The clearance operation around the stadium after the May Day promotion party had barely been completed when preparations began for season 2010-11. The summer of 2010 was similar to 2009, a new division anticipated and a search for players to fill key positions for the challenge ahead. This time the aim was not promotion but survival and hopefully more back in the SPL. Survival was virtually assured early in 2011 and from October to March Caley Thistle were in the top six.

Many players were out of contract and hard decisions had to be made. Six players departed reserve goalkeeper Kyle Allison went back to his former club Dunfermline, defender Lionel Djebi-Zadi left but was still without a club at the end of 2010-11, young defender Jamie Duff joined Elgin City after a season blighted by injury, Robert Eagle went to Grimsby Town, Dan Stratford signed for Hereford United and Nauris Bulvitis returned to his parent club in Latvia at the end of his loan period. Most of the out-of-contract players remained and signed new deals. Several had been the subject of interest from other clubs but elected to remain in Inverness. Long serving defender Ross Tokely was the last to re-sign. After 14 seasons at the club he was tempted to move on and he had offers from clubs at home and abroad. In the end he stayed and took his place as a regular in the 2010-11 side. Richie Foran succeeded Grant Munro as captain.

New faces came in to fill the gaps. Stuart Duff had impressed on loan from Aberdeen at the tail end of 2009 but returned to his club after a month. He featured in the Dons first team regularly for the rest of 2009-10 but was released at the end of the season. Despite playing as a trialist for St Johnstone and receiving a contract offer from St Mirren he signed for Caley Thistle in September 2010. Northern Ireland international goalkeeper Jonny Tuffey came from Partick Thistle to act as backup (and competition) for Ryan Esson. Young ‘keeper Max Johnson also joined the club after three seasons as a trainee with Newcastle United. Israeli under 18 midfielder Gil Blumenshtein joined in July, Scotland under 21 defender Kevin McCann came on a loan from Hibs and French defender Kenny Gillet came to Inverness after three years at Barnet.

To prepare for the increased pressure on the admin side of the club former board member Kenny Cameron returned as Operations Director. There was a new shirt sponsor for 2010-11 with former chairman Alan Savage’s Orion Group signing a two year deal worth potentially a six figure sum depending on results and achievements.

Apart from the traditional pre-season matches against Highland League opposition there were some new adventures. The first was a trip to England to play Fleetwood Town and Stockport County in late July previously the only matches played in England were against Berwick Rangers and the 1^st Battalion The Highlanders at RAF Catterick in May 1997. A 2-1 defeat to Fleetwood was followed by a 1-0 victory against Stockport. The second departure from the norm was the visit to Inverness of two foreign sides in early August. Spain's Real Valladolid was first but the match ended a rather flat 0-0. Next up were Belgian side Royal Antwerp and this time it ended 1-1.

The first competitive match of the season was sandwiched between the English trip and the foreign visits to Inverness on the last day of July Caley Thistle beat Queen's Park 3-0 in the first round of the Co-operative Insurance Cup. The SPL league campaign started with the high-profile visit to Inverness of Celtic on 14 August. Before the match the Division One Championship flag for 2009-10 was presented and the team went on to produce a fine performance. They were undone by one solo Paddy McCourt goal but the signs for the season were good. An away trip to Tannadice eight days later proved to be an excellent day out in a performance described by Terry Butcher as one of the best since he took over Dundee United were trounced 4-0. August was completed by a 3-0 win over Peterhead in round 2 of the Co-op Cup then a poor home defeat 1-0 by Hamilton with former ICT player Dougie Imrie scoring a spectacular goal in 40 seconds.

The points at Tannadice ensured a fifth spot finish to August. There were three SPL matches in September with mixed results â€" a 1-1 away draw with Hibs, a 3-1 home defeat to Hearts and a 2-1 away victory against St Mirren. The league position was rather topsy turvy but away form ensured seventh spot at the end of September. There was one cup match in September with a 6-0 defeat away to Celtic in the Co-op Cup. This equalled the club’s worst ever loss and was clearly a night to forget. There was a clear pattern emerging of mixed home results and a better away record. The Co-op Cup defeat to Celtic was clearly a hiccup but in the league Caley Thistle were now undefeated away since November 2009. There was one excellent home result at the beginning of October when at long last Aberdeen were defeated in Inverness. The 2-0 victory was only the second ever against the Dons and this was followed two weeks later by a 1-1 draw at home to St Johnstone. This was another first â€" the first ever SPL meeting of the sides. Next it was down to Kilmarnock and a 2-1 victory to continue the away record. The month ended with a visit to Ibrox and many thought this would be the end of the run. Eric Odhiambo’s 81^st minute goal made it 1-1 and all was well. Caley Thistle finished October in fourth place and Terry Butcher was named SPL Manager of the Month.

November was an exceptionally busy month with five SPL matches and a testimonial for Roy McBain. Third played fourth in the ‘Match of the Day’ when Motherwell came north. The Steelmen took the points 2-1 as home form continued to be up and down. Aberdeen were hammered 9-0 on the same day by Celtic so the midweek match at Pittodrie a few days later took on extra significance. Would there be a backlash from Aberdeen or would their slump continue? In the event Caley Thistle won 2-1 but Aberdeen’s performance had improved and manager Mark McGhee held onto his job for a little longer. A 3-1 win away to Hamilton avenged the defeat in August and continued the away league run. Hibs came north on 20 November under new manager Colin Calderwood and were soundly beaten 4-2. This was just Caley Thistle’s second home league win of the season and continued the record of Hibs never having beaten ICT in Inverness â€" their only ‘away’ league victory having come at Pittodrie in 2004-05 .

When Caley Thistle lost 2-1 to Partick Thistle in Maryhill on 28 November 2009 it proved to be the last league defeat of 2009-10 and would be the last league defeat away from home for a year â€" if at least a point could be taken away to Celtic on 27 November 2010. A strike by referees was proposed for that day in protest against criticism in recent weeks (and months) but some matches did go ahead when the SFA brought in referees from abroad. Alan Hamer and his assistants from Luxembourg did the honours at Celtic Park in what proved to be a memorable match. Celtic had not been firing on all cylinders so ICT hopes were high â€" but memories of the 6-0 cup thrashing in September were still fresh. Caley Thistle travelled down on the day and had a long fraught journey due to deteriorating weather. Perhaps unsurprisingly they took a while to settle but still the first half was pretty even despite Celtic taking a 38^th minute lead through Ki. The restless home fans relaxed a little when a superb solo goal from Paddy McCourt put them two ahead in 65 minutes. Caley Thistle continued to play good football and were rewarded in 70 minutes when Richie Foran pounced on a defensive mix up and scored to make it 2-1. The home fans were now very unhappy with their side and things went very quiet. The visitors sensed this and it encouraged them to continue to press the Celtic defence. When Grant Munro scored an equaliser with seven minutes left it was no more than Caley Thistle deserved and, as the home stands began to empty, they pushed for a winner. It did not come but the 2-2 draw was reward enough for a good day’s work and it ensured that the remarkable away league record remained for over a year. The draw ensured that fourth spot in the SPL was maintained at the end of November.

Roy McBain celebrated ten years at the club with a testimonial on 23 November against a ‘Legends XI’. The current ICT side won 4-1 but the 1000 fans who turned up enjoyed the nostalgic sight of past players such as Jim Calder, Charlie Christie, Paul Sheerin, Bobby Mann and Barry Wilson performing once more at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

Heavy snow in late November started a period of widespread disruption and the SPL card on 4 December was wiped out. Major efforts around the club ensured that the televised home match against Rangers went ahead on 11 December. A Jonny Hayes wonder goal gave Caley Thistle the lead but Rangers equalised through Kenny Miller. Defeat looked on the cards when Rangers were awarded a late penalty but the legs of Ryan Esson saved the day and it ended 1-1. A week later it was off to Tynecastle and a backs-to-the-wall performance which earned a 1-1 draw. Caley Thistle were lucky to escape a second half onslaught from Hearts. The draw meant three in a row against the top three sides and the calendar year completed undefeated away in the league.

The home match against St Mirren on Boxing Day was less pleasing. An early Lee Cox goal was cancelled out by two Steven Thomson efforts and Saints took the points. Three days later an exciting home match against Kilmarnock ended in a 3-1 defeat â€" once more the home hoodoo had struck. Despite these setbacks Caley Thistle ended 2010 (and the first half of the SPL season) in a remarkable fourth spot.

At this halfway stage of the league campaign Caley Thistle had 27 points from 19 matches â€" 17 ahead of bottom club Hamilton (who had played three games less) and 11 ahead of Aberdeen who lay second bottom after playing 18 matches. With all the cancellations due to the weather Caley Thistle’s completion of 19 games was the most by any SPL club â€" thanks mainly to just one postponement at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium and that was due to conditions on the A9 and around Inverness rather than the pitch. So much for the doomsayers who predicted many weather problems when Caley Thistle joined the SFL in 1994-95.

2011 started with another first â€" the first SPL clash with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park, Perth. It was due to take place on New Year’s Day but was shifted 24 hours to 2 January. With icy roads and lethal footpaths around Perth there were doubts about the game going ahead despite a very gradual intermittent thaw. A meeting with police and Saints’ officials on the morning led to it going ahead. The 24 hours made all the difference as Saints were having real difficulty clearing ice on the 23 acre site of McDiarmid Park. In the end it was not much of a game but Saints 1-0 win was significant as it ended Caley Thistle’s undefeated away league record.

Snow and freezing temperatures threatened many of the Scottish Cup fourth round ties on 8 January but Caley Thistle’s home match against near neighbours Elgin City went ahead. It took two late late goals to see off plucky Elgin in this first ever senior meeting of the clubs. Indeed for Caley Thistle this completed the set as Elgin City were the only league side which they had never faced competitively before now. The home side dominated for almost the entire match but a late flurry from Elgin nearly paid off for them. Just when a replay seemed certain Dani Sanchez sent a 16 yard volley into the net to effectively take the tie. This was two minutes into added time and a further two minutes later Adam Rooney added a second.

January as usual saw the opening of the transfer window but there was little business around Scotland. Caley Thistle’s fear was losing prolific striker Adam Rooney whose contract was to expire at the end of 2010-11. He was free to talk to other clubs and was being linked on a weekly basis with different clubs including Russian side Kuban Krasnodar who were reputed to have had a £100,000 offer turned down â€" the club denied that any offer had been received. Rooney stayed and the squad was strengthened by the arrival of Chris Hogg from Hibs, Aaron Doran on loan from Blackburn Rovers and Alex MacDonald on loan from Burnley.

The league campaign in January was very disappointing with a drab 0-0 draw at Motherwell, a narrow 1-0 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox, a 1-1 home draw against bottom club Hamilton then a 2-0 home defeat to Aberdeen, resurgent under new manager Craig Brown. There was controversy surrounding the Rangers match â€" it had been originally scheduled for 29 January, was put back to 2 March then hurriedly rearranged for Tuesday 18 January to fit in with Rangers’ heavy programme. There was clearly little regard for Caley Thistle who had been down to Motherwell three days previously and were given little time to prepare to face Rangers. In the circumstances losing just 1-0 was an achievement. The goal was controversial as the referee allowed an Andy Webster foul on Adam Rooney to go unpunished and Rangers ran upfield and scored. Despite the poor January Caley Thistle remained fifth.

February started with a Scottish Cup tie against Greenock Morton on the fifth â€" a home match which ICT comfortably won 5-1. There were just three league matches in February starting with a six goal thriller away to St Mirren on the 12^th , end to end stuff and a 3-3 result. A 2-0 home win against St Johnstone the following week was sweet revenge for the January defeat in Perth. A 2-0 defeat away to Hibs ended February and saw Caley Thistle in sixth spot â€" but only just. Dundee United were close behind with three games in hand. There were also just three league games in March with two defeats to Dundee United (2-0 at home and 1-0 away) and a good 3-0 win at home to Motherwell.

March’s highlight was the Scottish Cup Quarter Final at home to Celtic on the 16^th â€" postponed from the 13^th because of a waterlogged pitch. It was another dramatic night in the short history of Caley Thistle. The postponement cost the home club up to £100,000 as Sky TV had to pull out of the rearranged date and other revenue was lost. Caley Thistle took the lead through an Adam Rooney penalty just before the break but Celtic’s Joe Ledley equalised right on half time. Celtic ‘keeper Fraser Forster brought out a world class save early in the second half to deny Shane Sutherland and Ledley scored his second midway through the half to earn Celtic victory. An exciting match but the wrong result. The 13 March postponement was the third similar call-off in a short time and Chairman George Fraser vowed that the matter of the drainage would be investigated.

With three games to go before the SPL split Caley Thistle were lying seventh but with tough April matches ahead. Motherwell were four points ahead but with one game more played. A match against Celtic was due to be played on Saturday 2 April with a 1200 kick off and TV coverage on ESPN â€" it also should have been Terry Butcher’s 100^th in charge.  Heavy overnight rain resulted in an 0945 postponement and bitter disappointment all round. An attempt was made to contact the SPL to request delaying the kick-off but this proved impossible and despite the pitch improving by the minute the game was off. In midweek Motherwell played their 32^nd match, beat Dundee United and this put them seven points ahead of ICT which made the task of catching them almost impossible. Top six hopes disappeared on 9 April when Caley Thistle took a point at Kilmarnock and Motherwell did the same away to Hearts. The seven point gap remained and Caley Thistle had to be content to aim to be the ‘best of the rest’. The 1-1 draw at Kilmarnock was the 100^th game in charge for the Terry Butcher/Maurice Malpas management team. In an unusual move the SPL decided May 4^th was the date for the re-arranged Celtic match â€" thus a pre split match was scheduled for a post split date! The post split timetable was issued before the first 33 matches were completed by most clubs but by now the top six/bottom six split was known. Match 32 for Caley Thistle was a 1-1 home draw against Hearts which saw Aaron Doran score for the home side and Ross Tokely seeing red for two yellow cards. Thus ICT went into the last fixtures knowing their SPL status was secure and, of the bottom six, only Hibs and ICT could say this with certainty. After 33 games Hamilton lay nine points adrift from second bottom St Mirren with Aberdeen just three points better.

Match 34 was away to St Johnstone on Easter Monday, 25 April. Originally it was to be at a rather unusual 1400 for ESPN TV reasons but was quickly amended to 1945 after representations. With many players out of contract they were now playing for their futures and the management team was planning for next season. Saints were finding goals hard to come by and so it proved once again with ICT running out very worthy 3-0 winners. It was rather different the following Saturday when they lost 1-0 at Aberdeen with a performance that angered the manager.

On 2 May the club issued a press release highlighting four veteran players who were not being offered new contracts for next season â€" Roy McBain, Stuart Golabek, Russell Duncan and Grant Munro. Chairman George Fraser singled out local boy Grant Munro who had risen through the youth set-up to become club captain. It was indeed the end of an era to see these stalwarts move on. A further six players were heading for the exit door as Terry Butcher planned for next season â€" Max Johnson, Chris Hogg, Chris Innes, Gil Blumenshtein, Dani Sanchez and Eric Odhiambo. In addition loan players Alex MacDonald and Aaron Doran were expected to return to their parent clubs.

Having not quite achieved top six status it was rather strange to face Celtic post split. The postponement of the match on 2 April proved to be a fixture headache as Celtic could not fit in all pre split matches. In the event this clash had no effect on the split so it was agreed it could be played later. To avoid Champions League TV the kick-off was a less than popular 1800. The rearranged match proved to be effectively the SPL title decider. Celtic lay a point behind Rangers before the match and were expected to overtake their Glasgow rivals but Caley Thistle had other ideas. Celtic should have learned their lesson from the classes of 2000 and 2003 but once more Caley Thistle did Inverness proud. The home side lifted itself from the depths of the Pittodrie performance to astound Scottish football and beat Celtic 3-2. It was a well deserved victory which could easily have ended 4-1. A Charlie Mulgrew own goal in six minutes gave Caley Thistle the lead but Kris Commons equalised two minutes later. It was 2-1 in 53 minutes when freed defender Grant Munro drove home from 20 yards. A Shane Sutherland volley in 61 minutes made it 3-1 before Adam Rooney nearly increased the lead. He was one-on-one with Fraser Forster but the big ‘keeper managed to block Rooney’s shot with his legs. In added time Commons made it 3-2 from the penalty spot and there it stayed despite Celtic claiming a second penalty when Paddy McCourt collided with Munro. Rangers’ one point lead stayed intact and indeed it remained that way at the end of the season.

The final three games of the season meant nothing to Caley Thistle except pride, points and pounds but they resulted in three victories. The first was at home to St Mirren and a win for Saints would have ensured their SPL survival â€" Caley Thistle won 1-0 but the following Wednesday Hamilton lost to St Johnstone and St Mirren were safe. In another home game it was 2-0 against Hibs then 2-1 away to relegated Hamilton. Thus Caley Thistle ended the season in seventh spot on 53 points.

Adam Rooney came out top in the appearances record for the season with 43 out of 44 and Ross Tokely and Grant Munro both made 40. Rooney also topped the goals chart with 21 (15 in the league and 6 in cup competitions) and second was Richie Foran with 9 (7 in the league and 2 in the Scottish Cup). Ryan Esson took most of the annual club awards â€" Supporters’ Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year, Supporters’ Club Player of the Year, CaleyThistleOnline.com Player of the Year and Supporters Trust Player of the Year. Nick Ross took the other two awards - Matchday Programme Player of the Year and Supporters Trust Young Player of the Year.

The club was well represented on international duty throughout the season. Jonny Tuffey played for the full Northern Ireland side in November against Morocco then in February against Scotland in the Carling Nations Cup. Prolific striker Adam Rooney was capped for the Republic of Ireland under 21s against Turkey and Switzerland in September 2010. Nick Ross scored on his debut for Scotland under 21s against Northern Ireland in November. Alex MacDonald was an established Scotland under 21 international when he joined in January and he continued his under 21 career with a substitute appearance against Belgium in March. Liam Polworth gained 13 caps for Scotland under 17s including captaining the side against Malta in January.

In July 2010 Charlie Christie took an under 16 squad to compete in the 2010 Barcelona Cup and they came home as winners. They survived a tempestuous semi final against a Valencia side despite the referee needing police protection from angry parents of the Spanish players. Their side was being outplayed by the Caley Thistle youngsters and they did not like it. They won through to the final on penalties and took the cup 3-1 against Catalonian side Centro Tecno Futbol. With the under 15s having won the Como Cup at Easter and the under 12s winning in Orkney in June this was the third trophy for Charlie Christie’s youth players.

In November the fine work of groundsman Tommy Cumming over many years was recognised when he was named SFL Groundsman of the Year and Scottish Groundsman of the Year. A compensation case involving former striker Marius Niculae passed another hurdle in December. Niculae had claimed a percentage of the transfer fee received by the club from Dinamo Bucharest in August 2008 but the club insisted that the transfer had been instigated by Niculae. With £130,000 at stake this was a major case for the club. FIFA’s dispute resolution chamber ruled in favour of Niculae but this decision was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. There is still a case to be heard at Inverness Sheriff Court [Editor's Note: This case was dropped at Inverness Sheriff Court on May 30th with the club being deemed not liable] . On 21 April Tulloch Caledonian Stadium was the venue for an under 18 schoolboy international between Scotland and England. Scotland won 1-0 to share the Centenary Shield with Northern Ireland.

The issue of reorganisation was a thread running through the season. On 16 December Henry McLeish published the second part of his review into Scottish football. Its main recommendations were the merging of the SPL and SFL, an earlier start to the season, the regionalisation of the lower leagues and a change to two Premier Leagues of 10 teams each. An SPL Strategy Group was already on the reorganisation case and they also recommended two SPL leagues of ten clubs â€" this was a major surprise to some (notably the ICT board) who had been of the impression that the Strategy Group was to choose between the status quo and an increase in the SPL to 14 clubs. A meeting of all SPL clubs took place on 3 January and afterwards SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster was confident the plan would be adopted when put to the vote on 17 January. An 11-1 majority would be required and very quickly cracks began to appear. Dundee United chairman Stephen Thomson was strongly against the idea, other clubs expressed a similar view (including Caley Thistle) and, crucially, a vote arranged by Supporters Direct showed fans were 88% against the ten team proposal. This was no straw poll â€" 5000 fans were canvassed and this strength of feeling was very important. Fans bombarded the media with their views and there was a strong feeling that the SPL’s proposal was just a reversion to the four division set-up established in 1994 â€" albeit with 42 clubs instead of 40 and with ‘SPL’ badging for divisions one and two. Lower league clubs felt ignored â€" especially as they had not taken part in any of the discussions â€" and many people in the Scottish game could not see how football as a whole could benefit from the plan. There were strong views in favour of expanding the SPL to 14 or even 16 teams but those opposed to this felt the economics would be wrong. In the light of the massive opposition, and when an 11-1 vote in favour was clearly impossible to achieve, the meeting proposed for 17 January was cancelled. Back to the drawing board! By the end of the season the issue had still not been resolved.

Editors Note:

This season review, like all others in the history section since 1994, has been provided by Club Historian Ian Broadfoot. Ian has meticulously kept records and stats for all Caley Thistle games from the very beginning and these have long been recognised as the definitive ones for Inverness Caledonian Thistle. They are widely used on here, on the official club site, and also by various media outlets such as newspapers and the BBC.

Ian mentioned the fine work of Tommy Cumming in his review, and he is correct, but he is perhaps too modest to add his own news and talk about his own fine work. We, however have no such problem ..... After 17 seasons of ICT record keeping Ian has decided to retire from "active duty" and will no longer be providing weekly updates to ourselves, the club or the media. This is a loss to all of us who rely on his stats and means we will all have to work just that bit harder to make sure our own are correct and comprehensive reviews like this one and those of the last 17 years continue !!!!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ian for all his hard work over the last 17 years and show our appreciation of yet another ICT stalwart who has worked tirelessly and without any fanfare in the background for the good of the club. In the early days, some of you may also remember Ian working as a volunteer manager of the Club Shop so he truly has contributed to the club as it was growing and developing.

After five seasons in the SPL, demotion to the Irn-Bru sponsored SFL First Division was a traumatic affair. The new economics forced the Board to take drastic action - players left, admin staff lost their jobs or had their hours cut and overall belts were tightened as much as possible. The dramatic economic difference between the SFL and the SPL has long been the subject of heated discussion in Scottish football circles and now the reality hit Inverness. The aim was to immediately step back up but with so many changes in the squad, and a shortage of cash to attract high-profile recruits, it was a difficult task.

Big spending Dundee were the pre-season First Division favourites and, by the time the big freeze came at Christmas, they were firmly in the driving seat. In mid January Dundee were in top spot, 15 points ahead of fifth placed ICT but had played two games more. Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas continued to look upwards and a remarkable unbeaten league run, which started with a 1-1 draw against Queen of the South on 5 December, gradually led to a climb up the league until the number one position was achieved on 27 March. One week earlier Dundee lost 3-0 to bottom side Airdrie United and manager Jocky Scott was surprisingly sacked despite his side still being at the top, albeit with a narrow lead of three points over ICT. Gordon Chisholm was brought in to recover the position but things only deteriorated – Dundee faded as Caley Thistle thrived. The top spot was held right through to the end of the season on 1 May – and the unbeaten run also continued to that date. Many expected the final game against Dundee to be a title decider but it proved nothing of the sort as Caley Thistle were declared champions ten days earlier when Dundee’s challenge finally died with a 1-0 loss to Raith Rovers. Instead May Day was party time in Inverness.

Highland rivals Ross County created history by beating Hibs and Celtic en route to the Scottish Cup final but the penalty was the end of their league challenge. As Dundee’s hopes of the title were disappearing Ross County still had a chance because of their backlog of games caused by the cup run. In mid April they played three league matches in a short space of time and only took two points – they would have needed to keep on winning to put the pressure on ICT but it never happened.

In the January 2009 transfer window many players arrived on short term contracts and most left following relegation – Filipe Morais joined St Johnstone, Thierry Gathuessi went to Raith Rovers, Richie Byrne signed for Darlington in February 2010, Pavels Mihadjuks returned to Latvia then came back to Scotland and Dundee United in February 2010. Brian Kerr signed for Dundee and must have wondered if he had made the right move as he was captain of Dundee as they watched the home side party on 1 May. Short term signings Eric Odhiambo and Richie Foran were re-signed for the First Division campaign. Two players who had signed pre contract agreements also left - Mike Fraser to Motherwell and Ian Black to Hearts. Defender Phil McGuire left after a season dogged by injuries and he joined new Highland League side Formartine United. To bolster the squad Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas scoured the highways and byways of football for good players to bring in on a budget.

There was no summer trip abroad this year so pre-season preparations took place mainly in the Highlands and the traditional friendlies against Highland League opposition were used to try out a number of potential signings. There were away matches against Clachnacuddin, Buckie Thistle, Elgin City, Huntly, Forres Mechanics and Brora Rangers – all victories – and an away victory against Second Division side Brechin City. The top pre-season attraction was the visit north of SPL side Dundee United on 28 July – the visitors won 3-1. As these preparations went on the international array of trialists was gradually whittled down and signings made.

Former Fulham youth and reserve player Daniel Stratford joined after playing in the USA with West Virginia University, Cape Cod Crusaders and latterly DC United. Midfielder Lee Cox was a youth player and first team squad player at Leicester City but failed to play for the first team. He joined ICT following a loan spell at Yeovil Town. Jonny Hayes came north after being released by Leicester City – he was a product of Reading’s Youth Academy but spent long periods on loan from Reading before going to Leicester in July 2007. Again he went out on loan before leaving for Inverness. Central defender Nauris Bulvitis joined ICT on loan from Latvian side FK Tranzits Ventspils with a little help and advice from fellow countryman Pavels Mihadjuks.

Robert Eagle was a product of Norwich's youth system and made 10 senior appearances before being released in April 2009. He came to Inverness on trial in July 2009 and impressed enough to be signed by Terry Butcher before the start of season 2009/10. Spaniard Dani Sanchez – full name Daniel Sanchez Andrades – had spent his career so far in the lower divisions of the Spanish league and came to Inverness after three seasons with Real Murcia B. In addition to these signings ICT Youth players Nick Ross and Graeme Shinnie were promoted to the first team squad. With a backbone of experienced first team campaigners this was the squad charged with the First Division challenge – it was hard for such a diverse range of players to gel but after a mixed start they managed the feat and earned promotion in style.

The league campaign started at Dunfermline on 8 August with a 1-0 win – the match was drifting to a zero-zero conclusion when Lee Cox scored with what Dunfermline manager Jim McIntyre called a ‘wonder strike’ from 20 yards in the final minute. Dunfermline were stunned at a seeming injustice but the points went to Inverness. A 0-0 draw at home to Ayr was followed by the first of five matches against Dundee. Promotion favourites Dundee hosted Caley Thistle this time and the visitors should have won. In a fast and furious encounter all the goals in the 2-2 draw came in the first 37 minutes but the action continued to the end. As the final minute of the ninety approached Dundee ‘keeper Tony Bullock collected an ICT corner but Richie Foran and David Proctor were both hurt in the usual melee. This led to a long delay and eventually a bounced ball which Richie Foran proposed to send harmlessly towards Bullock. That was the plan but, in his own words, ‘he shanked it’ and forced a Bullock save amidst boos from the Dundee fans! What would have happened if he had scored was a matter of long debate on the bus home. August ended with the first Highland League derby since 2003/04. It was in Inverness and Ross County easily took the points with a 3-1 victory. After the bright start at Dunfermline Caley Thistle slipped to seventh at the end of the month.

The opening league game of September was at Cappielow on the twelfth and Greenock Morton were beaten

3-0. The next day the Nutel North of Scotland Cup final took place at Forres and, to revenge last season’s defeat, Nairn County were beaten 3-2. On the 19th it should have been a trip to play Livingston but they were demoted to Division Three when they went into administration and so it was off to Airdrie instead. Airdrie United were 1-0 up in 25 minutes and it would have been 2-0 if Ryan Esson had not saved a penalty in 64 minutes – Jonny Hayes rescued a point with an 83rd minute equaliser. The following Saturday Partick came to Inverness and were 3-0 up by half time. Caley Thistle came back in the second half to make it 3-2 but could not find an equaliser. This led to a drop to sixth spot.

There were five league matches in October with three wins, one draw and one defeat. Losing 3-1 at home to Queen of the South on the tenth was a blow – and a result that sent Queens to the top of the league. Three days later a narrow 1-0 win at Kirkcaldy was much better and the following Saturday it was 1-1 at home to Dunfermline. The final two Saturdays in October saw Ayr United heavily defeated 5-1 away with Richie Foran scoring a hat-trick then Greenock Morton were thumped 4-1 at home – the first league home win of the season and this time Adam Rooney scored three goals. Despite these results Caley Thistle ended the month still in sixth place.

November was a poor month – a 2-1 defeat in Dingwall on the seventh was depressing but the mood was lifted a little by a 2-0 home win the following week against bottom side Airdrie United. The Alba Challenge Cup final defeat on Sunday 22nd was followed on the 28th by a 2-1 defeat away to Partick Thistle. The Airdrie victory had meant a move up to fifth but November ended in fifth spot.

December was much better - undefeated in the league with three draws and one win. The first draw was away to Queen of the South on the fifth and it was a bad-tempered affair which ended with Terry Butcher banished to the stand and nineteen players on the pitch. Jonny Hayes gave ICT an early lead but trouble came when the referee ignored a last man challenge on Adam Rooney and his protests saw Terry Butcher head for the stand. Richie Foran then saw a second red for a foul on Barry Wilson and insult was added to injury when Bob Harris equalised for Queens from the resultant free kick. A flare-up following the goal led to a second yellow card for Russell Duncan and a straight red for Queens’ David Lilley. The only win of December came a week later with a 1-0 home victory over Raith Rovers. The worst snowfalls for many years arrived in mid December and Caley Thistle’s away league match at Dunfermline on 19 December only just survived. Lines had to be brushed before kick-off and conditions were far from ideal. It was perhaps no surprise that it ended 0-0 with the latter stages taking place amidst mud as the pitch thawed out.

The Boxing Day home match against Dundee was one of only two SFL matches to survive the severe weather and it was a chance for Caley Thistle to catch up on the league leaders. Both home and away fans united to clear away snow from the pitch and a 1-1 draw was deemed fair. At the turn of the year Dundee remained on top and, despite the good results in December, ICT were twelve points behind and still fifth. There was one squad addition in mid December when Aberdeen midfielder Stuart Duff came on a month-long emergency loan.

The national freeze meant there were just two matches played in January – a 1-0 victory at Airdrie on the 23rd and a 2-1 win at home to Partick Thistle the following Saturday. The Airdrie United match was Ross Tokely’s 500th appearance – delayed for two weeks because of a broken hand – and before the Partick match Ross’s achievement was recognised by the club with a presentation by Steve Paterson, the manager who signed him in the summer of 1996. In a neat touch Terry Butcher handed Ross the number nine shirt – the only one he had not worn over the years. These two victories, and the run of six league matches undefeated, pushed Caley Thistle up to third. Dundee were still ten points ahead but their lead had been cut.

There was limited activity in the January transfer window but there were two significant moves – Dougie Imrie signed for Hamilton after being tracked by several clubs and Andy Barrowman was released from his contract to return to his former club Ross County. In May he was part of the Ross County side that lost the Scottish Cup final to Dundee United. Loan arrangements saw Murray Kinnaird and Andrew MacAskill head for Clachnacuddin and Gavin Morrison and Shane Sutherland go east to Elgin City. In February Graeme Shinnie went on loan to Forres Mechanics and he was part of the side that won the Highland League Cup – thus Graeme ended the season as the first player ever to win a Highland League Cup medal, a North of Scotland Cup medal and a First Division Champions medal in the same season.

With a Scottish Cup tie, and the severe weather continuing, there were only two league matches played in February. On the lucky 13th Raith Rovers were heavily defeated 4-0 in Kirkcaldy – but it took until the 67th goal before Adam Rooney gave ICT the lead. This was the striker’s 14th goal of the season and his purple patch was proving decisive in the league challenge. Two weeks later, following a blank week because of the weather, Ayr United just made it to Inverness despite heavy snow and road closures. The visitors came very close to breaking Caley Thistle’s run and were 3-2 up until added time at the end of the ninety. Grant Munro was pulled down in the box and Adam Rooney netted the resultant penalty despite continuing Ayr protests. Ayr manager Brian Rein had to be restrained by Terry Butcher as his anger flared at the award. All agreed the penalty was soft but Caley Thistle were happy to rescue a point. Dundee’s lead was now eight points over second placed Ross County with ICT a further point behind.

The tenth anniversary of the famous victory over Celtic was celebrated with a dinner arranged by the ICT Supporters Trust and attended by most of the side that played at Celtic Park that fondly remembered evening on 8 February 2000.

March was a very busy month as the weather relented and postponed matches were played. It was also the month when the league race took a dramatic turn. Caley Thistle played seven league matches and remained unbeaten. Dundee started March as league leaders and the match in the City of Discovery on the sixth had the potential to be vital to the chasing pack. After an hour Caley Thistle were 2-0 up and looking good but Dundee hit back. They scored twice and it ended 2-2 with ICT remaining third. There were midweek games for all the league challengers in March, and with some surprising results things were changing every few days. Match two in March was on the ninth at home to Queen of the South. There was revenge for October’s 3-1 in the same fixture as Caley Thistle won 3-1 with Adam Rooney scoring a hat-trick. On the same evening Ross County lost to Raith Rovers so Caley Thistle moved up to second spot, six points behind Dundee with both having played 25 games. A 1-0 home win against Greenock Morton the following Saturday kept the pressure on Dundee as they were on Cup duty and the following midweek they could only draw 1-1 with Ayr. A 0-0 draw away to Ross County on the twentieth was bitterly disappointing but the mood changed when news came through that bottom club Airdrie United had beaten Dundee 3-0. This shock result led to Jocky Scott being relieved of the Dundee managerial post despite his side still on top of the league – albeit just three points ahead of ICT. Ross County’s challenge was fading as they headed for cup glory and Dunfermline were now third. These were merely footnotes as it was clear that Caley Thistle and Dundee would realistically be the clubs battling it out for promotion.

A midweek decisive 4-0 home win against Airdrie United maintained the pressure on Dundee then the following Saturday came the leap to the top. Caley Thistle narrowly beat Partick Thistle 1-0 in Maryhill but Ross County did their Highland rivals a great favour with a late equaliser against Dundee. ICT thus sat proudly on top of the pile with a precious one point lead over Dundee. This was extended to four points when Caley Thistle beat Ross County 3-0 in a midweek rearranged derby match and Dundee lost to Dunfermline the same evening. The derby match nearly did not go ahead as gale force winds could have been deemed dangerous. Referee Scott MacDonald elected to start the match with the proviso that it may have had to be abandoned. It ran the full ninety minutes and the Inverness camp was very happy that it had. To end March on top with a four point lead was something that would have been hard to predict some 30 days earlier.

The optimists in the Inverness camp were confident Dundee would never catch up now and the pessimists were convinced that the ICT run would end and Dundee would come again. On balance most expected the title race to go the wire. Given the twists and turns so far it was fair to assume more surprises and the ICT v Dundee match in Inverness on 1 May was looking as if it could settle things.

Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas exuded confidence and there was no stopping their team. A 100% record through April ensured that the title was won before the supposed crunch match. April started with two victories after long road trips – 2-0 away to Greenock Morton on the sixth and 3-1 away to Queen of the South four days later. By this time the unbeaten run had been extended to 18 league matches and Dundee were seven points behind. The only possible title rivals were Dundee and Ross County, still catching up because of their fantastic Scottish Cup run. A 2-0 home victory against Dunfermline on 17 April kept ICT in pole position then came a nervous evening on 21 April with Dundee playing Raith Rovers – Raith won 1-0 and this ended the title contest. Without kicking another ball Caley Thistle were champions. The long trip to Ayr the following Saturday could easily have been an anti climax – especially as Ayr were in relegation trouble and should have lifted their game. They were thumped 7-0 with amazingly seven different goalscorers. A surprisingly large travelling support invaded the pitch to celebrate.

The main celebrations came the following week with Dundee the very reluctant guests at the party. The May Day event saw fireworks, ticker-tape, speeches, laps of honour and the presentation of the League Trophy. Before that there was the small matter of a football match. Adam Rooney’s 27th goal meant that Dundee were defeated for the first time this season, the unbeaten league run was extended to 21 matches (one less than the 1996/97 record in Division 3) and the final quarter of the season had been completed with nine wins out of nine, defeating every other team. The final whistle went on the season and the fun began. The main event saw Terry Butcher call each player out in turn to collect his medal with captain Grant Munro last to emerge to take possession of his medal and the coveted cup.

In 2003/04 Caley Thistle won the Bell’s Cup but promotion to the SPL meant it could not be defended. One result of the reversion to First Division status was entry to the same competition, now renamed the Alba Challenge Cup. The opening competitive match of the season was in round one of this cup with lowly Montrose visiting Inverness and making a strong fight of it. A Roy McBain goal on the stroke of half time looked like winning the tie but Montrose equalised three minutes from time and after a goal-less extra period it was on to penalties. Ryan Esson saved the first Montrose kick from Chris Hegarty and that proved a vital breakthrough - Lionel Djebi-Zadi made it five out of five for the home side and that ensured victory. Round two was rather more decisive on 18 August when Stranraer made the long trip north. Two goals from Richie Foran and one from Dani Sanchez ensured a 3-0 victory. The quarter final was played against Partick Thistle on 6 September in Glasgow and it was very close. It ended 1-1 after extra time and once more it was a dreaded penalty shoot-out. Ryan Esson was the ICT hero when he saved three Partick penalties as his side won 4-3 with captain Grant Munro converting the final kick. On 4 October the semi final threw up a local derby in Inverness but it was not the classic that some expected. It took a freakish Robert Eagle goal just before half time to separate the sides – his looping cross finished up in the back of the net and Caley Thistle were heading for their third national final.

The Alba Challenge Cup final took place at McDiarmid Park, Perth on 22 November against promotion rivals Dundee. At this point in the season Dundee were firmly at the top of Division One with Caley Thistle having just moved up from sixth to fourth. Thus Dundee were favourites but in a thrilling encounter it was Caley Thistle that dominated from the start. They were 2-0 up at half time and should have been four or five up. Failing to make their superiority count further proved Caley Thistle’s undoing. Dundee came right back into it after the break and within seven minutes were level at 2-2. Craig Forsyth’s 82nd minute goal took the cup along the A90 to Dundee. For the neutrals it was a classic match but Inverness fans were stunned to have lost after such a good first half.

Involvement in the Co-operative Insurance Cup lasted for three rounds before Motherwell knocked Caley Thistle out. Round one on 1 August was the second competitive match of the season and Annan Athletic were soundly beaten 4-0 in Inverness. This was the first meeting of the sides since Annan became an SFL side but they did play each other in the Scottish Cup in January 1998 when Annan were an East of Scotland League club. Caley Thistle registered their best result to date on that occasion by winning 8-1. Round two once more threw up a home draw and a match against Albion Rovers on 25 August. Again it was 4-0 to the home side but round three was to prove more of a challenge. This was away to SPL side Motherwell on 22 September and Caley Thistle came very close to an upset. At the end of 90 minutes it was 1-1 and after 111 minutes it was 2-2. With just a minute before a penalty decider Ross Forbes gave Motherwell victory.

Caley Thistle entered the Active Nation Scottish Cup at round four and were drawn at home to Motherwell – a chance to take revenge for the Co-operative Insurance Cup defeat. The match took place on 18 January after two postponements due to a combination of snow, freezing weather and local road conditions. Motherwell came north under new manager Craig Brown who had replaced Jim Gannon three weeks earlier. They were in good heart after beating Kilmarnock 3-0 in the SPL but were to go back south disappointed. For ICT it was their first match for a month but they put on a good show and deservedly won 2-0. Round six found Caley Thistle heading to Kilmarnock on 6 February. The visitors started well but fell behind to goals just before and after the half hour mark. A third goal in 59 minutes ended the contest and the Scottish Cup dream was over for another season.

Adam Rooney played in all 46 matches during the season – he was in the starting eleven 32 times and came on as a substitute 14 times. Ryan Esson and Grant Munro both made 45 starts – Ryan missed one cup match and Grant missed one in the league. Adam Rooney was top club goalscorer by a mile – he scored 27 with Richie Foran on 16 and Jonny Hayes on 10.

ICT were among the national awards throughout the season with pride of place going to Adam Rooney who ended the season as First Division top goalscorer with 24 league goals. He was also Irn-Bru Phenomenal Player of the Month for March 2010 and First Division Player of the Year. In addition his fellow players in the Professional Footballers’ Association named him First Division Player of the Year. Jonny Hayes won the Irn-Bru Phenomenal Player of the Month award for November 2009. Terry Butcher was Irn-Bru First Division Phenomenal Manager of the Month for March 2010 and Manager of the Year. At club level Adam Rooney won the Supporters’ Player of the Year and the Players’ Player of the Year awards. Richie Foran was the Matchday Programme Player of the Year and also took the same award from the Supporters’ Club. Jonny Hayes was the CaleyThistleOnline.com Player of the Year. The team won the Active Nation Scottish Cup Team of the Round accolade for their 2-0 defeat of Motherwell in round four.

In July the under 15s took part in Denmark’s Dana Cup and reached the quarter final. In August the club sent three young squads to the Umbro Dublin Cup – the under 13 side won the shield for their age group and the under 14s and 15s both put on good performances. In April the under 15 side were once more on their travels, this time to Italy where they won the Como Champions Cup. At international level the club was represented by Kyle Whyte and Liam Polworth at both under 16 and under 17 level. In March Ryan Christie, son of ICT legend Charlie Christie, was invited to join the Scotland under 15 training camp at Inverclyde.

On 12 November former manager Steve Paterson was back in the local headlines with the publication of his book ‘Confessions of a Highland Hero’, written in conjunction with north journalist Frank Gilfeather. The launch at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium was a reunion of Caley Thistle people from across the years and all were impressed as Steve spoke candidly about the alcohol and gambling problems which have blighted both his family and football life. Happily he is now on a better track with a full time job in Social Work and the possibility of a return to football in a scouting role.

Rugby returned to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on 5 February when Scotland’s under 20 side took on France. This was part of the Junior Six Nations tournament and it ended 8-8.

In March local businessman Kenny Cameron rejoined the Caley Thistle board after a six year absence. The first time round he left due to business commitments but always retained an active connection with the club. He has worked behind the scenes to seek out commercial opportunites and is a partner in CK Events who are the promoters of Rod Stewart’s concert at the stadium in July 2010.

In March Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas signed contract extensions to the end of 2010/11 but, following promotion to the SPL, their contracts were replaced by further extensions to the end of 2011/12.

Onwards and upwards to the SPL!

Inverness Caledonian Thistle fans have been very lucky. In 14 seasons they witnessed three promotions, one Bell’s Cup win, two Scottish Cup semi finals and several ‘giant killing’ exploits. It was perhaps inevitable that there would be a setback and it happened in 2008/09.

The spectre of relegation hung over the club for much of the season and it became a major issue after eight straight league defeats from 29 November to 24 January. The board took drastic action in January with the sacking of Craig Brewster and Malky Thomson then put their faith and money on Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas. The new management duo lifted the spirits around the club and the team began to claw its way back up the league table. By early April ninth place had been achieved and this was the position held after the first two post split matches. In the end it went down to the wire as chances to achieve safety were missed with the loss of late goals to Motherwell and Kilmarnock in matches 36 and 37. In the final match of the season, at home to Falkirk, both sides had everything to play for and you could cut the tension around the stadium with a knife. A single Falkirk goal was enough to send ICT down to Irn Bru Division One.

There was a flurry of transfer activity in the close season and in the period between the start of training on 1 July and a pre season trip to Denmark. Former Aberdeen ‘keeper Ryan Esson arrived from Hereford United to challenge Mike Fraser for the number one jersey. Defender Lionel Djebi-Zadi signed from German side SC Verl – he had spent the 2005/06 season with Ross County so was no stranger to the Highlands. After a long chase striker Andy Barrowman arrived from Ross County – his 29 goals for County in 2007/08 made him a target of many clubs but he chose to stay in the Highlands. Fans’ favourite Graham Bayne left for Dunfermline in the hope of regular first team football and Richie Hart joined Ross County for similar reasons after signing a pre-contract agreement during 2007/08. Dennis Wyness left for St Mirren, Craig Brewster hung up his boots, young defender Ally MacDonald went to Elgin and squad defender Steven Watt joined Ross County. Dean McDonald left the club by mutual agreement and headed for talks with English Conference side Rushden & Diamonds. By arrangement both Richard Hastings and Marius Niculae came back late to pre season training – Hastings helped Canada to reach stage 2 of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and Niculae played for Romania at Euro 2008.

On Sunday 20 July the squad flew out from Edinburgh to Denmark for a pre season training camp and three games. Marius Niculae did not travel but instead flew to Romania to sort out some personal business amidst rumours that his days in Inverness were numbered. It was no secret that the club was prepared to let him go if the price was right and he was keen to move back to Romania. With a year left of his ICT contract he could have returned but the odds were long. German side Kaiserlautern submitted a hefty bid but Dinamo Bucharest won the race. Negotiations were concluded on 31 July and Craig Brewster continued his search for another striker. On the flight to Copenhagen was trialist Stoke City striker Adam Rooney – he eventually signed up and became the club’s leading goalscorer in 2008-09, albeit with just six goals. It was not to prove a memorable season for goalscoring. The Danish trip included three matches and all were drawn - 1-1 with Lolland-Falster Alliancen, 1-1 with FC Nordsjaelland and 4-4 with Herfolge Boldklub.

The pre season programme included a very special match against Ross County on 15 July with the first Tony Fraser Memorial Trophy match. County won 3-2 in what is planned as a permanent salute to the late and much lamented Tony Fraser who drove both the ICT and County team buses for many years. Teams with a mix of youth and experience made the usual round of Highland League grounds and St Johnstone visited on 19 July only to lose 4-2. Clach were beaten 3-0 in the ITP North Cup on 28 July then the final pre season match took place at Burnley. This was a landmark with the club’s first official visit south of the border – excluding league matches at Berwick and a break at RAF Catterick in May 1997. Burnley won 2-1.

The real business of the season started at Aberdeen on 9 August and this 2-0 SPL victory was the first time Caley Thistle had beaten the Dons in a senior match. It may have been just day one of the season but it was great to see the team sit proudly at the top of the league. It only lasted a week as newly promoted Hamilton came to Inverness for the first ever league meeting between the sides and won 1-0. There was a night of nostalgia on 18 August as Liverpool sent a young team to play ICT in Barry Wilson’s testimonial match. It was a great night all round, apart from the rain, with a 5-0 victory for the home side being a bonus. A mammoth squad of 23 home players included many former ICT stars and all played for at least part of the game. A 1-1 draw at home to Hibs and a 2-1 away victory at Falkirk meant August was completed in fifth place in the league. The renamed Co-op Insurance Cup campaign started on 27 August with a narrow victory at Arbroath but only after a 2-2 draw and a penalty shoot-out.

September in the SPL comprised just three matches with defeats to Hearts and St Mirren then a 3-1 victory at home to Kilmarnock. This win led to a climb to fourth but this was to be the last time in the top six. Round three of the Co-op Insurance Cup took ICT to Greenock on 23 September and another hard match. It went to extra time but this time a late Dougie Imrie goal gave a 2-1 victory against Morton without the necessity of penalties. Things went downhill in both the SPL and Co-op Insurance Cup in October. League defeats to Dundee United, Celtic and Motherwell meant a drop to tenth and a single goal defeat away to Falkirk ended the cup run at the quarter final stage. In October Markus Paatelainen left the club by mutual consent to allow him to fully recover from long term injury in his native Finland.

On 1 November it was off to Ibrox with little optimism after the bad spell. The mood was made worse by a proverbial 5-0 drubbing. It was 4-0 after just 27 minutes then 5-0 on the stroke of half-time. It could have been much worse as the defence was stiffened at the break and a better second half meant at least the leakage was stopped. The rest of November was better with league victories against Hibs and Kilmarnock, a draw with Falkirk and single goal defeats to Hearts and Celtic. This all led to a minor climb to ninth. The Celtic defeat was the start of the eight game run of league defeats which was really the undoing of the season. This ran until 24 January with the only glimmer of light being the 3-0 home victory against Partick Thistle on 10 January in round four of the renamed Homecoming Scottish Cup. This was to be Craig Brewster’s last victory with the club.

17 January away to Hamilton was crunch time as twelfth (ICT) played eleventh (Hamilton). Hamilton reduced admission prices to improve their support and ICT ran free supporters’ buses for this first visit to New Douglas Park. There was certainly an increased away support and it made a lot of noise – not all of it positive. The weather was awful, the match not much better and Hamilton won by a solitary penalty goal. With the team rooted at the foot of the league, a point adrift of Falkirk, the Board took a hard but inevitable decision – two days after the match they relieved Craig Brewster and Malky Thomson of their duties. Brewster’s 100th league match in charge proved to be his last.

As speculation mounted about the managerial succession there was one league game to be played away to Hearts. Coaches John Docherty and Stuart Garden took charge and it proved to be a fantastic match – but it ended in 3-2 disappointment for Caley Thistle. Two minutes from time Dougie Imrie had brought the visitors back to 2-2 with a goal direct from a 30 yard free kick which the BBC radio commentators described as one of the best free kicks they had ever seen. The joy was short lived as Laryea Kingston netted for 3-2 just one minute later.

For eight days the press had a field day banding around names of potential managers. Clearly the chance to manage an SPL side was attractive and many potential candidates came out of the woodwork. The most surprising was Argentinian World Cup winner Ossie Ardiles – with a less than successful management career behind him, and little knowledge of Inverness and the Scottish game, he was very much an outside bet. Archie Knox, John Robertson and Chris Sutton were interviewed but the Board’s vote went to former Motherwell manager Terry Butcher assisted by Maurice Malpas. The announcement took place at 5pm on 27 January giving the new men just six days to bring in reinforcements before the January window (extended by two days as 31 January was a Saturday) slammed shut. The task for the new men was clear – SPL survival.

The January transfer window saw more action than normal and at times it was hard to keep track. Long serving midfielder Barry Wilson’s contract was up in mid January but he was released a couple of weeks early to allow him to join Queen of the South – in two spells with the club he scored 83 goals in 353 appearances and deservedly achieved hero status. Midfielder Don Cowie signed a contract to join Watford in the summer but agreement was reached between the clubs and Cowie left immediately. Goalkeeper Mike Fraser signed a pre contract agreement to join Motherwell at the end of the season and influential midfielder Ian Black did the same with Hearts. Striker Rory McAllister left for Brechin and defender Guy Kerr, who had been on loan at Elgin City, joined East Fife. Young goalkeeper Andy McNulty returned to Elgin City on loan after recovering from injury and Dale Gillespie also joined Elgin on loan for the remainder of the season. Just before he left the club Craig Brewster brought in four players – Filipe Morais and Thierry Gathuessi from Hibs, Latvian Pavels Mihadjuks and Richie Byrne. The new management team quickly signed Richie Foran, Eric Odhiambo and Brian Kerr on short term deals.

Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas took over a side lying bottom of the SPL, two points behind eleventh placed Falkirk, so clearly the only way was up. There was a baptism of fire on 1 February with a home match against Celtic but it proved a major tonic as it ended 0-0. The precious point did nothing for the league position but there was now hope. The following Saturday it was round five of the Homecoming Scottish Cup and a fine 2-0 home victory against Kilmarnock. Back to the league and a 1-1 draw at Dundee United, a 2-0 home win against Hibs and a 2-1 away defeat to Motherwell meant that ICT completed the February programme still propping up the SPL.

On Wednesday 4 March there was a daunting trip to Ibrox but it was to be a match that changed both the top and bottom of the SPL. The visitors made no apology for a defensive game plan and it looked as if it would end 0-0 until a dramatic injury time. David Weir brought down David Proctor in the Rangers’ box, the defender saw red and Caley Thistle were awarded a penalty. The coolest man at Ibrox was Ian Black as he stepped up to confidently score a dramatic winner. Caley Thistle moved up a vital place to eleventh and Rangers were knocked off the top. The following Saturday it was the Homecoming Scottish Cup quarter final and a home tie against Falkirk. The season seemed to be all about Fakirk and they did the same as they had in the Co-op Insurance Cup by winning 1-0. Two good cup runs but two disappointing defeats to the Bairns. Terry Butcher described the next SPL match at home to Kilmarnock as ‘ugly football’ but it paid off with a 2-1 win. There was confidence going down to Falkirk on 21 March but once more the Bairns took the honours. This time they did it in style with a 4-0 result that meant no change to the league positions but the gap between them was reduced to one point.

There were mixed fortunes in April but it started well with a 2-1 home win against St Mirren that pushed ICT up to ninth above Falkirk, St Mirren and Kilmarnock. The optimism lasted a short time as a defeat at Aberdeen and a home draw against Hamilton meant back to eleventh spot. The post split matches began with a 2-1 away win at St Mirren’s new ground which pushed ICT up to ninth and this was held with another draw at home to Hamilton. There was now real hope of SPL survival and spirits were cautiously high. On 13 May a midweek match at Motherwell could have led to another SPL season and it was looking good at 2-1 with eleven minutes left. A goal from John Sutton changed the mood and thoughts turned to the next Saturday’s visit to Kilmarnock’s Rugby Park. With the score at 0-0 things were once more optimistic but a 79th minute goal from Kevin Kyle gave Killie victory and set up an ‘all or nothing’ home match with Falkirk on the final day of the season.

A large travelling support came up from Falkirk to cheer their side on and home fans also turned out in large numbers for what was arguably the biggest match in the club’s history. Falkirk had to win to survive but Caley Thistle only needed a draw. Even with defeat there was an outside chance of survival if Hamilton could defeat St Mirren by two goals more than those lost by Caley Thistle. This would have relegated St Mirren. In the event Hamilton did win but only by 1-0.  In the 15 years of the unified club’s existence this was the first time that relegation had loomed so large but with home advantage and just a point needed the odds were in favour of ICT. A wonder save from Falkirk ‘keeper Dani Mallo in the 12th minute, a red card for Ross Tokely just before the interval and a goal from Falkirk’s Michael Higdon in the 68th minute changed all that.

The tension was almost unbearable for both sets of fans but it looked good for the Inverness contingent in the 12th minute when Filipe Morais forced his way to the bye line and his cut-back left Richie Foran with a seemingly empty goal. From six yards out he hit goalwards and as the home crowd rose to its feet Dani Mallo appeared from nowhere to save. It was a major turning point and proved to be Caley Thistle’s best chance. The odds turned in Falkirk’s favour in 39 minutes when Ross Tokely and Lovell chased a ball heading towards the home area – there appeared to be a minor tussle and Lovell went down. After checking with his assistant, referee Eddie Smith showed Tokely a straight red card. It seemed very harsh and the home crowd made their feelings known to the referee for a long time afterwards. Terry Butcher sacrificed Roy McBain and introduced Russell Duncan at right back with Pavels Mihadjuks moving into Tokely’s central defensive role. The ten men continued to take the game to Falkirk after the interval but it all counted for nothing as Michael Higdon netted just three minutes after coming on as a substitute. The south stand erupted in a sea of blue as the Falkirk fans saw survival on the horizon. Falkirk held out for victory and for Caley Thistle it was back to the first division after five seasons in the top flight.

For many supporters the club’s relegation was directly related to the leakage of key players over recent seasons. The loss of Mark Brown in January 2007 and Darren Dods four months later were defensive watersheds and they were followed by John Rankin, Marius Niculae, Craig Dargo, Dennis Wyness, Graham Bayne and the retiral from playing of Craig Brewster. Youth had been given its head to fill the gaps but it did not work. The influx of players in January brought experience to the side and it nearly paid dividends. The new players all arrived on short term deals so important decisions now needed to be made as to who would be released and who would stay in the club’s reduced financial circumstances. The close season would most certainly be a time for rebuilding.

Nobody played in all 44 of the club’s senior matches but Dougie Imrie managed a very creditable 43 including six substitute appearances. Ross Tokely was close behind on 42. Top goalscorer was Adam Rooney with just six – testament to the season-long problem of finding the net. Ian Black won four ‘Player of the Year’ awards having been voted top player by his fellow players, the Supporters’ Club, the match-by-match judges from the Matchday Programme and those of CaleyThistleOnline.com. Ross Tokely broke the sequence by taking the Flybe Supporters’ Player of the Year award. On the international front Richard Hastings played regularly for Canada including earning his fiftieth cap against Honduras in September. Jamie Duff played for Scotland’s Under 21 side against Northern Ireland in November – he was a last-minute call-up to the squad but played from the start – and Ian Black played for the Scotland ‘B’ side in May, also against Northern Ireland. Shane Sutherland won the Clydesdale Bank U19 Rising Star award for August 2008. Liam Polworth & Matthew Murphy were called up to a training camp for Scotland’s Under 15 squad in June 2009. Pavels Mihadjuks was brought into the Latvian squad for two World Cup qualifying games but he remained on the bench for both.   In August the club sent Under 13 and Under 14 squads to Dublin to take part in the annual Umbro Cup. The Under 13s beat St Josephs in a penalty shoot-out to take the trophy for their age group and the Under 14s went out on penalties to FC Town in the semi final of the older age group competition. The boys were great ambassadors for the club on and off the field and many parents made the trip to Dublin to cheer them on. A young Caley Thistle side reached the final of the ITP Solutions North Cup by defeating Clach, Brora Rangers and Wick Academy on the way. The match was played at Grant Street Park on 21 September but it ended in disappointment with Nairn County, managed by ex Caley Thistle ‘keeper Les Fridge, winning 2-0.

In February the under 19 squad headed for a training camp in Antalya, Turkey with coaches Scott Kellacher, Fiona McWilliams and Alec Clelland. The trip included four matches and there were three wins and one draw. The only downside was the broken leg suffered by Daniel Park in training. The Under 19 side then went on to create their own bit of history when they beat Celtic in a penalty shoot-out to reach the semi final of the SFA Youth Cup. In the semi-final on 29 March they went down 6-2 to Rangers at Ibrox. The occasion was marred by a double jaw fracture to ‘keeper Kyle Allison and he was taken to Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital. Happily both Daniel and Kyle are on the road to recovery and should be back in action next season.

Willie Finlayson joined the Board in February but long serving member and former chairman Ken Mackie announced that he would be standing down at the end of the season. There was economic good cheer in December when Flybe announced an extension of their sponsorship contract until July 2010. In December the club lost its Life President with the death of John ‘Jock’ McDonald OBE. Jock was a major influence in the unified club’s achievement of league status and was its first chairman.  The club suffered a further loss in May when its oldest season ticket holder Bunty Grant passed away at the grand old age of 95. Tulloch Caledonian Stadium will certainly not be the same without the presence of Jock and Bunty.

With an early decision not to apply for Inter Toto Cup entry it was back to Italy's Tuscany region for a pre-season training camp. Missing from the squad were Stuart Golabek (to Ross County), Darren Dods (to Dundee United) and Craig Dargo who, after much speculation, signed for St Mirren. Back-up striker Gary McSwegan ended his playing contract but was appointed under 19 coach. In January he was in turn replaced by Alex Clelland and, after a break, McSwegan returned to playing action with Clyde in March.

There were two new faces in the Italian party - Don Cowie (from Ross County) and Dean McDonald (from Gillingham) - plus promoted youngsters Ally MacDonald, Guy Kerr and Garry Wood. Goalkeeper Ally Ridgers signed after a loan period from Clach and Jonathon Smith moved in the opposite direction on a short term deal before heading to college in the USA. During the Italian trip long-serving defender Grant Munro was appointed club captain to replace Darren Dods. The Italian trip included victories against a Qatar U20 side (2-0) and a Romanian under 21 team Universitatea Craiova (2-1)

One reason for giving the Inter Toto Cup a miss was the fact that Tulloch Caledonian Stadium would have been unavailable for the opening round because of the high-profile concert by Elton John on Sunday 15 July. The squad flew back from Italy in time to join the 17000 crowd and enjoy the music of the Rocket Man in the summer sun. The Elton John concert also affected the pre-season programme as preparations and the aftermath meant that all matches were played away from home. There was the usual pre-season circuit of Highland League venues plus matches away to Peterhead (1-2) and Ross County (2-1).

Transfer activity continued with the focus on Marius Niculae. It took a special financial deal to lure the Romanian international to Inverness but gaining a work permit was quite another matter - it was at first refused but, following an appeal to the SFA and a fans' petition, it was granted and he was free to play. The new season saw the start of a lucrative two-year sponsorship deal by regional airline Flybe and thus new kits.

The first match at home, and the start of the SPL campaign, could not have been harder - Rangers in front of the Setanta cameras. The 1230 kick-off created a little bit of history as the first match of the Clydesdale Bank's four-year league sponsorship deal. A new record crowd of 7711 saw Caley Thistle go down 3-0. A small section of stand was opened at the west end of the ground to house a ‘singing section' - thus the capacity was increased and allowed the crowd record to be broken. The aftermath of the match raged on for a couple of weeks with Rangers' fans accused of racist chants but all calmed down and Rangers escaped punishment. Niculae made his debut the following week in a 2-1 defeat away to Motherwell then it was the same score in Paisley against St Mirren.

After these three league games Charlie Christie decided the stress of managing his home club could not continue. He dramatically stood down on 20 August and a stunned Graeme Bennett now had to search for another new manager. The usual suspects were named as contenders - plus some surprises (including former Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock) but in the end Craig Brewster returned to the club as player/manager assisted by Donald Park. Brewster expressed his delight at being back and said he had ‘unfinished business'. Before the appointment Park occupied the hot seat for a home match against Dundee United and a 3-0 defeat - with former ICT favourite Barry Robson converting two penalties.

24 hours after his appointment on 27 August Brewster took charge for a home CIS Insurance Cup tie against Arbroath. It ended 3-1 for Caley Thistle but was not all plain sailing. At 2-0 Arbroath hit back and it took a third goal from Marius Niculae (his second of the game) to settle it. Brewster had been playing for Aberdeen since leaving the manager's post at Dundee United and he was at this point top SPL goalscorer. In his last Aberdeen match he scored twice away to Hibs and now he had to lead his ‘new' club to Easter Road. He opted not to play but may have had some regrets as ICT went down 1-0 to a Steven Fletcher penalty goal.

Brewster's arrival coincided with the last few days of the summer transfer window so he was a busy man off the field. As the window closed Zander Sutherland went off to Elgin City on a six month loan (that was eventually extended until the end of 2007/08) and he was joined at Borough Briggs by Ally Ridgers. Ridgers went on loan but signed for them in January 2008. In turn Ridgers was replaced as back-up ‘keeper by Zibi Malkowski on a season-long loan from Hibs. Steven Watt had already been brought in by Charlie Christie on loan from Swansea City as a back-up central defender but Brewster reinforced the defensive options by signing defender David Proctor from Dundee United and bringing in Phil McGuire on loan from Dunfermline.

After a blank Saturday it was off to Celtic Park on 15 September. It was a black day with a record 5-0 defeat but a stirring ICT performance despite the score. It was better the next day when a young ICT side beat Elgin City at Forres to take the ITP Solutions North Cup 3-2 after extra time. The winner came from rising star Dale Gillespie seven minutes before a penalty decider would have been necessary.

The first SPL point was a long time coming but after six defeats it came in style. SPL match number seven was against Hearts at home on 22 September and the pundits were predicting further misery for Caley Thistle. An Ian Black own goal in 34 minutes had the gloom merchants shaking their heads but a Dennis Wyness equaliser and an injury-time Craig Brewster winner changed all that. Three points on the board at last. This was to be Brewster's last competitive goal as he later decided to hang up his boots at the end of 2007/08. ICT were still lying at the foot of the league but at least there was now hope. Three days later Gretna were defeated 3-0 in Inverness in round three of the CIS Insurance Cup then the following Saturday it was 4-2 at home to Falkirk. This completed September's programme with ICT up one precious spot to eleventh.

October started with a 2-2 draw away to Kilmarnock and a bizarre goal for each side making the headlines. Defensive errors led to a tap-in goal for Killie and an own-goal at the other end. Caley Thistle played Aberdeen twice in October but with no success. It was 1-2 on live TV at home (with Dennis Wyness netting his 100^th goal) then an even more disappointing 1-4 at Pittodrie in the quarter final of the CIS Insurance Cup. Sandwiched between the Aberdeen matches was a convincing 4-0 win against Gretna at their ground-sharing home of Fir Park, Motherwell. The Gretna match was a basement battle and the result ensured that ICT moved up another vital notch to tenth. There were just three matches in November with 3-0 defeats to Rangers (away) and Motherwell (home) before a 1-0 win at home to St Mirren ensured the month ended in tenth spot. On 26 November Donald Park left his assistant head coach post to return south for family reasons and was quickly replaced by Malky Thomson. Thomson left his coaching post at Chester City to reunite with Brewster.

December was to prove much more successful. A narrow 1-0 win away to Dundee United was followed by a 2-0 win at home to Hibs with Niculae scoring both goals to end his SPL duck. The highlight of December was a classic home match against Celtic on Sunday the 16^th. This live TV match was one that Gordon Strachan would refer to several times as the one that could have cost them the league title. Ironically former ICT hero Mark Brown was in the Celtic goal and at the wrong end of another ‘Ballistic' result. 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. For the first 41 minutes Celtic looked well in control but John Rankin's converted penalty in 42 minutes spurred ICT on to a great second half performance and ultimate victory - all despite losing David Proctor to a red card. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink had scored in both the 24^th and 25^th 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. The third goal came from Don Cowie whose superb performances and goals were proving vital. The calendar year was completed in a very creditable eighth spot and there was a double celebration when the SPL December awards for manager and player went to Craig Brewster and Marius Niculae.

2008 started with the 16^th attempt to beat Aberdeen but the away league match ended 1-0 to the Dons thanks to a late Barry Nicholson penalty. Three days later it was back to winning ways with a convincing 3-0 home defeat of Gretna. This was to be ICT's last win until the next match against Gretna in April.

After leaving Inverness Donald Park became assistant manager at Raith Rovers for a short period before moving on 10 January to be assistant to new Hibs' manager Mixu Paatelainen. By coincidence the duo's first match was a Scottish Cup tie at Easter Road against ICT two days later. With the help of Park's inside knowledge Hibs easily won 3-0. A week later it was another big match, at home to Rangers in the league and once more in front of Setanta's cameras. ICT lived dangerously but a battling performance looked like earning a point until Rangers' substitute Jean-Claude Darcheville scored 90 seconds from time. Two blank Saturdays meant no more football in January but as usual the month was dominated by transfer talk and action.

Transfer activity usually resumes in January but this season it started early when, in December, Dean McDonald went back to former club Gillingham on trial. Things did not work out and he returned north for a few months before heading for Canada in March, returning to Inverness in April and being released at the end of the season. Stuart McCaffrey had been finding a regular first team slot difficult to achieve so in January he went off on loan to St Johnstone then signed a deal with the Perth club at the end of the season. John Rankin had fallen down the midfield pecking order and his departure was known in advance of the transfer window. After considering a number of options he joined Hibs. Alan Morgan moved to Kilmarnock after a short loan spell at St Johnstone. Rory McAllister went off on loan to Peterhead but returned for the tail end of the season. Phil McGuire signed a 2 ½ year permanent deal following his loan from Dunfermline. There was a financial bonus for the club when Barry Robson was transferred from Dundee United to Celtic for £1.25 million - his May 2003 move from Inverness to Tayside included a clause giving ICT a share of any future transfer fee.

February was a disappointing month but the 1-1 away draw at St Mirren on the ninth did include the club's 1000^th goal scored by skipper Grant Munro. It was the same score at home to Dundee United a week later then three defeats on the road - 3-1 at Motherwell (the club's 500^th league match), 2-0 against Hibs and 2-1 at Celtic Park. March was no better with a 3-0 defeat at home to Hearts, 0-1 away to Falkirk, 1-4 at Kilmarnock (ICT's 600^th senior match) then a pulsating 4-3 defeat at home to Aberdeen. This match on 29 March will be remembered as a classic despite the result. It was 2-2 at half time then in the interval ICT were reduced to ten men with Russell Duncan's dismissal - he had been booked for an over exuberant celebration of his 39^th minute goal then he kicked the ball into the stand after the Dons equalised just before the break. A dramatic second half saw a goal for either side then a last gasp winner by Chris Maguire for Aberdeen, four minutes into added time. Maguire was suspiciously offside and there was amazement when Dons manager Jimmy Calderwood embraced the linesman! Grant Munro was less than complimentary to the officials as he left the pitch and was shown a red card in the referee's room ten minutes after the final whistle.

In early March the Gretna bubble burst and they were forced into administration. An immediate ten-point penalty was enforced and this should have eased any last remaining relegation worries for the rest of the lower SPL clubs. Instead there were rumours that, if Gretna went out of business before the end of the season, another team would be relegated. Crunch time was the period leading up to their match away to Aberdeen on 15 March - the administrator had doubts as to whether a team could be fielded and the media carried alternative league tables with points won against Gretna removed. ICT would lie ninth just three points from the foot. In the event the Aberdeen match went ahead and emergency SPL funding assisted temporary survival. Gretna were to survive to the end of the season but their existence beyond that was in grave doubt. On 29 March they lost to St Mirren and were formally relegated.

On 5 April Caley Thistle's long run of no wins (11 games) ended with a 2-1 victory away to Gretna - but the score flattered the home side. This was the last match before the SPL split and Caley Thistle took their place in the bottom six. Kilmarnock were soundly beaten 3-0 at home on the 19^th and April ended on a disappointing note with a 1-0 defeat away to Hearts. On 3 May Gretna came back north and were soundly beaten 6-1. Despite their troubles Gretna put up a strong performance but were eventually crushed by a new ICT SPL record score. The six goals came from six different players including Barry Wilson who had spent March on loan to St Johnstone. This move, in his testimonial year, had looked like the end of his long ICT career but he came back to produce some stirring performances, score his 82^nd and 83^rd goals (and become the club's second top goalscorer) and earn a new deal. The final match on 17 May saw St Mirren come to Inverness but, despite creating chances, neither side could score and the whistle went on another season. This still left the final league position undecided but two days later St Mirren lost to Rangers and ICT were confirmed in ninth spot.

Don Cowie ended an excellent first season in the SPL by taking all the ‘Player of the Year' titles and he was also the player with the most appearances - 41 out of a possible 42. Marius Niculae was top of the goalscoring charts with ten and Don Cowie was runner up with nine.

International recognition was achieved by a number of players at different levels - Dale Gillespie played for Scotland under 19s, Rory McAllister appeared for Scotland's under 21 side, young goalkeeper Andrew McNulty was named as a standby player for the Republic of Ireland under 19 squad in March, Richard Hastings returned to the Canadian full international side and Marius Niculae was reinstated to the Romanian team prior to Euro 2008. While the focus of attention is naturally the first team congratulations must go to the youngsters. The reserve side pushed hard for the SPL Reserve League title and finished as runners up to Celtic. Congratulations also to the under 14 and under 17 sides that won their respective age groups in Dublin's Umbro Cup in August.

At the annual Highlands and Islands Business Awards in November the club was presented with a Special Achievement Award to reflect the many successful aspects of the club in addition to football. On 7 September the ICT Supporters' Trust held a fund raising dinner and inaugurated a Hall of Fame for past players. It is intended that this will be an annual event and the first inductees were Bobby Mann, Mike Teasdale, Mike Noble, Alan Hercher and Jim Calder. Club secretary Jim Falconer received a special award for his long service on the administrative side of the club. In January the Rev Hugh Watt took over as club chaplain in succession to long-serving Arthur Fraser.

As has been the pattern most years the composition of the board changed during the season. Mike Crowe of Lifescan resigned due to a move back to his native United States and he was replaced by David Cameron. Alan Savage stood down as chairman in April and Rok's George Fraser took over the post.

The prelude to 2006/07 was dominated by the choice of pursuing an Intertoto Cup spot or making a pre season trip to Italy's Tuscany region. Hibs took one Intertoto place but ICT were named on the reserve list. Danish club Odense withdrew when they qualified for the UEFA Cup then a financial scandal in Italy led to the withdrawal of Palermo. It took until 9 June before things became clear. The extra place was allocated to France and ICT firmed up on Italy. They returned for pre season training on 21 June and left for Italy on 3 July with the World Cup in full swing. ICT easily won two matches against local sides then found themselves in the right place to share the excitement as Italy beat France on penalties to take the World Cup on 9 July.

There was the inevitable movement of players over the summer but in line with tradition this was kept to a minimum. Juanjo had struggled to regain a place in the team following injury and, after a loan spell at Hamilton, he went back to Granada CF in his native Spain. Chris Finnigan moved to Elgin, Dennis Wyness completed his signing from Hearts and John Rankin arrived from Ross County after protracted negotiations. There were three further departures in August as Tom Parratt went to Hamilton, David Proctor joined former manager Craig Brewster at Dundee United and Liam Fox moved to John Robertson's Livingston. Mike Fraser was primed for a loan move to Livingston but the deal foundered when no way could be found to bring him back at short notice should the need arise. His patient stint as understudy to Mark Brown was to be rewarded when Brown headed for Celtic in January. Darren Dods had been linked with a move south on many occasions but on 9 August it came to a head when he submitted a transfer request for family reasons - this was turned down but in January he signed a pre-agreement contract with Dundee United.

The highlight of the pre-season programme was Ross Tokely's testimonial against Sheffield United on Friday 21 July. 2500 turned out to honour the ten years' service of the full back and watch the Premiership side beat ICT 3-0. It is a measure of the respect held for Ross that former team mates Paul Sheerin, Paul Ritchie, Steve Hislop and Barry Robson came north to play a part in the celebrations. The pre-season also included a testimonial match for Clach's Bruce McCraw and matches at Elgin, Huntly, Peterhead (the only defeat) and Deveronvale. There was also a 3-0 home win against Ross County.

Newly-promoted St Mirren opened the SPL programme in Inverness on 29 July and celebrated their return to the top flight with a 3-1 victory. This did not auger well for Caley Thistle but, despite a difficult programme, August proved to be much better with draws against Aberdeen, Hibs and Celtic. The latter was played in Inverness in front of the Setanta cameras and Celtic took a 26^th minute lead through Stephen Pearson. An excellent second-half performance led to a deserved equaliser from defender Grant Munro ten minutes from time. Three days later Caley Thistle beat Dumbarton 3-1 to move into the third round of the CIS Insurance Cup and August finished with a 4-1 away defeat to Hearts. The score flattered the Tynecastle side and there was a further blow when late in the first half Dennis Wyness dislocated his shoulder which put him out of action for seven weeks. September's highlights were a 4-1 away win at Motherwell and 1-0 at home to Dunfermline. The low point was a 1-0 CIS Insurance Cup defeat at Falkirk.

There was drama at Ibrox on 14 October when Rangers were beaten for the first time by ICT. Rangers' keeper Lionel Letizi was reinstated to the side after injury at the expense of youngster Allan McGregor, who had filled in admirably. The move backfired on manager Paul le Guen as Letizi became the villain of the piece when he dropped a Craig Dargo shot in the 71^st minute and Graham Bayne was there to take advantage with a neat touch into the net. It was another ‘Ballistic' moment and it lifted ICT up to fifth in the league. This was perhaps not quite as amazing as the Celtic victory in February 2000 but it was without doubt the finest moment in the club's short SPL history. A home win against Falkirk and a 1-1 draw away to St Mirren led to a climb to fourth and to Charlie Christie being named SPL Manager of the Month for October. Heady days indeed and the highest spot achieved since SPL entry, apart from a very brief second spot in July 2005. The vagaries of football were amply illustrated by the contrasting fortunes of Christie and his predecessor Craig Brewster - on 29 October Brewster and assistant Malky Thomson were sacked as the Dundee United management team after just ten months. Coincidentally 24 hours later Steve Paterson was appointed Peterhead manager with former Ross County manager Neale Cooper as his assistant.

November was a disappointing month with defeats to Hibs and Celtic as well as draws with Aberdeen and Hearts - but it was a difficult run of games and little was expected. The 2-0 Hibs defeat included a penalty goal after Mark Brown had brought down Chris Killen and been shown a red card. Substitute ‘keeper Mike Fraser came on for the last nine minutes and, with Brown suspended, he also played at Celtic Park a week later - the 3-0 win for Celtic was no reflection on Fraser's performance and he set himself up well to take his chance when the goalkeeping spot became vacant in January. The early matches in December extended the poor run with defeats to Motherwell, Dundee United and Kilmarnock before a 0-0 draw at home to Dunfermline. None of this gave confidence for the visit to Inverness of Rangers - but football is a funny old game.

The home SPL match against Rangers on 27 December 2006 was another classic that will be talked about for a long time. Rangers were in the midst of a revival when they came north to play this live Setanta TV match. Caley Thistle went behind to a Nacho Novo penalty but captain Darren Dods equalised just before half time. ICT were the better side throughout the second half but it looked like ending 1-1 until John Rankin struck in added time with a dipping shot from over 25 yards that completely fooled Rangers ‘keeper Allan McGregor. A second victory over Rangers this season and a major blow to the Glasgow side - one game and eight days later manager Paul Le Guen left ‘by mutual consent' to be replaced by Scotland manager Walter Smith. For Caley Thistle hopes of a top six finish were once more raised. The year was not quite over and the vagaries of the game were well illustrated when Caley Thistle lost 3-1 away to Falkirk on 30 December (with Ian Black sent off) and ended the calendar year in tenth spot. This changed just two days later with a New Year's Day home 2-1 victory against St Mirren and a move up to eighth. With Dunfermline 13 points behind at the foot of the table, relegation was beginning to look very unlikely. A Spring revival for the Pars under new manager Stephen Kenny was to lead to an unexpectedly tight finish at this end of the table but Caley Thistle were never to be realistically drawn into the struggle.

The January transfer window opened to usual ICT speculation but this time some of it was real - Mark Brown left for Celtic and Darren Dods signed a pre-contract agreement to go to Dundee United in the summer. Ally Ridgers came back from Clach (on loan) to act as back-up to Mike Fraser and teenage ‘keeper Jonathon Smith replaced him on loan to Clach. Liam Keogh left for Peterhead, Stuart Golabek went to Livingston on loan and Markus Paatelainen joined from Cowdenbeath. Don Cowie was linked with a move from County and he signed a pre-contract agreement. Attempts to lure him south of the Kessock Bridge during January failed and his arrival had to await the close season.

The last Tennent's Scottish Cup campaign started on 6 January with an emphatic third round 6-1 win against Second Division high-fliers Stirling Albion. After 18 years a new sponsor is required after Tennent announced a switch of financial backing to the Scotland international side. January continued to be a good month with a 1-1 draw at Aberdeen in ICT's 100^th SPL match. John Rankin scored in the 86^th minute and a first victory over the Dons looked to be coming until Stevie Lovell equalised in the dying seconds. A 3-0 home win against Hibs preceded the league highlight of the month on the 28^th - home to Celtic with Setanta in attendance. Caley Thistle matched Celtic all the way but went behind in 37 minutes to a Derek Riordan goal. Graham Bayne headed an equaliser in 57 minutes and Caley Thistle pressed hard for a winner. Instead of that Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink grabbed a winner right on the ninety minutes then promptly earned a second yellow card for his exuberant celebrations in front of the visiting fans. January was a bad month for injuries to strikers when first Craig Dargo dislocated his shoulder against Hibs then, 30 seconds into the Celtic match, Dennis Wyness did exactly the same thing for the second time this season. Dargo was to be out for eight weeks and Wyness would not return until the final match of the season.

With the striking pressure now on Graham Bayne and Rory McAllister, backed up by Gary McSwegan, February started with an important home Scottish Cup tie against Dundee United. Russell Duncan scored a wonder goal to earn a 1-0 win and a money-spinning home draw in the quarter final against Celtic. 1-0 defeats to Hearts and Motherwell were not the best build-up to this important cup tie on 25 February but Caley Thistle turned in a five-star display. Graham Bayne's 18^th minute goal was all that separated the sides until the last couple of minutes and the headline writers were preparing imaginary headlines to highlight Caley Thistle's third Scottish Cup victory against Celtic. This all changed in dramatic circumstances with two minutes of regulation left when Stephen Pressley headed an equaliser. A replay was now on the cards but into added time Kenny Miller stunned the home camp when he netted a winner. There was disbelief, and not a few tears, but ICT were out of the cup in cruel circumstances.

It was back to the league and into March. A late Barry Wilson goal broke the deadlock at home to Dundee United on the third and led to a move up to seventh place - with a ‘top six' finish still possible. This hope vanished a week later at Kilmarnock with a 3-2 defeat. It would then have taken a mathematical miracle to reach the top six and it never happened. It may have been a reaction to this but one of the most disappointing league results came a week later when basement side Dunfermline came north and won 3-1. Not for the first time things were at a low ebb prior to an Old Firm match - this time away to Rangers on 31 March. Charlie Adam gave Rangers a 1-0 lead in 14 minutes but Craig Dargo struck nine minutes from time to keep ICT undefeated to Rangers in the SPL for the season. A 1-1 home draw against Falkirk on 14 April was not a match to write home about but defeating Motherwell 2-0 at home a week later, in the first post-split match, removed any lingering relegation doubts. A ‘game of two halves' at Tannadice on 28 April led to a 1-1 draw then three May matches were played for pride and places. A 1-0 defeat at Falkirk was disappointing, 2-1 at home to Dunfermline finally sealed their relegation fate then the season ended with 1-0 away win against St Mirren - this could have been vital to the Saints survival but that had been settled the previous week and this was of less moment. It was however good for ICT and for Stuart McCaffrey who came into the side at the expense of the departing Darren Dods and scored the winner.

Caley Thistle ended the season in eighth place with 46 points - one place below last season but well above relegated Dunfermline. Graham Bayne was the only player to feature in all 43 matches - 38 league (including nine substitute appearances) and five cup. Craig Dargo was top goalscorer with 12 goals (10 league and two cup). A number of players passed important milestones - Ross Tokely became the first player to reach 400 appearances and he finished the season on 401. Barry Wilson reached the 300 mark (and ended the season on 310) and Richard Hastings made his 300^th appearance on the last game of the season - both players over two spells at the club.

The club was represented on the international front by five players. Mark Brown was capped at Scotland B level on 14 November 2006 when he came on for the second half in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland. The match ended 0-0. After a three year gap Richard Hastings was recalled to the Canadian international squad for their 3-0 victory in Bermuda on 25 March. Rory McAllister made three substitute appearances for the Scotland under 20 side with the highlight being a two-game tour on the west coast of Canada in preparation for the under 20 World Cup in that country in summer 2007. Preparations for Canada continued with a match against Northern Ireland on 24 March and McAllister scored in the 4-0 victory after coming on at half-time. His ICT colleague Zander Sutherland was brought on for the last 20 minutes to make his debut. In the event neither was chosen for the final World Cup squad. Youngster Iain Vigurs completed the international quintet with a 35-minute appearance for the Scotland under 19 team in their 2-0 victory over Austria at Firhill on 1 May.

Off the field a new chairman took over the reigns in August. Alan Savage, managing director of engineering recruitment consultants Orion, took over from David Sutherland with the latter pledging to transfer Tulloch's shares to a new Inverness Sports Trust and to top this up with a £200,000 donation. Lifescan Scotland's Mike Crowe also joined the Board. The AGM on 24 August ratified these appointments and a pre-tax profit of £220,000 for year ending 31 May 2006 was announced. This compared with a loss of £102,415 the previous year with the outgoing chairman highlighting an increase in season ticket holders and average attendance. The Members Club, which had been formed in 1994 to represent the interests of the two constituent clubs, dissolved after an EGM vote and its minimum 10% voting rights passed to the ICT Supporters Trust.

Towards the end of the season discussion took place on the possibility of once more submitting an application for an Inter Toto Cup slot. The confusion of last season had left management wary and the answer came from an unexpected source. As part of the ‘Highland 2007' celebrations an Elton John concert was arranged for the stadium on 15 July and there would have been no time for the pitch to recover before round one of the cup. This settled the matter and it was decided to repeat last season's successful training camp in Tuscany. The players thus headed off for a well earned break then a trip to Italy and back to the challenge of the SPL.

After the SPL honeymoon of 2004-05 this season was expected to be all about survival. It started that way but great performances and results led to a push for a top six finish and Europe via the Intertoto Cup. In the event seventh place was achieved, one better than 2004/05, the points total was considerably higher at 58 but Hibs took the one allocated Intertoto Cup spot. This was not quite the end of the Intertoto saga. UEFA announced that Scotland (therefore ICT) were first reserve in case any club pulled out. The bad news was that this would not be known until 5 June, 16 days before pre season training started. The league cause was helped by the decline in fortunes of Livingston, Dunfermline and Dundee United and also Falkirk's difficulties in adapting to the top flight. On the managerial front there was disappointment when Craig Brewster was lured to Dundee United mid-season. John Docherty and Charlie Christie took temporary charge and, after three wins in a row, Christie was appointed to the top job (with the title of Head Coach) on a permanent basis with effect from 27 January. It was a popular choice made even better when he brought back Donald Park as his assistant.

Pre season training started on 29 June with two new faces - striker Craig Dargo and defender Tom Parratt. In a break from tradition Craig Brewster took his side to Denmark on 5 July for three pre season matches. They were based at the ground of premier league side FC Nordsjaelland at Farum, half an hour north of Copenhagen, with superb training facilities on hand. They played first division side Nykobing F Alliancen 24 hours after arrival in Denmark and lost 2-1. On 9 July the top match of the mini tour took place against FC Nordsjaelland at Farum. Caley Thistle bounced back from their earlier defeat to win 1-0 thanks to a David Proctor headed goal. Two days later the final match was against the amateurs of Hornbaek and the result was a confidence-inspiring 6-0 win. The following Saturday Colin Hendry's Blackpool came to Inverness and Richie Hart gave Caley Thistle a 1-0 win. On Tuesday 19 July it was off to Peterhead and the Buchan Cup. It ended 0-0 but Peterhead won the cup 7-6 on penalties. A week later the top team played its last pre-season match at Dingwall and lost 2-1 to Ross County.

The SPL campaign started at Falkirk on 30 July as the Bairns made their bow in the SPL and the First Division flag was ceremoniously hoisted at the magnificent Falkirk Stadium. Craig Brewster scored both goals in ICT's 2-0 win. A week later Rangers made their first competitive visit to Inverness in front of a record 7512 crowd and Barry Ferguson earned them a 1-0 win in what was a very close match. A 1-0 win against Dunfermline and draws with Kilmarnock and Dundee United earned sixth spot by the end of August. There was also a resounding 6-1 home win against Alloa in the CIS Cup. In the last two weeks of the summer transfer window Bryan Prunty moving to Airdrie United and Steve Hislop signing for Gillingham. To the delight of all at the club Dennis Wyness arrived on a season's loan from Hearts.

September was less successful with league defeats (all very close) to Motherwell, Hearts and Celtic and just one win - 2-0 against Dundee United at home in the CIS Cup. By the end of the month there was a slip to eighth. Three of the five October matches were draws (Aberdeen, Livingston and Rangers) and one was an excellent 2-1 away win against Hibs. The one defeat of the month was a bad one. The evening of 26 October was one to forget as Falkirk deservedly won 3-0. Eighth place was retained at the end of October and there was no change in November despite being undefeated in the league - a win against Dunfermline and draws with Kilmarnock and Dundee United. There was disappointment on Tuesday 8 November with defeat at the hands of arch rivals Livingston in the quarter final of the CIS Cup. It started well with a Craig Dargo goal in 54 seconds but this was cancelled out by a Livingston goal just before the interval. A Paul Dalglish goal three minutes from the end of extra time was enough to see Livi through to the semi-final. Mark Brown made his 150^th appearance in this match and it was 150 in a row. December was much better - two 2-0 wins (against Motherwell and Hibs) and draws with Hearts, Celtic and Aberdeen earned a climb to seventh spot with Craig Brewster being named Bank of Scotland Premierleague Manager of the Month. The Motherwell victory was rather against the run of play but the victory against Hibs on 26 December (the club's 500^th competitive game) was well deserved. In between a 0-0 draw away to Hearts ended the high-flying side's 100% record and a 1-1 home draw with Celtic could have gone either way. Craig Dargo scored in a record 31 seconds but John Hartson equalised in 21 minutes then Dargo saw his penalty on the half-hour mark saved by Artur Boruc. On Hogmanay a visit to Aberdeen ended 0-0 but it was an exciting encounter despite the lack of goals.

The new year started with Craig Brewster's 50^th game in charge - and in the event his last. The home Tennent's Scottish Cup tie on 7 January against Ayr United did not go according to plan. Brewster made five changes but the new formation did not really click and it ended 1-1. The real trauma of the season started on 10 January when Gordon Chisholm was sacked as manager of Dundee United. Speculation that chairman Eddie Thompson would move for Craig Brewster started even before Chisholm finally left. When Brewster came north from Dunfermline in November 2004 it was known that his first love was Dundee United and that he would relish the chance to return to Tannadice as manager. All in Inverness just hoped that this would be later rather than sooner. Talks began on 11 January and two days later agreement was reached all round. Brewster left for Dundee United taking with him assistant manager Malcolm Thomson and coaches Steve Campbell and Peter Davidson. For the third time in just over three years Director of Football Graeme Bennett set out to find a new manager. Coaches John Docherty and Charlie Christie took charge in the meantime and their first challenge was to handle two games in three days.

Livingston came to Inverness the day after Brewster left and were soundly beaten 3-0. On the morning of the game the club was represented in depth at the funeral of team coach driver Tony Fraser. Tony lost his long fight for life on 11 January and will be remembered fondly by all. He drove the team up and down the country from day one but he was much more than a driver. He took a great interest in everything about the club and was a friend and confidant to players and officials alike. This interest never waned and even close to the end he would talk football for hours. His son Alan is a worthy successor in the driver's seat. Alan was in post just two days later as the team headed for the cup replay at Ayr with Sky TV broadcasting the match live. Despite a delayed arrival (due to technical problems with the bus) and heavy rain ICT recorded a 2-0 win - thanks to a goals from Craig Dargo (a penalty) and Dennis Wyness.

The interim management team took their side to Falkirk the following Saturday with the odds in their favour. Falkirk had not won a home league game all season but, of course, this had to change sometime. Caley Thistle powered to a 4-1 win to ensure they would not be the ones to end that particular record. The result did however give the interim management team of Christie and Docherty a 100% record and strengthened Christie's credentials for the permanent post. After much heart searching he threw his hat in the ring and after speculation linking many others with the post a press conference was called on 27 January. It was no surprise when the new manager was revealed as Charlie Christie assisted by Donald Park - with the titles of head coach and assistant head coach respectively.  The club looked forward with confidence to this blend of a football man wedded to the club and another with a long successful history in management and many contacts throughout the country.

The new management team took charge at a time when SPL survival was virtually if not mathematically assured but it was still going to be hard. Park had seen it all before but for Christie this was his first step on the managerial ladder and to start in the SPL was a major challenge. History was however on his side as Craig Brewster had successfully done exactly that in November 2004. In the January transfer window Juanjo moved to Hamilton on loan and in the event did not return to the club. A bad leg injury had kept him out the game for seven months and he could not break back into a team that had grown in SPL stature without him.   

The Christie/Park partnership had a baptism of fire when Rangers came north on Sunday 29 January. The match was live on Sky TV and the 3-2 win for Rangers ended Caley Thistle's 11 game unbeaten run. TV pictures confirmed that the home side had been unlucky - one Rangers goal was illegal (Marvin Andrews ‘scored' with his arm) and a penalty should have been awarded when Ian Murray handled in his own box. At the end of January ICT sat proudly in sixth spot. The following Saturday it was Round 4 of the Tennent's Scottish Cup and Partick Thistle were the visitors. It was a hard match which ended 2-2 with the second Partick goal coming from the penalty spot in the dying seconds. It was a bitter result to take but it set up another lucrative replay on 15 February, with Sky TV once more covering the game. In between there were draws with Dunfermline (2-2) and Kilmarnock (3-3). The Killie game was a classic which could have gone either way and was a fine advert for the SPL. The Partick cup tie turned out to be a major disappointment. It ended 1-1 after extra time but Partick won the penalty shoot-out decisively. There was one more February match and a 4-2 win away to Craig Brewster's Dundee United ensured that sixth place was retained.

Into March and a poor start with a 1-0 home defeat to Motherwell. A stirring performance at home to high-flying Hearts on 11 March ended in a goal-less draw. On Wednesday 22 March there was a traumatic visit to Celtic Park where the home fans gathered in droves to celebrate the life of the late Jimmy Johnstone. The new ICT record crowd of 57451 witnessed a narrow 2-1 win for Celtic. It was more emphatic than the score suggests as Richie Hart's goal was merely a consolation in the final minute. The following Saturday Hibs were beaten 2-0 at Easter Road and March ended in sixth place. It was not to last long. The ‘Top 6' race came to a head on April Fool's Day with the visit of Aberdeen on the second last Saturday before the league split. ICT were in sixth spot but Aberdeen won 1-0 and Caley Thistle slipped to eighth. Now it was all down to an away match at Livingston on 8 April. John Robertson's new side were ten points adrift at the foot of the SPL and looking doomed. They had to win this match to give them any remote chance of survival. Caley Thistle had to win and both Motherwell and Aberdeen had to drop points. Livi won 2-1 but for ICT the result was academic - Aberdeen beat Hibs 1-0 to clinch the top six spot. The aim was now to beat last season's points total and overtake Motherwell for seventh spot. Motherwell's visit to Inverness the next Saturday thus took on some significance. Craig Dargo scored for a 1-0 home win and the first target was reached - the 46 points already on the board was more than last season's tally of 44.

The second target came within sight on 22 April when Craig Brewster's Dundee United were beaten 1-0 in Inverness. This set up an interesting visit to Livingston the following Saturday. Livi needed a miracle and in the event results elsewhere did send them to Division One. Livingston old boy Barry Wilson scored a goal in 56 minutes direct from a free kick to hammer the final nail in Livi's SPL coffin. Motherwell's 3-2 defeat by Dunfermline was one of the results that relegated Livingston but it also assured ICT of seventh place. The following Wednesday Falkirk came north for the last ICT home match of the season. A rather dull match was livened by a superb goal from 30 yards by Russell Duncan and Craig Dargos's 20^th goal of the season. The 2-0 win extended the SPL unbeaten run to a record four - and four shut-outs at that. Reserve goalkeeper Mike Fraser was given a first start instead of Mark Brown whose record 176 appearances in a row came to an end. 

Just one game to go and it was off to Dunfermline on Saturday 6 May. The first half was flat but the second burst into life when Alan Morgan scored from 25 yards in the 53^rd minute. There were no more goals so the team finished with an impressive 58 points and a run of five wins out of five after the split. In a strange quirk of the league split ICT finished with more points than fourth placed Hibs. Craig Dargo ended the season as top goalscorer on 20 - and topped it off by taking the Players' Player and Official Website Player of the Year trophies. Darren Dods also took two awards - Supporters' Player and Matchday Programme Player of the Year. Mark Brown won the Supporters' Club Player of the Year cup. Mark Brown made the most appearances with 44 out of a possible 45 - Darren Dods was one behind on 43. With a job well done the players headed off for a break in Magaluf.

At the AGM on 28 November shareholders voted unanimously in favour of the club reverting to a private company and this allowed a £400,000 cash injection from Tulloch Ltd to be made. The AGM also saw Ken Mackie stand down as chairman after three and a half years and his predecessor David Sutherland resume the role. David Sutherland joined the four-man SPL board in August 2005. In March Nigel Spiller left the Board after five years due to pressure of work following his relocation to the Luton area. On the administrative front there were changes to reflect the increased workload and organisational pressures that come with an established SPL club. The main move was the resurrection of the role of Chief Executive with chartered accountant Mike Smith taking office on 1 June. The first wedding ceremony at the stadium took place on 23 July when staunch supporters Emma Stokes and Kevin Fraser tied the knot on the centre spot. Tulloch Caledonian Stadium was chosen as the venue for a Scotland Futures international against Turkey on 15 March. Mark Brown, Craig Dargo and Ian Black featured for Scotland but they lost narrowly 3-2. There was a large local support (and a fair few vocal Turks) which resulted in a 15 minute kick-off delay. The SFA delegation was impressed by the whole operation and support. Further international matches in Inverness are a distinct possibility. The ICT Supporters Trust was launched on 25 August and its first 8-person board was elected in advance of the inaugural AGM on 17 November. Les Kidger was appointed chairman at the first board meeting on 23 November - interim chairman Allan Sellar then stepped down. A dialogue was established between Club and Trust at Chairman level and this should pay dividends in the years to come.

Another momentous season - a new manager, top-flight survival, half a season at ‘home' in Pittodrie, two new stands at the renamed Tulloch Caledonian Stadium and SPL football in Inverness. The club's second decade started on 10 July with a friendly at Brora - just 24 hours after finally gaining entry to the Bank of Scotland Premierleague. It had been a long, hard struggle after winning the First Division Championship, but the uncertainty ended thanks to a groundshare arrangement with Aberdeen, a positive vote by the SPL member clubs and the cessation of appeals by Partick Thistle.

Replacements in the squad were required for Charlie Christie (retired), Bobby Mann (to Dundee), Paul Ritchie (to Brechin) and David Bingham (to Gretna). Graham Bayne (from Ross County) was already in place, after signing a pre-contract agreement. Stuart Golabek succeeded Bobby Mann as captain and July signings were defenders Darren Dods and Richard Hastings (returning for his second spell at the club), midfielders Liam Fox and Ian Black and Spanish forward Juanjo Carricondo Perez.   

The players returned for pre-season training not knowing where they would be playing but by the time they visited Brora the future was clearer. They romped home 7-0 but this was followed by disappointing draws at Huntly (1-1) and Lossiemouth (0-0). The usual diet of local friendlies was supplemented by visits to Inverness by Queens Park Rangers and Hartlepool with both matches ending 1-1. Sandwiched between these games were a 10-2 win away to Deveronvale and a 1-1 draw at Forfar. A 5-0 away win at Elgin was followed by a 6-0 home victory against Clach in the Inverness Courier Challenge Cup - Charlie Christie captained the side to mark his retiral. The final pre-season match was a 3-1 home win against Ross County in the semi-final of the Inverness Cup.

Behind the scenes preparations were being made for a season on the road but the burden of travel to/from Aberdeen was eased by sponsorship from Rapsons. Season ticket sales were brisk despite the 200-mile return trip for each home game. Inverness Medical confirmed that their shirt sponsorship would continue with a new ‘One Touch' logo. Morven Reid took the hot seat as Operations Manager. Sandy MacKenzie replaced Kenny Cameron on the board at the start of the season but, in December, he stood down in favour of former chairman David Sutherland. Emily Goodlad relinquished her post as physio in November and David Brandie took over.

The First Division championship flag was presented to the club on Friday 6 August by Lord Macfarlane at an Inverness Town House ceremony, and 24 hours later the SPL adventure started at Livingston. A comprehensive 3-0 defeat brought everyone back down to earth. The national media poured criticism on the Highlanders and made them firm relegation favourites. The Herald's chief sports writer Graham Speirs was a prominent prophet of doom and he promised to eat his hat if ICT avoided the dreaded drop back to the SFL. He was to eat both his words and his hat!

The first ‘home' SPL match at Pittodrie on Sunday 15August was successful on the field (a 2-0 win against Dunfermline) but the attendance was not great. It was announced as 1972 but this apparently failed to include season tickets - the number was understood to be nearer 3000. The honour of scoring the club's first SPL goal went to skipper Stuart Golabek. The crowd on the 22^nd was rather greater for the visit of Celtic live on Setanta TV. The defining moment of the afternoon was the 17^th minute red card for Juanjo after an altercation with Neil Lennon. Lennon went down and a penalty was awarded - TV evidence vindicated Juanjo and he was declared innocent following an appeal to the SFA. ICT had to play on with ten men and succumbed 3-1. On the 24^th there was a CIS Cup tie away to Ross County and a narrow 1-0 victory. The final SPL match of August was a 2-1 defeat away to Dundee United on the 28^thand ICT ended August in eleventh place. The squad was strengthened in early August by the signing of Scotland Under-21 striker Bryan Prunty from Aberdeen.

It was back along the A96 to Aberdeen on the 11^th to play Hibs who won 2-1. On Sunday 19 September it was another first - a visit to Ibrox. The home side were clear favourites and they did win, but it was a close 1-0. On 22 September it was the third round of the CIS cup against Motherwell. An SFA/SFL dispensation to play the tie at home came with strings attached - the terracing and enclosure could not be used. For those unable to make it to Pittodrie this was a chance to see their team in Inverness, but it was no happy homecoming.  Motherwell ran out worthy 3-1 winners against a below-par ICT.

The following Saturday when Robbo took his team to Tynecastle but it was not a happy day. Hearts won 1-0 and injuries compounded the misery. Richie Hart left the field with a back spasm then Steve Hislop was stretchered off with torn knee ligaments. With no points in September, Caley Thistle propped up the SPL.

October started with two ‘home' matches - a 1-1 draw with Motherwell then a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen. There was a well-won point at Kilmarnock on the 23^rd and a 2-1 victory against Dundee the following Wednesday thanks to two Graham Bayne goals. Reserve ‘keeper Mike Fraser came on for the injured Mark Brown with three minutes left - his first appearance after 69 bench slots.

On Sunday 24 October there was great sadness at the passing of Honorary Life-President Norman Miller, after a short illness. Norman was a former chairman of Caledonian and was deeply involved in the Caledonian/Thistle merger. What eventually proved to be John Robertson's last game in charge was a 2-0 victory against Livingston at Pittodrie on the 30^th. Seven points out of a possible nine in three October matches pushed ICT up to ninth and earned John Robertson the ‘Manager of the Month' award. When Hearts manager Craig Levein was appointed manager of Leicester City John Robertson was immediately touted as favourite to replace him. An approach was made to ICT and, with compensation settled, Robertson was unveiled as Hearts new head coach on 3 November. Donald Park went with him and the search began for a successor. Parky agreed to take charge on a caretaker basis for the away 1-1 draw at Dunfermline on the sixth before heading for Edinburgh. Thus the Robertson/Park era came to an end and it was time to move on.

At the PLC's AGM on 8 November a proposal to convert back to a private company was put forward - this would release the company from the restraints of the Stock Exchange and allow an investor to hold in excess of 30% of shares without the need to bid for all shares. A show of hands was 81/10 in favour, but a full poll resulted in 65% for and 35% against - with 75% needed to pass the motion it failed. This caused a major row which threatened the economic fabric of the club. The economic uncertainty led to a delay in the appointment of a new manager. John Docherty and Charlie Christie took charge for two games and had a baptism of fire on the 13^th - Celtic in Glasgow and a 3-0 defeat. Their second match was a 1-1 draw with Dundee United match.

The failed bid to revert to a private company resulted in major shareholders Tulloch being unable to commit new funds to the club. In turn this created an air of confusion around the club but, following behind-the-scenes meetings, the fog gradually began to lift. The search for a new manager was declared over on 25 November with the unveiling of Craig Brewster and Rangers' coach Malcolm Thomson. Charlie Christie took over the role of first team coach. The Brewster/Thomson era began at Easter Road on 27 November. Juanjo gave a 34^th minute lead but, in a very tight match, Hibs came back to win 2-1. ICT finished the month in ninth place but the relegation zone was very crowded.

Foundation work for two new stands to meet SPL standards had already taken place but full construction work began on 29 November. The necessity for this to be completed before the end of the season was clear, but there was a new sense of urgency when an early return to Inverness became a possibility. Informal soundings of SPL chairmen revealed support for this move. Timing was now vital and an SPL board meeting held the key. If an early return was to be allowed, the target date was the home match against Dunfermline on 29 January.

A book covering the club's ten-year history, ‘Going Ballistic!' by club historian Ian Broadfoot, was launched on 1 December at a buffet lunch in Caledonian Stadium, attended by 40 guests. The event was fully covered by the media and the resultant publicity helped to ensure bumper sales in the run-up to Christmas. It was marketed through the club shop, the web site, Debenhams and bookshops in Inverness, Nairn, Elgin and Grantown. Any doubts about its economic viability were soon dispelled by healthy sales and, on the day of the staff Xmas party (21 December) it was announced that it was the number one best seller in Inverness.

In early December there were two decisive Pittodrie SPL matches - against Rangers on the fifth and Hearts on the 11^th. Remarkably both ended 1-1. The Scottish Cup third round draw took place on the day of the Hearts game and St Johnstone were drawn at home. Building work at the stadium led to a switch to Dingwall. Between the Rangers and Hearts matches - on 7 December - there were celebrations in Inverness as the five-man SPL executive voted unanimously to allow the club to play SPL games at Caledonian Stadium from 29 January - on condition that 6000 covered seats were provided and under-soil heating was installed.

An EGM of the PLC was arranged for 20 December to revisit the conversion to a private company and this time the motion was passed on a unanimous show-of-hands. Work on the two new stands had already started but this vote strengthened the economic backing. The total cost of the two stands was estimated at £1m with Highland Council lending £400,000, matching funds from Tulloch PLC and the football club investing £200,000. The timetable was very tight but steelwork appeared above ground on 17 December and within days the shape of the south stand was clearly visible. Despite snow, frost and even a hurricane, Tulloch's army of workmen kept the project on target for 29 January. There were two more away matches before the turn of the year - a 2-1 win at Motherwell a 0-0 draw away to Aberdeen.

Monday 3 January 2005 was a busy day on all fronts - the last ‘home' match at Pittodrie and the start of undersoil heating installation at Caledonian Stadium. The 2-0 defeat by Kilmarnock was very disappointing given a good ICT performance. The Pittodrie groundshare started amidst a wave of enthusiasm for SPL football but nerves jangled as the true cost became known. In the end all was well and firm friendships were built between the Inverness and Pittodrie staff leading to mixed feelings when the final ‘home' game in the far east was over. Craig Brewster's playing debut was delayed until the Scottish Cup tie against St Johnstone on 9 January. It felt strange to play at ‘home' in Dingwall and it took a goal from captain Stuart Golabek to snatch a 1-0 victory.

Amidst difficult conditions work at Caledonian Stadium continued and on Saturday 8 January the last length of undersoil heating pipe was laid. This gave the pitch three weeks to recover before the first SPL match. With the cladding on the south stand nearly complete and the framing of the north stand well under-way Tulloch were confident that all would be ready for 29 January. There were two SPL matches before the Inverness return - at Dens Park on the 15^th Dundee won 3-1 despite one of the best ICT displays of the season and a week later there was revenge at Almondvale as Livingston were whipped 4-1. On 20 January Craig Brewster announced his first signing; Danish midfielder Bajram Fetai joined from Rangers on loan until the end of the season.

The final stage in the stadium upgrading exercise was the formal granting of the appropriate certificates then on 27 January Tulloch chairman David Sutherland formally handed back the upgraded stadium to the club and it was all systems go. Saturday 29 January was another historic day in the short history of the club as the upgraded stadium (now the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium) was formally opened and the team ran out to play Dunfermline. The build up to the match had captivated the north and the home stands were a sell-out. It was  on with the show and any worries about a let-down disappeared as Caley Thistle began to dominate and Barry Wilson scored a classic goal in 35 minutes to give a deserved lead. The scoring was completed by Craig Brewster's goal in 74 minutes. Three valuable points, eighth place at the end of January, and a nine point gap over bottom club Livingston.

The following Saturday it was round four of the Scottish Cup and another A96 trip to play Aberdeen at Pittodrie. It ended in a 2-1 defeat. The following Tuesday Forres were beaten 4-1 in the final of the Inverness Cup. Sunday 13February was a major date in the calendar - Celtic's first visit to Inverness on league business. It was a sell-out and fans flocked from all over the country. They were devastated when overnight snow caused a late cancellation due to a waterlogged pitch. That left just one more match in February - 1-1 away to Dundee United on the 19^th. Caley Thistle now lay 8^th - ten points clear of Livingston at the foot.

On 17 February 80 supporters attended the inaugural meeting of the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Trust. The meeting was chaired by MP David Stewart and a guest speaker was James Proctor of the Trust movement's parent body Supporters Direct. Names were taken of those interested in assisting with the Trust formation and a steering group assembled. This group quickly set to work and the launch date was set for 25 August.

Hibs came to town on Wednesday 2 March and were soundly beaten 3-0. Three days later it was back to Ibrox and the home faithful were stunned when Bryan Prunty’s last-minute goal earned the Highlanders a point. The purple patch continued the following week at Tynecastle when John Robertson’s side were beaten 2-0. These results were no flukes – the team was playing with a confidence and spirit that was a joy to behold and relegation worries were beginning to fade. The rearranged visit of Celtic on the 16th was not quite so successful. Celtic won 2-0 but it was a sign of the times that home fans were so disappointed. March’s performances were, however, enough to earn Craig Brewster the Bank of Scotland Premierleague manager of the month award. Into April and a home 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen on the second then a 1-0 win at Kilmarnock on the 9th pushed ICT up to seventh. Motherwell came north on Tuesday 12th and ICT won 1-0. There was just one match to go before the top six places were decided and Motherwell were just three points ahead.

It all came to a head on Saturday 16th with Dundee as visitors to Inverness. ICT were 3-0 up after 65 minutes and Motherwell were one down at Kilmarnock. A top six finish was possible at that point but two Dundee goals and a Motherwell equaliser ended all hopes. The 3-2 victory did however ensure that SPL survival was a mathematical certainty. At least eighth place was assured and there was now little to play for except pride and the additional cash if seventh place was secured. Fringe players were given the chance to shine but the results of the last five matches were disappointing – 0-0 away to Dunfermline, 1-2 at Kilmarnock, 0-1 at home to Livingston, 1-1 at Dundee and finally a 1-0 defeat to Dundee United. The United game on 21 May brought down the curtain on a fantastic season but the defeat meant that Kilmarnock took seventh spot. Home fans were disappointed with the tail-end results but eighth was still a remarkable achievement.

Ross Tokely’s tremendous season led to him scooping the pool with all five player awards. Mark Brown started all 42 games although an October injury put this in doubt. In the event reserve ‘keeper Mike Fraser made two substitute appearances but Brown’s 100% starting record was intact. Brown also finished the season having played 133 games in a row – an ever present for three seasons. Graham Bayne played in all 42 games of 2004-05 but his total included eight substitute appearances. Top goalscorer was Barry Wilson with ten.