Change required?

[Ritspeed]

Thought I'd start a new topic on this as some of the posts in the Hibernian thread were getting a bit off track.

My own thoughts: believing our fortunes would improve markedly with a change of owners, board and management is a bit like me believing that a change to some fantoosh new boots would turn me into a world class player. (plus a pill to reduce my age by 50 years)!

Following the Brown era ending, sadly not on a high, we are in transition.  I retain faith in the new owners, Board  - and Valakari.  Yes, improvements can and should be made but I believe the foundations for these improvements is now in place.  So long as I see positive progress I'm disinclined to pass harsher judgement until season 2026/27 i.e. the season after next, whichever division we're in. (No, I don't think we'd drop straight through to division 1).

 

[Willie Peat]

Agree. My father used to have an an expression that "fools and bairns shouldn't criticise half-done work"!  In my opinion there is a work in progress and it isn't anywhere near "half-done" yet.

[slf]

Spare clean underpants and bottle of voddy should suffice.

all aboard the down elevator.

 

brace yersel for some turbulence oooer

[blueheaven]

27 minutes ago, Ritspeed said:

Thought I'd start a new topic on this as some of the posts in the Hibernian thread were getting a bit off track.

My own thoughts: believing our fortunes would improve markedly with a change of owners, board and management is a bit like me believing that a change to some fantoosh new boots would turn me into a world class player. (plus a pill to reduce my age by 50 years)!

Following the Brown era ending, sadly not on a high, we are in transition.  I retain faith in the new owners, Board  - and Valakari.  Yes, improvements can and should be made but I believe the foundations for these improvements is now in place.  So long as I see positive progress I'm disinclined to pass harsher judgement until season 2026/27 i.e. the season after next, whichever division we're in. (No, I don't think we'd drop straight through to division 1).

 

Pretty much agree with this. I have no appetite at all for yet another overhaul and strongly feel we need to give Simo a fair chance to rebuild. This whole depressing season and all of its baggage is a weight around everyone's necks, but I'm confident he'll shake things up over the summer, clear out a lot of dead wood, bring in some exciting signings, and impose a playing style that is more solid and more effective. I'm looking forward to seeing how all of that plays out.

That said, if things go badly I disagree with holding off until 2026/27 to do anything about it. For me, once the summer has passed and we're into the guts of next season, we need to see signs of his project actually working and taking us in the right direction (and that's regardless of what division we're in).

 

[CAH]

Well as I have said previously he is a nice chap and we are a nice wee club so let's just go with the flow (downstream)!

As for the Owner/ Board, they are just a misunderstood bunch of gents who do not really mean to disrespect the fans or muck up everything they touch ( ticket sales/ midden of a pitch etc.) so lets just leave them to get on with their real work (planning permission for hotel/ housing etc?).

 

[Kat71]

4 minutes ago, CAH said:

Well as I have said previously he is a nice chap and we are a nice wee club so let's just go with the flow (downstream)!

As for the Owner/ Board, they are just a misunderstood bunch of gents who do not really mean to disrespect the fans or muck up everything they touch ( ticket sales/ midden of a pitch etc.) so lets just leave them to get on with their real work (planning permission for hotel/ housing etc?).

 

Have to agree with what you think the new owner is all about. I would give Simo more time as long as we can see improvement and a willingness to change things if it’s not working.

[blueheaven]

12 minutes ago, CAH said:

Well as I have said previously he is a nice chap and we are a nice wee club so let's just go with the flow (downstream)!

As for the Owner/ Board, they are just a misunderstood bunch of gents who do not really mean to disrespect the fans or muck up everything they touch ( ticket sales/ midden of a pitch etc.) so lets just leave them to get on with their real work (planning permission for hotel/ housing etc?).

 

Do you have any actual reason for accusing the board of wanting to turn the land into housing? If that's their goal, why are they bothering to spend money on improvements to the stadium?

If all they want to do is develop land, then would it not have been a lot easier (and cheaper) for them to just buy some of the many fields in the nearby area?

 

[pezza70]

This has been building for almost two years, from the way S Brown ran the club into the ground to the last minute selling of two of our best players in the window to how we stayed up last year with our lack of goal scoring was a miracle.

If we go down our squad is going to need another major overhaul as I presume none of the players on loan will be sent to a championship level club.

i think Simo should be given next season to see what he can do with a pre season and another window.

I hope the board don’t lose interest in the club if we go down as we are heading into the championship where its dog eat dog footy week in, week out 

[rik2304]

We'll see pretty quickly if it looks like an immediate promotion is on the cards. If we're struggling early then a decision must be made quickly and ruthlessly.

[Gekko]

I agree with others that the last thing we need is yet another managerial change.

Saturday was bad, but overall, progress has been made. The table from the start of the year shows that.

It was never going to be an overnight fix.

In my view, Simo needs at least another couple of windows to find out if his ideas are working.

That is unless, as Rik mentions, it's plainly obvious from early on next season that it's not working.

I get the feeling that he's learning as he goes on, just as much as the players are.

We all know that this season has been three, arguably four years in the making.

Calum inherited a well balanced, youthful and skilful squad.

It would have been interesting to find out what Valakari could have done with that team.

[Kinnoull Kicker]

1 hour ago, CAH said:

Well as I have said previously he is a nice chap and we are a nice wee club so let's just go with the flow (downstream)!

As for the Owner/ Board, they are just a misunderstood bunch of gents who do not really mean to disrespect the fans or muck up everything they touch ( ticket sales/ midden of a pitch etc.) so lets just leave them to get on with their real work (planning permission for hotel/ housing etc?).

 

Where exactly is the evidence for your comment regarding the owner?

Since taking ownership, he has fired Levein after giving him some time to improve matters, indentified and appointed a new manager, made funds available to the new manager to bring players in and get rid of some of the dead wood - all in the most difficult transfer window. Started investing in the stadium, appointed a new CEO and new Board members. Has during this short period undergone treatment for cancer and is still recovering. 
 

Yes we would all have liked to see us in a better league position. We  are in a cup semi final with the financial benefits that will bring. Have mistakes been made along the way ?- absolutely but for gods sake give the man some credit for what he has achieved  in a short period of time notwithstanding his serious illness. He made it clear when he first arrived that his focus was on preserving premiership status though recognising it would be very difficult and to improve the commercial side of the business. If relegation happens I would far rather have the clubs future in his hands than Steve Brown’s

Rather than making crass remarks how giving constructive criticism and suggested solutions.

 

 

[CAH]

Wow! I've certainly got some of you all going which was in fact my intention.

As regards constructive criticism that's exactly what I have put forward (hotel/ houses ect. get it? 😁)

As regards concrete 😁 evidence there is none (yet😁).

I am fully aware that the silent/ sleepy majority will acquiesce and not want to rock the boat but some of us take our football seriously and do not wish to simply roll over and slide into even deeper mediocrity!!!!

[Linky]

We're going down, but need to give the manager to chance to overhaul in the summer and see where that leaves us. Some high earners will be coming to the end of their contracts, and it should be a chance to bring in some new players. We need to come straight back up.

[blueheaven]

42 minutes ago, CAH said:

Wow! I've certainly got some of you all going which was in fact my intention.

As regards constructive criticism that's exactly what I have put forward (hotel/ houses ect. get it? 😁)

As regards concrete 😁 evidence there is none (yet😁).

I am fully aware that the silent/ sleepy majority will acquiesce and not want to rock the boat but some of us take our football seriously and do not wish to simply roll over and slide into even deeper mediocrity!!!!

So you don't have a single reason that you can put forward for your opinion about the owner/board? It's basically just a general distrust of outsiders and you'd be saying exactly the same thing now regardless of who had taken over?

[PerthSaint01]

Sorry but also… if the owners want to better utilise the land around the stadium to bring in increased revenue to the club… then I’m all for it.

[Zorro's 'tache]

My tuppence…

Simo got the job thanks to an impressive interview where his character and vision shone through. He must’ve emphasised that his team would play out from the back and be possession based, which obviously impressed those involved in the recruitment process.

And here’s where I’ll differ from most fans. I firmly believe that this obsession with possession has lead us to the brink of relegation.

David Martindale said he was delighted Carey wasn’t starting in the cup tie as he was the one player who could produce something special. I think that sums us up- we’re never going to pass through teams and need something of individual quality to win games.

This has to be one of the most boring Saints teams I’ve ever watched, creating next to nothing and gifting goals from losing the ball 25 yards from our goal. We must be so easy to play against both tactically and physically on the park.

Aberdeen have picked up more points recently from going direct. I also get the impression there are plenty fans who’ll quite happily sit at crappy championship stadia next season and pontificate at how vastly superior we are to our opponents while we struggle for a 0-1 win playing the ball around our defence and midfield while going nowhere. 
Remember when football was exciting?

On a happier note I’m all for the land around the stadium being used for more financially lucrative ideas that benefit the club.

[RandomGuy]

23 minutes ago, Zorro's 'tache said:

This has to be one of the most boring Saints teams I’ve ever watched, creating next to nothing and gifting goals from losing the ball 25 yards from our goal.

Worth mentioning the last 2 games are the only ones we've failed to score in since the start of October, and before Saturday we'd only conceded 1 goal that I can remember from playing out from the back.

It's not exciting or fantastic but it's also been effective until the Hibs game. There's been a clear drop off in intensity, to me, since we beat County and I don't know why that is but I don't like Valakari talking about how good we've been playing while seeing that.

[CAH]

To Kinnoull Kicker I would say - the only 'crass remark in this whole thread is your introduction of the owners health problems. That is both crass & unacceptable!

 

To Blue Heaven I would say - no-one has a single reason to fully back the current regime given the crap being dished out on a weekly basis & yes I would be saying the same things regardless of who had taken over if the end product was the same as it is now! And as for a general distrust of outsiders - utter mince!

[Saline Saint]

5 hours ago, CAH said:

Well as I have said previously he is a nice chap and we are a nice wee club so let's just go with the flow (downstream)!

As for the Owner/ Board, they are just a misunderstood bunch of gents who do not really mean to disrespect the fans or muck up everything they touch ( ticket sales/ midden of a pitch etc.) so lets just leave them to get on with their real work (planning permission for hotel/ housing etc?).

 

Bundle of laughs sitting beside you at games eh?

[RandomGuy]

An easy win for the club to come out and say they've no interest in decreasing the size of the top flight.

[PerthSaint01]

3 minutes ago, RandomGuy said:

An easy win for the club to come out and say they've no interest in decreasing the size of the top flight.

So when are we expecting the LinkedIn post to say Fran supports it?

[MySpazz]

WE ARE STAYING UP, AND I'M GOING FOR A PINT IN HERE WHEN WE DO! #LuckySaint

[CAH]

That's a long way tae go fir a pint. There'll be nae Tennants or McEwans export in there! Pint of mild my man?

[Northern saint]

10 team Premiership will be a backward step.  If they wished to improve Scottish Football and allow youngsters to be blooded instead of failed journeyman, they need to expand the league to a minimum of sixteen teams, grass only pitches.  Included you must be a member of the reserve league which keeps players fit and lets those recovering from injury find some match fitness.  

Neither will happen as who will decide that two are relegated and the next two are in the play-offs against the top two in the Championship.  

Thirty games a season will help the coaches and the fans who will have some money left.  

As for Saints, I'll bang on my drum.  Simo needs his own coaches.  Neither Kirk nor Cleland have shown over many years they can improve a player.  Indeed the opposite is seen far too often.  Many of the elder out of contract players are not in Simo's plans so I expect them to leave.  The youngsters on loan, I hope a few receive new contracts as it will hopefully inspire them and those following that they can make the case for breaking into the team.  

Player recruitment must start with a creative midfielder or two.  Someone who can take close control, has vision and pass it on whether short or long to make a chance.  If possible I think Fisher, Mitchell should be added to the squad.  

Playing the usual players hasn't produced the results so I hope Simo will give the fringe players an opportunity which they take.  If they do, it simplifies what we need in the summer.  

[CAH]

Completely agree with Northern Saints post re league reconstruction etc..