There is cautious optimism to Tuesday’s bombshell news Alan Savage has taken back control at troubled Caley Thistle.
Former Inverness chairman Savage, the chief of the Orion Group, swept back into the Caledonian Stadium after being given the green light by the board.
A statement added: “Working alongside the club’s board of directors, Savage has taken the initiative to oversee the organisational restructure of the club as they seek to remedy their financial issues.”
Savage has already kicked off “an internal forensic review of the club’s financial position to establish plans for the club’s future and setting the team into a viable position for new ownership”.
On Companies House, Savage has been confirmed as being a board director of the club from August 12.
Positivity back at Caley Thistle as fans start buying tickets again
Stevie Riley, one of the main voices behind The Wyness Shuffle supporters’ podcast, welcomed the dramatic development – but thinks there are still plenty of big decisions to get right to secure Caley Thistle’s future.
Having seen fans start to get back behind the club in the hours following the announcement of Savage’s return, he has called for Caley Jags fans to adopt a “siege mentality” to help the Highlanders’ hierarchy going forward.
Riley said: “It was the news we’d hoped to get a couple of months ago.
“I feel like we did when the decision to move training to Kelty was reversed.
“Within hours of the news being confirmed, you could see the response on social media, with people buying season tickets and saying they’re going to the Montrose game on Saturday – that’s something that wasn’t going to happen two days ago.
“There is now positivity around the place.
“Having someone like Alan Savage lead the way with his track record gives fans more confidence and security.
“The likelihood of Ketan (Makwana) now being involved seems to have lessened, which is also more positive, and the marketing company (GRM Marketing) now involved with the club seem quite reputable.
“It looks good right now, but it’s early days. The next stage will be for him to look at the books in detail and see what he can save and what (debts) can be paid back.
“There will be more ups and downs and you can see light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s still a long tunnel.
“He’s tried-and-tested and has certainly got the business mind for it.
“A big factor which is great news is that Alan is local.
“When the club becomes a bit more structured, he can look to bring in outside investment.
“But right now, while the club is fragile and there’s a need to build relationships with local businesses and the local community, I think there will be a confidence now for these people and businesses to work with Alan in charge, and that’s good for the club.”
Ridgers – lines of communication will reopen and there will be clarity again
Goalkeeper Mark Ridgers moved on from ICT in the summer when his contract was not renewed following seven years at the club in the Championship.
Despite talks of a new deal earlier this year, he was let go without any contract being tabled.
Ridgers has now joined Highland League champions Buckie Thistle, combining part-time football with a business development and commercial role at Premiership club Ross County.
The 34-year-old says the change at the top at Caley Thistle should open up much better lines of communication.
He said: “I have been in the situation, as I was last year, that as a player you have a cloud hanging over you when you don’t know what’s going on.
“Questions are being asked and you don’t know whether you’re going to get paid, or what the situation is.
“There is no doubt it affects players, no matter what they say. They’d love to ask questions of the club, but they’ve not been able to do that.
“I think the people now at the football club will address that situation and they will speak to the squad, perhaps even through (captain) Billy Mckay. This will let the lads know where they’re at.
“For a few years, Caley Thistle have lacked communication within the club and that, ultimately, led to the downfall.
“The plans to move training to Kelty, for example, was a manic idea, and that would never happen again.
“Everyone, including the players, will now get clarity over a lot of things. They might not get answers to every question, but there will be peace of mind for supporters moving forward.”
Angry Caley Thistle fans helped get ‘grown-ups’ back in charge – ‘We were seen as quite a docile support’
Another ICT fan, Lynne MacDonald, spoke of her pride at how the united efforts of supporters have helped bring about changes.
She had stayed away from games in the opening part of this season in protest at a summer of chaos following Caley Thistle’s relegation from the Championship – but won’t do so now.
She said: “We will now get the chance to rally round the club.
“As fans, we felt a bit out of the process, but we have now got what we asked for.
“Now is the time to step up and help the club with whatever the ask for – whether it’s monetary, volunteering, or attending games.
“I am really proud of how all the supporters got together to make a stand after the Kelty plans and stuck together to the party line.
“We were perhaps seen as quite a docile support and that’s maybe why things happened the way they did.
“I am delighted to be going back on Saturday.
“I broke through the picket line two weeks ago for the tribute for (former fan who recently died) Johndo MacKenzie, who was part of our group. And it was nice to be back – I’ve missed going to the football.”
MacDonald is sure Savage, with his long-standing local links, is the ideal man to turn cash-strapped Inverness around.
She added: “I know we’re not out of the woods, but it’s like the grown-ups have arrived.
“It’s time for a reset, as we perhaps needed a few months ago.
“Alan Savage has always taken an interest in the club. He brings back that local knowledge after the club had lost its way in recent times.”
ICT Supporters’ Trust slams Scot Gardiner as they celebrate exit
The ICT Supporters’ Trust have also issued a statement, celebrating chief executive Gardiner’s departure, after “grand schemes that ultimately failed and have publicly damaged the club’s reputation”.
They said: “The ICT Supporters’ Trust welcomes the news that ICTFC CEO Scot Gardiner has officially left the club.
“His tenure as CEO has taken ICTFC to the brink of administration and brought severe division between the football club, its supporters, and the local community.
“He did not appreciate the true value of the club’s supporters and allowed the fundamentals of running a football club to be replaced by grand schemes that ultimately failed and have publicly damaged the club’s reputation.
“The departed CEO was reportedly the architect of the flawed Kelty plan to rip the heart and soul of ICT away from the Highlands.
“That, along with the way that the football club has operated in recent months, was the final straw for our support.
“Whilst the club’s finances remain in a precarious position, we hope that fans can now get back behind the club and purchase season tickets and merchandise.
“The introduction of Alan Savage to the club is exactly the type of individual we need stepping up to assist at this time and hope to see many more fans work with the club during this period of recovery.
“ICT supporters should be proud of what they have achieved. We fought for a change in the senior leadership at the club, we fought for our youth academy to be saved, and we fought for the Kelty plan to be ditched. On all those fronts we have succeeded.”
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