Double Winning St Johnstone FC Thread

[DavidReid01]

2 hours ago, RandomGuy. said:

I vent my frustration/anger out online so I can be relaxed in real life, I'd recommend it tbh.

Always felt this was the plan tbh. Levein would move upstairs this Summer and Kirk would be officially named manager.

I do wonder sometimes about who's actually managing us just now. A lot of how we play is just trying to replicate Brechin (5 at the back shape, central striker playing dropping deep/wide, sideways possession) and a decision literally never seems to be made without Kirk and Levein discussing it at length. Feels like Kirk is the actual manager at times and Levein is just adding his thoughts every so often and fronting it all to get the stick/media attention so Kirk can acclimatise to top flight management without that pressure.

That's not something I feel hugely comfortable with and I hate the 5-2-3 with a passion but that's exactly where I think we'll end up with Kirk long term. Suspect we'll see that shape against County after the split.

Think most of this is spot on, if it keeps us up whilst giving Kirk a crucial 7/8 months experience in the premiership then I think it could be alright.

Levein being there certainly takes the spotlight of Kirk, and whilst some have questioned how much it means to him… I’d like to think he is just portraying a calm, positive almost nonchalant attitude in the press to try and relax the players a bit and reduce nerves/negativity.

[The Saintee]

The problem is though that it's fair enough for a manager to be defensive. Plenty have been successful with this "philosophy" after all. But the players we have aren't up to the task of soaking up pressure for sustained periods. 

 

[RandomGuy.]

1 hour ago, DavidReid01 said:

Think most of this is spot on, if it keeps us up whilst giving Kirk a crucial 7/8 months experience in the premiership then I think it could be alright.

Levein being there certainly takes the spotlight of Kirk, and whilst some have questioned how much it means to him… I’d like to think he is just portraying a calm, positive almost nonchalant attitude in the press to try and relax the players a bit and reduce nerves/negativity.

I think there's definitely an effort from Levein to relieve pressure on the players with his interviews. It's also fairly clear that many, if not most, lack a lot of confidence. Him praising them even when its not great will likely be an attempt at that.

[The Saintee]

1 hour ago, RandomGuy. said:

I think there's definitely an effort from Levein to relieve pressure on the players with his interviews. It's also fairly clear that many, if not most, lack a lot of confidence. Him praising them even when its not great will likely be an attempt at that.

He's pretty consistent in his podcast about how important man management is. 

[Liam899]

To be honest, you’d be down by now probably had you not made the change. The football is clearly bowfing but Levein has made you competitive and won games. Surely that was the aim? 

[RandomGuy.]

12 minutes ago, Liam899 said:

To be honest, you’d be down by now probably had you not made the change. The football is clearly bowfing but Levein has made you competitive and won games. Surely that was the aim? 

We've only won 2 of the last 15 and that includes a cup defeat to a lower league side, FWIW.

His task will have been to keep us up and build foundations to build from. Ideally he does that and then walks into the sunset this Summer.

Theres a lot of red flags in terms of his management for me, and hes cost us points with mistakes that experienced managers just shouldn't be making. Like against you at 1-1 we have a player on the park dropping to his knees exhausted, maybe a month after collapsing on the pitch, and he keeps him on until he drops again, while theres a pacey replacement on the bench whos arguably better on the ball and whos also scored 2 winners for us since January. Tony Gallacher is a limited full back who pretty much played as a winger, offered no threat for 80 minutes and was exhausted, yet plods on while Graham Carey, our best attacking player, sits on the bench.

Edited April 2 by RandomGuy.

[Theyellowbox]

9 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

We've only won 2 of the last 15 and that includes a cup defeat to a lower league side, FWIW.

His task will have been to keep us up and build foundations to build from. Ideally he does that and then walks into the sunset this Summer.

Theres a lot of red flags in terms of his management for me, and hes cost us points with mistakes that experienced managers just shouldn't be making. Like against you at 1-1 we have a player on the park dropping to his knees exhausted, maybe a month after collapsing on the pitch, and he keeps him on until he drops again, while theres a pacey replacement on the bench whos arguably better on the ball and whos also scored 2 winners for us since January. Tony Gallacher is a limited full back who pretty much played as a winger, offered no threat for 80 minutes and was exhausted, yet plods on while Graham Carey, our best attacking player, sits on the bench.

That substitution was a total nonsense. He should have been off sooner. But, Benji took an absolute age to get ready to come on. Literally had to get his whole kit on and singuards  the lot. Surely as a sub, you need to be ready to go at short notice, not take 3,4,5 mins to get ready. That's a few times we've had the same recently. From kids football onwards, you are always told to be ready. Feeds into the overall ponderous feel about this side tbh. On Carey, I'm a bit cautious to say he should have started etc, as we don't know how match ready he will be, given off the pitch goings on, but aye, footballing wise alone, to start him on bench behind others seems mental. 

[DavidReid01]

14 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

We've only won 2 of the last 15 and that includes a cup defeat to a lower league side, FWIW.

His task will have been to keep us up and build foundations to build from. Ideally he does that and then walks into the sunset this Summer.

Theres a lot of red flags in terms of his management for me, and hes cost us points with mistakes that experienced managers just shouldn't be making. Like against you at 1-1 we have a player on the park dropping to his knees exhausted, maybe a month after collapsing on the pitch, and he keeps him on until he drops again, while theres a pacey replacement on the bench whos arguably better on the ball and whos also scored 2 winners for us since January. Tony Gallacher is a limited full back who pretty much played as a winger, offered no threat for 80 minutes and was exhausted, yet plods on while Graham Carey, our best attacking player, sits on the bench.

Perhaps the substitution and in game changes is one aspect where the dynamic between him and Kirk doesn’t really work.

Remit was to keep us up, if they do that I’ll be happy.

Then I’d back them to get it right this summer. Would imagine regardless of if we stay up, or go down. Kirk will be gaffer next season. We need a bit of continuity, it’s what has served saints so well over the years.

[Busta Nut]

33 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

We've only won 2 of the last 15 and that includes a cup defeat to a lower league side, FWIW.

 

How do you feel about draws? Motherwell fans think only winning the odd game is fine as long as you draw lots. 

[RandomGuy.]

45 minutes ago, Theyellowbox said:

That substitution was a total nonsense. He should have been off sooner. But, Benji took an absolute age to get ready to come on. Literally had to get his whole kit on and singuards  the lot. Surely as a sub, you need to be ready to go at short notice, not take 3,4,5 mins to get ready. That's a few times we've had the same recently. 

Yeah it's a bit annoying to be at 60 mins and not one sub is warming up, and they're all just sitting in full tracksuits. That whole palava then it's a few minutes of them getting instructions on the touchline.

44 minutes ago, DavidReid01 said:

Perhaps the substitution and in game changes is one aspect where the dynamic between him and Kirk doesn’t really work.

It would be interesting to hear what they speak about (not that we'll ever know, or should know), as they seem to spend a lot of their time talking about stuff before any tweaks/changes.

26 minutes ago, Busta Nut said:

How do you feel about draws? Motherwell fans think only winning the odd game is fine as long as you draw lots. 

Depends on the nature of the draw.

[Costanza]

Is Andy Kirk a good manager? Is that  the level of manager we should be looking at? Consider me absolutely unenthused at this prospect, especially if Levein is “upstairs” with Gus “don’t want to speak to the fans” McPherson.

Meh. Sorry Tam.

[PSJ.84]

Would we really need both Levein and Gus ‘upstairs’ next season? 

[Costanza]

We should probably move to a bungalow if that’s who we have upstairs. 

[Kyle]

2 hours ago, Costanza said:

We should probably move to a bungalow if that’s who we have upstairs. 

Like we'd get planning for a bungalow at the Oudenarde.

My view on the manager/situation hasn't really changed tbh. We know what he is and what his remit is. It's been pretty awful to watch (Saturday was slightly better) and the points have dried up so think it's only natural people start to question why he's still there. 
 

Regardless of what league we're in, next season already looks like a bit of a slog. It's pretty clear there's a big clear out coming and the manager - whether it's Levein, Kirk or someone else - has a huge job on his hands. 
 

Then there's the ownership situation. Hopefully it's resolved before the season ends as it's pretty clear that's a big reason the club is circling the drain. It's actually painful how lethargic and laboured everything is, both on and off the pitch.

 

Feel like the new media guys are trying to put out good interviews etc, probably the one aspect of the club that is moving forward right now, and they can only piss with the cock they've got, but an interview with marks that I don't really like as footballers and will be away in the summer is just of no interest to me. 

Edited April 2 by Kyle

[RandomGuy.]

Who do folk prefer out of Sidibeh and Kimpioka in terms of starting beside Clark and/or on their own?

And do you think they could work together if given time to build a partnership?

[PSJ.84]

It changes from one week to the next, and there’s probably a bit of recency bias at play, but Sidibeh for me. 

[Ludo*1]

Sounding very much like a Mark McGhee/Simon Rusk situation.

[mizfit]

Has that fucker been sacked yet? 

[The Saintee]

The two together is potentially far too exciting for Levein to comprehend.

[Kyle]

I think we have to play Clark so one of Sidibeh and Kimpioka will be on the bench. I would've said Kimpioka was better until Saturday, the first time - outside of the odd flash - that Sidibeh has looked up to the task for me. Certainly think he's earned the right to start the next game.