northstbuddie

Yes a fantastic night spoiled by weak refereeing decisions. I was one of many that night that queued at the Love Street end and my feet never touched the ground for the length of the queue from one side of Love Street to the other. It is the memory of games like this which remind me of what we are capable of when the club was run properly. It makes Danny Lennon's claim of success in achieving 9th place during his time in charge as being quite feeble by comparison.

Even the old ones would be a huge improvement!

Not a goer - Rae would want him to keep his shape and he lost that a few years ago.

I agree with your optimistic comments but it is a big 'IF' for Alex Rae to turn this team around. But yes with Goodwin and Naismith back next month and at least a couple of good signings in the January transfer window all is not yet lost - midfield is a priority. I would repeat though if things do not improve on the performances of last night and against Livingston we will go down.

At least we "kept our shape" as we retreated without a tackle towards our own 18 yard line. This makes for a riveting spectacle - no wonder the crowds are flocking back to Paisley 2020! All things considered, I thought the (silent) Saints support behaved impeccably last night. Perhaps we are now resigned to our fate as there are no indications on last night's display that we will avoid relegation for the second year running.

Accurate posts/summaries by Sonny and Bart. Defence were the strongest part of the team but were posted AWOL at most corners. The midfield just did not exist - now the weakest area in the team by the proverbial mile. The attacking strategy consisted of Shankland in isolation and the long balls through the middle were usually nowhere near him. To sum up - our first shot at goal, albeit off target, was not until the 78th minute. You would have to be a bit of an optimist to take anything positive from that game!

Are you joking - at my age? However it was during the start of the Jim Clunie era - 1978/81. And your mother still does not know about the Andy Ritchie chant - although it might not be so bad getting banned now!

Like a few on here I can't remember my first match because I was only about 4 years old and probably did not watch the game as I spent the time playing on the pile of sand at the side of the main stand. Once I was a wee bit older the cry of "ERRAMACAROONBARS" was irresistable. Usually you were able to catch up with the latest team news before the match with the early editions of either the pink Evening Times or the green Evening Citizen. In these days I stayed in North Street and my uncles used to meet up at our house before going to the match. In my teenage years the normal routine on a Saturday was playing schools football in the morning followed by BB and later amateur football in the afternoon and if the game was at the Racecourse it was a quick dash to Love Street to see the last 10 minutes or so of St Mirren's game (including reserve matches) once the gates were opened to let the fans out. One of the perks in staying in North Street was that some of the players (Davie Lapsley, Campbell Forsyth Jackie Nielson and others) used to park their cars in the grounds of Mathie Potato Merchants and were impressed with the footy skills of Sheena the collie dog who usually played in goals with us - unfortunately she is no longer available for selection! And then if you wanted to forget about the result it was a night spent in front of the black & white TV set watching Dixon of Dock Green followed by the Billy Cotton Band show and then Perry Mason. Exciting times!

It was 1 January 1980 and it finished 2-2, with Doug Somner scoring Saints' two goals. It was also the only game played in the premier league that day because of sub-zero temperatures. As DOP's father I got accompanying him to meet Jim Clunie and the players after the game. If Danny Lennon felt hard done to what about the great Jim Clunie - took St Mirren to their highest finish (3rd) in the premier league and then was sacked not long after for his efforts. Suppose that puts him in the same exclusive club as Alex Ferguson.. Jim Clunie was also the greatest uncapped Saints player I have seen in over 60 years of supporting St Mirren.

Or Tottie Beck or Alistair Miller or Jimmy Robertson?

Obviously not one of your new year's resolutions!

Mission accomplished !

Based on yesterday's performance this time next year we will be reminiscing "Missing the Championship" - because we will be in League 1. Many Saints fans will have their own memories of their worst ever Saints performance but for me nothing plunged the depths more than what I witnessed yesterday (and I have been supporting St Mirren for over 60 years). I would frankly be struggling to give any of yesterday's team pass marks. In more ways than one, there were no silver linings to the dark clouds hanging over the club. Our defence leaked like a sieve (from goalkeeper out), our midfield was non-existent in terms of creativity and perhaps you could only excuse our forwards because of the paucity of what was behind them. Most concerning of all, was the lack of fitness, competitiveness and appetite for the game. There is something seriously amiss and it's not just footballing ability. Alex Rae has a daunting challenge in front of him and I genuinely wish him well. Even the local council can't get their act together evident from the disgraceful state of the approach roads to the ground - particularly Murray Street. You either had to leap over ankle-deep puddles, covering the full width of the pavement, or risk walking on the poorly lit road and getting struck by a car. What kind of impression will this give to visiting fans? What an advert for Paisley and the newly branded Paisley 2021 Stadium!

It apparently was not an issue with Rae's appointment. He was only interviewed on Friday morning and was officially appointed manager before tea time. I wonder how the other applicants for the manager's job felt when Rae was being strongly tipped as early as Sunday but did not apparently speak to anyone from St Mirren until Friday morning. The BoD certainly did not waste any time in making up their mind on Rae - seemingly days before he was even interviewed. I have made the assumption that the reason for the delay in appointing the assistant rests with the BoD and not the new manager - but I could be wrong.

If this is the case it does not explain why Alex Rae still has not appointed his assistant nearly one week after he took over the reins. After the shambolic and unprofessional recruitment of Rae, surely the BoD are not now about to exacerbate the situation even further with regard to the assistant manager's post. The new manager deserves the full support of the BoD in his efforts to get the club back on the rails. Rae, Longwell and the supporters deserve better.

Just when we thought things were beginning to look up with the drive and outlook of the new manager, we discover that the old regime are still meticulously planning our downfall behind the scenes.

Oaksoft could also try tempering his language.

Thompson is certainly capable of performing better than he has done under Murray. But why should he voluntarily give up his main source of income? I (and many others I would presume) would love to see the genuine article instead of the pale shadow we have witnessed in recent weeks for whatever reason.

A word of caution. We should not be too hasty in unloading players who failed to perform for Ian Murray. Maybe Alex Rae can get more out of them at least until the end of the season. We have off-loaded more than a few players in recent years who have gone on to perform better with other clubs. On the other hand, Rae may be able to suss out the losers fairly quickly, but a max of 6 weeks is not a lot of time to assess a player unless he has been able to form an opinion based on his previous role as a TV pundit.

Early Christmas cheer from the Saints - well done Alex Rae and the players. A Boxing Day victory against Livingstone will set us up nicely for a climb up the league. A good chance to throw off the 'Bah - humbug' negativity of recent weeks. It would be good if the fans (and so-called non-fans on here) could turn up to support the team and make a difference. However, patience will be required before we get to where we want to be.

I hope Alex Rae learns a lesson from Jose Mourhino's experience at Chelsea. Rae has a reputation as a bit of a hard man but it seems that it was Mourhino's abrasiveness with the players and staff (and everyone else) that got him the sack. Hopefully Rae strikes the right balance between discipline and encouragement.

What are the chances it will be painted blue? Despite the baggage Rae carries I wish him well at St Mirren.

The Board owe the fans an explanation and an apology as to how Chico could announce last Sunday that Rae was likely to get the job five days before he was apparently interviewed, with Rae stating himself that no-one from the club had even spoken to him. Are St Mirren the only club that go about their business like this? In what way does Rae meet Gilmour's criteria of an experienced manager as reported to the shareholders at the AGM on Monday evening?

It's disappointing (but not surprising) that this apparent speculation is being allowed to ferment on here in the absence of any formal announcement by the chairman. The only possible excuse for this failing is perhaps Rae is in the process of seeking an assistant before the formal announcement is made. Or maybe this latest cockup is just a bad dream!

I stand corrected Bud. We had a golden spell between 1978 and 1985 when we finished 6th, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 5th, 6th and 5th. Jim Clunie, Rikki McFarlane and a certain Mr Alex Miller were the managers. However, since that period (ie. 30years ago) we have been relegated twice and failed to finish higher than 7th. Do we just put the 1978-85 period down as a fluke or is it an indication that with a competent manager and BoD St Mirren should expect better things than we have experienced for the past 30 years?