Early season basement battle - St. Mirren vs Ross County

[djchapsticks]

This has all the feelings of a must win game, more so for Saints than County.

I was saying to my old man earlier, the last time I remember a game with quite the same feeling of it having to go right for the manager's sake was when we played a recently promoted (along with us) Livingston in Alan Stubbs' 3rd game of the season.

We got absolutely humbled 2-0 that day against a team we were far better than only 10 weeks before and it was the writing on the wall for Stubbs - a final confirmation that he'd without doubt, weakened us massively.

Saturday kind of has that energy about it but maybe not quite as extreme. By that point, it was an open secret of the Stubbs/Jackson regime that they were both deeply unliked and taking the players down a slippery slope whereas Robinson by comparison seems to be well enough thought of still amongst the players - at least on the surface.

If we lose, regardless of the manner of defeat, or if we scrape our way to an undeserved point, it's going to be the tipping point for many I fear.

I'm going to go with 2-0 to Saints. Though I'll never fucking learn!

[btb]

Definitely must not lose.

[Insert Amusing Pseudonym]

Ross County look a far better team so far this season.  Should have got something at Tynecastle, ran Celtic close.  Yes they need to get points on the board but i don't think they'll be anywhere near the bottom 2

[Coventry Saint]

12 minutes ago, Insert Amusing Pseudonym said:

Ross County look a far better team so far this season.  Should have got something at Tynecastle, ran Celtic close.  Yes they need to get points on the board but i don't think they'll be anywhere near the bottom 2

This whole 'signing good players and having a capable manager' thing really paying off for them. Not the sort of gamble we like to take round Paisley way.

[pozbaird]

Going for 1-1. A shite, boring, 1-1. County get a point on the road, we at least get a point, which is something. A match that no-one will be talking about for years to come.
 

 

Edited August 8, 2022 by pozbaird

[AmericanFan]

51 minutes ago, Coventry Saint said:

This whole 'signing good players and having a capable manager' thing really paying off for them. Not the sort of gamble we like to take round Paisley way.

[glenburn bud]

I think there’s growing unrest amongst many of our fans.Lose on Saturday and there will be more ammo for them to call for Robinson’s head. 

The board won’t want to push the panic button this early for two reasons. It’s only fair that he gets at least to the end of the first quarter of games to see if he can get a tune out of what is mostly a new team. Secondly the board had to part with 100k in compo to get his signature. 

For a club of our relative size that’s an expensive mistake.

[Torfason]

2 hours ago, Insert Amusing Pseudonym said:

Ross County look a far better team so far this season.  Should have got something at Tynecastle, ran Celtic close.  Yes they need to get points on the board but i don't think they'll be anywhere near the bottom 2

Can’t comment on the Hearts game but they did not run Celtic close.
Celtic missed enough chances to win 3 games, not saying we will win but RC on another day would have been well beaten by Celtic by HT.

 

Edited August 8, 2022 by Torfason

[Doctor Sanchez]

For me, this IS a must win game for the Saints.  

Need a proper muck and nettles performance, solid at the back, fearless and free-flowing moving forward. 

Getting already to the point where Robinson has to get a win and the team play well.  

Naturally I have the fear... 

[Insert Amusing Pseudonym]

45 minutes ago, Torfason said:

Can’t comment on the Hearts game but they did not run Celtic close.
Celtic missed enough chances to win 3 games, not saying we will win but RC on another day would have been well beaten by Celtic by HT.

 

It was 1 all with 6 minutes to go.  I didn't say they deserved a point, Celtic obviously deserved the win, but it was still a hard fought victory

[houston_bud]

County were better than us last season and look a decent side so far this year.

To stay up, a home game against Ross County is one you should be looking to take something from. Right now I'd almost take a point just to stop the rot after 2 defeats and a dreadful League Cup campaign. 

Another defeat and we'll be rooted to the bottom and whilst it's very early days the signs will be ominous. 

[Staggie52]

8 hours ago, Torfason said:

Can’t comment on the Hearts game but they did not run Celtic close.
Celtic missed enough chances to win 3 games, not saying we will win but RC on another day would have been well beaten by Celtic by HT.

 

You might want to read this, a bit more nuanced view rather than BBC stats.  https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/sport/three-things-to-takeaway-from-ross-county-v-celtic-283689/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

[Coventry Saint]

As I said on another thread, and as @glenburn bud said, Robinson should get at least the first round of fixtures to get us in a decent position.

However, we've lost 2/11 and we'll almost certainly lose against the cheeks. So that's 4/11. Hearts pumped us four times last season, and we can't beat Jack Ross teams. 6/11.

So, this game is one of five realistic chances to get some points on the board and, likely, save Robinson's job. 

Let's say one PPG is the survival threshold, we need to hit 11 points from the remaining games this quarter, or we're in clear relegation form and questions will need to be asked. Anyone actually fancy our chances?

Edited August 9, 2022 by Coventry Saint

[NorthBank]

We have played 2 league games so far. First we were by far the better team and the second we were competing ok until the sending off/penalty. Far to early to talk about must win games.

SR has recruited some decent players and we have shown we can compete. I'll be giving them a chance before calling for SR's head.

Last season Ross County didn't win any of their first 10 matches and made it into the Top Six and just missed out on Europe. How about we back off and relax a wee bit.

[glenburn bud]

1 hour ago, Coventry Saint said:

As I said on another thread, and as @glenburn bud said, Robinson should get at least the first round of fixtures to get us in a decent position.

However, we've lost 2/11 and we'll almost certainly lose against the cheeks. So that's 4/11. Hearts pumped us four times last season, and we can't beat Jack Ross teams. 6/11.

So, this game is one of five realistic chances to get some points on the board and, likely, save Robinson's job. 

Let's say one PPG is the survival threshold, we need to hit 11 points from the remaining games this quarter, or we're in clear relegation form and questions will need to be asked. Anyone actually fancy our chances?

If we can play like we did against Motherwell but take chances when they come along, then we will be fine against Ross County.

If we stay competitive after the first quarter and don’t find ourselves detached, then his job will be safe. 

Getting that first 3 points on the board is vital for the confidence of all the new players. Goodwin was given ample time to sort out a dire run of form last season, Robinson should also be shown the same respect.

In reality 2 league games is not the time to be making decisions on a managers future.

 

[houston_bud]

16 minutes ago, glenburn bud said:

If we can play like we did against Motherwell but take chances when they come along, then we will be fine against Ross County.

If we stay competitive after the first quarter and don’t find ourselves detached, then his job will be safe. 

Getting that first 3 points on the board is vital for the confidence of all the new players. Goodwin was given ample time to sort out a dire run of form last season, Robinson should also be shown the same respect.

In reality 2 league games is not the time to be making decisions on a managers future.

 

Whilst I agree with this, Robinson isn't just being judged on 2 league games. He's being judged on his entire time as manager. I've seen and heard a lot of moaning about the manager but not actually seen that many folk calling for him to be sacked.

I agree that giving him the first round of fixtures is fair, however if we get to 6 or 7 games and have little or no points on the board then we need to start asking questions.

[bunglebonce]

My guess at the line-ups:

Carson

Fraser - Shaughnessy - Dunne

Strain -- Baccus - Erhahon -- Tait

Kiltie

Ayunga - Main

---------------------------------

Hiwula

Owura -- Dhanda -- Sims

Callachan - Tillson

Purrington - Iacovitti - Baldwin - Johnson

Laidlaw

 

• Any one of Main, Grieve and Brophy up front with Ayunga?
• Gallacher will be suspended, but I think Fraser and Tanser are close to returning to the first team. I'm going to guess that only one of them makes it.
• Does O'Hara displace any of Baccus, Erhahon and Kiltie, which appears to be St Mirren's strongest unit in the team?
• County went with a very specific shape and tactics against Celtic. I think they will now return to something resembling what we will see most weeks. There are eight nailed-on starters I think.
• I'd be surprised if two wingers don't start, Sims appears to be preferred so far from a small sample. Owura Edwards is brilliant.
• Any one of Callachan, Dhanda or Dom Samuel could play as the more attacking midfielder. Samuel was hooked at HT against Celtic for tactical reasons, but he was surprisingly excellent in pressing and dispossessing the opposition high up the pitch vs Hearts. Callachan could play there, if there is a want and need for more attrition in the centre (freeing up space for another central midfielder behind him eg Cancola). Or it could be Dhanda's opportunity to get his first league start, which is my hunch. Dhanda's service to the wingers in the final group stage match is hopefully a sign of things to come.

[djchapsticks]

1 hour ago, NorthBank said:

We have played 2 league games so far. First we were by far the better team and the second we were competing ok until the sending off/penalty. Far to early to talk about must win games.

SR has recruited some decent players and we have shown we can compete. I'll be giving them a chance before calling for SR's head.

Last season Ross County didn't win any of their first 10 matches and made it into the Top Six and just missed out on Europe. How about we back off and relax a wee bit.

For the record I fully agree.

You know, I know and everyone else with any sort of experience in following St. Mirren know that in a defeat scenario, that's not going to happen though.

[Doonhame Buddie]

The last time I remember a game with quite the same feeling of it having to go right for the manager's sake was when we played a managerless Motherwell who had just been pumped out of Europe. 

[NorthBank]

For the record I fully agree.
You know, I know and everyone else with any sort of experience in following St. Mirren know that in a defeat scenario, that's not going to happen though.

And for the record I am not suggesting we'll be pushing for Europe. However unlike under Stubbs, I think our signings have been decent and it's far too early to call to call for the manager's head.