The Tony Fitzpatrick Appreciation Thread

[Dibbles old paperboy]

A few weeks ago Tony Fitzpatrick was being held responsible for the appointment of Alan Stubbs as manager and with "sanctioning" all Stubbs' signings. Poster after poster on BAWA suggested our predicament was largely down to our CEO being inept and saying ambitious things to the press.

I don't think it is a CEO's job to OK a manager's signing targets. Tony's job is to get the deals over the line. 

Now that it would appear that Oran Kearney and Gus McPherson's work in the January transfer window is showing signs of bearing fruit, perhaps it is time to show a little appreciation for Tony Fitzpatrick. He got 13 deals over the line in the summer window, 3 out of contract players signed after Stubbs got the boot, and has managed to get 16 or 17 players out from the autumn until the end of January and has finalised in a number of decent signings in the January window.

Take a bow Fitzy and don't let the BAWA get you down.

[Bud the Baker]

23 Likes!

[Hambud]

Could be very prematurewe still have a very long way to go before we can start crowing about anything.

Bit like the OK tick tock thread was also premature.

We do appear to have improved but if we don't take points against Livi next Saturday then two good draws are almost worthless.

[FTOF]

3 minutes ago, Hambud said:

Could be very prematurewe still have a very long way to go before we can start crowing about anything.

Bit like the OK tick tock thread was also premature.

We do appear to have improved but if we don't take points against Livi next Saturday then two good draws are almost worthless.

 

Who's crowing?

We now have better players than we did, due to the hard work of OK, GM and TF.

Given the mostly unwarranted criticism that TF receives, it's nice to se some support for the guy.

 

[St.Ricky]

All I can say is that TF is a Saint through and through in the good times and the bad.  He acts with dignity and the wellbeing of the club in mind. Thank you TF. 

[Sweeper07]

2 hours ago, Dibbles old paperboy said:

A few weeks ago Tony Fitzpatrick was being held responsible for the appointment of Alan Stubbs as manager and with "sanctioning" all Stubbs' signings. Poster after poster on BAWA suggested our predicament was largely down to our CEO being inept and saying ambitious things to the press.

I don't think it is a CEO's job to OK a manager's signing targets. Tony's job is to get the deals over the line. 

Now that it would appear that Oran Kearney and Gus McPherson's work in the January transfer window is showing signs of bearing fruit, perhaps it is time to show a little appreciation for Tony Fitzpatrick. He got 13 deals over the line in the summer window, 3 out of contract players signed after Stubbs got the boot, and has managed to get 16 or 17 players out from the autumn until the end of January and has finalised in a number of decent signings in the January window.

Take a bow Fitzy and don't let the BAWA get you down.

 

1 hour ago, FTOF said:

Who's crowing?

We now have better players than we did, due to the hard work of OK, GM and TF.

Given the mostly unwarranted criticism that TF receives, it's nice to se some support for the guy.

YES THIS x3    ^^^^ Tony is who he is - a legend and a great servant to our cause.

He like every other person is not perfect, but what has been achieved in the last 2 months by him and all the others is 1st class.

Let's watch the panic set in as we pass Dee and the hammers....   

[stlucifer]

3 hours ago, Dibbles old paperboy said:

A few weeks ago Tony Fitzpatrick was being held responsible for the appointment of Alan Stubbs as manager and with "sanctioning" all Stubbs' signings. Poster after poster on BAWA suggested our predicament was largely down to our CEO being inept and saying ambitious things to the press.

I don't think it is a CEO's job to OK a manager's signing targets. Tony's job is to get the deals over the line. 

Now that it would appear that Oran Kearney and Gus McPherson's work in the January transfer window is showing signs of bearing fruit, perhaps it is time to show a little appreciation for Tony Fitzpatrick. He got 13 deals over the line in the summer window, 3 out of contract players signed after Stubbs got the boot, and has managed to get 16 or 17 players out from the autumn until the end of January and has finalised in a number of decent signings in the January window.

Take a bow Fitzy and don't let the BAWA get you down.

PISH!

 

The allegations laid at his door was one of unrealistic targets. That hasn't changed. He was charged with claiming we would expect to be top 4 or even champions elect. That was foolish to say the least. and his constant fairytale demands on prospective managers is what he was ridiculed for 

[munoz]

24 minutes ago, stlucifer said:

PISH!

 

The allegations laid at his door was one of unrealistic targets. That hasn't changed. He was charged with claiming we would expect to be top 4 or even champions elect. That was foolish to say the least. and his constant fairytale demands on prospective managers is what he was ridiculed for 

Nonsense,  the allegations were about him being supposedly out his depth and not up to the task. These same allegations have been directed at OK also. People these days want instant results and if they don't get what they want, they seem to lash out at anyone within firing line. 

[Kemp]

When is the Gus MacPherson thread going up, Dibbles?

[Dibbles old paperboy]

2 hours ago, Kemp said:

When is the Gus MacPherson thread going up, Dibbles?

Next week, unless St Ricky starts one later today spying an opportunity to start a new legitimate topic.

Edited February 24, 2019 by Dibbles old paperboy

[Robbie]

Two draws against two top four teams is a great place to start.  But it’s much too early to get carried away.  

I have been a very strong critic of Mr Fitzpatrick..  and he was my idol when I was a boy. Loved him.  Forced my dad to take me to Bristol to see him play when he moved.  St Mirren to his core.  Absolutely no doubt.  

That does not however make him a good CEO.   That comes from the successful development of the club on and off the field, the setting up of positive and beneficial relationships and I have no idea what’s in his job description.. but I would suspect there is something in there about growing the support base and growing “the brand”.   

This season has been a bad season if we can salvage something great, if not, either way we kick our wounds and start again next season.   

Mr Fitzpatrick though needs to be judged (as the whole board does) on what position we are in after 4 maybe 5 years at the helm.  That clock is ticking, next year is year 4, so let’s see where we are in 12 to 18 months on and off the park.  

That will be a very reasonable time to judge.  I honestly hope I will be proven to be wrong.  All I have done, like others, is express concern  that I’m not seeing many signs as yet of any kind of strategic growth or enhanced stability. 

 

[elvis]

He said in the half time Interview last night on Alba that there are plans a foot to move the club forward. There is definetly one thing for sure he is a saint mirren man to the core. 

[Ethan]

I met Tony recently and had a really good chat about the club. He knows his stuff and his passion for the club is there in abundance. He is a legend imo

[Ayrshire Saints]

Right on Que we will probably pick up a paper tomorrow to read that Tony thinks we should be looking to sneak into the battle for the top six !!!

[Dibbles old paperboy]

Tony Fitzpatrick didn't ever say we had a right to expect to finish in the top 4. I think all he said was that we had been there before and other small clubs in the premiership have had good seasons with good squads and why shouldn't St Mirren be aiming to do that from time to time?

Killie still have a reasonable chance of finishing in the top 3 or 4 within a season and a half of being favourites from the drop until Steve Clarke came in and worked his magic.

[Bud the Baker]

1 hour ago, Dibbles old paperboy said:

Tony Fitzpatrick didn't ever say we had a right to expect to finish in the top 4. I think all he said was that we had been there before and other small clubs in the premiership have had good seasons with good squads and why shouldn't St Mirren be aiming to do that from time to time?

Killie still have a reasonable chance of finishing in the top 3 or 4 within a season and a half of being favourites from the drop until Steve Clarke came in and worked his magic.

Whatever TF said clearly scared off Robbie Neilson!

[Dibbles old paperboy]

3 minutes ago, Bud the Baker said:

Whatever TF said clearly scared off Robbie Neilson!

People who spoke about St Mirren aiming to finish in the top 6 this year: Jack Ross, Tony Fitzpatrick, Gordon Scott, and Alan Stubbs. Tony Fitzpatrick seems to be the only person whose statements to this effect are seen as detrimental to the health of the club. When Fitzy was a lad Alex Ferguson spoke to him and said that in 5 years time St Mirren would be finishing above Rangers and Celtic... and lo, it came to pass that we did finish ahead of Rangers at least and had a few 3rd placed finishes. I don't think it is bad thing that Fitzpatrick is trying to raise the bar higher about the expectations within the club. I also think if Kearney had been given the job in the summer and we had recruited as well then as we did in January we could be sitting on a similar points total to Livingston and sitting around the fringes of the top 6 without breaking into it this season.

Robbie Neilson's DUFC spent heavily in the January transfer window and are currently 5 points behind Ross County having played 1 game more than them too. In February it already looks like their best hope of promotion could be via the play offs.

[Bud the Baker]

15 minutes ago, Dibbles old paperboy said:

People who spoke about St Mirren aiming to finish in the top 6 this year: Jack Ross, Tony Fitzpatrick, Gordon Scott, and Alan Stubbs. Tony Fitzpatrick seems to be the only person whose statements to this effect are seen as detrimental to the health of the club. When Fitzy was a lad Alex Ferguson spoke to him and said that in 5 years time St Mirren would be finishing above Rangers and Celtic... and lo, it came to pass that we did finish ahead of Rangers at least and had a few 3rd placed finishes. I don't think it is bad thing that Fitzpatrick is trying to raise the bar higher about the expectations within the club. I also think if Kearney had been given the job in the summer and we had recruited as well then as we did in January we could be sitting on a similar points total to Livingston and sitting around the fringes of the top 6 without breaking into it this season.

Robbie Neilson's DUFC spent heavily in the January transfer window and are currently 5 points behind Ross County having played 1 game more than them too. In February it already looks like their best hope of promotion could be via the play offs.

Over the last 5 games "Robbie Neilson's DUFC" are the form team in the division - oh and they knocked a top flight team out of the cup!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/scottish-championship/table

I maintain as I've said elsewhere given the scale of rebuild JR proposed TF/GLSs handling of the managerial change was inept. It's convenient to blame it all on Stubbsy but it ain't correct.

[oaksoft]

18 hours ago, stlucifer said:

PISH!

 

The allegations laid at his door was one of unrealistic targets. That hasn't changed. He was charged with claiming we would expect to be top 4 or even champions elect. That was foolish to say the least. and his constant fairytale demands on prospective managers is what he was ridiculed for 

Charged with?

When are Scots going to realise that ambition is not a bad thing even if you fail disastrously short in achieving your stated goals?

Edited February 24, 2019 by oaksoft

[Isle Of Bute Saint]

Agree good job done. 

[DougJamie]

3 hours ago, Bud the Baker said:

Whatever TF said clearly scared off Robbie Neilson!

Would have scared  off Pep . 

[TPAFKA Jersey 2]

4 hours ago, Dibbles old paperboy said:

People who spoke about St Mirren aiming to finish in the top 6 this year: Jack Ross, Tony Fitzpatrick, Gordon Scott, and Alan Stubbs. Tony Fitzpatrick seems to be the only person whose statements to this effect are seen as detrimental to the health of the club. When Fitzy was a lad Alex Ferguson spoke to him and said that in 5 years time St Mirren would be finishing above Rangers and Celtic... and lo, it came to pass that we did finish ahead of Rangers at least and had a few 3rd placed finishes. I don't think it is bad thing that Fitzpatrick is trying to raise the bar higher about the expectations within the club. I also think if Kearney had been given the job in the summer and we had recruited as well then as we did in January we could be sitting on a similar points total to Livingston and sitting around the fringes of the top 6 without breaking into it this season.

Robbie Neilson's DUFC spent heavily in the January transfer window and are currently 5 points behind Ross County having played 1 game more than them too. In February it already looks like their best hope of promotion could be via the play offs.

Not to be pedantic, but I’m pretty sure we only had one 3rd placed finish. 

Other than that I agree with your post tho.

[TediousTom]

Tony and Gus have achieved great things during this transfer window.  The team has improved and performances are somewhat better.

 

Tony's job does not only circle around signing players, he has also had to deal with the menace of the poorly behaved fan.  I think this aspect of club business has been dealt with admirably , smoothly and in such a low profile manner many of you will not know of what I speak. 

Guid job Tony boy, guid job indeed.

 

[East Lothian Saint]

Things have been reasonably harmonious on the forum since the team started performing. It seems most of us are happy that OK is the man to take us forward or at least those who don’t are a bit quieter. Hopefully we are all starting to come together get behind the Manager, the Team, the Board and working hard to get Tony an OBE (Overtly Big Expectations).

For those of us who were there the power of Unity was immense at Tyncastle. The 606, plus the extras in Hospitality, were the hard-core die-hards who go to most away games and together we shouted the place down. W7, who were behind me to my left, were in good voice and the much-maligned Josh was conducting them like a maestro. Well done but the rest of us weren’t exactly quiet either. The buds in the section to my right were also inspired by events on the park and started just as many chants causing the whole stand to join in the more well-known songs. The Unity was clear and even Graham Speirs commented on one of his blogs how St Mirren wouldn’t go down without a fight when their support was as passionate as the Buds. Even the Hearts fans we drank with after the game highlighted our efforts.

OK says we won the battle of the fans and our support with the Drum was instrumental in the team keeping their heads up when hearts scored. We haven’t really seen that kind of Joint Victory since JR left and we can all blame AS but now the team are playing their part let’s get behind them and OK.

I hope it’s not another false dawn. A glimmer of hope is usually followed by a pumping from Hamilton or Livi but something tells me we’re onto something good. Let’s all stick together and play our part on Saturday and every other matchday till the end of the season.

Let’s get arses on seats so the team can show us the way and get our arses off them again with more goals. I just love a wee jump up and down.

One Town, one Team, There’s only one TF. 

[Jrok]

Things have been reasonably harmonious on the forum since the team started performing. It seems most of us are happy that OK is the man to take us forward or at least those who don’t are a bit quieter. Hopefully we are all starting to come together get behind the Manager, the Team, the Board and working hard to get Tony an OBE (Overtly Big Expectations).
For those of us who were there the power of Unity was immense at Tyncastle. The 606, plus the extras in Hospitality, were the hard-core die-hards who go to most away games and together we shouted the place down. W7, who were behind me to my left, were in good voice and the much-maligned Josh was conducting them like a maestro. Well done but the rest of us weren’t exactly quiet either. The buds in the section to my right were also inspired by events on the park and started just as many chants causing the whole stand to join in the more well-known songs. The Unity was clear and even Graham Speirs commented on one of his blogs how St Mirren wouldn’t go down without a fight when their support was as passionate as the Buds. Even the Hearts fans we drank with after the game highlighted our efforts.
OK says we won the battle of the fans and our support with the Drum was instrumental in the team keeping their heads up when hearts scored. We haven’t really seen that kind of Joint Victory since JR left and we can all blame AS but now the team are playing their part let’s get behind them and OK.
I hope it’s not another false dawn. A glimmer of hope is usually followed by a pumping from Hamilton or Livi but something tells me we’re onto something good. Let’s all stick together and play our part on Saturday and every other matchday till the end of the season.
Let’s get arses on seats so the team can show us the way and get our arses off them again with more goals. I just love a wee jump up and down.
One Town, one Team, There’s only one TF. 

Well said, although due to work commitments i couldn't go on Saturday and are therefore not hardcore lol, i thought from what i have seen and heard we are coming together again.