Thoughts on Season Ahead?

[Aitchy]

I think its hard to make a true judgement until we have concluded all our transfer business. The reality is that we are not the biggest attraction to players. We don't pay particular high wages, don't get the biggest crowds and are located outside the central belt. At this moment, players will still be waiting to see what other options are available before signing with us.

Its evident from the early business that Davidson is keen to avoid a repeat of last season where he signed players like Muller and Dendoncker who had no knowledge of the league and very few career appearances. Considine, Wright and Carey should all do a job, but none of them are exactly inspiring and I would prefer us to be looking at bringing in younger players who perhaps have more hunger and who we could hopefully sell on after a couple of seasons, although I take Davidsons point about needing to replace the experience of Liam Craig and Craig Bryson in the dressing room.

I am disappointed we have not yet brought in a goalkeeper. Would have been ideal to get someone in before we jetted off to Spain so that he could start building a relationship and understanding with the players in front of him. Defensively I think we will be fine. I think Cleary will be better for the games he played last season and I am excited to see how Mahon and Gallacher develop. Midfield still concerns me, I think we need to get a player in there who is comfortable on the ball and can spot a pass. Not easy to find, but a player in the mould of Paul Sheerin or Jody Morris would be ideal. I felt watching us last season that we conceded possession to easy and didn't have a calming influence in the middle of the park. I though MacPherson started to look more comfortable towards the end of the season and hope he can kick on, as its evident that he has some qualities that could benefit us. Likewise, be interesting to see how Hallberg progresses after a full pre season.

Attacking wise, I think we need to add some real quality. They are both club legends and have done great for us in the past, but I dont see any merit in having May or O'Halloran in the squad anymore. Easier said than done considering both will be on a decent wage, but I would be looking to move both on and freshen things up. Lack of goals have been an issue throughout Davidsons time in charge, so hopefully he can try to improve on this by bringing in better quality up front and also being more flexible with the system, particularly in home games, so that we can pose more of a threat up top. 

The return of Wotherspoon and Kane will be a massive positive, but given length of time both have been out, they will likely need a few games to get up to speed.

[pezza70]

49 minutes ago, Aitchy said:

I think its hard to make a true judgement until we have concluded all our transfer business. The reality is that we are not the biggest attraction to players. We don't pay particular high wages, don't get the biggest crowds and are located outside the central belt. At this moment, players will still be waiting to see what other options are available before signing with us.

Its evident from the early business that Davidson is keen to avoid a repeat of last season where he signed players like Muller and Dendoncker who had no knowledge of the league and very few career appearances. Considine, Wright and Carey should all do a job, but none of them are exactly inspiring and I would prefer us to be looking at bringing in younger players who perhaps have more hunger and who we could hopefully sell on after a couple of seasons, although I take Davidsons point about needing to replace the experience of Liam Craig and Craig Bryson in the dressing room.

I am disappointed we have not yet brought in a goalkeeper. Would have been ideal to get someone in before we jetted off to Spain so that he could start building a relationship and understanding with the players in front of him. Defensively I think we will be fine. I think Cleary will be better for the games he played last season and I am excited to see how Mahon and Gallacher develop. Midfield still concerns me, I think we need to get a player in there who is comfortable on the ball and can spot a pass. Not easy to find, but a player in the mould of Paul Sheerin or Jody Morris would be ideal. I felt watching us last season that we conceded possession to easy and didn't have a calming influence in the middle of the park. I though MacPherson started to look more comfortable towards the end of the season and hope he can kick on, as its evident that he has some qualities that could benefit us. Likewise, be interesting to see how Hallberg progresses after a full pre season.

Attacking wise, I think we need to add some real quality. They are both club legends and have done great for us in the past, but I dont see any merit in having May or O'Halloran in the squad anymore. Easier said than done considering both will be on a decent wage, but I would be looking to move both on and freshen things up. Lack of goals have been an issue throughout Davidsons time in charge, so hopefully he can try to improve on this by bringing in better quality up front and also being more flexible with the system, particularly in home games, so that we can pose more of a threat up top. 

The return of Wotherspoon and Kane will be a massive positive, but given length of time both have been out, they will likely need a few games to get up to speed.

With no replacement for Hendry then I think May and MoH are going to be playing more games then sitting on the bench.

is there an out and out striker in the youth team that won the cup that could be fast fast tracked during the group stages of the league cup?

we are going to have to pull the old rabbit out of a hat for someone up front

[SaintJet]

Disappointed to see such doom and gloom from the site even if the evidence points to a season of struggle.

I'm hoping that we can get a decent shape sorted out for the team and play to that strength. I think Drey will find his old form and be a good addition to our wide play. I absolutely believe we will be better in defense and Captain Liam will be have us well marshalled.

I guess I'm also hoping that we can see McPherson kick on a bit and Crawford start playing consistantly. 

We definitely need to find someone to help Kane up front and we have to get a decent quality goalkeeper from somewhere.

I agree the season ahead for us is a bit of a Johnny Nash but if we can determine an identity and I believe that has to be the old Saints of a few season back working hard off the ball being a tough team to play agaisnt we might just surprise ourselves.

[Pat McGroin]

52 minutes ago, pezza70 said:

With no replacement for Hendry then I think May and MoH are going to be playing more games then sitting on the bench.

is there an out and out striker in the youth team that won the cup that could be fast fast tracked during the group stages of the league cup?

we are going to have to pull the old rabbit out of a hat for someone up front

Callum Hendry mentioned that Bair was possibly the best athlete he had worked with and had all the attributes to make it in Scotland. 
 

Hoping that proves to be true. 

[sixties saintee]

20 hours ago, south inch said:

Only snag with your outlook is will the rest of the troops stay loyal?

Loyal ??, go wash your mouth out

[aagb1884]

Will be delighted with 10th

[pezza70]

14 minutes ago, SaintJet said:

Disappointed to see such doom and gloom from the site even if the evidence points to a season of struggle.

I'm hoping that we can get a decent shape sorted out for the team and play to that strength. I think Drey will find his old form and be a good addition to our wide play. I absolutely believe we will be better in defense and Captain Liam will be have us well marshalled.

I guess I'm also hoping that we can see McPherson kick on a bit and Crawford start playing consistantly. 

We definitely need to find someone to help Kane up front and we have to get a decent quality goalkeeper from somewhere.

I agree the season ahead for us is a bit of a Johnny Nash but if we can determine an identity and I believe that has to be the old Saints of a few season back working hard off the ball being a tough team to play agaisnt we might just surprise ourselves.

I wouldn’t say doom and gloom but maybe just a few people seeing it a bit differently.

if you look at the modern day saintees from Luggy through to CD, there were a few keys that we always had starting from a quality keeper, currently we don’t have that.

Out central defence has always been our strength from Weir and Kerne to Dods through to Griffith to Anderson, our teams always were very hard to break down. This looks like it’s our current strength so hopefully we can prove hard to breakdown.

Thinking  of our midfield players like Curran, Kano, Phizzy, Dasovic, Biscuits, Jenkinson just to name a few, our current squad are missing a few hard nose players, our midfield is going to lean heavily on Davidson , spooney and Melke.

As for up front we don’t have a Roddy, O’Boyle, Wright, Dodds even a Scotland, this is the issue we have May, Etu, Bair of those players CD doesn’t rate two of them and Kane and MoH best position maybe playing just behind our front striker.
 

the positives are we do have a defensive line who if fit can hold the line, in Melke we have a quality mid fielder who can lead us out on the pitch pushing forward, it’s not all doom but gee we are going to have to jag someone who can come out of the blue like a miggy who can score goals which we were not counting on.

COYS

[rik2304]

Drey's old form contributed two goals. 

The positive signs for MacPherson improving? He didn't look as dreadful as usual against a not great Caley side.

Presumably Considine has been signed to play so who drops out? ( As long as he's fit of course. ) Mahon probably. So his signing was a waste of money. 

And to replace Middleton? Carey who is 33 now. 

Edited June 27, 2022 by rik2304

[blueheaven]

I'm generally pretty glass-half-full when it comes to Saints, but last season really sucked the positivity right out of me and I haven't seen any changes since then to reverse that feeling.

I really hope Callum Davidson proves me wrong but I just think his inflexibility, lack of ideas and transfer market problems will see us really struggle next season and by the time the club does anything about it (if they even do) we'll be playing catch-up and we'll once again set ourselves up for a panicky January transfer window.

Looking at our rivals, I normally don't worry too much about other clubs' transfer dealings as it always feels like the other clubs are out-spending us and being more proactive than us at this time of year, and until last season we've generally always been OK. But this summer it does really feel like clubs like Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen are pushing the boat out a bit, and St Mirren signing Declan Gallagher feels like a real eyebrow-raiser. I'm worried we're losing ground on these teams, and last season's performance has really harmed our ability to compete with them when it comes to attracting new faces.

I do think we'll still see at least three or four new faces come in before the transfer window closes, but I'm very sceptical about whether they'll be adequate replacements for the ones who've left. And what we need is for our new players to actually be better than the ones who have left. I just don't see that happening.

[That_Dave]

I think this will be a weird season, but am optimistic.

Firstly, the World Cup will make it weird. I suspect whoever is doing poorly in November will sack the manager, having a month to work with the players before starting again in December, and then a few matches to determine priorities for the transfer window. This will mean that some teams who struggle at first become stronger, and some teams who start strongly could be sucked into trouble. What happens in November is as important as what happens in the summer in many ways.

In terms of optimism, I think there were a string of misfortunates which impacted the quality of football, rather results. Take away that period in November/December when Rooney and Zander were both out, when we lost 7 on the bounce, and there was a much-about-muchness between ourselves and the rest. Had we taken points at the rate we did across the rest of the season during that period (and taken some off others) we could have finished 8th. Of course though, every team would have done much better if they didn't have their weakest run. (Not to mention a whole season without Rooney and Zander beckons.)

The standard of play was poor, but there were issues with the players offering attacking quality. Rooney was excellent when fit, but missed much of the season, and was playing at centre back at times which limited his attacking play. Wotherspoon offers quality but missed practically the whole season. Kane looked good, if not lethal, and Hendry's return covered up how much he was missed. Losing two defensive minded players on transfer deadline day, too late to react, didn't help - had they stayed, and Rooney remained out wide with O'Halloran in front of him how different might the season have looked?

Including Wotherspoon, losing three key players in late August was a disaster, and injuries to the better players made that worse. I think Davidson actually did well considering those issues - the January signings took time to bed in, but Hallberg looks like a very exciting player.

Last season seemed to always be about fighting fires, rather than putting plans into operation. The quality of matches wasn't great, but that poor run aside the results were there and not too far off the rest. I think the loss of big earners will open the door for new players, building a squad around the style of play wanted and a season of better performances. Whilst many players underperformed last season, that was partly due to reacting to circumstances and trying to play a style of football which might not be suited to their games. I suspect many of those who got a lot of criticism last year might flourish this season with a different style of game.

[Cleveland-Saint]

We need to score goals and stop goals, until those areas have been addressed, not feeling good here.

Last season was the worst I've ever watched as a Saintee, needed eye bleach after most games. The great news is we stayed up, can only imagine what kind of nightmare we would be dealing with player wise if we had dropped. Maybe we have some momentum as a club and belief having stayed up and with Spooner/Kano back we have two great stalwarts who can drive the passion.

I'm worried about the broad cross-section of concern on here, most are you are far stronger technically than I am. Despite the ribbing people get, this forum to me has always been a good barometer on where we sit and usually not that far off the truth.

[Linky]

St. Mirren are signing some quality players and will be looking for a top 6 place. It really leaves us, Ross, Kilmarnock & maybe Killie towards the bottom.

[R.B.B:- Adz]

28 minutes ago, Linky said:

St. Mirren are signing some quality players and will be looking for a top 6 place. It really leaves us, Ross, Kilmarnock & maybe Killie towards the bottom.

Best chance of finishing above relegation slots is by having 2 Kilmarnocks in the league right enough 

[outatimecow]

Very worried about the upcoming season. Every other team appears to be adding quality and we don't have a Dundee to save us from automatic relegation. Unless Bair comes good and we add some real quality up top it's going to be a longgggg season.  I don't think we could have asked for a worst start to the season than the first 5 games. How long does Davidson get?

Hibs (H)
Motherwell (A)
Rangers (A)
Aberdeen (H)
Hearts (A)

[blueheaven]

2 hours ago, R.B.B:- Adz said:

Best chance of finishing above relegation slots is by having 2 Kilmarnocks in the league right enough 

I don't see that at all. I think Killie made a fantastic move in bringing McInnes in as manager (the move Saints should have made), and he'll have them challenging for Top 6.

[R.B.B:- Adz]

20 hours ago, blueheaven said:

I don't see that at all. I think Killie made a fantastic move in bringing McInnes in as manager (the move Saints should have made), and he'll have them challenging for Top 6.

Fraser Murray and Liam Polworth are the only two players I would take to join Saints.

Ash Taylor as a back up for Liam Gordon at a push. 
 

Lewis Mayo might end up being a decent signing for them if he gets a run of games.

 

Lafferty (35)

Burke (38)

 

 

[tucker]

McInnes brought in some tremendous signings during his time at Saints,cuptie muzz,midge Jody dubs.

Think clallums signings are more John Connolly era desperate uninspired and will loose him his job eventually 

[garydavidson]

5 hours ago, tucker said:

McInnes brought in some tremendous signings during his time at Saints,cuptie muzz,midge Jody dubs.

Think clallums signings are more John Connolly era desperate uninspired and will loose him his job eventually 

Callum aligns with Sandy Clark - tremendous success with someone else's squad and then struggled to replace important aspects of it.

[Radford 72]

1 hour ago, garydavidson said:

Callum aligns with Sandy Clark - tremendous success with someone else's squad and then struggled to replace important aspects of it.

Then ultimately wasn't sacked quickly enough to reverse a slump that led to an embarrassing relegation...

There are definitely echos of 2001/02 looming. 

[Shaggy Jenkins]

53 minutes ago, Radford 72 said:

Then ultimately wasn't sacked quickly enough to reverse a slump that led to an embarrassing relegation...

There are definitely echos of 2001/02 looming. 

The second we signed Effe I have had those vibes and its only getting stronger.  Good players in there day, supposedly trusted options...... ultimately coming to us just to late in their careers 

Kembele, Falconer, Darren Jackson.........Roy

[blueheaven]

15 hours ago, R.B.B:- Adz said:

Fraser Murray and Liam Polworth are the only two players I would take to join Saints.

Ash Taylor as a back up for Liam Gordon at a push. 
 

Lewis Mayo might end up being a decent signing for them if he gets a run of games.

 

Lafferty (35)

Burke (38)

 

They could easily be said to have worse players than us on paper, and yet still go on to finish comfortably above us in the league. My feeling is that McInnes is a really strong manager and I think he'll get the best out of his squad by organising and motivating them and making the right changes at the right times. As we all know from the last few years of watching Saints, success on the pitch is about a lot more than just the individuals you have. We've often outperformed teams who have had arguably better players than us over the last decade or so.

 

2 hours ago, garydavidson said:

Callum aligns with Sandy Clark - tremendous success with someone else's squad and then struggled to replace important aspects of it.

Definitely seeing some similarities between Davidson's time and Clark's time, although I'd add that Sandy Clark managed to hold things together for quite a bit longer before the wheels came off. Davidson has had one fantastic season followed by one horrendous one. Clark finished 3rd, then 5th, and in his third season we were sitting comfortably mid-table until December when the O'Boyle/Thomas saga happened and our season completely collapsed (and we ended up finishing 10th). We then had a disastrous transfer window leading into an awful season and he was sacked in September (and replaced by someone even worse, which is hopefully also something the club learned from).

[Tricky6]

https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/sport/football/hearts-hibs-premiership-prediction-supercomputer-24346082
 

This supercomputer has obviously never seen us play!

Has County being relegated and St Mirren in the play-off…sadly think it’ll be very wrong… 

[Dave H]

Preparing for a relegation dog fight from week 1.  Just hope it's more than a 2 team dog fight at bottom, squeaky bum last season.  Fixtures now all look tricky..   

I predict too many draws, not enough wins for the season.

[slf]

Pizza for sale at the pie stall would be Braw.

 

[Oldmuirton]

Lot of doom and gloom about but I plan to be optimistic until events prove I am deluding myself. Come on ye Saints!!