Double Winning St Johnstone FC Thread

[Widge]

Nah no sign of Crawford, O’Halloran or Gilmour. Couple that with Bair you’re losing a good number of players undoubtedly. We do need that squad trimmed though, my worry is the midfield. You’re going to get Max back and with Ballantyne looking decent we’re probably not going to bring another in, which feels a mistake to me. 

[Kyle]

There are so many no brainers in terms of who we should let go at the end of their contract/release with time left it’s ridiculous. 
 

Matthews, Mitchell, Montgomery, McLennan Rudden going back to their parent clubs. Maybe worth seeing if we can bring in Mitchell and Montgomery again but we can’t spend all summer waiting for them. The rest I think can go with thanks and best wishes. 
 

In terms of the out of contract players, Parish (although he’s the goalkeeping coach, so maybe depends on what his relationship is like with Sinclair and Wills), Gilmour, Davidson, MOH, Murphy, Hallberg (because of what he’s earning, I don’t think he warrants another big contract from us), Vertainen are almost certain to go I’d imagine.

its mental to think Crawford and  Bair still contracted for us, we probably need to get them gone too as they’re clearly dead wood. Seems pretty obvious Gallacher just isn’t trusted so would probably be best for his career if he could find another club too.  I’d prefer to be in a position to shot ourselves of Carey too, and you have to wonder if Booth is finished given he’s been injured for  very long time now.

Brown, Wotherspoon and Kane (and Montgomery and Mitchell) should all get offers I think. Brown doesn’t lift any trees but I think he’s shown he’s more than capable in his natural position. 
 

Maclean said in his post match interview with the bbc that we’ve got things ‘ready to go’ so be interesting to see what that is. Hopefully extensions for the 3 above and a couple of early markers in terms of new recruits would be lovely too. 
 

Edit: was disappointing not to see MOH there today. He’s a spent force for us now but he deserved a proper send off, he’s a 3 time cup winner for Saints. 

Edited May 28, 2023 by Kyle

[Theyellowbox]

1 hour ago, RandomGuy. said:

It crossed my mind when Bair wasn't even there after the match that he might have returned to North America to get himself a new club.

Could easy see us just waiving any fee if he just walks from his contract, and honestly think thats best for both parties.

Kane spoke just weeks about how much he loves the club and how he wants to stay. Could be just paper talk to get a better deal but I dunno, he doesn't seem the type. I think he'll stay.

He is still in Perth, just wasn't at the game today, so that probably makes clear what the state of play is with him. 

[mizfit]

Parish isn’t signing another contract as a player. You’d imagine they’ll have him on standby though should there be a goalkeeping crisis. I like the idea of getting a safe pair of hands in as second choice and letting wills go on loan. Nothing spectacular, someone like Jamie McDonald might be a decent option to sit on the bench. 

[Paris Hilltoon]

I doubt we'll ever see a player given as much time and patience from the fans as we did with Bair. 

The desperation for it to happen was palpable, but it wasn't to be for the big man. Had he ever bagged at Mcdiarmid I'm sure we'd all have went wild. 

 

[RandomGuy.]

This plus Booth and Crawford, both of whom i regularly forget exist, is how i think the squad is set for next season, as it stands.

Agree midfield looks an issue but not a lot of wiggle room in there.

Could see Ferguson loaned out, and Crawford punted, which frees up a slot, but maybe Wotherspoon takes that.

New CB signing could be pivotal. 

[PSJ.84]

That’s given me the fear. 

[djchapsticks]

How did Montgomery do for you in his spell? Saw someone mention over on BAWA (so massive pinch of salt) that we're sniffing about for him on loan for next season but you'd imagine Celtic would probably punt him south for a bit to develop if they are going to put him out again.

[Paris Hilltoon]

I'd be very disappointed if he ended up at you and not us. I think he's a year left with Celtic so they may be open to a deal for a small fee with a sell on included. Another loan doesn't really suit anyone as he's never getting in their team. 

[SJFCtheTeamForMe]

 

1 minute ago, Paris Hilltoon said:

I'd be very disappointed if he ended up at you and not us. I think he's a year left with Celtic so they may be open to a deal for a small fee with a sell on included. Another loan doesn't really suit anyone as he's never getting in their team. 

Think he's got another 2 years?

I'd hazard a guess that he'll be getting a decent £ on that Celtic contract so can see him being keen to see it to completion for that reason. 

[Paris Hilltoon]

4 minutes ago, SJFCtheTeamForMe said:

 

Think he's got another 2 years?

I'd hazard a guess that he'll be getting a decent £ on that Celtic contract so can see him being keen to see it to completion for that reason. 

Not sure I agree. If he believes in himself, as he should do. Then he'd be best taking a move to play week in week out and earning a bigger move off the back of that. 2 more years at Celtic won't really set him up that well, but 8-10 years playing in England after doing well for someone like us for a year or two would. 

[SJFCtheTeamForMe]

4 minutes ago, Paris Hilltoon said:

Not sure I agree. If he believes in himself, as he should do. Then he'd be best taking a move to play week in week out and earning a bigger move off the back of that. 2 more years at Celtic won't really set him up that well, but 8-10 years playing in England after doing well for someone like us for a year or two would. 

If he's currently on 4-5k a week he's just not going to move to Saints for £1,500 a week. No matter how ambitious he is. 

[Paris Hilltoon]

3 minutes ago, SJFCtheTeamForMe said:

If he's currently on 4-5k a week he's just not going to move to Saints for £1,500 a week. No matter how ambitious he is. 

If indeed. 

We can't compete with those wages, but I can't see him being on that, I could be wrong, but I don't belive it would be that much. If he was earning that much, Celtic would be looking to have him loaned out at a higher level than us, where they'd likely be able to get a much bigger percentage of the wage covered. 

It's all speculation though, nobody knows. We do have a bit of a war chest in reserve still tho, even after Davidson tried to plunder it. 

[RandomGuy.]

9 hours ago, PSJ.84 said:

That’s given me the fear. 

Aye its both good and bad, in a way. Feel like next season is just about surviving again while thebsquad gets closer to what we need, then the season after is when things can really push on.

Entire defence needing rebuilt, CM has potential but little proven quality, wide options are inconsistent really. Up front maybe the strongest part? May, Clark, Kane as 3 options feels fine if others step up with goals.

9 hours ago, djchapsticks said:

How did Montgomery do for you in his spell? Saw someone mention over on BAWA (so massive pinch of salt) that we're sniffing about for him on loan for next season but you'd imagine Celtic would probably punt him south for a bit to develop if they are going to put him out again.

Id be surprised if Celtic dont give him a chance in pre-season. He deserves it for me.

Imagine any club who wants a LB/LWB will be asking about him.

[RandomGuy.]

8 hours ago, Paris Hilltoon said:

Not sure I agree. If he believes in himself, as he should do. Then he'd be best taking a move to play week in week out and earning a bigger move off the back of that. 2 more years at Celtic won't really set him up that well, but 8-10 years playing in England after doing well for someone like us for a year or two would. 

Why wouldnt he just stay at Celtic, stay on a higher wage, and play regularly while out on loan?

[Radford]

Hopefully by the middle to end of the week we'll have a much reduced and streamlined squad and an idea of how many players are likely to be coming in.

Not that it might mean much considering Davidson said last summer he wanted between four and six and ended up signing a dozen.

In about 7 years time someone will open a cupboard at McDiarmid and find William Sandford has been locked in there since about last November.

[nelsjfc]

Bit of a worry that MacLean has said he's not really spoken to players yet? Although good to hear him talking about taking tough decisions though.

[PSJ.84]

Probably only saying that to shoot down any further questioning. I’d be amazed if he’s not had an informal chat with them, at the very least. 

[Kyle]

To be fair to Maclean, he only got the job permanently on Friday so all of his focus/planning could only really be on the games ahead. Appreciate he probably knew he was getting the job for a wee while before that, but until it’s in the public domain I don’t think he can really start talking to players about their futures. 

[SJFCtheTeamForMe]

I'm not entirely sure the BBC calling him "Cammy Ballantyne II* makes him any easier to identify...

There's also probably no need for the II at all now that he isn't playing in the same team as someone with the same name. 

Edited May 29, 2023 by SJFCtheTeamForMe