Inverness ct future in ' significant doubt'

[Donegal Hibby]

Few papers reporting Inverness in financial trouble.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/inverness-ct-future-significant-doubt-29338575

[04Sauzee]

More reading here

https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/sport/inverness-caledonian-thistle-confirm-losses-of-835-000-in-l-305037/

[NAE NOOKIE]

Its a shame, but the fact is the good folk of Inverness just don't ever seem to have taken to this club. You can chuck in the rammy the merger caused to begin with and the fact that Inverness isn't a huge place with a lot of reasonable sized towns and villages around it to draw support from, especially With Ross County to contend with.

But, when you saw the sort of turnouts the Inverness Highland League clubs could get with a decent Scottish cup draw back in the day I had always hoped they could at least make a go of it with some decent crowds from time to time .... the fact is they just don't seem to have enthused the city at all and this is all beginning to look like a bit of a failed experiment ... not unlike Ferranti Thistle, come Meadowbank Thistle, come Livingstone's move to West Lothian where how they survive as a premiership club on crowds that would disappoint Arbroath is anybody's guess .... Mine is that only their handy geographical location for away supporters saves them.

I do not think ICT will go to the wall, but if they are full time I can't see how that can continue. If they do fold I dare say it could be Ross County's gain in the long run who appear to be as well run a club as you can get.

Maybe fanciful, but for me the best thing they could do is get Clachnacuddin on board ( some chance given the meltdown the first merger caused ) wind up ICT and start afresh with a new Inverness United FC with new colours and a new stadium ... I mean you are talking 7,000 / 8,000 not the bloody Maracana, they could finance it by flogging the current stadium and Clach's gaff. Perhaps that would be a club the whole place could get behind.

[The_Exile]

Clachnacuddin have a long and storied history and I'm not sure anybody there would be willing to chuck it in the bin just to help Caley Thistle out. I think out of any club in Scotland, we know only too well what facing the prospect of being deleted from existence feels like and I wouldn't wish it on any club, regardless of whether they get 20k a week through the turnstiles or 200.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Clachnacuddin have a long and storied history and I'm not sure anybody there would be willing to chuck it in the bin just to help Caley Thistle out. I think out of any club in Scotland, we know only too well what facing the prospect of being deleted from existence feels like and I wouldn't wish it on any club, regardless of whether they get 20k a week through the turnstiles or 200.

Football history has many examples of merged clubs going on to have great histories, you would be surprised at how many famous clubs are actually the result of mergers back in the day. It's not whether it should be or can be done but rather how you go about doing it.

[The_Exile]

Football history has many examples of merged clubs going on to have great histories, you would be surprised at how many famous clubs are actually the result of mergers back in the day. It's not whether it should be or can be done but rather how you go about doing it.

I'm not sure it would work in the modern day though. I'm sure there will be a couple of recent examples but I genuinely can't think of any. Back in the day, I can only assume football wasn't as tribal as it was now, and the strength of feeling about clubs merging perhaps wasn't as strong? Happy to be corrected on all fronts there though. Maybe we're too close to it all after what almost happened to us, but any time I hear of clubs merging I feel deeply uneasy about it.

[Donegal Hibby]

Clachnacuddin have a long and storied history and I'm not sure anybody there would be willing to chuck it in the bin just to help Caley Thistle out. I think out of any club in Scotland, we know only too well what facing the prospect of being deleted from existence feels like and I wouldn't wish it on any club, regardless of whether they get 20k a week through the turnstiles or 200.
I'd be the same and wouldn't wish any club going out of business ( apart from one though) . It brought our own past troubles back to me and how worrying it was at the time . It's been mentioned on another forum that Inverness CEO is a guy called Scott Gardiner who they didn't speak of very well , think they mentioned he had been at sevco . Hopefully Inverness survive but it's definitely worrying for the caley fans .
https://caleythistleonline.com/topic/35503-latest-accounts/

[NAE NOOKIE]

I'm not sure it would work in the modern day though. I'm sure there will be a couple of recent examples but I genuinely can't think of any. Back in the day, I can only assume football wasn't as tribal as it was now, and the strength of feeling about clubs merging perhaps wasn't as strong? Happy to be corrected on all fronts there though. Maybe we're too close to it all after what almost happened to us, but any time I hear of clubs merging I feel deeply uneasy about it.

Which is kind of why I said it's not can or should you do it, but rather how you do it if you think it's the way forward. Page one chapter one of how not to do it is headed 'Wallace Mercer' The next chapter is headed Inverness Caledonian / Inverness Thistle.

You only have to look at what ICT became .. practically all that remained of Thistle after the merger was a tiny wee bit of red in a predominantly blue strip, a stadium with blue seats called 'the Caledonian stadium and a set of fans who shouted 'c'mon Caley' at games ... it may be an urban myth that the bogs at the Caledonian stadium got painted red and black 5 minutes after the merger, but that's what I heard. No wonder most of the Thistle fans gave the new club a body swerve.

If they had had their wits about them they would have binned the colours of Caley and Thistle completely and started a brand new club with a new name, new colours and at least a commitment to build a new stadium after playing at Caley's place only for so long as was absolutely necessary... red and blue make purple FFS it should have been a no brainer.
The acrimony and fallings out that were a massive part of the merger can have done nothing but put off most local businesses and minted individuals from getting involved in funding the new club for fear of alienating half the city .... no bloody wonder they have been playing at the same dump since day one, it has to be one of the worst stadiums in the top two leagues of the SPFL and that's a hell of a low bar. I mean after near on 30 years of existence to still have a main stand that only has the middle third covered and that in a ground with only 3 stands tells you all you need to know about ICT and how badly it has been run.

You simply can't help feeling this could have been managed far far better from day one ... They had one advantage any clubs thinking of merging very rarely have, they were about to start fresh in a league system neither club had ever played in .. even with a new name and colours the highland league history of both founding clubs could have been part of the new clubs identity by acknowledging it in the honours page of the programme and even a small museum at the stadium. If they had put this to the fans at the start perhaps they wouldn't be in the situation they are now.

[The Baldmans Comb]

Just go into administration pay the points penalty deduction and drop down a division and then employ players that you can actually pay within your means and pay off the creditors at say 10p in the £ and start up debt free.

Alternatively just go into liquidation and start up again with a slightly different name.

No football club in financial trouble ever bothers to pay their debts and HMRC never go after the ground so just restructure and start again one way or another.

[Libby Hibby]

I'd be the same and wouldn't wish any club going out of business ( apart from one though) . It brought our own past troubles back to me and how worrying it was at the time . It's been mentioned on another forum that Inverness CEO is a guy called Scott Gardiner who they didn't speak of very well , think they mentioned he had been at sevco . Hopefully Inverness survive but it's definitely worrying for the caley fans .
https://caleythistleonline.com/topic/35503-latest-accounts/

Was Scott Gardener not at Hertz? The one that forgot to order the seats?

[Pretty Boy]

I remember listening to their CEO being interviewed last year. He was asked about his thoughts on winter games being moved to earlier kick offs to cut floodlight use and answered that didn't work for ICT. I assumed that was because of the travel involved for away teams. Not the case though. He said they took their players to a hotel about 40 miles from Inverness before every home game for breakfast before then travelling back to the stadium for the game and he couldn't see a solution to that. WTF? How about don't go to a hotel miles outside Inverness every week and either find somewhere in the city, use the stadium or provide the players with a take home breakfast after training on a Friday and trust them to eat it.

Obviously times are hard for a lot of businesses but that just screams playing at being a big club and it's a colossal waste of money; using it as justification for not potentially saving more money is even worse. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and if that's the brains running the club then it's little wonder they are in bother.

[Since452]

Hearts sympathisers. Next.

[JimBHibees]

I'd be the same and wouldn't wish any club going out of business ( apart from one though) . It brought our own past troubles back to me and how worrying it was at the time . It's been mentioned on another forum that Inverness CEO is a guy called Scott Gardiner who they didn't speak of very well , think they mentioned he had been at sevco . Hopefully Inverness survive but it's definitely worrying for the caley fans .
https://caleythistleonline.com/topic/35503-latest-accounts/


Was Scott Gardener not at Hertz? The one that forgot to order the seats?

Yep and was a huge champion for Hearts not getting expulgated couple of years back

[marinello59]

Football history has many examples of merged clubs going on to have great histories, you would be surprised at how many famous clubs are actually the result of mergers back in the day. It's not whether it should be or can be done but rather how you go about doing it.

They are quite content with being the only Inverness representative in the Highland League and why wouldn’t they be? No way they would consider throwing in their lot with yet another hybrid team.
ICTs problems are not down to lack of support, they’re just a really badly run club.

[green day]

Scott Gardiner making a complete mess of it?

No surprise, he's a plum.

As for Ross County, they won't hoover up any more support than they already have, and are still very dependent on their owners money.

[G15 Hibs]

and at least a commitment to build a new stadium after playing at Caley's place only for so long as was absolutely necessary...

Agree with much of the rest of your post, but the merged club only played at Telford Street, Caledonian's ground, from 1994 until 1996, then moved to the new ground. Naming it Caledonian Stadium though was, as you point out, a mad idea if they wanted to keep the goodwill of Thistle fans.

[vercol36]

ICT = poor financial management. Ross County = good financial management. We've seen this before somewhere...

[Billy Whizz]

Their hospitality company, to host concerts etc, went bust last year too, significant losses too
Caley got a lucky break in the Scottish Cup, so a trip to hampden for a semi could be a live safer

[HFC93]

ICT = poor financial management. Ross County = good financial management. We've seen this before somewhere...

I’m not sure Ross County are an example of good financial management. They wouldn't be in the top league if Roy MacGregor didn’t bankroll them.

[vercol36]

I’m not sure Ross County are an example of goof financial management. They wouldn't be in the top league if Roy MacGregor didn’t bankroll them.

Maybe you're right HFC93. I've just always been told (by a County fan, to be fair) that they have a very stable, sensible business model. So are they existing on handouts?

[davhibby]

Its a shame, but the fact is the good folk of Inverness just don't ever seem to have taken to this club. You can chuck in the rammy the merger caused to begin with and the fact that Inverness isn't a huge place with a lot of reasonable sized towns and villages around it to draw support from, especially With Ross County to contend with.

But, when you saw the sort of turnouts the Inverness Highland League clubs could get with a decent Scottish cup draw back in the day I had always hoped they could at least make a go of it with some decent crowds from time to time .... the fact is they just don't seem to have enthused the city at all and this is all beginning to look like a bit of a failed experiment ... not unlike Ferranti Thistle, come Meadowbank Thistle, come Livingstone's move to West Lothian where how they survive as a premiership club on crowds that would disappoint Arbroath is anybody's guess .... Mine is that only their handy geographical location for away supporters saves them.

I do not think ICT will go to the wall, but if they are full time I can't see how that can continue. If they do fold I dare say it could be Ross County's gain in the long run who appear to be as well run a club as you can get.

Maybe fanciful, but for me the best thing they could do is get Clachnacuddin on board ( some chance given the meltdown the first merger caused ) wind up ICT and start afresh with a new Inverness United FC with new colours and a new stadium ... I mean you are talking 7,000 / 8,000 not the bloody Maracana, they could finance it by flogging the current stadium and Clach's gaff. Perhaps that would be a club the whole place could get behind.

It’ll be a good day when fans of clubs like ours give up on trying to ruin other people’s football clubs by coming up with these mental ideas.

You’re literally talking about a football club that are unsustainable due to the fact the original clubs that merged lost the majority of their supporters when Caley Thistle was formed. The fact that county get significantly higher crowds shows how well the original merger has gone.

Mergers don’t and never will work here as you’d basically be starting from 0 in terms of attracting support

[Carheenlea]

It’ll be a good day when fans of clubs like ours give up on trying to ruin other people’s football clubs by coming up with these mental ideas.

You’re literally talking about a football club that are unsustainable due to the fact the original clubs that merged lost the majority of their supporters when Caley Thistle was formed. The fact that county get significantly higher crowds shows how well the original merger has gone.

Mergers don’t and never will work here as you’d basically be starting from 0 in terms of attracting support

Why ruin yet another Inverness club in Clachnacuddin, a club almost as old as ours, with madcap merger ideas?

It’s no surprise to read of ICT financial woes, and the viability of two Highland clubs a few miles apart never felt sustainable for fanbase draw or local sponsorship.
Ross County always look like they have a pretty good set up. A decent stadium that more than caters for their needs and one they haven’t really had to do a huge amount to. (A stadium that has a capacity that is more than the population of Dingwall!)

[Since452]

Why ruin yet another Inverness club in Clachnacuddin, a club almost as old as ours, with madcap merger ideas?

It’s no surprise to read of ICT financial woes, and the viability of two Highland clubs a few miles apart never felt sustainable for fanbase draw or local sponsorship.
Ross County always look like they have a pretty good set up. A decent stadium that more than caters for their needs and one they haven’t really had to do a huge amount to. (A stadium that has a capacity that is more than the population of Dingwall!)

15 miles between Dingwall and Inverness. Not too close. About the same as Livingston from Edinburgh. A much less densely populated area though.

[NAE NOOKIE]

It’ll be a good day when fans of clubs like ours give up on trying to ruin other people’s football clubs by coming up with these mental ideas.

You’re literally talking about a football club that are unsustainable due to the fact the original clubs that merged lost the majority of their supporters when Caley Thistle was formed. The fact that county get significantly higher crowds shows how well the original merger has gone.

Mergers don’t and never will work here as you’d basically be starting from 0 in terms of attracting support

In general I don't disagree. But as I said in another post Caley and Thistle were starting from a position few clubs get to throw in the mix and that was to play in a league neither club had competed in. IMO they could have got this right and it could have worked if they had set their Highland league rivalry to one side for a new far bigger challenge ..... If they had stopped for a minute to consider the vast majority of fans outside of the highlands couldn't have given a toss how many titles each club had won in their previous lives that might have helped. How many folk on here could name the winner of the highland league last season without resorting to Google?

Nah ... In my opinion this wasn't a merger that was bound to fail. it failed because the people in charge of both clubs, but I'm willing to guess especially Caley, couldn't see past their own wee world and see the huge opportunity that had been presented to them. By now they could have had a decent stadium and the support of the whole city, folk not prepared to give up following Clach in the highland league aside ... though by this point how many folk would that be with a premier league club to follow.

Nobody could say Inverness wasn't a football minded city and that enthusiasm could have translated to a club with home crowds of circa 6,000 at a time which in today's game would have put them amoungst the top 10 supported clubs in Scotland ... not forgetting that Inverness is currently one of, if not the, fastest growing places in Scotland population wise.

It was all there for them, especially circumstances that would have allowed them to persuade fans of both clubs that this was a new day, and the simple truth is they took that fantastic opportunity and utterly blew it.

[Pretty Boy]

It’ll be a good day when fans of clubs like ours give up on trying to ruin other people’s football clubs by coming up with these mental ideas.

You’re literally talking about a football club that are unsustainable due to the fact the original clubs that merged lost the majority of their supporters when Caley Thistle was formed. The fact that county get significantly higher crowds shows how well the original merger has gone.

Mergers don’t and never will work here as you’d basically be starting from 0 in terms of attracting support

:agree:

It's one of those things that sounds a good idea in theory. We all know Scotland has too many senior teams but if you start merging teams then you just lose those fans forever rather than seeing fans rally round the new club.

Dundee isn't really big enough to support 2 teams but Dundee City just alienates fans of both persuasions. Fife United featuring Raith Rovers, East Fife, Cowdenbeath and Dunfermilne? Don't think so. Forth Valley Strollers with Alloa, East Stirlingshire, Falkirk and Stirling Albion? Nope, not happening. Angus Rovers featuring Arbroath, Brechin, Forfar and Montrose? That would go down well. Ross County, ICT and Clachnacuddin could be Highland FC and Queen of the South, Gretna and Annan could be South of Scotland United and we'd be almost sorted. Edinburgh would probably do better if Hibs and Hearts joined forces and put our collective might into challenging Rangers and Celtic so we really should put our pride to one side and embrace an all Edinburgh side.

You can make the best business case in the world but you simply can't 'do a Mercer' and ignore the tribalism and sense of identity that comes with following a football team. I was at an East Stirling game a couple of weeks back, there was a guy of about 70 walking in with his grandaughter who looked about 5. Both wearing black and white scarves, he looked proud as punch and he cares every bit as much about his team as any of us care about Hibs. There's not a hope in hell he is off to watch a merged Forth Valley team. It's sacrilege and fundamentally ignores what makes football as special as it is. Of course the Inverness merger has largely failed in part due to petty squabbles and maybe even vindictiveness. Fans can rarely see beyond the end of their own nose when there are emotions involved , easier to make a case when talking from a non emotive detached position.

[Winston Ingram]

Its a shame, but the fact is the good folk of Inverness just don't ever seem to have taken to this club. You can chuck in the rammy the merger caused to begin with and the fact that Inverness isn't a huge place with a lot of reasonable sized towns and villages around it to draw support from, especially With Ross County to contend with.

But, when you saw the sort of turnouts the Inverness Highland League clubs could get with a decent Scottish cup draw back in the day I had always hoped they could at least make a go of it with some decent crowds from time to time .... the fact is they just don't seem to have enthused the city at all and this is all beginning to look like a bit of a failed experiment ... not unlike Ferranti Thistle, come Meadowbank Thistle, come Livingstone's move to West Lothian where how they survive as a premiership club on crowds that would disappoint Arbroath is anybody's guess .... Mine is that only their handy geographical location for away supporters saves them.

I do not think ICT will go to the wall, but if they are full time I can't see how that can continue. If they do fold I dare say it could be Ross County's gain in the long run who appear to be as well run a club as you can get.

Maybe fanciful, but for me the best thing they could do is get Clachnacuddin on board ( some chance given the meltdown the first merger caused ) wind up ICT and start afresh with a new Inverness United FC with new colours and a new stadium ... I mean you are talking 7,000 / 8,000 not the bloody Maracana, they could finance it by flogging the current stadium and Clach's gaff. Perhaps that would be a club the whole place could get behind.

I don't know the historic crowds of Caley, Thistle and Clach but it's I can't see this as a failed experiment.

Inverness' population is about 46k. When ICT were in the PL, they were averaging 3,700. In the Championship it's nearer 2k.

If you take St Johnstone as a comparison. Perth has a similar population and they average 4500 but they're further boosted by the fact Edinburgh and even Aberdeen are a lot nearer meaning most of that average are away fans.

I would say ICT were performing as expected attendance-wise.

[Baader]

Lots of Huns up there. Never helps.

Their Jambo chums will surely help them out though since they were on board together not so long ago. No away days except for Inverness I recall.

Maybe they can chuck them some of the millions they were getting due to being relegated?

[NAE NOOKIE]

I don't know the historic crowds of Caley, Thistle and Clach but it's I can't see this as a failed experiment.

Inverness' population is about 46k. When ICT were in the PL, they were averaging 3,700. In the Championship it's nearer 2k.

If you take St Johnstone as a comparison. Perth has a similar population and they average 4500 but they're further boosted by the fact Edinburgh and even Aberdeen are a lot nearer meaning most of that average are away fans.

I would say ICT were performing as expected attendance-wise.

Maybe so, but it probably didn't help much that in their wisdom the league decided to admit two clubs less than 15 miles apart at the same time. They must have known the merger would create ructions .... If they wanted the Inverness team to work out probably the last thing they should have done is give the disaffected fans an escape route. It can hardly be a coincidence that a club based in a town the size of Peebles gets crowds as good as a town the size of Ayr less than a 15 minute drive away.

[superfurryhibby]

Given the finances and crowds, it seems like madness for me to have national leagues and full time teams existing of crowds of 1500 etc. The sheer cost and logistics of travel must be very prohibitive too. Our lower leagues should be regionalised, possibly expanded and incentivised by access to the top flight. Not sure of the logistics of that suggestion, but having the likes of Ayr travelling up to Inverness seems ridiculous.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Given the finances and crowds, it seems like madness for me to have national leagues and full time teams existing of crowds of 1500 etc. The sheer cost and logistics of travel must be very prohibitive too. Our lower leagues should be regionalised, possibly expanded and incentivised by access to the top flight. Not sure of the logistics of that suggestion, but having the likes of Ayr travelling up to Inverness seems ridiculous.

4 hours by car, probably 5 by bus. How the hell a player can get off a bus after a trip like that and still perform at their best is beyond me, even worse for part time players I would imagine .... imagine going from Dumfries to Inverness for a game .. not in the same league just now I know, but still :confused:

[Paul1642]

I’m not sure their merger has been as big a disaster as some on here are making out.

They have spent several years in the top division, won a Scottish cup as well as a few challenge cups and played in Europe and appear to have a record home attendance of almost 10k.

Beats playing in the highland league as far as I’m concerned.

That and the famous Scottish cup win at parkhead in the early 2000s

[wookie70]

I remember listening to their CEO being interviewed last year. He was asked about his thoughts on winter games being moved to earlier kick offs to cut floodlight use and answered that didn't work for ICT. I assumed that was because of the travel involved for away teams. Not the case though. He said they took their players to a hotel about 40 miles from Inverness before every home game for breakfast before then travelling back to the stadium for the game and he couldn't see a solution to that. WTF? How about don't go to a hotel miles outside Inverness every week and either find somewhere in the city, use the stadium or provide the players with a take home breakfast after training on a Friday and trust them to eat it.

Obviously times are hard for a lot of businesses but that just screams playing at being a big club and it's a colossal waste of money; using it as justification for not potentially saving more money is even worse. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and if that's the brains running the club then it's little wonder they are in bother.

I don't think they do that now. I have been up their 3 or 4 times this season and they arrive by car in 1s and 2s. I really like it up there but their support isn't great in number and in the Championship they hardly get an away support. Bonnyrigg Rose two leagues down get similar numbers an their ground and set up must be far cheaper to keep going. I hope they survive as it is a nice wee ground and I like the trip up there but I imagine there will be lots of clubs that will struggle with the huge expenses the cost of living has brought on them combined with fans feeling teh pinch and attending less often. At that level the turnstiles are a massive part of income and ICT need to start winning a few games so they can attract more fans.

[Sergio sledge]

Maybe so, but it probably didn't help much that in their wisdom the league decided to admit two clubs less than 15 miles apart at the same time. They must have known the merger would create ructions .... If they wanted the Inverness team to work out probably the last thing they should have done is give the disaffected fans an escape route. It can hardly be a coincidence that a club based in a town the size of Peebles gets crowds as good as a town the size of Ayr less than a 15 minute drive away.

There's a decent chunk of fans travel over the Kessock bridge from Inverness to watch County play every home game, but I'd say this is more due to the fact that Inverness as a growing city pulls in a lot of people from the surrounding areas, particularly people from Ross-shire who would naturally support Ross County. Certainly at the time fo the merger there were people who defected to County from Caledonian or Thistle, but I don't think that is much of a factor any more.

ICT used to get decent average attendances (3,500 - 4,000) when in the Premiership, which isn't unreasonable for a city the size of Inverness comparative to other teams in Scotland. Now that they are poor and in the championship the attendances have dropped off. This is partly due to the lack of travelling support, but also due to the poor quality of football and lack of success. If they were back in the Premiership and achieving relative success I don't think it would be a stretch to suggest they could be back at that level again, they got nearly 5,000 in the playoff final last year.

The real problem they have is a lack of connection to the city IMHO, the stadium is out of the city on the edge of an industrial estate with no pubs, bars, cafe's etc. within walking distance and no public transport links so anyone who goes realistically has to drive. This means that there is no buzz in the area of the stadium on match days, no fans in colours walking through the town to the stadium, no-one in the pub for lunch and a few pints before walking to the game etc. The whole thing is soul-less, which is only made worse by the lack of atmosphere given that they are terrible just now and the cold, run down stadium.

All of that makes the thought of attending a game against Arbroath on a Saturday in December not a very appealing prospect for most of the city, when they could be at the pub with friends or at home watching an illegal stream of EPL matches.

If they were able to foster a community and buzz around the town which people can feed into then the pull to go to games, even when they are rubbish, would be much stronger, but having the stadium where it is totally removes this option.

I know there have been various proposals throughout the years of creating some sort of fan plaza/village on the ground around the stadium which would include pubs, hotels, cafes, shops etc. to try to foster this community, but there's no chance any of that gets done without a rich benefactor IMHO.

They'd almost be better scrapping it, selling the land and investing the money with one of the local sports clubs like Highland Rugby club or Clach, or if it could be made to work, the Highland Council into improving their grounds to use instead as they are within the community and an easy walk from the town centre rather than the soul-less out of town stadium. The artificial pitch at Highland Rugby Club might be a problem right enough.

[Donegal Hibby]

Caley thistle chairman remains upbeat despite financial challenges.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/sport/football/inverness-caledonian-thistle/5451997/caley-thistle-chairman-ross-morrison-remains-upbeat-despite-clubs-financial-challenges/

[G15 Hibs]

The real problem they have is a lack of connection to the city IMHO, the stadium is out of the city on the edge of an industrial estate with no pubs, bars, cafe's etc. within walking distance and no public transport links so anyone who goes realistically has to drive. This means that there is no buzz in the area of the stadium on match days, no fans in colours walking through the town to the stadium, no-one in the pub for lunch and a few pints before walking to the game etc. The whole thing is soul-less, which is only made worse by the lack of atmosphere given that they are terrible just now and the cold, run down stadium.



That's been my impression any time I've been there, and what makes me so glad that we didn't move out to Straiton all those years ago.

[wandering_hibee]

That's been my impression any time I've been there, and what makes me so glad that we didn't move out to Straiton all those years ago.

Inverness reminds me of Brockville, out of town and forgotten and I agree, if we had ended up at Straiton then who knows what situation we would be in now.

[percy veer]

Sure they can call upon that special relationship with hearts to see them through some of the pr spin from these pair over the years make you want to spew .

[Paul1642]

There's a decent chunk of fans travel over the Kessock bridge from Inverness to watch County play every home game, but I'd say this is more due to the fact that Inverness as a growing city pulls in a lot of people from the surrounding areas, particularly people from Ross-shire who would naturally support Ross County. Certainly at the time fo the merger there were people who defected to County from Caledonian or Thistle, but I don't think that is much of a factor any more.

ICT used to get decent average attendances (3,500 - 4,000) when in the Premiership, which isn't unreasonable for a city the size of Inverness comparative to other teams in Scotland. Now that they are poor and in the championship the attendances have dropped off. This is partly due to the lack of travelling support, but also due to the poor quality of football and lack of success. If they were back in the Premiership and achieving relative success I don't think it would be a stretch to suggest they could be back at that level again, they got nearly 5,000 in the playoff final last year.

The real problem they have is a lack of connection to the city IMHO, the stadium is out of the city on the edge of an industrial estate with no pubs, bars, cafe's etc. within walking distance and no public transport links so anyone who goes realistically has to drive. This means that there is no buzz in the area of the stadium on match days, no fans in colours walking through the town to the stadium, no-one in the pub for lunch and a few pints before walking to the game etc. The whole thing is soul-less, which is only made worse by the lack of atmosphere given that they are terrible just now and the cold, run down stadium.

All of that makes the thought of attending a game against Arbroath on a Saturday in December not a very appealing prospect for most of the city, when they could be at the pub with friends or at home watching an illegal stream of EPL matches.

If they were able to foster a community and buzz around the town which people can feed into then the pull to go to games, even when they are rubbish, would be much stronger, but having the stadium where it is totally removes this option.

I know there have been various proposals throughout the years of creating some sort of fan plaza/village on the ground around the stadium which would include pubs, hotels, cafes, shops etc. to try to foster this community, but there's no chance any of that gets done without a rich benefactor IMHO.

They'd almost be better scrapping it, selling the land and investing the money with one of the local sports clubs like Highland Rugby club or Clach, or if it could be made to work, the Highland Council into improving their grounds to use instead as they are within the community and an easy walk from the town centre rather than the soul-less out of town stadium. The artificial pitch at Highland Rugby Club might be a problem right enough.

Hard to disagree with most of this although it think getting money out of any council right now would be near impossible if the cuts being made by East Lothian, Midlothian and Edinburgh are smithing to go by.

[Donegal Hibby]

Watched PLZ and if you go to 37: 19 Alan Rough says what was caley Thistle's biggest financial loss was and it wasn't what I expected or knew about.
https://www.youtube.com/live/LuWaPYzr4H4?feature=share

[Allant1981]

Inverness reminds me of Brockville, out of town and forgotten and I agree, if we had ended up at Straiton then who knows what situation we would be in now.

Brockville was literally a 5 minute walk from town centre

[Eyrie]

Brockville was literally a 5 minute walk from town centre

And right next to Grahamston station.

[Lago]

And right next to Grahamston station.
Maybe referring to Falkirk's new stadium?

[NAE NOOKIE]

There's a decent chunk of fans travel over the Kessock bridge from Inverness to watch County play every home game, but I'd say this is more due to the fact that Inverness as a growing city pulls in a lot of people from the surrounding areas, particularly people from Ross-shire who would naturally support Ross County. Certainly at the time fo the merger there were people who defected to County from Caledonian or Thistle, but I don't think that is much of a factor any more.

ICT used to get decent average attendances (3,500 - 4,000) when in the Premiership, which isn't unreasonable for a city the size of Inverness comparative to other teams in Scotland. Now that they are poor and in the championship the attendances have dropped off. This is partly due to the lack of travelling support, but also due to the poor quality of football and lack of success. If they were back in the Premiership and achieving relative success I don't think it would be a stretch to suggest they could be back at that level again, they got nearly 5,000 in the playoff final last year.

The real problem they have is a lack of connection to the city IMHO, the stadium is out of the city on the edge of an industrial estate with no pubs, bars, cafe's etc. within walking distance and no public transport links so anyone who goes realistically has to drive. This means that there is no buzz in the area of the stadium on match days, no fans in colours walking through the town to the stadium, no-one in the pub for lunch and a few pints before walking to the game etc. The whole thing is soul-less, which is only made worse by the lack of atmosphere given that they are terrible just now and the cold, run down stadium.

All of that makes the thought of attending a game against Arbroath on a Saturday in December not a very appealing prospect for most of the city, when they could be at the pub with friends or at home watching an illegal stream of EPL matches.

If they were able to foster a community and buzz around the town which people can feed into then the pull to go to games, even when they are rubbish, would be much stronger, but having the stadium where it is totally removes this option.

I know there have been various proposals throughout the years of creating some sort of fan plaza/village on the ground around the stadium which would include pubs, hotels, cafes, shops etc. to try to foster this community, but there's no chance any of that gets done without a rich benefactor IMHO.

They'd almost be better scrapping it, selling the land and investing the money with one of the local sports clubs like Highland Rugby club or Clach, or if it could be made to work, the Highland Council into improving their grounds to use instead as they are within the community and an easy walk from the town centre rather than the soul-less out of town stadium. The artificial pitch at Highland Rugby Club might be a problem right enough.

I had a wee lock at Clach's ground on Google earth, its so enclosed by houses and the like I doubt there would be room to increase what looks like a tiny capacity to begin with by even a couple of thousand, if at all.

But everything else you say points to a club with practically nothing going for it so far as the stadium or the location of it goes .... I simply cant believe there isn't even a public transport link from the town centre out to the stadium, that's absolutely bonkers. As for 5000 for the Championship playoff, there was a good 1000 to 1500 St Johnston fans there that night, can't say it was that impressive a turnout for such a big game from the good folks of Inverness.

As things stand with ICT it looks like the only thing that could make things better is a billionaire local developing a love for the club .... about as likely as Hibs being taken over by Saudi Arabians I would guess :greengrin

[WhileTheChief..]

Ann Budge was right, there's too many clubs in the league set up :duck: