Undeniable Injustice
Regular followers may well recall my sense of resigned frustration at the end of our title winning season when, unshackled from the fear of failure, we rampaged our last five opponents in a stunning display of fearless conviction.
The recent game against Aberdeen, where we successfully went toe-to-toe with one the best teams in the league gave an indication of the change in mentality which has come over our gaffer. Subsequent whispers on various social networking sites and third hand text messages have confirmed that Del has removed his normally oppressive methodology; boy, are we in for a treat.
Of the two games played since the sea-change, we have gained just two points but that does not tell the full story. To offer a polite paraphrase of our newest director, we humped the sheep 0-0! A similar analogy, with a different scoreline, could easily sum up Saturdays efforts.
Anyone who witnessed our last two games and still doesn’t accept that we are a top six side is simply delusional. Of course we won’t finish top six, and one man must carry the can for that failure, but we are a top six side in terms of the way we play as a team and the possibilities we have to improve. I was scorned last year for saying we’d get top six with a good manager but I was right. This season has been little different. Yes, we have a few less players, yes (thanks to our blouse wearing support) Del has had to operate with a much reduced budget but when teams like Killie are in the top six, we must smell the coffee. Del has crippled this club for too long with his negative and cowardly approach.
The pitch at McDiarmid has been the focus of much hot air from ill-educated fans and much rain from creator God. It has been an awful playing surface and continues to look like a battlefield. The players remain unhappy with the situation, though to my mind it has improved massively with the recent good weather. The forecast for next week probably doesn’t look too good, but the lengthy respite from 22 sets of studs should see the once great turf, improve even more.
Another in need of rest is Mr Jamie Adams. A few of you received a text message from me when I first saw him compete in battle at Glenalmond College in a derby game against Gordon Chisholm’s bunch of crooks. He impressed greatly, despite my grave concerns that he’d struggle to step up and I became a fully paid up member of his fan club following his home SPL debut. He’s subsequently been devoid of action for reasons best known to McInnes but how he has stamped his mark on our team in recent games. We need to ensure that he gets the number 8 shirt next year; it’s the only appropriate shirt for such a brave hearted player.
His on-field behaviour is simply impeccable and if Crawford Allan apologised for missing the handball, he should hang his head in shame at booking Jamie for challenging fiercely for a 50:50 ball. Duberry has been the victim of inappropriate refereeing and it appears that Adams is gonna follow suit. It’s truly awful that referees are not able to understand simply physics. Momentum is related to both weight and speed, the possession of momentum is not against the laws of the game. They would do well to become familiar with such basic facts.
It must be made clear, given a Celtic-minded thread on www.weareperth.co.uk questioning the referees’ integrity, that Crawford Allan, Mike Tumility and Wullie Collum are not corrupt – they are merely incompetent. Other than the goal, I’m not sure that Allan was guilty of favouring the outcome; he cocked up for both teams in fairly equal measure. His linesmen (yes, plural) were guilty of failing to spot numerous offside infringement by Hibs players, but that is true of all linesmen in all stadia.
Jamie’s midfield partner, Murray Davidson, is a man who angers me intensely. I’ve long had high hopes for the Border terrier but just last week wrote him off as a lost cause. He’s had an awful season; frequently playing far below his potential, yet on Saturday he suddenly found form and for the opening 15 minutes showed the world that he can play football. Unfortunately, he picked up two knocks, though I suspect the second merely aggravated the first and he faded throughout the half.
When the action kicked off after the interval; his struggles were plain for all too see. The gaffer singled the youngster out for praise, a silly move given that Adams outplayed him over the piece, and anyone who saw those opening 15 minutes would understand why. Whether he’ll ever manage to sustain that form is anyone’s guess, but if he does he’ll not be at Saints for long. Take a bow son, you were immense.
There is little doubt that Jody Morris’ absence went unnoticed. The Captain’s armband may well have been worn by Dave Mackay, but we all saw that Steven Anderson was the man who actually captained the team. Those of us who have attended fringe games down through the years will be aware that Ando is a great leader of men. Indeed, it may well have been one of current management duo who installed him as skipper of United’s youth team.
He marshalled, cajoled shouted and urged for 90 minutes and made very few slips despite the increased burden of responsibility. His reaction to costing us the goal was both typical and dignified. The team’s response to the set back spoke volumes for Del’s signings and Ando’s leadership. In any case, there was a deliberate hand ball in the build up to D’s sclaffed effort. Without that, Ando’s recovery would have been complete.
His partner in crime is a lad I’m well known to have a soft spot for. Graham Gartland arrived at Saints amidst a storm of media interest. The former Drogheda stopper was a man much sought-after and McInnes made no secret of expressing his concern that Garts didn’t commit his future to the length Del has asked. Thankfully, we got him (and Ando) on a two year deal last spring. He’s had o be far more patient that I had hoped, partly thanks to an injury sustained prior to the Forfarshire Cup game against Dundee United and partly thanks to the necessity of putting Dinky in the shop window.
A few trips up the A9 to Dingwall saw Garts regain both strength and confidence whilst on a loan stint with Ross County. He returned uncertain as to his future at Saints, but Duberry’s attempts to falsely win a free kick at Ibrox gave him a convoluted chance in the first team. He’s surely given Del a dilemma, competing against Mr Duberry, we can ask for no more. To those that have supported him throughout, I offer my thanks – to those that freely and publicly castigated him, feel free to apologise.
His contribution to St Johnstone, particularly the young players can never been over-spoken. His captaining of the bounce games is brilliant and his treatment of the under 19s has seen him command an enormous respect from the entire squad. When questioned about his attitude he confesses that he witnessed some young players get a hard time and deliberately ensures that our boys are treated in the right way. I salute him; you should do likewise.
On the flanks, we had the normal left side of Danny Grainger and Liam Craig, both men playing well again following Grainger’s blip against the Sheep. The criticism of Danny’s deliveries has been nothing short of scandalous in recent weeks. His corners on Saturday were terrific efforts and his throw-ins, whilst not leading to goals, will be sorely missed when he leaves McDiarmid Park. Shame that so many folk choose to focus on the negatives in a player. Danny is reportedly amongst the highest earners at the club and it is safe to assume that he’ll struggle for a contract offer which matches his current salary. Whether he’ll take the drop in wages to remain at Saints remains to be seen.
Also out of contract, despite summer rumours that he had signed an extension is Liam Craig. The wee ginger has a new hairdo and is once again playing to his full potential. He was denied a fabulous goal on Wednesday whilst Saturday saw him scrap and battle for everything in the Hibs box. He was Del’s first signing, he was arguably our most important player last year and it’s a disaster that we’ve let his contract get to this stage. Quality lefties are few and far between.
On the other side of the field, Cup Tie was wasteful with balls into the box and far too quiet given that he had the armband. There’s undoubtedly a band of supporter that can see no wrong in Dave, but I’m certainly not part of that number. He was fine in the tackle and strong in the air, but as against Dundee United, he was guilty of moving into centre midfield when Danny Invincible needed his help. It sometimes looks as though he trusts the wingers too much. Perhaps he still thinks it’s Swanks ahead of him....
Turning to the Aussie arrival, Danny Invincible again put in a good shift on the right flank. He doesn’t create much and doesn’t win much when he back tracks but he puts in plenty effort and got lucky with a few heavy touches, especially in the second half – better lucky than good as they say! Some of crosses are decent and as predicted, he is certainly a better player than Cleve! I’d still prefer to see one of our young lads play wide right; he’s an expensive stop gap.
The two up top linked well against Aberdeen (unlike Pittodrie!) but against Hibs, Sammy was poor again. Why Stevie May got dropped is known only to Del, but it’s blindingly obvious to most that Peaso and Mayzo must be the first choice strike pairing. Jacko got another few minutes on Saturday but it really is maddening to think what a great player he used to be. I can offer no explanation for his transformation from clinical finisher to scatter gun striker.
Of course, now that we are creating more chances, specifically from wide areas of the pitch – it is even more maddening that Parkin isn’t available to work with Mayzo. The big lad is out for the season following an ankle break and will be missed at Brechin next week when we face our experienced former goalie, big Craig Nelson.
Del simply has to drop Sammy. He’s a sublimely talented footballer, but there appears no way to harness that talent and he is very much the black man’s Eoin Jess. MacDonald’s blatant cheating is cringe worthy, but he knows where the goal is. Partner him with Mayzo and you’ll have great link-up, quick movement and bags of confidence. We could open the floodgates at Brechin – if the game beats the weather and goes ahead on Saturday.
Overall, a brilliant game and hopefully we’ve seen our last defensive performance. We should be in maximum attack mode until Hampden in May. Come on, Del – you’ve seen the difference, show some balls!
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