2007–08 Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. season

The 2007–08 season was Inverness Caledonian Thistle's fourth in the Scottish Premier League and 14th since the merger that created the club. They also competed in the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.
2007-08 season
Manager Craig Brewster
Scottish Premier League 9th
Scottish Cup 4th round
Scottish League Cup Quarter-final
Top goalscorer League: Don Cowie (9)
All: Marius Niculae (10)
Highest home attendance 7,753 vs. Rangers, 20 January 2008
Lowest home attendance 3,420 vs. Kilmarnock, 19 April 2008
Average home league attendance 4,753

Scottish Premier League

Caley Thistle finished 9th of 12 teams in the SPL, on 43 points from 38 matches. They managed only a disappointing −11 goal differential, from 51 goals scored and 62 allowed. It was a mixed season for statistics, as this tied the club's record for goals scored in an SPL season, set in 2004–05, but also demolished their record for SPL goals conceded by 14. But overall, it could be called a poor season for the Caley, with the lowest total points and lowest finishing league standing since their promotion in 2004.

The exception to this poor form, and the main reason for the team's survival in the SPL, was the month of December. A streak that included wins against Hearts and Celtic earned Craig Brewster Manager of the Month and Marius Niculae Player of the Month honors.

Scottish Cup

To go along with the lackluster league season was a short and poor Scottish Cup. Caley Thistle entered the tournament in the fourth round, and faced Hibernian at Easter Road. Dean Shiels scored a hat trick and sunk Caley's hopes for a cup run at the first possible point as the match finished 3–0 to Hibs.

League Cup

The League Cup provided a bit more positive news for Caley Thistle fans, as the club reached the quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons, on the strength of a 4–1 win over Arbroath and a 3–0 win over Gretna. The run stopped abruptly, however, away to Aberdeen, who beat Caley Thistle 4–1 on the strength of another hat trick (albeit including two penalties), this time from Barry Nicholson.

Results

All the results of the regular matches [1]

Scottish Premier League

Clydesdale Bank Premier League table

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Celtic (C) 38 28 5 5 84 26 +58 89 2008–09 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2 Rangers 38 27 5 6 84 33 +51 86 2008–09 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
3 Motherwell 38 18 6 14 50 46 +4 60 2008–09 UEFA Cup First round
4 Aberdeen 38 15 8 15 50 58 −8 53
5 Dundee United 38 14 10 14 53 47 +6 52
6 Hibernian 38 14 10 14 49 45 +4 52 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup Second round
7 Falkirk 38 13 10 15 45 49 −4 49
8 Heart of Midlothian 38 13 9 16 47 55 −8 48
9 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 38 13 4 21 51 62 −11 43
10 St Mirren 38 10 11 17 26 54 −28 41
11 Kilmarnock 38 10 10 18 39 52 −13 40
12 Gretna 38 5 8 25 32 83 −51 13Resigned from the Scottish Football League

Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Gretna: 10 points were deducted from Gretna for going into administration.[2] They subsequently resigned from the Scottish Football League because the administrator concluded that the club could not continue to run as a business.[3]
Intertoto Cup: The highest-placed team who applied for the Intertoto Cup and not in an automatic UEFA Cup spot was awarded a place in that competition, Falkirk and Hibernian were the applicants.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Scottish League Cup

Round Date Opponent H/A Score ICT Scorer(s) Attendance
R2 28 August Arbroath H 3–1 Niculae (2), Wyness 1,246
R3 25 September Gretna H 3–0 Bayne, Wilson, Wyness 1,717
R4 31 October Aberdeen A 1–4 Bayne 7,270

Scottish Cup

Round Date Opponent H/A Score ICT Scorer(s) Attendance
R4 12 January Hibernian A 0–3 9,622

Club Records Set

  • (+) Tied - Most SPL goals scored: 51 (also scored 51 in 2004–05)
  • (−) Lowest SPL finish: 9th (previous was 8th in 2004–05 and 2006–07)
  • (−) Least SPL points: 43 (previous was 44 in 2004–05)
  • (−) Worst SPL goal difference: −11 (previous was −6 in 2004–05 and 2006–07)
  • (−) Most SPL goals allowed: 62 (previous was 48 in 2006–07)

Transfers In

DateNameMoving fromFee
8 May 2007Scotland Ally RidgersClachnacuddinFree[4]
1 July 2007Scotland Don CowieRoss CountyFree[5]
4 July 2007England Dean McDonaldGillinghamUndisclosed[6]
17 July 2007Romania Marius NiculaeMainz 05Free[7]
14 August 2007Scotland Steven WattSwansea CityLoan[8]
31 August 2007Poland Zbigniew MałkowskiHibernianLoan[9]
31 August 2007Scotland Phil McGuireDunfermline AthleticLoan[10]
31 August 2007Scotland David ProctorDundee UnitedFree[11]
31 January 2008Scotland Dougie ImrieClydeUndisclosed[12]

Transfers Out

DateNameMoving toFee
1 June 2007Scotland Stuart GolabekRoss CountyFree[13]
28 June 2007Scotland Craig DargoSt MirrenFree[14]
1 July 2007Scotland Darren DodsDundee UnitedFree[15]
31 August 2007Scotland Ally RidgersElgin CityLoan[16]
31 August 2007Scotland Zander SutherlandElgin CityLoan[16]
1 January 2008Scotland Alan MorganKilmarnockFree
17 January 2008Scotland John RankinHibernian£110,000
29 April 2008Scotland Stuart McCaffreySt JohnstoneFree

References

  1. ↑ "Caleythistleonline 2007-08 results".
  2. ↑ "Crisis-hit Gretna facing uncertain future". London: The Times. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2008.
  3. ↑ "Gretna relinquish league status". BBC Sport. 3 June 2008.
  4. ↑ "Ridgers poised for Inverness stay". BBC Sport. 8 May 2007.
  5. ↑ "Inverness line up County captain". BBC Sport. 1 July 2007.
  6. ↑ "McDonald joy at Inverness switch". BBC Sport. 4 July 2007.
  7. ↑ "Romania striker joins Inverness". BBC Sport. 17 July 2007.
  8. ↑ "Defender Watt moves to Inverness". BBC Sport. 14 August 2007.
  9. ↑ "Malkowski heads to Caley Thistle". BBC Sport. 31 August 2007.
  10. ↑ "Transfer Window". caleythistleonline.com. 31 August 2007.
  11. ↑ "Proctor moves back to Inverness". BBC Sport. 31 August 2007.
  12. ↑ "Caley Thistle sign Clyde's Imrie". BBC Sport. 2 March 2008.
  13. ↑ "Golabek & Bullock back at County". BBC Sport. 1 June 2007.
  14. ↑ "St Mirren sign up striker Dargo". BBC Sport. 28 June 2007.
  15. ↑ "Dods seals move to Dundee United". BBC Sport. 22 June 2007.
  16. 1 2 "Inverness duo farmed out to Elgin". BBC Sport. 31 August 2007.
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