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Marius Makes Romanian Squad

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Many of you will have noticed the recent change in the sites banner. This is because CaleyThistleOnline.com would like to be among the first to congratulate Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC striker Marius Niculae on his inclusion in the 23 man squad who will be representing Romania in the UEFA Euro 2008 campaign.
Marius is one of the few players currently playing in the SPL that will be taking part in this competition so whilst he is over there flying the flag for Caley Thistle, we thought it only right that the fans here at home (and around the globe) fly the flag for him and Romania and extend our support throughout the tournament.
Marius Niculae joined Inverness CT in July 2007. However, at one stage it looked like the man who's CV boasts past teams such as Dinamo Bucarest, Sporting, Standard Liege and FSV Mainz may not have been allowed to playi n Scotland when his initial application for a Work Permit had been refused. The Caley Jags have never been a team to give up that easy though and the fans through their weight behind the appeal which saw his application accepted at the second hearing.
Straight off the plane and with no real pre-season under his belt Marius was called into immediate action and made his first appearance for the club on 11th August 2007 at Fir Park against Motherwell FC. He never scored in that game, but we wouldn't have to wait too long to see him finding the back of the net when he slotted away 2 goals in our 3-1 League Cup win at home to Arbroath.
Scoring 2 at a time seemed to become his party piece and he repeated the feat against Hibernian, Kilmarnock and Gretna....leading us to victory on each occassion.
His professional attitude and obvious class quickly lead him to become a favourite among the fans, and he cemented that relationship during our home match agains Kilmarnock on the 19th April 2008 when, after scoring, he proceeded to leap the barrier and kiss the Romanian Flag of a fan which contained the words "Marius is Magic".
When Marius came to Inverness he stated that one of his ambitions was to refind his form and make a return to the National Team...with 29 caps and 13 goals under your belt for Romania, we hope this is the first in still many more to come.
Everyone here at CaleyThisleOnline.com hopes to see some more of the Marius Magic during the Euro 2008 Tournament, and we'll all be glued to our TV's when Romania kick off their first match against France on 9th June.
Join in the Euro 2008 Chat on the Fans Forum
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By Guest in News 2008-09 ·

Player of the Year 2007-08

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Don Cowie has now been confirmed as the CaleyThistleOnline.com Internet Supporters' Player of the Year for season 2007/08.
The voting came right down to the wire this year with second placed Ian Black chasing until the end and Marius Niculae chasing him for his second spot.
Late arrival Dougie Imrie also seems to be impressing fans and finished an admirable 6th place - a top achievement for someone who only played their first game for us in February!!!
No player has ever won this award more than once, so Don Cowie becomes the 8th individual to lay claim in the 8 seasons it has been running. He can now place his name up there alonside Bobby Mann, Barry Robson, Stuart Golabek, Liam Keogh, Ross Tokely, Craig Dargo and Barry Wilson.
Confirmation of this award has also completed Don's clean sweep of all of the recognised Player of the Year awards for 2007/08. The other Awards were....
Flybe Supporters’ Player of the Year
Players’ Player of the Year Supporters’ Club Player of the Year Matchday Programme Player of the Year
This is only the second time that someone has taken a clean sweep of all the awards, the other player was Ross Tokely who took them all in our first SPL season in 2004/05. Congratulations Don, and we'll get your trophy to you as soon as we can so you can add it to the collection. Below is a summary of how the scoring finished for the season as well as a list of the Monthly and Past Winners.... PLAYER POY Pts Don Cowie 72 Ian Black 63 Marius Niculae 51 Michael Fraser 47 Ross Tokely 39 Dougie Imrie 35 Barry Wilson 17 Grant Munro 14 Dennis Wyness 13 Roy McBain 11 Russel Duncan 10 John Rankin 7 David Proctor 6 Craig Brewster 5 Phil McGuire 3 Steven Watt 3 Graham Bayne 3 Richie Hart 3 Stuart McCaffery 0 Alan Morgan 0 Rory McAllister 0 Richard Hastings 0 Markus Paatelainen 0 Dean McDonald 0 Zbigniew Malkowski 0 ICT Player of the Month 2007/08 Month Player Aug '07 Marius Niculae Sept '07 Don Cowie Oct '07 Don Cowie Nov '07 Don Cowie/Marius Niculae Dec '07 Michael Fraser Jan '08 Ian Black Feb '08 Dougie Imrie Mar '08 Ross Tokely Apl '08 Dougie Imrie May '08 Dougie Imrie Past Winners Year Player 2000/01 Bobby Mann 2001/02 Barry Robson 2002/03 Stuart Golabek 2003/04 Liam Keogh 2004/05 Ross Tokely 2005/06 Craig Dargo 2006/07 Barry Wilson
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By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

ICT to train at JJB Sports Club

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{mosimage}CALEY THISTLE TRAIN WITH MEMBERS OF JJB SPORTS
Members of the JJB Sports Fitness Club on Inverness Retail Park are in for a bit of excitement when they work out, as Inverness Caledonian Thistle (ICT) Football Club will now be using the facilities as part of the team’s training regime.
The new partnership will see the first team use the facilities for both team and individual training sessions. In addition to utilising the gym equipment for stamina training, the group exercise studios will also be used for bespoke teamwork activities. The state-of-the-art facilities attracted ICT to JJB Sports and its members and staff are all very excited about the prospect of rubbing shoulders with local celebrities, as fitness club manager David Buchanan explains: “We’re delighted ICT has chosen to work with JJB Sports. The players are extremely professional when they visit the club and the team interacts very well with both the members and staff.”
Craig Brewster, Manager at ICT, added: “JJB Sports is the ideal training facility for us; the equipment on the gym floor provides a strenuous workout, whilst the studio spaces also allow us to concentrate on team building exercises. The staff are all extremely friendly and helpful and some of the instructors have helped us put together bespoke workout programmes for the team. We looked at all the local gyms and JJB Sports was the obvious choice, we cannot fault it.”
{mosimage} The new fitness club offers members exceptional facilities including a 10,000 square foot air conditioned gym, which is kitted out with the latest technology. The highlight is most certainly the stunning pool area that incorporates a swimming pool with 20 foot movie screen, two bubbling hot spas and a fibre optic lit steam room. Whilst those looking for a more relaxing workout can take advantage of the two group exercise rooms, one of which is a stylish, oriental 'Ki' mind and body studio for Yoga and Pilates.
There is also a new JJB Sports store now open above the fitness club, which is the first new-era store to open in Scotland. The new-look retail experience offers an extended footwear department, dedicated golf, bike and fitness equipment sections and a vast array of childrenswear lines such as the iconic Hello Kitty, as well as the existing popular football and menswear ranges.
For further information on JJB Sports log onto www.jjbsports.com.
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By Guest in News 2008-09 ·

Inverness CT 0-0 St Mirren - SPL

Despite the 0-0 scoreline this was a relatively entertaining game.
Dennis Wyness who will be playing for St Mirren next season could not score in his final game for ICT despite having a chance from two yards out and neither could Marius Niculae who - if speculation is to be believed - may also be moving on.
17/05/08 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 0 Team: Fraser, Tokely, Proctor, Hastings, McBain, Wilson (Hart 79), Duncan, Cowie, Imrie, Niculae (Bayne 72), Wyness (Black 57) SUBS: McAllister, Vigurs, Kerr, Malkowski
ST MIRREN 0 Team: Howard, Barron, Haining, Potter, McCay, Dorman, Mason (Hamilton 72), Murray, O'Donnell (McGinn 90), Mehmet, Dargo SUBS: Burns, Crighton, Docherty, McAusland, Smith
Referee Eddie Smith Attendance 378  
I think ICT will have been unhappy not have been ahead before being reduced to ten men as we had the better of the chances before Proctors dismissal. After that, while we still had opportunities to go in front, St. Mirren had us on the back foot at times and in the end a draw was about right.
Straight from the kick off we put ourselves under pressure when a slack Tokely pass across the centre of defence was seized upon by Dargo who picked the ball up and drove towards goal. Proctor was keeping close attention and eventually, when attempting to put in a challenge, only succeeded in bring down the former Inverness man resulting in a free kick to the Saints. Had Hastings not been tracking back with the ICT defender it could have been worse for Proctor but he was only awarded a yellow card. From the resultant free kick, taken twice after Niculae broke early from the wall, Home keeper Fraser easily held McCays shot.
ICT retaliated when a surging Imrie run down the left side resulted in a cross being fired across goal which found ICTs Player of the Season Don Cowie at the back post but he was unable to steer the ball into the net instead firing over much to the relief of Howard in the Buddies goal. Inverness were on the attack again when a McBain cross was knocked down by Paisley bound Wyness to Niculae but the Romanian was unable to dig the ball out from under his feet as he was surrounded by Saint Mirren defenders who cleared the danger. An Imrie free kick was the next attempt on goal but the former Bully Wee star sent the ball wide of the post. Imrie threatened again as more direct running down the left saw him cut infield and send in a shot high towards goal which Howard was able to deal with.
Saint Mirren threatened in spells in the first half as well. A superb cross field pass found right back Barron in acres of space. McBain was slow to close him down and gave the Saints man the time to send in a wicked ball right across the six yard box which left Fraser scrambling as Dargo closed in. Luckily for Inverness Dargo was unable to connect with the ball and it trickled out of play and away from danger. Yet again Dargo was involved as Saints built upon their good spell of possession. A Mehmet through ball found Dargo who headed towards goal but was shackled all the way by a determined Imrie who eventually won the ball off him continuing his strong start to the game.
Barry Wilson, fresh from signing a new 6 month deal at Inverness sent in a cross which Wyness attacked but he was unable to put Inverness in front. Wilson was next to threaten as he sent in a testing drive which Howard palmed to safety. A wonderful passing move down the right involving Wilson, Tokely and Cowie set Wyness up again but yet again he failed to find the target. Even more staggering was the miss from Wyness minutes later. The ball ricocheted in the box before dropping to the feet of Wyness who somehow contrived to miss from inches out. Marius Niculae had been having a quiet game so far. He was next to test Saints keeper Howard with a drive the just flew over. This was to be the final action of the first 45 minutes in which Inverness had had by far the better chances but Saints still looked threatening on occasions too.
Half Time: 0-0
Into the 2nd half and ICT nearly shot themselves in the foot again with another defensive mix up. Shoddy play at the back allowed Billy Mehmet the chance to put Saints in front but he was unable to take advantage as he blazed over. Inverness retaliated with a Niculae header which had Howard scrambling to save. A powerful effort from Saint Mirren's 22 was gathered by Fraser as the game started to open up a little. A Cowie half volley from a Wilson cross squirmed wide of the goal before Inverness were reduced to 10 men after another collision between Proctor and Dargo. With the ball on the far side touchline, a clever through ball sent Dargo scampering away towards goal with Proctor in hot pursuit. The players tangled and Proctor was shown a straight red for a professional foul leaving Inverness to play the remainder of the game with 10 men. Dorman tried his luck from the subsequent free kick but the ball flew over.
Imrie was causing problems down the left hand side and drew Barron into a crude foul which set up another chance for Inverness. The free kick found its way to Niculae who had his header cleared by the Buddies rearguard. Brewster shuffled his pack by withdrawing the misfiring Wyness and tightened up the midfield with Black coming on. Wyness was given a standing ovation by the Home crowd in what is likely to be his last game for ICT before joining Saint Mirren in the summer. With the withdrawal of Wyness, Niculae was left to plough a lone furrow up front and he was next to threaten when a darting run saw him squeezed off the ball by three Saint Mirren players. Roy McBain cut in from the left and drove towards goal before unleashing a thundering shot. Unfortunately the shot was hit with his right foot and the ball ended up heading towards the Moray Firth! Saint Mirren then nearly took the lead through an unlikely source as Tokely came close to sending the ball into his own net as Saint Mirren upped the stakes as the clock wound down. A cross to Dargo found the goal shy striker in space but his low shot was saved by Fraser.
There was a contentious moment when Bayne looked to have handled in the area with a cross cum shot that was drive at him. It was debateable whether he could have done anything about it but it might not have been too surprising if Eddie Smith had given a spot kick. Bayne, with plenty of time, inexplicably thumped the ball out for another corner under no pressure which prompted a verbal spat with Hastings over the needless pressure put under the ICT defence because of Baynes hurried clearance. Dargo threatened again with a shot that crept wide of the left hand post and Jim Hamilton was the man on the end of another Saint Mirren counter attack but he too was unable to put St. Mirren ahead as he shot at Fraser.
Despite a good start to the game ICT were clinging on at the end with only 10 men after Proctors dismissal. They should really have been ahead before then but were unable to take their chances with Wyness guilty of some awful misses. However Saints had some chances of their own and will have been disappointed not to have taken at least one of them.
It would seem that is Wyness's last game for ICT so best of luck to him wherever he might turn up next season. He's been a great player for ICT and I'm sorry to see him go.
He used to be shite, but now he's alright, walking in a Wyness wonderland. 
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By Guest in Reports 2007-08 ·

Season Ticket News

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Under 8s to get free season tickets Caley Thistle have unveiled season ticket prices for the 2008/09 season today (Wed May 14th). All price levels have increased by £10 for the whole season but there is one major initiative included in the press release from the club, and that is the introduction of free tickets for children under 8 years old who accompany an adult season ticket holder.....
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ICTFC : Wed 14th May 2008, 10:00AM 
Inverness Caledonian Thistle are poised to be the first SPL club to offer free season tickets to children under eight years of age. For next season, there will be an option for an adult season ticket holder to take a child of that age free of charge to all games excluding those with the Old Firm. Chief Executive Mike Smith said: "We're making this commitment because we feel that bringing more children to our games gives a launch pad for our future fan base. We believe we're the first in the SPL to do this. We are a community club and we want more young families to experience games. We already have a healthy family section containing more than 30% of our total season ticket holders. The Under 16’s in that section can get to see all of our SPL home games for about £3.50 per match. Hopefully, the boys and girls who benefit from this new offer will become regular supporters as the years pass. We believe these offers should mean that expense shouldn’t be a deterrent to children who are interested in watching Caley Thistle and SPL football.” Team manager Craig Brewster said: "I've been at a few clubs and this is the most innovative scheme I've seen to attract younger children. The board's decision is welcomed by the players and it all should add to the family atmosphere at the stadium next season." After freezing the majority of general season ticket prices for the past two seasons, there will be a small increase of £10 in all existing categories of season tickets for the 2008/09 season. Season tickets for the club's fifth SPL campaign can be acquired by phoning or calling at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium and go on sale from 10am on Thursday morning (15th).
   Main Stand North Stand  Family Enclosure Under 8's (with Adult) Adult   £340.00  £290.00  £210.00  £210.00 OAP/Student   £215.00  £160.00  £110.00  £210.00 Child  £140.00  £90.00  £70.00  £FREE Centenary Child   £110.00  £80.00  £55.00  £N/A  
Under 8’s Offer

An Under 8 is a child who is born on or after 9th August 2000. One Free Under 8’s Season Ticket holder per Adult Season Ticket holder in special section of the North Stand Adults Season Ticket is valid for all home SPL games. Under 8’s Season Ticket is valid for all home SPL games excluding Old Firm fixtures.   Priority given to Under 8’s Season Ticket holders to purchase their own seats for Old Firm games.  If not purchased the seat will be made available for general sale.
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By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

Testimonial Tickets Selling Fast ...

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MAKE A BRIEF STOP FOR YOUR BRIEFS Tickets for Barry Wilson's Testimonial match against a Liverpool XI on August 18th went on sale yesterday to priority categories (season ticket holders, shareholders and members of the Supporters' Trust, the Supporters' Club and the Centenary Club) and sold extremely rapidly all day. Barry's Testimonial Committee are particularly concerned that people in these categories do not lose out on this opportunity to purchase tickets and are now urging them to claim their tickets as soon as possible.
"People in priority categories are entitled to tickets over and above for their own use and during the day their has been a large uptake for extra tickets," said Testimonial Committee member Les Kidger. "I'm most definitely not being complacent and saying that this game is going to sell out, but if season ticket holders and priority groups, are looking for extra tickets we are definitely suggesting that they get down to the Caledonian Stadium or call the ticket office, as soon as possible to purchase them, especially if they want a number of seats together." Single tickets for season ticket holders are guaranteed until close of business on Saturday and all remaining tickets will then go on sale to the general public on Monday 19th. The match organisers have been overwhelmed by interest in the fixture ever since it was launched last Wednesday. "We are especially grateful to the staff at the Stadium who have been been of huge assistance to us in connection with this game which is clearly going to be a major occasion for football in Inverness ," said Les. Tickets are priced at £15, £7 for children and £40 for a group of two adults and two children.
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By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

Falkirk 2-1 Inverness CT - SPL

One goal each from Higdon and Finnigan in each half of this game won it for Falkirk.
Barry Wilson did score a penalty for ICT right at the end but it was too little too late.
 
03/05/08 The Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk FALKIRK 2 Higdon (28), Finnigan (68) Team: Supple, Aafjes, Scobbie, Mitchell, Barr, Cregg, McBride, Arfield (Latapy 59), Moutinho (Moffat 76), Finnigan (Stewert 86), Higdon SUBS: Barrett, Bradley, Ross, Olejnik
INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE 1 Wilson (90pen) Team: Fraser, Tokely, Proctor, Hastings, McBain, Wilson, Black (Duncan 56), Cowie, Imrie, Niculae (Vigurs 80), McAllister (Bayne 71) SUBS: Wyness, Hart, Kerr, Malkowski
Referee S Somers Attendance 5631 From CTO
One team gave a **** about the result and one didn't.  Can you tell which was which?  Between Wilson's wonderful chance early on and the late penalty, we couldn't have scored in a brothel.
The game was a carbon copy of when they beat us at TCS in March.  Our tactics against the Bairns are the footballing equivalent of the Munich treaty of 1938 - we gave them huge amounts of territory unnecessarily, which only made them stronger and more dangerous (that's the worst metaphor I've thought of in ages, but I'm sticking to it).  The two big differences today was that we missed Munro, and they had Higdon back - I thought he gave Proc a horrible time and he was the best player on the park.
It looked like we were trying to play 4-5-1 with Niculae deeper than Rory, but Rory couldn't hold up a baby, let alone a ball.  On the rare occasions that we tried putting passes together we had some success, so, true to Brewster Logic, we therefore decided to instead punt long balls.  And somehow, despite extra bodies in midfield, Falkirk could have driven a bus down the centre of the pitch without running over anyone.  Then in the second half our midfielders kept swapping all over the pitch, and the only consequence was that none of them were there to help when we were defending.  The first goal appeared to be hopeless marking; the second one was so easy that a bunch of traffic cones would have made it more difficult for the Falkirk attack than our defence.
And it's all I can do to stop myself launching into a tirade about Rory's performance and the decision to play him as a lone striker.  The nicest thing I can say about him is that he is a waste of space.  He is either lazy, cowardly, incompetent or a combination of the three.  And that meant that, on the rare occasion we got the ball up the pitch, we lost it again, quick as a flash.
Did Black get injured?  It meant we had to put up with the textbook Duncan performance of misplaced passes, poor positioning and multiple shots from distance that endangered only the ballboys behind the goal.
Positives?  Well, my all day breakfast at the Little Chef North of Stirling was nice.
That's the first away game I've done since New Year.  God have mercy on those who go to all of these if our performances are anything like this.
Tm4tj: Uninspiring stuff.
We were poor, and Falkirk were eager and quicker on the break and with the Jambo's being pumped by Killie their mission was accomplished.  Barry could have opened the scoring early on but after chasing a ball down the inside right channel he went too far and his attempted chip into the goals from a more acute angle than he would have liked sailed harmlessly high and wide.  Grim stuff from us as an attacking force with Rory being the main culprit.  I reckon he seems to be scared when challenging defenders as he misses so many balls aimed in his direction and ultimately loses out in any challenge despite some nice touches.  Defence looked all at sea yesterday with Granty missing again and Proctors indecision almost cost us dear.  Imrie struggled to make headway early on but improved as the game progressed.  Cowie was another I thought who lacked an edge and Black was very quiet. Fraser did well and was not to blame for either goal, the second being lashed past him after Roy tangled with his own player in the left half area, and when Falkirk broke forward from there, Finnegan lashed a great shot high into the net from fifteen yards past an exposed Mike.  Best that can be said about the game was Bazza becoming the second top ICT scorer on his own after calmly converting a penalty he himself won in the last couple of minutes, cutting along the byeline and being felled as he moved into the box. Hastings posted missing most of the game, leaving the right wing area open to abuse.   Marius had some good touches, but playing deeper than Rory would have given him little enthusiasm and nowhere to play the ball to and expect a return pass.  He tried a couple of shots which were either blocked or screwed wide, but really not a good day for him overall.  I thought Russell looked keen when he came on but the game was lost by then and it was the usual too little too late.
Brew was in his suit all day, no intention of playing at all.  Some of the guys on the park might have well played with their suits on as well.  But lets not be too critical, it was what they call end of season stuff.
Best for us on the day..........Fraser, Imrie eventually and Bazza who looks like he is winning the battle to sign a new contract, if ability is anything to go by.
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By Guest in Reports 2007-08 ·

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