SPL 7 - Motherwell Away

Small Margins

No fan who attended Hampden Park will ever forget the sight of watching a limp St Johnstone side roll over and sleep on shift. The scenes of rapture from the Motherwell fans will hurt for many a year to come, the sense of dejection that surrounded our exit from the Scottish Cup will be with us in every semi-final from now until the hoodoo is broken. Motherwell were not a better team than us that day. They are not a better team than us today. That day we lost 3 scud, yesterday we reversed the result.

Player apathy, poor man-management, luck or a combination of all three saw us leave Fir Park in a mood for a party. Although the party I attended was hosted by Sean Batty, it’s fair to say it was the result that made my whole week....

As we went into the game rumours and wild speculation suggested that Millar and McCracken would be missing, though in the end only Cracks missed out. Liam Caddis, curiously rested from 19 duty was on the bench as were Sean Higgins and Marcus Haber. The last two making way for the utterly useless, Cillian Sheridan.

Before we deal with the positive aspects of the win, Sheridan is going get a roasting. I cannot believe that folk defend this lanky streak of tin dish. I couldn’t care less how funny he is, how sexy he is, how nice he smells or that he loves life, is pally with Jody had a “great” scoring record last time. Instead I prefer to focus on the fact that he’s paid to play football and he isn’t any good at his job. In an aggressive retail job, he’d be on a development plan. Yes, my good, good personal friend, Gregg Aitchison, is correct that Sheridan put in a decent level of effort in the first half, he also hit a decent snapshot and was there had Adams headed shot needed a touch - though he may have been ruled offside. Thing is, both Haber and Higgins can offer so much more.

Both men must be thoroughly fed-up with McInnes and his wacky selection. Higgins in particular can do no more. He is scoring for fun in the reserves, he was simply excellent against his Celtic at Parkhead and when he came on against Well he started the move which led to the third which he himself provided on a plate. Derek McInnes said that he considered starting Higgy against the Well, I suggest to Mr McInnes, that it was yet another mistaken team selection. It is quite remarkable that we’ve worked for two years to get him on board and then we don’t play him.

As for Marcus Haber, the similarities are there too. Constant close-season communication and haggling saw the athletic Canadian sign on late in the day. His salary remains at the top bracket and yet we play him out of position. Why doesn’t Callum Davidson get dumped at centre half, Adams at right back or Craig on the right wing....oh hang on a minute. McInnes needs to sort himself out quickly. He will not continue to get lucky.

On the plus side, he did go with a fairly normal 4-4-2 and that certainly worked a treat. Del, yes the master of tictacs and other mint based confectionary, spoke at length of the importance of our wide players working as a pair. Perhaps, he would do well to realise that experience between a partnership promotes success.

Speaking of success, the two central midfielders most likely to leave McDiarmid Park stole the show at Fir Park. Much has been written by this author about the limitless talent of Kevin Moon. The wee man is a genius of the game and Craig Brown must bitterly regret not securing his services. A much improved offer to play in red is surely heading to Mooner’s pad and we can only hope that his loyalty to Saints is strong. His performance on Saturday left many viewers open mouthed. The ease with which he works the ball past players is simply breath-taking.

A club like Saints get players like this on occasion and we should every moment. It’s a matter of time before his injury prone reputation is blotted out by sublime performances. Now that tousled haired Franky is running the physiotherapy side of our club, there is no reason to suspect that Mooner won’t remain injury free for years to come. Of course his hand injury is something that Franky can do nothing about. Moon took another sore knock to the wounded appendage but shrugged it off with gritted teeth. A rest on Tuesday might be needed as Midgie and Millar should see off the Midden, whilst Liam Caddis deserves a wee run on the right of midfield.

Jamie Adams, powered the Saints into a first half lead, irrespective of Timothy’s leggy intervention. He had the presence of mind to follow up Midgie’s shot in the second half which almost lead to him scoring again. He also got booked for a perfectly fair challenge. Whilst I fully respect Derek McInnes for not being a “moany manager” in the style of the gutter trash like Peter Houston, Del really needs to get some protection for big Jamie. Times without number he’s been booked simply because Scottish referees are too stupid to understand the physics of collision and momentum.

The basic intelligence of humans in Scotland is on the wane and nowhere is this better illustrated than in football referees. Crawford Allan, looks and moves like an extra in a Scissor Sisters movie. Whether he is in full control of faculties is hard for a mere spectator to judge. What is clear is that if his type are considered “fit for purpose” the SPL need an appeals system for yellow cards.

There are several arguments at play here. Firstly, Crawford Allan earns more than Jamie Adams and therefore should operate at a better level than Jamie. Secondly, if Jamie Adams misses out on games (under the totting up system) he loses valuable income. Thirdly, if we are denied Jamie’s services, it will allow imposters such as Murray Davidson to return to the squad. Actually, if I was an Old Firm fan I’d start a conspiracy theory that referees (excluding Winters) and Murray Davidson are in cahoots, talentless folk earning a huge sum of money from fitba.......

Anyway, that’s another argument, but Del must immediately contact the SPL and demand that Jamie is protected from idiotic bookings. He has scarcely committed a foul all season yet I suspect he tops our disciplinary points chart. Of course the big fella likes to crunch into a tackle and ever since his debut at Glenalmond College, has boosted team morale by launching full scale attacks on his opponents. The little and large combination work well and both are capable goal scorers. I wonder if anyone can be bothered working out what Jamie’s goal scoring record is at Saints. Per minute, it must be better than Sheridan over all games in both spells.

On the right hand side of our midfield, Chrissy Millar had a bizarrely poor game. All his assets were on display in spells; lung-busting runs, close control, accurate shooting and battling qualities were ably demonstrated sporadically throughout the ninety. Unfortunately, for large spells he made very poor decisions, often and unusually losing possession or breaking down our own attacks. Still, he’s been a great signing and his new addition is surely causing a few sleepless nights so we can forgive him a below form performance. Especially when Stevie Hammell is on our side....

On t’other flank, Liam Craig put in another strong shift and capped his performance by adding the third goal. His defensive game has come on leaps and bounds but this year he has re-discovered his attacking zest and is always there or thereabouts whenever a goal mouth stramash occurs. He might not top the goal scoring charts this year, but like Jamie Adams, he’ll weigh in with his share of valuable goals for.

Liam Craig also played a vital role in protecting Alan Maybury from the potent threat of Chris Humphrey. The fans who howled derision upon the Motherwell winger would do well to ask McInnes if he’d swap Humphrey for Wullie Gibson. It was good to read Jody Morris praising the veteran defender for his handling of Mr Humphrey and Jody was correct to say that Alan was man of the match (only just though, Ando was back to his very best form) but credit must go to Liam for working back when required. A winger as tricky as Christopher, needs extra handling and Liam worked well with Maybs to shackle the winger throughout the game.

Derek McInnes was correct to identify the importance of the partnership between the two players. Interesting that Maybury also received rave reviews at Parkhead when he worked in tandem with Dave Mackay. Those that have castigated the wee man would do well to stand up and apologise for doing so. We were lucky to get him last season and luckier still to retain his services. The high earning, Callum Davidson, simply wasn’t missed.

Inside Maybury, Frazer Wright put in another very average performance. Silly fouls were given away and he eventually got himself booked for a mixture of persistent fouling and persistent (foul?) mouthing. Let’s hope Cracks isn’t out long-term. As ever with Frazer, he was wildly out of sync with his defensive colleagues. It’s a matter of time before he gives away a goal by playing someone on, or by being yards in front of his man. It might be that he’s a Kevin Rutkiewicz; perhaps he’s too busy criticising those around him to fully focus on his own job. Nevertheless, he got us through the game and didn’t get too much wrong.

His partner was the cruelly maligned Steven Anderson. Two of our former players have told me that Ando is the best defender at the club but Del’s constant abuse and nit-picking has eroded his confidence to  rock bottom. It’s a travesty that such a naturally gifted boy is treated in such a way. I don’t agree with the players who claim Del has a west coast bias, though it easy to see why such an opinion exists amongst some of them, but something is badly clouding Del’s judgement when it comes to Anderson. Mind you the same could be said of Higgins and Haber....

One of the constant criticisms of Ando is his willingness to dive in. This is simply untrue and is largely based on a couple of incidents when his team mates have left him badly exposed. He is actually a very cute player and often gets wee flicks and touches which are so vital to breaking down an attack. He was at his commanding best against Motherwell. If he is dropped following such a stonking performance....

At right back, Dave Mackay had a pleasant afternoon. Proudly sporting the Campus Sports Captain’s arm band, he was rarely made to work for his corn. He got forward whenever possible and certainly did his best to lift Midgie’s game. A defender who goes unnoticed is generally a class act and Dave was largely anonymous in the Lanarkshire sunshine. I can pay no higher tribute.

Behind the back four, Pete Enckleman had two saves to make. One a rasping, rising shot that was arguably screaming over the crossbar and the second a direct result of his own mistake. A hanging cross from the Motherwell left was heading into a inactive area, guarded by a Saints defender (Wright?) when Enckleman decided it was time to be a hero. He caught the ball with a curved hand and merely delayed its landing. When it came down, it fell beautifully for the Motherwell player to hit a shot which the keeper turned round the post. From one camera angle the shot was wide... Still folk continue to question why I wanna see Mannus get a shot.

So that leaves one player to rate, a Mr F Sandaza. What to say of him? Firstly and most importantly he’s a cheat and the type of player that brings the game into disrepute. No surprise that he plied his trade at Tannadump. His antics during the game were probably as bad as we’ve witnessed since Peaso at Pittodrie. They are unnecessary, unprofessional and I cannot condone his behaviour. If we want Adams treated well, we need to reciprocate.

As for his football, it was pretty poor to be honest. We were warned by United fans that Sandaza could have the touch of a three legged mule, he had one of those days at Fir Park. Nevertheless, he worked hard and took his goal with great aplomb. He should also be praised for feeding Sean Higgins in the build up to the third. Although it was only right that he should do so, it was probably against form and my comments are always designed to be balanced where applicable. In his BBC interview, Del talked of working to improve Sandaza whilst he is with us. I’m interested to see how he fares.

So, a very happy trip to Motherwell and a decent start to the league campaign. The three points gained at Parkhead merely make up for the three gifted to Dunfermline by Del’s wacky selection.

The games continue thick and fast. St Mirren in the cup on Tuesday followed by a ridiculous Sunday game against the Jammy Tarts on Sunday. Danny Grainger and thingy Novikovas will doubtless get dogs abuse from the home fans, but I wonder if Danny Grainger will have the smile reduced or broadened.

Del is amongst the great folks of the Main Stand on Tuesday so fear not, I’ll keep him right.

All together, “One Steven Hammell.....”