Julian Banjos

Good win for Hearts, but maybe of more significance is that Ryan Stevenson looks like he is going to be out for most of the season with a knee injury. Jamie Hamill left as their only over-21 outfield player.

Logical to make ST manager because........ "he's one of us and we like him"? Lee Mair has done his badges too and has as much coaching experience as Thompson. Give him the gig?

Lennon gave us our highest league position in a quarter of a century then then followed it up with the first cup since 87. Always talking up the club and fans, goes round primary schools drumming up support. So we lose a game to a team who finished 4th last season and, by all accounts, we were doing okay against them until a dodgy pen and mad 10 minutes afterwards. A bit of perspective required? Danny has proved that he can bring us success in the league and cup. It's laughable he's being put under pressure one game into a season. I think he's partly suffering because he's not "St Mirren". No question that Billy Stark or Steve Clarke, with the same record, would be getting an easier ride.

Since returning to the SPL, last season was our worst for goals conceded (61). Looking at the personnel we have this season, you'd imagine we could be around that mark again. We will have to score a lot of goals to avoid being in the bottom 2.....

That's a team of two halves... SPL defenders will know they're in for a hard shift, SPL attackers will be rubbing their hands together.

We conceded 60 goals in the league last season. Our worst "goals against" in the 7 seasons we've been back in the SPL. Samson, Dummett out. McGregor, Cornell / Dilo, (maybe Grainger) in. Are we going to keep it below 60 this season? Pretty doubtful. We'll need Thompson to get his 16 again and a few others to pitch in.

Agree with most that he'd be a good signing. Has already proved himself at this level and is still only 26. Surprises me that McInnes isn't looking to take him to Pittodrie.

Oh dear. If that's going to keep Barron out again for awhile then Lennon will definitely need to bring in a left back.

Was in the paper yesterday that he's back into regular training with the first team squad. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/spl/barron-sets-sights-on-saints-return-for-new-campaign-130693n.21621012

Yeah, we've never had suitable cover for Thompson and have been lucky that he's not been out for any period of time. Parkin & Guy were plodders and I think we'd have struggled if we'd had to rely on them. His most effective partners were, in my opinion, Nigel and Isma. Both 21 year old guys with something to prove who were a bit different to most centre forwards. How does Danny spend his money? Commit to a wage on another journeyman, free agent like Daryl Duffy or Colin Nish? Hang on with what we've got and see if an Isma turns up? Tricky.... As for left back, Sean Kelly picked up some experience in the 3rd division and seems to be well thought of. Barron will be fit again too. I think Lennon will go with those two for the first few games. If we look really shaky then he can still get someone in by the end of August.

In the past 10 years, I think Gus (and Danny to a lesser extent) have been far too tentative in giving our academy players a chance in the first team. Yes we've had some that have been given a proper chance (McGinn for example) and taken it. There have been many more others though who spend years at the club and are then released with a few unused sub appearances to their name. Would any of them made it? Possibly not many, but I'd rather have given them a chance than the many journeymen who we've had come and go. Compared to other clubs in the league we don't give as many of our youths a chance, and it's surprising considering the reputation we have amongst parents and the facilities at our disposal. If the club has the confidence to replace benchwarmers like Guy, Parkin and Imrie with guys who have come through the ranks then I think it's a step forward.

Barr, Grainger, Ryan McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Taouil, Novikovas, Driver, Templeton, Ngoo, Sutton gone in the past 9 months. Most of them were in their squad the whole season and they only finished 14 points off bottom. Providing that the signing embargo isn't lifted by the end of the transfer window, Hearts' strongest team will probably be along the lines of: ---------------------MacDonald (27)-------------------------- Hamill (27) McGowan (22) Wilson (21) McHattie (20) Tapping (20) Holt (20) Robinson (21) Walker (20) ------------Stevenson (28) Carrick (19)-------------------- Locke will have to be a miracle worker to claw back the 15 points.

Cowdenbeath drew tonight so 3 point gap with 4 games to go. Dunfermline play Cowdenbeath at home before the end of the season, but they've also got to go Firhill and Cappielow. Doesn't look good for them.

A bit of an aside, but occurred to me today that I'm really glad we won something wearing a classic St Mirren strip! '87 one we see so often was basically white.

Was not long after the final whistle. Also on the back of the Metro today.

Amazingly managed to keep it together at the game, but have been struggling since. What were your biggest greets? 3. Seeing the open top bus come into sight at Stow Brae. 2. Cheesy crying on Thommo's shoulder in the highlights. 1. Following the bus up Causeyside then walking down Gilmour St towards County Square with my Mrs. She's heavily pregnant with our first child so the game would have been too much. Making the parade though means that we can do the "you were there!" in the future.

A bit fortunate the game wasn't over in the first half hour, but 3 brilliant goals and some stout defending saw us through. Incredible to see history being made. Were discussing at half time how Isma's goal was the first goal we'd scored in normal time in a cup final since 1959. 64 years! I knew that when we had Thompson, McGowan and Teale contracted for 2 seasons that we'd have a chance of winning a national trophy. It was an absolute master-stroke from Lennon to find Goncalves and Newton to complement who we already had. Thanks to Danny and the boys. A really memorable day for so many people and families who have been brought together by that club.

Another player away. Andrew Driver has signed for Houston Dynamo.

Hearts are limping along at the moment. Since Christmas (discounting the penalty shoot out) they've only won 1 game, which was at home to Dundee. 5 teenagers in their team last Saturday (Tapping, Mullen, Holt, Walker and King), Paterson & Zaliukas out long term, Stevenson suspended until March. Ngoo looks like he'll be the danger man.

Yes, it may be short termism and too much is wasted on overpaid players, but that comes from fan expectation as well. Look at if from the point of view of the SPL chairmen: 1.Syphon off the Sky money to youth initiatives then they'll suffer on the park and probably be relegated from the league = fans up in arms. 2. Spend the Sky money to help put a decent team together = happy fans. They're under pressure to put a team on the park now that wins games now. Striking a balance between that and other interests is not easy. To me this opposition to Newco on Division 1 is a case of fans having their cake and then eating it. We want our team to be successful, but we don't want Sky money to rule the decision making of the guardians of our club. Unfortunately, you can't have it both it ways.

No, but we've let them become entwined with our game and we're now seeing the direct consequences of that i.e. SPL clubs voting for Rangers to go in 1st division. Many people see that as being wrong and it all goes back to the influence of Sky.

Actually, I have never once had a subscription to Sky. Was more to do with Rupert Murdoch than football though. Integrity and all that. I do watch Freeview football on TV though and Sky, ESPN matches in the pub sometimes. I did my wee bit for TV's creeping influence on the game in the past 20 years. As has everyone who posts to this forum I would say. What we're seeing now is people who have enjoyed all of that suddenly take the moral high ground when the importance of TV money on football has become explicit.

Exactly. They are the key to this. Many of us bump our gums about the negative influence of TV on football, yet how many of us who are outraged at Newco going into Division 1 subscribe to Sky? How many matches do we watch on television every week? If we didn't watch football on television then there would be no market for Sky, SPL clubs wouldn't be dependent on their money and Newco would be sent into Division 3 without fuss. We're culpable too. That's where football is now. We've helped make it this way and we can't just cast aside the issue of TV money when considering how to deal with Newco.

The ways he's thinking though there wouldn't be an SFL1. If there's agreement on going to a 16 team league then what we might see is a new vote where the 1st division clubs are asked to take Newco in 2012/13. For 2013/14 we'd then go to an SPL1 and 2 with maybe 16 teams in each. I want the blue bigots punished but, let's face it, we all know they'll be back in the not too distant future. Status quo in the leagues and newco in Division 3 or newco in Division 1 with the promise of a 16 team league. Would go for the latter every time.