Charlie Christie resigns

[CaleyD]

I know many find it hard to take IHE seriously, or indeed understand where he is coming from or what he is rabbiting on about half the time but you'd do well to listen to him in this case as his "insights" are spot on.

Here is my take on things........

The only thing Charlie is guilty of is being ICT through and through and this has clouded his judgment of what was best for the team and even more so what was best for him.  There's no secret in the fact that he was persuaded and pushed into taking the Managers job full-time when Brewster left.  He has allowed far too many things to happen because the club have insisted it was "for the good of the team".  He was pressured into the signing of Niculae which blew his budget despite knowing deep down that we needed to be spending to strengthen in other areas.

At the end of last season he wanted to move a couple of players on, he was not allowed to do so.  After the Rangers game, he stated that he had shown too much loyalty to some players, then only a few days later he said he would be giving these players another chance....did nobody find that all a bit suspect and do you all think it was really CC showing these players too much loyalty or indeed was it the club showing these players too much loyalty?  Do you not see that Charlie had his hand forced and had to do a u-turn on his statement made after the Rangers game?

As to dressing room unrest, yes it exists, many people (including myself) predicted it would be the case this season, but they predicted it for all the wrong reasons.  It has very little to do with Niculae other than him being the catalyst.  There is unrest because Charlie is not being allowed to play the team he wants, the way he wants.  He has lost the confidence of half of the squad because he has not stood up to the bullies behind the scenes and it is the players who are suffering.

There are certain people at the club who think they are playing a game of Championship Manager, sitting on their erse behind the scenes pulling the strings and for the sake of the club it has to stop and it has to stop now.  Charlie is a beaten man, not beaten by the team, the results or our league position, but beaten by those he thought were friends, colleagues and counterparts.  If they haven't totally destroyed his will and his passion for this club then I hope he uses some of the energy he has left to come out and tell the whole truth before this club is dragged to the wall.

As for Donald Park, I fully expect his resignation to be forthcoming in the very near future.

Unfortunately I do not expect to see the resignation of those who have created this situation, those who have worked (intentionally or otherwise) to tear the heart from the ICT Legend that is Charlie Christie.  Regardless of whether you ever thought he was the right man for the job, he did not deserve this.

Don't expect to see any experienced managers coming our way, those on the power trip would not allow in the same manner as they have prevented it previously as it would threaten their own position.  I've said it on here before that the problems at ICT were coming from further up the line and been ignored, perhaps now people will start to see the truth.

Charlie has ample managerial ability, I do not expect him to take any other position at the club (especially long term) and foresee him taking a step back, perhaps managing at a lower level.  That is where we will see the true Charlie Christie thrive - in an environment where he can be his own man, make his own decisions and rise and fall by his own hand.  SOmething which he should have been allowed to do with us.

[Yngwie]

Is your criticism directed at Savage and Bennett? Name names please.

I have no idea how valid your assessment/conspiracy theory is, but however the club has been run, managed or influenced from above, most fans would consider us to have fared rather well under the current regime.

[RednBlackComeback]

WOW....This is all very very sad !!! :008:

If the previous posts are to be believed then it's an atrocious way to pressurise a guy who has played for Thistle, Caley and ICT and been a legend at each of these clubs !!!

I too would like to know the REAL facts behind this !

[alimci]

Totally in shock  :019:

[SMEE]

Bennets appointment as director of football was even more bamboozling to me than charlies as manager.

[forresdame]

I just heard the news and am stunned...

Would like to wish Charlie all the best for the future and if he has indeed resigned for health reasons then he has made a brave but right decision.  No job is worth sacrificing your health for, I know that from personal experience.

[RednBlackComeback]

Why then was CC recently offered a contract extension? :symbol_exclaim01:

[Johnboy]

Why then was CC recently offered a contract extension? :symbol_exclaim01:

I think that Caley D's excellent & informed post (above) answers that one...

[kencar]

Is your criticism directed at Savage and Bennett? Name names please.

I have no idea how valid your assessment/conspiracy theory is, but however the club has been run, managed or influenced from above, most fans would consider us to have fared rather well under the current regime.

Yes name names please. Surely this would have all bubbled to the surface long before now??

[+Wanderer]

There are certain people at the club who think they are playing a game of Championship Manager, sitting on their erse behind the scenes pulling the strings and for the sake of the club it has to stop and it has to stop now...

Unfortunately I do not expect to see the resignation of those who have created this situation, those who have worked (intentionally or otherwise) to tear the heart from the ICT Legend that is Charlie Christie. 

The thing that this website really excels at is the number of people who come on here and proclaim they 'know what is going on behind the scenes' then...er, leave it at that...

Seriously...this is not sub-judice this is simple fitba' business, if you have something to tell us...then friggin' well say so!

[finmack]

Good luck Charlie in whatever you do in the future. Perhaps there may still be a job at the club for a true LEGEND :003:

[CaleyJags07]

Just shows how much pressure and responsbility being a football manager is. Charlie left because of personal reasons which suggests family and maybe not seeing enough of them, he himself knows the reason why he left and best of luck to him in the future. Came as a right shock to me, I thought this would be a good sesaon for CC even though Caley have gotten off to a shaky start. I did wonder why he did not speak to the press after the match or do his article in the P&J. Just wonder who the board decide to take on now as manager. I heard that Steve Paterson is a strong candidate. Interesting to see who the board pick.

Good luck Charlie and all the best for the future

[NigeyBear]

I am very disappointed by this.  I never could quite understand why certain people slate him. 

 

          Who do we reckon/hope is going to get the job then?

[tm4tj]

On a positive note................. can we now vote for him in the legends poll

because that is what he is, a legend

[alternative maryhill]

As a reasonably remote fan who rarely gets to home games, I'm very depressed by Caley Ds take on what's going on behind the scenes if it is true. I've always held the club up to people down here as a model for how a modern football club should be run - familiy-orientated, supportive of its staff, a team composed of long-serving, committed players, a club which refuses to take on long-term debts for short-term goals, unlike Livvy, Gretna and Dundee and so many others. Having Charlie as manager always seemed to me to be emblematic of the fact that the club had built up its success by showing confidence in its existing strengths and its home-developed talents. Maybe I was naive about that. However, I desperately hope that this isn't the start of a new era at the club that encourages mercenaries and underestimates how important it is to have unity throughout the team and the club as a whole. Or is it already too late? 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Is your criticism directed at Savage and Bennett? Name names please.

I have no idea how valid your assessment/conspiracy theory is, but however the club has been run, managed or influenced from above, most fans would consider us to have fared rather well under the current regime.

Yes name names please. Surely this would have all bubbled to the surface long before now??

Well I fer one have named names in a certain situation before and almost ended up being sued - and I have been warned already on this occasion as well. I totally agree with Caley D - ya can all put yer own conclusions and assumptions to the content.

Wanderer - Sub judice it is not but the right of freedom of expression is unfortunately open to defamation actions on the grounds of libel and slander.

Me - I am more enraged that the management - and I will in this instance point the finger firmly at Grasser and Alan Savage - as they APPEAR to have allowed an employee - and also a friend - to become unwell despite the fact that Charlie admitted to be struggling and quite evidently was. It would appear that Charlie may well have been cajoled and manipulated into staying and his love for the club was used as the emotional bait. For this reason alone, if I am correct, I hope they both feel as guilty as feck. They may well have done it for the good of the club as well but personal health needs appear to have been sadly missed.

As fer me - I have learned to use double meanings and sarcasm as a defence mechanism. I have been regularly posting about this situation since the beginning of the year, in my protective ranting.

I am actually finding it quite scary that many people are genuinely shocked and in the dark about some of the behind the scenes rumouring.

[Kingsmills]

I have no idea what has being going on behind the scenes but I doubt very much whether the attitude of the fans was a factor.

Yes there is a vocal minority who were unhappy with Charlie but they were a tiny proportion of the fans and have not increased in number since his appointment.

Until I hear anything to convince me otherwise I'm inclined to believe the official line that he simply found the high profile life on an SPL manager too stressful for him personally to cope with.

Whatever the background to his departure he can be proud of his contribution to the club both as a player and a manager.

[Alex MacLeod]

I just hope that those who added to CC's pressures with their comments on this site realise now that serious damage could have been done to this club. Think back to how long it took for previous managers to start getting results from the team they had to work with and wonder how far behind we could be before we get fluidity within the team. Those previous managers had the assistance of Charlie to guide them through the early stages of their employment. The next guy doesn't.

[SMEE]

I just hope that those who added to CC's pressures with their comments on this site realise now that serious damage could have been done to this club.

Dont talk absolute rubbish man! I was no fan of Charlies appointment, am I not allowed to have my say? thats called censorship! I never went over the top if i brought it up. Gotta take the rough with the smooth. Charlies situation is because of problems WITHIN the club.....nothing to do with this board

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

I have a sneaky feeling that Charlie would have given this forum a wide feckin berth. IMHO a lot of the criticism was justifiable and even Charlie admitted a lot of it at the end of the season. He had far more stresses than CaleyThistleOnline. 

[Kingsmills]

Whatever led to his resignation it wasn't a few negative comments posted on this board.

[Scotty]

Charlie has been around the club for the same length of time that this board has .... over the years I had quite a few conversations with him about the postings on all the various incarnations of this site although admittedly none of these chats happened after he became manager.

Prior to becoming manager he saw the site as a good place to disseminate information such as the centenary club winners, asked me to organise things like request/enquiry forms that would email him directly and a few other things. His observations on the forum were something along the lines that it was quite close to the bone sometimes but that he was never really bothered by anything on it as half the people hid behind pseudonyms and you dont pay much attention to a pseudonym. I have no reason to think his recent thoughts were any different.

[SMEE]

I am reliably informed that the ICT players have been told not to mention the departure. WOnder why that is if we got the truth :024:

[Harry Chibber]

I am loving the self righteous attitude from some of our 'fans', after giving Christie stick from day one and then when he does leave the post... 'I told ya'  :rolleyes02:

... and not even that, blaming the people that did get behind him for his current mental state (whatever that may be), what do you think caused him the stress in the first place?

As for CC I'm disappointed, as much abuse that he received from a section from his home fans he always had support and I feel as though he has chosen the easy option.  He will always be a legend but I feel as though he had a lot to offer as a manager and to fall at the first hurdle leaves us with no manager and a major problem, sitting at the bottom of the league with no points

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

... and not even that, blaming the people that did get behind him for his current mental state (whatever that may be), what do you think caused him the stress in the first place?

:clapping03: :clapping03: :clapping03: I may have misjudged you and I apologise. That sounds like genuine naievity.