Buttocks Brown

Shows that we're in a good place if movement in and out this month is going to be minimal. Better still that, given circumstances, I can't imagine this will be an easy window to operate in. 2 years ago was the mad rescue job to sort out the Stubbs' squad: Muzek, Hladky, Popescu, Lyons etc joining. Doubt many of those signings would have gone through under the cloud of C19. Last year ended up being fraught as well with the defence pretty much needing rebuilt: McLoughlin, McGinn and Broadfoot away with Famewo, McCarthy and Hodson coming straight into the team. Definitely in a superior position, in a lot of ways, this season. A wee leftfield signing in the vein of of Isma, Nazon or Chabbi would be nice though....

Various managers angry at the SFA because their players picked up C19 (or are self-isolating) from U21 duty. Derek McInnes claiming that the SFA didn't follow the same protocols that the clubs have been going through! Would be some brass neck now if us or Killie were punished.

Doyle-Hayes + ££££££ in / Magennis out suddenly looking like very good business. Magennis hasn't kicked a ball for Hibs since going off injured at Hampden on 31/10.

Am recalling Michael Stewart's co-commentary on Scotland v Israel a few weeks ago when he was getting torn into Steve Clarke..... things can change very quickly. Jim and the players deserve a break from the fans. A bundle of them have had Covid: that's stressful and we're assuming it was mild for all of them but who knows? Since then a decent performance against Dundee Utd and dug in to win the League Cup group. Could be worse. A good sign for me was the reaction of the players to the goal yesterday. There's spirit in that dressing room and some decent players. Hopefully the results will come.

Goodwin on 16/10: "We can as a club, and as every club is doing, do the best we can where we train and in the stadium everyone is sticking to the rules. We have protocols in place and as a club we’re very strict on that. But the fact of the matter is we cannot control what happens when the players or staff go home. Their wives, girlfriends, mums and dads are all out there working in normal jobs, in hospitals, offices and we can’t control what happens to them. So, you’re in the lap of the gods every week and that’s the problem we’ve got."

Hard for clubs to control players' actions when they're away from their work. The article seems to suggest though that players and staff were breaching protocols WITHIN the club. If that's the case and Scott, Fitzpatrick, etc weren't aware what was going on at the training ground then Goodwin and his staff could lose their jobs over this.

Maybe I'm naive but, basic stuff like car-sharing..... it's hard to believe that Jim Goodwin (and others), knowing how much is at stake, would turn a blind eye.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8874241/SPFL-set-punish-St-Mirren-Hamilton-clash-postponed-breakdown-coronavirus-protocols.html "The SPFL have now launched their second investigation in a week into the circumstances of the latest postponement. Disciplinary proceedings will follow next week following allegations of serious breaches of social distancing protocols surrounding player car sharing, coach journeys and team meals. Kilmarnock already face the possibility of a points forfeit after the league followed the postponement of their recent game with Motherwell with disciplinary charges. Privately senior figures regard the charges facing St Mirren as more serious."

I'm not saying they haven't...there are central belt teams who haven't had a single case. Yet

Exactly the same situation as Killie were in at the beginning of the month: club pretty much shut for 2 weeks.... I think Killie's flew under the radar a bit because we were going into the international break and attention turned to Scotland. 2 out of the 3 games affected for them were in their league cup group. Ours has happened when everyone's focus is back on the league. Could be clubs falling like dominoes in the next few weeks.

I'm struggling to work out what we could be doing, as a club, which would mean we weren't following the same protocols as others? Any suggestions? Allowing car sharing? Not washing cutlery in the staff canteen? A daily, after training singsong in a hermetically-sealed room? This thing is very infectious and some individuals are, through no fault of their own, good at passing it on. All you need is one guy in the club who is genetically-predisposed to being a super spreader. They pick it up from someone in their household then, asymptomatically, bring it to training. Heavy breathing, even outdoors, after a set of sprints might be enough to infect a few others....

If we exclude the goalies who have already it, then that's 3/8 testing positive! Absolutely rife. Have to assume a good number of those self-isolating are also positive. Might have to forfeit Saturday but, with so many players having had it, things should be smoother for us for the rest of the season.

Hmm don't think so. Footballers are treated the same as everyone else: 14 days self-isolation if in close contact with a positive case. Ryan Christie's period began on 6/10 meaning that he missed the Old Firm match on 17/10..... There is a possibility though that the positive cases will be back for Saturday. If the test result was last Monday or Tuesday then 10 days will have elapsed before the Hamilton game. That's the reason why Killie were able to avoid forfeitting their fixture against Dunfermline: squad into self-isolation 2/10 with the League Cup tie on 13/10. They got a few of the early positive tests back but not the self-isolators. I'm assuming we'll have to do similar on Saturday. We'll have more senior players available than Killie had then but perhaps some will have to play out of position and an U18 or two may need to start the game. That's also assuming no more positive cases this week!

I thought the Motherwell game was postponed because we only had 12 players (including GK x4) who weren't self-isolating? If that's right then surely at least 2 of the 10 outfield players you've picked must have been self-isolating?

Has there been confirmation that those self-isolating will be able to take to the field on Saturday? Also, do we know who the positive cases are?

Extremely rare though I think.

There's a good chance though that some of those self-isolating for the next 2 weeks will be infected. When they return they'll probably be back to testing negative again. The number who have already had it may be considerably higher than our recorded positive cases.

Assuming the infected players and staff come out the other side of this with no health problems....... From a footballing point of view, you'd be as well everyone in your squad getting it at the same time early on in the season and having games postponed. Other teams might be pleased at the moment to have avoided positive tests but there will inevitably be more. Yes, disruption for St Mirren now but immunity is building up amongst our staff meaning that Covid should be less of a problem for us further down the line. There is a fair chance that there will be teams, perhaps at a crucial stage of the season, who are having to put out weakened teams, for weeks on end, because they keep having positive cases / self-isolators but not at the numbers required to trigger a postponement.

Internet / mobile phone technology was in its infancy back in 98. Different kettle of fish moving out there back then compared to today. For Iwelumo to go out there then, as a 19 year old, and stick it would suggest that he was cut from a different cloth than most. I think he did a degree in journalism after retiring.

I've realised during this that what I enjoy about going to see St Mirren is much to do with the matchday experience. The anticipation on a Saturday morning, meeting up with family for lunch and a pint, the walk up to the ground, the feeling of watching a game in the stadium, the craic..... Whether it's playing Motherwell in the Premiership or Brechin in the 1st Division a lot of the pleasure I get from football is rooted in the things that surround what's going on on the park. The problem just now is that all of that's gone and football is distilled to 90 minutes sitting in front of a laptop. The result is everything. It's pish!

"I was at St Mirren and I was playing but me and the manager Tony Fitzpatrick were having a bit of a battle of egos. He had some strange thoughts that I never really agreed with and I knew I had to get out if I was going to get on in the game." There's a story in there somewhere... When Lavety was sold to Hibs, I guess that's when Iwelumo could have been given a run. Mendes was brought in to partner Yardley instead though. McGarry was also beginning to come onto the scene around then.

A 0-4 at home to Aberdeen at the beginning of the 90s always sticks in my mind. I remember a guy throwing his scarf in a skip on Love St! It was when Eoin Jess was breaking through for them. Incidentally, does anyone know the story of Chris Iwelumo with us? Has he ever spoken about it? I remember him scoring as a 17 year old but never became a regular, despite us being poor back then. Considering the career he had, I never got my head round that. He left us to to play in Denmark I think, which was pretty unusual for the mid 90s. An early Bosman maybe?

McAllister hit the bar, Shaughnessy had a header tipped round the post, Tait shot over from 7 yards, MacPherson nearly won it at the death but for a great save..... Good game and Saints well-worth the draw I thought. Pleased to see Ilkay back at it though defence not great for the goals.

Logged in, paid my tenner through paypal and received an email confirmation. Nothing on the site though to suggest I've access and a blank screen under "my items / purchases". Hopefully, it will appear ahead of 3pm!

Well-spent tenner. Highlight the McAllister pass and Obika finish. Need more of that. We do have a lot of options going forward, hopefully a couple of them will hit a bit of form.