Double Winning St Johnstone FC Thread

[PauloPerth]

Delighted for the players and Maclean that we got something out of that game, hopefully we get confidence from it, and I thought Macca acted decisively with the right subs with plenty of time to influence things.

But let’s not kid ourselves here. We were woeful in most areas of the park for 80 minutes and Dundee should have been comfortably out of sight. New team, new players, takes time etc etc so no point crucifying anyone but we’re into September now and Dundee are a newly promoted team with a load of new players and they were miles ahead of us. 
 

There’s a world of difference between looking like a baller in an an academy/ under 23 team down south and playing against men in competitive matches as a few found out today. Hopefully they learn quickly. Costelloe and Robinson especially. Though Robinson had a goal saving challenge at 2-0 and set up the equaliser so not all bad.  As for our experienced players: Brown was terrible, Carey should never have made it to the second half but ultimately had a big impact at the end, Macpherson howling stupid decision making, May his usual anonymous self up alone.. we know he can’t play this way yet year after year we persist with it.

Thought Phillips had a great game and Kane had a huge impact. Delighted for Max.

First half both Phillips and Smith wanted to drop into the defence to get on the ball all the time and our attacking players were so isolated, May had no one within 30 yards of him at times. The second half our centre backs played far higher to bring us closer to the strikers but it meant we were susceptible to a ball in behind with all that space, especially with our defence being slow.

We were so slow and ponderous in possession in the first half it was painful to watch. I hate possession football for the sake of it, unless we’re winning; there needs to be an intention to get forward and create opportunities. Zero shots until Kane hit the bar in about 70 minutes tells its own story.

Finally, luck is so important in football. Let’s be honest we could easily have been beaten 3 or 4 nil the past two weeks  on chances and the balance of play, but we’ve ended up with 2 draws. If we’d lost both with a new squad there’s a chance they lose faith in what you’re trying to do and the heads go down and you get into relegation form which is a nightmare to get out of. So these two battling performances hopefully give us a foundation to kick on from.

[Steve McQueen]

Time for the "Wee Max" stuff to end, he needs to start contributing regularly.

 

He's 21 is he wasn't a footballer he'd be fighting a war.

[Fife Saint]

I've maintained James Brown is a lower league jobber since his arrival (absolute worldy aside). Pish.

[Old Pack]

50 Years they’ve won f**k all

[saint pogo]

First game I’ve watched since Calum.

 As that was too depressing. Hats off to you boys who do it every week, it’s not exactly value for money. 
Didn’t see much different to any one else but thought Phillips was great the whole match. If Smith gets up to speed there could be a good platform to work from.

There was only any intensity for the last 15 minutes in which we scored 2 goals and hit the bar. Kane was a breath of fresh air taking the ball in and laying it off.

Not all doom and gloom.

[FrankChickens1]

8 hours ago, glenrothes 1884 saint said:

Robinson crossed for the second goal 

My fault, I said in the match thread it was both Carey but you're right. 

Also helps remove a few begrudging points from Carey's performance, returning it to objectively poor. 

[RandomGuy.]

Cant speak too much about the game as ive not seen it, but this season is all about just clinging onto a side for as long as possible to make sure we dont end up adrift, while hoping they young ones progress quickly and we become a top flight side before its too late.

Surely everyone knew that was coming after our signings? Its going to require huge amounts of patience as we'll see inconsistency from virtually everyone in the squad. It why we needed the experienced ones to actually step up and deliver. 

Age of the squad means that if it does click then we dont repeat this whole saga next Summer and can focus on certain positions rather than looking for an entire team, but there's no guarantee its actually going to work. MacLean is going to get absolutely slaughtered by all corners this season, and is going to have to show faith in players who probably wont be up to it, so results like yesterday are important simply to try and build a "we dont lose games" mindset into everyone. If they somehow manage another result against Rangers then that starts to become a cornerstone.

[Honest Saints Fan]

I enjoyed the game and I'm not too pissed off that we were shite for 75 minutes. It's still a project and the fact we've still taken a point is a positive. 

Kane staying fit will be the key to our success this season. 

[tree house tam]

Quite a few players were way below the usual standards yesterday. It made Dundee look better than they were imo. These things happen but seeing Carey letting 10 yard passes to him go under his foot and out of play several times isn't the norm. Costello had an absolute nightmare, like a really bad performance. Robinson will learn a lot this first quarter but he will come good just like Montgomery before him. Add in Sven and Jaiyisimi as well as a fit Kane, Drey* and Clark and things change dramatically. Also if Gordon and Gallacher can find any sort of form then the competition for places is there. 

This doom and gloom expecting relegation shite is boring, negative and the sign of losers. f**k being in a battle with half you Saintee type c***s beside me. f**k up ya dicks we're going to romp this season.

* just for Marly

Edited September 3, 2023 by tree house tam

[The Marly]

We were fortunate to come away with a draw, no question.  However there were certainly some positives and with the players to come in the Tam has mentioned, we will get stronger.  Add Drey to those (forgotten by Tam) and I'm sure there's plenty more to come.

My main area of concern is central defence.  Considine is far too slow now. Hopefully Gordon gets back to form.

[The Marly]

11 hours ago, Steve McQueen said:

Time for the "Wee Max" stuff to end, he needs to start contributing regularly.

 

He's 21 is he wasn't a footballer he'd be fighting a war.

I agree with your first sentence and hopefully he'll gain confidence from yesterday. 

You're better than your second sentence Steve. 

[PSJ.84]

4 minutes ago, The Marly said:

My main area of concern is central defence.  Considine is far too slow now. Hopefully Gordon gets back to form.

It’s not just Considine that’s slow

[PSJ.84]

One thing I did notice and it’s maybe aided by that Dundee squad being land of the giants, but there isn’t much height in that team. Initially thought James Brown marking Ricky Lamie at corners was weird, quickly realised that he was about the next tallest after McClelland and Considine. 

[Theyellowbox]

29 minutes ago, PSJ.84 said:

It’s not just Considine that’s slow

Was surprised how slow McLelland was.

I think we can all see that this side is one still needing to build up its experience and rhythm. To come away with a point yesterday possibly makes all the difference later this season one all are fit and the side is firing better. I suspect the Dundee management team fully realised that yesterday.

An in form Gordon, a fit Drey Wright and a set of players who have had time to work together and the first 75 minutes yesterday won't happen again. Clear that Costelloe (for now) would be more impact full coming off the bench to run at players who are starting to tire. 

[RandomGuy.]

We've been talking about things improving once players return from injury/find form for about 8 months now.

[Honest Saints Fan]

3 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

We've been talking about things improving once players return from injury/find form for about 8 months now.

True but the difference between the first 75 and the last 15 with Kane on was huge. Keep him fit and it'll be huge. He won 5 fouls in the time he was on the pitch if I remember correctly, just with his presence and clever play. We also played a lot further forward. We've been missing that.

[SJFCtheTeamForMe]

One thing we miss in our shape is someone to stretch the game. 

Teams just allow our central defenders have the ball but then are able to squeeze the game with a reasonably high line as we don't have anyone willing/capable of causing them a threat in behind. 

Kane made a big difference as everyone has already said especially when Dundee dropped a wee bit deeper. 

Would Costelloe (no idea if I'm spelling that correctly) potentially be better in a front two as well? Based on yesterday he doesn't seem someone who's got the feet to play wide and beat men in those 1v1 areas. 

If he's quick and athletic, play to those strengths. Simple stuff, runs inside to out into the channels, drag central defenders into areas they'd prefer not to be. Opens up space for runners etc. Generally just playing higher up the pitch as trying to play through the midfield simply isn't working. 

Edited September 3, 2023 by SJFCtheTeamForMe

[SJFCtheTeamForMe]

I'll be shocked if Davidson isn't applying for the Fleetwood job as we speak. 

Especially since he won't get the Hibs job that I imagine he showed interested in as well. 

[andrewh]

17 minutes ago, SJFCtheTeamForMe said:

I'll be shocked if Davidson isn't applying for the Fleetwood job as we speak. 

Especially since he won't get the Hibs job that I imagine he showed interested in as well. 

He should get what he deserves - nothing of any significance. Funny how we can see how toxic he became but his pals in the media insist he was hard done by.

[Widge]

Ok I’m going to very quickly break down my thoughts from yesterday. Firstly the positives, main one being that we showed spirit and a great attitude until the end, that’s not excusing the first 70 minutes, but at least we’ve got some grit. Best saints player on the pitch was Dan Phillips, since becoming captain his game has elevated to a level we know he can do, he was very very good. Another player who looked good was Chris Kane, we know what he can do, so let’s get game time on him and let him become the focal point we’ve not had for 12 months. Mention to Max as well for actually gambling we need more of that from midfielders. I also thought of the new signings Matt Smith looks a good addition and once he gets up to speed should help us keep the ball and look forward. 
 

Now the negatives. Brown isn’t fit, he didn’t look comfortable from the first minute to be honest and I suspect that’s why he played so poorly. Costelloe had a poor game but I’m not writing him off, he at least tried to keep going he just came up again Beck who was excellent, a fit Drey Wright makes a huge difference in that game though as he’d of matched Beck and kept him pinned back. We also miss his ability to drive us forward. Robinson looked so much better when he actually looked forward, if he can improve on that he’ll be solid, but he turned back into danger a lot yesterday, sometimes flicking it down the line over the other fullback is a better option. There’s a lot more I could critique, but I think once again we need to stop playing May up too alone it’s never ever going to work. We looked a lot better with 2 up top, but Phillips and hopefully Sven have the legs to cover it. 
 

Ohh and MacPherson can get to f**k, came on got booked, waved his arms around and generally looked a massive step down from Smith.