Can Ict Bounce Back Next Year ?

[kiltarlity]

Found this on P&B makes a interesting read. Thank's too Skyline Drifter for this data...

Since the SPL began competitive play in 1998/99 NO CLUB have bounced back from relegation to win the First Division the next season. Dunfermline in 99 DID get promotion back up in a single season but as runners up when there were still two promotion places on offer. Hibernian were the last team to bounce straight back as champions but that was a year earlier and to be pedantic they were relegated from the SFL Premier Division, not the SPL.

SPL Relegated sides:

1999 - Dunfermline - Promoted as first division runner up in 2000

2000 - No relegation - Aberdeen finished bottom but top two first division sides came up to make a top 12 and no playoff because Brockville wasn't eligible.

2001 - St Mirren relegated - Finished 8th first season Div 1 - Promoted back up in 2006 (5 years later), having only narrowly avoided relegation to the 2nd in 2003.

2002 - St Johnstone relegated - Finished 3rd first season in Div 1 - Promoted back up in 2009 (7 years later)

2003 - No relegation - Motherwell finished bottom but were saved by Brockville again.

2004 - Partick Thistle - Relegated again in 9th first season in Div 1 but came back via playoffs a year later. Still in 1st Division though.

2005 - Dundee relegated - Finished 7th first season in Div 1 - Still here 4 years later.

2006 - Livingston relegated - Finished 6th first season in Div 1 - Still here 3 years later.

2007 - Dunfermline relegated - Finished 5th first season in Div 1 - Still here 2 years later.

2008 - Gretna relegated & went out of business.

So not including Gretna, seven clubs have actually been relegated from the SPL. Of those NONE have won the first at the first time of asking and only Dunfermline, the first of them, have bounced straight back as runners up. St Johnstone in 2003 were 3rd and 2nd for most of the season but never seriously looked like winning the league. No-one else has been anywhere near it. History certainly doesn't favour the likelihood of ICT bouncing straight back but we'll see......................

It's not impossible but it's a hell of a big ask.

"So here I am once more in the playground of the broken hearts"

Edited May 23, 2009 by kiltarlity

[A96]

On today's showing our priority would be to consolidate our position in Div 1.

Pie-in-the-sky if you think we can win Div 1 with our pathetic long-ball game and the some of the players we have right now at ICT. I saw Richie Hart and Graham Bayne at the stadium today. These are the sort of battlers we could be doing with in Div 1 next season. Just a pity they are not still with us.

[DornochJAGGIE]

I think we will, we are an spl team!

[Johnboy]

I think we will, we are an spl team!

No.... We were an SPL team....

[jammykev]

I think you can and i really hope you will go straight back up and I would say thats coming from the majority of Hearts fans to as they really enjoy coming up to Inverness.

[DornochJAGGIE]

I think you can and i really hope you will go straight back up and I would say thats coming from the majority of Hearts fans to as they really enjoy coming up to Inverness.

Wow. U still like inverness after we come down to tynie and fill you's with cheek for 90 mins.

H.I.V CAPITAL, H.I.V CAPITAL, H.I.V CAPITAL!

[jammykev]

I think you can and i really hope you will go straight back up and I would say thats coming from the majority of Hearts fans to as they really enjoy coming up to Inverness.

Wow. U still like inverness after we come down to tynie and fill you's with cheek for 90 mins.

H.I.V CAPITAL, H.I.V CAPITAL, H.I.V CAPITAL!

As i said would really like use to get straight back up thought use deserved to stay up. Its more to do how your club has grown and what you`ve achieved season after season ok abeit this one with limited resources. :thumb03:

[Caley]

I think you can and i really hope you will go straight back up and I would say thats coming from the majority of Hearts fans to as they really enjoy coming up to Inverness.

Wow. U still like inverness after we come down to tynie and fill you's with cheek for 90 mins.

H.I.V CAPITAL, H.I.V CAPITAL, H.I.V CAPITAL!

Grow up.

I'm definitely looking forward to next season. Make a pleasant change to be challenging for a league title rather than wondering if we'll finish 8th/9th/10th/11th/12th in the SPL.

As a season-ticket holder through most of the years since Div.3 days, I think the last 5 in the SPL have been the least enjoyable.

Bring on the derby!

[Renegade]

IF ICT can hold onto some useful players (ie - Odhiambo, Kerr, Morais etc), and that's a big IF, then there's always the possibility of going back up. I personally voted NO as I think ICT will not have what it takes, and what I'd do is make next season the "season of rebuilding" and then in season 2010/11, ICT could have a good chance of getting back to where they want to be.

[Guest birdog]

I think you can and i really hope you will go straight back up and I would say thats coming from the majority of Hearts fans to as they really enjoy coming up to Inverness.

Wow. U still like inverness after we come down to tynie and fill you's with cheek for 90 mins.

H.I.V CAPITAL, H.I.V CAPITAL, H.I.V CAPITAL!

Grow up.

I'm definitely looking forward to next season. Make a pleasant change to be challenging for a league title rather than wondering if we'll finish 8th/9th/10th/11th/12th in the SPL.

As a season-ticket holder through most of the years since Div.3 days, I think the last 5 in the SPL have been the least enjoyable.

Bring on the derby!

Least enjoyable in a footballing sense but very enjoyable knowing that ICT were there eating at the top table, never mind just the derby, Livingston, Partick and Ross County are all teams I am looking forward to stuffing.

[alternative maryhill]

I can't see us coming straight back up for a couple of reasons. Firstly, although we don't know which or how many players we are going to lose, it's fair to assume that the first team will change a bit, and the players will take time to gel. Secondly, we don't have any regular recent experience of playing these teams, and thus may be at a disadvantage when it comes to knowing the best way to set out against them tactically. A team like Dundee may add a few players over the summer, but the nucleus of their side is probably quite settled and will have plenty of experience of playing at this level.

[WYNESS101]

I think we will, we are an spl team!

No we arent we still have our squad built round what pele had us at but now with TB and MM here and now back in the 1st division we can start to rebuild and move on to become a true SPL team

[stevico1]

going to be very difficult an a lot depends on what players we keep and what sort of plan/budget the board have in mind for this senario

[Alex MacLeod]

We have some advantage over the previous relegated clubs. We will hold on to a number of players who are paid little more than Div 1 wages anyway. We are going down with a financially healthy club. We have room to reduce our squad to around 22 which would save up to 350 k in salaries, insurance etc. We are accustomed to shrewd budgeting. We have a management team with experience of achieving a successful team from nothing.

History dictates we wont go back up but we are the writers of history.