An ironic commentator once noted that, “football’s a game of clichés” and fans forums are proof of that pudding. Times without number, I read and hear that Geoff should gamble, speculate to accumulate, loosen the purse strings just a wee bit ....times without number I offer a voice of dissent.
Our trading figures are a few weeks from being finalised but we know the general picture. The disease, perhaps only recently diagnosed, has been in the blood stream of our club for some time now.
Allow me to take you back a few years and reflect on the sacking of John Connolly. JC, who’s initials made you dream the impossible, was replaced some 6 years ago. He led the team to eighth place in the Scottish First Division. Falkirk finished 29 point ahead of us, Clyde (yes the diddy team who are now homeless) were 14 points in front whilst both Ross County and Queen of the South ended up ahead of us in the standings.
The expenditure was high and the fans called for the managers head. Geoff Brown wasted little time in acting but did little to appease a naive support by installing Owen Coyle as manager. Coyle; a lean striker with big knashers and a hint of grey about the temples, had history with Saints. The fans were far from impressed.
Nevertheless, Chairman Brown has achieved much in this business, and it is primarily a business, by showing a foresight far beyond the comprehension of his equivalents at other clubs. Owen’s capture proved shrewd beyond measure. Demonstrating a finely balance amalgam of enthusiasm, ebullience and gregariousness; OC united the fans, galvanised his troops and worked the media with an effect so brilliant that we finished second in the league, his first shot at management.
The following year is etched in the mind of all fans and bears no repeating here. Suffice to say, we were robbed by a common criminal. The greatest tragedy of Brookes Mileson’s death is that we didn’t have time to fully expose his behaviour to the whole nation. Those amongst us who understand, know that dishonesty and immorality stole the league that year. Had we gained the promotion, which was ours by right, who knows where we’d have been today. What’s very clear is that, in the sunshine of New Douglas Park, a crescendo had been reached. Saints fans travelled in hope, expectation and belief; we left shattered, demoralised and deflated.
Throughout the summer, as the truth of Gretna’s theft started to become clear, Saints picked themselves up, ready for the campaign which would see us easily gain promotion. After all, how could we lose? In reality, the players, hurt and smarting at what had befallen them, failed to perform for Owen Coyle. Goals were at a premium and we were clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel when we selected Andy Jackson and signed Kenny Deuchar. Many idiots, including your author, castigated Owen for signing Dr Goals. Personally, I labelled him a panic signing. In reality he was a long time target who we were lucky to capture.
I remember watching him training, prior to his first game for Saints and issuing a full retraction and apology to Owen. The then gaffer retorted with trademark honesty, “that’s because I know more than you about football players.” He was right and I was wrong.
Dismayed by his players, hurt by Gretna’s “victory” and hamstrung by St Johnstone’s turnover, Owen was quick to jump ship when Burnley came calling. Initial plans by St Johnstone were for Sandy Stewart to step up to become manager, whilst the highly unpopular Derek McInnes would become his assistant. In the days that followed, Coylie, using his full-on persuasional powers, had enticed cup winning Stewart to join him at Burnley and Geoff took the decision to appoint Derek McInnes as manager, allowing him to invite old pal, and former coach, Tony Docherty to McDiarmid.
Somewhere in this story, perhaps at Hamilton, perhaps in the close season, perhaps in the early games of season 2007/8, perhaps at the appointment of Derek McInnes, perhaps under his reign; somewhere our fans lost interest. A malaise set in and, inexorably, our fans turned away from our local club.
Although I’m old enough to have started supporting Saints in the bottom division, I’m not old enough to understand how close we were to closing the doors of St Johnstone Football Club.
Perhaps those days are so far they have been erased from memory. Perhaps the modern era, where clubs like Livingston, Motherwell and Dundee use Administration as a business tool, has seen the fear of failure removed from the minds of the public. I don’t know, the answer, I only see the problems.
Under Derek McInnes, like him or loathe him, we have moved from near the top of the first division to somewhere in the middle of the SPL. Irrespective of the money committed by the board, that remains a tangible achievement. In order to keep the glory hunters happy, we’ve excelled in recent cup competitions. Several semi-finals in the last 5 years have tantalised our support who dream of lifting silverware under Geoff’s stewardship.
As for the football itself, season 2009/10 saw us score 57 league goals and fans who attended all league games saw 118 goals in 38 games, yes three goals per game. We finished in eighth place that season, with better tactics, or a little luck; we’d have made the top six - a terrific achievement given the paucity of our home support. Incredibly, for many fans, they chose this time of great success to turn their back on our club. Season ticket sales dropped by 12 per cent, whilst gate numbers were down 18 per cent. We’re not talking about loose change; almost one in five have walked away from McDiarmid Park, St Johnstone Football Club and the very concept of, “we support our local team.”
There are no logical reasons for this capitulation, no justification for treating our club in such a shabby form. One or two can cite genuine reasons, fiscal and otherwise; the majority simply hang onto one of many excuses. The danger of this disease is that attacks the very life blood of the operation. As I mentioned at the start of the article, football is very much a business. Third Lanark and Clydebank are fact, you folks can argue about the truth of footballing towns.
So with renewal packs due out this week and couple of positive signings to be announced shortly, how many current book holders will re-apply and, perhaps more pertinently – why should we?
Looking at the support this year, I’d suggest we’re close to being at our hardcore support. I can see a drop, but not by much. Those that attend faithfully, grudgingly accept the idiocy of SPL kick-off times, and understand that Messi and Fletcher will not be tempted to McDiarmid in the near future. The split annoys us, the lack of a reserve league perplexes us, the debt-reliant success of our unwashed rivals grates on us – but we were mostly raised as Saintees, we believe in the concept of supporting our local team and we are thankful to Mr Brown and Mr Duff for transforming the club, in every possible way.
There are so many positives with supporting our club. Our fiscal policy means we have no fears of administration, our size enables a bond to be forged between players and fans and for big games, such as cup days, the town and surrounding areas have a real buzz about them. Anyone at St Mirren for our last game of the season will long remember the closing minutes.
We’re privileged to have great board. Self-made individuals who have the best interests of the club, close to their heart. We have folk like Paul Smith, who go far beyond their contractual remit to deliver the highest level of service to our support. We sit in the best stadium in the SPL with the best viewing in the SPL. We gamble on players from lower leagues and are proud of the produce of our youth system. Players hang around, while big name players who have passed through our doors tend to remember Saints with fondness. This is not merely a good club, it’s a great club.
This much is clear; next season will be a battle. St Mirren and Dunfermline should be poor, Killie and the Arabs will hopefully be much closer to us, but Aberdeen will be strong and if Hibs sack Calderwood, they’ll do well again. We once again, have the chance to finish mid-table, even with a much reduced budget. In order to do so, we need every supporter to put in an increased effort to attend home games.
We understand that the stewards do a great job of disguising any common sense and intellect they may possess. The no standing rule, doesn’t bother me in the slightest but watching the OF unwashed stand and sign their bigoted bile does my napper in. But let’s not kid ourselves on, we need their money. This is business; the greater our income, the better our signings can be.
With a significant financial loss this year, the transfer of Murray Davidson will prove most helpful. Our manager, despite his protestations, is using Saints (and used Brentford) to sell himself and attract interest. His departure will also generate income for the club. The directors continue to network in order to attract new sponsors and other revenue streams. Overheads are kept to a minimum at the park, but age is taking its toll on the stadium and that also hits us in the pocket. In addition, partly catalysed by our own fans causing trouble in the national media, Saints have incurred a bill in excess of £10,000 to create the new disabled facilities in the Main Stand (away section).
If we need a player or two in January, this proactive and aggressive board will sanction transfer activity. Robertson and Danny Invincible may have been largely rubbish, but our board did support our gaffer and remember it was Danny’s goal that proved vital at Glebe Park. Cult heroes, Michael Duberry and Jody Morris arrived in the same way as Danny and Jordan....
We are lucky and privileged to support this thriving and enterprising wee club. We have often punched above our weight through a combination of efficiency and expert decision making. Speaking of which, don’t think about it for too long. Buy a season ticket and ensure our continued success. Don’t buy it because it’s value for money, don’t buy it because you believe we’ll play sexy soccer on a new surface; buy it because you care about the club, buy because you don’t want the children in your family growing up to support the Old Firm, buy it because these are golden times. If you supported us under Connolly or before, you’ll see where I’m coming from.
Support the Saints, buy a season ticket!
