Next St Johnstone Manager 2024

[blueheaven]

Very impressive first couple of interviews from Valakari. You can just feel the ambition, passion and determination emanating out of him. Love how much he wants to be here, and that he's happy to openly state he wants the club to get back to winning things. There's none of that "staying up is good enough for St Johnstone" attitude that has dragged us backwards and been used as an excuse for failure over the last few years. No giving a sh*t about  all that "natural order" bollocks. No respect for the idea that certain clubs should expect to be doing better than us. This is not someone who's going to say Hibs etc should finish above us in the league. He's all about this club being as successful as it can be and I bloody love that.

Obviously it's early days and he has to prove he can walk the walk, but he's so much easier to get behind than his predecessor was and I think that will really help him. You'll never see him joking about not knowing if we're home or away in our next game, like Levein did. Everything about him says he's going to take this seriously and cover every detail.

Right now I'm very glad we've taken a chance on him rather than end up with Lynch, Leven, McCabe, Brown or Murray. None of those guys felt like the right fit to me. Instead we've gone with probably the most un-St Johnstone-like appointment imaginable, and no matter how it turns out I really like that we've done that. This is the most excited I've been about our club's future in quite some time.

[THE LARK SAINT]

1 hour ago, Ginger Bakers rebel army said:

Thats interesting, are they free tickets for adults and kids and are they Ormand stand only?

You should know better.. spelling of Ormond 😂 

[Saintdunc]

1 hour ago, blueheaven said:

Very impressive first couple of interviews from Valakari. You can just feel the ambition, passion and determination emanating out of him. Love how much he wants to be here, and that he's happy to openly state he wants the club to get back to winning things. There's none of that "staying up is good enough for St Johnstone" attitude that has dragged us backwards and been used as an excuse for failure over the last few years. No giving a sh*t about  all that "natural order" bollocks. No respect for the idea that certain clubs should expect to be doing better than us. This is not someone who's going to say Hibs etc should finish above us in the league. He's all about this club being as successful as it can be and I bloody love that.

Obviously it's early days and he has to prove he can walk the walk, but he's so much easier to get behind than his predecessor was and I think that will really help him. You'll never see him joking about not knowing if we're home or away in our next game, like Levein did. Everything about him says he's going to take this seriously and cover every detail.

Right now I'm very glad we've taken a chance on him rather than end up with Lynch, Leven, McCabe, Brown or Murray. None of those guys felt like the right fit to me. Instead we've gone with probably the most un-St Johnstone-like appointment imaginable, and no matter how it turns out I really like that we've done that. This is the most excited I've been about our club's future in quite some time.

Brilliant post BH.

I would only add, after the debacle of 3 miserable seasons.................and breathe!

It's a huge relief.

[Gekko]

 

1 hour ago, blueheaven said:

Right now I'm very glad we've taken a chance on him rather than end up with Lynch, Leven, McCabe, Brown or Murray.

That's a point, has anybody checked that Ian Murray's okay?

He has family connections you know.

[GOB10]

1 hour ago, blueheaven said:

Very impressive first couple of interviews from Valakari. You can just feel the ambition, passion and determination emanating out of him. Love how much he wants to be here, and that he's happy to openly state he wants the club to get back to winning things. There's none of that "staying up is good enough for St Johnstone" attitude that has dragged us backwards and been used as an excuse for failure over the last few years. No giving a sh*t about  all that "natural order" bollocks. No respect for the idea that certain clubs should expect to be doing better than us. This is not someone who's going to say Hibs etc should finish above us in the league. He's all about this club being as successful as it can be and I bloody love that.

Obviously it's early days and he has to prove he can walk the walk, but he's so much easier to get behind than his predecessor was and I think that will really help him. You'll never see him joking about not knowing if we're home or away in our next game, like Levein did. Everything about him says he's going to take this seriously and cover every detail.

Right now I'm very glad we've taken a chance on him rather than end up with Lynch, Leven, McCabe, Brown or Murray. None of those guys felt like the right fit to me. Instead we've gone with probably the most un-St Johnstone-like appointment imaginable, and no matter how it turns out I really like that we've done that. This is the most excited I've been about our club's future in quite some time.

Yeah absolutely agree with all this, he has a special charismatic feel to him already and thats something we are not used to at all, but like stated he needs to walk the walk.. only thing im slightly concerned about is the fact he said he will use the staff we currently have here? I really hope he brings his own staff in.. not just from the football side of things but the personal side also, I'd like him to feel at home in perth so he is happy and comfortable to do his job and without his own people around him he might struggle.

[RandomGuy]

1 hour ago, blueheaven said:

Very impressive first couple of interviews from Valakari. You can just feel the ambition, passion and determination emanating out of him. Love how much he wants to be here, and that he's happy to openly state he wants the club to get back to winning things. There's none of that "staying up is good enough for St Johnstone" attitude that has dragged us backwards and been used as an excuse for failure over the last few years. No giving a sh*t about  all that "natural order" bollocks. No respect for the idea that certain clubs should expect to be doing better than us. This is not someone who's going to say Hibs etc should finish above us in the league. He's all about this club being as successful as it can be and I bloody love that.

I do wonder if we're seeing, with Webb and Valakari, a shift in how we're perceived outside of Scotland?

Like most folk here are trapped in the 80s and believe that still decides what clubs can achieve, but we've had so much (relative) success in the past 20 years it's maybe not a surprise those who look at recent history are viewing us differently.

[blueheaven]

7 minutes ago, RandomGuy said:

I do wonder if we're seeing, with Webb and Valakari, a shift in how we're perceived outside of Scotland?

Like most folk here are trapped in the 80s and believe that still decides what clubs can achieve, but we've had so much (relative) success in the past 20 years it's maybe not a surprise those who look at recent history are viewing us differently.

It really does feel like a breath of fresh air. I know there were some understandable worries about Webb and co having so little experience of Scottish football that they wouldn't be equipped to lead us through this recruitment process, but to me it actually feels like having complete outsiders take charge was a good thing? It feels like they didn't care about established processes or the reputations/egos of guys like Scott Brown: instead, they just wanted to go through their own process and take their time to find the right person.

The previous two attempts at recruiting a new manager here just felt so tired and lazy, almost as if there was a feeling we wouldn't be able to do any better so why bother trying. On both occasions we barely looked beyond our own front door. I think there's a lot to be said for head-hunting the person you want, but maybe what we're seeing this time is that if you consider the outside applicants instead, then what you can actually find are people who are truly hungry for the challenge.

[rik2304]

21 minutes ago, blueheaven said:

It really does feel like a breath of fresh air. I know there were some understandable worries about Webb and co having so little experience of Scottish football that they wouldn't be equipped to lead us through this recruitment process, but to me it actually feels like having complete outsiders take charge was a good thing? It feels like they didn't care about established processes or the reputations/egos of guys like Scott Brown: instead, they just wanted to go through their own process and take their time to find the right person.

The previous two attempts at recruiting a new manager here just felt so tired and lazy, almost as if there was a feeling we wouldn't be able to do any better so why bother trying. On both occasions we barely looked beyond our own front door. I think there's a lot to be said for head-hunting the person you want, but maybe what we're seeing this time is that if you consider the outside applicants instead, then what you can actually find are people who are truly hungry for the challenge.

The thing is that Gus MacPherson said himself that when Davidson was sacked he personally was getting calls that same evening from guys interested.

Now they might have been your usual numpties like John Hughes but I'm sure with a bit of work they could've built up some decent ones for interviews. 

Guessing that Stevie boy couldn't be arsed.

[slf]

2 hours ago, THE LARK SAINT said:

You should know better.. spelling of Ormond 😂 

I noticed that 😃 

 

[blueheaven]

12 minutes ago, rik2304 said:

The thing is that Gus MacPherson said himself that when Davidson was sacked he personally was getting calls that same evening from guys interested.

Now they might have been your usual numpties like John Hughes but I'm sure with a bit of work they could've built up some decent ones for interviews. 

Guessing that Stevie boy couldn't be arsed.

When you think back through all that, it really does feel miraculous that we've come through it all relatively unscathed and without being relegated. Davidson was doing a horrible job by the time he was sacked, as was Macca, as was Levein, and yet we've pretty much been fine despite a lot of scares. In a way I find that encouraging as it shows you don't actually have to be very good to survive in this league. In fact, you can be absolutely rotten and still stay up. And despite the state of our squad I do think that with some organisation and a bit more of a plan we could easily find ourselves piecing together the handful of good results that would see us challenging for Top 6. We even saw that with Levein around January time last year where he briefly had us up in the Top 6 after a short run of better form.

[Linky]

All those calling for Cleland and Kirk to be sacked. If they go, it just means we have less to spend on the playing budget. If the manager is happy to work with perfectly decent coaches rather than bring in his own, then that should be applauded.

[Gekko]

Yeah, it only takes a few good results to propel you up this league.

If you do get a bit of momentum, and go for a month or two not losing and winning most games, then you're basically safe.

This is another reason why I think it's good we've made the managerial change early.

He'll have a bit of breathing space to find his feet, even if a few results don't go as planned.

A couple of good wins and we should be back within the pack.

[Papa Jack]

Ha, look at us. Couple of good interviews, some tattoos and an earing and we're top 6!! 😂

[chips]

7 hours ago, Ginger Bakers rebel army said:

Thats interesting, are they free tickets for adults and kids and are they Ormand stand only?

Not sure what stand tbh I'll find out though,we've had them before for the East AND Ormond. What I do know is the tickets can be used for adults and kids 

[Gekko]

1 hour ago, Papa Jack said:

Ha, look at us. Couple of good interviews, some tattoos and an earing and we're top 6!! 😂

It was the head coach himself who mentioned top six this year. In the video below at around 2:25.

To be honest, I prefer that to the veil of negativity that we've had over us for years.

 

[Elderslie Saint]

1 hour ago, Papa Jack said:

Ha, look at us. Couple of good interviews, some tattoos and an earing and we're top 6!! 😂

If he dyes his hair blonde I think we'll win the Scottish Cup too!

[MySpazz]

7 hours ago, blueheaven said:

 No giving a sh*t about  all that "natural order" bollocks. No respect for the idea that certain clubs should expect to be doing better than us. This is not someone who's going to say Hibs etc should finish above us in the league. He's all about this club being as successful as it can be and I bloody love that.

 

Love that. 

All about us, we and not them and they

MON THE SAINTS

Edited October 3 by MySpazz

[MySpazz]

58 minutes ago, Gekko said:

It was the head coach himself who mentioned top six this year. In the video below at around 2:25.

To be honest, I prefer that to the veil of negativity that we've had over us for years.

 

 

That Sky journalist is one of the laziest,  most negative and utterly useless interviewees i've listened to in years....he's asking him "did you make a mistake coming here" BEFORE he's taken charge of a match. What a ****ing wanker.

[MySpazz]

5 hours ago, RandomGuy said:

I do wonder if we're seeing, with Webb and Valakari, a shift in how we're perceived outside of Scotland?

Like most folk here are trapped in the 80s and believe that still decides what clubs can achieve, but we've had so much (relative) success in the past 20 years it's maybe not a surprise those who look at recent history are viewing us differently.

Good point, but also that the SPFL is a launch pad to England.

You can go from SPFL to manage in the Championship..... our coefficient is good, our infrastructure good, the football is getting there.... St Johnstone have , 16 (is it) top flight years - we are not tinpot

[R.B.B:- Adz]

5 hours ago, blueheaven said:

When you think back through all that, it really does feel miraculous that we've come through it all relatively unscathed and without being relegated.

I don’t feel unscathed and I don’t think the vast majority of our supporters feel unscathed. We are scarred and concerned.

The financial position of the club is significantly damaged.

Our reputation in ‘Scottish football circles’ is severely damaged.

Our support is disenfranchised.

 

Made even worse by the fact that since 1997/98 the club has been on a phenomenal journey between European adventures, league finishes and national trophies.

I feel like battered! 

Edited October 3 by R.B.B:- Adz

[RandomGuy]

In the past a "bad spell" was spending 5+ years outside the top flight.

Now it's finishing 11th-9th-10th.

[dave mc]

Tiernan Lynch saying he’s unfinished business at Larne,as the reason  for him not coming,understandable if true.

[MySpazz]

4 minutes ago, dave mc said:

Tiernan Lynch saying he’s unfinished business at Larne,as the reason  for him not coming,understandable if true.

Who cares. 

Think we have a better leader.

[RandomGuy]

Great article in The Courier about this.

Way I've read it is...

- Tommy Wright didnt show an interest in the job or would've been in the running

- Valakari and Scott Brown interviewed last Wednesday, Browns side leaked his name

- Brown told them he was inclined to stay at Ayr but wanted to sleep on, "second attempt" at getting him was just checking he hadn't changed his mind after he'd slept on it

- Lynch/Leven interviewed last Friday, Leven wasn't considered after the interview

- Lynch and Valakari approached over wage demands

- Lynch wage, plus his two assistants who he wouldn't move without, was deemed a massive expense and not worth it due to his CV compared to Valakari 

- Valakari agreed everything in principle but wanted to wait until after Rigas weekend game before leaving 

[Broggy Man]

5 hours ago, Papa Jack said:

Ha, look at us. Couple of good interviews, some tattoos and an earing and we're top 6!! 😂

Not really if the players are shit their shit no matter what the manager says