Killie at Home

Consolidation

A midweek game, the fourth in less than a fortnight, the previous three seeing us lose badly and foul weather to boot. Lots of decent reasons to avoid McDiarmid Park on a Wednesday night; especially when the opposition is an organised team capable of winning on the road.

Sadly, too many fans fell foul of that mindset and in doing so missed a super victory which consolidated our place in the top six. With the chasing pack all dropping points; it was a great night for the Perth Saints. Two nil flattered us though and Steve Lomas rightly alluded to the great work of Peter Enckleman. Better than that, he had a sly pop at the “fans” who turned on him.

Just to clarify, he hasn’t won me over, I think he’s good but I think he’s far from the best in the league. Last night, and at Tynecastle and at Parkhead; he was virtually flawless. Having watched the replay, I still don’t know if he touched the shot onto the post, but if he didn’t, it’s fair to say he had it covered. He certainly gets my man of the match vote.

Other notable players were mostly in defensive areas which speaks volumes for how much of a threat Killie are these days. Anderson put in one of his best shifts at McDiarmid (and there’s been plenty sterling showings) whilst his partner, Cracks, again looked good. Jody didn’t tweet about him, so the forum pundits probably haven’t given him any praise. Funny how certain people change their minds on players, especially when they only watch the first half of games.

Object of many a 101 Saint rant, Dave Mackay, was excellent. Brilliant crosses, always a threat at set pieces, yet he strolled though his defensive duties. Interesting that his crossing his improved since mid-November. He perhaps takes a fraction longer to decide to cross, but the shape and direction of his crosses make him a lethal weapon. His cross balls are unrecognisable compared to the dross he used to steer goalwards at thigh height.

Cal Davidson cruised through the game at left back. Even when young Kennedy came on late in the game, he  coped well until his withdrawal. Replacement, Alan Maybury did a grand job in the hardest circumstances when he came on. Facing a pacy winger with nothing to lose is hard enough for any fullback, never mind one who has just entered the lions den. He is grossly undervalued by our fans but his appearances don’t go under the gaffer’s radar.

Midfield was a curious set-up. Midgie who had a salt and pepper first half, really looked dangerous in the second before pulling off with a hamstring injury to his right leg. He was running well, found his touch and showed bravery with his off the ball running. Lomas rightly mentioned his lion hearted approach to the game. With Wullie Gibson surely banished to England and Cads still at Arbroath, it’ll be interesting to see who plays wide right at Inverness. Both Scotty and Ricky should be banging at the gaffer’s door. If Cal misses out, Maybury will be left back and that means it’s between Moon and Finners to start on the right. Neither are natural right midfielders and Finners won’t last 90 minutes....

Murray Davidson showed glimpses of the talent we know he has, but too often – as at East End Park – he wasn’t involved in much. Granted he did good work off the ball, but in some ways that’s Jody’s job. We can’t have two defensive bods in centre midfield when our wide players are Midgie and Liam. Morris played okay, but I remain convinced that Mooner is a better option.

Him and Muzz offer a better partnership, Muzz doing the dirty work and Moon adding sparkles and a cherry. Lomas echoed my thoughts on Mooner, when he stated that the wee man has goals in him. Only by playing him regularly, in an attacking role will we see that. He also publicly called on Mooner to make more noise on the pitch and that’s something that’s undoubtedly required in the modern game.

On Morris, he too often puts us in jeopardy these days. Three or four times, he looked to referee Brines to help him out after losing possession, yet only one occasion was a clear cut foul. He needs to cut that out of his game. By all means show-boat at four nil, not at one nil, thank you.

Liam Craig worked his socks off and both goals came from his crosses. I suspect a mistake in the build up to the first meant that he played a different ball to what was planned, but it was a lovely cross on each occasion. Why Jody takes some corner kicks remains a mystery to me. Perhaps I should ask on Twitter; hmm, I’ll not bother. I actually heard that some people can tell lies or be two-faced on Twitter.

Up top, Haber and Sandaza

Haber was another target of the St Johnstone boo boys. In that dark day at Tannadice, when our caretaker boss showed the world his short-comings, he was getting pelters from terrace and t’internet. All the experts castigated him as lazy and not good enough. I still recall a classic outburst from one of the forums dumbest contributors who stood and yelled that Marcus wasn’t “good enough” for Saints. It would be vaguely comical if it weren’t true.

So time to discuss the interesting characters that call themselves Saints fans. But we need to start from a known point. I was no fan of McInnes the football manager. Indeed, it’s safe to say I found his style of football to be boring and ineffective. But he’s away.

Last season we went into games against equal opposition and lost them because of Del, I am willing to accept that he underperformed in every season he managed my club. What I am not willing to accept is that people stopped going because of him. I did admit that in different circumstances, I would have walked away from Hampden when we played Rangers in the league cup semi. He really hurt me that night. That said, I tried to get to as many games as possible.

I keep hearing that money is driving folk away and I accept it to a point. The point being how much folk spent at Tynecastle and surrounding areas. Odd how money turns up when drink is involved. Real fans, fans who understand what supporting a small club is all about, they know that this is a vintage year in our history. In years to come, folk will ask about the famous side of 2011/12. We’ll reminisce of Fran, Encks, Haber, Ando, Cal and Jody. It’s soul-destroying that most of the folk reminiscing will be internet fans. Self-proclaimed experts of all matters fiscal and football.  I think of the famous war poster where the child asks his father, “What did you do in the war?” We should have a similar one on wap. “What was it like being at games under Steve Lomas?”

If sitting in the top six, going undefeated in Glasgow and playing great football isn’t worth twenty one of your pounds, I struggle to see how you class yourself as a fan of our great club.  The game against Killie was a brilliant encounter; great strikes, great saves, great playmaking, great players. I didn’t see anyone looking glum and we even had an effort at making some noise in the East Stand.

The club cannot cut the price, it’s financial madness to reduce our income streams at a time when we’re fighting for fourth place. The internet warriors can point fingers at the club, but there’s little more our club can do. They’ve almost given away tickets for the Ormond Stand yet the uptake was utterly pathetic. It’s clearly established that even a gate price of five pounds wouldn’t attract Perth punters.

Remember when Season Ticket holders got to bring a friend for free? We could hardly give our tickets away. Our game is talked down too much. Each and every one of us that supports Saints must treat this season as a war. We must work to enlist foot soldiers; men and women brave enough to stand up and support, sing and shout at our troops. Folks who will be proud to walk into their work or educational establishment and tell their peers what a great day they had supporting their local team.

Each Saints fan owes it to the club to win one new fan between now and the end of the season. Let’s get our friends to share our passion, spread the word and fan the flames. We have to great Steve’s in charge, let’s back them to the hilt!

FeSteve Cheer

Saints fans who survived the McInnes era will look back fondly at the Boxing Day Fixture in 2009. We went to Fir Park, despite tricky road surfaces and watched in delight as Peter MacDonald bagged his final Saints hat trick to send us home in sheer delight. That game was full of mixed emotions for your author as wee Mooner was hung out to dry by our inept manager and folks took great delight in praising Del for correcting his own error. Nevertheless, the day is etched in my mind as one life’s great days.

Heading to East End Park, I was full of dread and pessimism. The three home defeats came as little surprise; each game had some very obvious difficulties. On top of that, we hadn’t really played all the badly. Enckleman cost 4 of the five goals we lost to Well and Dons; as that’s not his usual form, I wasn’t overly concerned. We also know that our gaffer is a cut above most of his rivals. Nevertheless, perhaps depressed by working from eight till twelve, perhaps scunnered by Dunfermline as a town, perhaps irked by the behaviour of our “support”; I really feared that circumstances, or Craig Thomson, would cost us the game. When it came to the crunch, Chris Smith and Jason Thomson gave us an easy two nil lead and our three best attacking players combined to ice the cake at the death.

Lomas rightly stated that we weren’t at our best. He correctly mentioned the three home games where we arguably played better stuff, yet took no points. His outlook is refreshing; his demeanour is mood-reflective. He loves his life and loves his football; his infectious enthusiasm rubs off on everyone in a very Coyle-esque way. No wonder the lads enjoy training under him. Be interesting to see how his Christmas routine works. I happen to think we might just reap the rewards. Killie ought to be jaded when they pull into McDiarmid, I doubt we will be.

The game at East End Park started in tricky conditions, when all four corner flags are blowing in different directions, you don’t wanna be a goalkeeper... Added to the mix Dunfermline is yet another club in crisis. Their own fans are putting the club in jeopardy by refusing to conform to the no-standing regulations. They have shut arguably their best stand and the roof has been stripped from part of the away stand. The Main Stand compares with McDiarmid’s for atmosphere, whilst the Norrie McCathie stand was both empty and quiet. The attendance was at the same level of Falkirk V Ross County and whilst that was a real table topping clash, I doubt many Staggies travelled down. Saints took around 1200 to Dunfermline and the atmosphere in our end was rather good. Some wee dicks decided to let of a flare, and for that the club could be in bother. Sadly, it’s part and parcel of having a large travelling support. Also part and parcel of letting adolescents in for a pound – well eventually letting them in; after a farcical queue, so reminiscent of Dundee during the trough of their financial troubles.

If you ignore the complete lack of defence, Dunfermline aren’t a bad team. Barrowman, Cardle, Kirk and Graham are all decent enough players and with Hardie pulling string in a deep centre midfield role, they created some decent moves. Their defence is hopeless though, and unless they sign two centre halves, they’re likely to fall into the SFL1 at the expense of Inverness who seem certain to hold onto their superstars through the January window. It seems that John Yorkston has finally realised that the club must run within a certain budget, shame it’s taken him so long to realise such a fairly obvious fact of life.

Saints have essentially been run in such a fashion since GSB took over the reins of our great club. His prudence has allowed us to attract players from badly run clubs such as Gretna, Livingston and Dundee. With Lomas in charge, players know that they’ll be treated with respect and dignity. It’s good to see that Lomas has kept some of Del’s training methods as well as bringing in his own ideas. Things have never been so good, in so many ways.

Lomas has to be on his guard though. We have some transition ahead of us and he’ll have to work some magic to ensure we don’t slip too far back. Peter Enckleman is likely to move on in the summer and whilst I have never been fully convinced by him, his record is as good as it gets for a club of our size. Ando has been offered a new contract and it’s vital that we persuade him to sign it quickly; without him, we’re in real bother. Callum Davidson won’t last forever and we know that he’s not exactly bullet proof. The search for his replacement must start now. Sandaza, well we all know what he’s like. Personally, I’d be signing Haber up quick smart. We know he’s one of the best one on one finishers in the league. His jumping ability is probably the best in the league and when he turns on the speed, he’s got most defenders beaten. Yes, he’s a lazy prick, but there are signs that Steve is getting that side of his game sorted. Every time he plays, he chases more and more “lost causes”...

In terms of departures, I’m sad to say that Graham Gartland’s tenure as a Saints player is at an end and that’s a great shame. The popular Irishman came here with huge expectation and a great reputation. Other than a howler at Ibrox, for which he held up his hands, he has been excellent for us. He’s been a great help to the young boys, talking them through bounce games and working on their mindset. He’s a man of real dignity and stamp; I hope his next club provide him with a springboard to unlock his full potential. Wullie Gibson will be the other departure, and he’ll be no loss. Why we signed him, I’ll never know.  I do wonder if Sam Parkin will be another departure. I hope not, but it’s hard to see him getting a game ahead of Haber, Sandaza and Sheridan. A player of his calibre is not gonna be happy to settle for being fourth choice striker.

The game itself was poor fare in the most part. We didn’t get going until the first goal and then half time came. Haber worked well to create the second goal, but their normal keeper would have held Haber’s shot. A proper defender would have mopped up the spillage. Although we got to three nil, it simply wasn’t feasible to blood Ricky or Scotty. Muzz had been struggling for most of the second half whilst both Jody and Sandaza needed subbed given the heavy schedule coming up.

Mooner replaced Jody, but didn’t perform much better than the skipper. It was one of Mooner’s worst ever subbie displays. He is often guilty of being a step ahead of his team mates, but on Saturday he simply wasn’t great. He tried too hard to impress, undoubtedly upset by the way Jody waltzed back into the team despite his long term absence.

Maybury replaced Muzz in a move which saw Millar move inside with Mooner. Muzz had a very quiet game and it’s interesting to see that whoever plays with Morris in centre midfield seems to struggle. Midgie had a much better game. There were still times when he seemed to lack the necessary self-belief, but his closing down and tenacity were all there in abundance. It amuses me that fans get on his back so much; remember that Swanks, Morais, Cleve, JMW, Nova and now Gibson have all failed to win his starting jersey. When he plays well, Saints play well and that’s the highest accolade.

Maybury again proved his worth and versatility when he came on to run the right wing. He is in many ways the ultimate professional. Well worth a new contract offer.

The final subbie was Carl Finnigan and he again looked lively. I really want him to score soon as I get the feeling that the floodgates might just open when he does. He offers us total commitment; I wish I could pull up some of the fans comments when Del signed him.

Of the starting eleven, all played well but none were much above average. Our centre halves probably deserve the most praise for dealing with tricky conditions and making their job look far easier than it actually was. The front guys did okay, but they’ll have to link better to harm Killie on Wednesday.

I’ll do my tabloid round up of the starting eleven for no other reason than they offer no talking points:

Enckleman – One moment of madness when he came for a ball on our left that he simply had no chance of getting. Other than that he was mostly in control. His tip over from Cardle was a belt and braces gesture and he shouldn’t be faulted for being cautious.

Mackay – Didn’t attract any attention. Fine game

McCracken – Lauded my many following a tweet from Jody Morris. Played no better than normal. Vastly underrated.

Anderson – Bossed the defence in his usual unflappable manner. Fans wanted him to go on more mazy runs, but his passing was top drawer again.

C. Davidson – Didn’t get forward enough but cruised through the game.

Millar – Full on effort and commitment. Great play to win the corner that gave our first. No time to star when moved to centre midfield

Morris – Couple of special touches but a fundamental lack of drive going forward. I’m sure Lomas will work on restoring this part of his game.

M. Davidson – Very quiet game. Him and Hardie cancelled each other out.

Craig – Took ages to get going, but was terrific when he did. Reacted brilliantly to Fran’s pass, which must have been unexpected.

Haber – Strong running and much better link play with Midgie and Morris. Bad touch in the box cost us shortly after he created the second.

Sandaza – Great spirit and great play. Brave for the second.

So, we move onto Killie at home on Wednesday, 28 December at McDiarmid. This game will offer half-season ticket holders to use their book for the first time. It’s also the only home game of the festive period. With a night time appointment, and Saints having a great record under the new floodlights (when Sky don’t appear), we should expect a turnout nearing 3500 fans. Let’s hope the noise generated on the steep slopes of Tynecastle and East End Park is replicated in the McDiarmid shallows.

Lomas is a great lad, but to use of his predecessor’s favourite clichés, we all need to put our shoulder to the wheel. This is a collective effort, the top six will not happen without the support of the home support. We have lost seven league games, but we have lost six times at McDiarmid to SPL opposition; five in the league, one in the cup.

With Mooner signing on again, we can be confident that Lomas knows a player when he sees one. The players need noise, need encouragement; that doesn’t make them needy, it makes them normal humans. Back them and they will respond; they’ve proven it on our last three road trips. Don’t question them, just support them. They under Lomas will deliver us the top six we all long for. Get yer mates along, send them this link, post it on yer social network things and let’s show Steve Brown that his job is easier than he fears:

http://www.perthstjohnstonefc.co.uk/newsitemsdetail.php?param=1820

Well and Dons at Hame

Reality Check

Saturday saw the start of the biggest week of our SPL campaign. Three games, all of them hard, all of them at home and arguably the squad is at its most depleted. Steve Lomas has had an outstanding start to his managerial career but a first defeat had to come somewhere. It’s a shame it had to come at home, but being blunt, the fans on the day got what they deserved.

We took over 1000 fans to Tynecastle, brilliant in comparison to Hibs bringing 700 to Perth and Motherwell bringing less than 500. We made a tremendous noise at Tynecastle. We supported the team as though we actually cared. We did nothing of the sort against Motherwell.

Steve Lomas said that our attitude was wrong from the start, he was talking of the players but he might as well have been speaking about the fans. It’s really sad that our fans only make a noise when they are inebriated and away from Perth. We should be proud of our wee club; we are David in a Goliath league. Saturday gave us a massive chance to lay the first brick in our push for top six. The conditions were poor and the players should have been able to rely on us for support, encouragement and wholehearted backing.

Earlier in the year, we left Fir Park with a three nil scoreline which flattered us. Since then, they’ve scarcely lost a game. On Saturday, each of their three goals had elements of luck; but frankly they fully merited the win. The first goal was a muddle; the second goal saw Enckleman beaten by a shot he’d often save and the third deflected past the helpless keeper.

The passing from both sides was of a great standard; but Motherwell used the ball better. They rarely needed a first touch and that buys enormous amounts of time. The ball did the hard work for Stuart McCall’s men. Times without number they got into a two on three and made neat little triangles to get out of bother; often setting up counter attacks in the process.

The injury situation at McDiarmid was telling; Sam Parkin is miles away from being match fit yet was on the bench and appeared from it. Sam, to his eternal credit, played very well despite an unfortunate lack of bounce games. He remains a great player and thoroughly deserves some recognition for our supporters.

In midfield, Lomas was between a rock and a hard place as he had to choose between Wullie Gibson and David Robertson. In choosing Robertson, Midgie was allowed to keep his regular wide right berth. Robertson slotting in alongside a rejuvenated Murray Davidson. Muzz has had a stop-start season and that’s a shame given how brightly he shone at Pittodrie. He showed flashes of real brilliance against Motherwell and he’ll be a key player against Motherwell, especially if Mooner doesn’t make it.

His touch was back and his runs into the box were well timed. His finishing remains dire, though in fairness he is missing by less than he used to.... Lomas has been vocal in suggesting that if Muzz can add goals to his game, he’ll be a star in England. I don’t doubt that for a moment, but I do fear that he’ll never add that part of the game to his armoury. Jamie Adams would have been the ideal replacement for Mooner but the tough nut remains sidelined.

It’s hard to see anything other than the same starting line up against the Dons, the one possible change being Fran Sandaza replacing Finnigan. It was great to hear Steve Lomas talking about investigating the medical set-up at McDiarmid. He obviously has a vested interest in ensuring our players are in top tip condition. Our board are sensible enough to realise that injured players have no value, so we can be assured that Lomas will get support from Wee Broonie and his neeburs. He also spoke of not rushing players back and admitted, very candidly, that Sheridan was a case in point. These are changed days. Power to Frankie....

Following the game both Lomas and Wright attended a meet the manager night and both spoke candidly, with humour and humility. We are very lucky to have these boys here; they will do well for Saints. No doubts about it.

And so to the Dons game.

In horrendous conditions, Steven McLean rightly declared that the game should go ahead. On a personal level I wish it had been cancelled, I’m struggling with manful and I hate the TV deal. Another cancelled SKY game would have been awesome. Bottom line is that there was no reason for the game to be called off. I like Scottish fitba and I like these types of games. A bit of wind and rain makes a challenge for players and livens a dull game. We didn’t complain when we beat Hibs in similar conditions.

Turning to the team selection, Stevie tried a different tack and played Maybury at right back with Mackay in right midfield. It worked well too. Midgie has been drastically off-form, Wullie Gibson is in dish and Robbo has yet to play well for us.

Maybury put in a super performance, really composed and assured. Mackay supported well and got forward as often as possible. Compare him to Liam and there was little difference. His crossing is much better and he linked up well with both Haber and Maybury.

It was the right decision and if proof were needed that Lomas got it right, Wullie Gibson came on to replace Maybury and we lost some performance. The criticism of Lomas was bang out of order. Look at the bench, it was bare bones. The only possible mistake was starting Parkin, but the giant Englishman looked great against Motherwell and Finnigan hasn’t really done enough. Higgins is injured, May is on loan, Fran is injured, Reynolds is on loan, Kano is injured.....

Of course the head-bangers on the internet now want Enckleman dropped. It’s getting to the stage that they should probably be locked up. Peter Enckleman hadn’t cost us a point this season until three days ago. We probably would have lost to Motherwell even with Mannus in goal. Tonight was grim from the big man, but as I said after the Hearts game, he has earned the right to have a couple of poor games.  Throwing Mannus in against Celtic would probably be a mistake, unless the coaches feel Enckleman has taken a blow mentally.

It’s really quite sickening to see the way that he’s being treated. I am ashamed to be associated with such life-forms.

Incidentally, they are rounding on their own hero, Murray Davidson tonight. Muzz was terrific and helped to keep the score respectable. Yes he missed an absolute sitter, but we all know he can’t finish. He tackled hard, fought hard and passed well. I have no complaints and I’m sure Lomas was quite happy with young Murray.

Being blunt, I don’t know if we had a failure tonight. Enckleman had a mare, but the first is excusable. The second one was a gamble; he was caught in two minds and fecked up. Like a true professional he held his hands up and he’ll be really hurting tonight. I’ve no problem in admitting that I wasn’t impressed with him last year (and I was livid with him against Aberdeen in the season opener) but he’s done little wrong since then. I hope his detractors, who didn’t even bother going, feel utterly horrendous about their comments.

Maybury was great, McCracken was fine too. I don’t get the criticism of him for not playing offside at the first goal. In conditions like that, I want him back to clear up any spills. His passing was great and he works really well with Anderson. I’m glad Del signed him.

Callum Davidson didn’t do much wrong. I see his crosses getting slated, and he certainly hit some stinkers, but many were ideal for the conditions. We just couldn’t win headers in the box. Very unusual for Haber to be so quiet in the air. Says a lot about how well Aberdeen defended. Bit like Motherwell last season....

Liam Craig made one error of judgement in the final third and other than that he worked hard and won enough to hold his head high. His corners were really good given the circumstances.

Midgie came onto a fine game. He improved every minute and was totally committed to the cause. His passing was fine, his tackling was brave and his vision is always great. He knows when to press and when to hold. He’s a good lad.

Muzz – we’ve talked about and Cup Tie has also been mentioned. That leaves the front two. I always say that two great strikers don’t make a great strike force and there were signs of that tonight. They linked up very well initially; Haber usually ahead of Parkin. As the game wore on, and frustration crept in, they often played too close to each other. Haber is a curious wee bunny. He is skilled beyond belief but really needs to apply himself in games that aren’t to his liking. Lomas could be seen, giving him a rocket – rightly so!

I said to one the fringe players that we might have nothing to show from our three home games; I’m thinking I was right. Two freak games, is what we have just witnessed. There is no need to panic, no need to turn on our players and coaches, no need to consider bottom six.

You’ll notice that I haven’t mentioned Mr Anderson yet. There is no need. He strolled tonight and showed what I’ve known all along.

We are in this together. Together, we’ll get top six!

Capital Punishment

Since the arrival of Steve Lomas, life has been a dream for Saints fans. There is little doubt that Derek McInnes left a strong group of players for Lomas and Wright to work with, but the transformation in our play has been incredible.

I always argued that Saints fans wouldn’t realise how bad McInnes was until he left, but I must admit I’m stunned that Stevie has transformed us in such a short period of time. I think it’s vital that we stand back and take stock of the real situation, for his protection as much as anything.

Fans can bury their heads in the sand if they wish, but the stark transformation in Haber and Anderson is an obvious endorsement of Lomas treating the players with the utmost respect. It worries me slightly that I haven’t yet heard a bad word against Lomas, but then I’m reminded that few folk ever spoke ill of Walter Smith. I also need to remember that Lomas is flattered by following someone like Del.

He clearly has a great eye for talent; Scotty Gray was training with the seniors and listed as a subby at Tynecastle. It’s nice to have a manager who sees what I see in players. He has also been quick to attack Haber for being apathetic and whereas Del never improved Haber’s work-rate, Lomas seems to be making progress in that respect.

He’ll have the majority of fans on his side after the meet the manager event at the old Saints club. He has an easy going manner and speaks in a manner that evokes great memories of Owen Coyle’s great speeches. He uses passionate language and indulges in platitudes that somehow don’t sound trite. Like our majority shareholder, he is great for a quote when he knows he’s “off-record”.

The fitness coach he brought in seemed to have the lads buzzing, but even before that the players were in buoyant mood; laughing and joking with each other. The whole place has taken a shot in the arm. Even in the ticket office, things were more upbeat; perhaps due to the presence of Roddy “The Legend” Grant. I hasten to add it certainly had nothing to do with Mrs Malcolm being on holiday...

So what has Lomas done to transform things? Put simply, he treats every player with respect and encourages them to give their best in every session, bounce match and competitive game. From the moment Del departed, Anderson became an even better player. It is incredible to think that folk wanted him out the door. He has been instrumental in our results at Tannadice, Ibrox, Tynecastle and in the win over Hibs. Were it not for Ando, we’d have been skelped by Daniel O’Lennon’s Paisley pricks.

It seems astounding that the broken guy wandering the stands at Parkhead is the same proud tiger that protects Enckleman throughout the country. What a difference a gaffer makes. Talk of a Scotland call-up is daft, because he plays for a diddy club. If McCoist has any money, he’ll come in for Ando and Haber in January. If Lomas has any sense, he’ll plead with Wee Broonie to make money available and offer an extended deal to Ando, a deal which could see him get a richly deserved testimonial. We can save on some wages by binning Willie Gibson and Cillian Sheridan in the New Year.

I’m not going into details of either game as there is little point. The Hibs game was a shambles because of the elements. The swirling wind and heavy rain made passing (at any height) difficult to complete. Several folk stood out in the two games, but none more so than Peter Enckleman. The Finn, who had a dreadful start to the league campaign at Aberdeen, has looked like a top class keeper since the game at Fir Park. The save from Griffiths (?) was top drawer and it was cruel beyond a word that, despite getting a paw to Sanitary Towell’s shot, none of the defenders were able to get back and clear the ball.

His performance, in the worst possible conditions for a keeper, was near flawless. At Tynecastle he made several smart stops, many of them coming through a ruck of players. He thoroughly deserves to be praised. I’ve been critical of him in previous reports, but I am always delighted when a series of strong displays forces me to re-evaluate my thoughts on a player. Enckleman, for me, has now earned a buffer, whereby if he has some shabby performances, he should retain the shirt. I really wish he’d come right over to the Roseburn at the end of the game, he thoroughly deserved his moment in the sun.

Following my twitter post about Murray Davidson having the heart of a lion, Paul Smith and Stevie Lomas alluded to his mental strength in the official interview. He clearly pulled his hamstring with about 20 minutes remaining. Our brilliant physio spotted it and went to Tommy Wright who made an immediate enquiry. It came as surprise, though it shouldn’t have, when Muzz signalled that he wanted the subby delayed. Having already lost Frazer Wright, who was woeful in the first half against Hibs, but fine thereafter, we didn’t have the luxury of making subbies and Finners was clearly on his knees.

Muzz’s finishing might be on par with mine, but his bravery and commitment are to be admired and respected. I’d still have big Jamie in the squad ahead of him, but as at Aberdeen, I left the ground full of praise for Murray Davidson. What remains to be seen is how we cope if Muzz and Morris both miss out against Motherwell. I strongly suspect we’ll do rather well, Adams and Moon certainly dominated at Fir Park and that result wasn’t too shabby. As I said, for all his faults, Del has left a top six side. Don’t remember many Saints fans acknowledging that before we headed to Pittodrie.

As Lomas said, “You’d go to war with them!” His turn of phrase will persuade players to this club. That’s a talent that will stand him in good stead as almost every SPL club plunges the knife deep into the wage budget.

Couple of other points from these last two games, Callum Davidson is really getting to grips with football again. I must admit that his form disappointed me in the first quarter; I also forgot how short he is! Against Rangers, Hibs and Hearts he played some terrific football. Helped by Liam being in the best form of his Saints career, he has looked at least as good as Danny Grainger.

He might lack Danny’s long throw and excellent set-piece delivery, but his long range passing is out of this world. He hit one cross-field pass, midway through the second half yesterday, which Ginola would have been proud of. I guess it shows that we you don’t use it, you lose it. He essentially didn’t play between February and August and it takes time to recover form, confidence and touch.

The other that’s notable under Lomas is the solidarity amongst the squad. I remember questioning Del’s signings in terms of the “togetherness” of the squad. The Dundee United draw at home was a case in point; even though we should have went for the jugular in the second half, we still should have been able to see out the win from 3-2. You get the impression that had Lomas and Wright been in charge, we would have!

There has been a terrific calmness in the defence in our last three games. No panic stations, just organisation and coolness. Our defence just seem to be under less pressure and make better decisions as a result. Of course, the excellent form of Peter Enckleman is an added bonus and certainly adds to their confidence.

We have great strength in depth. May, Gartland, Adams, Parkin, Maybury, Higgins and Mannus have hardly featured this season and they are all excellent players. We have the squad to make top six, that’s beyond doubt. Frankly, less than top six will be a disappointment, assuming Sandaza stays fit and plays nicely. Europe would be great, but it would need some luck. The under 19s are now free until February so I expect Mayzo, Rikki and Scotty to perhaps go out on loan. Makes sense, even if we don’t money it keeps the boys sharp and broadens their experience.

What is undeniable is that Stevie Lomas has got off to a flyer. He’ll have some bad times and he’ll get things wrong soon enough; that’s only natural, he’s a rookie after all. If all we stick together, we’ll jump the hurdles and in unity we’ll keep the blue flag flying high!

One final, encouraging thought. Hibs brought around 700 to Perth; we took almost 150% of that figure to Tynecastle. The Lomas effect is happening before our very eyes; join the blue army for the ride of a lifetime!

SPL 14 - Rangers Away

Too Many Questions

Steve Lomas was lucky to have his first scheduled cancelled. The visit of the Dons was gonna come too soon to learn the squad and, even allowing it for being his first game in charge, it was a must win fixture for a variety of reasons. It also had the vital ingredients for a Saints defeat; TV cameras, low crowd and easy opposition.

Making his managerial bow at Ibrox was not in the script, I’m sure he anticipated his first match being against Daniel Lennon’s over-rated haddies, but it was always going to be the ideal venue. In the event, he was denied the services of Graham Gartland and Cillian Sheridan (arguably rushed back too soon) for a no pressure game against the reigning champions.

The St Johnstone fans forum is plagued with folk who are easily confused by life, football and what constitutes a constitution. I rarely quote them, save to mock them, but one comment from their ranks is worth lingering on. Tranmere Saintee wrote the following words; “Mr Lomas, how dare you play 4-5-1 at Ibrox and get us a well deserved point.” I don’t know this expert, but I do wonder if bothered to attend Parkhead. For those that don’t know, Celtic are currently a better football team than Rangers. Celtic have a bigger and noisier support, which surely helps to boost their own players. The last time we played Celtic at Parkhead we played with two strikers and we won the game, taking home all three points.

So, whilst Saturday gave a great sense of euphoria, it also served to paper over some cracks in the Lomas reign. Now, don’t get me wrong, Lomas has my full support. I think he’s gonna be a good appointment, but there is not a shred of doubt in my mind that starting with Higgins or Haber, in place of Muzz, would have given us three points. Rangers were poor and that had little to do with us. They were simply off song and couldn’t lift their performance when required to do so. We grew in confidence, but we also got lucky when Jody limped off and Lomas elected to employ the right formation. Be in no doubt, a point away from home against a top side is never a disaster, but we dropped two points yesterday.

That said, a Derek McInnes side, playing that formation would have been humped. The 4-5-1 worked fairly well in spells because the support came from central areas, Murray Davidson doing his best as the forward central midfielder; but the real star of the game was Kevin Moon. His off the ball work was incredible. He’s always looked the part on the ball, but his off the ball movement, when paired with Morris, has often been below par. Yesterday, his runs, marking and movement were absolutely top drawer. If he does leave in January, he’ll prove to be irreplaceable. He only got one vote in the Man of the Match thread, but it says everything that when Jody went off, we lost nothing in midfield despite being 20% down numerically.

It staggers me that Jody can get four times the number of Man of the Match votes compared to wee Mooner. Does Craig Brown stress over his failure to sign Morris? If he gets lucky with injury, he might head South in January – Paul Lambert could do worse than sign our plucky, ball playing number 14.

Jody Morris played some great balls from midfield and played much higher up the field than was the norm under Del. With Moon taking players away from him, he seemed to have much more time than normal and he took full advantage of the space and freedom. Some things Lomas has fixed immediately. It used to be said that Sheerin never wasted a pass and Jody certainly belongs in that bracket. Whatever his standing; either in the game or at Saints, he knows how to retain a ball. The difference on Saturday is that a combination of his positional play and the mindset of our team meant that he usually had a runner to aim for. It makes all the difference, Del.

Murray Davidson completed the midfield trio and that marked his first start since that horrible game against Livi. He worked hard and gave a reasonable account of himself (if you ignore his “attempt” at goal) but he was a shadow of the player I watched at Pittodrie.

Hopefully Lomas will do a Coyle on him, and he’ll play to the Pittodrie standard on a regular basis. His commitment and personality are not in question, his talent has been seen in glimpses but there has never been a breakthrough, yet. I really hoped that Pittodrie would set him on the right course, but he was gash against Rangers, perhaps allowing the speculation to affect him. It’s bizarre that as Saints have rocketed up the table, he has vanished from the radar unnoticed. I wonder how long it’ll be before Del is forgotten?

The wide midfielders were natural picks, Craig and Millar. Both men have come in for dogs abuse from the ill-educated fans of our great club, but worked their socks off on Saturday. Not bad for guys that lack respect, fitness, skill etc...

Liam Craig is the perfect role model, these days. When he arrived he did so with a reputation as being temperamental. He showed flashes early on, often picking up needless bookings. One of the great things about the Del/Doc partnership is that discipline was pretty much in check. They sorted Liam, quick smart and he’s been near flawless ever since. He has naturally low levels of stamina, not helped by his desire to cover every blade of grass, but has worked tirelessly to improve. Funny that Sandaza, who did less running for a significantly shorter period avoided any criticism of his stamina.... Fickle feckers are Saints fans.

As for Midgie, I am intrigued to see him against Hibs. I’ve felt that he’s been off-form all year, and he had two dreadful games under Jody, but he worked well against Rangers. That said, so often he flew down the right wing and dithered before crossing. He had all the hall marks of a man that still doesn’t believe in his own ability. Hopefully, Stevie will take him aside and work on his confidence. A fully working Midgie is an asset to any non-OF SPL side. His crossing can be great, but having said that he won corner after corner and Liam hit each one beautifully. As a man that has been working on taking corners, watching Liam was like a master class for me. Mind you, I’m awful so watching Cleve and Nick McKoy is kinda like a master class....

We should all be grateful to Del and Doc for signing these two and we should be delighted that Midgie spurned Morton’s cash to play for the Saintees. They are assets and we should be grateful. If I’m right that Midgie is gonna struggle all season long, we still should support, still should encourage, still should motivate.

Spearheading things up top was the effervescent, Fran Sandaza. The John Bishop doppelganger ran hard off the ball, worked intelligently to stay onside and charged aggressively when he had the ball. His pass, late in the second half when he fed in Millar (?), was simply perfect. We’ve seen some really grand passing from Saints in the last two games, I really hope this continues. With Lomas in charge, I suspect it will.

I think you’ll also find that Fran is treated in a more robust fashion. Lomas seems to be his own man; anyone that dressed like he did on Saturday clearly doesn’t take advice. In terms of fashion, perhaps he should. In terms of football, he seems to be doing just grand so far.

The backline has come in for great praise since the final whistle blew and rightly so. There is a rare paradox to this game, for all Rangers were poor, their frontline is very good indeed. Sure, we did okay in terms of possession and yes we tried to create chances, but they were the team most likely to win. There was little skill or creativity in their play, but Jelav-Itch can finish and Lafferty knows how to bulge the onion bag. They scarcely got time on the ball, certainly in the danger areas because of the great work, started and organised by Stevie Anderson. I’ve said for years that he’s our best centre back, now that he doesn’t have the unnecessary burden of McInnes’ bullying to contend with, even the thickest fan has been forced to concede the point. Even now, long after the event, I am seething at Del for implying that Anderson needed a good partner. That was, and is, a lie and a slander against one of our best players. What makes this worse is that the childish campaign was perpetuated by the Delophiles of weareperth. Remember when he had the dicky ankle? The same mentally-afflicted individuals slated his performances. There’s little hope for folk dealing with Saints fans.

Frazer Wright is one of the most inconsistent performers to have worn the royal blue of St Johnstone. Immense at Parkhead and flawless in the home league game against Lennon’s louts, the rest of the time he’s been gash. Saturday saw him once again sparkle in the heart of defence.

He really put in a shift against the Currant Buns and those two will get plenty of time to gel unless injury strikes. If Wright can keep up that form, he will keep Cracks and Garts in the stand, if after a while he drops to anything like his Dundee United performance big Garts should be back in.

Another man who played much better than he has of late was Callum Davidson. The wee tough nut has struggles to fill Danny Grainger’s boots but played well on Saturday. I’d still swap them round, but he looked much more confident and his long pass to Liam will not be bettered all season long. He didn’t have to deal with pace, that will continue to hurt him, but he did have to play well to head off some of the Gers moves. On top of that, he’s a fine individual.

Full back Mackay, arguably cost us the game at the death. Dying on his feet, with the proud black and white armband round his left bicep, he lost all composure during a vicious St Johnstone attack and rushed a pass to feet. His facial expression and skyward stare suggested that he knew it wasn’t going to be our day from that point on. That aside, I only spotted one other howler all game, a sliced clearance which set them up for a counter late in the game. He struck the right balance between attacking and defending and that’s a big improvement we’ve seen in him. He’s keeping Maybury out on merit, there is no higher praise.

Enckleman continues to impress. I’m slowly beginning to believe in him as a goalkeeper and that belief is evident in our backline too. He made mostly routine stops, but the save from the freekick was notable for his reaction time. I’m still not convinced, but I am more than happy for him to be our first choice for the foreseeable future.

So what of Lomas? He got the shape wrong, his scarf looked ridiculous and he should have used Higgins instead of Finnigan. Apart from that, he got a point because his tactics and instruction were good; each player looked confident and organised. He was bold in making subbies; he was passionate in voice and action. I like him and whatever my philosophy and belief, I’d have taken the point pre-match.

Thanks to Lomas and Wright for the adrenaline rush at full time. It was awesome and it was shared with a great friend. If this is just the start of the learning curve, I’m gonna enjoy the ride. I’ll leave you with a quote from mainstand. Ignore the fact that he can’t spell, his message is clear, Lomas sessions are fun and high tempo...no further comment necessary:

“Watche dthe squad training today up at Stirling University. Very different from Dels days with the Friday session being at Stirling and added to that was the very relaxed approach. Loads of small sharp team games and sprints. Loads of laughs with STeve and Tommy both playing their part.

Alan Combe continued with teh goalies coaching leaving Wright taking the session, players certainly appear happy and relaxed and fir with 24 in the first team squad only Gartland was not training as he is injured.”

U19 Scottish Cup, 3rd Round - Dunfermline Away

The day the ba’ burst

Alec Cleland has been in an unenviable position of late. Following the departure of former management duo, Derek McInnes and Tony Docherty, the youth coach was asked to look after the first team. Although Steve Lomas has brought Tommy Wright on board as his assistant, Alec has been working closely with the first team as he helps our new management team settle in to their roles.

Today, Alec took charge of our Under 19 players for a Scottish Cup third round tie away to Dunfermline Athletic. Saints went into the game with no striker in the starting XI. Keeper, Ally Worby returned to the goals, meaning the unfortunate Craig Reid dropped to the bench. Under 19 Scotland star, Liam Caddis, slotted in at right back whilst ever ebullient holding midfielder, Ryan Hutchison was played as a striker. Bustling midfielder, Scotty Gray, and top goal scorer, Ricky McIntosh, took turns at supporting the Geordie.

On the left flank Aiden Hendry played in an unaccustomed midfield role, with local lad, Andrew Steeves at full back; tricky winger, Craig Thomson played in front of Liam Caddis. Melrose born Kieran Stewart was the holding midfielder in front of the regular centre half partnership of Gareth Rodger and Skipper, Chris Moffat.

The pitch was a little slow, but other than that, conditions were almost ideal for the time of year. The pitch was in good condition and there was no wind to speak of. The game was prefaced with a respectful two minute silence in memory of fallen, former and active troops.

From the kick off, Saints were the brighter team and despite only having one player up front, we broke quickly and effectively. Ricky McIntosh was a constant threat, as we used Hendry to make decoy runs into the box, freeing up Ricky down the left flank. In the middle of the park, wee Scotty Gray was determined as always, fighting well despite his lack of height. A disappointing feature of Scotty’s play, especially when playing in the middle of the park, is his determination to beat all before him. He fell foul of this attribute a few times against the Pars, though in his defence, he rarely had a forward option. That said, when travelling forward, and with a pursuer at his heels, he didn’t really have the luxury of stopping to spray a pass out wide.

Former Celtic player, Ryan Hutchison, had a difficult shift up front on his own. Few things fell for him and when they did, he was invariably off-balance or out wide. He won plenty of headers and gave his all, but he really was like a fish out of water and I felt very sorry for him today. It was a big ask. If I had any control over affairs, I’d have played Scotty up front and left Hutchy in midfield.

The game should have changed when the Pars went down to ten men. Following a booking for high feet, against Ricky McIntosh, Millen was sent off for an innocuous foul. The referee had a howler of a first half, following the letter of the law in every single occasion. His second half performance was far better as he used common sense and his mouth to control the game. Better a strong word than a whistle and card.

Incredibly, the Under 19s made exactly the same mistake as the first team did against the Dons in our opening match. When we got the man advantage, we continued to try and force our way through the middle of the park. It is basic, basic football to switch the play and stretch the opposition. We signally failed to do so and, quite frankly; it’s incredible that Alec didn’t demand it. There is no excuse as the ordering off happened in the first half and that means he had 15 minutes at half time to change things.

We did eventually get joy by playing things through the middle. Hutchy setting Ricky free and the league’s top scorer made no mistake from 14 yards, lifting over the Dunfermline keeper. Despite the Pars keeper making some good stops in the first half, the lead was only just deserved, especially given the injustice of the sending off.

From that point on, the game turned against us. The Pars rallied and demonstrated a team spirit, the likes of which I’ve scarcely seen. They’re first goal should have been defended better. A ball down by the tunnel corner was poorly defended by Cads, the cross wasn’t dealt with properly; partly because players were out of position and partly because the Pars wanted it more. Cleland was seething with Liam, but as with Hutchy, he’s not and never will be a full back.

He didn’t do himself any favours today, but players need to be played in their natural position to flourish. Football is no different to any other job of work, we all perform to our best when we’re in our natural environment.

The Pars second goal was hardly a thing of beauty. Their energetic attacker was one on one with Chris Moffat, another Saints player (possibly Rodger) was also in the vicinity. The skipper should have fouled his man, but chose not to, the rest is history. The goal came with just minutes left on the clock and their “pile-up” celebration, whilst unpleasant from a Saints view, was a neutral’s dream. The referee’s injustice was undone by grit and perseverance.

Saints pressed hard from the kick off and had a couple of half chances. Steevsie let fly from 35 yards, we had the ball drop inches past the post, skiffing the net as it did so and we had two half chances from snapshots, just inside the area. Alas, it wasn’t to be and we endured another cup disappointment.

I’ve rightly praised Alec for his management philosophy this year, but today he got a few things wrong. Key amongst them was not forcing the players to stretch the game in the second half. That was ultimately what cost us the result.

The boys need to learn from the bitterness of defeat and kick on when the league starts again. They’re good enough, Alec’s good enough; they just need a wee bit of luck. I wish them all well.

Worby

Caddis-Moffat-Rodger-Steeves

Kieran

Thomson-Gray-McIntosh-Hendry

Hutch

SPL 13 St Mirren @ Home

Boss’s Loss

The only silver lining to the seemingly interminable appointment of Steve Lomas, is that even the thickest of St Johnstone fans understand why I was against Jody getting the gig. It is no surprise that we comprehensively failed to perform under his “guidance” and, in the long run, it’s a relief that we didn’t fluke results against two of the worst teams in the league.

Dundee United are a team in disarray, with some reprehensible folk in charge of reprehensible players. St Mirren are a team of average neds, punching above their weight thanks to a siege mentality. Between them, they have limited us to one measly point and hee haw in the way of decent scoring chances.

The removal of Derek McInnes did nothing to clear the McDiarmid naughty step, so Messrs Adams, Garts and Cracks missed out completely. Thankfully, Steve Lomas has brought them all back into the fold and in doing so, it could be said that he stuck two fingers up at Del! The big kraut is certain to be his own man and that’s a huge relief.

On paper, you’d struggle to find too many faults with Morris’ selection, but anyone who witnessed the dirge could see from the opening minutes that we were in big trouble. I’m assured it’s coincidence that Chrissy Miller has had his worst two Saints performances during Jody’s reign, I’m not convinced. The club captain seems to be taking liberties with our club and I don’t like that. Surely his team mates have noticed the way he operates.

Chris Miller hasn’t had a good season, I have said plenty about him having a season like Liam had last time, but he was chronic on Saturday. He wasn’t helped by the debacle which developed inside him, but still....

His position doesn’t require much thought, especially when paired with Dave Mackay. Three of four times, when running without the ball, he pulled up beside an opposition player. He hardly ever took a marker out the game. He’s normally an intelligent player, but he looked thick as mince on Saturday. When he had the ball, he was timid, lacking in confidence and nervous when selecting his final ball. A friend, or indeed a captain, would have had a word, put an arm round him. Jody did neither. Nor for that matter did Dave Mackay. McCracken would have, but he was in the stand because Del doesn’t like him....

Players need a leader, a figurehead and a psychologist. The importance of having a good captain cannot be overlooked. The U19s are transformed this year and the emergence of Moffat is undoubtedly helping. Despite being a nipper, he knows when to chastise and when to praise. Jody could learn a lot from him.

Midgie was very often caught in the middle of the park, frustrating the tits off Liam and Callum who, particularly in the first half, looked to play the big switch only to find nobody on the right wing. Part of the reason why he came in, is that Mooner and Morris were following each other around the park.

The bollocks that I read on fans forums never fails to stagger me, and the latest forum myth is that Mooner and Morris can’t play together – perhaps they’re too small!! It’s utter drivel to suggest that. They are both talented players and they can both; score, tackle, run, dribble, harry, chase, mark and tackle. Jody is more comfortable in tight possession; Mooner is more attack minded and has greater accuracy in front of goal. There is no earthly reason why they can’t work together; they simply need to operate independently. Moon needs to work the space behind the front two; Morris needs to squeeze the midfield. Lomas will sort that out soon enough.

The criticism of Moon is quite unreal. There were only two good bits of passing the whole game and both from Moon. The first was a reverse pass, releasing Davison (iirc) down the left flank; the second was an exquisitely tapped ball through for Liam. The guys that should have been subbed were Morris, for tracking Moon and Midgie for being naff.

The introduction of Muzz did very little, despite his extravagant efforts. If he does go to Bristol, it’ll be intriguing to see how Saints fans sum up his career. It’s not unusual for Saints players, usually when they leave, to share some thoughts via social media sites. Recently, I have been chastised by one of our current stars for slating Muzz. I make no apologies; I see nothing in him that Adams ain’t got; difference being that Jamie can score. He must have the best scoring record of any midfielder at this club if you measure goals per minute. Let’s hope Lomas likes the cut of his jib.

On the left wing, Liam did his normal shift. Quite why scouts overlook him is beyond me. He is always in or around the box when balls are breaking free, he always runs his heart out, he rarely gets booked these days, his passing is grand, his timing is braw, his tackling is generally successful and he has a great intelligence about his play. He, more than anyone in our squad, strikes up a partnership without delay. I hope he stays around for a very long time, because decent left sided players are like hens teeth.

Behind him, Callum Davidson again showed signs of aging. The grizzly defender simply doesn’t have the pace, he once enjoyed and it’s a really hurting his game. His touch remains good, his vision is intact and his tackling is arguably better than any other left back in the league, but more and more he’s getting involved in physical battles due to a lack of pace. He simply doesn’t have the height and weight to win out in these one on ones and it’s clear that Lomas will need to start looking for a replacement. I suspect there’s regret on both sides with Danny....

Frazer Wright, a man so bad at Tannadice I compared him to Kevin Rutkiewicz, put in a decent 45 minutes against Lennon’s louts. It’s quite remarkable how an experienced professional can allow such a variation in form from one week to the next. It’s also hard to work out when he’s injured! At Tannadice, I lost count of how many times he was limping or holding his leg; I was convinced we wouldn’t see him in the second half. Against St Mirren he did much the same, but was subbed at half time with a dead leg. I wonder if he’s been carrying since the week earlier.

Mackay moved over to centre half to cover his withdrawal and was excellent again. It was the clearest indication yet that he’s no right back. Like Ando, he doesn’t have the build to be a centre half, but he has the brain, timing and touch. They are great professionals and shining examples to young Moffat and Rodger.

Indeed, Anderson, has bloomed since Bristol so kindly removed the Del factor. Now that Lomas is in charge, you will see another step up from Ando. He’ll enjoy his work much more and that will shine through in his performances. I am so excited about this new era.

One of Del’s better signings is wee Maybs and he got the second half as a replacement for Frazer Wright. A bit like last year, Maybury hasn’t been a regular pick but has still clocked up the games. I wonder if he will nudge Callum out the team, now that we are under new management. The shift he put in against St Mirren certainly showed that he’s a decent player and his fitness seems to be high.

In the sticks, Enckleman again looked impressive. He had a stupid amount of pass backs to deal with and his kicking was good all day. When the pitch got slick, he correctly turned the ball to the full backs and encouraged us to start over. It’ll be interesting to see how he gets on with Tommy Wright.

Up top, Sheridan had one of his usual games so there’s nowt to write about. Fran worked hard and tried some adventurous stuff, but there was absolutely no sign of any partnership between him and Sheridan. Did I mention forum myths? Fran and Sheridan working well together is another one. Sheridan’s movement, both on and off the ball didn’t help matters. His pace didn’t seem to be present; maybe our kitman screwed up and left it on the bus!

So, it’s Aberdeen now. A look at the league table shows that things are nip and tuck from us down. A win would be a massive psychological bonus as it would give a double digit gap to the relegation spot and would give thirty years olds the chance to reminisce of Sandy Clark’s first season in charge. More importantly, it would give some of us reason to cheer the departure of DMcI.