Another week Still no Contracts

[L_G]

Not for the first time the news breaks first on Caleythistleonline, closely followed by the BBC, but nothing on the official web site.  It would have looked better if they had made an announcement.  Press conference today at lunch time, so I'm guessing it will be discussed then.

I should add that this is a routine press conference and not a special one arranged following yesterday's revelations.

[Guest birdog]

Not for the first time the news breaks first on Caleythistleonline, closely followed by the BBC, but nothing on the official web site.  It would have looked better if they had made an announcement.  Press conference today at lunch time, so I'm guessing it will be discussed then.

I should add that this is a routine press conference and not a special one arranged following yesterday's revelations.

Do any fans on here have reporters credentials so that they can get in and ask the questions that we really want answered, the questions which would embarrass the club and make our management look as sh1t as they really are in the national press?

[clacher_holiday2]

Well theres Charles Bannerman who reports for sportsound, though its been long established he only asks questions he's supposed to ask for fear of... well I'm not sure what hes in fear of but its not within his interests to be pissing the club off.  Another YES man.

Dont think we have anymore on the site, certainly if there is then theyre shy about it

His spin on this post will be- 'Theres nothing wrong, we're just experiencing a downturn in form, so theres nothing to report on.  Wyness genuinely does have a family issue elsewhere, he wasnt offered a contract last week, no conspiracy so why should I ask any difficult questions?'  ..followed with an attempt to patronise anybody who questions his journalistic integrity or reading of a situation, which will as always reflect more on himself than anybody else, leaving all parties feeling smug about themselves.

[Guest birdog]

Well theres Charles Bannerman who reports for sportsound, though its been long established he only asks questions he's supposed to ask for fear of... well I'm not sure what hes in fear of but its not within his interests to be pissing the club off.  Another YES man.

Dont think we have anymore on the site, certainly if there is then theyre shy about it

His spin on this post will be- 'Theres nothing wrong, we're just experiencing a downturn in form, so theres nothing to report on.  Wyness genuinely does have a family issue elsewhere, he wasnt offered a contract last week, no conspiracy so why should I ask any difficult questions?'  ..followed with an attempt to patronise anybody who questions his journalistic integrity or reading of a situation, which will as always reflect more on himself than anybody else, leaving all parties feeling smug about themselves.

Yeah I knew about Charles that is why I phrased my question in the way I did  :004:

[hislopsoffsideagain]

Steady, steady, I hardly think it's fair to slag off Charles Bannerman, who I believe also has a day job as well as reporting for the BBC.  When he appears on this site his posts are a darn sight more thoughtful than most, and if the club don't tell him anything juicy then he's not exactly working for a red-top who want all the dirt dished up.

Isn't it more that the press don't care about what happens at ICT - it's too long a drive to be worth searching for a story?

[Scotty]

Do any fans on here have reporters credentials so that they can get in and ask the questions that we really want answered, the questions which would embarrass the club and make our management look as sh1t as they really are in the national press?

CaleyD used to be invited along to the press conferences but those invites dried up.

While I did not get the pitchside press pass I requested for last year's U20 world cup, I was on the daily invite list for press conferences on the basis of writing articles on this site and writing articles and taking photos for a Toronto FC photo site that I run on the side (tfcpics.com). If I can get a FIFA pass on that basis, then anyone who legitimately writes articles on an accredited website (such as this one) should be able to do the same.

However, the bottom line is that anyone who does ask those types of questions would be excluded anyway - just ask the HN, P&J and the Courier who have all experienced it in the past !!!

Don't think you are being totally fair on Charles there Clacher. He is not the spin doctor for ICT, but just has to work under the constraints I mentioned above. I would far rather have him posting on here with a little insight and some restraint than not at all.

As for the Wyness story - no amount of spin will hide the real facts in this matter and whether your opinion is that he should or should not have been offered a contract the simple facts are that he was, he agreed to it, the club missed the agreed signing date/time and Denzil has been shafted as a result.

Another fan favourite who may not be a 90 minute player any more but certainly still has plenty to offer has also been unceremoniously shipped out in his testimonial year yet the one contract hold-out who has been threatened with having his offer withdrawn seems fireproof ..........

[forresjags]

First contract that should be terminated should be Brewsters followed by the Director of Football what a joke and a waste of a salary. Putting aside the loyalty and sentiment for Dennis Wyness he is still truly a great footballer and probably the only guy who can do something different in a very mediocre team.

What's seems blatantly obvious is that Brewsters tactics don't include playing football but trying to capitalise on other teams mistakes and I for one am getting sick off it.

   

[Guest birdog]

Steady, steady, I hardly think it's fair to slag off Charles Bannerman, who I believe also has a day job as well as reporting for the BBC.  When he appears on this site his posts are a darn sight more thoughtful than most, and if the club don't tell him anything juicy then he's not exactly working for a red-top who want all the dirt dished up.

Isn't it more that the press don't care about what happens at ICT - it's too long a drive to be worth searching for a story?

I was not having a go at Charles, I just want the correct questions asked and for the reasons Scotty has given I would not expect him to ask those questions. For the same reasons I have to agree with clacher that Charles is a yes man but some people have to be.

[clacher_holiday2]

Don't think you are being totally fair on Charles there Clacher. He is not the spin doctor for ICT, but just has to work under the constraints I mentioned above. I would far rather have him posting on here with a little insight and some restraint than not at all.

I suppose the name in my comment could been interchangeable with any local journalists, the question was just asked about any that use this site.  I suppose what forresjags was really asking is there a local reporter who is in tune with the supporters frustrations atm, on or off this page.

I didnt go as far as accusing Bannerman of being an ICT spin doctor (ICT could really use one I have to say!) but was more along the lines of what you have posted yourself Scotty, he has no option but to show restraint.  I would hope he gets personally frustrated by having to toe the party line in order to be given any kind of audience but I've never picked up on anything other than arrogance via this website.

From the rest of what youve said there Scotty and from what we read locally, it would appear the local media are as soft a touch as us supporters are, its in their interests to be.

A sad state of affairs, if ICT were in the central belt youd never see such weakness from all parties, maybe we are too isolated in Inverness afterall.

[Scotty]

I suppose the name in my comment could been interchangeable with any local journalists, the question was just asked about any that use this site.  I suppose what forresjags was really asking is there a local reporter who is in tune with the supporters frustrations atm, on or off this page.

I think they are all aware but maybe not as able as central belt publications to do anything that rocks the boat.

In Inverness, the biggest sporting team is ICT and you dont bite off the hand that feeds you or who fills a lot of your column inches every single week. It perhaps surprises me that the P&J dont do more hard-hitting stuff about ICT but then again we would probably write it off as Aberdeen bias. In the central belt, most papers are regarded as having a leaning towards one side or other of the OF and those are the teams they try to keep sweet. The rest, and the half of the OF you dont lean towards are fair game. ICT are usually fairly inconsequential to these papers unless there is a really juicy story like the victory over Celtic, Ross Tokely's personal life, SPL Promotion issues etc etc.

I didnt go as far as accusing Bannerman of being an ICT spin doctor (ICT could really use one I have to say!) but was more along the lines of what you have posted yourself Scotty, he has no option but to show restraint.  I would hope he gets personally frustrated by having to toe the party line in order to be given any kind of audience but I've never picked up on anything other than arrogance via this website.

Believe it or not ICT do have a person who does their PR or at least writes their press releases !!! Its been the same chap for a number of years (with the exception of one year where they actually employed a company from Aberdeen to do it). He is very selective about who he sends the releases to and even when we were the official site he would exclude us despite requests from club officials that we be included. That was one of the reasons I got so frustrated towards the end of our time as an official site on SportNetwork (as some people know) but thats another story.

I am sure Mr Bannerman gets just as frustrated as we do with certain things at the club but I fully understand that he has to be very circumspect when posting on here as he has chosen not to hide his identity like some posters do. If he were to constantly post something controversial he might have to deal not only with ICT fury but also BBC fury. I am sure that if he were an anonymous poster he might tell us what he really thinks.

[Charles Bannerman]

As a matter of policy, I do not make posts on current stories relating to Caley Thistle and only make very limited comment on football matters at all. To do otherwise would be inconsistent with the reporting role I have and, to put it as tactfully as I can, I would prefer not to become involved with threads where comment is in places perhaps some way wide of reality.  :014: I made one exception last August when I realised that there was so much uninformed nonsense being spoken about Craig Brewster at a point when the deal had actually been done. Regular users of this site will notice that the vast majority of my posts provide users with factual material or are on matters in the past - especially on the "Memories" board. I often wonder whether I should be posting on this site at all.

I certainly don't intend to become involved in this thread to any extent greater than this single post.

[Guest birdog]

As a matter of policy, I do not make posts on current stories relating to Caley Thistle and only make very limited comment on football matters at all. To do otherwise would be inconsistent with the reporting role I have and, to put it as tactfully as I can, I would prefer not to become involved with threads where comment is in places perhaps some way wide of reality.  :014: I made one exception last August when I realised that there was so much uninformed nonsense being spoken about Craig Brewster at a point when the deal had actually been done. Regular users of this site will notice that the vast majority of my posts provide users with factual material or are on matters in the past - especially on the "Memories" board. I often wonder whether I should be posting on this site at all.

I certainly don't intend to become involved in this thread to any extent greater than this single post.

You sound more like an MP than a reporter with that post. All those words to say feck all. So do you actually know something or are you just trying to give the impression you do?

[hislopsoffsideagain]

Leave Charles alone.  He does a perfectly good job.  As he says, he's not in a position to comment on this, and in fact I don't think he was even obliged to have to explain his position.  That should be the end of these attempts to bait him.

[clacher_holiday2]

No need for all that Charles, its football.  You'd think we were asking you to spill the beans on Litvinenko's murder  :015:

I think its best you dont post much more on this topic and indeed itd be fair for us not to continue drawing you out.  You have your petty reasons for being an ICT pet, I cant respect them in the slightest but then its your path so I'll leave it at that.

[Scotty]

I would have to agree with hislopsoffsideagain.

As he has said, he does not get weighed in on current stories so lets get back on topic !!!

[kencar]

Is this whole thread obsolete now Duncan has signed a new contract?  :tic01:

[Glebeict]

  Thank goodness - at last something positive?

  Yes and Charles  its only Football - I would not think anyone will be branded as leaking state secrets.

[Guest birdog]

Leave Charles alone.  He does a perfectly good job.  As he says, he's not in a position to comment on this, and in fact I don't think he was even obliged to have to explain his position.  That should be the end of these attempts to bait him.

I will leave him alone but only because he does not know any more than we do, otherwise I could have read the full story on the BBC website :004:

[Alex MacLeod]

Having met and chatted with Charles B on more than one occassion, and having found him to be a decent sort I dont think some of the comments being meted out here are justified.

Now I could have gotten this totally wrong but is not Charles a school teacher who, as a passtime, enjoys dabbling in a little local knowledge reporting for BBC Radio Highland. He is not a big time reporter who doesn't give a **** about whether he gets invited to the next ICT press conference but nor is he someone who is going to lose the confidence of others to provide tittle-tattle reports on this, or any other, website.

[strathyjags]

the Director of Football what a joke and a waste of a salary.

surely the biggest waste of salary at ict is mike smiths,does that guy do anything to even justify a 1/10th of his salary??

[Alex MacLeod]

Marty, MS has nothing to do with players contracts so there is no requirement to mention him in this thread

[Kingsmills]

If the fact of the matter is that Dennis Wyness is belatedly being asked to "earn" a contract which was previously offered unconditionally then that is a scandal and the person responsible is untrustworthy, dishonourable and utterly unprofessional.

If that has indeed happened then Dennis should walk away with his dignity an reputation intact and not a single genuine fan of ICT would be critical of him for doing so.

What on earth has happened to the successful tight knit club that we had forged on team spirit and common purpose ?

By the way, I agree that the negative comments regarding Charles Bannerman are unnecessary and unjustified.

[Alex MacLeod]

I wonder could Dennis go further and claim constructive dismissal on the grounds of harrassment and bullying.

[StockholmSyndrome]

Good point, Alex.  When I first heard what had happened to Dennis I did wonder whether he had grounds for some kind of legal action.  What I do know is that NOBODY deserves to be treated in this way by their employers, and especially not someone who's been so loyal and has made himself a legend with his goalscoring record.

[frank_the_tank]

I feel the Denzil situation has been blown out of proportion and rightly so Brewster has pulled back the contract offer. 

Wyness has been poor in the last couple of season and has struggled to find the net of a consistent basis.  I know injuries have played a part in this, but his last goal this season was in October and that's not the kind of ed form to be granted an extension.  Legend or not his performance on Saturday was un-acceptable. 

At least Bayney gives the side a bit of enthusiasm when he plays.