Optimism

[Sweeper07]

Sweeper07. I always like your posts and you usually make sound judgments. I don't think we played particularly well against Queens and as I said to the chap next to me I could only see us scoring from a set piece just before young Mallan scored a belter.With the players at our disposal I really don't like a straight 4-4-2 the midfield gets swamped because you have Gallagher and Cooper wide Hibs play a narrow midfield four fairly effectively using a diamond system.When we have a full squad fit I favour a 3-5-2 as follows:

Langfield

Watson. Webster. Irvine

Naismith. Quinn. Goodwin. Mallan. Kelly

Clarkson. Shankland

Just to finish I was amazed when the manager decided to stick with the 4-4-2 for the last fifteen minutes with Thompson and Clarkson up front both had no pace and the decision could have cost us in my opinion. Thompson has had a great career and at this moment he is no value to us.

There is no doubt that good tactics mean that good teams can play in different formations to outwit the particular opposition teams they face.

Your system looks good. I suspect Naismith is more comfortable coming from defence rather than midfield - but he has class (we have missed him so much)

I agree Thomo is on the way out (Though AR is no fool, Thomo might just have got the 3rd goal if the right ball came in to him) and Clarkson is not fast, but he can hold the ball up and lay it off a lot better than Shanks.

I don't think we have enough creativity I the midfield. (defence splitting passes create chances)

Hibs narrow system really works for them, and AR sounds like he wants us to be more direct too - but in reality we need to support the strikers more and follow up for their lay-offs hitting the target far more frequently.

I see us having more goals from set pieces/corners too. Guys like Watson, Irvine, Webster, Clarkson directly and others like Mallan and Quinn getting the breaks on the edge of the box.

As the confidence grows, so will our goal average per game!!

But realistically we will have some disappointments along the way - as Saints fans, I am sure we will cope with that.

For the 1st time in a long time, I have expectation that we might even sign some decent targets in the next window, and improve further.

Thanks for the compliment!!

[kevo_smfc]

Was very pleased to hear Alex say we will start up a scouting system. However im astonished we do not have one in place , all very well having a youth system but my thinking is you need both.

Can see a brighter future under our new manager.

Whether the board grant his wishes is another thing. They have done without it for years.

[windae cleaner]

"Astonished"? Really? I've been posting about it for years. Indeed I've been posting about it since David Longwell told me the club had no scouts.

There is at least one

I was told there was one who has been following the very good East Renfrewshire 2003 team

It's the first time i've heard of one in 20 years in youth fitba

[Stuart Dickson]

There is at least one

I was told there was one who has been following the very good East Renfrewshire 2003 team

It's the first time i've heard of one in 20 years in youth fitba

That's interesting.

Joe Hughes would have been around 20 years ago I reckon and I remember Tony Fitzpatrick used to do a lot of youth scouting when he was manager but AFAIK once they left in 1998 they were never replaced. I remember hearing about and reporting on a fall out Fitzpatrick had with Gilmour and Co after he was told he the club wouldn't cover expenses for youth scouting outside of Paisley around the time Hughes left for Leeds.

My conversation with Longwell would have been around 3 year ago so things may well have changed since but last time I spoke to the coaches of our successful 1999s squad and our besy younger squad - I think its the 2004s - squad both had seen plenty of scouts from all over Scotland and England but none that had identified themselves from St Mirren

Edited February 9, 2016 by Stuart Dickson

[pod]

Whether the board grant his wishes is another thing. They have done without it for years.

and it shows

[scottd]

Definite causes for optimism so far under Rae. Of course if it goes wrong in the next couple of games then it will be back to the negative posts of assorted frogs, religious fanatics and a return of the king of rock n roll.

[TopCat]

Whether the board grant his wishes is another thing. They have done without it for years.

I'm pretty sure the BOD said at the AGM the manager is allocated a budget that is his to spend as he sees fit. He can use it on whatever combination of players/scouts/coaches he likes.

So if Rae wants to use part of his playing budget on a scout, that is his decision.

[Sweeper07]

Morton and Alloa draw - we might pass them into 6th this week hopefully !

[Stuart Dickson]

I'm pretty sure the BOD said at the AGM the manager is allocated a budget that is his to spend as he sees fit. He can use it on whatever combination of players/scouts/coaches he likes.

So if Rae wants to use part of his playing budget on a scout, that is his decision.

What I don't get is why they would think it would be a cost. I know quite a few guys who scout for Motherwell and Hamilton around the juvenile leagues in Lanarkshire and the one that gets the best deal financially gets the occasional complimentary ticket and a couple of pints in the Fir Park club on match days. Even looking at different options Falkirk once contacted me through the P&B website to ask if I'd scout the Lanarkshire juvenile leagues for them. Financially I would get a payment if any player I recommended to them got a game in the first team, and if they were ever sold on I would get a tiny percentage of any transfer fee. I would have been interested and could have had any fee donated to the juvenile club I was at.....but my son was still playing and I wouldn't want someone telling me I couldn't watch him play because I had to scout another team for them.

Surely there must be at least a few St Mirren supporters who have been involved in football who would be willing to do their bit, and if not surely the club have some contacts within the juvenile game who would be willing to point the club in the right direction when it comes to youth players without too much bother? Surely the club haven't shot off that much goodwill in the local community? And if there's a more senior scouting mission needing done just use the one who has been giving the most accurate reports - show him how you want it done - and give them expenses and a small one off fee to handle it.

[kevo_smfc]

What I don't get is why they would think it would be a cost. I know quite a few guys who scout for Motherwell and Hamilton around the juvenile leagues in Lanarkshire and the one that gets the best deal financially gets the occasional complimentary ticket and a couple of pints in the Fir Park club on match days. Even looking at different options Falkirk once contacted me through the P&B website to ask if I'd scout the Lanarkshire juvenile leagues for them. Financially I would get a payment if any player I recommended to them got a game in the first team, and if they were ever sold on I would get a tiny percentage of any transfer fee. I would have been interested and could have had any fee donated to the juvenile club I was at.....but my son was still playing and I wouldn't want someone telling me I couldn't watch him play because I had to scout another team for them.

Surely there must be at least a few St Mirren supporters who have been involved in football who would be willing to do their bit, and if not surely the club have some contacts within the juvenile game who would be willing to point the club in the right direction when it comes to youth players without too much bother? Surely the club haven't shot off that much goodwill in the local community? And if there's a more senior scouting mission needing done just use the one who has been giving the most accurate reports - show him how you want it done - and give them expenses and a small one off fee to handle it.

Toonsaint recommended Andy Carroll to the club as a possible loan signing when he was 17/18 at newcastle when gus was in charge and im pretty sure it was snubbed

[Sweeper07]

ARGH !! Bubble burst a bit today.

Although to be fair QOS were unlucky last week and played well again today.

Some positives, some negative too.

15 shots at goal for us - not any goals for though ! Not ruthless enough yet !!

Mallan sent off in the last minute - very foolish!

Dumbarton next week and at home - could we manage 3 home wins in a row?

[Dalrybud]

No Mallan next week?

[FTOF]

No Mallan next week?

Or Watson.

[Sweeper07]

No Mallan Or Watson next match.

Not to worry - No Murray either and its our 3rd Home win in a row!

1 point behind the soap dodgers and back on track - great performance today - especially pleased seeing MacAllister playing 90 mins and Jordan Stewart did well. Really good to see Goody back too!!

Edited February 20, 2016 by Sweeper07

[shull]

It aint pretty but we are heading for the Premiership.

[Guest TPAFKATS]

It aint pretty but we are heading for the Premiership.

I don't doubt it, any predictions on what year it will be?

[munoz]

Next year for me .

[Guest TPAFKATS]

Next year for me .

Ah, the joyful optimism that 3 home wins in a row brings.

[Sweeper07]

It took a long time for the first one - now they are coming along like buses!

[Sweeper07]

12-Mar-2016 Queen of the South Home Ladbrokes Championship

19-Mar-2016 Livingston Away Ladbrokes Championship Kick-off: 3:00pm

22-Mar-2016 Raith Rovers Home Ladbrokes Championship Kick-off: 7:45pm

26-Mar-2016 Alloa Athletic Away

Four Games in a row in which we are capable of taking 3 points.

Winning 4 in a row is a big ask, but not impossible. 12 points would be brilliant, but even 9 would be great considering the season so far!

We might even see Naismith and Goodwin back spurring us on?

The obvious statistic I have noticed since Rae took charge is the significant increase in our attempts on goal. So we scored 3 last week out of 16 shots on goal. With some of the games with Murray in charge, we only had 3 attempts in a game.

Let the voices cheer on the boys from the terraces - come-on Rae set them up to rattle the opposition and amass points - we are willing you on!

Edited March 10, 2016 by Sweeper07

[shull]

I cannae be bothered.

Trying to get enthusiastic for next season now.

We should be secure in at least 4th place now.

They are atrocious and don't deserve our great support.

Diddies

[Sweeper07]

I cannae be bothered.

Trying to get enthusiastic for next season now.

We should be secure in at least 4th place now.

They are atrocious and don't deserve our great support.

Diddies

Shull - when Murray was here you were regularly calling for him to get more time to resolve things. Now as things are improving under Rae you don't want to give your support.

Being a real fan is a tough task for all Saints fans, but at least we are heading for better things after a few years of constant downward spiralling.

If we win 3 v 0 or 3 v 1 on Saturday and start to play a bit better, might that cheer you up a bit? (It will then also be the 5th game in a row at home we did not see defeat - under Murray we did not see victory in the league here)

Edited March 10, 2016 by Sweeper07

[DougJamie]

I am sorry I agree with Shull on this. Some supporters seem to be in la la land with wee lambs.

Ok after 75% of the season, we are 4 points off relegation play off, we have not beaten any team in the top 4, in fact we have lost 10 matches to them. We are still shipping goals. The performance against Raith was criminal. One pass 3 goals.

On back of finishing 12th last year, it means Saints have lost 39 times in 63 games, and 3 of those loses have been in last two weeks.

AR was doing better but any team that can lose 8 goals to Livi and Raith has a deathwish to go to League 1.

[shull]

Shull - when Murray was here you were regularly calling for him to get more time to resolve things. Now as things are improving under Rae you don't want to give your support.

Being a real fan is a tough task for all Saints fans, but at least we are heading for better things after a few years of constant downward spiralling.

If we win 3 v 0 or 3 v 1 on Saturday and start to play a bit better, might that cheer you up a bit? (It will then also be the 5th game in a row at home we did not see defeat - under Murray we did not see victory in the league here)

FFS

Tell me

WHAT THE f**k IS A REAL FAN?????

Lol

This Forum is a joke.

[Sweeper07]

I am sorry I agree with Shull on this. Some supporters seem to be in la la land with wee lambs.

Ok after 75% of the season, we are 4 points off relegation play off, we have not beaten any team in the top 4, in fact we have lost 10 matches to them. We are still shipping goals. The performance against Raith was criminal. One pass 3 goals.

On back of finishing 12th last year, it means Saints have lost 39 times in 63 games, and 3 of those loses have been in last two weeks.

AR was doing better but any team that can lose 8 goals to Livi and Raith has a deathwish to go to League 1.

No need to apologise for agreeing with someone else! Opinions are just that on both sides.

BUT come on - Rae has not been here for too big a chunk of the 75% of the season so far! 6 of the 10 games we lost to the top 4 were on Murray's watch. e..g. Falkirk took 3 goals off us twice under Murray - we got a point under Rae and never lost a goal.

Also the Livi game was only Rae's 2nd week in the job. (They have also scored more goals than us, Alloa, QOTS, Morton & Dumbarton) So scoring is not their problem.

I hardly think we are shipping goals either - In 11 games under Rae we have scored 13 (Murray managed only 14 goals in 16 games) and under Rae conceded 14 (the Livi & Raith games take the weekly average upwards) ; So under Murray we conceded 24 in 16 games, hence the reason we are now collecting nearly 50% of the available points under Rae, when Murray managed only 25%

We've not beaten the top 4 YET but under Murray we couldn't beat Alloa.

The Raith game was poor - and I said 2 months ago there will be disappointments for sure. But almost every week under Murray it was a disappointment. Lessons will be learned. Changes will be implemented.

With other players coming back to fitness we might begin to have competition for places too.

It is no surprise teams below us caught up while we were playing the top 4 - so lets see how things go over the next 4 games.

AYE we should not be mediocre in the Championship - but earlier in the season we were clearly heading for the division below. (Murray's points record continued and we would be 4 points below Livi - sunk in the relegation play off position and it may have been worse as the players were increasingly not behind him )

We can all be deflated at where we are - but we are on the up - after serious downwards gloom for seasons. Rae needs more than 2 months to sort out the sh*it he inherited - so lets watch and see.

I am not convinced we will win promotion next season either - I hope I am wrong - but under Rae, the rot has stopped and improvements will continue to make us better - provided his hands don't get tied by the BOD and too mean a budget for next season.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Sweeper07