United at Home 11022012

A bad day at the Office

If ever we needed proof that being a football manager is a perilous business, Saturday provided it in spades. Steve Lomas and Tommy Wright got everything spot on in terms of preparation; shape, selection and tactics were absolutely fine. We dominated the first half, prompting the wee rat that is Peter Houston to call his team “rubbish”. Incredibly, we left the park having suffered, and yes it was hurtful, a five one reversal at the hands of our nearest rivals. Here are some thoughts on the game and the possible repercussions.

Before we look at any aspect of the game, it is important to clarify some issues. I launched into a very public tirade against our former goalkeeper, Graeme Smith, at Falkirk’s Westfield Stadium. It followed a run of games where he gave away three points. The circumstances were completely different from what we currently experience.

Firstly, Smithy never played well for St Johnstone in all the time he was here. He was signed by Derek McInnes who stupidly and lazily signed him as cover for an aging club hero. McInnes should have been looking for a replacement for Alan Main, not a back-up. Secondly, he tried to justify many of his mistakes, often seeking to blame his defence – a spineless man, really. Thirdly, my outburst was not only directed at him, but also at our hopeless manager who refused to pick Alan Main due to a clash of personalities. Those childish days, which so nearly cost us Steven Anderson, are now long gone; Steve and Tommy will select teams based on professionalism alone.

When discussing our goalkeeping targets for next season, a small discussion about Mannus came to fruition. I noted that Enckleman performs better than Mannus in training, but pointed out that being good technically means nothing. Euan McLean was a great goalkeeper in training but he wilted under the spotlight.

All football players are like plants; some grow and flourish under the stage lights, others simply wither and die. Enckleman is an enigma, he has had good games; Parkhead, Ibrox and our first visit to Tynecastle spring to mind. He’s also had horror shows; Aberdeen twice, Motherwell home and yesterday. The trouble is that the last line of defence can’t be of variable quality. It’s an obvious fact that keepers will tend to play well against big teams as they have more saves to make. I’m certain that Mannus has the gloves for the next few games; both he and Lomas have my full support. Nevertheless, Enckleman has been far than I expected; “thanks, Pete!”

The guys in front of him played well as a group, though Callum Davidson will want to forget his part in the second goal. A ball was played across the goal mouth and Davidson simply run it into his own net. Regular readers will know that one of the reasons I don’t rate Enckleman is his inability to communicate with his defensive colleagues. This looked like yet another debacle of silence.

Nevertheless, Callum needs to have the presence of mind to look right when he’s lost the race to the front post. It was a shocking goal to lose and the brilliance of the goalmouth cross should not excuse poor defending. Having said that, we should note that Callum was brilliant for the rest of the game and I can only think of Rangers second (first home game of the season) where Callum has been clearly at fault for costing Saints a goal; that’s a mark of his vast contribution to this great club.

He’s coaching the young lads with regularity and the boys respond well to him. He is a calming influence both on the pitch and in the dressing room. Like Gavin Rae at Aberdeen, he’s a top influence on the players around him. I was disappointed that both he and Mackay failed to rally the boys, but given that the third, fourth and fifth goals came so late in the day, we hadn’t a chance. With hindsight, I guess it was harsh to expect any player to try and urge the boys onwards. In summary, Neilson created very little.

Anderson and McCracken were once again rocks in the heart of the defence and they must have needed chauffeur driven home after that game, they’re heads would have been shaking in disbelief all night. They worked so very well together and on their own to keep some of the league’s best frontmen quiet.

Gary Mackay-Stevens is a great player who we missed out on. He’s got most of the attributes needed to play at the top level, including a ned like appearance and a Jedward-esque sense of fashion.

Jon Daly is the unsung hero of the SPL and a man we should make moves to bring to Perth. A true captain; brave, versatile, committed and low key – we would do well to ensure he leads our line next season... A three year deal could sign and seal the transfer. His goal was only the third time this season he’s beaten Anderson in the air.

Johnny Russell is a pocketful of tricks. His goal was lucky, but he won his header and sent the ball in the right direction. His pace and strength are hard to combat yet we kept him quiet for most of the game.

The fact that those guys were kept at bay for most of the afternoon speaks volumes for our defence

Mackay, who will serve his first ever suspension on Tuesday night against Hearts, also had a strong game but also had a mix-up with Enckleman. That our two most dependable players had situations with our goalkeeper is perhaps the answer to the riddle. I expect that both goals could have been prevented with better communication. Mannus will surely offer that when he comes in to the starting line-up.

He was again lacking in defensive support from a guy that I’ve nailed recently, including in the heated aftermath of the game on Saturday, Lee Croft. He played much better on Saturday, certainly in terms of going forward, but still left Mackay with too much to do. Dundee United are always strong down the left; remember this is a club that managed to select a team without Danny Grainger whilst we played Liam at left back and a club that manages to keep Barry Douglas on the subs bench.

Folk keep boring me with stories about Dixon’s pinpoint crosses. The truth is that a full back should not be allowed to rampage forward in such a fashion.  If Midgie had been on the the right wing, we’d have controlled that area in a much better fashion. We’d also not have to witness Lee Croft’s dive. The man looked a far more determined player against The Arabs and certainly created more than in his previous outings, but the dive not only tarnished our reputation, it also affected Brines judgement when Liam Craig was illegally impeded in the box.

It says much of Scottish referee standards that Brines didn’t stand out as being particularly hopeless. Indeed, credit where it’s due, he was utterly clear and decisive in booking Crofty who’s now been booked in 75% of his appearances. If Compton and Mooner were fit, I’d play a midfield of Midge-Moon-Craig-Compton against Hearts. Unfortunately, neither player will make it and Jamie Adams remains sidelined. It leaves Lomas with little in the way of options to change things. That made his official comments very smart indeed. Players are now fighting for their place in the Lomas revolution. Competition breeds improvement.

Speaking of which, Jody Morris put in one of his worst performances for Saints. Midgie was always gonna play deep yet it appeared that Jody didn’t change his game accordingly. They both sat deep and sprayed balls wide, this left a gap for Dundee United to exploit albeit Fran and Cillie took turns at dropping deep and making good runs. If we use the same midfield pairing on Tuesday, we need to ensure that Jody moves further forward by at least 10 yards. He also needs to pass the ball better. Not that underfoot conditions are helping matters.

The surface at McDiarmid is no worse than many SPL pitches in use this season but it’s undoubtedly in poor condition. I simply can’t agree with club officials when they say that the grass isn’t cut too short. It’s no coincidence that the pitches used in the SPL can be directly linked to expenditure. It’s time to bring back Jimmy Hogg and a protégé. DC need not apply...

Aside from losing out to Johnny Russell and being fouled in the box, Liam Craig had a quiet game. Always liable to score, the wide man was involved in plenty of the play but most of it in the middle third of the pitch. He remains a great player and is still the only player at the club with worse hair than Dolly! He’ll be involved against Hearts and will need to work hard to deliver telling crosses.

Up top saw Sheridan and Sandaza re-united in the starting eleven. Sheridan, so brilliant at Tynecastle was once again a shadow of that player. It’s inexplicable to me how he can be so much slower when running and so weak in the tackle. The man confuses the tits off me. He is infuriating to watch and Lomas must be baffled by having guys like him and Haber in the dressing room. So much talent, so many prospects and yet so little focus. Lomas described the capture of Sheridan as the result of fighting “tooth and nail” with Steve Brown, Sheridan would do well to repay the faith shown by both manager and chairman. At least he’s guaranteed his wage from Saints... Realistically, Haber could be the only first team striker to continue into next year, he’s much work to do if he wants to earn that accolade.

Fran Sandaza had another good game, making frequent strong runs as he exploited gaps between midfield and defence. His miss was a very tricky shot and I applaud him for taking it on, rather than trying to offload the ball under pressure. He’s done very well for us and I expect him to score for us on Tuesday against Hearts.

I mentioned this run of games as being the biggest week of our season and boy how it has turned out that way. As a group of fans we failed our team on Saturday and I’m glad we only have two league games left at home before the split. I hope we have two cup games at home too...

Steve Lomas has earned our trust. He has signed good players, he is looking at players that will excite the fans and he has done well to persuade Fran to remain a Saintee.  He is angry about Saturday and has spent the last two days working hard to ensure our cup progression. We have a great manager, a super board, excellent commercial folks and wonderful background troops. The only weak link in our great club is our Tannoyman who again wittered on during a match. Compare that to the professionalism of Hearts announcer and you’ll see my problem with our incumbent. If he’s our only failure, we’re doing very well.

This is a squad of players I believe in. This is a manager I trust. This is a club I love. We break Hearts on St Valentine’s day. The prices are steep, but the victory moment will be priceless. Let’s continue to dig deep for as long as the dream remains. We’re on course for the Scottish Cup semi final if we take care of Hearts and the top six is looking ever more like becoming a reality. This has been a momentous season and  there are more great memories to be created. Miss a game at your peril.