Double Winning St Johnstone FC Thread

[Widge]

Just now, Radford said:

I think Drey Wright (and Matty Kennedy) would have done really well at Saints this season.They are richer men but are they happier men? 

I guess you put that question to Drey Wright at 6pm Saturday coming. As for Kennedy, he’s got a new manager, but I don’t see him lasting at Aberdeen for much longer. It’s funny to think if they hadn’t both moved in we’d probably never have signed Conway who played a massive part in us winning the League Cup....

[Sh*teAndMuck]

A fit Drey Wright would appear to be perfect for our system. Although does he have enough end product? Probably not but that’s in comparison to Rooney who has been all about end product this season. 

[PauloPerth]

Like Tam, I think Brown looks better defensively, solid and reliable, but it doesn't look to be his natural game to go charging forward at every opportunity like Rooney.  Definitely more a traditional back 4 right back.  That's not to say he's without ability going forward, he's put a couple of cracking deliveries into the box, it's just not that often he's in those areas.  As widge says, the fact that he only appears to be a defensive right back and nothing else probably doesn't help his cause.

The issue is,  we're talking about a player signing as cover, as our back 5 pretty much picks itself.  How good a marauding right wing back are we going to get who's happy to play second fiddle to Rooney?  Drey Wright would be good but unlikely, plus you could argue a player like him for the left side would be more of a priority.

If one of our centre backs is out next season I'd far rather we had a replacement centre back to pick than moving Rooney in, which weakens the defence and reduces our attacking threat down the right.

 

[Valentino Bolognese]

1 hour ago, PauloPerth said:

The issue is,  we're talking about a player signing as cover, as our back 5 pretty much picks itself.  How good a marauding right wing back are we going to get who's happy to play second fiddle to Rooney?  Drey Wright would be good but unlikely, plus you could argue a player like him for the left side would be more of a priority.

If one of our centre backs is out next season I'd far rather we had a replacement centre back to pick than moving Rooney in, which weakens the defence and reduces our attacking threat down the right.

 

Agree with you on Brown. I don't think he should/will stay but if Millwall have any spare traditional CBs that they could send us in his place, might not be a bad shout for cover in the middle. I do wonder if MOH has it in him to become a Rooney backup as well as utility on the right in a front 3, but ideally we'd be able to bring in someone exciting in that space. 

If we're spending money upgrading, then a striker is surely the place to spend assuming that Guy will be gone, although the Callum Hendry situation might limit what we can do financially? In an ideal world we win the cup, sell Hendry, Melamed leaves and we can fill up with a striker, a (loan?) CB, keep Middleton and find a LWB to replace Tanser either as backup to Booth or as more attacking option, and a right-sided forward.

We're well served in the middle of the park with the Bryson extension and the keeper debate seems settled.

All assuming we don't lose any of our CBs of course, we're in a brilliant starting position for next season with only a few 'must sign' positions and the spine of a successful squad. Hopefully the extra cash can be used for upgrades wherever the manager sees fit.*

 

 

*ETA or infrastructure of course. Can't forget the infrastructure.

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by Valentino Bolognese

[PauloPerth]

I know it’s been mentioned before, but I do wonder if Tommy Wright has any regrets about chucking it when he did.

I mean, what you’re saying about where we are in terms of a brilliant starting position is kind of where I thought we were at the end of 2019-20 when TW quit after the form we were showing in the second half of that season. A young team signed up for a few years showing great promise. Plus the added bonus of Hendry banging in the goals at that time.

Obviously Callum Davidson has had a massive impact and the amount of success we’ve enjoyed so quickly is tremendous, but it’s not far off the team Tommy put together. 

Same keeper, back 3 and he signed Rooney to play opppsite side from Tanser.  McCann, Craig  or Davidson in centre mid with Spoony just ahead, Hendry up front with May whereas now it’s Kane and May (or Melamed).

He surely must sit watching thinking its basically his team and it could have been him!

[tree house tam]

34 minutes ago, PauloPerth said:

I know it’s been mentioned before, but I do wonder if Tommy Wright has any regrets about chucking it when he did.

I mean, what you’re saying about where we are in terms of a brilliant starting position is kind of where I thought we were at the end of 2019-20 when TW quit after the form we were showing in the second half of that season. A young team signed up for a few years showing great promise. Plus the added bonus of Hendry banging in the goals at that time.

Obviously Callum Davidson has had a massive impact and the amount of success we’ve enjoyed so quickly is tremendous, but it’s not far off the team Tommy put together. 

Same keeper, back 3 and he signed Rooney to play opppsite side from Tanser.  McCann, Craig  or Davidson in centre mid with Spoony just ahead, Hendry up front with May whereas now it’s Kane and May (or Melamed).

He surely must sit watching thinking its basically his team and it could have been him!

f**k him.

 

 

"The grass isn't always greener. I struggle to name a player that has left St Johnstone and gone on to better things"  said Tam Wright to myself while sat at the bar in the Foundry, Perth. 

[The Saintee]

1 hour ago, PauloPerth said:

I know it’s been mentioned before, but I do wonder if Tommy Wright has any regrets about chucking it when he did.

I mean, what you’re saying about where we are in terms of a brilliant starting position is kind of where I thought we were at the end of 2019-20 when TW quit after the form we were showing in the second half of that season. A young team signed up for a few years showing great promise. Plus the added bonus of Hendry banging in the goals at that time.

Obviously Callum Davidson has had a massive impact and the amount of success we’ve enjoyed so quickly is tremendous, but it’s not far off the team Tommy put together. 

Same keeper, back 3 and he signed Rooney to play opppsite side from Tanser.  McCann, Craig  or Davidson in centre mid with Spoony just ahead, Hendry up front with May whereas now it’s Kane and May (or Melamed).

He surely must sit watching thinking its basically his team and it could have been him!

Don't care really. He's made his bed.  I 

[Bose]

2 hours ago, PauloPerth said:

I know it’s been mentioned before, but I do wonder if Tommy Wright has any regrets about chucking it when he did.

I mean, what you’re saying about where we are in terms of a brilliant starting position is kind of where I thought we were at the end of 2019-20 when TW quit after the form we were showing in the second half of that season. A young team signed up for a few years showing great promise. Plus the added bonus of Hendry banging in the goals at that time.

Obviously Callum Davidson has had a massive impact and the amount of success we’ve enjoyed so quickly is tremendous, but it’s not far off the team Tommy put together. 

Same keeper, back 3 and he signed Rooney to play opppsite side from Tanser.  McCann, Craig  or Davidson in centre mid with Spoony just ahead, Hendry up front with May whereas now it’s Kane and May (or Melamed).

He surely must sit watching thinking its basically his team and it could have been him!

I don’t think we would be nearly as good without Callum.  Certainly don’t think we would have had the success

[PauloPerth]

2 hours ago, tree house tam said:

f**k him.

 

 

"The grass isn't always greener. I struggle to name a player that has left St Johnstone and gone on to better things"  said Tam Wright to myself while sat at the bar in the Foundry, Perth. 

 

1 hour ago, The Saintee said:

Don't care really. He's made his bed.  I 

Yes I wasn't really coming at it from a 'poor Tommy' angle, it's worked out great for us and something fresh was maybe what was needed.  Just musing that in moments of reflection he must sit and think he could have a team of ballers challenging for Europe instead of an ageing team that's staring a possible relegation in the face and needs a big overhaul in the summer.

[PauloPerth]

18 minutes ago, Bose said:

I don’t think we would be nearly as good without Callum.  Certainly don’t think we would have had the success

Agree. But the potential in the squad was certainly there.

[mizfit]

I think part of the reason he left was the availability of the NI job, of course when that fell through he was left with the option of waiting for a job in Scotland to become available.

Motherwell didn’t want him, Kilmarnock did. He was in a position of getting his name back out while he could or being forgotten.

We’ll find out soon if he made the right decision or not, but in hindsight it was the right decision for us to move on.

[The Saintee]

44 minutes ago, PauloPerth said:

 

Yes I wasn't really coming at it from a 'poor Tommy' angle, it's worked out great for us and something fresh was maybe what was needed.  Just musing that in moments of reflection he must sit and think he could have a team of ballers challenging for Europe instead of an ageing team that's staring a possible relegation in the face and needs a big overhaul in the summer.

He maybe has assurances from Killie that if he keeps them up then he'll get a decent budget. 

 

Be very, very interesting to see how he manages a potential overhaul of a squad.

[RandomGuy.]

It was the right time for us all to part ways.

The Kilmarnock job wasn't the right one for him, just in terms of the position they were in and the state of the squad, but guess he was worried he'd struggle to get another top flight club of a decent size with Motherwell rejecting him.

[Widge]

8 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

It was the right time for us all to part ways.

The Kilmarnock job wasn't the right one for him, just in terms of the position they were in and the state of the squad, but guess he was worried he'd struggle to get another top flight club of a decent size with Motherwell rejecting him.

I'd agree. Tommy Wright and St Johnstone parted ways at exactly the right time. There was a growing discontent amongst the fans regarding performances and the general feeling around the club and there was a danger that things were growing stale. Wright was more agitated and moany and I actually think the fans were getting fed up of his constant battling in the press with Brown and Robertson. 

Compare that in contract to Davidson who's quietly (perhaps too much so to begin with) gone about his business and job very efficiently and effectively. He's instilled an even better team ethic and playing style into a core squad, enhanced not only his, but also the players reputations and been a huge success. It's easy to reflect back and say we made the right call now; however it was a risk at the time and one which Brown and Robertson (yes I know!) deserve credit for. To move seamlessly into another successful season is testament to the club and the back room staff available. 

The irony is, if we'd been in the ground we'd actually be more discontented than before by virtue of our abysmal home goals tally. The good new is, whilst every man and the pundits can ask the question "what does Davidson do next," for him the answer is perfectly clear, find a way to score more than a single figure tally of home goals! Whilst we might not think of it as a good thing, it conversely could be, as I sense if Callum can sort that out then we'll be even more dangerous next year and I think he's ambitious enough to want to make it happen. 

[Radford]

Tommy who?

[The Marly]

I wouldn't bad mouth any Saints manager since Billy fucking Stark. Connolly gets let off in my book because he was an absolute legend as a player. He was my Dad's favourite and I couldn't find it in myself to bad mouth him.
Every manager from Coyle onwards has been great for Saints as far as I am concerned. Yes, they've all had weak parts and/or wobbles but in the main they've all done a good job.
I will forever hold Tommy in high regard for what he did for Saints. However even I now think the change came at the right time. Callum has instilled a new belief into the players and got them playing as a cohesive unit.
The next challenge for Steve Brown will be to find the right successor - and that day may be sooner than we would like.

[double deluxe]

52 minutes ago, The Marly said:

I wouldn't bad mouth any Saints manager since Billy fucking Stark. Connolly gets let off in my book because he was an absolute legend as a player. He was my Dad's favourite and I couldn't find it in myself to bad mouth him.
Every manager from Coyle onwards has been great for Saints as far as I am concerned. Yes, they've all had weak parts and/or wobbles but in the main they've all done a good job.
I will forever hold Tommy in high regard for what he did for Saints. However even I now think the change came at the right time. Callum has instilled a new belief into the players and got them playing as a cohesive unit.
The next challenge for Steve Brown will be to find the right successor - and that day may be sooner than we would like.

I even think some of the criticism aimed at Stark can sometimes be a bit harsh.  
 

He inherited a shambles of a squad that was never going to stay in the Premier League and then had two seasons in the first division that were always going to be difficult with the club making big financial losses and big budget cuts whilst trying to build a squad capable of competing with strong sides like Falkirk and ICT.

[Costanza]

Just seeing the name Stark makes me shudder. He’s getting no retrospective sympathy from me.

[Lang Toon Saintee]

2 hours ago, double deluxe said:

I even think some of the criticism aimed at Stark can sometimes be a bit harsh.  
 

He inherited a shambles of a squad that was never going to stay in the Premier League and then had two seasons in the first division that were always going to be difficult with the club making big financial losses and big budget cuts whilst trying to build a squad capable of competing with strong sides like Falkirk and ICT.

Stark was a reasonable enough coach but he really was Mogadon Man..He had no spark about him at all and just appeared to be going through the motions...When Coyle came in his personality instantly gave the when club a lift.

[RandomGuy.]

2 minutes ago, Lang Toon Saintee said:

When Coyle came in his personality instantly gave the when club a lift.

He certainly had that. I spent like a day or two working for the club as part of work experience at school, and managed to get a bollocking from him, get the squad a bollocking from him, and almost accidentally walk in on him in the shower, which was just laughed off before he handed me a signed photo of the squad. Not a fancy photo mind you, just the cheap version they used to hand out free with the PA which had all the fixtures listed underneath the squad photo (I used to fill in the scores).