Old Lethamite

Battled and competed well but football wise we were mostly poor. Second half improved, but the number of times we gave the ball away cheaply was disappointing. They pressed us and we ended up just hoofing it a lot of the game.  Aberdeen created very little though and we certainly deserved ET.
Thought Paton and Murray competed well, but neither put their foot on the ball and got it down and played.  Are we going to have another season of Chris Millar in for a game or two, out for a while, constantly on the verge of being fit but never actually being fit, or are we going to get his injury properly dealt with and get the most out of him?  Was our best player 2 seasons ago and we really miss him, but let's not go through the same thing as we did last season.
When you look at the LC semi v Aberdeen 3 years ago, we'd have played Inverness in the final.  Last season semi defeat v Hibs, we'd have played Ross County in the final. If we won last night we'd have played Morton in a semi-final!  Some great opportunities slipped by.
Still, onto Hamilton and get the title chase back on track...

Saintbear, does that mean he is on the way up or down? 

Comrie felt aggrieved when his opponent felled him , with Ref. gesturing he got the ball and waved to play on.
Whatever swear word Comrie used, it didn't meet with the Ref.'s approval and he immediately brandished a red card.
Bradley Sinclair twisted away from one opponent and was met with another who contested the ball.
The two of them kicked the ball at the same time and Bradley immediately fell to the deck screaming in agony.
There was no blame attached to the Hibs player in the 50/50 challenge.
The Hibs Lady physio is to be applauded in assisting the Saints staff in the onfield treatment of the player and assisting in helping the player onto the stretcher.    
The ten men performed admirably and should have scored thru' Connor McLaren in the second half when the ball was passed to him inside the box and for some reason he failed to shoot and was dispossed by a barge in the back.
Saints were made to pay for it when Hibs broke up the left and swung a high cross to the unmarked lanky Oli Shaw who looped a header high past keeper McKenzie's flailing right hand.
Saints were giving as good as they got and neat passing was getting them into enemy territory, with Eoghan McCawl and Paul Simpson starring.
Saints were rightly awarded a penalty when a Hibs player used two hands to push a Saints player in the back as he was on the point of connecting with a crossball. Surprisingly the Hibs player was not booked.
McCawl's weak spot kick was easily saved as the keeper dived to his right.
Saints got a second spotkick when a perfectly flighted cross from the left to the back post was intercepted by the raised hand of a Hibs defender. Amazingly the Ref. AGAIN failed to produce his yellow card.
This time George Hunter took the kick sending the keeper one way and the ball the other, high into the net.
This was no more than their spirited display deserved. 
Hibs were in a lot of possession without looking particularly dangerous as the ten men refused to give in.
A draw was probably a fair result, but how Saints will rue the penalty miss.
 
 
 
 

The players seem to have found a second wind. We looked lethargic but, the blip against Thistle aside, the results and performances have generally been very positive since the Motherwell win.
Would be quite surprised if we don't make top 6 now. We might need to grind out another result (we might not even need that with the way the teams are all taking points off one another) but we've got the fight back again and we're playing against the worst 2 teams in the league.
Looking at the league table, we're clearly a better team than Dundee and Partick Thistle. Yet, in the 6 league matches against them, we have picked up 1 point. They seem to be our kryptonite this season - if we'd recorded better head to heads against both, chances are we'd be in a battle with Hearts for 3rd.

Great thread for us oldies.  I remember him more as a left half - and the team announcement over the tannoy "Little, Ferguson and R. McKinven" as amateur players were afforded the courtesy of having their initials listed, to distinguish them from the pros.  He came to Saints in 1959 from Queens Park (thanks to Jim Slater's excellent 'Who's Who of St Johnstone').  In 1960 he played for Middlesex Wanderers, a selected amateur team assembled from all over the UK as preparation for GB's participation in the 1960 Rome Olympics, and subsequently made it to the Games along with David Holt of Queens Park and subsequently left back for Hearts and Scotland.  So presumably Saints' sole Olympian, after which he turned professional.  Left the club after a dispute - one assumes over money.
Highly regarded as skilful and thoughtful, and I recall his ability to give a surreptitious V sign behind his back to barracking fans when he was preparing to take a throw in. 

Great thread for us oldies.  I remember him more as a left half - and the team announcement over the tannoy "Little, Ferguson and R. McKinven" as amateur players were afforded the courtesy of having their initials listed, to distinguish them from the pros.  He came to Saints in 1959 from Queens Park (thanks to Jim Slater's excellent 'Who's Who of St Johnstone').  In 1960 he played for Middlesex Wanderers, a selected amateur team assembled from all over the UK as preparation for GB's participation in the 1960 Rome Olympics, and subsequently made it to the Games along with David Holt of Queens Park and subsequently left back for Hearts and Scotland.  So presumably Saints' sole Olympian, after which he turned professional.  Left the club after a dispute - one assumes over money.
Highly regarded as skilful and thoughtful, and I recall his ability to give a surreptitious V sign behind his back to barracking fans when he was preparing to take a throw in. 

so many others jumped to conclusions based from blue nose tv interview... Every article I've read today he has mentioned Saints. He was off to pick his boots up and drop a present off.  Good lad, good pay rise, cup winner legend.  He has enjoyed his time here but the time always comes to move on, unfortunately it is to Rangers but that doesn't bother me at all... its his choice, and it doesn't detract to his achievements with Saints.  Thanks for the memories Mikey!

I think that the length of time the current Saints side has been successful for has to be taken into account. The Ormond team (which I never saw) had a very brief period of doing well, but rapidly went downhill. The team of the late 90s, similarly, had one really good season but quickly started to struggle once those players started to drift away and Clark was faced with replacing them. The current era of success, on the other hand, transcends different key players, different managers, even different chairmen. It's almost as if the very environment at McDiarmid Park is what is behind the success. The era now includes becoming top 6 regulars, regularly reaching semi-finals, winning the Scottish Cup, beating Rosenborg one season and beating Luzern the next, and now topping it all off with this transformation into free-scoring entertainers who consistently come from behind to pick up points with this incredible never-say-die attitude. I've certainly never seen anything like it in my time following Saints, and I'd be surprised if anyone else has. Individually we've had plenty of better players, but we've never had a better team.
One thing I find disappointing and I feel has disappointed Tommy Wright too, has been our failure to manage serious progression in Europe. We've done so well in beating really good sides, only to fall flat against weaker ones. If we could get through two or three rounds in Europe and get into a place where we're in contention for the group stages and can go out on a high, then that would be the thing that would top it all off.
 

I thought this was interesting, since we have had such a faltering start to the season and poor defensive record.
Season     Pld     W     D     L     F     A     Pts
2014-15    10      3     0     7     7     14    9
2015-16    10      4     2     4     21    17    14
We've only conceded 3 more goals in our fist 10 league games than last season.
I do think it was at this stage that we went on to win 5 in a row (having just lost 5 in a row), but it puts our 'shaky start' into perspective for me.

I find the abuse Scoobs gets pathetic. He's a left back giving his all whenever and wherever needed.  Im sure there is no-one more annoyed with his poor header on Saturday than Tam. 
     Apart from 1 poor judgement in the last 2 games he's been rock solid. Yeah he's not Fraz or Ando but he gives 100% so that's good enough for me.   

Right outcome, good that it was acknowledged that that language won't be tolerated but at the same time realise it was naive rather than malicious. Well done. 

On the plus side, last night was Saints' first home win in normal time in European competition since beating VPS Vaasa in 1999, so progress of a sort.  Well, the straw was there to be clutched ........ 

On the plus side, last night was Saints' first home win in normal time in European competition since beating VPS Vaasa in 1999, so progress of a sort.  Well, the straw was there to be clutched ........ 

Oh my god. I actually can't believe what I am reading. From the highs of Aberdeen just a few weeks ago to this? Last night was down to a horrendous injury list. Nothing more. No team would cope with the whole midfield injured at the same time. All it highlights is a lack of depth which Tommy has always pointed out you need to be successful in Europe, cup competitions and the league campaign all together. All four midfielders won't be out for the same game every week going forward and we won't always lose both centre halves in the same game the whole midfield is already missing. Last night was just rotten luck and a bad goal conceded on the break. Disappointing yes, but give me peace with the doom and gloom.

I know that we are all disappointed with tonights result.
 
However I just wanted to thank my wee home town football club for bringing European football once again to Perth.
 
 
I was too young to remember any of the European games played at Muirton but I have been to every one at McDiarmid Park.
 
I have watched 2 UEFA cup Games (1999-2000) and 6 Europa League games (2012-2016)
 
 
 
In all the eight games I have only seen Saints defeated at home once! I feel privileged to have witnessed this achievement.
 
 
I know we have been spoiled with having such recent great successes and tonights result for me is very bitter sweet.
 
 
I just wanted to thank everybody that works so hard for our club for the great memories.
 
 
 
Im definitely going to try and keep the blue flag flying high, as I know there will be difficult times ahead.
 
 
COYS

Yes I did - see post #199.

If Spoony did live up to his true potential and always beat his man, had 20 assists a season and scored 10-15 goals then he wouldn't be playing for us and probably not another team in Scotland.
 
Yeah, he goes missing in games, looks uniterested at times and doesn't score enough but that's just the way she goes. Wouldn't swap him for any other player within our price range.
 
It just means that when he does finally score that absolute raker it will even more sweeter.
 
Boy's a Scottish Cup winning Saintee which makes him priceless.

No one at any point bashed the club staff. This is the sort of nonsense that polluted the Season Ticket thread last summer.
 
Tommy has done a fantastic job getting us into the position we're in after a turbulent summer last year. The club is very prudently run and I'm absolutely delighted to see that come to fruition again this season.
 
I think SB will acknowledge that mistakes were made last summer, but we've not paid for them (thank goodness) and we may actually end up finishing higher than we did last season, with more points and with a smaller squad.
 
He has backed the manager over the course of the season too, as the signings of the likes of McFadden and Swanson show, and the long-term contracts for our best performing players (as well as the 3 year deal at the start of the season for TW) show this. I certainly think those decisions have more than made up for last summer.
 
Steve will know himself that investment is needed for next season. Hearts and one of Rangers/Hibs in the league. One of the safety nets (St Mirren) is definitely gone, Ross County look in a much better position to build on their success over the last few months and you never know what will happen with Dundee, Hamilton and Partick Thistle.
 
We've got the base of a very good squad who should be able to cope with that, but there's huge pressure on SB and the board to allow Wright to freshen the squad up in the summer. I'm not talking wholesale changes, I mean 4 or 5 players to replace those going out, who bring more pace, energy and incisiveness to the team.
 
We're incredibly lucky to have the likes of SB & Wright at the club. They have the best interests of the club at heart (IMO anyway) and will always do what they feel is best.
 
All I ask is that the fecking season tickets come out earlier this year. Dear lord. Please!

Hearts have one major thing thats missing at Ibrox.
The players believe in the management and most importantly the fans believe in THEIR club.
They have sold out every home match since day one and have continued with their pledges etc.
The fans have turned out in droves (men,women and kids) to away games and I have not heard one bit of negativity about their behaviour.
The spotlight was on this league because the media perceived it to have 3 major players,however Hearts turned it into a procession and won it in March losing only one game narrowly along the way and scoring for fun.Congratulations Hearts....I look forward to humping you next season.

Iain Lee perhaps?  An Alex Totten 'wunderkind' who failed to live up to expectation, in contrast to David Bingham who went on to have a respectable career.

It's never easy getting bombed out of the cup & I get fan's disappointment, but like fellow postees I witnessed some uncomfortable behaviour from fans throughout the game.
To me supporter means support! There were more than a few idiots who spent the WHOLE game slagging of players & manager. No one was safe.
Tommy Wright, how long has been a manager? He's not going to be an Alec Ferguson overnight, some would say he's a miracle. Worker with successful sojourns in to Europe ...oh and a wee trophy he brought back to Perth for the first time in 130 years! On a budget the size of pea! I have never heard him really make a big deal or use the budget as an excuse for bad performances like some others would.
I don't expect anyone to agree with me, but when I think of some of the folk we could have as manager I think we are really lucky⚽️

Knew Felix quite well, he settled in Glenrothes, but sadly passed away a few years ago, really good guy

Re Caddis, if his late shot against Lucerne had gone in rather than hit the post, and his great header on Saturday had beaten the 'keeper, you do wonder if his confidence would have soared.  He looked to me on Saturday that he was very focussed on 'doing the right thing' both on and off the ball, so there wasn't much spontaneity.  In the second half he made good runs up the right  into space, but more senior players on the ball squandered possession by trying ambitious passes through the heart of the Thistle defence.

Stevie May just provided assist for Owls to go one up against Man City at Main Road.

Stevie May just provided assist for Owls to go one up against Man City at Main Road.