The 3-Horse Race

[blueheaven]

So it looks like any dwindling hopes either Hamilton or Clyde had of getting to the top finally bit the dust today, which leaves the title race down to 3 teams - St Mirren, Ross County and the Super Saintees. Who's going to do it?

[pezza70]

I would favour St Mirren if I was having a bet, but I reckon we are on a roll now and I honestly dont think we will loose too many more games, a few draws in a tricky period coming up may hurt us though.

The transfer window signings, the return of peaso, st mirrens shaky last month or so.

The title is for St Mirren to loose basically and I reckon we have the quality to pounce if we are good enough and close enough.

Ross County winning their game in hand is important to keep the pressure on the Midden.

We are heading in the right direction and thats the most important thing.

[Selkirk Sainty]

although going up would be important, the main thing is the improvement of our performances. next year may be our year if we dont go up this year so the remaining games may just be practise 4 next year as long as we go up next year coyles doin his job well

[stanley saint]

if we keep winning then who knows .... :D



KEEPIN FAITH .. MON THE SAINTS

[Tranmere Saintee]

My heart says Saints, my head says Ross County- just so the SPL can have a chance for their annual 'Shoot yourself in the Foot' session.

[Steve Maskrey]

I hope we do it, and we're capable of doing it should the others slip up but St.<irren have the advantage of more home games and most of them, I think, are against teams from the lower half of the league.

Our biggest test of all the games is away to Ross County on the 11th March. Its definitely a must-win game for us, we can't afford to draw

[saintbear]

SAINTS KEEP THE FAITH

[Broggy Man]

Ive said it before the nearer Ross County get to the Midden the more chance we will have of stepping in and nicking it at the death. If it was a straight race between us and the Midden then we would not catch them but because the Midden are having to look back at 2 teams biting there ankles it makes it all the more difficult for them.
The worse case scenario is that teams start blooding younger players on the run in and it is a pity there are not more teams involved in the scrap at the bottom.

[garydavidson]

i would putmoney on ross county they have no problem scoring goals but they let a lot in to.

as said above the attention or ross county could throw the midden off.

Still a lot to play for :)
the first division is always so exciting!

[Chansey]

Whos County's game in hand against?

[Real Madrid]

Stranrear

[Chansey]

Stranrear

A draw could be realistic for us to hope for.....do you know when this game is :?:

[Hazel1884]

Stranrear

A draw could be realistic for us to hope for.....do you know when this game is :?:

Next Saturday, 25th!

Was due to be Tuesday but because they are both out the cup they agreed for cup weekend Saturday!

[Chansey]

Stranrear

A draw could be realistic for us to hope for.....do you know when this game is :?:

Next Saturday, 25th!

Was due to be Tuesday but because they are both out the cup they agreed for cup weekend Saturday!

COME ON MOORIE, GIE US A HAT-TRICK! :wink:

[Dev]

St Mirren will hold on in a tight finish. I can't see us or Ross County winning all the rest of our games and I can't see a St Mirren collapse happening. I think they'll take enough points to win it while we are almost guaranteed to drop points.

I'm 37.

[dave mc]

If a win in the last game can take us up,we would do it.That's as much as we can hope for.I'd defo settle for that scenario the now!

[lethamsaintee]

being an eternal optimist i say we CAN still win the league, although it will be more a case of st.moron chucking it awa as opposed to us doing anything brilliant.

[208saint]

Voted for St. Mirren purely based on the logic that with Midden being seven in front of us and not fancying them dropping that many points in the last quarter and I don't think that County are good enough to keep a run gpoing either. But we've got to hope for Ross County to win their game in hand and be just three points behind Midden, this will have them under pressure then hope that we beat County then just maybe............

[Hazel1884]

Voted for St. Mirren purely based on the logic that with Midden being seven in front of us and not fancying them dropping that many points in the last quarter and I don't think that County are good enough to keep a run gpoing either. But we've got to hope for Ross County to win their game in hand and be just three points behind Midden, this will have them under pressure then hope that we beat County then just maybe............

Correct. My thinking exactly.

Head says St Mirren, Heart says St Johnstone...... :)

[auchterarder mark]

current form would suggest RC but if we were to win all games up to trip to dingwall and then trounce them then I'd say that £20 I put on saints tomorrow will help big time towards my SPL season ticket 2006/07. beatin Hamilton was massivee!!! bring on the diamonds

[McCallum]

I voted for St.Mirren. It is definitely their's to lose but anything can happpen when the real pressure games start. There is still 9 odd games to go which is a lot of games for St.Mirren to drop points. It's just whether we can take advantage of that which is the problem, in my opinion. If we don't win the league I would love County to snatch it and GIRU the St.Mirren fans.

I keep imagining us holding on till the last day of the season needing a win at Love Street and scoring in the last minute to take the title. That would be unreal.

[Nick]

I keep imagining us holding on till the last day of the season needing a win at Love Street and scoring in the last minute to take the title. That would be unreal.

So do I, Scotland hits a 20 yarder, and the keeper tips it onto the post, and coyle knocks it in from 6 yards

[Ray Blair]

[quote="garydavidson"]i would putmoney on ross county they have no problem scoring goals


But we have scored more than them 8)

[Hazel1884]

i would putmoney on ross county they have no problem scoring goals but they let a lot in to.


But we have scored more than them 8)

Yes they are conceeding (but no offense to the lad here!) Canning has left and they now have Webb in place beside McCulloch. Who can be prone to a few fouls/mistakes and that will possibly see them losing a few more goals as Caning and McCulloch were solid and a good partnership...

Not that i think webby's shite, i think he's a good player. Just needs to cut out those mistakes which will come with experience, but he's already got away with a few dodgy shenanigans as shown on Scotsport or the cup Highlights....

[Selkirk Sainty]

Would love to c us clinch it but looking at our next 3 or 4 fixtures, we will have to be at very best to have any chance and with st mirren having the 2 bottom clubs next they should pick up 6 points making our task harder. Hope am wrong tho

[MUZZ]

kills me to say it but st.mirren will have won the league by the time we play them :evil:

[Hazel1884]

Would love to c us clinch it but looking at our next 3 or 4 fixtures, we will have to be at very best to have any chance and with st mirren having the 2 bottom clubs next they should pick up 6 points making our task harder. Hope am wrong tho

we are unbeaten in 2006 - and hadn't conceeded a goal in over 300 mins up until yesterday - we've been doing well and hope we can maintain it - one reason, i do believe is that we are now working together as a unit - we seemed to have clicked and got things right IMO. We will graft for a win when we can, we are creating chances, and being unlucky when attempt to take them. It's coming good, and lets hope it continues to do so!

QoS seem to be looking a better side at the moment according to their fans, so lets hope they can sneak a point or three against them.

Keep the faith, it's not over until it's mathematically possible, and until that point there is hope - however slim it may be!

Mon the Saints! 8)

If we manage to get a result over the next two games we may well see attendances rise a bit too and get some more revenue too. KEEP THE FAITH!

[Hazel1884]

kills me to say it but st.mirren will have won the league by the time we play them :evil:

Pessimist!

Keep the faith!

Hamilton and Clyde went out it this weekend, we are getting there. Three horse race and if County win at home to stranraer it piles heaps more pressure on the Mirren and i truly think they will strugle severely!

We've had that pressure, and County are a solid unit, and both squads have the ability to keep going and get results wether it's grinding them out or playing sexy football!

If we both win on the fourth it makes the game on the 11th in Dingwall a belter - and hopefully a night out in Inverness celebrating too if there's an overnight stay!!! :wink: :wink:

[Selkirk Sainty]

ye thats fair maybe they are a better side but after seeing brechin u have to wonder how good a side that fails to beat brechin really are. i could be totally wrong tho an st mirren could bottle it an lose their next 2. lets hope the cup proves a distraction 4 them

[Hazel1884]

ye thats fair maybe they are a better side but after seeing brechin u have to wonder how good a side that fails to beat brechin really are.

I thought, although they weren't outstanding, Brechin have improved since the turn of the year! They may be resigned to going down (though i'm sure the manager and sqaud won't admit that!!) but they can certainly have a say and will be out there to be as disruptive as possible and get a few points to make there points tally look a damn sight better!

[MUZZ]

kills me to say it but st.mirren will have won the league by the time we play them :evil:

Pessimist!

:


realist :wink:

[stu]

I think last week was the final nail in the coffin: we needed to win. It would take an absolutely incredible run of results for us to reach enough points (and St M / R C to drop enough points) to win the league. Obviously while it's still possible I'll still get the butterflies on Saturday afternoon, but I'm not expecting miracles.

[Ronaldo]

SAINTS CAN DO IT !!!

The facts are at this point in time we just need that 4 points gain before the St.Mirren game to give us a chance on the final day
I think if I were a St.Mirren fan or player I would be nervous.
They are on cup duty this weekend and who knpws what could happen - injuries and a continuation in the cup to the semi-final.
They do have a couple of relatively easier league games coming up with an away game against Brechin (which they struggled in last November) and a home game against QOS (vastly improved) whereas we have three tough games in a row. If we're still in it at that point then there's a great chance.

[Hazel1884]

If Ross County win against Stranraer on Saturday that cuts their lead down to 3 points, and still to play St Mirren once, so it is definately game on for Saints and County as that piles a load of pressure on!

Whatever happens, we've improved greatly, shaping up a good side and a good core of players at a decent age group (Darren Sheridan excluded!) who'll hopefully be together for a period of time - looking good for next season anyway if we don't get promotion!

But it's not over by a long shot, MON THE SAINTS!!!

[TheBigCheese]

While I think we are more than capable of doing it, I fancy Ross County to win the league. They are closer to the Midden with a game in hand and on much better form the the Paisley minks - who I reckon might even end up third. We will struggle up there in a few weeks times and I'm not confident of getting a win against an improving Dundee side at Dens.

[chopper]

Personally I don't think we will win it and it is a fight between Midden and County. Our failure to win last week will come back and bite us towards the end of the season.

Still, 3rd place is a great improvement on last year and sets us up for next season, which promises to be even more exciting than this year.

[LewGti]

I voted for us. My heart says st.johnstone but my head says County.

I reckon we will beat midden on the last day but we will just miss out because county will win their final game leaving the path clear for them to do it. It will be a very exciting final day. Dont get me wrong i am still keeping the faith but i think County`s game in hand against the trannys from stranny makes it too hard for us. Hope i am wrong.

C`mon saints, keep the faith guys

[chopper]

Forgot to add that I would "love it, absolutely love it" (copyright K Keegan) if we were to stop St. Mirren winning the league by beating them at Love Street, even if it is not us that goes on and wins the league.

[HeronAddict]

Personally I don't think we will win it and it is a fight between Midden and County. Our failure to win last week will come back and bite us towards the end of the season.

Still, 3rd place is a great improvement on last year and sets us up for next season, which promises to be even more exciting than this year.

I still think we can win it, but I voted for St. Mirren simply because its their's to throw away, and they have more strength in depth than us and Ross County. We probably need to win virtually every game from now to the end of the season, and that's pretty unlikely.

I'd dispute whether it was not beating St. Mirren last week that's really cost us though. For me its the amount of stupid points we've dropped at home that have really held us back. The 1-1 Stranraer game, the home draw against Ross County, the home draw against Clyde and our inability to win against Dundee and Airdrie away are where we've dropped important points in games that we've largely dominated (apart from the Airdrie matches). These results have been more costly than drawing at home against the team at the top of the league, which was not a terrible result or performance.

[Broon]

Forgot to add that I would "love it, absolutely love it" (copyright K Keegan) if we were to stop St. Mirren winning the league by beating them at Love Street, even if it is not us that goes on and wins the league.

Can you just imagine the midden fans reaction to that :D ? I think there would be trouble at the game if that happened - you know what these junkies are like when things aren't going their way. Prime example at the game v midden last week where a group of midden yobs in a paisley taxi were spitting out their window and yelling and swearing at a family of four in their car in the car park at McD. Scum bags.