(FM13) Super Caley go ballistic or they are atrocious: a Scandinavian Shankly story

[withnail316]

A first offer I've had to think about. 

I'm not taking it, but I did at least consider it. 

[withnail316]

Going to have to really think about selling Araújo, it's a slightly different case to the Sutherland deal at the end of last season as the Brazilian is only 19 and will only get better, but we'll need the money with the board's plan to expand the stadium and upgrade the youth facilities. Plus, these two youngsters will both be capable of doing a job:

Parratt scored on his SPL debut too, bringing about this record:

[withnail316]

Post-split fixtures

SPL: Inverness 1-0 Hearts
A nervy day, but we knew avoiding defeat would be enough to secure the league title. We got all three points, but we had to wait until 8 minutes from time when Ryan Gauld curled home from 20 yards. 

SPL: St Mirren 0-1 Inverness
With the title in the bag, we could relax a bit going into the final four games. We were a bit too relaxed here, but Luke James was the difference between the two sides - as he so often is - slotting home from 10 yards with 20 minutes to play. 

SPL: Inverness 3-1 Falkirk
A final home game, a chance to show the fans the trophy and put on a show. We were excellent, Armstrong, Murray and young Parratt getting the goals. 

SPL: Celtic 1-0 Inverness
If there was one game I could accept losing to our title rivals, it was this one. They won the battle, we definitely won this year's war. 

SPL: Aberdeen 1-2 Inverness
The Brazilian duo of Wanderley and Araújo secured the victory at Pittodrie, but a third Brazilian, Dirley Rodrigo, didn't have such a good day. The young centre back was sent off, so he'll be suspended on the opening day of next season. 

(I'll add a full table later, I can't be bothered to play the extra week for the cup final and the last round of bottom half games tonight. I can confirm that Dundee have been relegated, though.)

[withnail316]

Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Season summary 2017/18

League (SPL)
Media prediction: 2nd
Finished: 1st

Cups
Scottish Cup: eliminated in the quarter final (won by Celtic)
Scottish League Cup: winners

Europe
Champions League: eliminated in the last 16 (won by Man United)
Europa League: won by Porto

Top scorers
Luke James: 49 appearances (44 starts): 28 goals (26 in the league)
Araújo: 47 appearances (45 starts): 27 goals (21 in the league)
Conor Pepper: 30 appearances (SIX starts): 11 goals (7 in the league)

Top assists
Ryan Gauld: 12 in all competitions
Wanderley: 11 in all competitions
Araújo: 11 in all competitions
Luke James: 10 in all competitions

Positives
A fourth title in a row, another League Cup and progress in Europe means it's been another successful campaign up in the Highlands. I've been delighted with Araújo, who has stepped up to fill the boots of Shane Sutherland, but we have an incredible array of talent in our striking ranks. I expect he'll be gone this summer though to help pay for the stadium expansion and the youth facility upgrade. I accept that selling some of our best players means continued European progress is much harder, but it's definitely beneficial long term, and I need to clear a path to the first team for some of the young strikers at the club. I'd also expect to receive a fee of £8-£10m for Araújo, so I'd be an idiot to reject that. All in all, there's lots to be happy about at the moment. 

Concerns & disappointments
Other than the defeat to Celtic in the cup, very few. We equalled our record points tally from two seasons ago, won a cup and got further in Europe than ever before. I really can't grumble. I do worry about Stuart Armstrong still, and Sean Murray hasn't quite been the success I hoped he would be, so I may need to have a look at a new right midfielder this window. 

Ambitions
Continue to dominate the SPL, and be involved in European football after Christmas.

Manager's player of the season
I tend to pick attacking players for this, but this year it's centre back Murray Wallace. He's been a monster, and he's also forced himself into the squad reckoning. He's very likely to start at the World Cup this summer. 

Attendance
Lowest attendance: 8,307 v Peterhead in the League Cup
Highest attendance: 13,624 v Hearts
Average attendance: 9,571 - 98% of capacity (9,869 in the league)

Finances
£7.8m in credit

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2018 by withnail316

[withnail316]

Lovely stuff. That'll give us a capacity of 18,812.

This is a bit frustrating, we do already have "top" youth facilities but had the board stuck to their original plan with the stadium expansion, we had the cash to do both. We'd have had the cash to do both had this announcement come after the Champions League final too, I suspect. I'd expect another £3m at least to come in from TV money from our European adventure. 

Edited August 27, 2018 by withnail316

[withnail316]

Should get an update in tonight. We've brought in a ridiculous sum of money this window, it's burning a hole in the club's pocket...

[withnail316]

Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Season preview - SPL 2018/19

Board expectation: win the league
Media expectation: 2nd

Transfer budget (remaining): £17m
Wage budget: £272,000p/w (£75,000p/w under budget)

It seems to have taken an eternity (I've had a really busy week with work) but the new season can finally be seen on the horizon. Just like the last couple of years, there are no major complaints towards the board over this summer, the stadium will be just short of the full capacity after this latest expansion (becoming a total of 18,812) and they've even topped up the training facilities. I'll be asking them to do the same with the youth facilities later on this season after the decision to cancel the last lot. 

Unfortunately, the SPL went backwards in UEFA's ranking system (to 16 from last year's 15) but the club's ranking is now inside the top 50. Hopefully clubs other than just us and Celtic can start making some European progress soon. 

This year, the board are asking a little more of us - we're expected to win the title and get to the cup final, while European expectations are limited to the group stage (which we qualify for automatically.) I'm quite relaxed about all of those targets, and I'll be chasing a treble and European football after Christmas again. You may remember last year I said I was worried about how much we're spending on wages. I now have no co concerns on that front, even though they are still a little high. That's because the transfer market has gone absolutely mental this year. We've brought in a little over £20m this summer - a little under a third of the total amount I've brought in on transfer fees in my 6 years at the club. Our transfer record has been smashed twice in a number of weeks, although we've had a fairly quiet summer of incoming transfers simply because I have youngsters to promote. 

After the last day of the season, Mark O'Hara approached me and said he wanted a new challenge. I'd signed him five seasons ago for £220,000 and he'd been an important player for us, but I didn't believe he could improve any further despite being only 23. I agreed to sell him, and slapped a £7.5m + 50% price tag on him. Real Sociedad offered £7.25m + 50%, or £2.25m more than our transfer record, which I accepted without hesitation. Midfielders Liam Henderson and Nick Ross both joined Derby County for £500,000 and £650,000 respectively, while Piotr Leciejewski got his wish of a move by joining promoted Motherwell on loan. Michael Clemens decided it was time for him to leave to go back to Germany, so I accepted his request and an offer from RB Leipzig for £2.7m + 50%, but one decision I really agonised over was the future of Araújo, despite what I said in my summary of last season. I wondered if I was leaving myself short by relying on teenagers to step into the Brazilian's boots, before reminding myself both Araújo and Luke James before him were teenagers in the first team before, and both coped fine. In the end, I decided a record-breaking offer of £9m + 50% from Newcastle was good for the club and for Araújo, so I accepted it. The man dubbed "the next Adriano" gets his chance at a big league, while Swedish u21 international Martin Nilsson gets to show why he's allegedly "the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic." David Wotherspoon and Daniel Greig have also both left on season-long loan deals. 

New arrivals have been fairly thin on the ground, and yet it doesn't seem like we're a weaker side despite those losses. I've already shown Stefan Ilsanker, who arrived on a free from RB Salzburg and offers cover in both midfield and defence, while defender Abdul Keita comes back for another loan spell from Arsenal. Irish full back Ben McLaughlin was transfer listed at Everton, and he joins us for £350,000, and winger Gelson Geraldes and midfielder Mustafa Copabianco are both deals for the future. Geraldes cost just £1.1m and Copabianco even less at £675,000, from NEC and Atletico Paranaense respectively. 

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2018 by withnail316

[withnail316]

I didn't think I had any more transfers left in me before the season started, but then Conor Pepper announced he fancied a move away. He got his wish, joining Norwich City for £3.8m (+ 50%, naturally.) I pondered whether to replace him or just thrust Parratt into the first team fray, but I decided he needed one more year. Luckily, Scotland international striker Johnny Russell was on the market at Swansea, so he arrives for £2m. 

[kidthekid]

Russell certainly looks the part

[withnail316]

6 hours ago, kidthekid said:

Russell certainly looks the part

He's a good addition at that price, even if he only stays for a season. I just don't want to block the path to the first team as I have three young strikers, all of whom are excellent, and one other youngster who is just off their level but could still develop. 

[withnail316]

One thing I miss from Scandinavia and the Netherlands is how much looser work permit restrictions are. I identified a monster of a left back, a 19 year old Chilean at Colo Colo, who would have fitted this squad like a glove. Fee and contract no bother. Work permit rejected on deadline day, despite a scout report suggesting he'd be OK on appeal.

[kidthekid]

Drats.

[withnail316]

August

SPL: Falkirk 1-2 Inverness
Much more one sided than it looks. Luke James slotted us in front from the spot on 30 minutes, and Gauld made it two 10 minutes later with a rocket from distance. Their goal came in the 93rd minute, but we were more than worth our win. 

SPL: Inverness 3-1 Motherwell
We had to claw our way from behind here, but it was another good display. Luke James levelled after 38 minutes and put us in front on the hour, before Liam Polworth curled home a peach with 5 to play to seal it. 

SPL: Ross County 0-2 Inverness
Johnny Russell had been excellent without scoring in the first two games, but he got off the mark early on in the derby. Ryan Gauld grabbed the second, slotting home after a keeper error. 

SPL: Inverness 3-0 Dundee United
Two more for Russell against his old club, and another ex-Terrors man, Conor Clifford, grabbed the third. 

[withnail316]

Placed in pot three for the Champions League, and drawn with Manchester United, Valencia & Helsingborg. Confident of claiming third, but more than that is unlikely.

[withnail316]

On 06/09/2018 at 17:01, kidthekid said:

Drats.

It was frustrating. He was pretty much the perfect signing. 

[withnail316]

This can't last...

[withnail316]

September

SPL: Inverness 3-0 Hearts
We're looking quite solid at the moment, and Hearts couldn't live with us. Johnny Russell had us in front after 90 seconds from close range, then Stuart Armstrong doubled our lead soon after. Wanderley secured the points with an impudent chip late in the second half. 

Champions League Group F: Inverness 3-0 Helsingborg
A winning start in the Champions League, the Swedes simply couldn't live with us. Russell continued his habit of early goals by slotting us into the lead with 8 minutes played, then made a second for strike partner Luke James. Brian McLaughlin grabbed his first for the club deep into second half injury time for a perfect night at the office. 

SPL: Rangers 0-3 Inverness
One more from Russell and two for James. I'll never get bored of beating Rangers at Ibrox, I must admit. 

League Cup 3rd round: Inverness 2-0 Airdrie
I made 11 changes for the visit of the second tier side, but we didn't play especially well. It took late goals from James and Parratt to see us through, and we'll meet Celtic at Parkhead in the quarters. 

SPL: Aberdeen 0-0 Inverness
We rather got away with this one, but it could be a valuable point come the end of the season. 

[withnail316]

Put out a half-strength team at Celtic Park for a cup tie. Mental. 

[withnail316]

October

Champions League Group F: Manchester United 2-1 Inverness
A quite magnificent effort, but in the end we just fell short against the current European champions. Johnny Russell fired us in front from the edge of the area in the 58th minute, but we conceded twice in the last 15 minutes and so United got the points. Looking forward to having a proper crack at them at our place. 

SPL: Inverness 1-0 St Mirren
A record breaking crowd of over 18,000 packed in for this one, which was a really even game. Martin Nilsson was the hero though, smashing home a Gauld cross on the counter and lashing it beyond the keeper after 63 minutes. 

Champions League Group F: Inverness 2-1 Valencia
An outstanding performance, but it was all the more impressive as we had to come from behind to get the win. Johnny Russell had his worst game for us up top and was replaced after 55 minutes by youngster Struan Parratt, who responded by scoring both goals. This kid is going to be special. 

SPL: Celtic 1-1 Inverness
A decent display, but I thought we'd done just enough to get the points. We had to come from behind again though, Luke James scored his 150th career league goal with 15 to play. 136 of them have been for us. 

League Cup quarter final: Celtic 0-5 Inverness
As mentioned above, I made lots of changes for this one. Scott Laird was one of them, and he put us in front after 40 seconds. Struan Parratt scored a brilliant hat-trick, and Johnny Russell grabbed the other. 

[withnail316]

Not expecting too much action on the Bosman deal front this season, but I've picked up a couple of youngsters for the future. 

Rigney will arrive for £85,000 from Shamrock, and is already in the Irish U19 set-up. 

Rastello will arrive for £775,000. I can't see any reason why he won't improve massively with us, so I'd expect to see him in the first team in 18 months or so. 

[Nobby_McDonald]

St Mirren are upsetting the apple cart.

[kidthekid]

great signings. Eager to see how they develop

[withnail316]

On 13/09/2018 at 22:44, Nobby_McDonald said:

St Mirren are upsetting the apple cart.

They've been useful every year, tbh. They haven't finished lower than 5th in all my time in Scotland, and have been third in each of the last 4 years. Martin Allen working wonders!

[withnail316]

November

SPL: Inverness 8-3 Hibernian
Ridiculous game of football. Four for Luke James, three for Struan Parratt (his first hat-trick) and one for Keita. Hibs are rubbish. 

Champions League Group F: Valencia 3-3 Inverness
A fantastic result, but it could have been even better if not for a 90th minute leveller. We led three times from Russell and James (2), but crucially we now have a great chance of progression. 

SPL: Inverness 3-0 Falkirk
We're playing some good football at the moment, and Falkirk couldn't live with us. James bagged another, but the star was midfielder Andreas Fischer, who scored two peaches. 

SPL: Inverness 4-0 Ross County
A very one-sided rivalry at the moment, but Ross County have been linked with a tycoon takeover, which would be interesting. An OG, Polworth, Parratt and Wanderley made the difference. 

SPL: Motherwell 1-4 Inverness
Outstanding. Two each for James and Russell, and we had to come from behind, too. 

SPL: Dundee United 1-2 Inverness
We had to work much harder here, but we won it with 6 minutes to play. Parratt put us in front in the first half, but we conceded immediately after the break. Luckily, Martin Nilsson popped up late on thump a header into the net. 

[withnail316]

A bit of transfer news, I've decided to break our transfer record twice:

Wilson will cost us £5m in total, with £2.5m being paid in instalments. I expect to retrain him to play on the right too, as being able to fill both roles will be very useful. 

We then made exactly the same offer for this lad:

Waiting on a work permit, but optimistic. 

[withnail316]

December

Champions League Group F: Helsingborg 0-2 Inverness
Job done as far as qualification is concerned, and we can even win the group if we can beat United either 1-0 or by two clear goals, but I don't care too much either way. A goal in either half from Luke James sees us through.

Scottish Cup 4th round: Livingstone 0-3 Inverness
I made 11 changes for this one, and the lads were keen to impress. Martin Nilsson put us in front, Scott Laird slotted home a second on the counter, and Parratt drilled home from distance. 

Champions League Group F: Inverness 1-1 Manchester United
A great effort, but we have to settle for second in the group. Johnny Russell's 69th minute goal was enough for a point, but I thought we'd won it when Parratt slotted home in the 89th minute, but he was denied by a flag. 

SPL: Inverness 1-0 Rangers
Another from Johnny Russell secures a great result against Rangers. They must be sick of coming to our place...

SPL: Inverness 3-2 Kilmarnock
Weird game. We were three up by half time thanks to Xuxa and James (2), but a miserable second half let them right back into it, and Jenks had to save a late penalty to secure the win. 

SPL: Hearts 0-0 Inverness
The Jambos are a decent side this year and should be doing better, but we didn't really turn up on the day. More than happy with a point. 

SPL: Inverness 3-0 Aberdeen
Much, much better, but we had to be patient. Russell grabbed two in the last 15 minutes, and then Wallace tapped home from close range in stoppage time to seal it. 

SPL: Kilmarnock 2-2 Inverness
Another test against Killie, but we should have beaten them. James and Armstrong with the goals after we had twice gone behind. 

SPL: St Mirren 0-1 Inverness
A beautiful dinked finish from Luke James put Martin Allen's side to the sword, but we had to ride our luck again. Still unbeaten going into new year's day against Celtic.

SPL: Inverness 3-1 Celtic
A great result, and Luke James hit two landmarks. His first goal, which put us in front, was his 200th in all competitions for us, and his hat-trick late on was his 150th in the league for the club. What a player. 

 

[kidthekid]

Wilson is the real deal. I agree with retraining him, especially since he is right footed

[deltablue]

A work permit for Nania shouldn't be too much of a problem.

[rodesire]

What a career! Just caught up with all of it and it's magnificent

[withnail316]

4 hours ago, kidthekid said:

Wilson is the real deal. I agree with retraining him, especially since he is right footed

Yeah he looks handy. Pity he arrived with a broken foot though!

2 hours ago, deltablue said:

A work permit for Nania shouldn't be too much of a problem.

After what happened with the Chilean left back and my on-going Wanderley problem, I won't count my chickens.

1 hour ago, rodesire said:

What a career! Just caught up with all of it and it's magnificent

Welcome along and cheers, although I don't think I'm quite at that stage yet. I've laid a decent foundation though!

[withnail316]

I've mentioned already that I'm struggling to get a work permit for Wanderley to extend his contract, so I'm planning on selling him this summer. That meant I was in the market for another left winger, and I've got this lad coming in on a free:

My only slight concern is that both he and the new left back are right footed, but I think we're good enough to deal with that. 

[withnail316]

A couple of outward transfer deals, too. Les Harris, the attacking midfielder who joined from Forest on a free 18 months ago, had been unable to break into the starting XI. He'd been complaining about match time for a while and when Fulham expressed interest, I was happy to let him go. He's gone for £650,000 (+50%) and Stefan Ilsanker has also left. The emergence of 17 year old Mustafa Capobianco as a midfield option meant Ilsanker had slipped down the pecking order, so he's off to Heerenveen for £750,000.  

[metallimuse]

Amazing wheeling and dealing and career so far bro, giving this thread a follow and just caught up on it all.

One thing that has driven me insane though is what did you do with Ryan Christie?!?! He should of been the heart of your midfield alongside Polworth.

 

[withnail316]

1 hour ago, metallimuse said:

Amazing wheeling and dealing and career so far bro, giving this thread a follow and just caught up on it all.

One thing that has driven me insane though is what did you do with Ryan Christie?!?! He should of been the heart of your midfield alongside Polworth.

 

Cheers mate.

I'm not sure where Christie is tbh. I sent him out on loan a couple of times but he was never really good enough to be an option.

I'll have a look for him later and post a screen shot of wherever he is in the world👍

[metallimuse]

Maybe it was FM14 where his potential picked up but I've been signing him for a few years now and nursing him into a superstar.

[withnail316]

January

SPL: Hibernian 1-1 Inverness
We were well below our usual level at Easter Road, and if Hibs had just a smidgen of quality we'd have been beaten. Luke James put us in front, but we were very fortunate to get a point. 

SPL: Falkirk 1-2 Inverness
Luke James with two more goals here as we picked our levels up again. Their goal came in time added on too, but we absolutely mauled them. 

SPL: Inverness 2-0 Motherwell
Johnny Russell picked up a knock in this game that will see him miss the next 6 weeks (including the CL tie with Manchester City) but he did open the scoring. Sean Murray drilled home the second. 

League Cup semi final: Rangers 1-2 Inverness
A double from Struan Parratt, his first goals since the start of December, see us into another final. Comfortably the better side, too. 

[withnail316]

3 hours ago, metallimuse said:

Maybe it was FM14 where his potential picked up but I've been signing him for a few years now and nursing him into a superstar.

Yeah, he's pretty average in 13:

 

[withnail316]

He's definitely coming on, isn't he? 

[kidthekid]

wow!!

[withnail316]

1 minute ago, kidthekid said:

wow!!

These two are reasonable as well...

...but Parratt looks very, very special. 

[withnail316]

This can't last, can it? 

No, but we're still in it...

Edited September 21, 2018 by withnail316

[withnail316]

February

Scottish Cup 5th round: St Johnstone 0-5 Inverness
The Saints are in the fifth straight year in the second tier, and they're looking like they'll be stuck for another year too. They just couldn't live with us in general, and young Struan Parratt in particular. He bagged four of the five goals, and made the other for Heinrich. 

SPL: Inverness 3-1 Dundee United
Really comfortable performance, and Parratt scored two more. I know I keep saying he's going to be a star, but I hadn't expected him to be as good as this in his first full season with the first team. Luke James got the other.

SPL: Inverness 3-0 Hearts
Hearts are still a decent outfit, but we were far superior today. Parratt, Murray and Fischer with the goals. 

SPL: Aberdeen 0-3 Inverness
We had to be very patient, but three goals in the last twenty secured yet another win against the Dons. Parratt, Wanderley and Nilsson on target. 

SPL: Ross County 0-2 Inverness
Two from Luke James secured the derby for us. He's now up beyond the 30 goal mark for the 4th time in the last five seasons. 

[withnail316]

Youth intake

Looks decent, doesn't he? It seems the HoYD is unearthing one decent prospect a season at the moment. I can live with that...

[metallimuse]

Oh wow, possible worldie there!

[withnail316]

UEFA Champions League
Last 16

1st leg: Inverness 2-2 Manchester City
An excellent first leg leaves us with half a chance against the Premier League leaders. Struan Parratt put us in front, and although City turned it around, a late Russell leveller sent the capacity crowd home happy. 

2nd leg: Manchester City 5-1 Inverness
Ouch. We simply couldn't live with them, but it's still been a decent effort in Europe. Ryan Gauld with our consolation. 

[rodesire]

That youngster looks very special!

[withnail316]

March & early April

Scottish Cup quarter final: Inverness 2-0 Celtic
As comfortable as it gets against the Bhoys, although Mark Hughes seems to have written this off in order to concentrate on the Europa League. Struan Parratt and Luke James with the goals for us. 

SPL: Inverness 4-1 Kilmarnock
Russell (2), Geraldo, Nilsson

SPL: Inverness 2-0 St Mirren
Polworth, James

Scottish League Cup Final: Inverness 1-0 Motherwell
Scott Laird's disputed 12th minute penalty was enough to win us another League Cup, the 4th time we've won it in my seven seasons at the club. 

SPL: Rangers 0-0 Inverness

SPL: Celtic 0-3 Inverness
James, OG, Parratt

SPL: Inverness 2-1 Hibs
Polworth, Russell

Scottish Cup semi final: Partick Thistle 1-5 Inverness
James (3), Parratt, Johnstone

 

[withnail316]

Post-split

SPL: Inverness 0-0 Celtic
A damp squib, but it was enough to take us within a single point of the league title. 

SPL: St Mirren 1-4 Inverness
And it wasn't a long wait for us to secure it. We fell behind here, but Struan Parratt bagged four goals to seal the league in style. 

SPL: Inverness 1-0 Aberdeen
Parratt was once again the difference maker, this was his 31st goal of the season...and he still hasn't turned 18. A superstar in the making. 

SPL: Dundee United 0-0 Inverness

SPL: Rangers 1-2 Inverness
Polworth and Murray Wallace bagged the goals here. We were now just the cup final away from an invincible treble winning season. 

Scottish Cup Final: Inverness 1-1p St Mirren (aet - St Mirren win 4-3 on penalties
It took a penalty shoot out, but we fell at last in an attempt at an invincible domestic season. Luke James with our goal, his 40th of the season. No complaints though, St Mirren probably deserved it in normal time. 

[withnail316]

So we didn't quite achieve the treble, but after 379 games, five SPL titles, two Scottish Cups and four League Cups, the time has come for to step down and move on. There are some stupendously good young players at Inverness, and it does seem a shame to leave them behind, but a 47 game domestic season is too long to go through without a major challenge. 

Still, I've transformed the club in my time, which has been a lot of fun. 

[rodesire]

You've had a great run and made the club/league a lot better