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"The ICT Thread - The Championship Years"


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55 minutes ago, alternative maryhill said:

One theory I've heard put forward is that Robbo is the preferred candidate of a previous high-profile investor who is looking to become more involved again, but I don't know how accurate that is.        

Alan Savage (if I remember right) pulled his sponsorship from the club when John Hughes got the job, in anger of them not appointing his then employee John Robertson and Barry Wilson as assistant.  At least that was what was rumoured at the time.

This jobs for the boys cloak has hung over the club for years.  It went away somewhat when Butcher came in as he was a new manager with an entirely different background and signed players who weren't local to the area.  Hughes was slightly in the same mould but now it's back with a vengeance.  First Richie Foran and even more so John Robertson are just pals giving other pals jobs.  

Edited by Highland Capital
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Dumbarton will be keen to see what promising striker Inverness give them on loan to help them finish above ICT.

Sevco will be looking to see what promising young defender Inverness will let go to them for pretty much nothing.

Inverness should also make sure they have enough keepers..

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49 minutes ago, Highland Capital said:

Alan Savage (if I remember right) pulled his sponsorship from the club when John Hughes got the job, in anger of them not appointing his then employee John Robertson and Barry Wilson as assistant.  At least that was what was rumoured at the time.

This jobs for the boys cloak has hung over the club for years.  It went away somewhat when Butcher came in as he was a new manager with an entirely different background and signed players who weren't local to the area.  Hughes was slightly in the same mould but now it's back with a vengeance.  First Richie Foran and even more so John Robertson are just pals giving other pals jobs.  

Looking on from the distance of Glasgow, based on what locally-based supporters say on here and on CTO, it has sometimes seemed as if the club is an accessory to be fought over by various Inverness-based businessmen. I don't know if that's a fair comment or not - I know David Sutherland has done a lot that's good for the club, for example - but it's frustrating to think that potential investment in the past has been blocked due to interpersonal animosities among these guys, and future that potential investment might be dependent on the appointment of someone's mate, irrespective of their suitability for the position.

We all knew that our squad would start to disintegrate in 2015, and that we couldn't keep improving indefinitely, but it's still pretty staggering just how small-time we feel, so soon after the 3rd place / Scottish Cup / Europa qualifiers high-water mark.    

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I don't think Robertson has ever been manager of a club much longer than two years.  As mentioned his only success came with an inherited squad.  This time is a completely different scenario.  We've only got about ten out-field players.  Does he have the contacts and the know-how for a major rebuild?  I'm not sure.

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Am I right in saying that the last time Robertson managed a club Rangers were still in existence?

It's very hard for me to say this but you may have actually found someone who is a worse choice, on paper, than Gary Locke.

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I'm trying to think of positives about this appointment.  He's probably got decent contacts in Scottish football through his work at Hearts and he's worked in a few places as an informal strikers coach.  I don't think anyone doubts he's a good coach and will have a positive impact in terms of his attitude and demenour.

Aside from that, it's difficult to even be a happy clapper.  On the Caley site a lot of people are referring back to the 2003/04 title win, but that's a lifetime ago.  Also, Robertson took over a very good team and added Steve Hislop, David Bingham and Barry Wilson to it, as well as solidifying the defence.  It wasn't exactly rocket science.  His record since leaving us is poor and he's been out of management for years.  

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OK so Robbo is our new manager, I welcome him back.

Its a strange appointment but this has never been a conventional ordinary club and so I keep an open mind on this. What he has in his favour is that we have retained 10 hopefully 12 players of a decent squad from last season so he has something to build around, maybe he can get us better orginised, bring in some promising young players especially up front. Will he be working with Brian Rice as his assistant though?

Regardless on who we would have appointed this season it would be a step up on Richie Foran as manager and so I'm quietly confident that we can do a lot better than many expect. I see we have been written off in the league prediction thread. :)

 

Edited by CityDave
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New travel club formed to help Caley Thistle fans get to away games

Written byJamie Durent

The ICT Supporters Travel Club aims to get fans to every away game this season. Pictures: Ken Macpherson.
The ICT Supporters Travel Club aims to get fans to every away game this season. Pictures: Ken Macpherson.

A NEW travel club has been set up to get as many Caley Thistle fans to away games as possible.

The ICT Supporters Travel Club has split from the fans’ group Caley Jags Together and wants to re-energise the travelling support for Inverness’s first season back in the Championship.

A 12-strong committee, chaired by fellow fan Rosemary Webb, have formed to organise buses for the 18 away league games next season, as well as any cup contests. The destinations next season will be more unfamiliar than the Caley Thistle supporters are used to, with Brechin and Dumfries now on the radar.

Some of the club’s younger supporters have got on board with the new regime, something welcomed by committee member Chris McQueen. The enthusiasm about an away day has not been dimmed by the dropping of levels.

“Some people will look at it as new grounds to go to. The people on the committee know each other, so that side of things should run well. It’s dependent on how well the team do,” said McQueen, a Caley Thistle fan who works off-shore.

“There’s a core three or four of us, with a couple of friends that have got on board. There’s four or five 18-year-olds who have got some ideas of how to try to run it.

“The Championship is maybe not as appealing to people but if the team are winning and up near the top, chances are more people will want to watch them.

“It might be tough at the start but if the club are doing well, I don’t see why it won’t work. There’s a good mix of young and old that go regularly and hopefully through social media, we can spread the word a bit more.”

The last away game travel was organised for was the penultimate game of the season against Dundee.
The last away game travel was organised for was the penultimate game of the season against Dundee.

McQueen’s work off-shore means he cannot get to every away game. He missed the majority of the run-in last season but came back for the final match against Motherwell. Similarly, he headed away for work at the end of last week and will miss some of the League Cup games next month.

“With any football team, the away support is usually more vocal,” he said. “You get to see new grounds and if you win, it’s the cherry on top.”

After the online furore over season-ticket prices – Caley Thistle maintained the costs of all categories of ticket despite dropping down to the Championship – the travel club are looking to do their bit to encourage fans to go to away games.

Last season saw a £20 flat rate applied for bus tickets to games but this has been halved for under-18s, students and concessions this season. Adults will still pay £20.

“We’ve tried to make it more affordable,” added McQueen. “If we get a bit of money in the bank, we might be able to reward fans and offer discounted buses later in the season.”

Bookings are already being taken for the League Cup games against Forfar and Stirling Albion next month and the aim is to match last season, where travel was arranged to all away games. The last away day organised was the penultimate game of last season, where Caley Thistle beat Dundee 2-0 to prolong their survival hopes.

Members are lobbying local businesses in an effort to attract sponsorship. The group separated from CJT to make it easier to manage funds between the two entities.

“The best way of raising money at the moment is through businesses or fundraising at grounds, then people paying for buses themselves,” said McQueen. “If we get a decent number on each bus, it pays for itself.”

.If you wish to get in touch with the travel club, you can do it via ICT Supporters Travel Club on Facebook or @ICT_STC on Twitter. Alternatively, they can be contacted on 07462 218717.

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No East Fife fans have chimed in yet but I thought they had no money and he was doing quite a reasonable job in holding things together (he had them mid table and knocked out Aberdeen). After he left, they brought in Billy Brown at some point in the next season and he had that famous strugglin breakdown in which he bemoaned the lack of resources that they had. I remember hearing that Robertson's departure was more motivated by him, understandably, being drained by commuting from Inverness all the time.

He doesn't seem to have really been a complete disaster in his career like he's being made out to be. It's a bit of a risk (and maybe somewhat underwhelming) given how long ago his last management spell was but it seems a bit silly opposition fans slating him on here now when they could end up looking daft in a short period of time.

It's pretty likely that this job is a poisoned chalice and anyone who took it was likely to be on their arse in a few months. Tough going with the financial adjustments and if the likes of OFW, Raven, Tremarco, Warren, Draper and Doran are being encouraged at boardroom level to find new clubs and then the manager is tasked with doing his work quite quickly. I don't know your boardroom situation but our deficit (and United's) was astronomically high in the seasons we adjusted to second tier football.

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18 minutes ago, harry94 said:

It's pretty likely that this job is a poisoned chalice and anyone who took it was likely to be on their arse in a few months. Tough going with the financial adjustments and if the likes of OFW, Raven, Tremarco, Warren, Draper and Doran are being encouraged at boardroom level to find new clubs and then the manager is tasked with doing his work quite quickly. I don't know your boardroom situation but our deficit (and United's) was astronomically high in the seasons we adjusted to second tier football.

One of the rumours is that former chairman Alan Savage wants to get back involved and that he was keen for Robertson to return.  During his periods away from full-time football management Robertson worked for Savage, who owns Orion Group Recruitment.  Relegation obviously has a big impact financially on the club and it could be that we've needed to try and secure some investment or help from Savage, who has made bringing his man back a prerequisite.  This is not good IMO - if it's true we now effectively have a second non-sackable manager in a row.

In financial terms I don't think we are too bad - we don't have any bank debt and have been run at a profit for the past few years.  That can all change quickly in Scottish football though, income drops off quickly when you are relegated.  I don't think we've been encouraging our signed players to find new clubs, one of the statements post-relegation said that all currently contracted players were staying.  Of the players you mention though, OFW, Raven and Warren had poor seasons last year (OFW was probably the worst keeper in the league) and Doran has spent the vast majority of two seasons injured.  I doubt many people would be wanting them.

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5 minutes ago, ICTChris said:

One of the rumours is that former chairman Alan Savage wants to get back involved and that he was keen for Robertson to return.  During his periods away from full-time football management Robertson worked for Savage, who owns Orion Group Recruitment.  Relegation obviously has a big impact financially on the club and it could be that we've needed to try and secure some investment or help from Savage, who has made bringing his man back a prerequisite.  This is not good IMO - if it's true we now effectively have a second non-sackable manager in a row.

Completely agree with this. I guess it may depend on what the club are hoping to achieve this season. I can't see us challenging for the title however I would like to think we could sneak into the playoffs. If we are loitering around the lower end of the table will the club be more prepared to bin the manager than we were last season? Ultimately sticking the Foran for too long arguably cost us our place in the league last season when he should have been binned long ago.

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