Why havent we built on promotion to the top flight

[clacher_holiday2]

Ok so we all know now what we'd like to do if we were in total control of our club, we all see theres problems at all levels and among us are sharp minds like CaleyD/Scotty/lots of you who see the internal "politics" (aka egotistical bullshit) within the club from those more concerned about position rather than delivery is killing off what little potential we have left.

Why is it fans looking to buy a scarf on a Thursday have to ask half a dozen employees to unlock a portacabin to do so?  Or queue for 15 minutes out in the open air to buy a pie on matchday?  Why do those fans then have to go sit in a stand built out of wood and sheet iron which feels like it could be blown down at any moment?  Do safety certificates expire ffs... temporary stands presumably do.  Why is it when we land ourselves a player who is fit to show at Euro 2008 the question of 'should we try and keep him' is actually asked...

Lets not play a game of point the finger or repeat the facts that every club who has come up after us excluding Gretna has progressed beyond where we are now on and off the park, lets get real and ask WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

The sobering truth is theres very little we can do, the trust is as toothless as I warned it would be aslong as it required permission to have a larger stake in the club and the rest of us have no other outlet.  We can only sit back and take what garbage is given to us, aslong as we are willing to sit back and take it.

I've said all along the only power we have as a group of supporters is in being able to vote with our feet and our wallets, if David Sutherland wants to play Marius Nicolae as a noose round the neck of the clubs finances in the media then how would he and the rest spin a couple of thousand fans staying away every week?

If anybody at the club needs to be put in their place it certainly isnt us and nobody else really matters in the long run, if the ICT board/shareholders really thought there was a threat of wide scale supporters unrest then theyd soon be dancing to a different tune, sadly as the years have passed its never been an issue and the importance of the fans to the clubs survival has been forgotten.

As a group, not just those on this site but the 000's who sit in the barns every week, we've been taken for granted since we reached the SPL and we really cant stand for it anymore.  I'm hardly calling for people to march around outside the stadium on matchdays calling for heads but its important to realise that its all of us who are currently 'in complete control of ICT' no matter what David Sutherland says in the press.  As Colin Montgomery once said "You're here because of me ok? Remember that"

[buckett]

On the other hand, if more of us turned up on matchdays, providing bigger gate receipts, perhaps we'd have the financial clout to build on promotion to the top flight.

As things stand though, we've probably gone as far as is financially viable.

[Charles Bannerman]

As Colin Montgomery once said .....

"What a great game golf is...... even with a set of man boobs like mine you can still make a fortune."  :015:

[absent friend]

As Colin Montgomery once said .....

"What a great game golf is......  with a classic swing like mine I have made a fortune."  :015:

[Alex MacLeod]

The stands are not temporary. And I'd be very surprised if you'd find wood anywhere in them.

As for the rest, like bucket say's, fill the seats every week and the rest will happen.

[Jay_7]

I'm with Clacher on this one, hence I will not be renewing this season.  Major changes have to take place at ICT before I will return.  And for those who doubt my support of the club, if these changes were to occur when we are in Division 3, then that's when I will buy another Season Ticket.  If anything, I am doing this because I support the club.

[Pele_Is_God]

If i stayed nearer Inverness and could get time off work I would get a season ticket, got to support the club through thick and thin. Admittedly last season was a bit of a nightmare but just got to stay confident that things will improve next season. Jay7 if Brewster wasn't in charge would you of renewed?

[Jay_7]

My actions are the result of a culmination of a number of factors, Brewsters appointment was just one of them.  It's not an easy decision to make, but I feel I have no other option available to me like Clacher has said.  It is the fans who have the power, and I am sick of seeing my money fueling ego's.

[tm4tj]

Wow, the club are really going to miss you. :014:

what does being a supporter actually mean?  I am confused now.

[tokelyisvictorious]

fill the seats every week and the rest will happen.

The tickets are now too expensive for anyone over 16, i for one am not looking forward to having to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get enough money to buy myself a season ticket next year.  What with the 'credit cunch' and all that, less and less people will even consider spending ?25 to see ICT play St mirren in the middle of winter.  I know this isn't an option in the minds of most people posting on this site, but its getting more and more difficult to see your team play.

Another factor in fans not arriving regularly through the gate is obviously tv deals.  Another is the players lack of a) appreciation and b) interaction with the fans (excluding a few like roscoe and marius). Another is the staium being so far away from the metropolis of Inverness town centre, making getting to games even more difficult.

We are destined never to have big crowds regularly but if you look at teams such as Dundee, Livingston and Dunfermline pulling in crowds as low as 1500 (albeit in the 1st division) and Aberdeen only achieving maximum attendance once in the last 15 years or something, we're not doing too badly.

[Guzz]

WHEN SATURDAY COMES

So when Saturday comes, where will you be?

At home in your armchair, watching TV?

Are you part of the prawn sandwich brigade?

Whose interest and enthusiasm quickly fade?

It's easy to support, when the team does well

Funny how suddenly the crowd numbers swell

Some like to bask in the reflected glory

We've seen it before; it's the same old story

And when things take a turn for the worse

They all can't wait to moan and curse

"I saw this coming!" "The team is useless!"

"Why do I bother?" "Ideserve better than this!"

The true loyalty in football, is the bond that ties

the real fan to his club. That never dies

He is not fickle, that genuine supporter

He'll support his team through **** and high water

The club belongs to him, part of his soul

It hurts like **** when they concede a goal

That union is like a Dad and wayward child

That makes him so happy, so proud or so wild

So which one are you, the true or fickle fan?

When Saturday comes, where will you stand?

With us on the terraces, or be one of those

At the checkout counter, down at Tescos?

If you are at the ground, will you moan and *****

about what is going on, out on the pitch?

Or will you all try to get behind the side?

It is your choice; down to you to decide

So when Saturday comes, we may win or get beat

A loss will be desperate; a victory so sweet

But the one thing I'm sure, I can safely declare

Is that the loyal supporters will all be there

Poet Shot

[Jay_7]

Wow, the club are really going to miss you. :014:

what does being a supporter actually mean?  I am confused now.

That's exactly what I hope to achieve from this.  If enough people decide to vote with their feet, changes will be made.  Obviously there are always going to be people who question my support of the club when things like this happen, and there's nothing I can do about that.

But it's exactly that kind of attitude that annoys me about those in charge of the club.  "So what if a few fans didn't renew, who needs them anyway?" 

The fact is, ICT needs the fans whereas I don't need to spend in excess of ?500 a year to enjoy my Saturdays.  It's not like I'm losing interest like some "Part-time fan".  It's not like I'm going to spend my money to go and watch another team play.  It's not like I'll come rushing back just with a new signing or simply just the sacking of Brewster.  Serious changes have to take place in order for me to come back and it has to start with the BoD.  Once that changes for the better, the rest will fall into place.

[Harry Chibber]

Wow, the club are really going to miss you. :014:

what does being a supporter actually mean?  I am confused now.

That's exactly what I hope to achieve from this.  If enough people decide to vote with their feet, changes will be made.  Obviously there are always going to be people who question my support of the club when things like this happen, and there's nothing I can do about that.

But it's exactly that kind of attitude that annoys me about those in charge of the club.  "So what if a few fans didn't renew, who needs them anyway?" 

The fact is, ICT needs the fans whereas I don't need to spend in excess of ?500 a year to enjoy my Saturdays.  It's not like I'm losing interest like some "Part-time fan".  It's not like I'm going to spend my money to go and watch another team play.  It's not like I'll come rushing back just with a new signing or simply just the sacking of Brewster.  Serious changes have to take place in order for me to come back and it has to start with the BoD.  Once that changes for the better, the rest will fall into place.

you honestly think things are that bad?

Possibly ?1mil coming in on th back of Niculae (not to mention the world recognition of ICT having a player in the Euros) , finally the club have done something about <16 ticket prices, about to reach our 5th season in the SPL, we are not in millions of debt

I would take a good look at the likes of Livi & Gretna before going on strike!

[caley100]

fill the seats every week and the rest will happen.

The tickets are now too expensive for anyone over 16, i for one am not looking forward to having to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get enough money to buy myself a season ticket next year.  What with the 'credit cunch' and all that, less and less people will even consider spending ?25 to see ICT play St mirren in the middle of winter.  I know this isn't an option in the minds of most people posting on this site, but its getting more and more difficult to see your team play.

Another factor in fans not arriving regularly through the gate is obviously tv deals.  Another is the players lack of a) appreciation and b) interaction with the fans (excluding a few like roscoe and marius). Another is the staium being so far away from the metropolis of Inverness town centre, making getting to games even more difficult.

We are destined never to have big crowds regularly but if you look at teams such as Dundee, Livingston and Dunfermline pulling in crowds as low as 1500 (albeit in the 1st division) and Aberdeen only achieving maximum attendance once in the last 15 years or something, we're not doing too badly.

What is it really you are complaining about?  the players? the stadium? the management? the style of play?  or is it just the money...

[CaleyD]

What's a fan to do?

I'm convinced that there's people at the club who are now doing more harm than good and I want them out, but how do I go about making that point or forcing the issue?  If I turn up at games, buy programmes, merchandise, food etc then I am giving those I wish gone the finances to maintain the club and their position, if I don't do all those things and can convince others to follow then it may be enough to force the issue, but in the process my team will likely suffer.

The ideal solution is that those running the club at present buck up and start looking beyond the ends of their noses and listening to what the fans are telling them.  We've been ignored for far too long now and I think it's getting to the stage where the club will start losing fans.  Not because of any conscious decision to protest, but because they simply can't be ersed any more.  I'd far rather see a few hundred fans standing outside protesting because they care than a few hundred sitting at home because they can no longer be bothered.  At least you know they will return if/when things improve.....but if things continue as is for much longer then their will be fans that are lost forever.

My support for the team on the park is unwavering, but the drive to turn up is rapidly being outweighed by the actions of those in charge who are, IMO, doing damage and are no longer worthy of the respect of the fans or the right to decide how the money the fans invest week in week out is utilised by the club.

I'm sure I'll have those who will continue to call me a "moaner" or suggest that I'm somehow less of a fan because I choose to criticise and suggest the fans take action.  If you want to disagree, then that's fine, but disagree with the points being made and not the person making them.

I will fight for what I think is right for ICT because I care, if I didn't care then I'd simply walk away quietly and save myself the hassle.

[Huisdean]

There are a lot of posts, on this topic, and many others where things are hinted at concerning the problems behind the scenes etc but as yet, I have not seen anyone spell out exactly what the issues are. If someone has information or knowledge of the conflicts going on behind the scenes, spit them out and we can have a real open and honest debate.

I don't want to see this club go the way of other clubs like Livingston/Gretna/Partick Thistle etc and the constant whinging from some contributors on this site, no matter how well we do, is getting me annoyed.

Without doubt, the club's marketing/PR/PA systen could be drastically improved but this all seems an afterthought for the club and the invisible board.

So come on, whoever knows what is going on behind the scenes, spill the beans, and if the board need to be reminded of their duties, then I for one am happy to support that.

[Jay_7]

My feelings exactly CaleyD.

Harry, I honestly feel that things have gotten as bad as this.  What would it take for you to decide that things had gotten bad and action was required?  Relegation? The threat of insolvency?  I appreciate that there are those of us who would back the club 100% of the time and fair play to them for it, I admire them for sticking to their beliefs. 

The potential ?1M we are allegedly seeking for the sale of Niculae is possibly the least ambitious move the club could make at this moment in time.  Not only is it not ambitious, but it smacks of an ego that is prepared to risk SPL status just to prove a point.  If this sale does go ahead, I don't believe for a minute that a penny of it will be made available to Brewster.

I agree with you on the price of <16 tickets, that is a tremendous move for the club.  One which I feel has been far too long in coming.  It is nice that it's finally materialised but that doesn't alter the fact that it's taken 4 SPL seasons to get it in place.  We are run like a highland league outfit.

With the transfer activity so far, I can honestly say we have actually gone backwards.  I would be delighted to be proved wrong on this, but I feel we are genuine contenders for relegations this coming season.  The thread title asks the question Why haven't we bult on promotion to the SPL and I feel the answer sits at an office in Tullochs.  Our majority shareholder is strangeling the club - He has demonstrated he is only too aware of this as well by appointing a puppet for a chairman.

[Harry Chibber]

My feelings exactly CaleyD.

Harry, I honestly feel that things have gotten as bad as this.  What would it take for you to decide that things had gotten bad and action was required?  Relegation? The threat of insolvency?  I appreciate that there are those of us who would back the club 100% of the time and fair play to them for it, I admire them for sticking to their beliefs. 

The potential ?1M we are allegedly seeking for the sale of Niculae is possibly the least ambitious move the club could make at this moment in time.  Not only is it not ambitious, but it smacks of an ego that is prepared to risk SPL status just to prove a point.  If this sale does go ahead, I don't believe for a minute that a penny of it will be made available to Brewster.

I agree with you on the price of <16 tickets, that is a tremendous move for the club.  One which I feel has been far too long in coming.  It is nice that it's finally materialised but that doesn't alter the fact that it's taken 4 SPL seasons to get it in place.  We are run like a highland league outfit.

With the transfer activity so far, I can honestly say we have actually gone backwards.  I would be delighted to be proved wrong on this, but I feel we are genuine contenders for relegations this coming season.  The thread title asks the question Why haven't we bult on promotion to the SPL and I feel the answer sits at an office in Tullochs.  Our majority shareholder is strangeling the club - He has demonstrated he is only too aware of this as well by appointing a puppet for a chairman.

what do you want to be done?

[Jay_7]

Sutherland to decide what he wants to do would be a nice start.  If he wants to control what goes on at the club, he should be chairman.  As chairman, the buck stops with him.  It's all too easy for him at the moment with his yes-men in place that he can easily make scape-goats out of.  If he genuinely does not want to run the club, he should let the chairman get on with his job and stop sticking his nose in as was done regularly with Savage.

A seasoned and well versed DoF in place.  Bennet has served us well, but we have to lose the Highland League image.  The new DoF would have contacts throughout Britain, and will take full control as well as responsibility for contract negotiations.  This caper of announcing targets to the press would stop, and negotiations process will not take 4-6 weeks. 

Mike Smith to be sacked and a Chief Executive brought in that will control stewards to an acceptable standard.  I think I am correct in saying Smith is also in charge of the PR of the club, something that is non-existant at the moment.  A CE should be constantly thinking of ways to improve the quality of a product or service.  Why has it taken him this long to come up with the <16 ticket idea?  Direct Debit flexibility plans should be in place, as should a proper brick and mortar club shop.

I know for a fact that more can be done but here we have 3 perfect high-profile examples.  We have a few more on the BoD that aren't pulling their weight I'm sure.

The next example of something that can be done to the club is something I'm sure many will agree with.  Why if we share youth facilities with Ross County have the likes of Liverpool not come in with ridiculous offers for any of our youths?  I can't see this being anything to do with luck, and this needs looked at pronto.

[Harry Chibber]

Sutherland to decide what he wants to do would be a nice start.  If he wants to control what goes on at the club, he should be chairman.  As chairman, the buck stops with him.  It's all too easy for him at the moment with his yes-men in place that he can easily make scape-goats out of.  If he genuinely does not want to run the club, he should let the chairman get on with his job and stop sticking his nose in as was done regularly with Savage.

A seasoned and well versed DoF in place.  Bennet has served us well, but we have to lose the Highland League image.  The new DoF would have contacts throughout Britain, and will take full control as well as responsibility for contract negotiations.  This caper of announcing targets to the press would stop, and negotiations process will not take 4-6 weeks. 

Mike Smith to be sacked and a Chief Executive brought in that will control stewards to an acceptable standard.  I think I am correct in saying Smith is also in charge of the PR of the club, something that is non-existant at the moment.  A CE should be constantly thinking of ways to improve the quality of a product or service.  Why has it taken him this long to come up with the <16 ticket idea?  Direct Debit flexibility plans should be in place, as should a proper brick and mortar club shop.

I know for a fact that more can be done but here we have 3 perfect high-profile examples.  We have a few more on the BoD that aren't pulling their weight I'm sure.

The next example of something that can be done to the club is something I'm sure many will agree with.  Why if we share youth facilities with Ross County have the likes of Liverpool not come in with ridiculous offers for any of our youths?  I can't see this being anything to do with luck, and this needs looked at pronto.

no offence mate but think you're clutching at straws

think you'd struggle to find a club in the country that doesn't need improvement and most have had a century to work on them.  We have sprung up the leagues in < 15 years so no wonder we're behind in a few things but we're on the right tracks. 

I really don't know what everyone's problem with Bennett is, how can the guy get more experience??

[Jay_7]

OK, that's your opinion.  I can accept that.  I'm not expecting folk to agree with me, but because you don't agree with me, I'm clutching at straws?

The problem with Bennet is not his experience.  It's his handling of the media and the way ICT are made to look a shambles when we chase a player for **** near 6 months.  It's the way the vast majority of our players come from Ross County.  Bennet found his level in the lower leagues.

Call it clutching at straws if you like.  The way I see it, we have an owner who doesn't want to be in the limelight, but wants to control everything that goes on at the club.  He can't have it like that.  If he wants that, he should be chairman again.  If not, let the new chairman see if he can improve things.  Of course, that wont happen now that we got rid of the man that did want to make changes and appointed a puppet in his place.

[CaleyD]

Harry, if the club was moving forwards or at least looking like they were trying to move forwards then there's not much we could complain about, but as I (and others) see it we're, at best, standing still and haven't progressed on the whole since getting in to the SPL.

Our first season I could accept the "make do" mentality which allowed us to find our feet and get a feel for the league.  We started to bring in players which were SPL quality in their own right and not relying on the old "the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts" cliche.  We probably had 6 or 7 players who could have fallen in to that category a couple of seasons back, but we are now looking at going in to next season with 2, maybe 3 players who you could honestly say would be targets of other SPL clubs if available....and that's just an example of how we've fallen behind on the park.

Off the park...in short, prices are going up and standards are going down or, at best, failing to match the increases.  The focus of the club seems to be getting more corporates through the doors whilst they ignore the concern of the fans.  Stewarding standards have got worse season on season.  PR is a joke...lost count of the times ICT have been caught out trying to "Spin" a story.  I think I'm right in saying only once have we had new strips in time for season kick off (this coming seasons)....I could be wrong as I've never been able to get a shirt that fits so not paid much interest.  Parking continues to be a nightmare.  You have to wait forever and a day to get a response to communication with the stadium (if they reply at all).

As I said, if the club even looked like they were trying, then they could perhaps be forgiven, but what little focus they do have is aimed everywhere other than at the majority of fans.

[caleyblue]

till we get a sponsor like the bigger clubs we will always be a wee club depending on survival every season  but i for one enjoy going to watch ict week in week out and cant wait for the new season to start once again . but i woulod like a good start this season for a change . :021: :021: :021: :021: :021:

[hislopsoffsideagain]

Jeez, does nobody just watch football for the entertainment, win or lose?  Of course I'm gutted when Caley lose, but all I want is some enjoyment.  As far as I was concerned, the 3-4 game with Aberdeen was the best I saw last season. 

Now if people aren't renewing their season tickets because the footie has been dull, or because it's too expensive, then fine.  I find it somewhat difficult to empathise with those who have other issues.

And if last season was a disaster for us, then what does that say about the likes of Hearts and Kilmarnock, or lower down Dundee, St. Johnstone and Dunfermline?  Some perspective, please.

[CaleyD]

I find your last analogy rather confusing.  Especially Dundee....if it wasn't for the fans there who cared enough to fight the owners/board then they could very well have disappeared altogether.  I'd rather our fans took action to stop us getting that far down the road in the first place.....and that involves a little more than just turning up for the entertainment.