse nonetheless.

[robbylad]

1 hour ago, KirkieRobRoy said:

Didn't catch the name, someone from The Wyness Shuffle.

Steve Riley. He didn't hold back.

[EvilWhiteStripe]

1 hour ago, robbylad said:

Steve Riley. He didn't hold back.

Would have been disaapointed if he had. In all the years I’ve known Riley he’s never held back.

[dougal]

First time I think I’ve nearly been lost for words.

Sad thing is although how absolutely ludicrous this sounds it doesn’t surprise me like it has most by the sounds of it.

This has taken months of organising and for this not to have been leaked speaks volumes of the internal goings on within the club and the secret meetings. 
This is only the start of things to come.

Boycott season tickets that’s where it will hurt them the most.

Free masonry at its finest 

Dougal

 

 

 

 

Edited May 25 by dougal

[roby]

Out of curiosity Dougal are you actually a season ticket holder . Strange how you always appear on this forum in times of crisis

[Yngwie]

10 hours ago, KirkieRobRoy said:

Made a good start on BBC Scotland Drivetime tonight.

Speaking of BBC, I suspect we’re going to get a mention or two on Off the Ball today - it’s gonna be an even harder listen than usual! On at 12 I think.

[Robert]

3 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

Speaking of BBC, I suspect we’re going to get a mention or two on Off the Ball today - it’s gonna be an even harder listen than usual! On at 12 I think.

What a joke we’ve become. 

[caley100]

I had wondered over the last few hours what the major shareholders thoughts were on this ludicrous situation?

Surely being local people and businessmen they must be alarmed at the goings on!

Somebody from Muirfield Mills ( Richard Smith) or Alan Savage, or Ian / Dougie macgillvary or David Stewart from the Caley Thistle trust has to voice their concerns! 

[Yngwie]

20 minutes ago, caley100 said:

I had wondered over the last few hours what the major shareholders thoughts were on this ludicrous situation?

Surely being local people and businessmen they must be alarmed at the goings on!

Somebody from Muirfield Mills ( Richard Smith) or Alan Savage, or Ian / Dougie macgillvary or David Stewart from the Caley Thistle trust has to voice their concerns! 

The problem is, voicing concerns is one thing, but stepping up to the plate and doing something positive for the club is another. We’ve been in decline for years and the major shareholders have just sat back and let it be someone else’s problem ie Ross Morrison, who I think took it on because nobody else wanted to and I’m sure would happily step back if someone had a better  plan and the money needed to deliver it. Someone told me he is currently £1.4m out of pocket.
 

Not that I’m criticising the other big shareholders for doing nothing - they all had their time, put a load of money in for no return, had varying degrees of success, then let someone else take on the baton. Wouldn’t it be good though if the current crisis was the catalyst that inspired someone with money and a better connection with the fans and city to step in and give us a better future than we currently face.

 

Edited May 25 by Yngwie

[ClickbaitProponent]

1 hour ago, roby said:

Out of curiosity Dougal are you actually a season ticket holder . Strange how you always appear on this forum in times of crisis

Some of us used to be. I withheld my season ticket last season after seeing the cluster f%$k being made by Gardiner. I didn't make the 1000 mile round trip at all last season and I won't be until Gardiner and Morrison are gone. Then and only then will I bother to return. And to be fair to Dougal, the times of crisis have been going on  for the last 7 seasons and getting worse year on year!

[Sir C the 3rd]

Nobody wants this.

Nobody wants Scot Gardiner at our club.

I’ve had a season ticket for 30 years, I know 100s of people & faces who I’ve attended games with, had good times with, had bad times with, had pints in Inverness with, had pints away with and pints in Europe with. ICT is a part of me.

All that has to end because of Scot Gardiner?

Just get out of my club you absolute utter cretin. 

[Drake]

Wow!  Talk about an over reaction from some of our fans! 

 

We can finally attract any Central Scotland based player that we can afford.  There have been season after season so many players within our budget that will have said no due to location.  Why would a player move himself and his family up here on a semi decent wage but they have to find accommodation etc for family.  We are losing out to teams in Central Scotland with lower budgets than us!  This is a MASSIVE game changer.  

 

I agree it's a shame we have had to do this.  But we no longer have the finances and the appeal of the Premier League to entice players North.  County can still do this due to the fact they are in the Prem (at the time of typing) and have a reasonable amount of financial backing.  We have been propped up financially for years by various folk but the money is dry and the lack of the Premier league means we are losing out.  The lack of fans coming through the gate as well has not helped.

 

Hopefully in a few years the club can relocate to Inverness, but if we have this small team mentality being shown on here and don't go for this, then who will sign for us?  January transfer was a disaster.  If we are to rely only on youth players coming up then we won't get out of this league never mind back to the Prem.  We'd probably be in a relegation scrap down to League 2.

 

So, the way I see it is, that yes this is an unfortunate but necessary move. There's 2 options:

 

Option 1:  The fans get their way.  The club stays.  By remaining Full time and on semi decent wages and based fully in Inverness we get hardly any quality signings and we are on a race to the bottom of no return.  We are patched up by random loan signings, youth and short contracts and all togetherness is lost anyway.  Then part time and bust.

 

Option 2:  The move goes ahead.  We remain full time, give semi decent wages and based in central Scotland.  A fair amount of quality players sign.  Players that would never have considered us before.  Even players from our fellow League 1 rivals will look at it as a bigger move without even moving!  We mount a title challenge and hopefully go up.  Players stay around for longer due to location and we actually get togetherness back!  Eventually promotion back to the Prem and a full relocation to Inverness where quality players will once again be lured North for the chance of playing in the Premier League. 

 

I fully support this as a way to secure the long term future of the club.  As for the youth teams, they can still train and be developed in inverness! I believe that if we had made this move sooner, we would not be in league 1.  We have missed out on so many signings over the years that it's possible that we'd be back in the Premier League by now if we had done this in 2017.  Time will tell if this works, but I say give it a chance and get behind Dunc and the team!

[dougiedanger]

11 minutes ago, Drake said:

Wow!  Talk about an over reaction from some of our fans! 

 

We can finally attract any Central Scotland based player that we can afford.  There have been season after season so many players within our budget that will have said no due to location.  Why would a player move himself and his family up here on a semi decent wage but they have to find accommodation etc for family.  We are losing out to teams in Central Scotland with lower budgets than us!  This is a MASSIVE game changer.  

 

I agree it's a shame we have had to do this.  But we no longer have the finances and the appeal of the Premier League to entice players North.  County can still do this due to the fact they are in the Prem (at the time of typing) and have a reasonable amount of financial backing.  We have been propped up financially for years by various folk but the money is dry and the lack of the Premier league means we are losing out.  The lack of fans coming through the gate as well has not helped.

 

Hopefully in a few years the club can relocate to Inverness, but if we have this small team mentality being shown on here and don't go for this, then who will sign for us?  January transfer was a disaster.  If we are to rely only on youth players coming up then we won't get out of this league never mind back to the Prem.  We'd probably be in a relegation scrap down to League 2.

 

So, the way I see it is, that yes this is an unfortunate but necessary move. There's 2 options:

 

Option 1:  The fans get their way.  The club stays.  By remaining Full time and on semi decent wages and based fully in Inverness we get hardly any quality signings and we are on a race to the bottom of no return.  We are patched up by random loan signings, youth and short contracts and all togetherness is lost anyway.  Then part time and bust.

 

Option 2:  The move goes ahead.  We remain full time, give semi decent wages and based in central Scotland.  A fair amount of quality players sign.  Players that would never have considered us before.  Even players from our fellow League 1 rivals will look at it as a bigger move without even moving!  We mount a title challenge and hopefully go up.  Players stay around for longer due to location and we actually get togetherness back!  Eventually promotion back to the Prem and a full relocation to Inverness where quality players will once again be lured North for the chance of playing in the Premier League. 

 

I fully support this as a way to secure the long term future of the club.  As for the youth teams, they can still train and be developed in inverness! I believe that if we had made this move sooner, we would not be in league 1.  We have missed out on so many signings over the years that it's possible that we'd be back in the Premier League by now if we had done this in 2017.  Time will tell if this works, but I say give it a chance and get behind Dunc and the team!

Aye, no bother Scot.

[+MrCaleyjag]

24 minutes ago, Drake said:

Wow!  Talk about an over reaction from some of our fans! 

 

We can finally attract any Central Scotland based player that we can afford.  There have been season after season so many players within our budget that will have said no due to location.  Why would a player move himself and his family up here on a semi decent wage but they have to find accommodation etc for family.  We are losing out to teams in Central Scotland with lower budgets than us!  This is a MASSIVE game changer.  

 

I agree it's a shame we have had to do this.  But we no longer have the finances and the appeal of the Premier League to entice players North.  County can still do this due to the fact they are in the Prem (at the time of typing) and have a reasonable amount of financial backing.  We have been propped up financially for years by various folk but the money is dry and the lack of the Premier league means we are losing out.  The lack of fans coming through the gate as well has not helped.

 

Hopefully in a few years the club can relocate to Inverness, but if we have this small team mentality being shown on here and don't go for this, then who will sign for us?  January transfer was a disaster.  If we are to rely only on youth players coming up then we won't get out of this league never mind back to the Prem.  We'd probably be in a relegation scrap down to League 2.

 

So, the way I see it is, that yes this is an unfortunate but necessary move. There's 2 options:

 

Option 1:  The fans get their way.  The club stays.  By remaining Full time and on semi decent wages and based fully in Inverness we get hardly any quality signings and we are on a race to the bottom of no return.  We are patched up by random loan signings, youth and short contracts and all togetherness is lost anyway.  Then part time and bust.

 

Option 2:  The move goes ahead.  We remain full time, give semi decent wages and based in central Scotland.  A fair amount of quality players sign.  Players that would never have considered us before.  Even players from our fellow League 1 rivals will look at it as a bigger move without even moving!  We mount a title challenge and hopefully go up.  Players stay around for longer due to location and we actually get togetherness back!  Eventually promotion back to the Prem and a full relocation to Inverness where quality players will once again be lured North for the chance of playing in the Premier League. 

 

I fully support this as a way to secure the long term future of the club.  As for the youth teams, they can still train and be developed in inverness! I believe that if we had made this move sooner, we would not be in league 1.  We have missed out on so many signings over the years that it's possible that we'd be back in the Premier League by now if we had done this in 2017.  Time will tell if this works, but I say give it a chance and get behind Dunc and the team!

You've missed your calling, if the club are ever looking for someone in their communications team, you should apply.

[Yngwie]

2 hours ago, Yngwie said:

Speaking of BBC, I suspect we’re going to get a mention or two on Off the Ball today - it’s gonna be an even harder listen than usual! On at 12 I think.

No jokes about it (yet),  but was discussed. Cosgrove against it, specifying rather oddly that it was the “wrong time” for this move, Cowan much more accepting of the need for it, but both acknowledging the consequences it has for club identity.

[FrontRow]

1 hour ago, Drake said:

Wow!  Talk about an over reaction from some of our fans! 

 

We can finally attract any Central Scotland based player that we can afford.  There have been season after season so many players within our budget that will have said no due to location.  Why would a player move himself and his family up here on a semi decent wage but they have to find accommodation etc for family.  We are losing out to teams in Central Scotland with lower budgets than us!  This is a MASSIVE game changer.  

 

I agree it's a shame we have had to do this.  But we no longer have the finances and the appeal of the Premier League to entice players North.  County can still do this due to the fact they are in the Prem (at the time of typing) and have a reasonable amount of financial backing.  We have been propped up financially for years by various folk but the money is dry and the lack of the Premier league means we are losing out.  The lack of fans coming through the gate as well has not helped.

 

Hopefully in a few years the club can relocate to Inverness, but if we have this small team mentality being shown on here and don't go for this, then who will sign for us?  January transfer was a disaster.  If we are to rely only on youth players coming up then we won't get out of this league never mind back to the Prem.  We'd probably be in a relegation scrap down to League 2.

 

So, the way I see it is, that yes this is an unfortunate but necessary move. There's 2 options:

 

Option 1:  The fans get their way.  The club stays.  By remaining Full time and on semi decent wages and based fully in Inverness we get hardly any quality signings and we are on a race to the bottom of no return.  We are patched up by random loan signings, youth and short contracts and all togetherness is lost anyway.  Then part time and bust.

 

Option 2:  The move goes ahead.  We remain full time, give semi decent wages and based in central Scotland.  A fair amount of quality players sign.  Players that would never have considered us before.  Even players from our fellow League 1 rivals will look at it as a bigger move without even moving!  We mount a title challenge and hopefully go up.  Players stay around for longer due to location and we actually get togetherness back!  Eventually promotion back to the Prem and a full relocation to Inverness where quality players will once again be lured North for the chance of playing in the Premier League. 

 

I fully support this as a way to secure the long term future of the club.  As for the youth teams, they can still train and be developed in inverness! I believe that if we had made this move sooner, we would not be in league 1.  We have missed out on so many signings over the years that it's possible that we'd be back in the Premier League by now if we had done this in 2017.  Time will tell if this works, but I say give it a chance and get behind Dunc and the team!

You have absolutely no idea what community means do you? 
it’s not just about being in the Premier league it’s about identifying with a club through thick and thin because they are part of your community. 
the way this has been done is actually the main issue I have. People who have been loyal to the club, people who have developed young talent, people who have supported through the years, all just ignored and this half arsed statement comes out. No one at club knew anything about it, none of the players, none of the youth coaches. It is the worse example of business practice I have witnessed. In one fell swoop they have pissed off fans, players, coaches and it’s all based on a hope that we can get ‘better players’. Did any of Ferguson’s signings or the style of play we had to endure give any indication that this would improve. Did it hell. It was rank rotten, his signings were awful, his man management abysmal and his overall performance pathetic - he drove a wedge between so many. Between himself and Gardiner they just do not get what being a Highlander is about. It is not pandering to the south and the demands of second rate players. Have some dignity 

[Ronaldo]

Oh dear, it appears that the us have now sold to the them……..

[Drake]

8 minutes ago, FrontRow said:

Did any of Ferguson’s signings or the style of play we had to endure give any indication that this would improve. Did it hell. It was rank rotten, his signings were awful, his man management abysmal and his overall performance pathetic 

This is exactly why the move will help. Big Dunc wasn't able to get the players in.  Previous managers as well will have experienced it.  How can he get good players to come in on loans or short deals when we don't have the money to pay as well as not being a desirable location for Southern footballers.  Statistically due to population most footballers play and want to play South of Inverness.  It was so difficult to get players to come up and train here.    This will solve the location problem.  

[FrontRow]

42 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

No jokes about it (yet),  but was discussed. Cosgrove against it, specifying rather oddly that it was the “wrong time” for this move, Cowan much more accepting of the need for it, but both acknowledging the consequences it has for club identity.

 

2 minutes ago, Drake said:

This is exactly why the move will help. Big Dunc wasn't able to get the players in.  Previous managers as well will have experienced it.  How can he get good players to come in on loans or short deals when we don't have the money to pay as well as not being a desirable location for Southern footballers.  Statistically due to population most footballers play and want to play South of Inverness.  It was so difficult to get players to come up and train here.    This will solve the location problem.  

I’m afraid it won’t. We are in league 1. We will not have any pull to any players - rejects from Morton or Partick. Are they seriously better than what our youth system is producing. Not a chance. 

Ferguson’s style was abysmal. He didn’t look at what he had - he immediately assumed we had a leaky defence without looking and then left one of our better defender sitting on his arse for months. Instead he brought in guys who were no better atall. He is clueless 
 

Cosgrove just covering it perfectly - it is a betrayal of the ethos of the game. 
 

[Yngwie]

It’s certainly true that one of the many factors that got us relegated was the failure to bring in good players last summer to replace the ones we had lost. Davidson, Brooks, Lodovica and Longstaff. Good grief, that was the best we could do, as a Championship side that was already spending beyond its means. Not sure we can blame it on Dodds and Robbo for being inept in recruitment, we know that they tried to sign better players like Wetherspoon but couldn’t get them.

[+DoofersDad]

The club's statement says "For the avoidance of any doubt we absolutely intend to continue to develop our own homegrown Highland boys and we will take the appropriate steps to make sure that by being creative, innovative and practical, they do not miss out on the chance to have a pathway to first team football with their team."  What it doesn't say is what those "appropriate steps" will be.  Presumably this is because they simply don't know.

The reality is pretty stark.  Any young lad with the talent to break through to the level where training with the first team squad will be required to train 135 miles from their home.  It is impractical for them to be travelling up and down the road every day, so what other options are there?  Will they be provided with overnight accommodation for 3 or 4 nights a week?  Do they move to Fife and, if so, who pays for that? Do they stay in Inverness and look to find a place at County or one of the Highland league clubs?  Or do they just pack it in?  The one option that is not open for them, is to continue to live at home with their families and play for the club they have grown up with and want to play for.  No prizes for guessing where the most talented youngsters in the Highlands will be heading to now.

What the statement doesn't say, is how long this arrangement will last.  There is nothing to suggest this is a temporary arrangement and therefore we must assume the club intend this to be the permanent model for our club.  So what sort of player will we attract?  Rejects who want to be somewhere else would be my view.  

For example, imagine you had payed for Dundee Utd, live in Dundee but had been released as being not quite up to Premiership level.  You get an offer from ICT and a similar one from Dunfermline, what do you do?  For me it would be a no brainer.  At Dunfermline you would be part of a local community with team mates who live in the area.  You would regularly be in and out of the club and get to know all the folk who work behind the scenes. You would be playing in front of a decent sized crowd, You would feel much more of a part of the club.  In short, you would have a sense of belonging.  Sign for ICT and what do you get?  Team mates who would rather be somewhere else and who will be off as soon as they get a better offer; no connection with the city where your "home" ground is; little connection with the wider club personnel; a 3 hour journey to travel to "home" games where you are playing in front of a handful of spectators.  Yesterday, several former players were talking about the things that bond players together to make a good team.  All of those factors will be missing.

The reality will be that we will only be able to attract players who can't get a contract elsewhere.  Are we really going to assemble a better team based in Kelty than we could up here?  I very much doubt it.  Even if we do attract a handful of good players,  I doubt we will ever build a good team.  I don't want to watch players who would rather be somewhere else.  This may be our club, but it won't be our team.

[Yngwie]

The majority of Scottish footballers will not seriously consider relocating to Inverness, certainly not for a mediocre salary and a 1 or 2 year deal. We are therefore fishing in a much smaller pond than our competitors, that is the sad reality.

[bdu98196]

16 minutes ago, FrontRow said:

 

I’m afraid it won’t. We are in league 1. We will not have any pull to any players - rejects from Morton or Partick. Are they seriously better than what our youth system is producing. Not a chance.
 

That the same youth system that our loaned players barely made any impact all at levels way below not just championship but league one. Too many thinking we have a class of 92 when we are lucky to get one average player out of each annual group.

The youngsters we have will not get us out of league 1, be fortunate if they could even keep us there. I'm sure they will be included to supplement into a team but cannot on existing evidence build it around them.

[tm4tj]

Just now, FrontRow said:

No one at club knew anything about it, none of the players, none of the youth coaches. It is the worse example of business practice I have witnessed. In one fell swoop they have pissed off fans, players, coaches and it’s all based on a hope that we can get ‘better players’.

This is the bit that really caught my eye in FrontRow's comment. So who exactly did these negotiations???

I think we can all guess.

[Broonerz]

2 minutes ago, bdu98196 said:

That the same youth system that our loaned players barely made any impact all at levels way below not just championship but league one. Too many thinking we have a class of 92 when we are lucky to get one average player out of each annual group.

The youngsters we have will not get us out of league 1, be fortunate if they could even keep us there. I'm sure they will be included to supplement into a team but cannot on existing evidence build it around them.

But they are our kids, schooled in our City and at our club. Would rather watch a poor local team than what in essence is a Fife Franchise.

The other teams systems we plundered in January weren’t great and have put us where we are now.