Caley Thistle manager John Robertson has been unveiled at Tynecastle as the new manager of Heart of Midlothian after compensation was agreed between Hearts and Caley Thistle.
John Robertson has joined Hearts on a two year contract and he was quoted on the BBC website as saying "To come back to a place where I spent 18 years as a player and had some tremendous memories is absolutely fantastic. It was a terrible wrench to leave such a well-run club as Caley Thistle, but the pull of coming back here to work with these players and hopefully improve myself was just too great."Caley Thistle will now turn their attention to selecting a new manager and many names are already surfacing in the media including former Scotland internationalists, Richard Gough and John Collins, former Scotland manager, Craig Brown as well as Alan Kernaghan, and former ICT manager Steve Paterson.
Donald Park, who must also be considered a candidate will take charge of this weekend's game at Dunfermline.
It has been confirmed by Caley Thistle Club Chairman Ken Mackie that Hearts have asked for permission to speak to John Robertson with a view to making him the new manager at Tynecastle.
It comes as no suprise after Hearts chairman George Foulkes stated on the radio on Saturday that they would be looking to speak to candidates for the Hearts job that the official request has come for permission to speak with our manager John Robertson.ICT chairman Ken Mackie said: "I can confirm there has been an approach from Hearts to talk to our manager and I am currently trying to contact the rest of the board before getting back to them. I make no secret of the fact that we want to hold on to John Robertson, however equally we would not want to stand in the way of anyone who wants to move on provided an appropriate compensation package for ICT has been agreed. As witnessed at Pittodrie on Saturday the fans want John to stay and everyone connected with the club is aware of the excellent job John is currently doing and as a far as we are concerned he is still the man who can bring SPL football to Inverness."
Another fantastic result for the club on a day that speculation was rife that John Robertson was off to Hearts.
Another fine performance by the team made it a week to remember - seven points from three games. Praise in this game must go to a resolute defence who played superbly well in the second half as they protected our young substitute goalkeeper Michael Fraser, who replaced the injured Mark Brown at half-time, to record their second clean sheet of the season.
ICT began the match with the same team that played Dundee. Caley Thistle started well and Juanjo saw his shot eventually cleared by MacKenzie in the away goal.
ICT continued to press but most of the action was in midfield. Livingston had a couple of efforts from Lilley and Brittain before the home side opened the scoring through Graham Bayne. Barry Wilson's free-kick was headed on by Ross Tokely and Bayne was on hand to fire a superb shot into the net.
Just on the half-time break Wilson's free-kick went inches wide of the target after Juanjo was brought down.
Half Time: 1-0
In the second half Michael Fraser was introduced into the action due to a recurrence of Mark Brown's ankle injury. Livingston came more into the game and Derek Lilley saw his 25 yard drive come back off the post with Darren Dods blocking his follow-up.
Burton O’Brien’s drive bounced off the bar before Fraser produced a superb save to deny Jim Hamilton then Mark Libbra had a goal disallowed for offside.
ICT deservedly netted a second goal with three minutes remaining. Oscar Rubio made an error which allowed Wilson to run in on goal. His first attempt was saved by McKenzie but his second effort crossed the line before the goalkeeper scooped the ball away.
Wild celebrations by the ICT fans as they could now rest easy knowing that the three points were secure.
Full Time: 2-0
The referee eventually blew for the end of the game after four minutes of added time. Three points, a further two goals scored, a clean sheet, and up to ninth in the league.
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Inverness CT: 2 (Bayne 39, Wilson 87)
Team: Brown (Fraser 45), Tokely, Dods, Munro, Golabek, Wilson, McBain, Hart (Keogh 74), Duncan, Bayne, Juanjo (Thomson 80).
Subs Not Used: McCaffrey, Prunty, Fox, Black - Booked: Duncan (60), Tokely (60).
A glorious opening period and ICT deservedly went in 1-0 up at half-time. This was followed by a dogged and determined second period which saw them hold off a late Dundee fightback to take all three points.
John Robertson made one change in the starting line-up with Darren Dods making his first appearance of the season in place of the suspended Stuart McCaffrey.
Right from the whistle ICT pushed forward and created a number of chances. Barry Wilson moved down the right and put over a fine cross into the penalty area which was half-cleared by ex-ICT captain Bobby Mann to Roy McBain but his right foot drive went wide. Minutes later Juanjo had an effort which again went just wide of the right hand upright. Len Atle Larsen then should have given the Dens Park side the lead when he was through one-on-one with Mark Brown but his weak effort was easily saved by the 'keeper.
Caley Thistle continued to press and a terrific move involving Juanjo and Richie Hart saw the latter’s final pass go just over the head of Graham Bayne.
ICT’s pressure was rewarded with five minutes remaining in the half. Juanjo fed a through ball which split the Dens Park sides defence wide open and Bayne was on it like a flash to coolly and calmly place the ball wide of Soutar to give Caley Thistle the lead and score his first goal for the club.
Half Time: 1-0
ICT increased their lead in 58 minutes when Juanjo’s 25 yard shot deflected off Graham Bayne and into the net. The home support by this time were ecstatic and enjoying a thoroughly professional performance. The goal was originally credited to Juanjo but eventually given to Bayne to take his tally up to two.
ICT continued to keep control of the game although the wind and rain started to take its toll. Eventually Dundee pulled one back when Steve Lovell found space on the right to drill a shot past Mark Brown into the far corner of the net.
With six minutes remaining Brown went down with a recurrence of the injury he sustained at Rugby Park and he was replaced by Michael Fraser for his first ever appearance. He looked confident in everything that he had to do and, when the final whistle went, ICT celebrated their fourth point in two games after a terrific team performance.
Full Time: 2-1
After everyone was predicting a low attendance a crowd of 1254 turned up to witness ICT’s best 90 minutes of the season and hopefully this can now be continued into this Saturday's important game against Livingston.
It was with extreme sorrow that we found out about the passing of Norman Miller on Sunday night after a short illness. Everyone associated with the club and the supporters are truly saddened by his untimely death. Our sincere condolences go out to his family and close friends.
Norman will hold a place in the hearts of those who have seen how much progress the club have made over the last 10 years. We know that his contribution to this success was huge and hopefully his family can at least be comforted by the fact that as a true football man he got to see Caley Thistle progress from their origins as two rival teams in the Highland League to our current place in the Scottish Premier League.
As tributes continue to be sent to the website, perhaps one of the best comments came from local journalist Charles Bannerman when he said the following.
"Norman was one of a small band of people who, especially on the Caley side, had to endure a lot of trials and tribulations during the Merger years, but the end result is the club which plays in the SPL at this moment. He was literally one of the founding fathers of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC.
Norman was fundamentally a True Blue Caley man and right from the outset had a huge battle with his conscience before he felt he could support the Merger. It would have been difficult for anyone brought up in Greig Street, a stone's throw away from Diggar's barber shop, to have been otherwise. But with that decision made, his support for the scheme was unwavering.
He thoroughly disliked the controversy, personal publicity and high profile which inevitably resulted from being chairman of Caley during the merger years and was not particularly comfortable as a public speaker. As a result the Rose Street Meetings in particular, two of which he had to chair, would not have been comfortable experiences for him. Neither would the personal abuse which principally he and Jimmy Falconer had to endure for months at matches during Caley's last season.
In addition to the less savoury side of the Merger there was also a huge amount of work to be done in the process of physically bringing the two clubs together. All of that clearly took its toll on Norman's health and almost certainly contributed to his serious and almost fatal heart attack in November 1994.
But in true Norman fashion, he was back a few months later and his first public official engagement was welcoming guests at the pre season lunch in August 1995. There I had the joy of overhearing him greeting Ian C Fraser, Undertaker of this Parish in the following manner: "Aye Aye Ian... well here's one bit of business you didn't get!"
Apart from being Chairman of Caley Norman was previously Vice Chairman and Treasurer. He founded the Centenary Club and had a long running association with it as well as the Social Club. He was an Honorary Vice President of ICT.
I think we will all miss seeing Norman and those few words of amiable conversation with him when the club returns to the Caledonian Stadium next season.
It's fitting that he at least saw the club he did so much to bring to life take its place in the Scottish Premier League."
Charlie Christie, a stalwart in both Caley and Caley Thistle sides over the years and the ‘face' of the Centenary Club had this to say of Norman.
"Norman was quite simply one of the finest people I met in my time in football . From signing on full forms with Caledonian in the Highland League to going through the very difficult merger meetings at the Rose Street Hall I witnessed at first hand the dignified manner in which Norman always conducted himself. He was incredibly popular with both home and visiting committees and most of all, the players, who recognized him as a true supporter who at all times aimed to do the best for his club.
He played a significant part in the foundation of the Centenary Club Lottery and could always be relied upon for sound advice when it was needed. Perhaps my best mate, ICT Football Development Manager, Danny MacDonald summed it up best the day after Norman's passing by simply stating that in a business where honesty isn't always prevalent Norman was a man who you knew you could trust. Norman - you will be sorely missed by us all."
The club will allow players, officials and supporters to pay their respects to Norman before the game against Dundee by holding a one minute silence prior to the match.
A pulsating 90 minutes of football with four goals, a sending off and much controversy - the main one being Stuart McCaffrey's red card early in the second half.
John Robertson re-instated Juanjo Carricondo into the starting line-up at the expense of Bryan Prunty who moved down to the bench.
The home side began well and swarmed about the ICT defence. They were rewarded with a goal four minutes into the game. Stevie Murray picked up Craig Dargo’s pass and his left foot shot went into the net at the near post with Mark Brown seeming to get his foot stuck on the wet surface.
The home side continued to press but ICT began to push more into the game and their perseverance was rewarded on the quarter of an hour mark when a short corner from Roy McBain found Barry Wilson and he fired home from the edge of the box. A slight deflection gave Alan Combe no chance.
Ross Tokely had a drive well saved and Wilson also had an effort but missed the target by a good distance. The home side regained the lead just before the half hour and once again it was a defensive error that cost ICT dear. Grant Munro should have knocked the ball out for a corner kick but he allowed Danny Invincible to cross to Craig Dargo - his shot was cleared but Gordon Greer knocked the ball home from 14 yards.
Half Time: 2-1
The second half got off to a sensational start with the ordering off of Stuart McCaffrey . A through ball was fed to Craig Dargo and he went down after minimal contact from McCaffrey. It looked accidental but the referee disagreed. Juanjo was eventually sacrificed as Richard Hastings was brought in to bolster the defence.
ICT continued to push for an equaliser and the next substitutions certainly went a long way to making sure that Caley Thistle would take something from this game. The speed of Liam Keogh and the finesse of Liam Fox were introduced into the game with 15 minutes remaining and they made a massive impact.
With eight minutes remaining in the game Liam Fox, making his second substitute appearance for the club, scored a tremendous equalising goal. He moved on to a Barry Wilson through pass inside the box and from a very acute angle fired the ball under Alan Combe for a stunning goal.
Full Time 2-2
This gave ICT a share of the spoils and a vital away point.
Aberdeen’s first ever ‘away’ game at Pittodrie.
The heavy pitch survived two inspections and the game went ahead. Once again Caley Thistle gave maximum effort but the need for an out-and-out goalscorer is clear. There was a cracking goal from Roy McBain but numerous missed chances.
John Robertson made two changes from the side which drew with Motherwell - Juanjo Carricondo and Liam Keogh were relegated to the bench with Bryan Prunty and Roy McBain on from the start.
The game got off to a lively start but both teams had difficulty on what was a very wet pitch. Aberdeen had the better of the early chances with Steve Tosh and Scott Severin both having chances but the early highlight was the superb reaction save from Mark Brown when he managed to tip a great effort from Derek Adams over the bar.
The deadlock was broken just before the half hour when Adams worked a fine one-two with Chris Clark, cleverly turned Stuart McCaffrey and slotted the ball home from close range.
ICT reacted and captain Stuart Golabek moved upfield and saw his fierce drive tipped round the post by David Preece. Minutes later and joy for the home support as their favourites got right back into the game with a brilliant equalising goal from midfielder Roy McBain who hit a superb drive from 25 yards which went in at the post.
Half Time: 1-1
Caley Thistle began the second half in fine form and took the game to the visitors. Richie Hart had a fine effort saved by the goalkeeper and Bryan Prunty was unlucky with a header.
Midway through the half and disaster struck when Brown was adjudged to have brought down Darren Mackie inside the box. Adams scored his second goal of the afternoon from the penalty spot.
ICT made every effort in an attempt to get back into the game as they searched for an equaliser but they were now finding it very difficult on the heavy pitch.
In the final minute of the match Caley Thistle lost a third goal. Golabek was dispossessed in the midfield and in his effort to get back to retrieve the situation he impeded Darren Mackie inside the penalty area. It was a clear penalty and Mackie stepped up to send the ball past Brown.
Full Time: 1-3
Another game in which ICT matched the opposition for long spells but defensive errors which cost them dearly.
