Widge

Between us and one other to get Walker in the door I believe.

I think what Callum needs to realise is, that should we actually set out to try and win games and score goals and still lose, then there may be a legitimate reason to blame the players and a lack of quality; however, as it stands the only person to shoulder the blame is him. He's setting the team up to play defensively and not concede (which we're still failing at), but for me he's the sole reason we're not scoring goals or even creating chances. Do I think we need a change of manager, not I don't, but he's got to have realised that this stubborn belief isn't getting him or the team anywhere. It's times like this where you'd expect experienced players like Craig, Bryson, May to a certain extent to turn around and ask the manager what they can do differently going forward, at the same time you need your defenders to be shouting loudly about being able to cope if we dare attack, because our defence is arguably better than two thirds of the league for crying out loud!

My issue with Kane this season (and those before but more so now) is his inability to play forward quickly. He’s fast enough and strong enough to take players on, yet he just won’t do it so we can’t break with any pace. At one point on Saturday, we were losing and the ball breaks to him from a corner, ok he has 2/3 players in front of him but instead of attempting to break forward he essentially stopped, backed in and looked for a free kick. I was absolutely livid! Watching him and Middleton try and control balls being fired in to them and head height is demoralising for everyone. I know he’s been pretty poor this season so far Middleton, but I’d argue he’s not once played in his correct position. Play him wide and let him take men on facing forward, he’s no good with his back to goal, let along when he’s being asked to win headers. Suspect he’d have a bit more joy on the left hand side where I think he could built a relationship with Booth, who is equally struggling since he’s got nobody helping him going forward.

The game was a stick on 0-0 until the referee screwed up, in the same way as it happened at Easter Road against Hibs. Doesn’t excuse how poor we are in the final third of the pitch!

From reading that article, it suggests that it'll be an extension of Crawford's loan deal and a new contract for a player we've got signed up until the end of the season (Clark, Rooney, etc.). Don't know how people can thin we're signing McPherson based on that, we're not technically allowed to even speak to him about signing and even then St Mirren will offer him a deal to get compensation. I'm not Crawford's biggest fan, in fact I don't think I've disliked watching a player as much since Gary McDonald, but if he's seen as cover to come off the bench for 15/20 minutes when we're chasing a game and given no defensive responsibilities, I can just about see the merit in it, since he can score goals. I guess the only other redeeming feature is we know he's match fit, knows the other players and there isn't a settling in period, in a time when we need bodies in the squad.

I wouldn’t of been distraught if Davidson had gone, but equally I think he’s a great coach and has the makings of a good manager. He’s still got a lot to learn and I’m hoping that he does relatively soon, equally I’m hoping that if he’s got a structure in place now a wider plan will begin to unfold. Especially transfer wise. He’s got a few things to do in January to say the least. Get rid of the deadwood loans who’re offering nothing. Get offers out to players he wants to keep, get targets signed up quickly in the window and finally start to plan for next season already. There’s a lot of players out of contract, go out and get the ones he wants.

Jamie Walker anyone….

I like Dendonker and think he would be a good pick up given his age and potential ability curve. He at least tries to play the ball on the deck, unlike McCart right now. The thing is, neither McCart or Rooney (albeit I think he’s actually injured) are playing anywhere near enough for their big moves. So if it comes down to form, I suspect we’ll be facing up against them next season, or they’ve already got moves lined up.

Aye go on then That was just the 3 x 81+ Players pack as well. Normally my luck is terrible, but this game seems to be throwing out super high rated normal cards this year! Even better is he fits my team perfectly, since I’m still using Ben Yedder!

Aye which is why he’s waaaay out of our price range!

I love how whenever saints are playing poorly, it always comes back to Steve Brown. Not gonna lie, on the evidence so far I’m not sure I’d trust Davidson with a budget!

We’ve got no idea, he’s barely played. But when you’re used to Chris Kane, anyone with some footballing ability is a change!

I like to purposely ignore everything on my partners birthday and Xmas lists, not because I in any way get her better presents, but more just because it annoys her. Also saves her various relatives buying her useless crap that she doesn't want, as she can simply send them items on the list which she knows I wont get. Anyway recently she's been complaining about the rising cost of utility bills (who hasn't) and to combat this I said stop leaving so many lights on, to which she proclaims she doesn't. So in I walk the other night and find the kitchen, bathroom, hallway, bedroom side table lights and the lamp in the living room all on. She didn't take too kindly to me being right.

Was on the verge of joining Cardiff about 3 weeks ago, but they had to back out when they let McCarthy go due to funds. Suggests he’s got decent pedigree, no harm in taking a punt, we needs something new.

Well I thought Cummins was actually pretty decent, albeit by the end he couldn't finish his dinner, he did however come from down south having been at Preston. Same for Gormley, albeit he was a different league in Ireland, again came from down south on loan from Peterborough, unmitigated disaster though. McMillan was the only one directly from LoI and to be fair his pedigree should have stood him in good stead, he had European goals against some big teams; however being RKO'd by Thomas Cerny totally changed him as a player and I think destroyed his confidence to the point of no return, otherwise I suspect he might have actually scored a few goals for us in the end. I get the point, the league can be very hit or miss and for the most part we've missed, but then again you've only got to look at the likes of Alan Mannus to see that if you get it right, then there is huge potential for success.

Yeah I spotted that on Saturday too, I think some of Efe's footballing decisions can leave a lot to be desired, but he's clearly a terrific professional and I can see why he was brought in, even short term. An experienced, calming individual who is very much a team player, so great respect for him. On Clearly, whilst he's 25 and seems a little hot headed, there are good players in the LoI, just look at McCarthy and McGrath at St Mirren, after 6 months of settling they were absolutely flying and will be going on to bigger and better things come the end of the year. I know they're a little younger, but we're going to be looking for multiple centre backs next season, so even if he's not a first choice getting him in 6 months before next season letting him learn the system and the way to play is a good move. He may turn out to be rubbish, but a permanent signing who's under the age of 26 and has a decent pedigree and is playing first team football is definitely a step in the right direction, away from guys on loan or under 23 teams. On a side note, I wonder if we'll look to bring Dendoncker in if his contract is allowed to expire. He's clearly got ability, is reasonably quick, wins his fair share and has plenty of room to improve. I think he's the most natural replacement we have to Kerr in the squad, since he's willing to step into midfield and try and play a pass and with some more games and a little more experience I think he could be a terrific player.

Now I haven't commented on the game yet anywhere and I'd put it in the match thread, but I don't think it's going to be that game specific. Firstly, I wasn't unhappy with the way we played on Saturday, we did the best we could with the hand which we were dealt. Without a mistake and a missed handball, Celtic weren't scoring in normal time and I'm not sure they hadn't ran out of ideas by halftime. Lastly on the actual game, I'm not blaming Nick Walsh for us losing the game, far from it; however whatever happened at half time totally changed how he refereed that match, all you ask for in a semi final against the Glasgow teams is that it's a fair match and you're given an honest chance. I'm not sure I can say that we did, which is frustrating. We do however need to look at saints as a team when analysing that match. We're excellent defensively, we know this, it doesn't tend to matter who plays where and when, we're solid. That is great testament to Davidson as a manager and a defensive couch. But there in lies the problem, he's a defensive coach by nature. He's clearly talented and clever, he sees weaknesses in other teams and knows how to exploit and expose them, so the continual failing to see the weakness in our team is beginning to become an issue. Or maybe he does see it and doesn't think we need to change, which would be even more worrying. We know he's good tactically, so there doesn't stand any reason to suggest that he'd be able to coach the forward players in the same manner as the defensive players, getting them to work as a cohesive, creative unit, but he's got to stop being so safe all the time. Ok on Saturday we didn't have Middleton or May and Wotherspoon going off basically killed any hope we had, but in other games he's had these options and not used them. May, Middleton, Spoony, they can all play football and create things for each other, but Davidson needs to be braver when instructing them. Take a chance, leave an opposition fullback free, commit men forward and hope your defence is as good as you think in dealing with counter attacks, the other main thing is the speed at which we play, it's pedestrian. We need to be slicker and quicker on the ball, at all times. Finally, a word on Ali Crawford, once again I know there are saints fans who rate him, but I'm at the stage where I don't want him to be playing minutes for us again. He's a passenger and a man down. He doesn't commit to challenges, or the press. For a manager who demands energy and defensive awareness at all times, it's amazing Davidson still turns to him.

I’ve never seen saints win at Hampden, do I expect us to, absolutely not, but I ain’t gonna miss the chance to! I get why many won’t want to go, kick off time in Glasgow being the first and it’s close to Xmas, probably still people not confident in large crowds, etc.

Thing is, there's literally no downside to giving him a shot, which is the same as we were saying about Melamed last season. The current strikers aren't scoring or creating chances and are generally offering very little (albeit with awful service to be fair to them), so what's the harm in giving him a start and seeing what he's about. But then again we said the same about Melamed and I can't argue the way Davidson handled him seemed to be almost perfect.

Am I the only one who thinks Crawford is an empty jersey? Genuinely doesn’t influence a game at all, maybe he’s not match fit and I’m being harsh, but I’d rather Spoony played every time.

I would be amazed if there's actually anything in that rumour, given I suspect McGregor won't be retiring; however, as I mentioned a week ago, fully expect Zander to leave for pastures new and nobody can begrudge him that recently. Which means you hope that this head of recruitment has a nice long list of mid-20 goalkeepers who're coming out of contract in the summer who we can be signing up an a pre-season contract. I'd go as far as saying there is little risk in this, since Parish is out of contract at the end of the season anyway, so even if Zander stays, it's not really an issue and having competition for him (if he stays) is no bad thing.

Booths biggest issue right now is the fact he’s got absolutely nobody playing ahead of him. He picks his head up and he’s got f**k all anywhere within 30 yards of him to pass to. I think he’s been a little of the boil recently and would actually give Devine a shot, but the team isn’t helping him.

Liam Gordon makes such a difference to McCart since he’s neither an organiser or a leader. Thats not a criticism, he’s got his own strengths, but Gordon helps compliment these.

So who’s gonna be our keeper for next season, as there’s zero chance Clark signs a new deal with us when he’s in this kind of form!

Clearly a big appetite for this one....