houston_bud

Kellerman away to AFC Fylde, in the National League, on loan for the season. That's the same division that he came from. Good luck to him.

I think that's a side issue though. Stubbs told our top scorer he wasn't wanted without a replacement lined up. I was trying to explain why I think there has been criticism of Stubbs, moving players on without having replacements for them is a reason why I think he has been criticised.

That's a fair post. I think people's issue with Stubbs comes from him moving on players like Reilly, and telling others they have no future, like Eckersley and MacKenzie, without bringing in better players. If the players he brings in do him a job and are indeed better than those he moved on then no one will question him. At the moment his signings don't look better. All that said, it's early doors and players will take time to adjust to different surroundings. My own feelings are that he has been a bit hasty in telling players they have no future.

That's a very good signing.

Exactly. How much of Liam Smith has Stubbs actually seen? As others have said I'm not sure it's a priority position but seems strange that Stubbs just doesn't rate him. Hopefully he finds a club soon as he's a good young player and needs to be playing.

Beltrame seems to be a strange player, been on the books at Juve for years but constantly loaned out to second (or even third/fourth) rate teams. He's 26 I think, clearly not one for the future. Makes you wonder why he's still, technically at least, a Juve player. None of this makes him any more or less likely to be coming to St. Mirren, just seems a bit odd.

Can't believe Eckersley is on his way out. He strolled through most games last season. It suggests that Stubbs has high standards, but I hope he's confident in the replacements he's got lined up. The Kpekawa is a left back but according to Wikipedia hasn't played many games in his career.

I'm not a fan of colt teams in the tournament, but if the offer is there for us we should take advantage of it. If we beat Kilmarnock's colt team and get a draw against someone decent then it will be a good experience for the younger players. I actually quite like the Irn Bru Cup, 2006 and 2017 finals were both great days out. I also think the addition of Welsh/NI teams has been alright.

Excellent news about Magennis. Really looking forward to seeing him in the Premiership, he's definitely ready to make a step up.

I'm a bit disappointed that Reilly is away, did us a good turn last year and I think he deserved a chance in the Premiership. I'm assuming Stubbs has a couple of strikers lined up as it seems strange to withdraw the contract offer without having seen the guy. I wouldn't be surprised to see him turn up at maybe Livingston or Hamilton. Good luck to the guy anyway, hopefully he doesn't put us to the sword at some point.

I agree about Hopkin. I actually think he'd be the best of all the names mentioned. Livingston might not have always been pretty but that was the squad he had, who says with a different group of players he would play the same.

Lambert did alright at Blackburn considering the state the club were in, the fans liked him and wanted him to stay. When he left everyone expected he did it to get the Celtic job, before he moved on to Wolves. I can't see him taking the St. Mirren job to be honest, so it's a bit of a moot point but over the piece he's been a decent enough manager.

Decent shot stopper, played his part in our revival and I'd have been happy enough to see him stay. I assume he'd be your number 2? I don't think he's played much this year. His personal situation probably contributed to his lack of games though.

He was called up more than once, and also when he was at Kilmarnock. But maybe those three seasons are the exception, maybe he just fits in well at St. Mirren. Some players perform better at certain clubs. He was very capable last season for us as well. I don't think anyone is saying that Samson is the best we could possibly hope for, but he's performed well for St. Mirren in two separate spells and deserves credit for that. If he spends next season on the bench because the new manager signs a better keeper then I'd be happy with that. Equally I think there are areas we need to strengthen before looking at a new keeper. So far we've lost Morgan, and Davis who were two of our best players. It's also looking increasingly unlikely that Reilly will be back, and Magennis could end up at Sunderland. Up front, centre mid, and centre half all need immediate attention from the new manager.

Apart from the 3 seasons he was with us when he was called up to the Scotland squad and picked up a League Cup winners medal.

I like Samson, been a good servant to St. Mirren and generally performed well. The odd error now and again, but if he didn't have that he wouldn't be playing for us. Would you swap him for any other keeper in the Championship? I don't think I would.

I'd be more comfortable with that now we've signed Paul McGinn. Everyone knows St. Mirren must have at least one McGinn in the squad or the world will implode. In all seriousness McGinn could do okay in League 1, but I reckon Ross will be looking to sign players he thinks will do well beyond that. Magennis possibly as he has got better and better with each passing week. I'd be surprised if he took many, if any, players from St. Mirren

Hendrie, Coughlin, MacPherson, Lennon, Craig, Murray, Rae. Hendrie, MacPherson, and Lennon all had successes. Murray was seen as a good appointment at the time. Until Tommy Craig, Gilmour actually appointed pretty well.

There's no evidence he's desperate. The evidence would actually suggest otherwise.

It's totally unrealistic to expect that Ross states he won't talk to any other clubs for a period of time. I doubt there is anyone on this forum who would pledge to their employer that they wouldn't go for another job if said job was going to drastically increase your current salary. It might be an inconvenience for St. Mirren but the guy first and foremost needs to look after himself and his family. I also trust Ross to be professional enough that the team would still be prepared for games, if we're not and we're getting regularly pumped then there won't be many clubs in for him. So unless we're advocating sacking Ross because he's talking to other clubs, then we'll just need to accept it.

Hopkin would be a good appointment, although I don't think it would happen. People might point to Livingston's style as a turn off, but I reckon most mangers work with the tools they are given. What's he's done with Livingston is remarkable.

None of the names mentioned are particularly exciting, but what do I know? I wanted MacPherson back rather than Ross as I thought he'd maybe grind out enough results to keep us up. Good luck to Jack Ross, good manager and seems like a great guy too. He's certainly got the temperament to make it at a good level, hopefully he does.

I saw that, would be a very good addition.

That's true, but seems strange to leave Dundee because he's a bit part player and move to us to (possibly) be a bit part player. Maybe he'll be better than Eckersley, who knows? I wouldn't be unhappy with either of those signings incidentally. Hopefully the next ones lined up are a centre half and right back.

I've always been impressed with O'Hara any time I've seen him. Holt is a bit more or a strange one as Eckersley is one of our most consistent performers so he won't be guaranteed a game. Can he play right back or centre half?