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St Mirren V Celtic League Cup Semi Final


shull

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I expect Danny will play a similar game plan to the one he did at Parkhead last month. He defended his strategy after the match and correctly pointed out that they created very few chances and both of their goals came from set pieces.

Celtic have scored 8 goals in their last two games, both against teams better than us. If we open up and ' have a go ' there is a good chance we will be humped 6 or 7 nil, no one wants that kind of humiliation.

We need to keep it tight and frustrate them as long as possible. If we concede in the first 20 minutes we may aswell go home as the game will effectively be over. The longer the game remains at 0-0 the more nervous and agitated Celtic and their fans will become and the more chance we will have.

Semi final cup game and you think we will play a defensive game. Can only assume you’re a young man and not experienced many semi finals. Put your money on us having a go there is nothing surer it’s a one off game. Whether we win it is a different matter. Here is a tip don’t put your money on that. As long as we give it our best that’s all that matters .

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I have to say 3500 tickets sold is pathetic, a club of our size should have no problem getting double that! Just wait untill all the glory hunting saint mirren fans that havent been to a game in years want to go to the final!

We only have around 3,500 home fans so I would say that's not bad. If it's the part timers you are looking for they will turn up for the final.

To date Celtic have sold 12,500 would say that is worse than us if you look at home gates.

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We only have around 3,500 home fans so I would say that's not bad. If it's the part timers you are looking for they will turn up for the final.

To date Celtic have sold 12,500 would say that is worse than us if you look at home gates.

Yeah, the crowd will be about 25,000

4000 Buddies

21000 *****

And the press will say our support is pathetic despite the fact all of our regulars plus a few others have turned up and less than half of theirs are in attendance.

The media have a weird, negative, pro OF way of looking at everything.

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Semi final cup game and you think we will play a defensive game. Can only assume you’re a young man and not experienced many semi finals. Put your money on us having a go there is nothing surer it’s a one off game. Whether we win it is a different matter. Here is a tip don’t put your money on that. As long as we give it our best that’s all that matters .

Not sure i get your point there. I'm sure we both agree that Danny will be deciding our game plan at the weekend. Are you suggesting that his thinking will be bound by some kind of historical directive about how we ' normally ' play in semi finals?

Of course Celtic have far better players than us and will beat us comfortably 9 times out of 10. We'll need to catch them on an off day aswell as playing to our maximum potential if we are going to have a chance of going through.

I believe the strategy that would give us the best chance of progression would be to keep it very tight for as long as possible and try catch Celtic out on the break or from a set piece. Pretty much the same strategy as we had at Parkhead recently and that Celtic had at the Nou Camp.

There is a fashion for fans and the media to say before these games that St Mirren should ' come and have a go ' etc etc. If we do that we will almost certainly be turned over.

I don't remember any of these supposed experts ( yes you Murdo McLeod ) urging Celtic to go and have a go in Barcelona. That performance was hailed as a piece of tactical genius by Neil Lennon in which they were unfortunate to leave with nothing. They put 11 men behind the ball and hoofed the ball clear for 90 minutes and scored from a set piece.

We do the same at Parkhead and are dismissed as anti football and the worst side Celtic have played this season blah blah. The truth is we were very much in that game until the 83rd minute. Certainly a lot more so than Hearts and Dundee United were in their recent trips to Celtic Park.

Having a go at Celtic on Sunday may seem like the noble thing to do before the match. It certainly won't seem as noble if we are 3-0 down after half an hour. The truth is if we do open up what little chance we have of going through diminishes to pretty much zero. The strategy which maximises our resources and our small chance is a well organised defensive one with Thompson on his own up front.

I'm sure Danny realises this and i'm sure we will see those tactics deployed on Sunday.

Edited by Lex
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I find it hard to believe we're going into this game without a recognized LB and possibly a CH whose fitness must be in some doubt or if he doesn't make it we'll have to play our only holding midfielder at CH. Meanwhile we've signed a midfielder, presumably to replace McLean if&when he goes and a Portuguese wonderkid stiker ahead of our what will probably be our biggest game of the season - it'll be interesting to see how much game time they get.

Hopefully Sunday will be our day, but if it isn't I don't want to hear any excuses - we've got a unbalanced squad that looks even less capable of sneaking a win than the one which lost to Celtic last month.

I'm going along because that's what I do when I'm not working and Saints are playing but with very little confidence in DL's ability to produce an upset.

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I find it hard to believe we're going into this game without a recognized LB and possibly a CH whose fitness must be in some doubt or if he doesn't make it we'll have to play our only holding midfielder at CH. Meanwhile we've signed a midfielder, presumably to replace McLean if&when he goes and a Portuguese wonderkid stiker ahead of our what will probably be our biggest game of the season - it'll be interesting to see how much game time they get.

Hopefully Sunday will be our day, but if it isn't I don't want to hear any excuses - we've got a unbalanced squad that looks even less capable of sneaking a win than the one which lost to Celtic last month.

I'm going along because that's what I do when I'm not working and Saints are playing but with very little confidence in DL's ability to produce an upset.

I don't think we can have any excuses, tbh, other than what you state - the balance of our squad. Don't get me wrong, I think we have a lot of good players at the club, but we are all over the place when it comes to having players who are natural to a certain position and I still don't think Danny knows his strongest starting 11. I don't think anyone really does, which is very concerning at this stage of the season. And to be without a natural left-back in our squad, given the amount of problems we've had tying someone down to that position pretty much since Ian Maxwell left, is also a big concern. We have to learn our lesson this summer and get a reliable full back on a two/three-year contract.

As long as we come out of the game looking respectable, having put up a fighting performance, and given it our all, I will be satisfied - as that's pretty much all I think we can get from the game, despite having more confidence in our ability a month or two ago. I really hope the players prove me wrong, though. A poor performance from us, and the result doesn't bear thinking about.

Edited by Sunny Saint
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I want to see us coming out looking like we believe we should be there. No standing back and admiring, and not just enjoying a big day out at Hampden. I want to see our players look at the opportunity in front of them and show how much they want to take it.

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Steven Thompson – ‘We Need Your Backing’

JANUARY 25, 2013 BY ADMIN

Steven-Thompson1-240x300.jpgOn Sunday afternoon St Mirren head to the National Stadium to face Celtic in the semi-final of the Scottish Communities League Cup.

Everybody knows that Saints’ striker Steven Thompson is a St Mirren fan and as such he has vivid memories of the 1987 Scottish Cup final but he hopes the fans will turn out in good numbers this Sunday at Hampden to hopefully create some new golden memories.

He said, “My first ever St Mirren game was the Scottish Cup Final in 1987 when I was 9-years-old.

“I felt as if I was in amongst a million St Mirren fans that day as there were so many of them at the game. It must have been such an inspiration to the players knowing they had such a backing.

“I have no doubt that the 87 Scottish Cup winning team were helped and inspired by seeing half of the stadium was in the black and white of St Mirren.

“If you are St Mirren fan out there who hasn’t decided whether you are going or not please go and give us your backing as it is such a help to the players when you can turn around and see and hear a support like that.”

Edited by Scabby Dug
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Steven Thompson We Need Your Backing

JANUARY 25, 2013 BY ADMIN

Steven-Thompson1-240x300.jpgOn Sunday afternoon St Mirren head to the National Stadium to face Celtic in the semi-final of the Scottish Communities League Cup.

Everybody knows that Saints striker Steven Thompson is a St Mirren fan and as such he has vivid memories of the 1987 Scottish Cup final but he hopes the fans will turn out in good numbers this Sunday at Hampden to hopefully create some new golden memories.

He said, My first ever St Mirren game was the Scottish Cup Final in 1987 when I was 9-years-old.

I felt as if I was in amongst a million St Mirren fans that day as there were so many of them at the game. It must have been such an inspiration to the players knowing they had such a backing.

I have no doubt that the 87 Scottish Cup winning team were helped and inspired by seeing half of the stadium was in the black and white of St Mirren.

If you are St Mirren fan out there who hasnt decided whether you are going or not please go and give us your backing as it is such a help to the players when you can turn around and see and hear a support like that.

1st game glory hunter! If its good enough for Thommo to miss the semi then no wonder we can't sell ticks.

I'm same age and had managed 2 years of games before cup final, part timer.

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The day oh awe days, it seem right,
Tae pen an ode about this plight.
We need tae get the fans oan board,
In pass through Glesga in thir hordes.
Noo am sitting here wae drink in hon,
Thinkin' ahead tae Sunday morn.
When aff we'll go wae scarf n banner,
No wae worry but in hopeful manner.
A beg yeez awe tae follow suit,
Get tae greenhill 'n part wae loot.
then go tae Hampden, one 'n awe.
In see the Saints win, that'll be braw.
Even if it happens in we're beat fare
At least ye kin say, "A wiz there!"
Give voice, be vocal, shout yersel hoarse
Singing whit?, Come On Ye Saints of course!

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Yeah, the crowd will be about 25,000

4000 Buddies

21000 *****

And the press will say our support is pathetic despite the fact all of our regulars plus a few others have turned up and less than half of theirs are in attendance.

The media have a weird, negative, pro OF way of looking at everything.

Why do you even care what the press think? Seriously isn't life too short for worrying about that?

Personally I'm more worried that we'll simply bottle it, roll over, tickle their tummies and offer them 6 goals without batting an eyelid.

I've never been more sure of anything since I outed shull from the closet last year.

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