Double Winning St Johnstone FC Thread

[PauloPerth]

4 hours ago, Templar said:

I am sure we must have some sort of scouting system but not a very good one. I say this because we have known since January that we needed a striker and it was stated as our number 1 priority. Another factor, we knew was we could not afford to buy one. That left those players going out of contract and those being released. How difficult is to compile a list of these players have them looked at and rate them 1 to 5 then go get one. Yes, we could have missed out someone in Stevie May’s situation but so far we have not him.

It has been stated, with no confirmation that Tommy saw Vihmann in an International match against Northern Ireland and that is how he came to Tommy’s attention. He certainly was not scouted in Scandinavia or elsewhere in Europe. We could not afford that.

We signed Duffy as back up. Was he scouted or was his attention brought to Tommy because a member of our Development squad staff identified him in development games?

Parish was going out of contract and was again signed as back up.

As I said we may have a scouting system and if we do it is not working this season because it has failed to get a striker. If it turns out that we do sign Stevie May it will not be a scouting system that found him.

How do you think players are scouted?

Tommy either saw Vihmann in that international match, or someone he knows through the NI FA tipped him off. Duffy seen in development match either by Tommy or one of the coaches who tipped him off. You then check out their past/ contract situation/ wages etc etc and see if it’s feasible.  Does it matter if it’s the manager or a nameless scout whose identifying them?

We’ve never gone for the sweeping approach of 8-9 players out and in at a time like other clubs who usually finish below us.  And thank f**k to be honest as it’s very hit or miss.

We made excellent signings last season, and yet this is conveniently forgotten all the time just now. Yes, this summer so far has been a massive disappointment, but I think it reflects the lack of affordable quality options at our level. Killie, Motherwell, Accies, Livi and several others probably, are all crying out for a goalscorer.

Is Tommy getting away with the blame a wee bit as the chairman gets pilloried? 5 first team starter quality wide players and arguably no strikers. Zander and JK signed up on long deals on a decent wage.

I’m not convinced the manager isn’t  being backed reasonably well.

[DukDukGoose]

Wyscout.

The website. Not a question.

[Widge]

I'm hoping he means 12 goals between them rather than each. Totally agree though - there's no chance either will get near 12 goals on their own.

Don’t see why Kennedy couldn’t manage that, he’s always a threat and has 3 so far this season and we’re only half way through August. He got 6 in the league last year and with a bit of luck he’d manage more than that.

I think it’s a stretch to rely on them both, O’Halloran should score more goals for sure though.

[Kyle]

I don't disagree with Paulo to be honest.

The St Johnstone 1884 twitter page highlighted that we currently have 20 outfield first team players which is roughly in line with what we've had previously (last season was something of an outlier).

Of the twenty, it's clear that 2 and probably 3 are no longer wanted (Anderson, Callachan and McMillan) and you'd question whether you could rely on quite a few others over the course of a season (Duffy, McCann, McClean and possibly Hendry - he's still very raw and injury prone). That reduces the numbers down to 13/14, 5 of whom are wingers/attacking midfielders and lets not get into whether Vihmann is good enough or not as the early signs certainly aren't good.

That leaves Foster, Kerr, Gordon, Tanser, Davidson, Craig and Kane. to play the positions not filled by goalies, wingers/number 10s.

I don't think the problem is so much Brown's lack of backing - the fact we've been unable to sign a striker when that's been priority number 1 since February is another matter - but Wright's squad building on this occasion. I understand that he would've wanted to get Swanson and O'Halloran back after the impact they had for us previously but I'm not sure I'd have been so happy with us signing them if I'd known it meant other parts of the squad(left back cover, centre mid starter and cover, a striker and some experience generally in the squad) were going to be neglected in this way.

Edit: I think the squad we have could be in danger of relegation, particularly if 2 or 3 of the 7 I listed above get injured. I think this is where the chairman comes in. If we are unable to get the unwanted players out, does the club spend the money required to ditch them and sign replacements - which will cost money - or take the risk and hope that we stay up? Relegation would cost us far more than the 3 or 4 extra bodies that would give us a much better chance of staying in the league.

Edited August 19, 2019 by Kyle

[steviemay17]

So judging by the BBC article we've gone from " the priority is to get a striker who scores 15 goals a season" to MOH and Kennedy need to score way more and a striker who gets double figures would be nice

another PR masterclass in trying to lower expectations - we've basically got no plan at the moment and hoping a striker just appears from nowhere

[steviemay17]

4 hours ago, The Saintee said:

The scouting system works, kind of, if you consider that it unearthed Drey Wright from nowhere.

It's certainly not working this year though. Up to this point anyway.

Didn't someone point out his agent is someone we deal with quite a lot? so more likely again offered to us by an agent and not scouted

[Kyle]

Tommy Wright's email;

 

[Shaggy Jenkins]

12 minutes ago, steviemay17 said:

So judging by the BBC article we've gone from " the priority is to get a striker who scores 15 goals a season" to MOH and Kennedy need to score way more and a striker who gets double figures would be nice

another PR masterclass in trying to lower expectations - we've basically got no plan at the moment and hoping a striker just appears from nowhere

Exactly, following right on the heels of Hendry claiming him and Kane could be the answer.

Lets face it no one is coming

[7-2]

The flaw in hinting that there's now a campaign underway to prepare us for not signing a striker is that it suggests Saints actually have someone that knows what they're doing when it comes to PR. 

[RandomGuy.]

56 minutes ago, steviemay17 said:

Didn't someone point out his agent is someone we deal with quite a lot? so more likely again offered to us by an agent and not scouted

Allan Preston is who worked on the deal on his behalf.

This latest interview absolutely reeks of him coming out in two weeks and talking about how MOH, Kennedy and "new signing" Drey Wright will take up the slack, and how Kane and Hendry are more than capable of "chipping in". That's probably an intensely negative view of it though.

[Templar]

1 hour ago, steviemay17 said:

So judging by the BBC article we've gone from " the priority is to get a striker who scores 15 goals a season" to MOH and Kennedy need to score way more and a striker who gets double figures would be nice

another PR masterclass in trying to lower expectations - we've basically got no plan at the moment and hoping a striker just appears from nowhere

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. I am sure O'Halloran's asset was his assists for McLean and May on his first spell. His second, he hit a purple patch and scored a few. In our league campaign I would be happy with Kennedy and O'Halloran contributing 6-8 goals each and the same number of assists. So far in 3 league games Kennedy has 1 goal and O'Halloran 1 assist.

It is the striker who will convert the chances that we need as I think both are more than capable of setting him up.

[tree house tam]

2 loans, 1 midfielder,1 striker and a striker on a 2-3 year deal is what I reckon. JH FH SM and I'd be happy.

[Kyle]

Jason Holt, Fraser Hornby and Stevie May?

 

[PauloPerth]

Managers email today for those that haven’t seen it:

 

It's been a tough start to the season so far following our Betfred Cup campaign and opening day defeat against Celtic.

Last time out against Livingston didn't go to plan either as we didn't put in the kind of performance I'd have expected from the players. There was a nervousness and apprehensiveness to the game which we never really managed to shake off until we scored.

The fans then really got behind the team and we kicked on. It was important we got our first point on the board although obviously we all hoped it would be three points.

We need to build on that now as we head into Saturday's clash with Hibs. We have a decent record at Easter Road and the win there last season was one of the highlights of the campaign.

It wasn't just the fact that we scored at the death. Our performance that day was excellent and was up there with our best 90 minutes of the season.

Preparations are going well for what will be a tough game against Paul Heckinbottom's side. We had a friendly behind closed doors last week against Arbroath which we won 2-1 and a number of players who needed a full 90 minutes were able to get that game time under their belts.

We're hoping to put in a good performance to give everyone a lift. It is a period of transition just now but the squad and the club is in a good place at the minute. We will strengthen and there is still time before the window to do that.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the club's first match at McDiarmid Park and it's important to recognise just how far we've come in that time. I've been here for a good chunk of it - as I'm now in my seventh season as manager - and I've enjoyed so many memorable moments at McDiarmid during my tenure.

I'm confident I can keep those good times going. We have a great stadium, squad and loyal fan base who get right behind the team.

Here's to the next thirty years!

Best wishes,

Tommy Wright
St. Johnstone Manager

[Templar]

3 minutes ago, PauloPerth said:

We will strengthen

Will he strengthen the squad with back up player(s) or starting player(s)? I hope it is starting player(s) 

Striker (starting)

Midfield (starting)

Left back (back up)

I hope santa  comes early. We can but dream.

[7-2]

30 minutes ago, PauloPerth said:

We had a friendly behind closed doors last week against Arbroath which we won 2-1 

[7-2]

1 hour ago, Kyle said:

Jason Holt, Fraser Hornby and Stevie May?

None of those fit the description of the guy that was hosted by the club with his family.  I always thought if things got to that stage it was almost a rubber stamp job if the better half was happy. Any info available @perthsaint1977 now it looks as if it isn't happening?

[Shaggy Jenkins]

24 minutes ago, 7-2 said:

None of those fit the description of the guy that was hosted by the club with his family.  I always thought if things got to that stage it was almost a rubber stamp job if the better half was happy. Any info available @perthsaint1977 now it looks as if it isn't happening?

Aye wouldn't let his golden retriever in because it wasn't wearing a tie put the deal on the skids

[Kyle]

Any chance of a left back? 

[Bankfoot Saints]

22 minutes ago, Kyle said:

Any chance of a left back? 

Probably not no