2017–18 Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. season

The 2017–18 Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. season was the club's first season in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the Scottish Premiership at the end of the 2016–17 season.[3] Thistle will also compete in the Scottish Challenge Cup, Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle
2017–18 season
ChairmanGraham Rae[1]
ManagerJohn Robertson[2]
StadiumCaledonian Stadium
ChampionshipFifth Place
Scottish Challenge CupWinner, won against Dumbarton
League CupGroup Stage
Scottish CupFourth round, lost to Dundee
Top goalscorerLeague: George Oakley,
Iain Vigurs
(8 each)

All: George Oakley (12)
Highest home attendance3,415 vs. Dundee United, 5 August 2017
Lowest home attendance930 vs. Peterhead, 7 October 2017

This season has seen the most postponements of any Inverness CT season, with 10 Postponements as of 18 April 2018.[citation needed]

Summary edit

Management edit

Following the club's relegation at the end of the previous season manager Richie Foran was sacked by the club during the close season on 29 May 2017.[4] On 14 June 2017, John Robertson was appointed as manager on a two-year contract,[5] leaving his role of Head of Coach Education at Heart of Midlothian.[6] Brian Rice assistant manager to Foran oversaw team affairs prior to Robertson's appointment.[7]

Results and fixtures edit

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Friendlies/Charity Games edit

Scottish Championship edit

5 August 2017 Championship Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0–1 Dundee United Caledonian Stadium
15:00 BBC Report McMullan   13' (pen.) Attendance: 3,415
Referee: Thomson
9 September 2017 Championship St Mirren 4–2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle St Mirren Park
15:00 Morgan   31'
Buchanan   63'
Smith   73'
McShane   74'
BBC Report Baird   61'
Polworth   69'
Attendance: 3,610
Referee: Collum
30 December 2017 Championship Brechin City 2–3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Glebe Park
15:00 Sinclair   18' (pen.), 39' BBC Report Smith   4' (Own goal)
Oakley   65'   78'
Tremarco   67'  
Attendance: 571
Referee: Duncan
9 January 2018 Championship Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4–1 Falkirk Caledonian Stadium
19:45 Oakley   10'
Bell   28'
Mulraney   30'
Baird   88'
Report Longridge   86' Attendance: 2,014
Referee: Beaton
Note: Rescheduled fixture due to previous postponements
27 January 2018 Championship Falkirk 3–1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Falkirk Stadium
15:00 Muirhead   48' (pen)   66' (pen) Nelson   87' Report Mulraney   45'   MacKay   84' Referee: Anderson
3 March 2018 Championship Inverness Caledonian Thistle P–P Brechin City Caledonian Stadium
15:00
Note: Postponed for the safety of travelling fans from the central belt due to extremely heavy snowfall along the A9 and the most of Scotland due to "The Beast from the East"
31 March 2018 Championship Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2–2 St Mirren Caledonian Stadium
15:00 Warren   78' Polworth   81' Report Davis   4' (pen) Morgan   70' Attendance: 3,025
Referee: Newlands
14 April 2018 Championship Inverness Caledonian Thistle 5–1 Dumbarton Inverness
15:00 Doran   17'

Austin   41,50,66'

Vigurs   63'
Report Gallagher   13' Stadium: Caledonian Stadium
Attendance: 2,355
Referee: Duncan
17 April 2018 Championship Dumbarton P–P Inverness Caledonian Thistle Dumbarton
19:45 Referee: Robertson
Note: Postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, game rescheduled for next day.

League Cup edit

18 July 2017 League Cup Group A Stirling Albion 0–0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Forthbank Stadium
19:45 BBC Report Attendance: 591
Referee: Roncone
Note: Inverness earn bonus point after 2 – 0 win on penalties

Scottish Challenge Cup edit

2 September 2017 Challenge Cup Second round Aberdeen U20s 2–4 Inverness Caledonian Thistle Glebe Park
19:45 Ross   51'
Anderson   89'
SPFL Report Calder   4'
Polworth   25'
Raven   40'
Tremarco   82'
Attendance: 175
Referee: Newlands
18 February 2018 Challenge Cup Semi-final Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3–2 Crusaders   Caledonian Stadium
17:15 Oakley   1'

Chalmers   13' Mulraney   44'

McKay   63'  
Report Heatley   57'   79' Caddell   90+6'   Attendance: 1,044
Referee: Bryn Markham-Jones

Scottish Cup edit

Squad statistics edit

During the 2017–18 season, Inverness Caledonian Thistle have used twenty-four different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.

Appearances edit

As of 20 January 2018
No. Pos Nat Player Total Championship Challenge Cup League Cup Scottish Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2 DF   ENG David Raven 22 1 15+3 0 3+0 1 1+0 0 0+0 0
3 DF   ENG Carl Tremarco 18 2 14+1 1 2+1 1 0+0 0 0+0 0
4 DF   SCO Joe Chalmers 29 1 21+0 1 3+0 0 2+2 0 1+0 0
5 DF   ENG Gary Warren 14 3 9+2 1 0+0 0 2+0 2 1+0 0
6 DF   ENG Matthew Elsdon 8 0 3+0 0 0+1 0 2+2 0 0+0 0
7 MF   SCO Liam Polworth 30 3 22+0 1 3+0 2 4+0 0 0+1 0
8 MF   ENG Ross Draper 5 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 4+0 0 0+0 0
8 FW   SCO Nathan Austin 2 0 2+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
9 FW   SCO John Baird 29 4 18+3 3 3+0 0 4+0 1 0+1 0
10 MF   IRL Aaron Doran 8 3 3+3 2 0+1 0 0+0 0 1+0 1
11 MF   SCO Iain Vigurs 27 5 19+0 5 3+0 0 4+0 0 1+0 0
14 FW   ENG George Oakley 27 7 8+11 4 0+3 0 3+1 2 1+0 1
15 MF   IRL Jake Mulraney 23 1 13+7 1 0+0 0 2+1 0 0+0 0
16 MF   ENG Riccardo Calder 23 2 5+10 0 2+1 2 4+0 0 1+0 0
17 DF   NED Collin Seedorf 7 0 3+1 0 0+0 0 3+0 0 0+0 0
19 FW   CUW Felitciano Zschusschen 5 0 0+2 0 0+0 0 1+2 0 0+0 0
20 FW   ENG Connor Bell 24 7 16+4 6 2+0 1 0+1 0 1+0 0
21 FW   SCO Alex Cooper 10 1 3+3 1 2+1 0 0+1 0 0+0 0
22 DF   SCO Brad McKay 29 2 21+0 2 3+0 0 4+0 0 1+0 0
23 DF   SCO Coll Donaldson 20 0 15+1 0 3+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
24 MF   CAN Charlie Trafford 17 0 10+5 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
25 GK   WAL Owain Fôn Williams 3 0 2+0 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
27 MF   SCO Daniel MacKay 2 1 0+1 0 0+1 1 0+0 0 0+0 0
28 GK   SCO Mark Ridgers 27 0 20+0 0 2+0 0 4+0 0 1+0 0

Overall goalscorers edit

Rank Player Goals
1st   George Oakley 12
2nd   Iain Vigurs 8
3rd   Connor Bell 7
4th   Nathan Austin 6
5th   Joe Chalmers

  Aaron Doran

  Liam Polworth

5
8th   John Baird

  Gary Warren

4
10th   Jake Mulraney

  Carl Tremarco

3
12th   Riccardo Calder

  Daniel MacKay

  Brad McKay

2
15th   Alex Cooper

  Coll Donaldson

  David Raven

1

Hat-tricks edit

Player Competition Score Opponent Date
  Nathan Austin Scottish Championship 5–1 Dumbarton 14 April 2018

Club statistics edit

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
3 Dundee United 36 18 7 11 52 42 +10 61 Qualification for the Premiership play-off quarter-final
4 Dunfermline Athletic 36 16 11 9 60 35 +25 59
5 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 36 16 9 11 53 37 +16 57
6 Queen of the South 36 14 10 12 59 53 +6 52
7 Greenock Morton 36 13 11 12 47 40 +7 50
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Points in head-to-head matches; 5) Goal difference in hth matches; 6). Goals scored in hth matches; 7). Play-off (only for deciding promotion, play-off participation and relegation).[10]

League Cup table edit

Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification FAL INV STI BRE FOR
1 Falkirk (Q) 4 4 0 0 0 13 1 +12 12 Qualification for the Second Round 4–1 4–0
2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4 2 1 0 1 5 3 +2 8 0–2 3–0
3 Stirling Albion 4 2 0 1 1 6 5 +1 7 0–0p 2–0
4 Brechin City 4 0 1 0 3 1 9 −8 2 0–3 p1–1
5 Forfar Athletic 4 0 0 1 3 3 10 −7 1 1–2 1–3
Source: [11]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[12]
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Division summary edit

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
GroundHAHAAHAHAAHAHHAHAAHAHHAAAAAHHHAHAHAA
ResultLLDWLLLDDWWDLWDWLWDLWWLLLDWDWWWWWDWW
Position81210778899877888777777678855
Updated to match(es) played on 20 January 2018. Source: [13]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Management statistics edit

Last updated 18 April 2018
Name From To P W D L Win%[nb 1]
John Robertson[14] 15 July 2017 Present 29 12 8 9 041.38

Transfers edit

Transfers In
Player Age* Pos From Fee Date Notes
  John Baird 31 ST   Falkirk Free 1 July 2017
  Daniel Hoban 19 GK Academy Free 1 July 2017
  Mark Ridgers 26 GK   Partick Thistle Free 3 July 2017
  George Oakley 21 ST   AFC Wimbledon Free 3 July 2017
  Collin Seedorf 22 DF   RKC Waalwijk Free 5 July 2017
  Riccardo Calder 21 DF   Aston Villa Free 6 July 2017
  Zak Elbouzedi 19 MF   West Bromwich Albion Free 7 July 2017
  Joe Chalmers 23 MF   Motherwell Free 13 July 2017
  Felitciano Zschusschen 25 ST   1. FC Saarbrücken Free 17 July 2017
  Alex Cooper 25 DF   East Fife Free 21 July 2017
  Connor Bell 21 ST   Servette Free 29 July 2017
  Charlie Trafford 25 MF   RoPS Free 18 August 2017
  Coll Donaldson 22 DF   Dundee United Free 19 August 2017
  Nathan Austin 23 ST   Falkirk Free 1 January 2018
Transfers Out
Player Age* Pos To Fee Date Notes
  Greg Tansey 28 MF   Aberdeen Free 1 July 2017
  Alex Fisher 27 ST   Motherwell Free 1 July 2017
  Dean Ebbe 22 ST   Bluebell United Free 1 July 2017
  Scott Boden 27 ST   Wrexham Free 6 July 2017
  Kevin McNaughton 34 DF Retired N/A 7 July 2017
  Henri Anier 26 ST   FC Lahti Free 10 July 2017
  Louis Laing 24 DF   Hartlepool United Free 10 July 2017
  Jason Brown 21 DF   Peterhead Free 14 July 2017
  Lewis Horner 25 MF   Blyth Spartans Free 21 July 2017
  Ross Draper 28 DF   Ross County £100,000 9 August 2017
  Josh Meekings 24 DF   Dundee Free 18 August 2017
  Alex Cooper 26 DF   Fresno Free 7 January 2018
  David Raven 32 DF   Wrexham Free 27 January 2018
  Felitciano Zschusschen 26 ST Released N/A 31 January 2018
Loans In/Returns
Player Age* Pos From Duration Date In Date Out
  Matthew Elsdon 20 DF   Middlesbrough Half Season 6 July 2017 7 January 2018
Player Age* Pos To Duration Date Out Date In
  Daniel Hoban 20 GK   Brora Rangers Season 29 July 2017 1 May 2018
  Cammy Mackay 20 GK   Brora Rangers Emergency Loan 13 October 2017 10 November 2017
  Zak Elbouzedi 19 MF   Elgin City Emergency Loan 30 December 2017 27 January 2018
  Owain Fôn Williams 30 GK   Indy Eleven Season 31 January 2018 30 November 2018
  John Baird 32 FW   Greenock Morton Emergency Loan 26 February 2018 30 April 2018

Notes edit

  1. ^ Win% is the percentage of matches won rounded to two decimal places.

References edit

  1. ^ "Inverness CT appoint Willie Finlayson as chairman following relegation". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  2. ^ "John Robertson returns as Inverness manager 13 years after securing maiden Premiership promotion". heraldscotland.com. The Herald. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  3. ^ "The reasons behind Inverness CT's relegation". scotsman.com. The Scotsman. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Richie Foran sacked as Inverness Caledonian Thistle boss". stv.tv. STV. 29 May 2017. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  5. ^ "John Robertson returns as Inverness Caley Thistle manager". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  6. ^ "ROBBO'S MANAGEMENT RETURN". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian F.C. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Inverness future remains a mystery to Brian Rice as list of summer departures lengthens". dailyrecord.co.uk. Daily Record. 2 June 2017. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Inverness CT v Dundee Utd & Dumbarton v Brechin postponed". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Six Tuesday Scottish fixtures postponed after cold snap". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Championship 2017/2018 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Summary - League Cup Group A". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Format". SPFL. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Dundee United 2017–18 Results". Statto. Retrieved 4 June 2017.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "John Robertson Statistics". soccerbase.com. Soccerbase. Retrieved 17 July 2017.