Qarsaan

Ross county one down to Hamilton. Could be a good day. Mon the Buddies....!

Gonna be following this game via this forum from Saudi Arabia. Please keep the updates coming in ... please let them carry good news.
C O M E O N Y E S A I N T S

Fair swap!

We'll be flying high by then with our new Manager in charge.

I tend to agree Teale should be given a chance. The argument that because he's not long qualified as a coach must mean he can't be any good doesn't hold water for me. I have been coached and coached at various levels in football and other sports and some of the best I have seen had zero formal qualifications. Of course experience is valuable, but you don't need to be old to be wise and nouse and enthusiasm count too. He could be a natural coach and there's no doubt about his playing credentials. I'd be more concerned about the change in relationship from team mate to manager but hardly a deal breaker. At the end of the day the real problem we have is the general weakness of the squad which I can't see being sufficiently strengthened in January.

According to the BBC News "... McCoist will also see his salary increase back to £750,000 a year."
Not bad for putting in your notice.

The only way is 'up.'
Come On Ye Saints.

I just want to thank Tommy for all his work with the St.Mirren team. I think we should think back to when he first came in and the excellent brand of football he played after danny had almost relegated us in his first season. Regardless of what you say Danny was finished at St.Mirren and Tommy made the step up. It did not work out as planned but some of the celebrating on here makes me sad. A man who for all his failings tried to win games and has lost his job. He loved coaching and being out on the park. Ok it wasnt to be but I for one wish to thank Tommy for all his efforts. .

I hope this banner ad on sky sports news is not an omen for a teale and Goodwin partnership!

I want to record my thanks to Tommy for all the good work he done, as coach under Danny. I am glad he had a go at the manager's position, and am sad it did not work out.
I hope Saints find a replacement soon, and equally that Tommy picks-up a new post.

I want to record my thanks to Tommy for all the good work he done, as coach under Danny. I am glad he had a go at the manager's position, and am sad it did not work out.
I hope Saints find a replacement soon, and equally that Tommy picks-up a new post.

How can the first team not get results like this?

How can the first team not get results like this?

We have diversified - we are now offering our `hospitality` on the pitch with points available to collect every visit

Dear Friends,
I have been a Saints man for longer than I can remember. Through those years, I have never had an expectation of Saints winning anything very special, other than the odd cup.
Throughout those times, I have heard countless complaints by others, demanding dismissal of the manager of the day. My expectations of St Mirren football club has always made me think the managers we have had were the best available to our budget, and stood by them. That includes David Hay.Today my mind has been changed. Regrettably, I conclude that Tommy Craig, good coach he may be, is just not up to it. I am sad to call on Tommy to do the decent thing, and resign. I write this with no idea about who should replace him. Quite honestly, there must be a better person out there.

The case for and against Tommy Craig as manager should rest on results, performances and how last year's players are doing this season under the new manager and finally how his summer signings have done.
Results and performances have probably been well covered on BAWA.
Last year's players this year under TC:
Marian Kello: a shadow of last year's player and now dropped after costing too many goals.
Jason Naismith: has earned a Scotland U21 call up and looked a goal threat going forward but has regressed defensively to an alarming extent.
Marc McAusland: had a terrible, error-strewn start to the season, Possibly settling down a bit now.
Jim Goodwin: Sent off in first game of the season. Retrospectively red carded after less than 10 league games played. Inbetween times when he found some form it coincided with our purple patch where we picked up our 8 points.
Sean Kelly: started the season out of the starting XI and since returning to it during our injury crisis has alternated between left back and left midfield.
Gregg Wylde: An inconsistent, patchy, erratic start to the season (continuing form from before the summer?) before succumbing to injury.
Kenny McLean: resigning him was viewed as a major coup for the club and it still may turn out to be. While performances have been well below the standard he set last year and he has been very inconsistent he is also our joint top scorer.
John McGinn: Another who has yet to show what he is capable of this year, and yet when he has been injured, his dig and ingenuity and attacking instincts are sorely missed even when he isn't on form.
Gary Teale: could be argued that since he hasn't been out injured all season this year, this season is an improvement, Not shown anything like the form he displayed during the cup winning season. Dropped to bench to make way for young debutantes on a day the team cried out for some seasoned pros when facing the guile of a well drilled and competent Hamilton Accies side.
Thomas Reilly: getting a regular start and has surprised some with his willingness to get stuck in. Has largely spent the season being played out of his natural position. It maybe doesn't come as a ringing endorsement that he seems further down the striker's pecking order than Ball, Marwood, or Caldwell. Yet possibly the biggest shout from last year's squad of a player who may have progressed and improved under TC.
Steven Thompson: an injury plagued season so far. The received wisdom suggests getting him fit and back among the goals will be our principle hope of avoiding 12th or 11th place.
Summary: you can make a case for Reilly having a better season under TC this year, but the other 10 have either plateaued or gone backwards.
Summer Signings:
Ellis Plummer: looked a player, even if it was open to debate whether central defence was his best position.
Adam Drury: still finding his feet, form has been patchy but is our joint top scorer.
Isaac Osbourne: signed after the season started with a known record of injury problems. After a few decent games has been out injured!
Jeroem Tesselaar: arguably our best summer signing so far. One of our better and more consistent performers in a bleak season.
Ross Caldwell: the first player to score for us this season, and with a double too, and has subsequently been kept out of the starting XI. When he has been given a chance in the starting XI it has usually served to underline why he has often been given a place on the bench.
James Marwood: works hard enough, creates space for others, but looks like he might not find the back of the net this side of Christmas (and folks used to think Dargo and Mehmet had a poor goal return for forwards!)
Calum Ball: arrived looking like he had Carey-style issues with his weight, and some signs of promise. Some assumed that once he got match fit, lost some weight there could be the makings of an OK SPL standard striker in there. As we head in to December he looks to have lost confidence after a few missed sitters and still doesn't look fit enough for SPL standard football.
Summary: Tesselaar has been alright, but he was already a known quantity.
Overall summary: Tommy Craig inherited almost a starting XI of players who have played for the first team the previous season or the one before. A few issues which needed resolved were defensive weakness (particularly in central defence) and it was expected that after DL had got Barron, DVZ, and Mair off the payroll the previous season and after McGregor left for Sevco that a serious rebuild was needed. The squad was also light on striking options, and in Goodwin, Teale and Thompson 3 senior pros one of whom had known disciplinary problems, one had spent the previous season injured on the sidelines and one had a planned operation over the summer. Tommy Craig was given a reduced budget to work with and elected to sign 2 defenders to replace the 4 who went out the door last season, and fill the squad by promoting young players from the U20 squad, signing young players on loan, and signing other young players largely untried and almost exclusively unproven at SPL level (with the exception of Osbourne and Tesselaar).
Now, if we had been sitting 7th or 8th or higher after all those gambles on TC's part with a younger and cheaper squad then I think most fans would be behind him and saying he was doing a good job. Instead, we have failed to score in 8 out of 14 league games, failed to keep 1 clean sheet in any competitive match this season, and taken 1 point out of 7 home games and lost 72% of league matches under Tommy Craig. Kinda makes you wish that he bought a few more defenders, didn't only go down the bring in young, inexperienced guys route, and had considered replacing Teale and / or Goodwin with other seasoned pros with plenty of SPL experience.

I am on record as stating I think use of 'TV evidence' is wrong. Realistically though, I accept the reality of what we have.
In Jim's position of a senior player, and near management, I expect him to set an example on the field to the rest of the team. In this latest incident he has shown himself unable or unwilling to do that. Sadly, I think he should have been shown the door, and fired.

I am coming home this week and will witness my first saints match since January. Hopefully, I will be a lucky mascot.

I am coming home this week and will witness my first saints match since January. Hopefully, I will be a lucky mascot.

I am coming home this week and will witness my first saints match since January. Hopefully, I will be a lucky mascot.

This is good news to read this morning. The rain might be p1ssing doon here in Bangkok .... but I am happy.

Why should he be rewarded for his actions?

Hey Sevco!

It's not over yet. The taxman is still trying .... Three cheers for HMRC.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-28957732

Here we go again .....
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28978979
Well, the market wouldn't give us £10m ... try the fans. They are persistently stupid ... maybe they will give us 4.