Double Winning St Johnstone FC Thread

[Mr Positive, sometimes.]

1 minute ago, RandomGuy. said:

Agree that that game might be a write off tbf. Should be Stendels first game with them, Tynecastle will be sold out and rocking, and they have Naismith back fit now.

He went off injured last night again so maybe not. 

[Widge]

At £29 a ticket in December, chances of a decent saints crowd at Tynecastle is slim as anything. Despite it being a game in the glorious capital and best city in Scotland.

[PauloPerth]

3 hours ago, RandomGuy. said:

This is it, lads. Make or break time.

That's a cracking run of fixtures.

If you write off games against the OF teams, for the remaining 32 fixtures managing a win, a draw and a loss every three matches (4 points) should see you comfortably third bottom or slightly higher on about 41 points or so.  That's exactly our form for the past six matches; 2W, 2D, 2L.

But against the teams around us, we should be looking for a wee bit more. Around 10 points would be superb as TDBob says.  The important thing is even if we are having a shite game, to keep it tight and not gift any of our rivals an easy three points by folding of making crazy mistakes.  Being able to scrap out draws when not playing well will be crucial in not losing ground.

Having seen the way we played last night, and Hearts a month or two back, I'd set up exactly the same and be confident we can come away with at least a point.

[RandomGuy.]

3 hours ago, Widge said:

At £29 a ticket in December, chances of a decent saints crowd at Tynecastle is slim as anything. Despite it being a game in the glorious capital and best city in Scotland.

Prices are disgusting, frankly. Almost £70 for two adults plus two u12-u18s, just for tickets.

[RandomGuy.]

Player of the decade poll got serious...

 

[Mr Positive, sometimes.]

Ali Mccann has signed a new 3 and a half year deal. 

Well earned Ali. In a struggling team he has shown maturity and of course ability. 

Edited December 6, 2019 by Mr Positive, sometimes.

[tree house tam]

1 minute ago, Mr Positive, sometimes. said:

Ali Mccann has signed a new 3 and a half year deal. 

Just need to work on his finishing and try and get a wee bit more speed, then we can sell him for a nice wee profit.

[RandomGuy.]

6 minutes ago, Mr Positive, sometimes. said:

Ali Mccann has signed a new 3 and a half year deal. 

Well earned Ali. In a struggling team he has shown maturity and of course ability. 

Outstanding news that, especially the length. 

[Kyle]

Best news we've had in a long while. Along with Kennedy, he's been a consistent bright spot in what has been a pretty shite season. Was starting to worry that we'd lose him in the summer with only compensation to show for it.

 

[PauloPerth]

Same boat.

Great bit of business by the club.

Guaranteed his next game is a stinker though!!

[Kyle]

Goalkeepers

1. Zander Clark (27) -2022

12. Elliot Parish (29) – 2021

48. Max Johnstone (20) -2020

45. Ross Sinclair (18) – 2021 ­­– on loan at Brechin

 

Defenders

2. Wallace Duffy (20) -2021

21. Anthony Ralston (20) – 2020 – on loan from Celtic

6. Steven Anderson (33) - 2020 – on loan at Raith Rovers

23. Liam Gordon (23) - 2021

15. Jason Kerr (22) – 2022

5. Madis Vihmann (23) – 2020 – on loan from Flora

3. Scott Tanser (24) – 2021

24. Callum Booth (28) – Jan 2020

 

Midfielders

7. Drey Wright (24) - 2020

10. David Wotherspoon (29) - 2021

8. Murray Davidson (31) - 2020 + 1

4. Ross Callachan (25) - 2020

26. Liam Craig (32) - 2020

19. Jason Holt (26) – 2020 – on loan from Rangers

18. Ali McCann (19) - 2023

33. Matty Kennedy (24) - 2020

11. Danny Swanson (32) - 2020

 

Forwards

16. David McMillan (30) – 2020 – on loan at Falkirk

9. Chris Kane (24) - 2020

17. Michael O'Halloran (28) – 2021

14. Stevie May (26) – 2021 + 1

22. Callum Hendry (21) - 2020 

[Widge]

There was never any doubt about Ali signing on again tbh, wasn’t expecting it to be that long a deal, but great news!

[The Saintee]

Sensible decision by the club.

 

Great news.

[Trackdaybob]

Yes, happy with that  

[RandomGuy.]

4 hours ago, Kyle said:

Spoiler

Goalkeepers

1. Zander Clark (27) -2022

12. Elliot Parish (29) – 2021

48. Max Johnstone (20) -2020

45. Ross Sinclair (18) – 2021 ­­– on loan at Brechin

 

Defenders

2. Wallace Duffy (20) -2021

21. Anthony Ralston (20) – 2020 – on loan from Celtic

6. Steven Anderson (33) - 2020 – on loan at Raith Rovers

23. Liam Gordon (23) - 2021

15. Jason Kerr (22) – 2022

5. Madis Vihmann (23) – 2020 – on loan from Flora

3. Scott Tanser (24) – 2021

24. Callum Booth (28) – Jan 2020

 

Midfielders

7. Drey Wright (24) - 2020

10. David Wotherspoon (29) - 2021

8. Murray Davidson (31) - 2020 + 1

4. Ross Callachan (25) - 2020

26. Liam Craig (32) - 2020

19. Jason Holt (26) – 2020 – on loan from Rangers

18. Ali McCann (19) - 2023

33. Matty Kennedy (24) - 2020

11. Danny Swanson (32) - 2020

 

Forwards

16. David McMillan (30) – 2020 – on loan at Falkirk

9. Chris Kane (24) - 2020

17. Michael O'Halloran (28) – 2021

14. Stevie May (26) – 2021 + 1

22. Callum Hendry (21) - 2020

 

Next seasons squad gets that wee bit stronger due to McCann re-signing. 

Is the extension trigger on Muzz's contract appearance based? Assume it's a NAP either way.

Wright, Kennedy and Craig the three that stand out, fully expect the last two to hold off until late in the day if they're going to extend. Craig or Kane next, IMO.

[Valentino Bolognese]

2 hours ago, RandomGuy. said:

Next seasons squad gets that wee bit stronger due to McCann re-signing. 

Is the extension trigger on Muzz's contract appearance based? Assume it's a NAP either way.

Wright, Kennedy and Craig the three that stand out, fully expect the last two to hold off until late in the day if they're going to extend. Craig or Kane next, IMO.

Matty has stronger leverage than Wright at the moment IMO. I'd think that Drey is playing for an offer now and I'm not sure he'll start at Tynecastle.

I really do hope, for his sake an ours, that he can get back the form he had pre-injury. 

Craig's obviously at the tail end of his career but playing in front of the back four looks like a useful role for him. I think that we've learned that even with our best back 4 we need a bit more protection and if Tommy isn't going to risk a flat 4-4-2 until our defence  then it shapes up, seems a good solution. Is he necessary or a luxury? Not sure how much he costs. Suppose if he wants regular football he'll follow Ando into the lower tiers.

Apologies for rambling, at a bit of a loose end with no game tomorrow, and irritated at 29 of my pounds going to Budge's bandits. 

[RandomGuy.]

1 hour ago, Valentino Bolognese said:

Not sure how much he costs. Suppose if he wants regular football he'll follow Ando into the lower tiers.

I'm sure hes fairly involved in the youth coaching, certainly assists Maybury at reserve games, so theres likely more keeping him here than Anderson, who appeared to be have less to do with that (sure I seen someone mention he was coaching once though).

I just watched the 90 minutes on Saints TV, as I'm fucking tragic, fair play to TW btw as some of those selection decisions wouldve been ripped apart if it had backfired. Booth has probably done enough to show hes worth another 6 months, cant judge his ability based on one game, but with his CV and that one performance he should be useful to keep Tanser thinking. No doubt Kane is better as a lone striker in games like that than May, even by someone who doesnt rate him in the slightest as a top flight striker.

Am I allowed to say we looked far better without Davidson? Having Craig camped in front of the defence was huge, and not something Davidson brings. Having two energetic midfielders capable of pressing opposite numbers, and also supporting the wide players defensively, was huge, and that's an energy and pace Davidson doesnt bring. Having 3 midfielders capable of getting the ball 25 yards from our own goal under pressure, and not panicking and releasing it too early/retaining possession was a benefit, and not something Davidson really brings. In saying that, I cant ever see Holt or McCann ever dominating a midfield like Davidson is prone to doing. Could just be a case of getting the right combination for the opponents. 

[Valentino Bolognese]

24 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

Am I allowed to say we looked far better without Davidson? Having Craig camped in front of the defence was huge, and not something Davidson brings. Having two energetic midfielders capable of pressing opposite numbers, and also supporting the wide players defensively, was huge, and that's an energy and pace Davidson doesnt bring. Having 3 midfielders capable of getting the ball 25 yards from our own goal under pressure, and not panicking and releasing it too early/retaining possession was a benefit, and not something Davidson really brings. In saying that, I cant ever see Holt or McCann ever dominating a midfield like Davidson is prone to doing. Could just be a case of getting the right combination for the opponents. 

Not so  sure that it's as simple as we looked better without Murray, but it was a setup (4-1-4-1 it looked like) that was absolutely focussed on stopping us losing goals through the centre-backs. Maybe that was forced because Davidson was out, or maybe it was always going to be TW's game plan. 

It does raise the question though as to what happens next week as based on the Killie game it's hard to justify dropping any of the middle 3 to make way for him. May well be a case of starting with the same lineup (with Kennedy in for Wright and MOH on the right) with Murray and Hendry off the bench if we want/need to push up a bit. Then again, the Hearts midfield should be easier to dominate and push through than Killie, so maybe Murray is the better option. Unhappily I'm not seeing an obvious place for May in this setup. Maybe it will take another striker signing to get the best out of him and avoid it all being an expensive and damaging mistake.

I agree that the 'foot on the ball' stuff from Holt and McCann was good to see. Always good to see Muzz charging into headers but with the ball at his feet he's usually looking for a quick easy ball rather than drawing the opposition in. 

Edited December 6, 2019 by Valentino Bolognese

[RandomGuy.]

52 minutes ago, Valentino Bolognese said:

Unhappily I'm not seeing an obvious place for May in this setup. Maybe it will take another striker signing to get the best out of him and avoid it all being an expensive and damaging mistake.

I think in games we intend to dominate, he's a better option than Kane, but we absolutely need to play the ball on the ground and get players around him for it to be effective.

If we could go on a run of results, without May, then it might be a good thing for him bizarrely. Take him out the spotlight, take the pressure, from the fans and himself, away from him, and let him come on against tiring defences etc. and try and rebuild confidence and belief, and we might start to see the embers catch fire again. Feels like he's a project at the moment, someone who needs worked on, as the injuries and his poor time at Aberdeen have taken something from him mentally.

Only issue with that plan is we'd likely have to start Kane or Hendry most weeks.

[PauloPerth]

1 hour ago, RandomGuy. said:

Am I allowed to say we looked far better without Davidson? Having Craig camped in front of the defence was huge, and not something Davidson brings. Having two energetic midfielders capable of pressing opposite numbers, and also supporting the wide players defensively, was huge, and that's an energy and pace Davidson doesnt bring. Having 3 midfielders capable of getting the ball 25 yards from our own goal under pressure, and not panicking and releasing it too early/retaining possession was a benefit, and not something Davidson really brings. In saying that, I cant ever see Holt or McCann ever dominating a midfield like Davidson is prone to doing. Could just be a case of getting the right combination for the opponents. 

Football wise we definitely looked better, and the central midfield three had a good balance and shape to it. 

However, if you look at the two games Muzz has missed you see both sides of the coin.  Would we have been dominated so badly in the air from set pieces at Motherwell if he was in there?

Thats the difficult decision Tommy has to take.  As you say, it might have to be horses for courses.

Tough decision for next week though. Keep the same team that did well on Wednesday knowing Hearts are a big physical side who pose quite a threat from set pieces, or bring Davidson back in?