Stevie May

[millerman]

Exactly.

I've watched Aberdeen five times this season. Zola is horrendous. I suspect the only reason McInnes persists in playing him is because he signed him in the summer, so to ditch him this soon after is tantamount to an admission of failure. He's absolutely howling.

As to the other point, if diddy English teams want to start flinging silly money at decidedly average players from the Scottish Premiership, Kari Arnason being a case in point, then more fool them. The problem arises when they start to believe they can offer peanuts for genuinely talented boys and we should simply be grateful for it. It's absolute ignorance.

David Goodwillie went to Blackburn for more than 2 million. His goal record was nowhere near as good as May's and in terms of all-round play there's simply no comparison. Okay, that was a freak bid, fair enough, but Dundee United played it beautifully and laughed all the way to the bank.

Even Johnny Russell, who someone else has mentioned, and who is a far superior player to Goodwillie, went for 700k with a year to go on his deal - and that figure was artificially low because his agent went public on things that weakened United's bargaining position.

May is - despite the ramblings of some - miles better than Goodwillie ever was and his strike rate suggests he's far more effective than Russell.

He'll be going nowhere in January unless someone from a better league than League One - where journeymen SPFL players go to pick up a pay check - offers silly money.

 

To be fair, I brought up Kari Arnason due to the fact he was well thought of at Aberdeen, came to us in League Two (not for 5k a week), and has since been a key player consistently for Iceland who got to the brink of World Cup qualification.  He isn't our best player, we have better, younger players in our team, who Championship clubs are making enquiries about.

 

I think we can agree on the fact that there are teams in League One, who are better than some teams in the SPL, and there are teams in the SPL who are better than some teams above League One.  We could argue all day about poor standard players making it in the SPL and vice versa and drag out many examples.

 

We have reportedly made a bid for May (unconfirmed), and hopefully we can get him as it sounds like he would be a fantastic signing.  Unfortunately, the top and bottom of it, is that money means everything in football.  Inflated transfer fees or bargain buys are common place.  It has already been said that an offer of around 500k would be accepted, I don't know if that would or would not fit into our budget, or what wage he is on or what we would offer him, but I certainly do think an ambitious club like ours would benefit any young player wanting the most out of his career.

[Honest Saints Fan]

He would get more benefit from staying at Saints than he would going to Rotherham.

[AthensSaint]

It is good to see a relatively "small" team like Rotherham having ambition. Maybe we are similar, as we are both at the present time punching above our weights (looking at one hundred plus years of history). So I have no worries that The Miller fans covet our young starlet. The huge injection of cash in the lower leagues seems to a certain extent given them illusions of granduer though. Rotherham might have bigger crowds, more cash.......but lets be honest on a one to one we would cuff them.     

[AthensSaint]

Anyone know what their bid was ??????

[Broon]

Anyone know what their bid was ??????

I believe it was embarrassing.

[jhq]

Wow, well..

 

It makes me laugh that you're trying to label us 'small' when our average attendance is nearly 3 times yours! and in the top 10 in a league (lets be honest) that is considerably better than the SPL. You can compare the players that haven't played well for you, but are playing (or have played) well in league 1. The argument can be recycled over and over, example being Calvin Zola. Had 1/2 decent seasons for an over achieving Burton Albion in league 2, now main striker for Aberdeen. It's all swings and roundabouts.

 

Obviously nobody knows if this linking us with Stevie May is speculation or actually has something about it, there's no need to try and disrespect our club, just cause you believe he's "championship/lower prem" quality!

 

Yes, you did beat Rosenborg (great achievement) but you also lost to a team no ones ever heard of, in a competiton no one cares about.

 

Moral of the story, don't think you're a bigger club than anyone in league 1, cause you're not

Poor post.  While the other Rotherham fan comes across as a decent guy who genuinely wants some information, you come across as another Englishman who knows nothing about Scottish football, but has decided it's not very good.  as for the "competition no-one cares about" - how often have your team played in it?  And just watch how little your English clubs care about it this season, now that it carries a Champions league place for the winner.

 

Whether we are a bigger club than any in League One is a matter of conjecture - but we definitely have a better team than most clubs in the division.

[millerman]

It is good to see a relatively "small" team like Rotherham having ambition. Maybe we are similar, as we are both at the present time punching above our weights (looking at one hundred plus years of history). So I have no worries that The Miller fans covet our young starlet. The huge injection of cash in the lower leagues seems to a certain extent given them illusions of granduer though. Rotherham might have bigger crowds, more cash.......but lets be honest on a one to one we would cuff them.     

 

We have spent most of our history at League One level, and in my 30 years of watching, have had spells in the second tier and the bottom tier, so we're definitely not 'punching above our weights'.  I'm not sure if we're a relatively small team.  We have no crippling debts, a state of the art stadium, an ambitious chairman, backed by wealthy directors and improving attendances.  We have suffered through poor financial management, and local sides doing better than us, but with the current ambition being shown, and the potential increase of support from a population of a quarter of a million, we should be able to improve our stature in the game.  I would consider a small club as one who struggles for attendances, and has to sell players cheaply to make ends meet, hoping to survive in the division they are in.

 

I think the general consensus amongst our supporters at present is, if Swansea, Blackpool, Hull, Reading, Wigan and other similar sized teams can do it, why can't we?  We don't particularly suffer from illusions of grandeur.  We have local neighbours at Hillsborough who are far more adept at that.

 

I see your manager has denied we made an offer, but said he had spoken to Steve Evans, so make of that what you will.  Maybe he told us that May's not for sale.  Maybe he gave a ball park figure for an offer to be considered.  Time will tell.

[jhq]

Because I watch matches outwith Saints games, and Gauld is tremendous in every match, despite only being 17. 

 

And Goodwillie was better, yet never moved to the Premiership, so was Russell who never moved to the Premiership. They way you talk its as if his next move will be to the Premiership. Which simply won't happen unless Wigan get promoted again and take a gamble. Theres also nothing to suggest he won't go down there and falter, its pure speculation that he'll go down there and do well. Join the wrong club and your career is stunted.

 

And I'm not trying to be "trendy" or more sensible. I'm simply being more sensible. He's only been playing in this league 3 months (excluding his pre-loan stint), I think Keigan Parker also had a similar impact in his first few months in the SPL, its far too early to be getting so excited we're tipping him to take the English Premiership by storm

 

I'm not trying to talk him down in any way, I'm trying to calm the hype around him before it gets to him, fan boys like you come along and instantly see the potential and believe he'll one day play for Manchester United and Scotland and earn millions and be a superstar. When in fact a successful career would be at a lower league EPL side and be around the Scotland squad like Steven Fletcher. It takes time either way, and its no help at all building him up to be something he might never be. Fletchers career was helped massively by all the expectation being shoved onto the shoulders of Riordan, O'Connor and Brown. I know which player I'd rather May turned out like

If you're going to post stuff like this, it may pay to do some research first.

[jhq]

We have spent most of our history at League One level, and in my 30 years of watching, have had spells in the second tier and the bottom tier, so we're definitely not 'punching above our weights'.  I'm not sure if we're a relatively small team.  We have no crippling debts, a state of the art stadium, an ambitious chairman, backed by wealthy directors and improving attendances.  We have suffered through poor financial management, and local sides doing better than us, but with the current ambition being shown, and the potential increase of support from a population of a quarter of a million, we should be able to improve our stature in the game.  I would consider a small club as one who struggles for attendances, and has to sell players cheaply to make ends meet, hoping to survive in the division they are in.

 

I think the general consensus amongst our supporters at present is, if Swansea, Blackpool, Hull, Reading, Wigan and other similar sized teams can do it, why can't we?  We don't particularly suffer from illusions of grandeur.  We have local neighbours at Hillsborough who are far more adept at that.

 

I see your manager has denied we made an offer, but said he had spoken to Steve Evans, so make of that what you will.  Maybe he told us that May's not for sale.  Maybe he gave a ball park figure for an offer to be considered.  Time will tell.

Good post.  Hope Miller2 has read this.

 

Nice to hear of a well run club, living within their means and showing a bit of ambition.

 

If our manager has denied you have made an offer, then I'd be happy to believe him.  Tommy has been very honest and transparent in his dealings with the press.

[MiguelSimao]

It has already been said that an offer of around 500k would be accepted.

 

With respect, I honestly don't think it would.

[Kyle]

With respect, I honestly don't think it would.

 

Nor do I at this stage.

 

If we still have him in January 2015 and he's not signed a new contract, we might sell him for that kind of figure.

 

Genuinely think we'd be looking for closer to a million now in all honesty, especially with all the furore about him up here.

[The Special One]

To be honest, I love Stevie may as a footballer and those who know me, know I've rated him for years but I think some peoples assumptions about a price we would sell him for need to be a bit realistic. Although this doesn't mean I think we should come up short and sell him quickly for a bit of cash

Edited November 22, 2013 by The Special One

[millerman]

Dom Howson ‏@domhowson 2h

3/3 My sources tell me #RUFC would have to pay around £500,000 for St Johnstone to even contemplate selling May. #millers

 

The above is copied from Twitter.  I assume this info is coming from somewhere, so maybe there is an element of agent courting player with the transfer window looming.

[PerthSeany]

I still feel out supporters are dreaming of us getting above a million for May.

 

 

Its just simply not going to happen.

 

No club will pay it plus we will accept a bid of £500,000 particularly if it has a few add ons in there!

 

Half a million pound to saints is A LOT of money!

[Das Rave]

If it were a 500k bid in the summer, then maybe.

 

But

 

We are halfway through a season, in a semi final and looking for top 6. I think it would take an insane bid for Saints to sell at this stage

[Miller2]

Poor post.  While the other Rotherham fan comes across as a decent guy who genuinely wants some information, you come across as another Englishman who knows nothing about Scottish football, but has decided it's not very good.  as for the "competition no-one cares about" - how often have your team played in it?  And just watch how little your English clubs care about it this season, now that it carries a Champions league place for the winner.

 

Whether we are a bigger club than any in League One is a matter of conjecture - but we definitely have a better team than most clubs in the division.

 

It was a tongue in cheek post mate, calm down

 

In all honesty though, I have watched a few SPL matches this season - albeit on sky so it's usually Celtic! I'm curious to know why majority of your fans think they would beat us in a game? how many times have you seen us play in the last couple of seasons? or league 1 football in general?

 

I'm pretty sure it's harder for us to qualify for Europa League with the money that's thrown about in the top 2 divisions in England - even you know that! I'm not taking anything away from your achievements, you must be really proud of what your team has done over the last couple of seaons, with (what I assume) is a small budget, and low support.

 

A lot of people are contradicting themselves with this Arnason debate. Yeah he has been one of our top performers, and you reckon he wasn't for Aberdeen. That doesn't suggest the SPL is better than league 1, just cos 1 player has had more success here than in the SPL! You've even stated players that have gone from being stars in the SPL to under-performing in England - visa versa.

 

Regarding Stevie May, I wouldn't read into it at all, the amount of players we get linked with is unreal! Evans reckons we have tabled a big for a player, so if you're manager is stating that they've recieved nothing, it probably won't be him.

[AthensSaint]

I think the general consensus amongst our supporters at present is, if Swansea, Blackpool, Hull, Reading, Wigan and other similar sized teams can do it, why can't we?  We don't particularly suffer from illusions of grandeur. 

You forgot to mention Portsmouth

[rik2304]

I'm curious to know why majority of your fans think they would beat us in a game?

Well,we did beat Bristol City in a pre-season friendly.

[blueheaven]

Im sorry Blueheaven but Stevie May is a better striker than Sandaza. If you have seen him in action this season you would be blown away. His touch and awareness for one so young is frightening. People watching think he just hits pot shots at goal and some go in the net as the law of averages would dictate. Rubbish, he can see things others cant, he can see a goalkeeper who is 6 inches further to the right or left at the angle they should be.

 

 

I think you might have mis-read my post, but the fact that May is a better striker than Sandaza is precisely the point I was making. And I have seen him in action - I've made it to quite a few games this year, and also watch all the TV coverage. So I agree with you - he's great! 

[Edstar101]

I think many of us north of the border undervalue the standard of the football up here.

 

We watch the Football League Show and it appears that League 1 is of a pretty high standard, and you winder how our team would compare. You then actually attend or watch a full 90min game from League 1, or play a friendly against a League 1 or Championship team, and realise that the standard in the SPFL is actually pretty decent. Same applies to the Premiership...highlights make it often appear far better than it actually is, especially mid to lower league level

 

I totally get the Europe argument from Rotherham's side of things....how can they know how they would get on against Rosenberg or Minsk as their opportunity to qualify is almost non existent? However, accepting that Celtic are a lot different to other teams in our league, they have recently beat BARCELONA and AJAX and had decent performances against other top sides in Europe. Then look at our recent performances against Celtic....have we been pistol whipped each and every game? Far from it. Now, I am of course not saying that if Celtic beat Barcelona and we beat Celtic, then we are better than Barcelona....but the point I am making is, is there a team in Rotherhams league that would come even close to achieving the results Celtic have, and if the top team in the league couldn't do that, then how can teams sitting mid table in that same league think they are much better than the teams in the SPFL that compete against Celtic?

[rik2304]

So are we better than Barca or not?

[Edstar101]

So are we better than Barca or not?

 

NO, of course not!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

(yes  )

[blueheaven]

Wow, well..

 

It makes me laugh that you're trying to label us 'small' when our average attendance is nearly 3 times yours! and in the top 10 in a league (lets be honest) that is considerably better than the SPL. You can compare the players that haven't played well for you, but are playing (or have played) well in league 1. The argument can be recycled over and over, example being Calvin Zola. Had 1/2 decent seasons for an over achieving Burton Albion in league 2, now main striker for Aberdeen. It's all swings and roundabouts.

 

Obviously nobody knows if this linking us with Stevie May is speculation or actually has something about it, there's no need to try and disrespect our club, just cause you believe he's "championship/lower prem" quality!

 

Yes, you did beat Rosenborg (great achievement) but you also lost to a team no ones ever heard of, in a competiton no one cares about.

 

Moral of the story, don't think you're a bigger club than anyone in league 1, cause you're not

 

There's a staggering level of ignorance in England towards Scottish football, which I think some of your post (and others I've just read on the Rotherham forum) reflect. Living down here, I find that many people believe Scottish football is terrible without ever watching a game, and I've also found that many people - even football fans - have either never heard of St Johnstone or assume we're in one of the lower divisions. That seems to be because many English football fans are very inward-looking and only pay attention to the game in their own country, whereas fans in Scotland follow Scottish football, English football and other football from all over the place. Most of us would readily accept that Scotland doesn't have the best league in the world, but it's nowhere near as bad as it's perceived in England.

 

I'm not too bothered about which club is "bigger" - it's a fairly meaningless term that doesn't really have any definition. Besides, we're all well aware of the fact that St Johnstone are a small club. It doesn't matter - Rotherham are a small club too. But the reason Rotherham (and many other English clubs) get bigger crowds than Saints is simply because they come from a far, far bigger town. It's not a reflection of some great achievement on the part of the football club - it's just basic numbers. Rotherham has a population of 117,000. Perth has a population of 44,000. But Saints have an opportunity to do well in Cups and play in Europe, which is something Rotherham and other clubs at that level just cannot offer a player.

 

I've been to quite a lot of League One matches, and I can promise you that I haven't witnessed any particular step up in class from the SPL. The mis-placed passes, skewed shots and mistakes at the back are just as present in the English lower leagues as they are in the SPL - and the number of people sitting in the stands or amount of money the players are getting isn't going to change that. From what I've seen, I think Saints at their best would be at the top end of League One or lower end of the Championship.  We can beat Rosenborg, we can beat Celtc - I suspect we'd be able to beat Rotherham. 

[AthensSaint]

When I was living in London (Surrey) I watched Brentford a lot. It was a great day out and a cracking club but the football standard was dire. Though I am sure Rotherham are far better ????

 

Also are Peterborough not a bit more of a glamour club and championship yo-yo team.  If Stevie laughed them off, what chance have some dire team from South Yorkshire going to have in attracting him ??? 

[Oldermoresensiblepack]

It is good to see a relatively "small" team like Rotherham having ambition. Maybe we are similar, as we are both at the present time punching above our weights (looking at one hundred plus years of history). So I have no worries that The Miller fans covet our young starlet. The huge injection of cash in the lower leagues seems to a certain extent given them illusions of granduer though. Rotherham might have bigger crowds, more cash.......but lets be honest on a one to one we would cuff them.     

The cash they splash isn't from their attendances though it's from sky tv. If these clubs had to rely on cash generated solely from their crowds they would as skint as us up here. IMHO.