Coventry Saint

Yeah, happy to hold my hands up there. Erhahon was abysmal when he came on and you suspect he may be in for another spell on the bench - unless McGrath moves on and Ronan pushes forward. I thought McGrath was ok, but wouldn't go overboard. I genuinely think Kiltie is doing more of what I'd expect someone in that role to be doing, in terms of movement, beating players, killer passes, etc. Given that they're the same age, I think we've replaced quite well. Obviously the sickener is wondering where we'd be in the league had we been playing this way for longer - Kiltie is simply a different player in this formation. Still, it's fine; we're heading in the right direction again and I'll relax.

That was a decent performance. Aberdeen barely laid a glove on us. The end was bizarre; they had no urgency and carried no threat. Even at various points over the past few seasons, we've been awful and handed leads to teams but we've at least piled pressure on chasing the lead. I felt pretty calm watching that. Jay Henderson has a lot of development ahead of him, but I have absolutely no doubt that he belongs at this level. Great wee player; long contract please Saints.

Sweet, cheers

I'll be fucking livid if this doesn't work. Kiltie and McGrath have yet to work well together, albeit the system suits them both better now. So harsh on Erhahon. I really can't see the logic here. I really can't.

The Fraser chat prompted me to look over our other player contracts. Had an absolute heart attack because Transfermarkt has Brophy as being OOC this summer. Obviously he's actually signed till 2024, so we're fine. Interestingly, there weren't many players OOC this summer that I was actually worried about going. I think we're generally in pretty good shape.

Aye, it's streets ahead of those absolute melters who were on the mics for Dundee United at the weekend.

Hard disagree with that, tbh. I think the notion that he's undroppable has been what's contributed to our predicament this season. He's pulled out of two games because he wanted (and still wants) away. Picking all the best players doesn't always equal the best team.

But we've seen plenty instances of them being played together, which amounts to the same thing, tbh. McGrath on the bench tonight, for me.

Definitely not accepting him as a makeweight for McGrath if they're letting him go for nothing

Cheers, I was hoping someone would fill that gap in. Is that because the squad has improved overall, or were you rotating for that cup game?

Actually impressed you could interpret his post.

Happy to call it: Brophy, Greive and Jamieson are a better, and cheaper strikeforce than Brophy, Main, Erwin and Dennis. Now we just need three of those guys out the door.

Fortunately, nobody knows the finer details of our club's finances better than St Johnstone fans so I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

Tells you everything you need to know that I don't have the slightest bit of fear about us facing Cammy MacPherson in games later this season.

Our coverage is ok, in terms of picture quality, streaming quality, etc. I can't stand partisan commentary of any colour, but if you've got an away option you should be fine. What I will say is that stupid broadcast rules preclude me from buying it now (can't watch Scots games in England for some fucking made-up reason), and I tend to find Saints home games are harder to come by via 'alternative' measures than other clubs'. So if you are determined to see the game, play it safe and pay up because the dodgy streams are unreliable. That spell before half time was proper 'life as a fan of a shit team'. We were indeed looking ok, then Tanser scored and I thought we could maybe get back in it. That glorious feeling of hope lasted... what, 45 seconds?

Something's falling down with the English teams; I'm intrigued to know what it is. That's now Boro, Sheff Utd, Bham and Swansea that have apparently been very keen (plus there was a wild link with, IIRC, Watford in the summer), while our demands don't seem outlandish. You then consider that Aberdeen tabled an offer then withdrew because of interest south of the border. I think his agent keeps bluffing then getting found out. I will say this: I'm far more relaxed now about him potentially going at the end of the window. Based on Kiltie's last two games, we are under no pressure to replace McGrath so if he leaves late, it's fine.

Intriguing tie here after Kelty's exploits in the last round, managing the kind of result against the Perth Saints that we typically find elusive. Got to be honest, I've not really paid much attention to Kelty; I didn't even realise Tam O'Ware was playing for them. What a c**t that guy is. I hope he gets a fitting reception at SMP. Looking over the rest of their team, it's clear why they're sauntering that league and why they showed up against the Fakes: several guys (Tidser, Austin, Higginbotham, Cardle) that could be getting Championship gigs, IMO. Not sure what the conditions of Daniel Finlayson's loan to Kelty are, but I'd assume he won't be available. All that being said, we really ought to have too much for them here. Our B team put Kelty out the kid-on cup on penalties earlier in the season, brief report below. That really was a B team from us - only Reid usually gets anywhere near our bench: https://www.stmirren.com/match-reports/4065-match-report-st-mirren-b-kelty-hearts I think it'll be a great, close game. One goal in it either way, and I think we'll concede. I'm going 2-1 Saints.

Yeah. I'm well aware that moaning about agents is like moaning about Tories: they act precisely as we'd expect them to. But it still boils my piss.

His agent is a dick. If he was any good whatsoever he'd be heading to a Championship club, either now or on a PCA. Instead we've got this endless pissing about. I just want him gone now, and I'm sure Jim and Jamie feel the same way.

Easily one of our worst showings this season, that: you could easily have had double figures that day. I'd like to think we'll be better/less naive this time.

I fancy a bet on St Johnstone staying up. Something about the weekend felt a bit nadir-y. It's not like you haven't done similar before, and the teams above are well within reach.

Yep, exactly where my head went after reading the OP. Highly rated enough for that now-legendary five-year contract to deter potential suitors. Totally stitched, of course, by the loss of his transfer budget so we could make pointless ground improvements, but his managerial record is pretty much non-existent after leaving us.

I really feel Tanser's defection was the turning point for the Saintees.

How legally binding is a PCA? Could you guys not just withdraw it? They sound like the sort of thing an employment lawyer could tear to shreds if they wanted.

There's nothing consistent at all about what we're doing here, but it makes me feel like, for once, we're actually putting SMFC first. Even if it's just a case of the Fakes chucking us £25k or something, it's better than nothing.