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 - 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

First Division Tour

Well there has to be an upside to relegation. Surely??

Yes there is and dont call me Surley.

Never did I think that it would be a good time for Inverness Caley Thistle to get relegated from the Scottish Premier League but as it turns out that with Setanta going down and a general lack of TV money coming in to Scottish Football maybe it was just as well we have been relegated.

We will at least have a few quid in our pockets with BBC Alba.

I see another bonus in this. We get to go round the First Division Stadiums again. Just like the good old days when ICT played good football and when most of the fans actually made some noise. Nobody will ever forget that magestic 2-1 win over Clyde at Broadwood. The rain thundered down as the ref blew the whistle and it really was a case of We're Singing in the Rain and we didnt care. Even when the bus broke down in the car park. We were top of the league with 1 game to go and the rest is history

Nevermind about the past though we need to look to the future and hopefully a short stay in the SFL. My plan is to go to every game home and away. League and Cup. Yeap even if it means a trip down to Berwick on a soaking Wednesday Night. Ill be there and here is will I will tell you all about it and how the Caley Jags are getting on. Hopefully by the time May 2010 comes around I will be telling how I got to hold the First Division Trophy for the second time in my life.

Since it is a while to the start of the season this place will be short of any stories but I think I will start with where I will be Travelling to throughout the season:

Ayr - Never been here before and judging by that picture I am quite glad. Something else about that picture is that is Ayr v Inverness in the Scottish Cup. Live on Sky I think it was and if I also remeber correctly I was watching our fans start a conga line during the match. Long way away at least 5 hours so it is going to be an interesting trip

Dundee - Never been to watch a match here but they do have a good bar in the stadium that was used by our away fans in the SPL before the Dundee Utd games. Dundee should be the main challengers with us for the title with the money they have splashed on players. Will be a tough game down there. Will be the second shortest journey of the lot I think but it is still 2 and a half hours away

Dunfirmline - Again I have never been here. Still have not forgiven them for beating us in the Scottish Cup Semi Final replay at Pittodrie with a certain Craig Brewster scoring in the 1-1 draw at Hampden in the first game.

Livingston - Have been here many a time and the rivalry is definetly back. Then again we might not even get to play here next season as Livi are in serious financial problems and there is already talk of them being relegated by the SFL or starting with a massive points deduction. They have already pretty much been thrown out of their stadium so who knows where they will be playing if they do manage to sort themselves out

Morton - Seem to be a fairly decent side but with one terrible stadium. Down in Glasgow and not the best place in the world to spend your Saturday Afternoons. No Offence to anybody that is from there. Thats what this divison and Scottish football in general is all about. Going to some crappy stadium and seeing a toe nail in the middle of your pie and I wouldnt have it any other way

Partick Thistle - This is a game I am looking forward to. I still dont think the Partick fans have forgiven us for how we got promoted. I remember the ones that came to cheer us on at Clyde because they thought that if Caley were to win the Championship we would not get into the SPL because we did not have a big enough stadium. How wrong they were. We went to Pittodrie and got to play in the SPL and Partick got the dunt to the SFL. Hahaha

Queen of the South - This will be the longest trip of the season. 6 or 7 hours each way down to Dumfries. I am not looking forward to this one. Sod all down in Dumfries.

Raith Rovers - I have always thought this is a werid stadium. I have no idea why but the stands are just not right. The 2 stands behind the goals look pretty good but down the sides I dont know what has happened. Dont know much about the team either and dont really care as long as we take 12 points off them next season

Ross County - Not much really needs to be said about this one. Well apart from "The wheels on your house go round and round". 4th game of the season at home to the Gypsie's and cant wait. The local derby is back and with even more ammunition than ever for the county fans but we will get our sheep blown up for them. I cant put into words how much I am looking forward to going to Victoria Park and giving them a good humping

Well thats who we have to face. We will play everyone 4 times twice at home and twice away. I hope you will enjoy reading as much as I will going to all these wonderfully horrible grounds. Not that ours is anybetter

Might as well give my predictions for the final league table as well:

1. Inverness CT
2. Dundee
3. Dunfirmline
4. Partick Thistle
5. Queen of the South
6. Morton
7. Raith Rovers.
8. Ross County
9. Ayr United
10. Livingston (if they even finish the season)

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