northstbuddie

5 points separate the bottom 7 clubs. We are capable of overtaking all 6 above us - watch this space!

Not been a good day for St Johnstone or Johnson!

My mistake - we're still 9th!

An equaliser from Hamilton Accies would make it a perfect set of results. That would put us into 8th place.

9th in the league as it stands. Enjoy it while it lasts!

It's time for Stephen McGinn to be brought back into the fold - either from the start or from the bench. At his best he's worth his place and he would be busting a gut by now to prove this. Surely he has not deteriorated so much in the past few months to justify him being denied this opportunity. Or is there something happening behind the scenes which would explain this apparent puzzle?

All the more reason to believe that it's overdue for the Saintees - and this is the type of situation in which the Buddies can be quite accommodating as has been demonstrated in the past. And yes we are solid defensively but we couldn't burst a balloon up front.

Look on the bright side - the international break will not hold back our forward momentum.

It's no laughing matter!

We are.

Assuming Hearts and Hibs pull further ahead of us - we are now looking at clawing back Hamilton, Livingston and Ross County and staying above St Johnstone. At the moment we do not look capable of achieving this. Unless we start scoring goals, things could be decided before the January transfer window. The return of a fit Cody Cooke and Stephen McGinn could help our scoring/survival chances.

As it stands - looks like we will be in our familiar position tonight.

Do we just need a break up front to turn the (no-scoring) corner or do we have a chronic problem requiring major surgery? This afternoon's performance will help to decide this.

If it's open to any player who has worn St Mirren's colours - it's got to be Riyad Mahrez.

After 7 games played a pattern is beginning to emerge - and it is beginning to look like we will (again) be struggling to compete effectively in this league. Our obvious weakness (as everyone else has pointed out) is that we cannot score goals - and our only slight hope is that Cody Cooke returns to full fitness pretty soon. Neither Morias nor Obika look like they are an improvement on what we already had. Defensively and in midfield we are better than usual but we are not creating/taking the scoring chances of our nearest rivals. The present personnel have been given enough chances to show what they can do in an attacking sense and it is now perhaps time to freshen things up and the answer might be to bring Stephen McGinn back in from the cold. His guile and creativity would be welcome if he can recover his best form. The other worrying factor is that the longer this goal-less run goes on, lack of confidence and self-belief is going to affect performance - it's a 'catch 22' situation unfortunately.

That would have made us just 3 points better off than where we are at present. However, my view is that Morias had already lost his balance and was on the way down when he was tackled/pushed from behind - so there must be some doubt as to the decision not to award a penalty today. Morias' chance from the Paul McGinn pass was as good as you get in this league. He was like a rabbit startled by car headlights - just like the chance against Sevco. Waters is possibly marginally an improvement on Erhahon in the defensive sense but certainly not when attacking down the wing where he ends up crossing from the corner flag or there abouts. Just as well we had no injuries to defenders today as there were no possible replacements on the bench - sad to see Erhahon sidelined in these circumstances .

My pre-match comment is now a reality. We have played worse and won but with the current strike force of Obika and Morias, it would come as a bit of a surprise if they were ever to score within the next half dozen games - especially to them! Scoring goals seems to be furthest from their intentions or expectations. Cody Cooke hopefully is making good progress to full fitness - he is our only hope from the current personnel. However, today's match was screaming out for Stephen McGinn to create the openings for our (powder-puff) strikers.

Good to see S McGinn back in the picture.

This match and the result will set the tone for the next few weeks at least until the January transfer window. Anything other than 3 points will put us into the same mindset as last season - negativity and the usual excuses. A victory on the other hand will raise hopes that we are indeed making progress. If we could get the "old and in-from" Stephen McGinn involved again that would help the creativity potential of the team and perhaps produce more scoring chances. However, his most recent performances have indicated that he tended to slow the play down when trying to get forward. Danny Mullen is in the same category in that, in-form, he is every bit as good, if not better, than his replacements.

Looks like it is going to be a depressing season again unless things can be turned round - but by who?

This is a time of hope and better things for this season - the potential is there for all to see. BUT this is St Mirren so ............

The problem is by the time he gets his operation/treatment he'll be too old to play football.

3 shots on target by the Saints according to BBC

What's the chance we can field a team on Saturday against Hibs? PS: I see we got gubbed 7-1 by Hearts in a closed door friendly yesterday.

It would be a very welcome shot in the arm if we were able to sign May. There seems to be some doubt as to May signing for the Fakes or Dundee according to press reports. If true, that just leaves us and Kilmarnock of the remaining rumoured suitors. Do we want him badly enough?