Chris

FWIW, Muzek didn't start either playoff leg against Dundee United, or against Rangers (a) or Livingston (a). He started 14 out of 18 matches.

You didn't "know" anything at all, even though you pretended you did! Popescu turned out to be a good player, fortunately, but you had absolutely no way of knowing that, and nor did I - but I didn't pretend to know something about Romanian football, like you Connah's Quay Nomads 2-0 Kilmarnock. What does that prove now...?! It has as little relevance as the scoreline you refer to!

If you look at the average salaries (https://www.statista.com/statistics/547202/average-annual-first-team-player-salaray-football-clubs-scottish-premiership/), there is nothing between us and Motherwell, Hamilton or St Johnstone. Particularly as we have now reduced our squad size significantly: the same budget is now spread over fewer players which means higher wages. It is not a valid argument to simply say we don't pay enough. Yes, we should be a bottom 6 team on budget, but there's no reason we need to be bottom based on finances alone.

Don't see why not? Surplus to requirements in the lower reaches of Belgian top flight http://www.voetbalbelgie.be/nl/article.php?id=144850

I don't know anything about it either, and wasn't pretending to beyond the little research I did there, but it's annoying when people talk down our game. I should have remembered Astra - I actually went to that game against West Ham at the Olympic Stadium. Cluj won the league last year but were knocked out of the Europa League by Luxembourgish opposition - Rangers will sympathise... Timisoara and University Craiova both went bust and reformed in 2011 and 2012 - again Rangers will sympathise...

Ok then, let's look at the club coefficients - and let's start by pointing out that Romania doesn't have anything like 10 clubs better than ours: Celtic 68.5 Steaua 61 Rangers 25.75 Cluj 23.5 Astra 14 Unirea 11.5 Vaslui 9.5 Dinamo 9 Aberdeen 7.5 Motherwell 5.5 Timisoara 5.5 Hearts 5 You'll be able to see from the table that almost all of Cluj's points pre-date 2013, half of Vaslui's points are from 2011/2012, Unirea's points are almost all from 2009/2010, half of Dinamo's points pre-date 2011 and all of Timisoara's points pre-date 2011. This is why Romania is so many places below Scotland in the coefficient, because recent performances are given additional weighting. Steaua apart, no Romanian clubs have done anything of note for years. The Romanian league would seem to be in terminal decline since about 2011. This guy might turn out to be great, but he could just as easily be gash - the league he is playing in is no guarantee. No need to trump up leagues that no-one on here has ever watched!

You have absolutely no idea how good the Romanian top flight is! Looking at the UEFA club coefficient, it would seem that Scotland (20th) is in fact way above Romania (29th)! Even the likes of Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan are above Romania. Sure, the coefficient is based largely on Celtic and Rangers' performances, and the rest of the clubs in the league are significantly weaker, but I'm pretty sure you'd struggle to name many Romanian teams outside Steaua, Rapid and Dynamo Bucharest! There is every chance that the Romanian top flight is dross, and that a club struggling in the Romanian top flight is pretty pap. Let's hope this guy is decent, if he's still coming!

That was a cup game. They play in what was the Conference against the likes of Leyton Orient, Wrexham and now big spending Salford City. A number of teams in that league will most likely pay higher wages than us. ETA... oops, I was beaten to it!

King suing us for not giving him a game??

When was the last time St Mirren did that? If you think of all the chancers who have passed through the club's doors in the last 30 years, I can't believe King has done something worse than all of them, while not even being involved in the reserve set up, never mind the first team picture. With all the rumours that leak from our dressing room, i'd be surprised if that happened without anyone knowing.

We're both only speculating, but given that he has been told to find a club down south, and may even have been down south himself for the last wee while, I'd say my guess is more likely to be right. When it is clear he is going to leave, I can't see why we would botherbringing disciplinary proceedings that would require him to be represented by a solicitor and not simply a rep from the SPFA (and if he had done something that bad, rumours would surely have leaked). King was at least a full time professional when we signed him, unlike some of the others, so it ought not to have been an adjustment for him.

King presumably negotiating his pay off. What an abysmal job Stubbs made of recruitment.

I had this one in mind: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/oct/01/match.stmirren The Maxwell one was clearly a fluke, hardly a great goal. the DvZ was a belter (although closer in than I remember it, according to this report).

My first ever Saints match! Remember it as a wee boy as a goal from near enough the halfway line, had assumed that in reality it was only on the edge of the box or something, so I am glad to read it was indeed a cracker! van Zanten, no?

You have no idea how much TV or prize money either gets, but even on the figures you estimated - in St MIrren's favour - Orient would have earned enough from their extra gate money to cover that gap and then some. You even admitted eventually that Orient would have been able to pay more than us last year, and that is almost certainly true again this year as a result of their significantly greater season ticket sales, which will translate again into significantly greater attendances (for a higher number of games). I didn't pretend to know anything about what Davis would do (although I am pleasantly surprised he has returned), but was simply pointing out that you were wrong to suggest they were not a club who could pay more than us!

Leyton Orient have announced that they have sold 3500 season tickets, a 16 year high. More than our entire average attendance last year - so much for their gates suffering. Pretty sure they will still be able to pay more than us, as they will have been last year. As for it not being a commercial bonanza: it was 33% more than we got. That is significant whatever the underlying figures. It makes no difference if the underlying figures are 1m or 100m: the fact is that their revenue was a third greater than ours. At least you were right about Davis...

All we know for sure is that their gates were considerably higher than ours last year. Whatever way you cut it, getting 1100 more punters every week paying - at a conservative estimate - £15 each, and taking into account the fact that they had 5 more home games in the league than us, means they have significantly greater gate receipts. About £380k based on those figures. Do you really think all their other revenue streams are significantly lower than ours, if they get so many more punters through the gate? They will undoubtedly have paid players more than we did last year, and I see no reason why they will not continue to pay more than us next year, even if the National League TV deal is considerably lower than the League Two deal.

Let's assume Orient received not a single penny from TV last season (which is obviously not the case). They would only take 12 home game to earn more than our £200k (which is not even accurate: see below) from last season, given their considerably higher gates. Merchandising, catering, hospitality and sponsorship will all be more lucrative in London than they are in Paisley. Prize money in League Two will also be greater than in the Scottish Championship, I would have thought. Counting three games at the end of the season seems to have no relevance to anything, frankly. As for checking the deals: firstly, the Scottish figures you quote are for total revenue from the SPFL, not just TV money, if you read the article. Secondly, Wikipedia does indeed link to an article stating that the National League TV deal signed in 2013 was worth £300k... Not sure what that has to do with this year's deal, and obviously it doesn't include other revenues received from the League. Not sure why you are arguing such an obvious point! I'm not surprised!

Not a huge difference?! Only about a third more than our gates every single week...! Let's say the average price of a seat at both clubs is £15, accounting for season tickets, concessions etc - that means they are pulling in an extra £16,500 every second week even before things like catering, merchandising etc. A very significant difference at our level, even if the prices are the same. I will take your word on that. I am also not going to check the BT Sport deal for the National League, but to suggest it will be less than we get from BBC Alba seems very unlikely. I doubt our attendances will change greatly this year, even if we challenge - if anything, theirs are more likely to go up if they challenge for the league (although that in itself seems unlikely). They have been bought over by an extremely rich individual, so their past financial trouble won't be much of a factor. I don't see how starting over means they will pay more or less than us - it's just a question of budget. Scottish Championship clubs can't even begin to compete.

Their average attendance last year was c.1100 higher than ours (in their worst ever season, they were playing their youth team by January) and I doubt the entrance price was any cheaper than ours. I doubt the TV money in the National (plenty games shown on BT Sport) is less than we get from BBC Alba... There is little doubt that Orient will be able to pay considerably more than us. That being said, you are right that Davis' money would go further in Paisley.

Is he any good? I have never heard of him.

Was it not £30k, and was the fee not paid by one (or more?) of the directors out of their own pocket, rather than by the club?

Four trialists coming in for pre-season training. Presumably Grant is one of the four.

Utterly delighted to have been proven wrong!!

Almost unbelievably, he is about to get promoted to the French top flight!