History Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.

1 history

1.1 third division (1994–1997)
1.2 second division (1997–1999)
1.3 first division (1999–2004)
1.4 scottish premier league (2004–2009)
1.5 return first division (2009–2010)
1.6 return spl/premiership (2010–2017)
1.7 scottish cup victory (2014–2015)
1.8 relegation scottish championship (2017–present)

history


chart of table positions of ict since joining league.

the club first came national prominence after scottish cup victories on celtic in 2000 , 2003: winning 3–1 @ celtic park, resulting in headline super caley go ballistic celtic atrocious in sun framed in foyer of caledonian stadium, , 1–0. inverness knocked other spl teams out of cup competitions, including motherwell , hearts. on first ten years of existence club had been responsible total of 12 shocks , result had gained reputation being giant killers . on 25 february 2007, inverness s run of cup victories on celtic came end following 2 goals in last 2 minutes of fifth round tie @ caledonian stadium. having led 1–0 majority of game graham bayne goal, steven pressley equalised before kenny miller netted winner in stoppage time. however, victory against celtic occurred on 16 december 2007, time in league, when team came being 2–0 down win 3–2, goals scored john rankin, david proctor , don cowie.

a significant event in club s history signing of romanian international marius niculae. niculae involved in club s 2007–08 campaign , played @ uefa euro 2008, before leaving dinamo bucureşti. later became involved in dispute club on share of transfer fee not paid him when left. result, inverness ordered fifa pay £133,000 player. club appealed against decision court of arbitration sport, , in november 2011, club won appeal.

having won 2009–10 first division title in first year in division since 2003–04, inverness competed in top tier of scottish football next 7 years. season 2014–15 saw club finish in best ever placing of third.

third division (1994–1997)

after promising start inaugural campaign in 1994–95, club finished sixth in third division. following season, inverness ct showed improvement third-place finish. in season 1996–97, won third division championship following 4–1 home win on albion rovers in front of 3,000 fans. 5 months after moving caledonian stadium.

second division (1997–1999)

the club spent 2 seasons in second division. after closely fought campaign, finished runners-up livingston in season 1998–99, thereby securing promotion first division.

first division (1999–2004)

season 2003–2004 regarded club s successful point. in november 2003, defeated airdrie united 2–0, goals steve hislop , david bingham, win scottish challenge cup, , reached scottish cup semi-final, losing replay 3–2 dunfermline athletic after 1–1 draw @ hampden park. however, greatest achievement on final day of season, when inverness defeated st johnstone 3–1, goals paul ritchie, david bingham , barry wilson and, result, pipped clyde first division title. made club eligible promotion scottish premier league (spl). however, spl rules @ time stated member clubs must have stadium minimum capacity of 10,000 seats. caledonian stadium did not meet criterion, leaving club s board dilemma: either remain in first division (like falkirk previous season) or groundshare aberdeen, on 100 miles (160 km) away. after consulting supporters, board decided sacrifice of 1 season in aberdeen acceptable compromise ensure premier league participation club.

scottish premier league (2004–2009)

inverness playing st mirren in may 2008 @ caledonian stadium.

a change in spl rules during 2004–05 season reduced stadium seating requirement 6,000 seats spl membership. caledonian stadium rendered valid spl venue after rapid ground expansion, 2 new stands added. stadium renamed tulloch caledonian stadium in honour of local building firm completed work in 47 working days. chairman of tulloch, david sutherland, chairman of club @ time , remains major shareholder. club returned playing in inverness, defeating dunfermline 2–0 in first spl game in own ground on 29 january 2005, goals barry wilson , player-manager craig brewster.

during season 2008–09 season, team incurred number of bad results , struggled near bottom of spl. eventually, manager craig brewster sacked after run of 7 consecutive defeats, ending 1–0 loss hamilton academical. first time club had sacked manager, , fans had voiced concern brewster s ability. brewster replaced former england international terry butcher, unable prevent club s relegation, despite initial improvement in results. inverness caledonian thistle s tenure in spl ended in may 2009 after suffering 1–0 home defeat falkirk. final total of 37 points remains highest ever team finishing bottom of spl.

return first division (2009–2010)

the team celebrating winning first division title in may 2010 @ caledonian stadium.

after slow start first season in first division, looked set won @ canter runaway leaders dundee 15 points ahead in january, inverness put astonishing run of form saw them go on 21-match unbeaten run. on 21 april 2010, inverness secured promotion spl 2 games spare after dundee lost raith rovers. inverness became first team in ten years secure immediate return spl. team went on celebrate promotion 7–0 win @ ayr united, biggest ever away win. on final day of season, inverness beat dundee 1–0.

return spl/premiership (2010–2017)

having won 2009–10 first division title in first year in division since 2003–04, inverness have since competed in top tier of scottish football. in 2013–14, club reached first major final – scottish league cup – losing on penalties aberdeen. beat falkirk in final of scottish cup in 2015. same season, inverness secured entry european competition first time, best-ever third-place finish in premiership.

as part of push promotion in 2009–10 season, inverness went on unbeaten away run in league continued through entire 2010 calendar year, culminating in 1–1 draw against hearts @ tynecastle on 18 december. extraordinary sequence ended in defeat @ st johnstone on 2 january 2011 when perth side won single goal. @ split, inverness narrowly missed out on top 6 spot, finishing in club record-equalling 7th place. however, 2 years later, finish higher.

during 2012–13 season, 3–0 win on hibernian on 8 december 2012 saw them rise second place in spl (behind celtic), then, highest ever league position.

continued form on course of season consolidated club s position in top-half of table. victory on highland derby rivals ross county on 16 march elevated inverness ct onto unassailable points-total in quest maiden top-6 finish. achievement confirmed following day club benefited favourable result in sunday spl fixture. guarantee of top-6 place ensured 2012–13 scottish premier league season see inverness ct record, then, highest ever finishing league position.

ultimately, inverness ct finished in 4th place, narrowly missing europa league qualification on final day of season, succumbing 1–0 defeat local rivals ross county.

inverness ct began inaugural season (2013–14 scottish premiership) of revamped spfl scottish premiership 3–0 win on st mirren. result saw club take pole-position in league table. remained top of league until 9th game of season when dropped 2nd place following loss @ st johnstone.

on 11 november 2013, hibernian reached compensation deal inverness terry butcher move club, alongside assistant manager maurice malpas.

after extensive recruitment process, on 4 december 2013, john hughes unveiled new manager of club. in january 2014, russell latapy appointed hughes assistant manager.

in february 2014, inverness defeated hearts in scottish league cup semi-final. inverness struck first greg tansey firing highland side lead. jamie hamill scored 2 goals in 2 minutes , gave hearts hope of reaching second league cup final in 2 years. when inverness on brink of defeat, nick ross equalised in 94th minute , sent game time. after no goals being scored in time, inverness clinched win on penalties.

on 25 february, inverness beat ross county in dingwall in highland derby. 3–0 win first time had won highland derby in dingwall in league since march 2003. won next derby 2–1 on 4 april. game played in dingwall.

on 16 march, inverness , aberdeen faced each other in 2014 scottish league cup final @ celtic park in glasgow. after tense 120 minutes 2 teams lined penalty shoot-out. inverness missed first 2 penalties billy mckay s penalty saved , greg tansey firing on bar. despite nick ross , aaron doran scoring penalties aberdeen won 4–2.

inverness finished season 2–0 win on st johnstone second half goals ryan christie , greg tansey.

in may 2014, club announced american fast food restaurant franchise subway new main shirt sponsor.

between may , september 2014, inverness kept series of consecutive clean sheets, enabling them achieve club record of 616 minutes without conceding goal.

further success followed season, 1–0 victory away dundee confirming record third-place league finish club. guaranteed inverness qualifying european football first time – competed in 2015–16 uefa europa league.

scottish cup victory (2014–2015)

inverness ct capped extraordinary 2014–15 season winning scottish cup final against falkirk @ hampden park. result came after defeated celtic in tense semi-final.

this club s first major national trophy, , first major national trophy won club highlands in scottish football history.

relegation scottish championship (2017–present)

inverness ct relegated scottish championship on final day of 2016–17 season, despite recording 3–2 victory on motherwell. after richie foran resigned position, former manager john robertson appointed successor on 14 june 2017.