Livingston v St Mirren League Cup Semi 24/1/21

[G51]

6 minutes ago, LIVIFOREVER said:

Who'd play him in the film, Robert Duvall is getting on a bit now.

 

Danny Devito. No doubt about it.

[LIVIFOREVER]

12 minutes ago, G51 said:

 

Danny Devito. No doubt about it.

Good shout, could call a Taxi for Lennon.

[LiviLion]

The hilarity coming out of Glasgow was keeping me distracted from this. Starting to get twitchy now and can't sit still

Absolutely fucking gutted we'll all need to watch this in the house.

 

[Coventry Saint]

3 hours ago, LiviLion said:

Absolutely fucking gutted we'll all need to watch this in the house.

Regardless of the outcome here, the fans of a team that doesn't typically reach cup finals are going to miss seeing their team play in a cup final, and it's fucking shit.

I've got a creeping apathy about it at the minute - shades of the 2018 diddy cup final vs Dundee United where a win was a nice wee bonus but I'm not fearful of a defeat - though that is likely to change come Sunday when I'm sure the nerves will kick in.

As I've said several times on this forum, it's very difficult not to admire what's happened to Livi over the past few seasons. You've come from further away than we were, even at our nadir in 16/17, and have gone further yet, on a shoestring budget.

[EdinburghLivi]

Has been mentioned before but the SPFL should take the lead of the EFL and push the final back so that there is a bigger chance of fans attending.

That said, given the Scottish Government's attitude toward football fans it would probably have to be next season for any significant numbers.

[ATLIS]

1 hour ago, EdinburghLivi said:

Has been mentioned before but the SPFL should take the lead of the EFL and push the final back so that there is a bigger chance of fans attending.

That said, given the Scottish Government's attitude toward football fans it would probably have to be next season for any significant numbers.

I'd honestly been quietly assuming that's what will happen to be fair. Makes sense for everyone involved given the occasion. 

Although I wonder if both fans would be able to fit all season ticket holders into Hampden (socially distanced) as a reward for supporting the club during hard times. Would obviously require the Scottish Government to step in and allow a 'test event' but I imagine both clubs won't have over 6,000 season tickets combined. I think we have about 1,100. St Mirren about 4,000 maybe at most? 

[Bobby_F]

47 minutes ago, ATLIS said:

I'd honestly been quietly assuming that's what will happen to be fair. Makes sense for everyone involved given the occasion. 

Although I wonder if both fans would be able to fit all season ticket holders into Hampden (socially distanced) as a reward for supporting the club during hard times. Would obviously require the Scottish Government to step in and allow a 'test event' but I imagine both clubs won't have over 6,000 season tickets combined. I think we have about 1,100. St Mirren about 4,000 maybe at most? 

Given the Spanish PM has just said no tourists will be allowed in to Spain until September at the earliest, I honestly don't see football fans being back at any point this season.

Even socially distanced.  Looks like people are at last realising this didn't go away because for a few months over the summer we believed/hoped it had.

[IrishBhoy]

I think this ‘form goes out the window for cup games’ patter is seriously misplaced. Obviously due to the nature of the competition, in that it’s a one legged semi-final, the game will have a different feel around it when compared to a standard league game, but discarding form coming into the game is silly imo. Similar to the oft-quoted tropes used by many of the pundits that form goes out the window for derby games etc.
 

I absolutely guarantee that if someone had the time to historically analyse the results of knockout competition, the team coming into the game in better form will have performed more favourably than their opponents. 

[Lola montez]

I have the fear of this one, can only hope the wide pitch will tire the Livy players out with tier pressing game and if we can get Durmus and Connolly firing down the wings we might go against the odds again, we’ve done the hard work to get here, let’s see the job through please Jim

[Ralstonite]

On 21/01/2021 at 11:34, pozbaird said:

I can’t get up for this one at all. Under normal circumstances, I’d now be thinking about when to leave, what time I wanted to get there, best place to park, where’s my ‘lucky’ 2013 final scarf, etc. I’d be thinking about four clubs in the semis and not an ugly sister in sight. All I’m thinking about is my credit card number to add on Premier Sports for a month, and when best to take on the facemask Nazis at the door of my local Tesco to get a few cans and a packet of cheese & onion in place. If we win, then the realisation really kicks in that we’ll all miss a national cup final. Fcuk.

If we’re just talking about the football match itself, then Livingston are clearly the form team. On a great run, and obviously full of confidence and belief. However, if St Mirren ever, under any circumstances whatsoever, go into any match against a like-for-like Scottish opponent such as Livingston or Hamilton, Ross County or whoever, with the attitude that they’re about to face Barcelona or Brazil 1970... then we might as well chuck it. It’s St Mirren v Livingston, ten without defeat or not. Get fucking intae’ thum’.

Physically going to the games is 80% of the attraction to me. If I wanted to sit at home and watch footy, I might as well support Barcelona...like many cretins do nowadays, it seems. Not going to this is actually depressing.  

On 21/01/2021 at 12:31, Yflab said:

You could add “The Gentlemen” as a precursor to Shawshank or some other UK drug film. His story is remarkable. I hope some of the Scottish drug charities champion him around the prison community as to what can be achieved.

It is an incredible story, to be fair. Let's see whether he sustains this success, though. Also will Livingston's faith in him be rewarded with loyalty if he is successful, or will he quickly depart for greener pastures?

On 21/01/2021 at 12:47, ZingaliMan said:

We have lost 3 games in our last 17 games. With some Saints fans you would think we are sitting at the bottom of the league with 1 win  Thus far this has been our best season in many a year. 

That's a pretty stunning statistic. It's cheered me up a bit.

On 21/01/2021 at 09:19, Yflab said:

Defensively Saints have a good record. You have to go as far back as 12th September to find a team that put 3 goals past us and that was when we had Zlamal in goals for us due to the COVID goalkeeping issue. 
 

We have a lot of experience in the defence of players who have got to major finals. That could prove key in this tie. Sure Livingston are rightly favourites but you should back your team. You might regret it on Sunday. 
 

COYS

I've stuck £8 on a 3-1 Saints victory. The rest I put on a 3-3 draw, because I can imagine us going 3-1 up and being on the precipice of jubilation, only for us to throw it away.

[IrishBhoy]

21 minutes ago, Lola montez said:

I have the fear of this one, can only hope the wide pitch will tire the Livy players out with tier pressing game and if we can get Durmus and Connolly firing down the wings we might go against the odds again, we’ve done the hard work to get here, let’s see the job through please Jim

Are the Hampden pitch dimensions not exactly the same as the SMP dimensions? It only looks a bigger pitch due to the distance from the pitch to the stands, and possibly the camera angles. 

[sergie's no1 fan]

I think this ‘form goes out the window for cup games’ patter is seriously misplaced. Obviously due to the nature of the competition, in that it’s a one legged semi-final, the game will have a different feel around it when compared to a standard league game, but discarding form coming into the game is silly imo. Similar to the oft-quoted tropes used by many of the pundits that form goes out the window for derby games etc.
 
I absolutely guarantee that if someone had the time to historically analyse the results of knockout competition, the team coming into the game in better form will have performed more favourably than their opponents. 

I remember being at Parkhead when Celtic stuck 7 past us then the following week we beat them 1-0 in the quarters of the Scottish Cup.

Of course form will play a part in it but Rangers were unbeaten in 27 games before we knocked them out. We must be the one of the few teams that have beat Livi twice this season too which again doesn't mean we will win on Sunday but we have done it. It's a different Livi now right enough.

Enough about the positives, we will badly miss Doyle-Hayes.

Our wingers have totally lost their form again and we haven't performed anywhere near the high standard we set against Rangers in the quarter final.

[IrishBhoy]

Just now, sergie's no1 fan said:

I remember being at Parkhead when Celtic stuck 7 past us then the following week we beat them 1-0 in the quarters of the Scottish Cup.
 

I actually remember that game. A Billy Mehmet penalty if I recall correctly. 

I’m not saying that the match is a forgone conclusion due to Livingstons form coming into the game, just that it’s not right to completely discount it due to it being a semi-final, as the stats would back up. 

[Ralstonite]

32 minutes ago, IrishBhoy said:

I actually remember that game. A Billy Mehmet penalty if I recall correctly. 

I’m not saying that the match is a forgone conclusion due to Livingstons form coming into the game, just that it’s not right to completely discount it due to it being a semi-final, as the stats would back up. 

I see you post a lot in St. Mirren threads, and yet your name indicates you support Celtic. What's the script?

[IrishBhoy]

55 minutes ago, Ralstonite said:

I see you post a lot in St. Mirren threads, and yet your name indicates you support Celtic. What's the script?

Was a Celtic supporter until my mid teens then just got fed up of the nonsense that surrounds the club/Old Firm. I got to an age where going to Celtic games and mixing with other Celtic supporters became a quite depressing experience, associating myself with people that I didn’t want to be associated with, and who’s life and mood revolves around the performance of the team. The mentality of some Celtic fans that the success of the team on the pitch somehow reflected back on them as a person has always been something I’ve struggled to understand, and when I got old enough to realise that was a very prevalent view amongst the support I stopped attending. I genuinely believe that if I was still going to Parkhead and supporting Celtic, I would have acquired some very toxic personality traits.

 

I live in Renfrewshire now and have attended the odd St Mirren game as far back as the days of Tom Hendrie, mainly due to the free tickets handed out to schools and also to the Boys club I played for as a kid. When I stopped going to Parkhead around 2010, a St Mirren supporting friend asked if I wanted to go to a game with him. Gus MacPherson was the manager at the time but it was close to the end of his tenure if I remember rightly. I tagged along that day and have been going regularly ever since. I think I just enjoy supporting the ‘underdog’ more, I know St Mirren aren’t the underdog in every game they play, and certainly not when they were in the Championship, but I much prefer the mentality of the fan who can go to a game every week, supporting a team not in expectation of a win, but only with the hope of a win, and taking everything that comes their way and still being there the week after.

Edited to say this account was made in 2008, if I was able to change the username I would. 

Edited January 22, 2021 by IrishBhoy

[Ralstonite]

20 minutes ago, IrishBhoy said:

Was a Celtic supporter until my mid teens then just got fed up of the nonsense that surrounds the club/Old Firm. I got to an age where going to Celtic games and mixing with other Celtic supporters became a quite depressing experience, associating myself with people that I didn’t want to be associated with, and who’s life and mood revolves around the performance of the team. The mentality of some Celtic fans that the success of the team on the pitch somehow reflected back on them as a person has always been something I’ve struggled to understand, and when I got old enough to realise that was a very prevalent view amongst the support I stopped attending  I genuinely believe that if I was still going to Parkhead and supporting Celtic, I would have acquired some very toxic personality traits.

 

I live in Renfrewshire now and have attended the odd St Mirren game as far back as the days of Tom Hendrie, mainly due to the free tickets handed out to schools and also to the Boys club I played for as a kid. When I stopped going to Parkhead around 2010, a St Mirren supporting friend asked if I wanted to go to a game with him. Gus MacPherson was the manager at the time but it was close to the end of his tenure if I remember rightly. I tagged along that day and have been going regularly ever since. I think I just enjoy supporting the ‘underdog’ more, I know St Mirren aren’t the underdog in every game they play, and certainly not when they were in the Championship, but I much prefer the mentality of the fan who can go to a game every week, supporting a team not in expectation of a win, but only with the hope of a win, and taking everything that comes their way and still being there the week after.

Excellent stuff! I'm glad you've seen the light.  You're far from the first former Old Firm supporter to have done so. Those clubs are toxic and, I agree, not just because of the bigotry. Their fans' expectations essentially mean that unless they win the league they're unhappy...even raging. 

I forwarded a funny, non-football-related WhatsApp message to a Celtic supporting fiend the other day. I received a terse reply asking me to stop sending him messages when 'the Celtic' are playing. When I quipped that he needed cheering up, I received a barrage of abuse, including the suggestion that I was an unhygienic Orangeman born out of wedlock. To be fair, I think he's suffering from poor mental health because of the lockdown, as well as Celtic's 'dismal' form.  

ETA: @Div, could you not do something about this poor guy's username? 

Edited January 22, 2021 by Ralstonite

[IrishBhoy]

36 minutes ago, Ralstonite said:

Excellent stuff! I'm glad you've seen the light.  You're far from the first former Old Firm supporter to have done so. Those clubs are toxic and, I agree, not just because of the bigotry. Their fans' expectations essentially mean that unless they win the league they're unhappy...even raging. 

I forwarded a funny, non-football-related WhatsApp message to a Celtic supporting fiend the other day. I received a terse reply asking me to stop sending him messages when 'the Celtic' are playing. When I quipped that he needed cheering up, I received a barrage of abuse, including the suggestion that I was an unhygienic Orangeman born out of wedlock. To be fair, I think he's suffering from poor mental health because of the lockdown, as well as Celtic's 'dismal' form.  

ETA: @Div, could you not do something about this poor guy's username? 

It’s one of the things about supporting St Mirren, that I don’t have many friends that also support them. The friend mentioned above is the only close pal I have, every other one of my friends and family is Rangers/Celtic.

I’m regularly asked how I’m able to go along to SMP every second week and watch ‘shite’, and sit in ‘shitey wee supports’. It’s as if being in a crowd of 40/50k makes them superior in some way. I usually say to them that anyone on the planet can choose to support a football team, they have done nothing tangible to aide the success of the team they have chosen to support. I could turn around tomorrow and say I support Real Madrid, and bask in the success of their European Cup wins. I would have no right to use that success as a reflection of me personally, but that’s what a number of Celtic fans do. I would obviously never do that, but it’s a sad existence as a football fan in my opinion, and one I’m glad didn’t take hold of me as I was growing up. 
 

Edit- Anyway back on topic, come on the Saints on Sunday.  

Edited January 22, 2021 by IrishBhoy

[Ralstonite]

1 minute ago, IrishBhoy said:

It’s one of the things about supporting St Mirren, that I don’t have many friends that also support them. The friend mentioned above is the only close pal I have, every other one of my friends and family is Rangers/Celtic.

I’m regularly asked how I’m able to go along to SMP every second week and watch ‘shite’, and sit in ‘shitey wee supports’. It’s as if being in a crowd of 40/50k makes them superior in some way. I usually say to them that anyone on the planet can choose to support a football team, they have done nothing tangible to aide the success of the team they have chosen to support. I could turn around tomorrow and say I support Real Madrid, and bask in the success of their European Cup wins. I would have no right to use that success as a reflection of me personally, but that’s what a number of Celtic fans do. I would obviously never do that, but it’s a sad existence as a football fan in my opinion, and one I’m glad didn’t take hold of me as I was growing up. 

I understand completely, as most folk I know follow one of the Old Firm, too. I enjoy not being one of the sheep, indeed I revel in it and wear my colours with pride. Like you I enjoy supporting the underdog club, which we are in the SPFL, given our budget. With fan ownership on the horizon, I'm really optimistic about our future.  I'm also proud of our support, and the likes of the recent win against Rangers gives me immense pleasure, when I expect none. How I wish we could have been in the stadium for that one. 

[Coventry Saint]

1 hour ago, IrishBhoy said:

Was a Celtic supporter until my mid teens then just got fed up of the nonsense that surrounds the club/Old Firm....

Great post; nice to know how that came about.

I feel your pain on the username front. I've not lived in Coventry for 14 years. Time flies.

[IrishBhoy]

2 minutes ago, Ralstonite said:

I understand completely, as most folk I know follow one of the Old Firm, too. I enjoy not being one of the sheep, indeed I revel in it and wear my colours with pride. Like you I enjoy supporting the underdog club, which we are in the SPFL, given our budget. With fan ownership on the horizon, I'm really optimistic about our future.  I'm also proud of our support, and the likes of the recent win against Rangers gives me immense pleasure, when I expect none. How I wish we could have been in the stadium for that one. 

Definitely, that last minute goal against Rangers would have been special if the fans were in the stadium. After that game I sent a few texts to some of my Rangers supporting pals, just a few ‘Get it round yous’ or ‘bet you feel stupid celebrating Davis’ goal only for us to go up the park and win’ etc., and you would think after all the other times when they beat St Mirren easily (as they should with the budget they are working with), they would be able to be magnanimous in defeat, allow a team like St Mirren to take the glory of the win against all the odds, but they don’t they still try and rub their other successes in your face, and I even had a few of them say they weren’t caring about the League Cup. 
 

To get back on topic slightly, I’m very glad to see 4 non-OF teams battling it out for the League Cup. Obviously hoping for a St Mirren win, but I know the fans of any of the 4 clubs will savour it in the way winning a National trophy deserves. Looking back at Hibs Scottish Cup win, if Rangers had won that final their fans would have had a few pints in the pub then up the road. Compare that to the scenes we seen from Hibs fans at the game and the following days in Edinburgh, there’s no comparison.