Investment

[Yngwie]

1 hour ago, CaleyCiuin said:

Whilst new investment is welcomed, I’m not sure money will solve the underlying issues.

Indeed, but it helps with an awful lot of things! We need to be better run AND to have more money.

With more money we don’t need to offload good players, we can sign more players/ better players, we can afford to pay off the manager, we can afford to pay off the CEO, we can improve facilities, we can afford to pay for players’ operations and so on.

[CaleyCiuin]

10 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

Indeed, but it helps with an awful lot of things! We need to be better run AND to have more money.

With more money we don’t need to offload good players, we can sign more players/ better players, we can afford to pay off the manager, we can afford to pay off the CEO, we can improve facilities, we can afford to pay for players’ operations and so on.

What good players would we offload??? More incoming players equals young players back out on loan etc. Operations should be standard conditions under players personal and club responsibility regardless of money. The manager is unlikely to be paid off, it may be part of the attraction for a new investor. Money doesn’t equal success, but I agree we can’t function without it.

[big cherly]

19 hours ago, Yngwie said:

Maybe, but this is just a temporary state of affairs.
Being a fan is a lifetime commitment and we all took the vows - for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health! Everything is bad just now, and it might all get even worse for a while when we are getting pumped by the likes of Annan and Kelty, but we will bounce back, on and off the pitch.

In what form? I accept it’s a results based industry (entertainment wise). 
However I would like to think we would take the time to avoid going down the same road as we have travelled over the past decade and more recently where the club has been used (or misused if you like), to gamble the future existence of the club to enrich certain individuals with almost complete disregard for the club place in the city and their fans. 
I would ideally like to slowly return to being a club with the heart of the city, region and fans at its centre! 

[+jagster]

What concerns me as well. If Ferguson does get more money for his budget are we going to end up with loanees like last season   Kerr and Macallister were good but the rest you could have kept and didn’t avoid the inevitable relegation with his style of football. Time will tell I guess 

[CaleyTennis85]

4 hours ago, jagster said:

What concerns me as well. If Ferguson does get more money for his budget are we going to end up with loanees like last season   Kerr and Macallister were good but the rest you could have kept and didn’t avoid the inevitable relegation with his style of football. Time will tell I guess 

Its hard to gauge because he did mention a couple of signings being in the pipeline and that they'd be local based due to accommodation issue so does that mean loans from County or St J or does that hint at looking at players from the likes of Peterhead/Elgin or ones in the Highland League .

I wasn't at all happy when it was announced that DF was staying but tbh I have come to accept that I will have to back him and that statement about local based players being in the pipeline has me more optimistic than ever that he is now coming to realise that there ARE good players in the Highland League capable of the step up!! We were advocating for loca players/our younger players to be given a shot so it's only fair that we acknowledge that DF has now taken our pleasure on board .

[ScottMacScott]

Loanees from County. F me. Forget loanees let's have a team from Inverness and Highlands. A few tough seasons but build another community club. Get rid of the Fergusons and Dodds and Butchers and be back to the Tokely and McArthur and Stewart days. Local boys. The cream of the highland league. Build from there. 

Edited July 13 by ScottMacScott

[Starscape]

5 minutes ago, ScottMacScott said:

Loanees from County. F me. Forget loanees let's have a team from Inverness and Highlands. A few tough seasons but build another community club. Get rid of the Fergusons and Dodds and Butchers and be back to the Tokely and McArthur and Stewart days. Local boys. The cream of the highland league. Build from there. 

You mean local talent like Ridgers and McGregor? Duncan didn't even bother phoning them, never mind trying to persuade them to wait for this definite slew of cash that's a couple of weeks away. I had little faith in him when he arrived, given his record, and zero now he has demonstrated his lack of appraisal talent, negative tactics and people mismanagement skills.

[+DoofersDad]

Board Director Panos Thomas has been quoted by the Courier saying “Directors are working tirelessly to attract new investment in the club.  Indeed, there has been welcome interest and I would ask everyone for their patience as we progress matters.”  I wonder if this sudden breaking of the silence is to dampen down expectation following what Ferguson said at his pre-match press conference.  Thomas's words don't exactly suggest any kind of deal is imminent.  Indeed they don't even imply there are any meaningful discussions going on at all.

He then said, “We are delighted to see youth being given a chance with several Academy players featuring in the squad and we are confident the team is ready to face the first challenge with focus and commitment."  Yeah, right!  This from a Director of the same Board who only recently were "delighted" to announce a move of our training base to Kelty.  This move would have virtually disenfranchised our Academy players unless they were willing to move away from their families and friends and relocate in Fife.  And this far reaching decision was made without any discussion with those who it would most affect.

Thomas goes on to say, “Invaluable will be the support of our loyal fans, including those who will be travelling to Annan tomorrow, and everyone else in the extended family of the club throughout the season. We need you to stay with us as we strive to improve the financial stability of the club.”  I will certainly stay with the team and support our local youngsters, but no Panos,  I am not going to stay with you and your colleagues after all you have done to tear apart the "extended family of the club".  The financial stability of the club will improve when those responsible for the current instability are out of the door.  

[STFU]

Whoever has written the last couple of statements should be writing for hallmark cards.  Perhaps an untapped income stream we could look at?

[CaleyCiuin]

1 hour ago, DoofersDad said:

Board Director Panos Thomas has been quoted by the Courier saying “Directors are working tirelessly to attract new investment in the club.  Indeed, there has been welcome interest and I would ask everyone for their patience as we progress matters.”  I wonder if this sudden breaking of the silence is to dampen down expectation following what Ferguson said at his pre-match press conference.  Thomas's words don't exactly suggest any kind of deal is imminent.  Indeed they don't even imply there are any meaningful discussions going on at all.

He then said, “We are delighted to see youth being given a chance with several Academy players featuring in the squad and we are confident the team is ready to face the first challenge with focus and commitment."  Yeah, right!  This from a Director of the same Board who only recently were "delighted" to announce a move of our training base to Kelty.  This move would have virtually disenfranchised our Academy players unless they were willing to move away from their families and friends and relocate in Fife.  And this far reaching decision was made without any discussion with those who it would most affect.

Thomas goes on to say, “Invaluable will be the support of our loyal fans, including those who will be travelling to Annan tomorrow, and everyone else in the extended family of the club throughout the season. We need you to stay with us as we strive to improve the financial stability of the club.”  I will certainly stay with the team and support our local youngsters, but no Panos,  I am not going to stay with you and your colleagues after all you have done to tear apart the "extended family of the club".  The financial stability of the club will improve when those responsible for the current instability are out of the door.  

Despite asking fans to support the team in Annan………. Panos himself was not there. 

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/administration-threatened-inverness-caley-thistle-33236611

[big cherly]

2 hours ago, CELTIC1CALEY3 said:

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/administration-threatened-inverness-caley-thistle-33236611

MAGA baseball caps on sale on Saturday!!

[Charles Bannerman]

4 hours ago, CELTIC1CALEY3 said:

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/administration-threatened-inverness-caley-thistle-33236611

That’s interesting. I was told last week by a reliable source from outwith the club that there’s been a Chinese interest which had connections with Ardersier and now it appears that there are at least three parties including this American one.

I’m not sure how the numbers stack up here. The Sunday Mail says that the Americans want “exclusivity” - which I would take to mean no co-investors - and that their initial offer is £2 million. That, however, isn’t enough to achieve any control at all unless there’s some possible fundamental change requiring the agreement of current shareholders through a potentially messy EGM. There are already 4 million £1 shares issued which, alongside the Supporters’ Trust’s fixed 10% would mean that at least £5 million of new money would be required for 50% control and £20 million for the complete control of 75%. Alternatively, I wonder if they may be looking at some arrangement where this party has control of the Board, as Tullochs had for several years.

Edited July 14 by Charles Bannerman

[Robert]

I interpreted it that “exclusivity” meant that they are the only party the club is actively talking to at this time, and that there will be no active discussions with the other interested parties unless this deal does not go ahead. 

[Yngwie]

11 minutes ago, Robert said:

I interpreted it that “exclusivity” meant that they are the only party the club is actively talking to at this time, and that there will be no active discussions with the other interested parties unless this deal does not go ahead. 

Yes that what it means in this context.

[Charles Bannerman]

3 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

Yes that what it means in this context.

That seems entirely reasonable, in which case it might be inferred that they are no longer talking to the Chinese concern, nor are they on discussions with at least one other party that the paper believes may have an interest.

The central issue to me is what degree of control could be acquired for £2 million (which, for comparison, is round about what the club has lost in the last three years). By my sums, £2 million would, allowing for the ST’s 10%, make this group the largest shareholder by some way at 30%, but still some way short of voting control. On the other hand, an additional Tulloch-like agreement could give them control of the board although I imagine that would involve agreement of the shareholders to their candidates.

[Yngwie]

38 minutes ago, Charles Bannerman said:

That’s interesting. I was told last week by a reliable source from outwith the club that there’s been a Chinese interest which had connections with Ardersier and now it appears that there are at least three parties including this American one.

I’m not sure how the numbers stack up here. The Sunday Mail says that the Americans want “exclusivity” - which I would take to mean no co-investors - and that their initial offer is £2 million. That, however, isn’t enough to achieve any control at all unless there’s some possible fundamental change requiring the agreement of current shareholders through a potentially messy EGM. There are already 4 million £1 shares issued which, alongside the Supporters’ Trust’s fixed 10% would mean that at least £5 million of new money would be required for 50% control and £20 million for the complete control of 75%.

There would have to be a capital restructuring in some form, which would require existing shareholders to vote and to accept that in financial terms their current shareholding are pretty much worthless. Some might struggle to come to terms with that and won’t be happy that a new investor can get more influence per £ invested than previous ones did, but it’s the only realistic way to get new investment.

[Jack Waddington]

[NuclearDachshund]

I mind someone commented a while back that surely there’s a rich American somewhere who can trace their roots back to the clearances… well maybe this is they…

Don’t want to appear hard to please but I’m going to have nightmares tonight about being turned into a Scottish Wrexham… I just want a club that supports and represents the area 

[+DoofersDad]

This news does not ease my concerns about the future of our club at all.  Firstly, I assume that if the Americans are being negotiated with on an exclusivity basis, the other 2 potential foreign investors have somewhat less than the £2million the Americans are reported as offering.  But £2m is not going to get us out of the mess if, as reported, ex and current directors are owed £2.1m for repayment of loans.  Money is required to pay off other creditors,  pay the wages, strengthen the squad and make improvements to the structure of the stadium etc.  

It only serves to further emphasise the sheer contempt the club has had for the supporters and shareholders of the club.  If these directors felt it necessary to put that sort of money into the club on a loan basis, then they should have convened an EGM at that point to appraise the "extended family of the club" of the gravity of the financial situation.  Presumably the club were relying on the Battery Farm and Car Park scheme to bail them out and allow them to continue as before.  A bit of honesty at an EGM and a call for people to work constructively might have resulted in alternative ways of generating an income stream to keep the club afloat, perhaps moving towards community ownership.

It is the loan debt to the former chairman and other directors which is the single biggest threat to the future of the club.  It is a debt which should never have been allowed to develop and which, if the creditors have any goodwill towards the football club, should now be written off.  With those loans written off, then the club could have a promising future with a £2m injection.  

[Charles Bannerman]

2 hours ago, Yngwie said:

There would have to be a capital restructuring in some form, which would require existing shareholders to vote and to accept that in financial terms their current shareholding are pretty much worthless. Some might struggle to come to terms with that and won’t be happy that a new investor can get more influence per £ invested than previous ones did, but it’s the only realistic way to get new investment.

Yes… adjusting the “Bang for your Buck” arrangements is the only way I can see voting control being achieved without going into the multi-millions that would be necessary since, apart from the ST’s fixed 10%, there are currently 4 million £1 shares in circulation.

So if this is going to come about, what do we now look for next? An EGM to attempt to get something like this through, or inclusion of it on the agenda for the next AGM which is already 9 days overdue and counting?

[STFU]

8 minutes ago, Charles Bannerman said:

So if this is going to come about, what do we now look for next?

Flying pigs.

This would be a very complicated deal to get over the line and isn't going to happen in the timescales quoted as required to avoid administration.

[+snorbens_caleyman]

4 hours ago, NuclearDachshund said:

I mind someone commented a while back that surely there’s a rich American somewhere who can trace their roots back to the clearances… well maybe this is they…

What if he was a convicted felon whose surname rhymed with chump, hump and stump? 

[+DoofersDad]

10 minutes ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

What if he was a convicted felon whose surname rhymed with chump, hump and stump? 

We'd dump him

[Charles Bannerman]

25 minutes ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

What if he was a convicted felon whose surname rhymed with chump, hump and stump? 

You should have a word in his ear.