Dooj

This really annoys me - computer should just produce the fixtures randomly (maybe with restrictions like no two teams from same city playing at home on the same day) and we'll see what we get. Having to change or adapt the fixtures on the basis of anticipated crowd trouble or size of TV audience interferes with sporting integrity IMO.

Deliberately, maliciously, negligently, unintentionally - doesn't make any difference. To suggest that a manager's decision contributed to a player's collapse is a very serious accusation, particularly when (to my knowledge) we have no information at all about what caused Sidibeh to collapse. This sounds to me more like having a go at Levein for absolutely anything and everything rather than focussing on his mistakes regarding the things he actually has some control over or could reasonably be expected to anticipate.

I think it is really important that we criticise the management for their failings, and quite a lot of the time we are going to be speculating because none of us know what is going on behind the scene. But to suggest that Levein has deliberately put a player's health at risk is going too far.

Should be easy to work it out then - after all, hardly *any* lawyers in the US

3/10? That's harsh given where we are in the league. Appreciate it might not be entertaining, but the whole 'not losing' thing is probably what we should be giving credit for when you think about where we were when he took over.

Gordon subbed??

It's fairly common practice for things to be omitted from confirmed minutes. Doesn't necessarily reflect any kind of deliberate deception - it's just an awareness that there are some things that are said that you might not want written down and distributed for all to see.

I wouldn't want to read too much into exactly what a manager says during these hyped-up media interviews - how he interacts on a daily basis (and on match days) with the players/team is what will determine success. Sometimes managers can say the wrong thing in a media interview (see Macca's recent examples) but that may be more symptomatic of wider problems with the dressing room, rather than simply the cause. Some managers are canny about dealing with the media, some are pretty naive. Eventually many managers come to realise that it doesn't matter what questions you are asked, you just answer the question that you want to answer, whether it was asked or not. I suspect that the reason Levein didn't mention the club much, was that he was answering the question of why has he gone back into management after such a long time out, rather than 'why St Johnstone?'; he's trying to counter the suggestion that there is anything strange about it from a career trajectory perspective. I guess that the tone he was trying to convey was that this is an opportunity that doesn't need huge changes (like the summer clear out) but that with so many capable people around, all willing to work together, it's going to be possible to turn it around. Last thing he wants is a load of headless chickens running around shouting 'dont panic' (even if recent results warrant that kind of response).

Given the much more effusive statement released later on, I think that you are probably right - that first statement was simply incompetent rather than deliberately ungrateful.

Perhaps. However, given the well-used template for these sorts of announcements, I am inclined to believe that the statement re 'thank you and good luck for the future' must have been deliberately removed/omitted. Particularly given the absolute legends that Macca and Liam were as players.

I wonder if Macca's attack against the players (which I think most people would agree was crossing the line) was as a result of him being sacked (was he told 'win or you're out'?) or was what precipitated a 'heated discussion' that led to him being sacked. The ridiculously short press statement from the club makes me think that there was some kind of bust-up. And I think that Liam must have been involved in some way, otherwise it would seem very harsh to get rid of him at this stage. Unless he was seen to be very much Macca's man - doesn't explain the lack of any expression of gratitude to Liam in the statement though.

When you say that you are 'all for second chances etc', what exactly do you mean?

I listened on Radio Scotland. FWIW Willie Miller was *really* positive about Saints (as was Biscuits) and he regularly winds me up with his relentless pro-Aberdeen commentary. While nice to hear, hard to square these comments with the stat of zero shots on target.

And it's been upheld! Unbelievable.

Appreciate that there are all sorts of contextual factors (eg size and location of stadiums) but has *any* Scottish club managed to deal with the visit of the Old Firm in such a way as their fans are happy? Genuine question - I really dont know - but if it works elsewhere, perhaps we could learn from them. Personally, I no longer go to any OF games at McDiarmid as it is just so toxic and I dont want to be part of it. Shame because one of my fondest footballing memories was seeing Jim Weir score against Rangers - think that was probably my last OF game.

So, these are *voluntary* guidelines - there is no indication of what happens if a bus company chooses not to sign up to these. Or what are the consequences if a bus company signs up to these but then doesn't comply. But given that these guidelines are already in place in England and Wales, and this is just about making it consistent across the UK, you would think that there would be plenty that could be learned from down South. I have to be honest - I have never heard any complaints about these guidelines before.

Really? The cup double doesn't feature in any of your recollections of Callum's management? I was probably one of the last to come round to 'Callum out' but even I could see that his time was up and I accept that he could/should have been shown the door much earlier. The last two league campaigns have been dire, there's no hiding that, but I hope it is just the recency that is leading some to completely overlook Callum's achievements in the cups; maybe in a few years time we will all be able to look back with a bit more balance when assessing what CD did.

Stevie May c2013/2014?

Fran Sandaza?

Yes, I should have added some emojis to my post to indicate my intended meaning of the pointlessness of any paper trying to 'scoop' anything nowadays.

Does the PA still come out on a Friday? If so, maybe the club is letting them have their 'scoop'.

I struggle to see Kane getting a better deal elsewhere - not that I know anything about the financial details on his contract - because I think he does a fantastic job for Saints but is totally underrated - so I just dont think that he is likely to be on another team's radar. I could see him drop a division in order to get more playing time. Will be interesting to see what Macca does when May, Clark and Kane are all fit.

Would have thought the budget that Macca has available will be pretty clear. Given that Saints never spend outwith their means, the player budget will essentially be the same as any other year, given that there is no specific reason to think that revenue is going to increase or decrease dramatically. Although, having said that, I can see a scenario where Macca has been promised a small increase in budget as part of him agreeing to take the job. I would be hugely surprised if any new owners were able to come in with the kind of speed that would be required to have any impact on this summer's transfer window.

One of the Whitecaps owners used to be involved in Derby County. Wonder how that worked out?

I agree that this feels like the end of an era but I would include Spoony in that list of players that have defined the club's most successful ever period, and we still have him (for now)