The European football level St. Mirren FC 2024/25 thread

[Lex]

Benefits to us of giving him a new contract are that it's more expensive if any other clubs want to appoint him. However, there's hardly a stampede of clubs looking for his services. Hibs, Aberdeen and Hearts all churn managers every few months and they've never approached us regarding appointing him, even when his stock was much higher than it is now. There's no other clubs in Scotland he would leave us to go to. 

In England EFL jobs come up every week, he's never even linked with any of them. The only other realistic appointment for him is Northern Ireland, however O'Neill has a big contract there and looks to be doing well enough, so can't see that coming up any time soon. 

Our poor form is no secret. Three defeats on the spin against teams around us in the league, going to Ibrox at the weekend. We are currently sitting 8th having played a game more than every single team above us, we could realistically be 11th come Sunday evening. Is this the time to be giving the manager a new contract that would make sacking him a lot more expensive? It's certainly a bit odd, timing wise. Hopefully not a repeat of us giving Tom Hendrie a big fat contract to ward off poachers that weren't there. We all know how that ended. 

[Billy Jean King]

3 minutes ago, Lex said:

Benefits to us of giving him a new contract are that it's more expensive if any other clubs want to appoint him. However, there's hardly a stampede of clubs looking for his services. Hibs, Aberdeen and Hearts all churn managers every few months and they've never approached us regarding appointing him, even when his stock was much higher than it is now. There's no other clubs in Scotland he would leave us to go to. 

In England EFL jobs come up every week, he's never even linked with any of them. The only other realistic appointment for him is Northern Ireland, however O'Neill has a big contract there and looks to be doing well enough, so can't see that coming up any time soon. 

Our poor form is no secret. Three defeats on the spin against teams around us in the league, going to Ibrox at the weekend. We are currently sitting 8th having played a game more than every single team above us, we could realistically be 11th come Sunday evening. Is this the time to be giving the manager a new contract that would make sacking him a lot more expensive? It's certainly a bit odd, timing wise. Hopefully not a repeat of us giving Tom Hendrie a big fat contract to ward off poachers that weren't there. We all know how that ended. 

I think it screams Robbo isn't going to be sacked anytime soon and the board are placing their faith in him for the longer term come what may. To be honest I'm fine with that. Managers don't become a busted flush overnight and when you look at the lack of talent out there in our budget then it makes sense. We simply don't have the budget to be a constant top six side, by the laws of simple economics some seasons will be more of a struggle than others. 

A wee taste of the good life seems to have turned a few fans heads completely especially the Facebook types (not saying for a minute you are one of that gang btw)

[Div]

5 minutes ago, Billy Jean King said:

I think it screams Robbo isn't going to be sacked anytime soon and the board are placing their faith in him for the longer term come what may. To be honest I'm fine with that. Managers don't become a busted flush overnight and when you look at the lack of talent out there in our budget then it makes sense. We simply don't have the budget to be a constant top six side, by the laws of simple economics some seasons will be more of a struggle than others. 

A wee taste of the good life seems to have turned a few fans heads completely especially the Facebook types (not saying for a minute you are one of that gang btw)

Agree with that. We've no divine right to be a top six side just because we've finally managed it a couple of times.

As always the margin between success and failure are tiny in this division. The last couple of performances have been very poor but that doesn't alter the incredible work Robbo has done over the past two seasons. He's a great asset for the club and it's great to see the board showing complete faith in him IMO.

[NorthBank]

16 minutes ago, tam the bud said:

Quite a few of the goals came from cutbacks from the bye line. 

Can't remember the last time the 1st team managed that  

Couldn't agree more. We seem obsessed with aimless crosses into the box. Only CBM whips in a cross. For everyone else it is up and under and aimless which is easy to defend.

Why can't we simply pass into the box for someone to shoot?

[btb]

It was a decision that had to be made sooner rather than later, I get that as @Lex said he's not as hot as he was before the season started but I'm happy to stick - the alternatives would have been to give him to the January window or leave him hanging like a a dead man walking till the season pans out.

Edited 15 hours ago by btb

[ZingaliMan]

2 hours ago, Lex said:

Benefits to us of giving him a new contract are that it's more expensive if any other clubs want to appoint him. However, there's hardly a stampede of clubs looking for his services. Hibs, Aberdeen and Hearts all churn managers every few months and they've never approached us regarding appointing him, even when his stock was much higher than it is now. There's no other clubs in Scotland he would leave us to go to. 

In England EFL jobs come up every week, he's never even linked with any of them. The only other realistic appointment for him is Northern Ireland, however O'Neill has a big contract there and looks to be doing well enough, so can't see that coming up any time soon. 

Our poor form is no secret. Three defeats on the spin against teams around us in the league, going to Ibrox at the weekend. We are currently sitting 8th having played a game more than every single team above us, we could realistically be 11th come Sunday evening. Is this the time to be giving the manager a new contract that would make sacking him a lot more expensive? It's certainly a bit odd, timing wise. Hopefully not a repeat of us giving Tom Hendrie a big fat contract to ward off poachers that weren't there. We all know how that ended. 

Is it short memory lose Lex ? My opinion is the opposite of your own with out doubt the best manager we have had since the 80's . Along with Kibble, fan owned and Robinson and his back room staff we have as a club moved forward further than I would have guessed. Not long ago we had 3,000 to 4,000 on a good day home fans out home gates are up Robinson had a big part to play in that. I would understand your post if it was a 5 year contract.  Injuries have hit us hard as has Rooney. 

Edited 23 hours ago by ZingaliMan

[smellthepaw]

2 hours ago, Div said:

Agree with that. We've no divine right to be a top six side just because we've finally managed it a couple of times.

As always the margin between success and failure are tiny in this division. The last couple of performances have been very poor but that doesn't alter the incredible work Robbo has done over the past two seasons. He's a great asset for the club and it's great to see the board showing complete faith in him IMO.

Spot on.

Every team goes through a blip period and this is ours right now. I believe personally we have. stronger team than last season, minus the loss of a right back as we now essentially haven't got a replacement for Strain.

We will come out the other end good I believe. Next two games as you said in another post are absolutely crucial as home ties against teams we should be beating.

[FTOF]

6 hours ago, NorthBank said:

Couldn't agree more. We seem obsessed with aimless crosses into the box. Only CBM whips in a cross. For everyone else it is up and under and aimless which is easy to defend.

Why can't we simply pass into the box for someone to shoot?

I must have missed that match.

[TPAFKA Jersey 2]

Just now, FTOF said:

I must have missed that match.

I know what he means. He does use a “whip it in” action.

Problem is he doesnae whip it in to any of our players

[Life During Wartime]

I agree wholeheartedly with the positive comments about Robbo’s new contract, and the Board backing him. I think it isnae just about what’s happening on the pitch - the work that Robbo and the rest of the backroom staff have done to improve the infrastructure and long-term sustainability of the club is impressive too. On a wee related note, I really enjoyed the interview with Robbo about Peter Hartley’s new role.

[Buttocks Brown]

19 minutes ago, Life During Wartime said:

I agree wholeheartedly with the positive comments about Robbo’s new contract, and the Board backing him. I think it isnae just about what’s happening on the pitch - the work that Robbo and the rest of the backroom staff have done to improve the infrastructure and long-term sustainability of the club is impressive too.

Thinking long-term almost seems to be anathema in the boardrooms of football clubs these days. 

Poor run of results - sack your manager - repeat.

For example, with their resources  all 3 of Aberdeen, Hibs and Hearts should be top 6 easy every season. It's rarely happened though recently because at least one of them is flailing about chopping and changing managers.

Consistency on and off the park has been a big part of our success the past few years. No-brainer for me giving Robbo on a new deal. He makes mistakes, as we all do, but he's a quality manager at our level.

[CH01]

10 hours ago, Lex said:

Benefits to us of giving him a new contract are that it's more expensive if any other clubs want to appoint him. However, there's hardly a stampede of clubs looking for his services. Hibs, Aberdeen and Hearts all churn managers every few months and they've never approached us regarding appointing him, even when his stock was much higher than it is now. There's no other clubs in Scotland he would leave us to go to. 

In England EFL jobs come up every week, he's never even linked with any of them. The only other realistic appointment for him is Northern Ireland, however O'Neill has a big contract there and looks to be doing well enough, so can't see that coming up any time soon. 

Our poor form is no secret. Three defeats on the spin against teams around us in the league, going to Ibrox at the weekend. We are currently sitting 8th having played a game more than every single team above us, we could realistically be 11th come Sunday evening. Is this the time to be giving the manager a new contract that would make sacking him a lot more expensive? It's certainly a bit odd, timing wise. Hopefully not a repeat of us giving Tom Hendrie a big fat contract to ward off poachers that weren't there. We all know how that ended. 

Why the f**k would we sack him

Euro footy for the first time in a generation and top 6 finishes for a club punching above their financial weight 

Fantastic move by the board to tie him up for longer  

[AW saint]

Every manager has a shelf life and can take a side so far. Robbo hasn't reached his level yet with us. 

Has his new deal been officially announced?

 

[Hendo]

11 hours ago, ZingaliMan said:

Injuries have hit us hard as has Rooney. 

FFS, who has he hit now?

[Kempes]

20 hours ago, tam the bud said:

Quite a few of the goals came from cutbacks from the bye line. 

Can't remember the last time the 1st team managed that  

I’ve been thinking this for a long time. (Too) Many years ago, I read a book about football tactics. There was a chapter on cutbacks that was based on how Don Revie’s Leeds United had so much success playing that way. Defenders were expecting crosses, leaving them vulnerable to the cutbacks from the winger or overlapping full-back. Even now, I watch the best (most expensive and successful) teams using this tactic regularly, yet we rarely do this. Seems we opt to cross the ball in from halfway up the pitch, which is not so productive. 

[Lex]

10 hours ago, CH01 said:

Why the f**k would we sack him

Euro footy for the first time in a generation and top 6 finishes for a club punching above their financial weight 

Fantastic move by the board to tie him up for longer  

I never said we should sack him. The point is why are we giving him a new contract which would make it far more expensive to sack him, when there are clearly no other clubs interested in appointing him.

There’s no benefit to us, if we don’t give him a new contract he still isn’t going anywhere. No other club’s going to come anywhere near him given the way we’re playing and the start to the season we've had. 

[itzdrk]

19 minutes ago, Kempes said:

I’ve been thinking this for a long time. (Too) Many years ago, I read a book about football tactics. There was a chapter on cutbacks that was based on how Don Revie’s Leeds United had so much success playing that way. Defenders were expecting crosses, leaving them vulnerable to the cutbacks from the winger or overlapping full-back. Even now, I watch the best (most expensive and successful) teams using this tactic regularly, yet we rarely do this. Seems we opt to cross the ball in from halfway up the pitch, which is not so productive. 

That's been Ayr's biggest source of goals this season, at one point every game we release a through ball to our overlapping right back who cuts it back for basically a tap in, very successful. 

[RandomGuy.]

I can't explain it, but the vibes of this extension feel off.

I'm not saying it's a bad decision or will go wrong or anything, it just feels like it's ending badly.

[SS77]

4 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

I can't explain it, but the vibes of this extension feel off.

I'm not saying it's a bad decision or will go wrong or anything, it just feels like it's ending badly.

Thanks, I think we were all really worried about what a St Johnstone fan would think about this news.

[SS77]

23 minutes ago, Lex said:

I never said we should sack him. The point is why are we giving him a new contract which would make it far more expensive to sack him, when there are clearly no other clubs interested in appointing him.

There’s no benefit to us, if we don’t give him a new contract he still isn’t going anywhere. No other club’s going to come anywhere near him given the way we’re playing and the start to the season we've had. 

I reckon there would be plenty of clubs that would be happy to take Robinson on based on the last 2 years of massive success and not base any decision off the first part of this season.

The time will eventually come when he moves on to something better but for now I’m glad we’re backing our best manager in decades with this extension.

Edited 5 hours ago by SS77