Statement - Orion Group

[CaleyD]

It's Marius Niculae I really feel for right now.  The guys come here to play football, he's kept his head down, got on with the job and given 100%...yet here he is stuck in the middle of all the chit through no fault of his.

And please, don't give me the "he's being well paid for it line".  I've been in well paid jobs where the stress and hassle was unbelievable and all the money in the world don't make up for it.

[CaleyD]

Looks like another club is gonna get a bargain buy with Niculae over the close season !!! It's not as if ICT are in a position to hold out for high offers. Everyone now knows that we're looking to offload Marius cos we can't afford him!

Where are we gonna get another striker from? ...... especially if the club's searching for ?500k investment?

Can we afford to release Dennis Wyness?......but after the way he's been treated will he want to stay ?

Things are looking pretty bleak for next season !!! :008:

ICT's new motto should be "Shoot Yourself in the Foot"

[clacher_holiday2]

Looks like another club is gonna get a bargain buy with Niculae over the close season !!! It's not as if ICT are in a position to hold out for high offers. Everyone now knows that we're looking to offload Marius cos we can't afford him!

Where are we gonna get another striker from? ...... especially if the club's searching for ?500k investment?

Can we afford to release Dennis Wyness?......but after the way he's been treated will he want to stay ?

Things are looking pretty bleak for next season !!! :008:

I really dont think the club is in such a bad position regarding Marius's wages, we couldnt be surely, its a terrible statement from Sutherland as it makes us sound much weaker than we really are.

[RednBlackComeback]

ICT's new motto should be "Shoot Yourself in the Foot"

That pretty much sums us up!

Next thing is we'll be told that the price of season tickets is to be increased for next season !!! :029:

[CaleyD]

This is the reason that this site produces statements in full and unedited.........

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t..._ct/7364125.stm

Amazing just how much an interview can be twisted by mixing in some selective quoting and a substantial amount of conjecture...and when what the person says doesn't read write....don't quote him and give your interpretation.

It's enough of a mess without journalists trying to dramatise it any more :029:

[CaleyD]

Sutherland didn't like the Orion Groups statement today (no shock there) and the ?500k thing is simple scaremongering as he beats his chest....we've all done it.

Looking at the time stamp on the Sportsound clip the interview must have taken place shortly after the statement went out on this site or immediately after North Tonight.  As I said, Sutherland answered nothing and it was probably just a case of someone getting something out there in response.....perhaps not the wisest move, but we'd all be criticising the club for being slow to respond if the hadn't.

I'd expect any reporting in tomorrows newspapers to be of a similar ilk, which means it will either be by way of the radio/news that we get anything more substantial from the club, or Fridays Newspapers.

However, the offer remains open for the club to give their statement direct to this site where it will be printed in full without being tampered with by Journalists.

[Guest Spectre]

The ?270k injected into the club by Orion would be enough to pay Marius for two years - we were rumoured to be offering Dargo ?2k a week (phew lucky escape there) so Savage put enough in to cover the excess.

The ?500k is either Sutherland softening everyone up for him taking more shares or because other costs have run out of control.

As for Savage, if you are appointed Chairman you expect to be able to run the show without interference from shareholders.

[L_G]

The ?270k injected into the club by Orion would be enough to pay Marius for two years - we were rumoured to be offering Dargo ?2k a week (phew lucky escape there) so Savage put enough in to cover the excess.

The ?500k is either Sutherland softening everyone up for him taking more shares or because other costs have run out of control.

As for Savage, if you are appointed Chairman you expect to be able to run the show without interference from shareholders.

I don't think the expected losses this season are all down to Marius.  I think that you are closer to the mark with 'other costs have run out of control'.

[RiG]

*Press & Journal*

Another conflict there - Savage left immediately and was not going to hang around till the end of the season like other sources stipulated.

I'm pretty much lost for words right now!

[L_G]

*Press & Journal*

Another conflict there - Savage left immediately and was not going to hang around till the end of the season like other sources stipulated.

I'm pretty much lost for words right now!

Every cloud has a silver lining.  :015: :015: :015:

I think we'll have a few stories yet, before we actually get the truth - if we ever get it.  Interesting times.

[Jay_7]

Hmm, something is not right, as people have rightly said Alan Savage has been noted in the press as paying Marius's wages.  On the point of Charlie Christie...I have been led to believe that he left the manager post because he was kept out of the loop with the signing of Marius Niculae...which was all Savage and his business contacts in Romania

I don't know where all these stories about why he left have come from.  I can tell you that's false though.

[caley1980]

Tell me if I am wrong ? but when Marius was presented to the media, it was David Sutherland who was at his side talking of the signing taking us to the next level. 

it's just one sorry episode after another at the moment, and I am afraid we are a laughing stock AGAIN !

[Naelifts]

This whole sorry mess is symptomatic of the kind of shady dealing with which I have no truck. It is straight out of Westminster. It is a complete turn-off and accentuates my lack of desire to be part of the ICT story anymore.

Having said that..............I will , of course, be at Tynecastle on Saturday.

As the Kinks once said " Where have all the good times gone?"

If you are listening Board....................Some plain speaking please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ronaldo]

Can anyone blame Alan Savage for walking away, I know I couldn't be bothered with all this nonsense in my life?

I'm sure he has better things to do. 

[Jay_7]

Anyone got an old bedsheet that could be used as a banner for Tynecastle?  Something along the lines of "Sort it out ICT" would suffice...

[caleyboy]

Was it not the case that Sutherland was pictured with Marius when he signed?(indicating his support).  I don't believe he wasn't fully aware of the financial mechanics when the player was signed so why now turn and say we can't afford him? This all smells of a power struggle, not the first Sutherland has fought and ultimately won. One or two people are building up an nice wee investment here which will produce a very nice payout in time.

[caley100]

The ?270k injected into the club by Orion would be enough to pay Marius for two years - we were rumoured to be offering Dargo ?2k a week (phew lucky escape there) so Savage put enough in to cover the excess.

The ?500k is either Sutherland softening everyone up for him taking more shares or because other costs have run out of control.

As for Savage, if you are appointed Chairman you expect to be able to run the show without interference from shareholders.

IF Marius is on ?4k a week, the money Orion injected would not cover his salery for two years, this is perhaps why DS is coming out with the ' cant afford him next season ' stuff, and as we all know if DS had beent he chairman at the time, Marius would not be at ICT.

And its anybodys guess what would have happened if this had been the case, however the past is the past and i think Fraser will for sure be DS's man in the camp.

[Ronaldo]

Of that Rich, there's no doubt

Also no doubt we need to burst the bank next season for a real goalscorer

[clacher_holiday2]

Listening again its clear hes trying to say that Marius's salary will hinder our ability to bring in new players.

I hate this.  As I was saying last night, by now the club should be in a position to actually afford to cover his salary themselves.

Since we've been promoted to the SPL we've not made a jot of progress off the park in our attendances or ability to raise money, we've been in the SPL longer than Falkirk and St Mirren, both of them have improved each year since promotion without smashing any budgets and will continue to reap rewards with improvements to their new grounds.  Both will have higher average attendances than us next year and thus can raise more money, in the not too distant future (should they survive the SPL) I'd say both would be on track to pay their top players 2-3-4k a week comfortably.  Should they not survive the SPL then the infrastructure theyve put in place will serve them well for the next couple of decades if they come back up or not.

I work with Jambo, Hibee and Celtic season ticket holders, all theyve been talking about this week is their renewal options for next years season tickets.  Each club has half a dozen payment plans, bands of games available to purchase and other incentives/top ups tied to new merchandise deals and club travel to away games available to choose from in a clear and professional manner.  Theyve been able to go online or call their clubs anytime to go through the process of renewal for ages now.  If I goto the ticket section of the official ICT homepage I see this -

Half-season tickets are now on sale and are valid from the 29th December (ICT v Kilmarnock) but buy now and you will be entitled to purchase up to 6 tickets for ICT v Celtic on Sunday 16th December too.

Download your application form here

Half Season Ticket Application Form

Ticket Prices for 2007/08[/center]

:017: :017: :017:

[maimie]

Listening again its clear hes trying to say that Marius's salary will hinder our ability to bring in new players.

I hate this.  As I was saying last night, by now the club should be in a position to actually afford to cover his salary themselves.

Since we've been promoted to the SPL we've not made a jot of progress off the park in our attendances or ability to raise money, we've been in the SPL longer than Falkirk and St Mirren, both of them have improved each year since promotion without smashing any budgets and will continue to reap rewards with improvements to their new grounds.  Both will have higher average attendances than us next year and thus can raise more money, in the not too distant future (should they survive the SPL) I'd say both would be on track to pay their top players 2-3-4k a week comfortably.  Should they not survive the SPL then the infrastructure theyve put in place will serve them well for the next couple of decades if they come back up or not.

I work with Jambo, Hibee and Celtic season ticket holders, all theyve been talking about this week is their renewal options for next years season tickets.  Each club has half a dozen payment plans, bands of games available to purchase and other incentives/top ups tied to new merchandise deals and club travel to away games available to choose from in a clear and professional manner.  Theyve been able to go online or call their clubs anytime to go through the process of renewal for ages now.  If I goto the ticket section of the official ICT homepage I see this -

Half-season tickets are now on sale and are valid from the 29th December (ICT v Kilmarnock) but buy now and you will be entitled to purchase up to 6 tickets for ICT v Celtic on Sunday 16th December too.

Download your application form here

Half Season Ticket Application Form

Ticket Prices for 2007/08[/center]

:017: :017: :017:

:clapping03: :clapping03: :clapping03: :clapping03:

been saying it for years....

[Kingsmills]

I couldn't agree more with the last two posts. Our efforts at securing and financing season ticket sales are of third division standards.

[Scotty]

Marius' wage might hinder us in getting new players but if he stays then maybe his presence might actually sell a few more season tickets !!!!

In my opinion, season tickets have always been handled badly ... not by those that are issuing them, but the system in general !!!!

Q: When is the best time to start marketing next season's tickets ?

A: during the current season when people are still interested and/or have time to save for them not 4-6 weeks before the start of the next season after a summer of holidays, gardening and DIY.

Q: If you assume we have a relatively consistent hard core of support that is somewhat higher than the number of season ticket holders then how do we attract more of them to buy?

A: This is the biggie. People will buy season tickets if it offers them good value and they can afford them. The club should be vigorously pursuing numerous opportunities to offer that value and make it hard for people to refuse ... Here's just a handful of ideas - its not rocket science !!!

[li]First of all - Offer a varied package. Not all our supporters are the same. Some go to all games, some go to just a few, some live in Inverness, some have to travel hundreds of miles to see the club, it is ludicrous to think that they will all find the current 'one size fits all' offer meaningful. There should be offers for full season tickets, half season tickets and also "multi-packs" where supporters can select say 4, 5 or 6 games during a season and apply for tickets (including 1 premium game)[/li]
[li]Secondly - offer season tickets very early by having a sliding scale of discount based on when the ticket is purchased. If you give people a nice deep discount then many will take you up on it as its a value they can actually see. The cost of offering the extra discounts is offset by the fact that the club have the money in the bank for a longer time (like 3 months before the season even starts if offered at this time of year) [/li]
[li]Thirdly - payment schemes for those who perhaps cant afford it in one hit. The club already do this so thats fair enough. Perhaps however, there are other ways or additional timescales to pay for them if the customer is buying multiple tickets.[/li]
[li]Get the online ticketing working. Its been what 5? 6? years since this was first mooted and still its not being used. I ended up with a friend's ticket for last week's Killie game but had the opportunity to purchase a ticket online been available to me I may have actually bought a pair prior to my trip just to make sure !!! How many others might take advantage of the same thing.[/li]
[li]Initiate a ticket exchange programme. Toronto FC do this. Season ticket holders can make their tickets available via the club's ticketing system so that other supporters can buy them. If the ticket is sold, the original ticket holder gets a discount applied to next year's season ticket (ticket value minus a small commission). If the ticket is not sold then there is no credit applied. This might encourage a few people who cant make every game to still buy a full season ticket as they will have a legitimate avenue for reselling them.[/li]

I could go on (and on, and on, and on  :004:) with more ideas but this is probably not the best thread to do it on as this is a bit off-topic but suffice to say there are loads of ways to market the product that dont appear to ever be considered.

The other thing is the whole atmosphere/ambience and that is also a thread of its own. All i will say on this is that I was shocked last week at how flat the whole atmosphere in the stadium was. OK it was an end of season game, and I was in the main stand but it appears that all the rules and regulations about acceptable conduct are taking their toll. By all means have rules for safety and to protect the enjoyment of others but it seems that all the enjoyment is being squeezed out of supporters for fear of being ejected or warned for innocuous incidents and this does nothing to enhance the enjoyment or make customers think they are getting value for money. There is a balance somewhere that needs to be struck.

Moderators - feel free to split this post and any others about season tickets off into another thread if you feel it is too off-topic for this thread.

[maimie]

well said scotty - again things that you (and others) have been saying for years...

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

593 to be precise  :001: I am enjoying this - its surreal - its a forum full of IHE's - 6 months too late as usual.  :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

[Scarlet Pimple]

I feel sorry for Marius in all this. He is simply a professional entertainer doing his best to earn the highest wages he can , put his retirement nest egg  on the front burner and look after his own financial interests.He does not appear to be arrogant, is doing better all the time and gets along nicely. What on earth has he to be ashamed of?

No different to any other employee. The way he is being referred-to in these statemenmts or alleged statements is sad to say the least and he does not deserve this. What kind of incentive is this for him to go on the park in these last few games and put out? Frankly the whole current charade is disgraceful.

The people involved must really be feeling the heat from many quarters to be making such public statements about one single player that should be spoken only in private--like "we can't afford his wages now for next season"--so that's it then, one public statement and his pounds value  to the club has gone down immeasureably .When other clubs see this they are going to whet their lips with glee. "Top player goes to  so and so club for a song. Manager Sam of  so and so F.C. expresses delight at his capture"  etc.

If I were him I would be thoroughly disenchanted and , although reluctant to go, just decide to get out as soon as possible seeing as he is being treated as a ping pong ball with indifference.

Unprofessional all! That's the way I see it.

Situation is clear as crystal. Orion plonks money down for shares; capital thus invested is filtered into general revenue and used to top up Marius' wages. Smug officials say nothing allowing gullible fan base to think that Orion is paying Marius directly. The truth comes out when  the inside power struggle threatens to disintegrate the club's structure.

Folks- I am nervous about this. Is the future of this wonderful club assured in any way or , assuming that this all ends badly, where will Caley Thistle end up?

Sutherland quotes 500,000 as a potential needed support figure. Is the club now also 250,000  overdrawn at the bank then?

:008: