'Inverness hold Niculae talks'

[PullMyFinger]

I wonder if Hagi and/or Popescu will be around? :024:

[caleyboy]

Let's be frank and realistic. This is no more than a PR exercise and we are all getting caught up in the spin. More like we spend time and effort in dealing with the priorities - a DEFENDER. Christie and Bennet have both qualified their objectives and having signed Macdonald, ANOTHER striker certainly wasn't one of them. Put this one to bed before we fall asleep reading more of this nonsense!  :012:

[mainstander]

I think your off the mark there caleyboy. If it was just spin I dont think the player would have been brought to Inverness for two days to speak to Bennet and Christie. Agreed they need a defender and theyve said as much. Theyve said they want two strikers and a defender. They have one striker in MacDonald. The Austrian boy is a defender but an injury has delayed his trip here till the 16th. Wyhatever happens about a defender their still looking for one striker so why not check out Nicolae. They even went as far as trying to get a sponser for him.

Seems you cant please some of the people any of the time.

[Harry Chibber]

... and if they pulled it off are you trying to say you wouldn't be happy? We have just lost a 10+ goal a season striker and even though McDonald will go some way to replace that he has said himself he is a different type of player.  A striker would definitely be top of the list for me... anyway CC has already said he is trying to find a centre half so what exactly are you moaning about?

[CaleyD]

Despite my initial reservations over the caliber and standard of player I thought ICT were capable of gaining interest from a lot of these links are very positive.  Grassa and CC have certainly stepped up to the plate and it is quite possible that they will prove me wrong.  If they do so then I'll happily eat some humble pie.

With the addition of Dean McDonald and the possibility of a couple of foreign faces added to the mix I am rather excited about both our prospects for next season and the kind of football we will see the team producing.

[caleyboy]

Come on guys, we are not in the market for high earners. If I honestly thought there was ANY chance of signing him I would be DELIGHTED!

[Scotty]

we are not in the market for high earners. If I honestly thought there was ANY chance of signing him I would be DELIGHTED!

While I tend to agree with that statement, especially as one of the people who has previously talked at length about keeping our wage structure in place and intact, I was somewhat heartened that the deal may still come to fruition after reading comments from Grassa in the Courier .....

Bennett believes a deal can be struck that will not take up a significant chunk of his manager's footballing budget. "We would perhaps look at trying to do a deal which involves one of the club's sponsors, If we can work something out then it shouldn't really affect Charlie's budget."

http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/fu...s_ICT_deal.html

This suggests that the club may be looking to keep the player within the wage structure and hoping that one of the main sponsors steps up to the plate to top-up the offer. This might be do-able.

Even if we dont get this particular player, it certainly suggests that the football management side of the club from Chairman to DoF and Manager are actually doing what many of us have asked which is to look further than just the Highlands for talent that will improve the team. I am also optimistic that the Romanian connection will be a **** site better than anything we (never) got from the Sheffield connection !!!

[beachcomber]

Try a bit of emotional blackmail....

If you don't sign up for ICT, the puppies get it.....

[Alex MacLeod]

I wonder if Hagi and/or Popescu will be around? :024:

Rumour has it Popescu may be a guest at the Rangers game

[Harry Chibber]

Try a bit of emotional blackmail....

If you don't sign up for ICT, the puppies get it.....

:015: :015:

[Harry Chibber]

Link

Talks will continue over the weekend :024:

[Guest stevico64]

I must apoligise my son posted the recent comments under my log on RE Marius

[chris123]

I must apoligise my son posted the recent comments under my log on RE Marius

:010: The scandal!!!

:004:

[Sir C the 3rd]

A friend was speaking to Grassa at the Inverness Golf Club 4 balls on Friday.  Niculae is wanting £4,000 a week and we'll only be signing them if they can get a sponsor involved i.e. Alan Savage and Orion Engineering.    So hopefully Mr Savage can find the cash from somwhere!

[wyness_is_god]

Hoping a sponsor becomes avaliable  :021: would'nt mind seeing this guy playing for ICT whether its 6 months or 2 years  :003:

Bit worried though if he does get this £4000 a week with or without sponspors -if it will start affecting the morale of other players psycologically knowing there playing with a player getting a far higher wage than themselves and cause them to start looking elsewhere :024:

[PullMyFinger]

Maybe worth a gamble ''putting the cart before the horse''? If it reflects in the performances and an extra 400+ ticket sales at each home game would that not cover his wage? Any more would be a bonus which of course could be put into a bonus scheme for the players.

[Guest TinCanFan]

I hope (if we sign him) that he doesn't think that he is bigger than the club and has games when he can't be bothered.

[Guest TinCanFan]

I've seen a list of unattached players who we could go for.  They include:

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank

Lee Hendrie

Hans-Jorg Butt (holds the highest goal record for a keeper- 26 goals!)

Robbie Fowler

Ray Parlour

Quintine Fortune

Juan Veron

Surely we could go for one of these players if we don't get Niculae.

[Yngwie]

If we don't get that particular Romanian it's far more likely that we'd go for for his legendary compatriot Vlad Tepes rather than any of the players mentioned above. An experienced captain, doesn't take any prisoners, and prolific in attack. Sounds exactly what we need.

[kiltarlity]

Considering we get him on a free.

Why can't he sign him for a season and give him his £4k a week.?

After all a £100k signing fee is almost 2k a week over a year.

So why don't the club just use 100k from the transfer pot to subsides a years wages.

Graham

[PullMyFinger]

What transfer pot? We are a small provincial club and don't have the luxury of a biscuit tin like the huns. :023:

[CaleyD]

I can't make up my mind whether this would be a good move or if everyone is caught in the hype and lost the plot.

On one hand we barely have two ha'pennies to rub together (we do ok, but £200k can't be too far off our annual operating profits), yet we're looking to blow £4k/week on a single player.  That part of me would rather see that money invested more wisely in the club and players, more Dean McDonalds who are young, talented and are driven to prove themselves and make a name for themselves in football.  Niculae has been there and done that, he has past form but the last couple of seasons haven't been great and part of me can't help but think he just views us as an easy option to revive his career or make a bit of cash trying.

On the other hand, he has the potential to move the team forward.  We saw what one player did for Falkirk last season and practically had them safe by Christmas and going strong - should Niculae live up to that potential and bag a few extra goals it could push us up a league position (perhaps realistically challenge for top 6).  It could also see us through to a cup semi or final.  All that would bring in extra income, justify his wage (possibly more) and even if we were to get nothing when he moved on we could still have made money from the deal.

I'm all for taking a bit of risk and pushing the club forward, I just wonder if this one is a bit too much of a risk and whether it has any real long term benefits.

For me I'll probably be swayed more in favour of any deal that is done IF the club take steps to try and protect their investment but I still can't help but think that £200k/year could be better spent.

[clacher_holiday2]

the problem for me is that i wouldn't want us to be putting all our eggs in one basket, not to say that if he breaks his leg and is a hopeless failure that we're in trouble but it will be a waste of alot of the good work thats gone on over the past couple of years behind the scenes.

a 2 year contract at 4k a week, plus bonuses, works out to be around a £500k contract.

craig dargo cost us nothing and was being paid peanuts his first season, ian black, dods, rest of squad likewise.  something just doesn't sit right with this romanian guy, is a forward going to play an influential enough role to justify the investment?  if we are going to pay one player a decent wage then shouldnt it be a central defender with a similar pedigree?

though if mr savage could put down in writing exactly where the extra wage is coming from id be all for it, as from what ive read online if he is fit then he could really be a class above any forward currently playing in the league.  if we were going to break the bank to sign a gorgios efrem or torben joneleit (crap foreigners signed by other spl clubs so far this summer) then i wouldnt be in two minds whatsoever, id be dead against the move.  this particular signing is totally unique and would be a real bargain to either of the old firm or a quality signing for a bigger scottish team, we may eventually regret not upping our offer should he end up at hearts or rangers

i might sound crazy but id actually feel better about this attempt to sign nicolae if there was talk of signing maybe 3 or higher wage players in one summer.

[Scarlet Pimple]

At this stage of ICT's development it is an agonising decision. But exciting.....eh? But you sure must praise the ICT Management for at least considering the  issue and not just giving up without trying.

However it does remind me of my dreams based on my dreams rather than the brutal reality of my financial position .

Now I want to buy an apartment and hold it as an investment with a tenant's rent  supposedly buying it for me. The problem is that the price of houses here in Vancouver is  so high now that the rent one can get is less than the combined cost of completing the deal (lawyers' fees, property transfer tax ,etc) and the added cost of annual property taxes, insurance, repairs  and monthly Bank interest. My heart yearns to have a go since I have never achieved a darn thing worth anything without taking a risk but my head says"No".

If the money to be earned or secured from the Flybe deal is anything of value perhaps some of it could be used to offset the  cost against what actually is a non-guaranteed,  indeterminate, value of the player to the club.His past record may appear to be great but is his salary based  upon his future success in scoring goals or just a weekly lump sum paid in the hope of  success.

If the risk is too great he could be offered only a six-month contract  which gives him the option of working very hard , scoring goals or assisting other players to score, or see his dream of going to a bigger club evaporate at what could turn ouit to be not too huge an investment for ICT.

The downside of all this is the possible negative effects on the other players ....but...t hey could also see a short-term deal as a novelty and something to learn from.

My heart then says "yes" go for it , but......my head says "no". :011: :024:

What do you think ?

[clacher_holiday2]

i think we are in such a remote geographic location (to footballers) that it would be a mistake to ignore the possibility that offering one almost-could-have-been may be seen as being unfair on the rest of the side.  its not as if there dozens of tokelys, munros, harts, wilsons etc hanging out round the north of scotland ready to step in if the current players decide they dont want to have the p1ss taken out of them and go earn the same money they are on now with another spl or first division club.

to expand on what i said at the end of my last post-

"i might sound crazy but id actually feel better about this attempt to sign nicolae if there was talk of signing maybe 3 or higher wage players in one summer."

..or if current squad members were given an assurance that they could earn the same if they prove theyre good enough, its a line we may well have to take.  (mind you if we held that position before then dargo could well be on 4k a week with us  :017:  he wouldnt be worth it)