ICT History - SPL 05-08

2005-06: This was to be another successfull season for ICT. Even after an 8th place finish last season it was still all about survival but by the end of the season all thoughts were on trying to grab a very unlikely European Place even if it was only the Intertoto Cup. This season also brought another change of manager. Craig Brewster who had been a huge hit left to join Dundee Utd in January. It was well known in Inverness that Brewster was a Utd fan so it was no surprise when he left but the hatred for him leaving boiled up as soon as the door hit him on the arse on the way out of the Stadium. One piece of joy in the future would be that he made a complete mess of it and got the sack only to come back and get us relegated. So he ended up having the last laugh.

Charlie Chrisitie was the man to take charge the Caley Legend and in the second half of the season he guided us to 7th place in the table and remarkable we finished with more points the 4th placed Hibs. It just goes to show that the split is really not helping anyone.

2006-07: A year to finally try and break into the top 6 was what most fans were dying to see. Unfortunatly they we were not going to get what we wanted. The Charlie Christie effect was not so dazzling and I was never impressed with the way he got the team playing. On saying that he did not get us relegated. It was an 8th place finish. One down on last year but the performance levels were dropped dramatically. It was like we forgot you could have the ball on the ground. It spent 90% of the time in the air which is not what you want when you have a 5ft 5inch Craig Dargo leading your attack.

On the positive side we did manage to get our first win against Rangers and to make it even better it was at Ibrox. If Paul Le Guens days were not already numbered he was treading on paper thing ice after Graham Bayne hit the only goal of the game in the 71st minute.

This was also the year of one of the most soul destroying matches I have ever seen. Well it was untill a few months ago. It was the Scottish Cup (yes that again) Quarter Final at home to Celtic. Graham Bayne gave us the lead in the 18th minute and a fantastic Caley performance was looking certain to send us to the Semi Final at Hampden. It was 1-0 right up to the 89th minute when Stephen Pressly headed in from a corner. I was already planning me trip to Hampden and when the goal went in I changed that to Parkhead still looking forward to the day out. What I was definetly not expecting was Cilian Sheridan (who?) to pop up at the edge of the box and knock to ball in the back of the net. It was heart breaking. Going from 2 minutes from the Semis to defeat. The second worst match I have ever had to watch.

2007-08: All the optimism that the close season brings was immediatly washed away in the first 3 games of the SPL season. Home to Rangers and away to Motherwell and St Mirren all ended in defeat. If that was not bad enough Charlie decided that was that and resgined. I was glad to see hime go but what a stupid time to do it. Thanks for that mate. While the search for a manager was underway a 4th defeat in a row was on the cards. 3-0 against Dundee Utd who by then had got rid of Craig Brewster.

He was back at the Caledonian Stadium a few days later as the new manager for the second time of his career. Would it be as successful as the first time. I certainly hoped so and was pleased with the appointment. With the benefit of heinsight I would have had very different views but you cant get everything you want.

Things went from bad to worse. A 1-0 defeat away to Hibs and then a 5-0 humping by Celtic left Caleys record looking like this

Played 6 Won 0 Drawn 0 Lost 6

The fortunes did change and the next 2 league games brought 2 wins and lifted us off the bottom of the table. By the end of November we had managed to move up another place to 10th and with the whole Gretna administration thing going on relegation was never going to be a problem. Probably just as well Gretna were in the league this year.

A narrow 1-0 win away to Dundee United was followed by a 2-0 win at home to Hibs. The highlight of December was a classic home match against Celtic on Sunday the 16th. The match had everything - five goals, a spirited fight back, a red card, a penalty, a disallowed goal and a wonder save from home ‘keeper Mike Fraser. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink had scored in both the 24th and 25th minutes to give Celtic the lead but when Rankin made it 2-1 just before the break there was hope. David Proctor headed an equaliser in 56 minutes, just eleven minutes before he was dismissed for a last-man tackle on Scott McDonald. In between the goal and the red card Don Cowie slid in to make it 3-2 for the home side and, despite the man disadvantage, Caley Thistle held on for victory. Celtic knew it was not their day when, in the dying minutes, Mike Fraser somehow pushed out a Stephen McManus header that looked destined for the top corner.
The purple patch continued six days later at Tynecastle when Hearts were defeated 3-2. Caley Thistle were 2-0 up, conceded two goals then Graham Bayne scored a winner two minutes into added time. Five SPL wins in a row led to a climb into the top six, albeit only for 24 hours until Aberdeen took a point from Rangers to go above ICT on goal difference. The only black spot of December was on Boxing Day when a flat performance at Falkirk led to a 1-0 defeat. It was much better three days later when Niculae scored twice in a 3-1 home win against Kilmarnock.
Everything was going fantasticly well. It was as if Brewster had never left.

Things did take a turn for the worst and by the start of April we had gone 11 games without winning, the bubble had most definetly burst. A 2-1 win against Gretna put an end to the woeful run and stopped ICT's slide down the table as we lied in 9th place. Well of the pace for a top 6 place. The split never made any difference to the table as we finished in what turned out to be a very dissapointing 9th place. Would Brewster get Inverness back on the right track. Things were not looking to good

ICT History - SPL Years 2004/05

After a summer of doubt ICT were finally told that they would be playing in the SPL. If they would groundshare with Aberdeen 2 and a half hours drive away. This was down to Caledonian Stadium only having 5000 seats compared to the 10000 needed in the SPL. However this was never going to stop Caley playing in the SPL. So Pittodrie here we come

Optimism was high around the city but was severly dampened after a 3-0 away defeat to Livingston on the opening day of the season. This lead to critcism from the journalists includinga certain Graham Speirs who said after the performance that he would eat his hat if we stayed in the SPL. I would have my hat waiting for him come May I hoped!!!

It looked like things would turn around on the first home game of the season. Well when I say home I mean in the loosest possible sense. But anyway Dunfirmline were the visitors and a 2-0 win was a great result for the 3000 small crowd. The rest of the month saw 3 league defeats and the start of the genereal hatred of Neill Lennon after diving in the box resulting in a penalty and Juanjo getting sent off. At the end of August we were in 11th place out of 12

The next 2 months were mixe for the club. only 1 point was taken in the next 5 games which saw ICT rock bottom but then the tide started to turn. A well earned away draw to Kilmarnock was followed up with wins against Dundee and Livingston. This lead to 9th place at the end of October. The win against Livingston turned out to be John Robertsons last game at the club as he moved onto Hearts where he was a legend so everybody understood why he left but we were deeply dissapointed. A 1-1 draw in the next match against Dunfirmline was a great result in the circumstances and meant our unbeaten run was extended to 4 games. The run was over in the very next match at Parkhead. Celtic hammered us 3-0 then a draw at Dundee Utd seemed to steady the ship.

New management came in. Craig Brewster was the man in charge of keeping us up and signs were promising in the first game even though it was a 2-1 win for Hibs. It got better as Rangers and Hearts both were held to draws at Pittodrie and the hope of a early move back to Inverness were on the cards as long as we had 6000 covered seats by January 29th 05. Dunfirmline at home was scheduled for that day. The last 2 matches of the year showed the new lease of life around the club. A 2-1 away win at Motherwell and a 0-0 away draw at Aberdeen strenghtened out position in the table.

The 2 new stands were up in no time and all looked set for the 29th of Jan. Before that 2 defeats at the hands of Kilmarnock and Dundee were dissapointing but revenge was in store for Livingston after their 3-0 win against us on the opening day. Back at Almondvale Inverness played some exquisit football and came out 4-1 winners. At last SPL football would finally be in Inverness and nobody was going to stop the good feeling around the club. A 2-0 win against Dunfirmline in front of a packed crowd capped the day off perfectly. At the end of January Inverness were 8th in the table 9 points ahead of bottom club Livingston

Only one league game was played in February and that was a 1-1 draw against Dundee Utd. Celtic were due to play at the Caledonian Stadium but a waterlogged pitch saw that game would never be given a chance. The draw did make the gap between Livingston 10 points so everything was still looking very rosy.

The first 3 games in March showed the confidence flowing through the Highland team. Hibs and Hearts were despatched 3-0 and 2-0 respectively, HAhaha John Robertson. Inbetween those 2 wins probably the best result of the season was a 1-1 draw at Ibrox. Bryan Prunty scoring a last minute equaliser. Relegation was starting to become an impossiblilty but the re-arranged match with Celtic brought us back down to earth. The Celts going back down the A9 with all 3 points

April was off to a bad start with defeat to Aberdeen but after wins against Kilmarnock and Motherwell dreams of a top 6 place were unthinkably on the cards. All be it with 1 game untill the split Inverness were 3 points behind Motherwell who were in 6th place but miracles have happened before. After 65 minutes of the deciding game it looked like a miracle would strike. Inverness were 3 up at home to Dundee while Motherwell were loosing 1-0. Only if the game finsihed then. Motherwell got a equaliser and drew the game securing 6th place for themselves while ICT tried to throw the 3 goal lead away but in the end we won 3-2. We gave it one hell of an effort but just a little bit too late. On the bright side going into the split that victory had made us unable to be relegated and at least 8th was guarenteed. Unfortunatly we could not go higher than 7th in the next 5 games but we were safe and that is all that mattered.

Things tailed off in the latter part of the season. We failed to win any of the 5 games and we dropped to 8th position and Kilmarnock took 7th but it was one hell of a season and SPL Football would be back in Inverness in 2005/06

ICT - A History

I thought it would be a good idea to give a little bit of background to Inverness so for those of you who dont know who they are will get a bit of knowledge and obviously a slap on the wrist for not already knowing about the most famous club in the Highlands. Honestly........

It all started in 1994 and what we have achieved in such a short space of time is remarkable. Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC came as part of a merger between the 2 main clubs in Inverness at the time ( Inverness Thistle FC and Caledonian FC). The merger was brought to fruition after the SFL said that this would be the only way of one of the Inverness clubs getting into the Scottish Third Division. So with a lot of unrest amongst the supporters Inverness Caledonian Thistle was born. Those fans are still not turning up to games as a protest which is very infortunate. We could sure do with their support.

So on the Tuesday 9th August 1994 the first competitive game was played and it was against East Stirling in the Coca-Cola Cup first round at Firs Park. Caley managed to win 2-0 and the first goal was scored by Willy Robertson who would go down in ICT's History for many many years to come. That season we would finsih a very respectably 6th in the Third Division but expectations from the fans drove manager Sergei Baltacha to resign. Promotion was the fans goal.

The second season in the Third Divison was the start of what turned out to be a firece rivalry with Livingston. Which has continued to this day. This was mainly down to ICT and Livingston following each other up the divisions untill Livi got into the SPL first. As well as Ross County the local rivals it added an extra spice to the league. Another thing that Caley would be recognised for in the future started here. Scottish Cup runs. We managed to get to the Quarter Finals before Rangers put an end to a spectacular run winning 3-0. Which was still a fantastic result for the Caley Jags. Unfortunatly Caley missed out on promotion again this year but a 3rd place finish was showing progress

1996/97 - This turned out to be 3rd time lucky as ICT finally managed to get promotion to the Second Division. The remarkable rise was just starting. All the better was we were crowned Champions. Finishing with 76 points and Iain Stewart getting the Top Goalscorer award with 29 goals. Things couldnt be better. Second Division football was upon us and would be enjoyed in a brand new stadium cost just under £5 million. I have no idea were the money came from

1997/98 - Our first season in the Second Division and along with it came another cup run. This time we made it to the 4th round of the scottish cup and a trip to Tannadice was in order to play SPL side Dundee United. United were favourites by a country mile so it was to the delight of the Caley fans that we lead until the 81st minute but even the equaliser was not enough to dampen the fans spirits. A replay loomed. That was about the best we would have ever hoped for. It looked like that was going to be the cup run ended as well. 5 minutes into the replay and Dundee Utd were 2 goals to the good but ICT were not going to go down without a fight. A Jim Calder penalty save ignisted a comeback and what a comeback it was. 85 minutes gone and Brian Thomson grabs one goal back. I glimmer of hope was soon turned into a beacon of hope when Mark McCulloch smashed a glorious volley into the net after 91 minutes. 2-2. Extra time was to be the end United grabbed a late goal to put them through to play Celtic. Back to the League and the Livi rivalry was about to go up a knotch. With ICT safely in mid table a last day trip to Almondvale. Livingston started top of the table and a win would see them crowned champions. That was not on the minds of the Inverness players. They manged to boldy win 2-1 and with that not only did Livingston not take the Championship they dropped right down to 3rd and missed out on promotion all together hahaha.

1998/99 - We were not to stay in the Second Division long. Promotion was on the cards again. However there was no Championship to go with it. Livingston were not to be denied for 2 years on the Trot but it was one hell of a title race. It went down to the second last game of the season. With both teams on the same points another trip to Almondvale was in order. This was to be my first away game that was not just over the bridge in dingwall. My 9 year old self was driven down to Almondvale along with 2000 other ICT fans to hopefully see us do what we did last year and take all 3 points. Things seemed to be going smoothly untill the game kicked off. Scorching heat. Brilliant seats and we were there on time. What could possibly go wrong.....
It turned out everything could go wrong. 22 minutes in and you will never be able to guess the score. Just the 4-0 to Livi and the title was pretty much theirs. We managed to stop the flood of goals and even managed to score 3 ourselves to leave give them a scare but it was not to be. A draw at home to Alloa on the last day just cemented what we already knew but there was a promotion party to be had. Happy Days

1999/00 - Probably the most famous season Inverness have ever had and ever will have. Most people only ever know Caley for the headline "Super Caley go Balistic Celtic are Atrocious". You remember it now. Im sure some of you do. Yes this was the year that 4000 ICT fans travelled to Celtic Park in the Scottish Cup 3rd Round tie only for it to be called off. Thanks for that 45 mph winds trying to blow the roof off. You just cant get the Stadia these days. Who knew that it was probably the best thing that ever happened to the club. We all made the trip back down to Celtic Park again on the 8th February and as the say the rest is History:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIn_MHG2F6Y

In the 4th Round a home tie to Aberdeen finished in a 1-1 draw and another valliant effore in the replay at Pittodrie sent the away fans home happy. Despite the 1-0 defeat. We did manage to make one cup final this year. In the Bells Challenge Cup. We played Alloa in the final and after extra time it was 4-4. Alloa managed to win 5-4 on pens so it turned out to be a trophyless season. Not that a trophy was expected. There just never seems to be a dull moment with this club. Well it turns out the League was rather dull but we survived in 6th place. This season also saw ICT Legend Barry Wilson make a bit of history. Not only was he the player to score the last goal of the 20th century he was the first player to score a goal in the 21st century. Quite an achievement.

2000/01 - 4th place was a brilliant achievement this season. It was made even better considering the lack of money thanks to the £1.9 million debt to be payed for the stadium. This debt was take off the club as a Charitable Trust was set up and bought the stadium and the debt but allowed ICT to continue playing home games at the ground. Back to the Scottish Cup and again we found ourselves in the 4th Round. This time at home to Kilmarnock who were in the SPL. A last minute goal looked to send Caley through but Killie went straight up the other end and another replay was in order. The first attempt at a replay was called off to a frozen pitch despite the fact that Killie have undersoil heating. They just didnt want to use it. Another wasted trip. At the second attempt the game was completed and Killmarnock came from a goal behind to win 2-1.

2001/02 - It was touch and go this season. Playing in such a tight league it was down to the lst few games to claim survival. It was achieved and ended up in a 6th place finish. It sounds much better than it looks. The Scottish Cup again was back and oh how we loved it. After a 3rd round win against Arbroath another mouthwatering prospect was on the cards. Hearts the 3rd best team in Scotland at Tynecastle. Not only was the magic of the cup back in order it was done in style. The Jambos were left in pieces at the side of the pitch as the game finsihed 3-1. We were in dream land yet again. The Quarter Final was played against soon to be First Division Champions Partick Thistle. This is the end of the journey again for ICT. A 2-2 draw was a great result away from home but when it came to the replay. Partick won 1-0. The semis eluded us again

2002/03 - A new season and as it turned out a new manager. Stevie Patterson left in December to head for Aberdeen and in came John Robertson. What a decision that turned out to be. Back to the Scottish Cup. yes again. It just seems to go on and on and I will never bore of talking about it. A 2-0 3rd Round win over Ayr was the perfect start and that start was made all the better with a 6-1 win in the 4th Round against Hamilton Accies. This brought another Quarter Final tie. Would this finally be the year to make a semi-final. Well none other that Celtic stood in our way. This time at the Caledonian Stadium. Revenge was all that was in the Celtic players and fans mind. Gladly for me and all other ICT fans, Dennis Wyness decided not to let Celtic get their revenge and the one goal was all that was needed. Henrik Larsson could not break us down. We were finally on our way to Hampden. The game was to be played against the SPL side Dundee. Free spending Dundee at that point. Only the one goal was in it and that went Dundees way. The dream was over for another year but it was all positive. We had made our first major semi final. In the league it was a definte improvement from last year. Another 4th place but things were only looking up under Robertson but how far up were we talking

2003/04 - The 10th Anniversary was to be celebrated at the end of the season and as it turned out there was no better way to celebrate it. 2 Trophies and 2nd succesive Scottish Cup Semi Final. Trophy 1. This was in the bag in November. The Bells Challenge Cup. As it turns out this was the first time I had seen ICT win a trophy. I was not at the game to witness the 3rd Division Trophy being Lifted. The First Round saw Gretna getting humped 5-0 in their own back yard. Peterhead were awaiting and agiain they were seen off only 2-1 this time. Ross County were determined to stop out cup run and continue theirs but that was not to be. A 1-0 home win saw the Caravaners make the short trip home. We made it too the final after beating Raith Rover 4-0 in the Semis. A reasonably comfortable route through to McDairmid Park in Perth. The destination of the Final 2. Inverness and Airdrie Utd. My first final and I was not to be dissapointed. The Face Paints and Hair Dye were not for nothing. The players took their time to put the game to bed, 78 minutes and David Bingham scored the first before Steven Hislop made sure of the Trophy. One downside to the afternoon was the fact that I did not throw my scarf far enough to make it onto the picth. Luckly a Steward gave me it back and I still have it too this very day.
Back to the other cup I have not talked about very often. The Scottish Cup. The Giant Killing was back for another year and we did not disappoint. The 3rd Round was easy as Brechin were despatched 5-1. In the 4th Round a trip to Paisley (oh joy) was next on the list. Not the best game in the world. St Mirren dominated but David Thompson did the only decent thing while he was at the club and grabbed a winner, Shock 1 out of the way. Shock 2 was to come in the Quarters away to Motherwell and Oh My God. What a bloody way to do it. I swear to god the Barry Wilson 30 yard volley that one the game 1-0 is the best goal I have ever see. Maybe slightly biased but it was a belter. The Hair dye was needed again. The Semi Final against Dunfirmline. Our first encounter with a certain Craig Brewster. Right on the stroke of half time Paul Ricthie gave the Highlanders the lead and we were dreaming of the final. Could it really be our year... No. Craig Brewster pops up with an equaliser and the semi final went to a replay at Pitodrie. It got off to a great start. Paul Ricthie again giving us the lead this time after 7 minutes but by the time the 75th minute came along Dunfirmline were leading 3-1. A late Bingham penalty gave us a little hope of somehow equalising but it was not to be. The semi final was as far as it would go again.
As I said earlier there was never a dull moment back in these days and the League was no different. On the second last day of the season it was 1st v 2nd. Clyde v ICT at Broadwood. If Clyde won they would be Champions due to them being 1 point clear at the start of play. After 45 minutes it was goalless. A draw was really of no good to Inverness. Clyde had an easy finish to the season against Brechin while we would played 3rd placed St Johnstone at home on the last day. With that in mind Caley went for it in the second half and were rewarded from the spot after 54 minutes. Liam Keogh sent the away support off and then a Steven Hislop header gave us the points and the driving seat in the title race. Not even a consolation from Clyde was enough to get us worried in the last few minutes. Plans were afoot for a party.
It was a perfect day to win the Title. Roasting hot. No space to move in the terrance beind the goal. Could not really see very well but I didnt care. I saw all of the goals and that is all that mattered. 30 mins in and David Bingham gave Caley the lead and the SPL was looming closer. With the knowledge that Clyde were 4 goals to the good against Brechin only a win would do for us so when Keigan Parker rocketed the ball from 25 yards into the top corner the tension could be felt a mile off. There was no need to be worried as it turns out. A Barry Wilson penalty and a Paul Ritchie header were the goals that sealed the win and made the helicopter land with the trophy at Caley Park. Those goals also lead to me getting my hands on the trophy at the end of season party. I aslo got a photo holding the Trophy while standing next to the legend that is John Robertson. I bet you dont get that down at Man Utd

well that was 10 years of history. Tune in soon for the SPL years