RickMcD

Thinking that earlier.
When it comes to St Mirren, his song would be 
" ALWAYS LOOK ON THE SHITE SIDE OF LIFE "

You just can't help yourself can you?

Suppose I should be in with the doubters/non-believers, although I'm more than happy to be proven wrong.
I wasn't a great fan of Jack Ross being appointed after what he did at Alloa last season. Effectively he was getting it on the basis of a couple of good months with them at the start of this season. However, if guys like Davies, Warnock and Hughes (thanks God he turned us down) hadn't been linked with us then I'd probably have been more accepting. Certainly of the four candidates it supposedly came down to he was the best/least bad option at the time.
The first few months under him were horrendous and I had accepted we were down. When Morton scored on Hogmanay and their fans sang "The skunks are going down" I found it hard to disagree. I voted against the SMiSA money going into the player pool because I didn't think it would make any difference. I was even against us doing any transfer business in January as, being realistic, we were screwed. Far better to blood youngsters for life in League One rather than build a squad that would get relegated then we'd need to build another squad with those youngsters the main part of it. Even if we did get a good squad together, it would take too long for them to gel for it to be worthwhile.
Confirms beyond any doubt that I know absolutely feck all about football. The turnaround has been nothing short of incredible and Ross, Fowler and everyone else deserve full credit for that. He made 10 signings in January and only Fjelde and Storie have made no impact (which is different to being pish like Hutton). The rest have all done something of note to greater or lesser degrees - even Todd, whose goal against Dundee United would have been vital if we'd held on.
Even more remarkable is the way we've played ourselves out of trouble. We've not shitfested our way to safety, we've played exciting, attractive football. We had to go for it because draws wouldn't help but the attacking intent has paid off because the goals we rattled in against Raith Rovers, Ayr and Morton are a huge part of the goal difference that helped keep us up. We've also had to do this with endless midweek games, injuries to key players (Davis and Morgan) and getting sod all help from other teams for the most part.
It shows how impressive a job the management have done that some folk were only half joking they wouldn't mind if we made the play-offs because it would mean the season would continue. The past few months have been the best I can recall outwith the title winning seasons of 1999/2000 and 2005/06. Following midweek games on Twitter has been nervewracking and enjoyable at the same time (aside from the Raith game). The Irn-Bru Cup final was the most fun I've had at a Saints game for years. The 4-1 win at Cappielow is one of the few Saints games in recent years I've missed that I wish I was at.
Avoiding relegation at the start of the season shouldn't have been the aim but circumstances changed that. Ultimately, the celebrations on Saturday weren't just about avoiding the drop, they were about the end of an amazing few months which have seen the connection between the team and the fans at its highest in years and the completion of the great escape without even needing the play-offs.
So aye, I gave up the faith - but I rediscovered it. When did I think we'd avoid the drop? About five o'clock on Saturday night...

To suggest that Jack Ross hasn't achieved anything is f**king laughable.
I expect no different from you, however.
Ta ta.

I'll never, ever be embarrassed to celebrate SMFC achieving something.
Yes, if you'd told me at the start of the season we'd be celebrating avoiding relegation I'd have scoffed at the notion. How can a club like this possibly celebrate simply staying up? 
Sometimes though, the end result is only half the story. We didn't just avoid it, we were dead.... totally gone and almost instantly, we just turned. We started getting results and played some fantastic, swashbuckling stuff in the process. In doing so we also completely changed the culture and stigma hanging over our club in the last decade. That's not just one the park, but from chairman and board all the way to fans, everyone did their bit. I've never seen or heard a team talking the supporters up quite so much as our current crop and they are right to do so. This is the celebration of finally getting to see our club move on into a new era. 
It feels like the start of something pretty special. That buzz doesn't happen too often so we're very much going to enjoy it. 

I was sorely tempted to post last night and call out some of the negative pish that has been spouted on here over the last few months but I thought "f**k it, we're all Buds and everyone, despite how some have articulated it, has been desperate for us to stay up" and let it be.

However, this f**king tripe, no more than 24 hours after another great performance that secured our Championship status, is beyond the pale.

Aye mate, you're entitled to your opinion but it's f**king dogshit. This has been one of the best runs I can remember as a Saints fan and I've been following them as long as you.

We've played with pace, power and confidence. Have scored goals for fun and have excited and entertained the fans with a brand of football that no team in our league has produced.

It's been a wonderful journey over the last 4 months and I simply cannot understand any Saints fan wanting to take the gloss off that.

FFS![emoji35]

Yes you do have every right to an opinion.
And I have a right to call you out on it.
When the chips were down you caved in and became part of the problem alongside TC etc.
I hope you learn something from this.
Oh and BTW many of us on here have neen supporting Saints at least as long as you have.
Now do the decent thing and leave those who remained positive in the face of hellish season to enjoy at least a few days of joy before coming back to tell is how deluded we are, how embarassed we should be to celebrate survival and how over the top we are in our praise of Jack.
Whilst you are away being embarassed, you can maybe find out how many teams have survived relegation from the position we were in during December. You can go back as far as you like.
Saints have not had a manager like this, who essentially rescued our club from disaster since the days of Fergie. Many of us have not seen performances like we have witnessed the last few months since we were f**king children ourselves.
You be embarassed if you want to. Today I feel part of a genuine family club for perhaps the first time in my life. Pride!

Or.....

Jack Ross and his crew corrected five years of inertia and deeply rooted institutional turgid unambitious pish and produced a team worthy of its long suffering loyal support.

He has done fabulously well against massive odds.

Reality, never seen a title winning team or a cup winning team in football that were not lucky.

I don't think Newcastle fans will be bemoaning their appalling good luck tonight.

Sorry to be so black and white about it but it's been a fab weekend.

The reality is that when the going got tough, you TC and a few others bailed on the team.
Why dont you give the rest of the support, who stayed supportive during some of the darkest days of our history, space to enjoy their moment?
Nobody needs your version of damning with faint praise.
What this group of players, management, board of directors and fans have all achieved is absolutely incredible and you have no f**king right to piss on anyones chips.
 

Uck hoff.
 

I've heard it called a lot worse. Now, I'm not one to point out spelling errors (believe it or not a guy used to always point them out on this forum) but I must point out that there is no 'h' in Shankill. Incidentally, how you pronounce the letter 'h' over here determines your religious affiliation. Pronouncing it 'haitch' brands you immediately. If you like a bit of Erse, Shankill derives from the Irish Language word Seanchill, meaning old church.
Incidentally, a few years back I Googled Shankill for something or other and spotted the heading 'Best places to stay in Shankill'. I thought it had to be a joke but discovered Shankill is also the name of a few places in the Republic. The best place to stay in the Shankill in Belfast would be well worth seeing.

This is all getting a bit silly. LPM has raised his doubts. Nobody has called any names. When you've got 1,300 people involved - it's impossible to please everyone. Attendances are up, we're performing better on the park and there's a feel good factor around the club right now, long may it continue.
From reading this thread and responses, my own conclusion is that although there may be some element of risk to a (max) £50k loan to the club - it is protecting our investment. We've got to have a functioning football club at all times. When you consider the amount of money involved overall - £50,000 isn't really that much to ask. Putting my trust in the club, GLS & SMISA to maintain a sensible business model. 
 

As far as I'm concerned this is simply a matter of trust.
Personally I trust that all the guys on the football board are doing their level best for the Football Club. They are legally bound to act in the best interest of the company at all times and Gordon, Tony Fitz, Alan Wardrop and David Nicol are all lifelong buddies.
The same goes for the guys on the SMiSA board. Is anyone really of the belief that they are doing anything other than their level best to deliver what they set out to acheive and what is for the best for the football club.
Frankly I couldn't give a damn if a box wasn't ticked when they lent the club £12K to fix the undersoil heating in a hurry. I can't imagine the vast majority of SMiSA members care.
I'd be staggered if I could find more than half a dozen of the 1300 members who care that the discretionary funds aren't put in a separate bank account to the buyout funds.
The £50K borrowing option has never been used as far as I can tell. If it was part of the buy out deal then so what? Cashflow bumps have been commonplace at the club for decades. The directors used to pump money in unsecured and take it back out when the money came in. I don't really see why SMiSA would be any different. If the money is sitting there earning no interest I'm quite happy for it to be used to smooth cashflow issues. I'm quite sure there will be terms attached to any such loan, do we have the agreement on that in writing anywhere or are we taking LPM's word that it's a written on the back of a fag packet agreement?
 
Lucky him eh? He "gets to run the club for 10 years" without salary, and he gets to tie up £600K of his own money for 10 years into the bargain. Lucky guy.
Except there is no guarantee as people like you trying to throw SMiSA under a bus could easily cause a mass cancellation of direct debits causing the whole deal to collapse.
 
You don't trust ANYONE and that is your biggest problem.
You don't even trust the new main sponsor FFS and attacked them on the day of the announcement. Imagine attacking someone putting money IN to the club.
It's beyond parody it really is.

Classic obfuscation from you. sally02 asked direct questions which you have ignored. You trot out the same old shit ad nauseam which is good coming from someone who continually demands answers. I'm losing sleep over the USH.
I don't personally know anyone who is a SMiSA committee member. At least not as far as I am aware, living a wee bit away. Don't see many jumping onto your bandwagon although you probably are spreading unease. You are an attention seeker extraordinaire as you have demonstrated in the past. The only area where I might be slightly on your side is my feeling that the SMiSA committee could be accused perhaps of being slightly arrogant. They don't think their decisions should be queried at all and seem a bit loath to respond to criticism whether it is deserved or not. I couldn't be at the AGM but it sounded a bit like they were unprepared to be ambushed by you even though you have previous for being a bloody nuisance.
In case there is any doubt about where I stand, I will continue to support SMiSA 100%  But please keep us all up to speed with developments. And why don't they publish minutes?
 
 

To be fair, if he looks at it in a mirror it probably reads more like...   'era'.
 
Which is Shankhillese for Eire, I believe...  
 

You say that nobody is blaming Gordon for anything but I thought when reading through it that there was an element of innuendo. Maybe you should have fronted this with the first post as those of us who have been around for a few years know well that LPM has previous for hysterical overreaction and continually on the search for bogeymen. Everyone has to have an angle apart from him. As the days passed last week I almost added a post to suggest that the SMiSA AGM could possibly be delayed to allow the committee an opportunity to take on board the criticisms and get their act together. I assumed there wasn't a lot to these complaints and while I am still minded to believe that, I can't help but think that the AGM sounds to have been a bit of a shambles.
I still fully support SMiSA and am totally in support of the fans' buyout. However, I hope they don't get complacent. There is a sense of unease clearly and I hope if there has been any equivocation then SMiSA should come clean, tell the truth and then get on with things. No mushroom treatment and publish minutes. Why can't minutes be passed to members.
 

What does it mean? Is it a secret code? Mind you, on the Shankill and parts of East Belfast, 'our' is pronounced are. The tattooist maybe thought the guy said 'our' and the prick that got it is too stupid to know there is a spelling mistake.

Definitely one of your best ever posts, Oaky.

What does it mean? Is it a secret code? Mind you, on the Shankill and parts of East Belfast, 'our' is pronounced are. The tattooist maybe thought the guy said 'our' and the prick that got it is too stupid to know there is a spelling mistake.

Definitely one of your best ever posts, Oaky.

Definitely one of your best ever posts, Oaky.

.....

Were you not too keen on Jackie Neilson?

Happy Days actress dead at 56. Sad Days.
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39683097

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