This is an incredible compendium of memories, photos, facts and figures from ICT’s 25 year history, with quotes from many players, ex-players, officials and fans. Lovingly compiled by Ian S. Broadfoot, the author of ICT’s 2004 bestseller ‘Going Ballistic!’, this new book delves deeply into the club’s story, marking our anniversary with excitement and pride. The book is in A4 format with 320 pages and over 500 colour photos. It covers all aspects of the club over the first 25 years – players, matches, season-by-season details, managers, chairmen, youth and community and, of course, fans. The book price is now £15.00 or £19.99 posted to a UK address. Postage costs outside the UK are calculated during the ordering process.
The Background
Back in 2004, Club historian, Ian Broadfoot, wrote “Going Ballistic” about the first 10 years of ICT’s existence. It was, perhaps, no surprise that the Club should turn to Ian again to write a follow-up book as part of the celebrations to mark the Club’s 25th anniversary. Ian’s brief from the Board was to produce a photo led book to mark the occasion and Ian duly set about the task with great enthusiasm and energy.
After a huge amount of work, the book was ready for publication in September 2019. And that is when the project stalled. It was obvious the Club was experiencing some serious financial difficulty, and with printers requiring payment upfront, the project was put on hold. Then Covid hit. When it became clear that football was to be closed down for a while and cash strapped clubs were likely to be under greater financial pressures than ever, the Club Board took the decision not to fund the printing of the book.
Supporters Trust to the Rescue
Having seen a draft of the book, Trust Board members felt that the book simply had to be published. Not only did we think it was a superb book which fans young and old would enjoy, but also, that with the information it contained, it was an important record of the club’s first 25 years. We felt the book itself would become an integral part of the Club’s history.
It was also important for Ian that the book was printed. Ian was passionate about the Club and had refused an offer of payment for the book. He had done all the work for the book at his own expense. Ian had also been a founder member of the Supporters Trust and its first Secretary. It was, therefore, a no brainer for us to offer to step in and try to raise the funding for publication.
Following discussions with the Club, it was agreed that the Trust would lead a fundraising campaign. This was launched in August 2020, and through a combination of advance orders, donations and sponsorship, sufficient money was raised in just 4 weeks to get the book printed. Excess fundraising money and the sale of books not pre-ordered produced a potential profit for the club of over £15,000.
Covid Complications
Getting the book published was one thing but getting the book to the fans was another problem. It wasn’t a simple issue of sending out copies to folk who had ordered them. Ian was very keen to write dedications to folk who had helped, donated or who simply wanted a signed copy.
Due to Covid restrictions, the printers would only deliver copies to a single address, but Ian lived in Perth and was not in a position to get to the stadium to sign or collect copies. So, Trust Board member Peter volunteered to collect an appropriate number of books from the stadium and drive down to meet up with Ian to deliver boxes of books to him.
A week later, the journey was repeated with signed copies being collected and taken back North. Peter then matched up the signed and dedicated copies to pre-addressed packaging before taking them to the stadium for despatch.
The Club’s Commercial Director, Keith Haggart was a great help in ensuring all the appropriate materials were available for this to happen.
The Book
Finally, in November 2020, the book was winging its way to fans who had supported the project by pre-ordering. And what a book it is! A4 size and featuring a picture of a jubilant Graeme Shinnie lifting the Scottish Cup on the front cover, the book is immediately appealing.
It is a picture-rich book designed for dipping in and out of. It starts with a short chapter summarising ICT’s first 25years in the Scottish League. Chapter 2 lists the main milestones of the Club’s first 25 years, from the start of the merger talks in May 1993 through to the end of the 2018/9 season. Chapter 3 is about memories of special matches. The plan had been to have a memorable match from each of the 25 seasons, but it wasn’t quite possible to keep to that! There are just too many memorable games. Each game covers a couple of pages with a summary of the game along with pictures and quotes of those involved or who witnessed the game.
Chapter 4 is the longest chapter and briefly tells the stories of each of the first 25 seasons. Keeping the “25” theme going, chapters 5 and 6 give brief biographies of the 25 players who have made the most appearances for the club and scored the most goals. Stalwart defender Ross Tokely is well known for topping the list for appearances, but did you know he is also number 10 on the all-time goal scoring list? The book then continues by listing ICT players who have had the honour of playing for their country.
Some terrific memories there. But the team’s success is not just about the players on the park. Success is as much about what happens off the park as on it. The book acknowledges this by having short chapters celebrating the youth set-up, the community work of the club, the managers and chairmen and those hardworking folk behind the scenes – admin staff, physios, ground staff etc. Ian then lists all the players who have been in the first team squads over the years, together with their stats, before rounding the book off with an appendix of further facts and statistics.
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Not got a copy yet?
Shame on you! Never mind. If you are not yet convinced this is for you and want to see a copy before you buy, they are available in the club shop and we’re sure a quick flick through will convince you. But why delay when you can buy your copy now by visiting the Club Shop?
Ian Broadfoot
After a long, difficult and sometimes highly stressful journey, Ian finally saw Milestones and Memories launched in November 2020. Tragically, a few short weeks later, on New Year’s Day 2021, Ian passed away after a short illness.
After the publication, Ian had told us how pleased he was to have so many congratulatory messages from people about the book. Whilst greatly saddened by his premature passing, we are delighted that he lived long enough to see his wonderful book in print and to receive such positive feedback from so many people. “Milestones and Memories” is a worthy legacy of a lovely man. We are proud and honoured to have played a small part in helping Ian get it to print.
