The Kraken Wakes

Something is stirring in the depths of League One. Harpooned by its own keepers, consigned to the bottom of the table in October and dismissed as a toothless nonentity by supporters of rival clubs, the behemoth that is ICT is rising again. Annan are being drawn towards its pitiless maw, and just beyond, Montrose are floundering desperately.

Our intrepid crew of Andrew Moffat, Ross MacKenzie, Stevie Riley, Andrew Young and George Moodie climb inside the TWS bathysphere and descend to examine the phenomenon at close quarters: a 2-hour-and-39-minute journey containing over 30 years-worth of ICT references, wild conjecture and mild distraction. Let’s Shuffle!  

00:01:10 : Introduction / Highland Highlight

Moff introduces the panel, and we reflect on some of the highlights of the past month, from the goal-getting heroics of Alfie Bavidge and Keith Bray to Billy Mckay’s contributions behind the scenes. Also, some chat about fishing.

00:08:36 : The Headlines

For those listeners who have been doing media-free January, here is the news.

00:09:48 : Game by Game

The panellists discuss the recent home and away matches against Queen of the South, and Scott Kellacher’s line-ups and tactical tweaks. We also revisit the impressive away victories against Alloa and Annan and the fine performance against Dumbarton that kicked off a successful January, and try to weigh up how ICT compare to the rest of the teams in the league.

00:39:12 : Talk to Me: Cammy Harper

Still only 24, Cammy Harper played first-team football for ICT under John Robertson, Neil McCann, Billy Dodds and Duncan Ferguson, and also experienced plenty of Scott Kellacher’s coaching. Stevie sat down with Cammy to discuss his move to Carlisle, the differences between Scottish and English lower-league football, Caley Thistle teams past and present, and Kell’s qualities as a coach. 

01:05:24 : The Club

On the football side ICT are in calmer, warmer waters, but in financial terms the whirlpool of administration is still raging, and the car parks are under threat from sharks. We take our monthly look at all things club-related, from wrangling over leases, to our incoming commercial business manager, to the work of the Supporters’ Trust and the continuing success of Bar 94.  

01:29:59 The Scottish Transplant Football Team

The last Transplant Football World Cup brought together teams from all over the world, but Scotland wasn’t among them. ICT season ticket holder and heart transplant recipient Duncan MacCaulay wants to make sure that isn’t repeated. AY spoke to the newly-appointed manager of Scotland’s first national transplant football team.    

01:47:33 Donald Trump’s Scottish Football Cabinet

Donald Trump’s weird, colourful and downright criminal cabinet picks made headlines all round the world. If he’s searching for more bizarre characters to make up his government, however, he need look no further than Scottish football. We come up with an alternative cabinet for The Donald.   

01:54:03 : Talk to Me: Martin Bavidge

Before Alfie, there was Martin. By our reckoning, Alfie Bavidge is the third Caley Thistle player whose dad also played for the club. Stevie spoke to Martin Bavidge about playing under Pele, choosing to remain part time in football, and the role he played in bringing Alfie to ICT.    

02:23:23 : League Lookahead

We round off the pod by looking at our chances in February’s games against Arbroath, Stenhousemuir and Kelty and speculating on where the club might finish the season if the current trajectory continues.

There's it.