Dargo is a Saint?

[caley100]

After reading Dargo's comments in the interview in the P & J, He seems quite taken by what Midden have offered and by what Mcpherson is saying, would not be surprised if he ends up there.

Now we have a situation where this incident has given ICT a bad bit of PR, I'm sure other players keep in touch with what is happening in the transfer market and this will confirm that not only are ICT 'way up north' that they cant pay very well.

This will leave is scratching about in the lower leagues ( ala county) looking for players that match our finances, now in my mind this will always have us in the lower league area ' punching above our weight' not really challenging for 6th place.

We have in a chairman an ambitious man, an obviously successful businessman who i'm sure is a football man through & through, will he invest money into ICT? any businessman will tell you that you have to speculate to accumulate, if all we can attract is out of form/untried lower league players i feel we can not move on to the next level, this will without doubt put pressure on CC as manager to get the best out of players and hope they can overachieve.

I hope this does not sound too negative, but if players like McManus are giving us the dunt to stay in the first div. it is a concern to me.

[Scotty]

One disturbing thing in all this for me is that the club publicly stated that the offer made to Dargo "would not be matched by anyone in Scotland outside the Old Firm" so either we are completely ignorant of what other clubs can, will, and have offered to players in the past (and currently) or it is the worst kind of PR/Spin .... i.e. falsehoods that can be easily disproved and leave us looking inept and stupid.

I have long been a supporter of the notion that no player is bigger than the club and that our wage structure is a good thing as it keeps the camaraderie and team spirit alive by having no prima-donnas earning twice or three times what their colleagues do. However, as we enter our 4th season in the SPL, we once again find ourselves in a situation where a player (or players) are all but confirming they can earn more in the 1st division and it means we are scouring the lower leagues for talent.

There is a huge gulf in the income clubs receive in sponsorship payments between the SFL and SPL and I understand completely that we had to tread carefully for the first (and maybe even second) season in the SPL in case we were relegated (even though we would get a 'parachute' payment) but as C100 has said above, if we are to move to the next level then we need to level the playing field both in terms of the players we are looking at and what we can offer them. We cannot offer what the top clubs can, but we should certainly be on the same level as St Mirren, Falkirk and Motherwell which are all clubs that CD has been linked with both before and since he declined our contract offer

If I were CC, I would also be a little anxious as well .... If the club cant attract players, and results suffer, he is the one who will ultimately have to fall on his sword and right now, it appears that he is being asked to do his job with one hand tied behind his back as not only do we have the "geography" issue but we still have the "wages" problem. ICT - Please give him the tools to succeed (or fail) on his own merits as the current situation is not fair on him or the fans.

[PullMyFinger]

Have some faith FFS.

Don't Panic.

[Scotty]

Have some faith FFS.

Don't Panic.

I do. thats the problem ... otherwise this posting would have been made 2 years ago !!

[Charles Bannerman]

I do think that, in addition to any shortage of funds or fiscal prudence, there is the huge extra factor of geography.

On the last day of the season, Sportsound - in the absence of rights to broadcast the FA Cup Final - ran a very comprehensive Pundits' Roundup of the various SPL clubs. Caley Thistle's reveiws from the likes of Craig Paterson, Gordon Smith and Murdo MacLeod were very good indeed. So was the pundits' perception of Inverness as a good place to live and to play football. But they could not deny what we have known for a long time - that the relative remoteness is a major disincentive for players to come here.

Caley Thistle gets hit by a double whammy. There's not a huge amount of money around and at the same time, for any given level of quality, I'm sure they have to pay more than their rival clubs in the central belt.

Caley Thistle also has an outstanding record for improving players whose careers look doomed. So, what has happened on a number of occasions is that underachieving players (Dodds and Dargo come immediately to mind) will come here because their current form means they are unable to meet their wage aspirations down south. During their time at ICT they are helped to realise their true potential again so by the time they reach the end of their contract here, they once again are able to compete in the central Scotland market. Also by that time they feel they have done their time "in the sticks" and want back home again. So now ICT find themselves in the completely opposite situation of a player whose status in the wage market place has now gone up and who in addition feels he needs more financial incentive still to extend his stay in the north.

Stated simply, the club with the most limited financial resources is the one which, because of geography, has to pay over the odds for players, some of whom then want back home after a two or three year contract.

Stated more simply, ICT, apart from having the most limited resources in the SPL, is also the club which, because of remoteness, has to pay over the odds for players who even then will want to get back home after a two or three year contract.

By the way, I don't wholly subscribe to the theory that Craig Dargo was completely financially driven. The strong desire of his girlfried to locate wholly back south was, I believe, a VERY important factor as well.

I also had a discussion along similar lines with Roy MacGregor last week. But as far as Inverness are concerned, the idea of leaving for a better wage down south doesn't always seem to work in practice... as former players and managers have found out!

[RiG]

One disturbing thing in all this for me is that the club publicly stated that the offer made to Dargo "would not be matched by anyone in Scotland outside the Old Firm" so either we are completely ignorant of what other clubs can, will, and have offered to players in the past (and currently) or it is the worst kind of PR/Spin .... i.e. falsehoods that can be easily disproved and leave us looking inept and stupid.

I'm honestly amazed that more people haven't picked up on this either.

*Clicky*

Some evening news is reporting that Motherwell will unveil a new striker tomorrow thought to be Dargo

[kencar]

Bennet saying on Teletext that it's unlikely we'll be signing anybody in the next couple of weeks and that the club are 'not panicking' over getting replacements for Dargo & Dods....

"we have a strong, experienced squad but we'll do our business quietly and there are unlikely to be any signings before training starts in 2 weeks time. But we're actively following leads"

Anyone feel reassured by that?  :rolleyes02:

[Pele_Is_God]

I guess we just need to be patient Kencar. As long as we have replacements for Dargo and Dods for our first game of the season then i'l be more than happy.

[kencar]

Yeah that's true. I'll feel a whole lot happier when we do get a few more players in though but we have to face facts that most teams are looking for the same sort of players we are

[PullMyFinger]

I think we can all take comfort in the fact that year on year our squad changes only slightly giving us some of the best continuity teamwise in the league. CC, DP, GB et al have between them a vast experience in their industry and I have every faith in them. I don't expect them to tell me how to do my job so I won't tell them. Top 6 next season chaps. :004:

[caley100]

I think we can all take comfort in the fact that year on year our squad changes only slightly giving us some of the best continuity teamwise in the league. CC, DP, GB et al have between them a vast experience in their industry and I have every faith in them. I don't expect them to tell me how to do my job so I won't tell them. Top 6 next season chaps. :004:

In the past we have lost players, but we have never lost three main players in one season, Brown, Dods and Dargo in my mind were the three most influential players we had.

Add to that the aging process of Barry and we have in my mind a wee crisis about to happen, we hear again the platitudes from CC and GB how the squad are good enough, remember in January how they gambled on Rory to come good, that backfired.

Its time or some people in power with money to invest i think.

[PullMyFinger]

Lucky white heather anyone?

Why would any one in a position of power with money invest it in players our club can't keep after a couple of years? What return would they get for their ''investment''? One league position? Two maybe? As opposed to monetary return they would get leaving it in the bank. The club have been a model in recent years of living within their means admittedly with limited success but cast your mind back to our first season in the SPL when we were written off by the fans of most other clubs and the media. The Management team know what they're doing.

Are our fans really all turning into glory hunters? Wanting to improve each year is all very well but at what price? I am quite happy to support a mid-table SPL team in the Highlands. Let's keep our expectations realistic and have faith in our squad and management team.

Edit to add:- I may be wrong but I think I recall losing Wilson, McCulloch and Xausa to Livi in one season.

[RiG]

Edit to add:- I may be wrong but I think I recall losing Wilson, McCulloch and Xausa to Livi in one season.

Wilson and McCulloch left at the end of one season with Xausa leaving halfway through the following one.

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Dargo only played two thirds of last season. Brown played a half. There will be some good players around without contracts for a while yet.

[Alex MacLeod]

On the subject of what is or isn't an excellent offer, one that could not be bettered by anyone outside OF. What hasn't been mentioned is the add ons to the offer. Things like bonuses, length of contract, extras for publicity work etc. Yes there are at least two Div 1 teams who probably match us in weekly wages, my guess is they are Dundee and St Johnston, but the overall package is not as good. If the weekly wage is the most important then it says to me that the player wants financial security without having to fight for a place and earn the extra's. In other words a steady decent income whether he plays or not.

Look at the cars driven by some of our players, or the homes they own and tell me they're not paid a decent wage.

As for the future of this club, unless we can get a hard core 5000 we will always be scrapping in the same area of the league and bringing players from the lower leagues. Some may call for lower prices at the gate but in all honesty I dont believe that'll make any difference. Too many folk in the highlands would rather drive by Inverness on their way to glasgow.

[monthecaley]

In the past we have lost players, but we have never lost three main players in one season

did we not lose bingham, ritchie and mann all at the end of our first division winning season?

[finmack]

Bennet saying on Teletext that it's unlikely we'll be signing anybody in the next couple of weeks and that the club are 'not panicking' over getting replacements for Dargo & Dods....

"we have a strong, experienced squad but we'll do our business quietly and there are unlikely to be any signings before training starts in 2 weeks time. But we're actively following leads"

Anyone feel reassured by that?  :rolleyes02:

NO :020:

[caley100]

Mark Mcghee says he is going to sign Dargo, which is no real surprise.

Now we are getting awful close to the management saying this squad will do...which is a worry, i only hope this is a sign that they are keeping their cards close to the chest and not alerting other teams to the targets.

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Ambition knows no bounds with Craig. He looks light weight compared with Skippy.

[Pele_Is_God]

I thought no other club outwith the old firm could offer him a better deal than we could hmmmm :024:

[PullMyFinger]

You ***...ume he got a better offer? Other than move the stadium 150 miles south what else do you think the club could've done? :010:

[kencar]

I've always wondered what exactly Inverness lacks that makes it so uninhabitable for many footballers and especially there other halves???

[Fanoffooty]

I've always wondered what exactly Inverness lacks that makes it so uninhabitable for many footballers and especially there other halves???

  Probably because they believe Haggis are beasties who run around the hills & glens up here ! & we dont get electricity or hot running water & we live in wee butt n bens  or even caves !

[CaleyD]

The perfect description of home - it's enough to bring a tear to a glass eye.

[Guest TinCanFan]

Bet some people reckon that all the money that comes to ICT goes into building more mud huts.