Lee Mair Get Him In The Team

[insaintee]

I've seen long ball teams and the contradiction is that they DO fanny about at the back. They want to make a little space for one of the defenders to ping a good quality ball forward v(usually over the top), Its not just about clearing lines. Terry Butcher for example not only was a monster at the back but had a left foot to rival Hoddle. Ipswich, and Rangers both used to try to get the ball to him to play out. Admittedly both teams were a bit more than long ball masters at the time, Same with Arsenal and Dixon.

[Scabby Dug]

I've seen long ball teams and the contradiction is that they DO fanny about at the back. They want to make a little space for one of the defenders to ping a good quality ball forward v(usually over the top), Its not just about clearing lines. Terry Butcher for example not only was a monster at the back but had a left foot to rival Hoddle. Ipswich, and Rangers both used to try to get the ball to him to play out. Admittedly both teams were a bit more than long ball masters at the time, Same with Arsenal and Dixon.

We had a player once like that, one Davie Lapsley!

Aw the older folk would know what he played like

[Bud the Baker]

no they had 5 top defenders in Dixon, Winterbourne , Adams , Bould and Keown as well as a great keeper in Seaman.

who didn't fanny about with the ball in dangerous positions...................

[bluto]

We had a player once like that, one Davie Lapsley!

Aw the older folk would know what he played like

Great man... But right-foot...?

[The Original 59er]

Scabby Dug

Posted Today, 08:23

We had a player once like that, one Davie Lapsley!

Aw the older folk would know what he played like

Going back a wee bit Scabby - but you are right, albeit I think my memories of him are only what was written as he retired right after the 59 Cup Final and according to Wikipedia only making one more appearance after that. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lapsley) Wasn't DL a full back and centre forward tho'?

I'd add Willie Renton into that mix - another gifted half back who I think played alongside a young Gordon McQueen and helped him learn his trade at Love St.

[Scabby Dug]

Great man... But right-foot...?

Correct. A right footed left back, but I was referring to his shooting ability and as a defender

[stevie-dee]

bring back Norrie McWhirter.

[Dibbles old paperboy]

maybe he and his family are settled in area and he doesn't want to move to any old shitty team ,maybe like most he thinks danny is a shit manager and will be sacked sooner rather than later ,he is shaky but is still streets ahead of cheesy or captain calamity

So you are basically saying you would a] play an expensive (by our standards) shaky central defender this season and b] as a consequence he would get enough games to win a contract extension and still be around as a shaky defender for as long as we keep giving him enough games to keep getting more contract extensions? If Mair and his family are settled he is perfectly entitled to sit out the final year of his contract and not kick a ball for St Mirren during the last 18 months of his deal with us... it just doesn't say an awful lot about his professional pride that now there is no such thing as reserve team football he is happy to rot in the tier where reserve team football used to be.

If Danny Lennon has taken the view that Mair did a job for us in his first season or two in which DL was manager but is no longer regarded as a first team regular and will freeze Mair out of the first team picture this season unless there is an injury / suspension crisis and will not give Mair enough games to win a new deal I don't see why Mair seems determined to hang around as 4th choice centre half. Players can commute to training and matches around the central belt pretty easily and I am sure he could stay put in his current house and keep his kids in the same school and find a club in the central belt who would see him as a first team player.

[Dibbles old paperboy]

bring back Norrie McWhirter.

Wouldn't go down well on the BAWA forum given his injury record!

[linwood buddie]

Is Lee Mair on a rolling contract , if he only has too play 20 games for an automatic extension that's usually at the end of the initial deal , if we have handed a player a contract that allows this every season someone has screwed up big time .

[Bud the Baker]

So you are basically saying you would a] play an expensive (by our standards) shaky central defender this season and b] as a consequence he would get enough games to win a contract extension and still be around as a shaky defender for as long as we keep giving him enough games to keep getting more contract extensions? If Mair and his family are settled he is perfectly entitled to sit out the final year of his contract and not kick a ball for St Mirren during the last 18 months of his deal with us... it just doesn't say an awful lot about his professional pride that now there is no such thing as reserve team football he is happy to rot in the tier where reserve team football used to be.

If Danny Lennon has taken the view that Mair did a job for us in his first season or two in which DL was manager but is no longer regarded as a first team regular and will freeze Mair out of the first team picture this season unless there is an injury / suspension crisis and will not give Mair enough games to win a new deal I don't see why Mair seems determined to hang around as 4th choice centre half. Players can commute to training and matches around the central belt pretty easily and I am sure he could stay put in his current house and keep his kids in the same school and find a club in the central belt who would see him as a first team player.

Mair was signed during the brief period Setanta had the TV contract, presuming his wage remained the same when he re-signed he'll be one of the top earners at the club. We'll have to sweeten any deal to move him on, when we were trying to move on Wyness a few seasons ago we were offering to keep paying half of his wages for the remainder of his contract (according to a source at Ayr Utd.). Outside of Dundee I would doubt if any club in the SPFL Championship who could afford Mair even with a 50% discount. When to move on senior players has always been an issue and if Mair's contract is now causing us problems then like as not we'll just have to grin and bear it.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Bud the Baker

[BuddieinEK]

Did anyone notice the central defensive partnership that shipped three goals in 45 minutes to the Dunfermline U20's?

Dilo, Naismith, McGregor, Mair, Kelly, Stewart, Dillon, Brady, Cuddihy, Reilly, Scullion.

[TsuMirren]

Did anyone notice the central defensive partnership that shipped three goals in 45 minutes to the Dunfermline U20's?

 

 Dilo, Naismith, McGregor, Mair, Kelly, Stewart, Dillon, Brady, Cuddihy, Reilly, Scullion.

 

I recall one game last season where Mair was brilliant, bit like Stewart Kean's 2 goals at home vs Hearts. Sadly, that performance was an absolute one off as most other weeks he's a bomb scare. He rarely wins headers and tries to trap the ball with the sole of his boot every time. By all accounts he is fitter than he's been during his time with us, but he's still not an option.

Sent from my GT-P5110 using Black & White Army mobile app

[Lord_Flatcap]

Mair was signed during the brief period Setanta had the TV contract, presuming his wage remained the same when he re-signed he'll be one of the top earners at the club. We'll have to sweeten any deal to move him on, when we were trying to move on Wyness a few seasons ago we were offering to keep paying half of his wages for the remainder of his contract (according to a source at Ayr Utd.). Outside of Dundee I would doubt if any club in the SPFL Championship who could afford Mair even with a 50% discount. When to move on senior players has always been an issue and if Mair's contract is now causing us problems then like as not we'll just have to grin and bear it.

Every player seems to be one of the top earners if you believe the pish spouted on this forum

[Murray7]

The new Tommy Turner;

[ronaldo]

Think it's time to give mair a chance again. The defence isn't going to be any worse. It's bizarre that he isn't getting a run even after how shite we were pre season. The flat back 4 with Goodwin and cheesy is just being exposed far to easily.

Get him in Danny, he might just save your job

[NeilPar72]

Think it's time to give mair a chance again. The defence isn't going to be any worse. It's bizarre that he isn't getting a run even after how shite we were pre season. The flat back 4 with Goodwin and cheesy is just being exposed far to easily.

Get him in Danny, he might just save your job

Hope Danny does something radical on Saturday...bring Mair and McGregor back as the centre halfs, and have both Goodwin and Newton in the midfield.

Possibly the best way for us to ensure we get a grip of the midfield right from the start.

[stevie-dee]

we are giving goals away as freebies this season. could learn that a team is built from the back and try and make things hard for our opponents to score by playing with a sweeper and 2 central defenders Mair sweeping McAusland and McGregor at centre half and going with 4 in midfield with one up top. learn to stop conceding and build some unity. bore the pants out of everyone and dig out a few 1.0 victories. we are not good at the tippy tappy shit time to get fired in and win ugly.

[dave.j]

You want the manager to go cap in hand to the very player he told to leave as he wasn't part of his plans?

Do you think maybe any respect Lennon has, would be lost in that one moment?

It would be ironic if you're all calling for Mair to return and it turned out that it's Mair himself who was responsible for any unreset in the dressing room using his position as a senior head in the dressing room to undermine the manager at every turn, who told him to leave the club.

[civilsaint]

You want the manager to go cap in hand to the very player he told to leave as he wasn't part of his plans?

Do you think maybe any respect Lennon has, would be lost in that one moment?

It would be ironic if you're all calling for Mair to return and it turned out that it's Mair himself who was responsible for any unreset in the dressing room using his position as a senior head in the dressing room to undermine the manager at every turn, who told him to leave the club.

Whit?

[dave.j]

Go away CivilSaint, is there not a witch hunt you need to organise?

[WeeBud]

You want the manager to go cap in hand to the very player he told to leave as he wasn't part of his plans?

Do you think maybe any respect Lennon has, would be lost in that one moment?

It would be ironic if you're all calling for Mair to return and it turned out that it's Mair himself who was responsible for any unreset in the dressing room using his position as a senior head in the dressing room to undermine the manager at every turn, who told him to leave the club.

Dave, I get it...........to you Danny is, and always will be, a Jags hero (and rightly so) but I'm guessing you are either are Danny or have a cctv camera and microphone in the dressing room, Lee Mair's house, the St Mirren boardroom, the dressing room, the team bus and every players car. Either that or you think that "our" manager is beyond any criticism!!

For what it's worth I think a lot of the criticism being spouted on here is way over the top but there is no disguising the fact that there are major problems going on and DL is certainly not blameless.

A change of keeper and the loss of Dummett and Goncalves are what we are dealing with from a starting XI perspective. Dummett has been replaced with Grainger ( a decent LB) and Harkins has been shoe-horned into our midfield. We're not looking at wholesale changes from the team that Danny told us were "top six" material and we should be boosted by the return of Darren McGregor.

If, as you put it, all the respect that DL has left would be gone by playing Lee Mair then I'm thinking, from your inference, there isn't much left now anyway and perhaps a parting of the ways would be best.

Personally I don't think that's the stage we're at and certainly hope DL can turn it around but it's certainly getting tougher for him and many of the problems are of his own making.

[dave.j]

Dave, I get it...........to you Danny is, and always will be, a Jags hero (and rightly so) but I'm guessing you are either are Danny or have a cctv camera and microphone in the dressing room, Lee Mair's house, the St Mirren boardroom, the dressing room, the team bus and every players car. Either that or you think that "our" manager is beyond any criticism!!

For what it's worth I think a lot of the criticism being spouted on here is way over the top but there is no disguising the fact that there are major problems going on and DL is certainly not blameless.

A change of keeper and the loss of Dummett and Goncalves are what we are dealing with from a starting XI perspective. Dummett has been replaced with Grainger ( a decent LB) and Harkins has been shoe-horned into our midfield. We're not looking at wholesale changes from the team that Danny told us were "top six" material and we should be boosted by the return of Darren McGregor.

If, as you put it, all the respect that DL has left would be gone by playing Lee Mair then I'm thinking, from your inference, there isn't much left now anyway and perhaps a parting of the ways would be best.

Personally I don't think that's the stage we're at and certainly hope DL can turn it around but it's certainly getting tougher for him and many of the problems are of his own making.

I don't think he is beyond criticism at all WeeBud, i think he has made a lot of mistakes, nothing detrimental to the progress of the club as a whole, every manager makes mistakes.

However, to me, from the outside looking in there are problems at the club that shouldn't be placed at the managers door.

i'd be very uncomfortable with the fact that your board, whilst happy to post on here when they are begging for 10000hrs suddenly loose their login details when there is a massive split in the fanbase on the very aspect that keeps the club alive. ontop of that the fact that you have a boardroom who can't keep their trap shut and are happy to pass on information to posters to feed into the forum, information which could be portrayed in a negative light towards the manager.

do you think there is a conflict of interest having a father & son relationship between the pitch and baordroom, do you think this is having an effect on Danny's ability to do his job?

and regards to Lee Mair, maybe someone can go back and bump the thread from when it was announced he could leave? because the way i remember it, st mirren fans were not that fussed to see him go and were frustrated he was kicking about the club picking up a wage.

i have no idea why he was given a new contract, was there a trigger in the old one that gave him an extention? but the fact is, one of the highest paid players at your club is picking up a wage, he is pissing about on twitter all day apparently watching homes under the hammer and Homes Downunder. that to me doesn't come across as a player who gives a shit about you the fans, your club or his career.

again, i've been to maybe 16 st mirren games over the last 3 or 4 years including 2 cup finals, a cup semi and countless league games. i've watched more st mirren games on the tv than i care to remember. i have shared a supporters bus with you guys on a few occasions and sat in the Bull of a saturday night discussing both mine and your club in depth. wilst lennon is not blameless in all of this, there is something stinking inside your club, from the playing staff right up to the boardroom and from the outside in (not just in my eyes) it looks like someone's being made a scapegoat.

Its the last i'll say on the matter, i'll let you guys get on with it. if you all manage to get rid of him i hope you get the replacement you deserve, maybe if Shiels doesn't take it Gus will come back.

One last thought, maybe he's struggling in the transfer market cause words got around the players in Scotland that there is a large element of st mirren fans who are quite clearly not right in the head and find it totally acceptable to abuse players and staff for 90 minutes every week.

[Soctty]

You want the manager to go cap in hand to the very player he told to leave as he wasn't part of his plans?

Do you think maybe any respect Lennon has, would be lost in that one moment?

It would be ironic if you're all calling for Mair to return and it turned out that it's Mair himself who was responsible for any unreset in the dressing room using his position as a senior head in the dressing room to undermine the manager at every turn, who told him to leave the club.

I don't know Lee Mair, and wouldn't cast any aspersions. However, it seems there are a few fans who are friendly with Lee, and have taken it as a personal insult that Lennon doesn't rate him. He told him he wasn't in his plans - why would that change cos he stayed on?

One thing I do agree with is that he's a waste of a wage. He should be on the bench every week, for exeprience and cover, but as you say, there's no knowing what has gone on behind the scenes.

[madball]

I don't know Lee Mair, and wouldn't cast any aspersions. However, it seems there are a few fans who are friendly with Lee, and have taken it as a personal insult that Lennon doesn't rate him. He told him he wasn't in his plans - why would that change cos he stayed on?

One thing I do agree with is that he's a waste of a wage. He should be on the bench every week, for exeprience and cover, but as you say, there's no knowing what has gone on behind the scenes.

There may well be good reason he is not even making the bench. No idea of his contract, but if he is part of the first team squad he'd presumably get any win bonus etc even if he didn't play. Not that it would make a difference currently!