The Real Saints

I’ve seen a few posts on Twitter/X from Saints fans who are really going in on Gordon for the penalty incident and not questioning the decision at all. Did it come across differently for those who were at the game?

It was such a good first-half performance with a number of impressive performances across the pitch. Jephcott and Costelloe looked like a promising partnership. The former is pretty intelligent in his gameplay, although clearly still struggling with his fitness levels… Carey had a much more consistent display than usual and the midfield three of Max, Phillips and Sprangler all impressed me. I also thought the shape was working really well and actually makes a lot of sense for us. Our central defence is pretty dire, and our wing-back options uninspiring, so sticking an extra body in the centre of defence and selecting Carey and Wright as wide options to support the midfield and drop back if necessary, with Robinson in particular also getting forward and helping to support Carey down the left from time to time, was a gameplan that proved effective We started the second half strongly, but Livingston started to take a bit more control in the minutes just before the penalty was given. Although Gordon gave the referee a decision to make, I think that decision was a terrible one. The game flipped on its head after that and we struggled to gain any control in the match. The red card was a deserved red card. Holt also should have seen red.

I’d agree with the red card decision.

Blatant dive there.

Dimitar Mitov is a truly astounding man.

I’m not going to say anything until the full-time whistle.

Would it be fair to describe Steven MacLean as a tactical genius?

Despite not agreeing with the decision to appoint Steven MacLean as manager, I've remained pretty calm since the start of the season due to a number of factors: the fact that Steven MacLean isn't Callum Davidson, the fact that he is working with a massively restrictive budget, the fact that (on paper) I've been impressed with his transfer strategy for the most part, and the fact that he talks a better game than his predecessor. Even if it means staying up by the skin of our teeth in a play-off, I believe that survival would be a successful/impressive outcome this season given the context of our situation. So this is why I haven't been panicking yet. However, if we fail to win today, alarm bells will definitely be ringing for me. The points gap is already uncomfortable, and a defeat could put us in an invidious position even at this early stage of the season. It's getting close to make-or-break time for MacLean. I really hope today goes well.

I’ve got a few questions for MacLean today from a tactical standpoint. If Brown, who has no attacking ability, is having consistent shockers defensively, why select him ahead of Olufunwa? Gallacher was one of our best players at the start of the season. Has Robinson really proven himself worthy of displacing him from the starting line-up? Why select MacPherson when you’ve got better options sitting on the bench? Stevie May, lone striker. Again. Why? Those are my thoughts.

You can say what you want about players coming back from injury and new signings settling in etc, but even at full-strength our defensive options are shambolic. If we fail to beat Livingston next week, I’ll officially become a bit concerned about our survival prospects.

‪Finally we’re able to field the holy trinity of Sprangler, Smith and Phillips… so let’s stick Cammy MacPherson in the starting line-up.‬

Given the nature of our pre-season and late transfer activity, this has always been the fixture where I’ve felt we could realistically get our first win. I’ve seen a lot of unnecessary panic elsewhere. The season starts here.

England are taking this very seriously. It’s just a friendly, guys. Relax eh? Pathetic.

Let’s be real. Regardless of Celtic’s form, they will win today. It’s not really much of a contest. The two later matches will obviously be more interesting.

This season? We've been in genuine trouble for a number of seasons, this season included. However, we're at least trying to reverse the damage that has been done and I feel more positive about the club than I've felt in a long time. MacLean has a nigh-impossible job on his hands after what has come before, so avoiding relegation would be a great success and hopefully a springboard from which we can continue to rebuild.

Thought Mitov maybe could have done better with the first goal, but can't see anything he did wrong otherwise. Brilliant save from Tiffoney's shot.

Never in doubt. The unbeaten run continues.

That was worse than I expected.

Happy enough with the changes today. Jephcott hasn’t been at it, and Olufunwa has been fine but obviously very raw and a work-in-progress.

Ah ok, makes sense! This topic of conversation is officially closed now. Nothing to see here. Back to more important matters, are there any London-based Dundee fans who’d like to batter me today?

As for the game, it’s a total unknown and I feel aroused at the prospect. If I had to predict, I’d say that we’ll see some flashes of quality but understandably not a cohesive team performance at this point. Either way, it should be close and settled by one goal at most.

In terms of our ‘retro shirt day’, what’s the thinking behind implementing this type of thing for a match which should (on surface level, at least) be more well-attended than the vast majority of matches regardless? I would have thought this marketing initiative would make more sense for a run-of-the-mill league game? Not intended as a criticism, genuinely wondering.

Sven Sprangler is finally here. I didn’t want to tempt fate by saying anything beforehand (I’m still haunted by memories of Donovan Deekman), but thank god for that. Sven Sprangler is my favourite Saints player from this point onwards.

Not sure I echo the opinions of any Saints fan who is shocked or outraged by the potential departure of Ryan McGowan. He has been decent enough. Nothing more, nothing less. Jack of all trades, master of none. If/when Sprangler signs, the midfield options are looking incredibly bloated and he's the most obvious candidate to move on. He seems like a good character to have around the club, however, so hopefully there's no detrimental impact in that sense. Booth isn't surprising, but thanks for the memories. Crawford, bye.

This is heartbreaking stuff. I’m really struggling to look, but I’ll keep watching this match as a thank you to Rangers for their continued efforts.