Pressure is mounting on Caley Thistle to reveal more details about its impending takeover as the man lined up to be its new majority shareholder was dubbed “the weirdest owner in football”.
The club announced last week that its board had accepted an offer from London-based businessman Ketan Makwana to become its new majority shareholder.
But it is so far unclear what level of investment Mr Makwana will provide or where the money will come from.
The space that uncertainty has left behind is being filled by fans who are sceptical about his intentions.
American Youtuber Zealand Shannon, who has more than 350,000 subscribers, recently featured the potential new man in charge at the Caledonian Stadium in a video entitled “the weirdest owner in football”.
In the video, he highlights his lack of experience in the sport and calls a statement from Makwana where he said he was unable to find out any information about Caley Thistle “extremely worrying”.
Zealand said: “This is insane and I can’t even believe this is real.
“I’m a random American dude who has just played a few Fifa games and I could’ve told you who Inverness Caledonian Thistle are.
“Yet someone who has tried endlessly to persuade club after club to be their owner doesn’t know.
“We have no idea what the vision is, other than him using the words ‘entertainment, leisure and sports’.”
‘By his own admission, he doesn’t know anything about Caley Thistle’
One of several businesses connected to Mr Makwana is Cryptolytx.
There is very little publicly available information about the company. But a blog post on Medium attributed to it talks about how the media is biased against cryptocurrency.
Football finance expert Martin Calladine published a book last year on cryptocurrency scams in the sport.
He said: “It has to be a concern that he has started a number of companies and many of them have closed down.
“The vehicle he’s using supposedly to purchase the club, on its last set of accounts, has no money.
“By his own admission, he doesn’t know anything about Caley Thistle. And seems to believe he has a new way of running a football club.
“That’s something we’ve seen a great many times before and it’s often a prelude to clubs getting into deep financial trouble.”
Caley Thistle’s year from hell
It has been an incredibly rocky few months for Caley Thistle.
The club began the year embroiled in a battle with Highland Council over its failed proposal to build a battery storage facility on a bit of protected green space in Inverness.
Things were equally grim on the pitch, as the team was relegated to Scotland’s third tier for the first time since 2000 after losing a relegation playoff against Hamilton.
The club’s board then announced it was shifting its training base more than 130 miles away to Fife.
The move provoked a huge backlash which eventually forced the resignation of chairman Ross Morrison.
Chief executive Scot Gardiner also resigned – but he remains at the club.
Along the way, a major deal with Statkraft – which would have netted the Caley Jags between £1.4m and £1.7m – also collapsed.
The club then faced a lot of criticism for its treatment of Aaron Doran, forcing teammates and supporters to step in to crowdfund his knee operation.
Mr Makwana’s deal looks like the latest twist in the Caley Thistle soap opera and former figures at the club have been demanding answers.
Yesterday, former player and assistant manager Duncan Shearer said “the more I hear, the more concerned I’m becoming.”
Ex-chairman Alan Savage said the move seemed “desperate”.
Both Caley Thistle and Ketan Makwana have been asked to comment.
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