Skip to content

Articles

Our website articles
Show all categories

Niculae Signs

Teaser Paragraph:
Caley Thistle have confirmed that Marius Niculae has signed for the club on a two year deal (subject to the grant of a work permit). In a club press release, Director of Football Graeme Bennett said "We are delighted to be able to recruit someone of Marius's calibre within our existing football budget.
This has been assisted by sponsorship from The Orion Group, headed by club chairman Alan Savage. The player returned to Inverness on Monday evening and we had talks today (Tuesday) which saw Marius agree to significantly reduce his initial financial requirements. We're delighted to be able to assist manager Charlie Christie in securing a player he wanted."
Christie said: "This is a big signing for us, to be able to bring in someone who has played 26 times for his country, the last time being against Colombia in May 2006. "Marius played in the Bundesliga last season and his final game for Mainz was against Bayern Munich so he clearly has the quality. We look forward to being able to work on his fitness and blending him in to the squad as soon as possible." Club chairman Alan Savage commented:"My company does business in Romania and Nikulae was recommended. When Charlie Christie was shown the DVD of the player in action he immediately said he'd love to get him. "It is a rare opportunity to land an international player who was a free agent, thus involving no transfer fee, and the club directors were very keen to help the manager strengthen for the new SPL campaign."
 
The club statement mentioned that Niculae had scored 6 times for his country in 26 appearances, however, according to the players own website, and the Romanian FA its 12 in 28 .... (although his caps seem to mysteriously jump from 21 to 23 without playing a game between the Croatia and Germany games) ... but it may be us trying to read it in Romanian !!! Lets just say he is indeed a seasoned European and International footballer !
Club Career Domestic European Games Goals Games Goals 1996/97 Dinamo Bucharest 6 0 1997/98 Dinamo Bucharest 12 4 1 (UC) 0 1998/99 Dinamo Bucharest 28 7 1999/00 Dinamo Bucharest 27 12 4 (UC) 4 2000/01 Dinamo Bucharest 27 20 2 (UC) 1 2001/02 Sporting Lisbon 16 7 6 (UC) 3 2002/03 Sporting Lisbon 17 3 2 (CL) 0 2003/04 Sporting Lisbon 14 3 2004/05 Sporting Lisbon 12 1 5 (UC) 1 2005/06 Standard Liege 26 4 2006/07 Mainz 6 0     191 61 20 9  
International Career Games Goals   2000 6 5 Latvia (1g), Georgia, Cyprus, Yugoslavia, Algeria (2g), Algeria (2g) 2001 12 5 Ukraine, Lithuania, Italy, Georgia, Slovakia, Hungary (2g), Lithuania, Slovenia (1g), Hungary (1g), Georgia, Slovenia (1g), Slovenia 2002 3 0 Bosnia, Norway, Croatia 2003 0 0 2004 3 2 ?, Germany, Andorra (2g) 2005 2 0 Netherlands, Armenia 2006 2 0 Uruguay, Colombia 2007 0 0     28 12    
Guest
By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

7 Players on Trial

Teaser Paragraph:
International Trials are usually held in the Hague, but this week the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium will play host to football trials featuring up to 7 players of 5 different nationalities as Charlie Christie gets back to work after a successful pre-season Italy trip and seeks to strengthen the defence and forward line for the coming season and possibly add to the U19 squad for the future. Marius Niculae (fwd): Romanian International striker Marius Niculae (26) is possibly the most high profile of the names and certainly one that has been discussed at length in the press and on here. According to various websites (and a taxi driver on the forums !) he is back in Inverness with a view to tying up a deal that was looking less and less likely a week ago. Dominique Taboga (def): Dominique (24) is one of two Austrians who were due to come on trial prior to the club trip to Italy but this was postponed after he was injured. He currently plays for Austrian second division side SC Kapfenberg. Benedict Bauer (fwd): Benny (20) is a young striker who is currently on the books with Austrian side Admira Wacker who – it will please some fans to know – play in a strip that is half red and half black ! In a scenario that seems to mirror at least some of the events at Hearts, an Iranian businessman bought the club in 2004 and has installed several Iranian players in the team as well as a well known Iranian manager as part of the club executive. Martin Pusic (fwd): Martin Pusic (19) comes on trial from Austria Vienna, the same side that gave Filip Sebo to the SPL. He doesn’t appear on their squad lists and very little information is available elsewhere so we assume he may be in one of their youth sides. Phil Marsh (def/fwd): On the face of it, Phil (20) appears to be an intriguing trialist and if he is any good he may be worthy of snapping up. Phil started his career at the Manchester United academy as a striker but during the 2005/06 season was moved to the right back position in the reserve team where – according to the Man Utd website – he became an “integral part of United’s backline as the reserves stormed to the treble”. He appeared once for the full Man Utd team in a Carling Cup match against Crewe where he started up front alongside Alan Smith but was subbed at half time.
Andrew McNulty (gk): With Michael Fraser installed as the #1 choice and Ally Ridgers as backup, Andrew would appear to be one who is being looked at with a view to the future. There is no information available about the 17 year old Irishman
The Mystery Frenchman (def): Who he is, nobody knows ... well Charlie and Graeme Bennett do but they arent saying .... as discussions are apparently ongoing .... watch this space
Guest
By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

Hall of Fame Awards

Teaser Paragraph:
The Caley Thistle Supporters Trust are to hold a Hall of Fame awards ceremony at the Drummossie Hotel this September. (Friday 7th). This Oscar’s styles event will see five Caley Thistle greats from the past thirteen years inducted into the Supporters Hall of Fame.
Individual tickets are available from the Supporters' Trust for £55 or you can book a table of 10 for £550
The Caley Thistle Supporters Trust are to hold a Hall of Fame awards ceremony at the Drummossie Hotel this September. (Friday 7th). This Oscar’s styles event will see five Caley Thistle greats from the past thirteen years inducted into the Supporters Hall of Fame.
The evening, which is a black tie event, will be hosted by Moray Firth Radio’s morning show presenter Ginno Conti, and will celebrate the great achievements of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, as they have progressed through the lower divisions into the SPL.
This is a chance for fans to reward some of the players who have entertained us and rewarded us so well over the years.
Also present for the evening, will be the new SFA Chief Executive, Media Personality and former Footballer, Gordon Smith, who will be the special guest on the evening.
With a Champagne Reception, luxury Four Course Meal, and evening of awards and entertainment this should not be missed! This event is sure to sell out fast! With tables of 10 for only £550 fully inclusive, or individual seats from £55.
The trust hope you can make it along on 7th September for the first Inverness Caledonian Thistle Hall of Fame Awards.
DOWNLOAD BOOKING FORM 1.26 Mb
 
Supporters Trust Website : http://ictsupporterstrust.co.uk/
Guest
By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

New Strips

Teaser Paragraph:
Trevor Martin supplies a small selection of pictures of the 2007/08 first team kit taken at the announcement of Caley Thistle's new £500,000 sponsorship agreement with Flybe.com The home kit is the same as last season with the exception of the new sponsor logo and the new away strip is a predominantly black affair with both red and blue piping. 
With the launch of this new kit, there are some bargains on the official club shop, 2006/07 home shirts are selling for £20.00 and away shirts selling for an unbelievable £12.00 !!! CLUB SHOP
 
 
   Pictures supplied by and copyright of Trevor Martin Click on images for larger version  
Guest
By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

Romanian International to sign ?

Teaser Paragraph:
Romanian International Marius Niculae - pictured here in action for Sporting Lisbon in the 2005 UEFA Cup - is reputed to be in signing talks with Caley Thistle. It is understood that he flew into Inverness yesterday for exploratory talks with the club. 
The 26 year old striker was released by Bundesliga side Mainz (6app/0gls) at the end of the German season when they were relegated. He has previously played for Dinamo Bucharest (100app/43gls), Sporting Lisbon (59app/14gls) and Standard Liege (26app/4gls) as well as playing 28 times for his country and scoring 12 goals
Considering the calibre of player that Niculae may be, not surprisingly a lot of the talk has surrounded what his wage demands would be and whether Caley Thistle can actually afford him ... 
Speaking in the Press & Journal, as an aside to the Dean McDonald signing, Director of Football Graeme Bennett said: "We approached Marius and he has come over for talks. But his financial demands, based on what he can get elsewhere, may be too difficult for us to meet. We will see."
Club Chairman Alan Savage, in the same article, went on to mention how Inverness Caledonian Thistle is now a well known name in Romania thanks in no small part to the recent tie-in with former Internationals Gheorghe Hagi and Gheorghe Popescu. Savage said: "The talk of Bucharest is Inverness Caledonian Thistle, believe it or not, and that is all down to Hagi and Popescu. I think that we are on the map and people respect us."
One of the biggest positives of this whole story, even if the signing doesnt happen is the eagerness of the player to actually come to Inverness and even discuss terms. Given the perpetual rumblings of the remoteness of Inverness when trying to sign Scottish players from the central belt, it is refreshing that an established international player doesnt seem to find that to be a hindrance.
Speaking in the Daily Mail, Graeme Bennett once again cautioned people that the move may falter due to finances but also praised the player for his willingness to consider ICT. "Marius's financial demands may be too difficult for us to meet. (But) we'll see what transpires, we have been impressed by his eagerness to investigate a move to this club."
The player himself, however gave hope that the signing may happen and made no secret of the fact that signing for Caley Thistle would in his eyes be a stepping stone for a move to (presumably) one of the Old Firm or a Premiership side in England. Speaking to the Daily Record he said "I've been offered a very big opportunity by Inverness, it is a big deal. I'm hoping to get the chance to play well and score a lot of goals in the Scottish league. If I can do that, maybe I can move on to a bigger stage in the country or England."
In the same article, Graeme Bennett was also quoted as saying " Signing Niculae would be a major coup for us. He is a very high-profile player and his CV is right from the top drawer. It would be wrong to go overboard at this stage because there is still some things to sort out. Even if we could get him over here for a year, it would be terrific for the club."
In the last couple of hours (wed 4 July), TeamTalk have been reporting that the player is now talking over the possible transfer with his family. Graeme Bennett said "He is thinking things over but I'm hopeful. Chairman Alan Savage and I had a good meeting with him and with 26 caps he's got real quality. We want an early answer one way or another as there is a Turkish club also interested. But all going well he could be at our Italian training camp."
If the club do manage to pull off this signing then the last few days will show that the club can and will look further than Dingwall for new signings and also that the often derided link with Hagi and Popescu may indeed bear some interesting fruit.
Guest
By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

McDonald Signs

Teaser Paragraph:
Dean McDonald has signed a two year contract with ICT with an option for a third year built in. "Mini-Mac" successfully passed his medical and a 'nominal' fee was agreed with his previous club Gillingham.
Speaking on the official club site , McDonald said "I had another couple of offers but I felt ICT was the best move for me personally".
[pictures supplied by Trevor Martin]
The full interview with Dean can be read at the Official Club Website but a couple of comments indicate that Dean already knows what the fans expect of him and what he hopes to do when he pulls on an ICT shirt in the coming season ....
"When I realised there was an interest from the Club I was straight onto the internet to find out all about them."
"I now need to get myself as fit as possible over the pre-season training and try and establish myself in the first team and then I can show all the ICT fans what I can do"
LINK TO FULL ARTICLE
Pictures supplied by and copyright of Trevor Martin Click on images for larger version  
Guest
By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

Mini-Mac for the Attack

Teaser Paragraph:
Caley Thistle are on the verge of signing Gillingham's Dean McDonald. We understand from local and national media that Dean and the club have agree terms on a two year deal and subject to a satisfactory medical this evening (2 July) he will become an ICT player tomorrow. According to Director of Football, Graeme Bennett "We've sorted things out with Gillingham and we anticipate the paperwork being completed in time for Dean to be our player on Tuesday. If so, he'll start training immediately with the squad."
Dean (d.o.b. 19/02/86) is nicknamed "Mini Mac" by Gills fans because of his height (5' 7") but as many ICT fans have seen courtesy of "
" videos, he certainly knows where the back of the net is and promises to be an exciting addition to the squad in either an attacking midfield role or as an out-and-out striker.   Dean began his career with Arsenal youths (2004/05) before moving to Ipswich in season 2005/06. During his time with Ipswich, the youngster was loaned out to Hartlepool for a month and eventually landed at Gillingham where he scored 6 goals in 16 league starts last season.
Welcome to Inverness Dean ... we look forward to seeing some goals like those "youtube" ones, but in an ICT shirt 
 
Guest
By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. : Terms of Use : Guidelines : Privacy Policy

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications
Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.