End of Season Dross Started?
A lethargic and apathetic crowd of just over 3000 witnessed two teams going through the motions on a still poor surface surrounded by an inconsistent wind. If this how things are gonna be, we’d best get the Season Ticket renewals out, quick smart.
Having arrived very late, I have no idea how much buzz and vibe went into the warm-up but it’s fair to say that the boys came flying out the traps when Mr Finnie blew his whistle to signal the start of the battle.
When a keeper wears number 53, it’s fair to expect some joy from him and Anssi Jaakkola certainly looked willing to give Saints three points with amusing indecision, poor handling and dodgy kicking. This fella took Enckleman’s place in the national team just a few months ago. Sadly, he sneaked off the field having won a point for his employer.
Aside from the keeper, Medhi “cheat” Taouil (groin) and Manuel Pascali (suspended) Killie were posted missing for the Ayrshire lads. Sadly, Taouil made the bench and was allowed on the pitch to continue his immoral antics. Until such as Medhi are imprisoned, or have their registrations withdrawn, the game will continue to bleed to death as direct result of fraud and deceit on the pitch. He is filth.
Speaking of which, Jordan “jailbird” Robertson, inexplicably signed for the semi-final game against Motherwell, was benched and appeared for Saints midway through the second half, Peaso MacDonald making way for him. Having failed to see either of his bounce games, I could only go on the word of others, now having seen him first hand, I am able to confirm that his signing is another McInnes mistake.
Yesterday, marked the first time in my life that I’ve ever hoped a Saints player would be sent off. Referees in Scotland are hopeless. The level we’ve sunk to, was crystallised at Hibs when we had the foreign referees take charge, following Celtic’s pre-meditated attack on their integrity. That day, we saw that countries with no football heritage or culture are able to produce referees who were far superior to any of Grade 1 officials.
There are many reasons for the drop in refereeing standards but that’s a story for another time. What is important is that the referees are not deliberately making mistakes and they are not, despite the best insinuations of Celtic minded knuckle draggers, corrupt. They are also, by dint of their role, deserving of respect. Jordan Robertson’s aggressive, threatening and intimidatory outburst is not acceptable at any level of football.
The hypocritical, clueless and blinkered fans of St Johnstone are busy making excuses for his behaviour, but there is none. Put simply, if we witnessed a rival player behave like that, we have been furious if he stayed on the pitch. We should never allow loyalty to cause us to lose our morals and principles. If referees allow players to treat them like that, the game will descend into a battle of hard men and the last morsel of sporting integrity and fair play will be covered in the rubble that remains.
Argue not about whether Finnie had the right to stop the game and award the foul, ask what are the consequences of turning blind eye to a notorious, life-taking thug? Bear in mind, he’s earning (relatively) large sums of money and should be setting an example to aspiring players in the crowd and local community. As we saw with his first touch, he’s not much of a player either.
The sooner Big Sam Parkin is back the better. How he managed to score six goals with such rank service is beyond me. Hopefully, the drought makes our mis-guided manager recognise the importance of Big Sam. He treated him appallingly at Tynecastle; he should now be man enough to apologise in the same manner he humiliated those two boys – publicly.
Of course, Jailbird’s outburst came amidst a penalty shout for handball. The players all reacted with instant passion and that is often a good indicator that a crime has been committed. I don’t doubt that the ball struck the hand of a Killie player, but I wonder aloud if there was any intent.
On the subject of penalty shouts, Jaakkola arguably should have seen red for impeding Peaso, thereby preventing a goal scoring opportunity. Trouble is, Peaso is well known for diving and his pantomime tumble was embarrassing to witness. The images prove that the keeper and Peaso had tangled and, intentionally or not, we should have had a penalty. Peaso has cried wolf too many times and boy is he being punished this season. Be in no doubt, referees have dossiers and certain players names are noted as divers – Peaso will be on most folks list. Do you blame the referee for getting it wrong, I don’t?
Aside from his tendency to cheat, Peaso has much to admire. His determination and resolute character are traits that serve him well in bad times, as is his self-belief. He must have wondered if it was all gonna be worthwhile when he lingered to meet Murray Davidson’s superb right to left cross ball, only for his effort to rebound off the Kilmarnock cross bar. If he had times his jump correctly we might have been celebrating a goal, but ifs and buts don’t.
His strike partner, Collin Samuel, put in his usual performance. There is no doubt that a brilliant footballer exists within the bulk of Collin Samuel’s body, sadly it only ever hints at putting in an appearance. One great game at Parkhead and a very good showing when we lost that game at Firhill are the only real highlights of his Saints career. United fans might struggle to name two good games he had for them.... It’s been argued that he can’t play with a team mate, but he can link with Peaso and Mayzo. Just not very often. We’ve invested heavily in Sammy, and he offers great versatility, but unless he’s prepared to accept a serious drop in wages, it’s time to cut our losses and wave goodbye.
Ever since Sammy Parkin’s collision, I’ve argued that I want to see Avy Novikovas (a man whose name caused our amateur stadium announcer some considerable difficulties on Saturday) start alongside Stevie May. I make no promises that it would bear fruit, but it’s blindingly obvious that our lack of pace is allowing opposition defenders too much time. Nova has decent pace and in every game that he’s started (bar Hamilton), Mayzo has had at least two decent chances. It’s no coincidence, that without his inexplicable timing, movement and penalty box trickery we’ve looked a lot less threatening without wee Mayzo. I understand that his attitude is a cause for concern, but he’s no worse now than he was in October/November and he’s a better player. We’ve got the Arabs next week and they have no centre halves, it’s gotta be the time for tricks and pace.
Del frustration with his strikers was partially disguised with clever words, but was tangible in the tone and audible sighing in the Official Site Interview. The midfield have been criticised by some quarters, and there is some merit in the criticism. Saturday’s game saw a perfect juxtaposition of the problem faced by the midfield. On the right, Danny Invincible (possibly under instruction) meandered into any free space he could find. While that sounds fair enough, it meant that often Alan Maybury didn’t know where to play they ball. As I’ve mentioned before, Invincible needs a big area to turn and can be easily dispossessed. I suspect the Killie boys may have noticed that, too. Interesting that Muzz and Millar provided the two best crosses from the right hand side.
On the left, recently retained Liam put in a fine shift. Too many times he didn’t get suitable support and often struggled to get a cross into the box with any pace or swerve. He always works hard and is always in the box looking to feed off scraps. Saturday was no different and it’s a massive piece in the jigsaw, knowing that he’ll be here next season. A great laddie and a fine footballer who’s progressed well under Del.
In centre midfield, Murray Davidson had one or two good moments on the ball, but overall he was poor again. A rusty Mooner, who got a token appearance at the death, showed how much we’ve missed the mercurial number 14 shirt. When contracts are being handed he must be top of the list. He’s a precious gem and our prized asset, be in no doubt that he’s already good enough for Scotland.
It’s hard to tell if the watching scouts will have been impressed by Muzz or not, one thing’s for sure – Eremenko again proved that he’s totally over-rated. I’ve never got the clamour about him and while he again showed decent touches, that’s all he showed. He’s not fit to grace the same park as wee Mooner.
Midgie Millar was another unsung hero who put in a decent shift. His re-alignment to centre midfield has not been a smooth process but he always shows enough bravery to take the ball for a wee adventure. His passing was fine and anyone that tells you otherwise simply doesn’t understand the state of the pitch our boys are being forced to play on. I hope we’ve given a large backhander to the SPL scheduling team to ensure that we get two home games immediately after the split and play the last three away. We need all the time possible to fix the pitch issues and get a couple of bounce games on it in July so the lads get a feel for it. Midgie likes to get the ball down and his game will improve massively if we can get the pitch in better nick.
In defence, Michael Duberry made a low profile return to the team in place of the injured Steven Anderson. The news on Anderson is worryingly muted and I certainly hope the rumours of his season being over are unfounded. Gartland gets a scan on Monday and hopefully he’ll get good news. We need cover as Duberry is far from fit and Frank is no miracle worker.
The big stopper put in a fine shift; albeit he missed our best chance of the match when he lifted a shot inches over the bar from somewhere near the penalty spot. He seemed much more vocal than normal, though that was exacerbated by the silence in the stands. It certainly seems that absence made his heart grow fonder – I’ve always doubted his sincerity but his commitment was very impressive against Killie.
Always impressive is Dave Mackay, though to be honest he had little to impress against. His freekick early in the first half was a decent effort and generally he marshalled the troops well enough in the absence of Anderson. It just seemed like a game where he never had any critical involvement. Whilst I don’t always appreciate his cavalier style of play at right back, this was a game that was crying out for his rampaging runs forward. Actually, if only we had Gary Irvine....
On the other side, Danny Grainger continues to be a target for the uneducated fans. My stomach churns at the thought of losing him in the summer. If we make the final, his retention will surely be guaranteed and the importance of such a move cannot be over-emphasised. Times without number the Kilmarnock boys tried to pull him out wide so that William Gros (who doesn’t look as gros in the flesh as he does here http://www.kilmarnockfc.co.uk/articles/william-gros-kilmarnock_85937_54756) could split Grainger and Mackay. Danny was wise to it and ended up exploiting their poor positioning.
Behind them, Enckleman had a pleasant afternoon in the sun. He made one mistake when he saved a “shot” that was heading wide, parrying it into play, but our boys were quick to get the ball cleared to safety. Other than that, he had to jump up and catch a ball under fair pressure. The rest of the time was his to contemplate life and the universe beyond.
All told, it was a scrappy game; the highlights made the game look far better than it actually was. Killie didn’t earn their point, but our failure to create one gilt edged chance means that we simply can’t bemoan the result. Tuesday will be tough going, let’s hope he sees it as a game for gambling and brings in Nova and Mayzo. It’s worth the risk....
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