INVERNESS, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 19: Inverness Caledonian Thistle legend Charlie Christie is interviewed by the BBC during a William Hill League One match between Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Annan Athletic at the Caledonian Stadium, on October 19, 2024, in Inverness, Scotland. (Photo by Simon Wootton/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Less than two years ago Inverness Caley Thistle were Celtic’s opponents in the final of the Scottish Cup, Ange Postecoglou signed off with a 3-1 victory and a treble.
Caley Thistle finished their Championship season in sixth place with 55 points from 36 matches, two points short of Partick Thistle for a play-off place.
Since then it has been a rapid slide downhill, hardly surprising with Scot Gardiner as CEO before he departed the scene shortly before the club went into administration.
Charlie Christie stepped in as CEO to provide a unifying figure following Gardiner’s disastrous time running the club.
Duncan Ferguson had replaced Billy Dodds ahead of administration, the former Everton manager was unable to avoid relegation as the problems piled up.
Off the pitch things are a bigger mess with Alasdair Fraser explaining the situation in the Daily Mail:
Inverness Caley Thistle consultant Alan Savage admits the club faces a desperate race against time to avoid liquidation this summer.
That stark warning came after yesterday’s announcement by joint administrators BDO that the 2015 Scottish Cup winners had failed to find a buyer by the March 6 deadline.
Savage, who held an impromptu press call in the Caley Thistle boardroom at 3pm, made it clear that the club could cease to exist unless key players in the administration saga agree to untangle issues currently blocking sale of the club.
He is trying to arrange an emergency meeting of all major shareholders by Thursday next week to thrash out a solution.
Complex issues are said to have frightened off interested purchasers — including directors’ loan debt topping £3million, difficulty in a new owner gaining boardroom control through majority shareholding, and a tangle of confusion over land ownership around the Caledonian Stadium.
Savage, by the end of May, will have pumped in £1m of his own cash into keeping the club afloat since administration struck in October.
Former Celtic youth team player Scott Kellacher is making a decent job of managing the team on a shoestring budget and after having a 15 point deduction.
If the club does go into liquidation it will be interesting if a Tribute Act is given the same preferential treatment as Charles Green’s outfit in 2012.
(Photo by Simon Wootton/SNS Group via Getty Images)
What ticket allocation should away fans get to the Glasgow Derby?
None- the only option
700- token only
2,400- Sunday was great
I wish Charlie and the Club all the best…I hate to see people lose their job…but if Sevco are struggling to survive…that tells you all you need to know.
‘Engine room subsidiary’, ‘holding company vehicle’ etc etc etc. I don’t like seeing clubs being run so badly that they end up in liquidation (OK, OK, there are exceptions to every rule!!!!) but Caley Thistle are a slightly unusual case anyway – the shotgun wedding of two fierce rivals created to ensure election to the SFL which was regarded as a hostile takeover by one fanbase. The result maybe struggled to inspire as much devotion in either fanbase, trying to be everything to everybody by combining both names and both colour schemes when looking to the future and becoming ‘Inverness United’ playing in black and white might have been a better idea – the Caley and Thistle colours could have been used as the away kits. That former CEO referred to has one hell of a CV now – plenty of failed managerial appointments, relegations and administrations to impress any new employer. As he is also somewhat litigious I will state I am sure there are countless successes also…..
Do u think they’ll be another 5WA for Caley, I mean, surely if one club can be saved , so can Caley?
Surely the SPFL will step in and put a rescue package on the table?
Personally I’d rather see a Caley than the mob across town.
When the Caley Thistle administration first came out there were countless pages on a thread on Wallow Wallow literally praying for ICT to go to the wall because – “Of what they did to they’mmmm”
That’s the hatred in them seeping from every sinew of their fibre being at Wallow Wallow regarding ICT…
They tried to drag The Mighty Clachnacuddin FC into the merger but Clachnacuddin (who had no shortage of similar problems in 1990) told them politely to ‘Fuck Off’
As Clachnacuddin are ma Highland League team I wish them well going forward…
There again I’ve not one bit of Sevco DNA in my body – Thank The Fuckin World For That !