Temple Of Saints - 2005 Archive News From The Oracle
December
December 31st-
Kevin James has admitted that the next
two games are important to get the title challenge on track although he
also wants to win back the fans after what he described as undeserved
booing following the first-half against County. In today's Courier, the
Saints skipper said, "The next two games are massive because a
couple of victories will get the fans back on our side. We were booed at
half-time against Ross County and I thought it was undeserved. Don’t
get me wrong, we didn’t play well and we were losing but we’ve
got a lot of young boys in the team. I can understand the frustrations
because we weren’t happy ourselves but the fans need to get behind
the team at home, the way they do away. There is a lot of expectation
around the place but we have more than delivered compared to last season.
It’s not the end for us and we want to keep progressing and be top of
the league but we’re seven points behind the leaders at New Year and
I think that’s the progress which was required when the manager was
brought in. To go from third bottom to third in the space of four or five
months is impressive and there is still so much of the season to go
meaning it’s far from over. "
"Teams are cutting each others throats at the moment and if we can
turn some of our draws into wins we can take advantage. There’s no
better time to start than against Airdrie so we can kick on into the new
year."
Owen Coyle meanwhile has said
yesterday's decision to release Scott
Paterson and Keyring was the
hardest he's had to make in his career. Kieran was on fire in
pre-season but he has had various knocks. He has actually been fit for the
last few weeks but the team has been doing quite well and he was unable to
force his way back in. But I have no doubt he will be picked up quickly by
another club. Knowing Scott, he is mentally tough and he can get over this
latest setback. We have assured him the club will give him our support and
access to treatment as he continues his rehab. He deserves a change of
fortune and isn’t being cut adrift." .
6pm - Another shambles saw us lose
2-1 to Airdrie despite Paul Sheerin
giving us the lead from the penalty spot. And just to add to the fun
afternoon that sees us drop to fourth in the league,
Simon Mensing spoiled a decent
performance with a red card in injury time.
December
30th - The clearout began today with Saints announcing that
Kieran McAnespie(right) and
Scott Paterson were not being offered
new deals. Keyring leaves Saints for
the second time with injuries since the start of the season limiting his
chances to impress Owen Coyle.
Scott Paterson's departure is less of
a surprise with the defenders injury at Dens always likely to see him
ruled out of any future involvement at Saints. Speaking of the decision,
Owen Coyle said on the Official Site,
"It’s very disappointing for all parties. They are smashing
lads with plenty to offer when fit but I simply can’t afford to have
two players on the books who may not be able to make a contribution in the
second half of the season. Of course, they go with the best wishes of
everyone at the Club."
Meanwhile Simon Mensing and
Ryan Stevenson are still major
doubts for tomorrow and it looks like David
Hannah is set to join them on the missing list as the problems mount
for the trip to Airdrie
December 29th - Little real news
from Saints. A closed doors game against Raith yesterday saw a fringe side
get a run out and draw 3-3 with Raith Rovers with
Owen Coyle scoring twice. Looking ahead
to Saturday's encounter and Simon Mensing
is still a doubt as is Ryan Stevenson
with the latter suffering from a hip injury.
December 27th - No festive cheer
from Owen Coyle today in the aftermath
of yesterday's disappointing performance. He told the Courier, "The
boys came in on Christmas Day for training and I told them that the last
thing you want to do when you make a sacrifice like that is to go out and
not deliver. If truth be told we were shocking in the first half and their
goal was a really, really poor one for us to lose. We were at home and
should have taken the initiative but for 45 minutes we didn’t do
that. I felt in the second we forced the play. We weren’t fluent with
our passing but we dominated in terms of territory. I can’t fault the
players’ effort and application in the second half but we had to
settle for a point."
December 26th -
The Cat reckons that the leaders can
still be caught. He told the Courier, "The important thing is for
everyone to be more consistent so that we can get some more results and
make some kind of indent in St Mirren’s lead at the top. I still
believe they are catchable. We could have gone 12 points behind them not
so long ago, but we have clawed back a few points. We are undefeated in
our last five games and we are high in confidence, but we must continue to
get wins and not draws in order to close the gap."
Confirmation ahead of this afternoon's Ross County game that
Simon Mensing is out with an ankle
knock and joins Ryan McCann in the
injury ward. That means Steven Anderson
and Neil Janczyk are likely to be in
the starting lineup with Willie Dyer and
Stephen Doris added to the squad.
6.30pm - Jason Scotland
spared the blushes after a poor performance in today's
1-1 draw with Ross County with the
equaliser which is all the more disappointing given results elsewhere went
our way. Still we're back to second place so there is hope.
December 24th - According to the
Courier, Owen Coyle is looking for a
much improved performance against Ross County on Boxing Day after the poor
show at Dingwall last month. The Saints manager said, "We were
terrible in the first half. We were just off the pace that day and on
Monday we must ensure that we start the game in the right manner. We gave
a better account of ourselves in the second half, and we must give the
same level of performance we displayed in that second period.".
Saints had a day off yesterday but the players will be in today and
tomorrow for light training sessions ahead of the 2pm kick-off on Monday.
Owen said, "This is a very
important match for us. Although it’s Christmas, we’ll not be
taking it easy. We’ll be doing all the normal things we’d do the
day before a match. That’s one of the sacrifices professional
footballers have to make. We have to be focused on taking full points from
this game."
December 23rd- After another
couple of quiet days, the bad news is continuing.
Ryan McCann has been confirmed as being
out for four to six weeks with ligament trouble. And while
Darren Sheridan can play on Monday
against Ross County, Simon Mensing is
apparently already a doubt with an ankle knock.
It means that Kevin Fotheringham,
Mark Campbell and
Kieran McAnespie are all likely to come
into the squad for Monday's game. Owen Coyle
told the Courier, "They have all been training for a couple of
weeks but there haven’t been many bounce games for them to play in
during that time. “Ideally, we would like to see them get more match
action but the way things are just now everybody will be under
consideration for Monday."
December 20th- It was bad news
for Saints today with Ryan McCann set
to be out for a while after limping off at Love Street. He's suspected of
having medial ligament damage ruling him out for a while. Also set to miss
out after Monday's Ross County game is Darren
Sheridan. He's managed to pick up enough points to earn a suspension
and will be out for the league encounters against Airdrie, the Scum and
Clyde although he can play in the cup.Speaking on the Official Saints
Site, Owen Coyle said, "It's
a blow to lose these guys. Darren,
obviously, has been very influential this season and we'll miss him but we
have others who can come in an show me that they deserve their chance. I'm
disappointed for Ryan who has been very patient this season considering he
has not been a regular starter in my teams."
Elsewhere and Owen has asked for more
protection for Jason Scotland. He
said, "We all like to see entertainers in football and he's the
sort who lights up games with individual brilliance. He brings excitement
to games. But in recent weeks I don't think he has been getting the
protection he deserves. Defenders are coming through the back of him and
trying to stop him playing and what worries me is that they are getting
away with it. They tell me that sort of challenge is banned nowadays but
sometimes I wonder. He's a brave player who is terrific at ball retention
but sometimes we have to look to refs for protection."
December 19th- Skipper
Kevin James paid tribute to
The Cat in today's Courier following
the keepers heroics at Love St. He said, "To be honest we are
happy with a draw, although the manager might not like me for saying that.
We had a few chances but St Mirren had the lions’ share and Kevin
kept us in it. To be honest, he got me out of a hole a couple of times
because I gave them a few opportunities with bad passes and poor headers.
I am disappointed with my own performance. I set myself high standards and
I should have dealt with their long balls much better instead of relying
on ‘The Cat’. Kevin started
the season for us then lost his place, but he has won it back and been
superb since. I had a word with him in the dressing room and just told him
that was pay back for all the unlucky goals he has lost this season—and
there have been a few."
"We have to look at the positive aspects because the gap has not
grown and seven points is definitely within reach. From a neutral’s
point of view it was played like a cup tie, so I expect it was a good game
to watch and, all in all, it is not a bad one for us"
Owen Coyle wasn't hanging about with his
criticism after the game though. "I slaughtered
Darren Sheridan after the game for
his set-piece delivery. He has been superb for us all season and he is
usually spot on, but we didn’t make good use of even one corner. That
was very disappointing. Kevin Cuthbert
was superb for us and if our final ball had been a bit better we would
have caused them more serious problems than we did. It was a great game.
With the amount of chances there were for both sides it was amazing it
finished 0-0."
December
17th - Looks like being the same lineup at Love Street today with
Kevin James set to play with a bandage
on his head wound. Darren Sheridan
believes we can win this one despite St Midden being unbeaten at home for
the whole of 2005. He told the Courier, "St Mirren had been doing
very well but that was a bad result for them at the weekend. We’d
hoped that they might draw at Dundee but we didn’t expect them to
lose, and certainly not by four. They have been a very well- organised
side so far. They’ve been solid and nicked results, scoring late
goals in a few games. This is their first blip and we have to try to
capitalise on it. They haven’t had a bad run yet and with a bit of
luck this will be it coming up now. Dundee showed last week that if you
can get at them you can beat them and that’s exactly what we’ll
be looking to do. If we can win we’ll be just four points behind
going into the Christmas period, which is a tough spell for every team in
the league."
7pm- No goals in the end but a cracking game with
Kevin Cuthbert(right) in excellent
form as we drew 0-0 at Love St. And no
red cards!!! Elsewhere Accies beat County 2-1 to leapfrog us into 2nd
place
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
December 16th -
Owen Coyle is expecting a tough time
tomorrow and told the Courier, "I watched the highlights of St
Mirren’s game last weekend and there’s no chance they are
hitting the skids. On the face of it, Dundee gave them a going over.
However, St Mirren had a solid penalty claim denied at 1-0, Stewart Kean—who
is usually deadly—missed two great chances and Kelvin Jack made some
unbelievable saves. Watching the game on TV simply reinforced my belief
that this has the potential to be a really tough fixture for us. But I can
also see it being a very exciting one. I only know one way to play
football, which is to go and try and win, and I have every confidence in
the lads we have at the back to do their jobs. St Mirren are where they
are on merit, but this is an opportunity for us to blow the whole thing
wide open again and we’ll give it a real go."
Don't expect too many changes to the lineup with no new injury worries
for Saints (just for a change). Kevin James
got 6 stitches in his head wound last weekend but is available.
December 14th - The reserves won
through comfortably to the finals of the Reserve League Cup last night. A
3-0 win over East Fife means they now travel to Gretna for the semi. Goals
came from Kevin Fotheringham,
Stephen Dobbie and
Owen Coyle.
11pm - Sad news tonight for Saints fans everywhere as playing
legend Drew Rutherford passed away after a brave battle against
cancer. His achievements and records with Saints will live on for a long
time, but that's little comfort just now. Our commiserations and thoughts
are with his family.
December
13th - Bad news today for David
Hannah who has missed out on the Montrose job.
Meanwhile tonight's reserve match will see some a strong Saints side with
some of the subs from Saturday and fringe players getting a run out. As
for Kevin James(right),
Owen Coyle told the Courier he's fine.
He said, "Kevin is fine now and he could have gone out again for
the second half. It was my decision to take him off as a precaution."
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
December 12th -
Goran Stanic reckons the result from
Dens makes this weekend's trip to Paisley an even bigger game for Saints.
He told the Courier, "We heard from the supporters that St Mirren
were losing at Dundee and we now have what will be one of the biggest
games of the season next week. It’s a long season but we know we have
to get another good result to close the gap and we will be looking to win
the match. The most important thing against Queen of the South was getting
the three points because in our last two home games we have only drawn. We
dominated the match for 90 minutes and we deserved to win it. "
5.30pm - Saints are set to have a trialist keeper between the
sticks for the reserve match against East Fife tomorrow withMark
Paston suffering from a shoulder injury. Elsewhere and it seems that
of the two Poles, Saints will only be pursuing their interest in
midfielder Marcin Smolinski with striker Dariusz Zjawinsk
not a requirement at this time.
December 11th - It's been
revealed that Kevin James was suffering
from slight concussion yesterday after his head knock hence his
replacement at half-time. But of the result, Owen
Coyle told the Official Site, "I stressed to everyone
before the game today that the result was paramount and I thought the
players were very focussed in that respect. We certainly didn’t play
as well as we are capable of doing but over the piece I’m delighted."
As for the cup draw against Gretna (hey look we'll be the underdogs
again), he said, "It’s a cliché but all you can ask
for is home advantage and we have got that. It goes without saying that
given Gretna’s incredible record of games undefeated that we will
have to approach this very professionally to have a chance of progressing."
December 10th - Speaking to the
Courier ahead of today's game, Owen Coyle
has spoken of the plans for the transfer window in the New Year. He said,
"The transfer window gives me a chance to freshen things up and
there are some people who may find they are no longer here in a couple of
months’ time. Depending on what funds are available I would like to
bring in a few players. I know the positions and the people I want, it all
depends on what the club can make available. I have to say at this point
that the chairman has given me fantastic backing so far. He is as
desperate for success as I am and has done everything he can to make
things easier for me." - obviously with players coming in, it's
more than likely there will be some departures.
Away from the domestic scene though and Jason
Scotland looks set to guarantee his honorary Scots status come next
summer with Trinidad and Tobago drawn against Ingerlund in the World Cup
group stages (or if you're being a Motson, "having the privelige
to play against England").
Back to today though and Goran Stanic
and a couple of other "minor concerns" will be given
late fitness tests before the manager decides on the lineup to face Jobbie
McCalls mob.
6.30pm - Jason Scotland was
on target along with Steven Milne in a
2-1 win over QoS this afternoon which,
thanks to County slipping up at home sees us go to 2nd on goal difference
and just as importantly close the gap on that Paisley mob who collapsed to
a 4-0 defeat at Dens.
Meanwhile the Scottish Cup has at least seen us get a home draw with the
3rd round match on Jan 7th. Gretna will be the visitors in whats sure to
be a tough game.
December
9th - After a pretty quiet week news-wise, it's back to action
tomorrow with a home match against the Doonhamers and the first chance to
shout abuse at Jobbie McCall since his days at Tannadump. More importantly
though we need the three points to hopefully gain some ground on the
Midden who are making the trip to Dens. Despite winning two out of two so
far, Owen Coyle isn't taking it lightly.
He told the Official Saints site, "If we play to our maximum then
we should win this game but as always it's down to both the individual and
collective approach. If we pass and move the ball as fluently as we can
then we'll give any team problems.I'm looking forward to seeing Ian McCall
tomorrow. I have a lot to thank him for in terms of my development as a
coach because he gave me opportunities at Airdrie, Falkirk and Dundee
United but it would be nice to sit down with him after the game for a chat
knowing the three points were staying in Perth!"
Goran Stanic(right) trained for the
first time this week and if he's passed fit he'll return to the left-back
slot in place of Willie Dyer but the
manager isn't worried about that.
Meanwhile Paul Sheerin is looking to
continue his run of scoring form."I'm pleased I've started to
contribute some goals this season - a couple of two-goals games gave me
confidence and then I've managed to add others such as last week at
Brechin.Having Darren Sheridan behind
me gives us a bit more security and it allows me the freedom to go up the
park a bit more often than I was doing a year ago when we on the back foot
a wee bit in a lot of games. It was a real positive result at Brechin last
week and we have to go out tomorrow and do the same sort of job against
Queens. We were so disappointed to drop daft points in recent home games
that we’ve dominated and we must make sure that does not happen
tomorrow."
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
December 5th-
Owen Coyle was happy with the win on
Saturday and told the Courier, "This was a great effort. This has
got us back to our winning ways. It’s al- ways difficult coming here.
We started slowly and should have scored from a couple of early chances,
and to be fair Hillcoat had a couple of good saves. But we stuck in there
and the goals were always going to come. Jason scored a fantastic goal. We
know what he is capable of and he showed it today. He is a special talent
but I have emphasised to him that he needs to work hard as well. He can go
to the World Cup but he can only do that on the back of his performances
for St Johnstone. We are paying his wages and I expect the full
commitment. We started the second half well, scoring another two very good
goals, but for a ten-minute spell Brechin put a lot of pressure on us. It
was a great goal from Britton from a set piece. All credit to Brechin.
They are fighting for their lives and you can see that. But for 75 minutes
I was very pleased with the game."
Meanwhile the two Polish trialists headed home yesterday with the manager
wanting another look at them after their season finishes in a week before
making any commitment.
December 3rd - Not much change
to the squad for the trip to Brechin with Kevin
Rutkiewicz passed fit after his illness and
John Henry back in the squad.Kevin
James is expecting a tough time of it though. Celebrating his 30th
birthday today, the Saints skipper told the Courier "Brechin need
a win to get themselves back in contention. They know their best chances
of winning games is at home, that’s the way they’ll have based
their season, on picking points up at home and maybe getting the odd point
away. They’ll be desperate to get off the mark. Glebe Park is a
cup-tie park where the football might not be the best, but we’re
going to have to fight for every ball and until you win the battle you
might not get the chance to play football. It’s imperative that we
win not only this one but our next three or four games as well. I still
think there’s a realistic chance of catching up on St Mirren but our
last two results haven’t been good enough. We need results, not
performances, albeit a performance would be good. "
Unfortunately yours truly is suffering from a nice wee combination of the
flu and an ear infection which makes the attractions of Montrose railway
station and the bus to Brechin just a tad too crap to make the journey
worthwhile. So expect a cracking win from the boys as they feel under no
pressure to impress the Temple.
6pm -See what did I tell you? It was an easy win in the end for
Saints as we beat Brechin 4-1.
Jason Scotland scored twice and one
each from Paul Sheerin and
Ryan Stevenson saw us through
despite Mekonesque Gerry Britton getting one for the home side. Results
elsewhere saw St Midden post an impressive 4-0 win at Dingwall but Accies
dropped 2 points to Clyde letting us into 3rd spot.
December 2nd - Not much news
this morning ahead of tomorrow's trip to Brechin.
David Hannah has been linked with the
vacant Montrose job.
Meanwhile the 2 Polish trialists are here until Sunday and the manager has
promised a decision by then.
December
1st - Owen Coyle(right) seems to
be optimistic enough about the two Polish trialists. He spoke to the
Courier of the midfielder and striker saying, "They both did well
in the game and we will have to have a look for the rest of the week at
whether we want to make a move for them. “I now have to decide if
they are better than what we have at the club as they would be able to
come in on loan when their season closes down .". And the two
trialists have been named as 21-yr old midfielder Marcin Smolinski
and 19-yr old striker Dariusz Zjawinsk from Legia Warsaw. Both
are contracted to the Polish side until 2009 so any move will be a loan
deal at best.
Meanwhile Tuesday's closed doors game saw
Kevin Fotheringham,
John Henry,
Neil Janczyk and
Simon Mensing all come through
unscathed.
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
Top Of News
November
November 30th - Saints caught us
all out with a sneaky announcement on the Official Site last night. With
the Reserve League Cup tie against East Fife postponed, there was a "hastily
arranged" closed doors game against unnamed opposition with two
Polish trialists taking part. A midfielder and striker have been training
at the club this week and the latter scored all the goals in Saints 3-0
win. Owen told the Official Site, "I’ve
used my contacts in the game to bring these two lads to Perth for the week
and I’m delighted with the showing of the boys tonight. The big lad
took all his goals well. Over the remainder of this week I now have to
decide if they are better than what we have at the club. They both play
for a top Polish club but would be able to come on loan to us in January
as their season closes down."
Kevin Fotheringham continued his
comeback but Kieran McAnespie is out
with the flu.
November 28th -
Paul Sheerin has admitted that
Saturday's display wasn't good enough. He told the Courier, "It
was very frustrating—they set their stall out and made it very
difficult after they got the goal to break them down. It’s tough when
teams come and sit in and defend as well as they did and we have to use a
bit more guile against teams that are going to do that. We lacked a bit of
width to get in behind them at times (erm and whose job was that?)
and get decent quality crosses in to give the strikers a good chance.
We still aspire to winning the title but we are making it difficult for
ourselves. "
Still if you want a wee bit of consolation Stranraer manager Neil Watt
said that we're "the most entertaining side in the Division".
November 27th - It's the usual
post-match depression today with Owen
commenting on the Official Site, "We knew Stranraer would make it
difficult for us and we weren't wrong. They played a style which suited
them and scored with their only attack of the half but we defended it
poorly. I told the players at half-time to show some character and to take
balls into the telling areas of the park and to be fair they responded but
we failed to bury the chances that were created. If we had scored two
goals today it would still only have been a small percentage of the
chances we created. It feels like a defeat to be honest but there's no
point in feeling sorry for ourselves. I can't fault the effort but we have
to get back on the training ground and improve the quality of what we are
doing in the areas of the park that matter.".
November
26th - A wee piece of non-team news first with Saints announcing
yesterday that the long-awaited away tops will be launched on Thursday Dec
1st with Owen Coyle and the walking
wounded at Asda's in Perth for a 4pm launch. Details of ordering one
through the good ole Royal Mail are available on the
Official Saints Site.
Looking ahead to today's fun and games and Owen
could reluctantly line up from the start today. Speaking in the Courier,
he said, "I think we’ve got some good strikers at the club
and there has been no need for me to play a massive part yet, but when
needs must I’ll have no hesitation. We’ve got
Peter MacDonald out injured long
term and Stevie Milne got injured early
in the game last week and he’s our top scorer with a goal every other
game. We now have Stephen Dobbie
struggling with a hamstring which just leaves
Jason Scotland so there are very few
options left to me. I’ve been taking part in training and playing
bounce games as well as the game against Arbroath in midweek so I’m
ready, but it’s fair to say if we had everyone fit I wouldn’t be
in contention. It’s a mentality thing. I’ve done it with Falkirk
and others have done it before without any problem. And I’ve got good
back up on the bench in Jim Weir and
Atholl Henderson so it should have
no effect whatsoever on how I approach the game. I’m not going to
complain about injuries—I’ve been in football long enough to
know it’s part of life and, while it’s frustrating to a point,
you just get on with it. Whoever comes in to plug the gaps—including
the young players who will be included in the next few weeks—has to
show they are good enough to stay in the team. ". Meanwhile
there's no word on Kevin James and
Kevin Rutkiewicz who are suffering from a
flu-like virus and are doubts for today.
7pm - Saints dominated again but had to settle for a point in a
1-1 draw with Stranraer with
Paul Sheerin getting the equaliser for
Saints late on. At least there was one bright spark with
Stephen Doris(right) making his debut
off the bench late on.
November 25th - Plague time at
McDiarmid again with Stephen Dobbie
getting one of those infectious hamstring strains and
Kevin James and
Kevin Rutkiewicz both suffering from a
viral infection. Owen Coyle still has
his broken toes but could turn out - he told the Courier, "John
Henry is very doubtful for Saturday (ankle) whilst
Stephen Dobbie picked up his injury at
training. And, with both our central defenders sick, we have had healthier
days at McDiarmid! It’s not ideal for me to play due to the lack of
games I’ve had, but needs must. We will try a little work with
Stevie Milne but I would still rate his
chances of playing on Saturday as slight. And with this injury to
Stephen Dobbie I may well have to get
into the action myself, but I don’t have any fears about it ."
November 24th - Latest injury
news from the Official Site is that the boys managed a training session
today although snow has hit Perth. Scott
Paterson is in for surgery tomorrow and Savo
has rested his strain and "may be able to play some part at the
weekend". John Henry is in a
similar position and is an outside bet for a squad place. Both
Fozzy and
Keyring came through the match at
Arbroath unscathed and just need to build up their match fitness.
As for the rest, Nick Summersgil said,
"Peter MacDonald should
begin some increased activity next week and I've set a target of a January
return to some sort of action. Mark
Campbell saw a specialist recently about his Achilles injury and was
told to immobilise it for a couple of weeks so I'll be looking to start
some sort of work with him next week to see if that has done the trick."
November 22nd - The good news is
that last night's Forfarshire Cup tie at Arbroath saw both
Kieran McAnespie and
Kevin Fotheringham make their
comeback from injury. Unfortunately it was as part of a strong Saints side
that lost 2-1 to the hosts with Owen Coyle
getting our goal.
Elsewhere it's been confirmed Savo has
a hamstring strain and the manager said, "We will need to monitor
the injury as the week goes on."
November
21st - Despite dropping two points at the weekend,
Stephen Dobbie doesn't think the title
race is over yet. He told the Courier, "It’s not over by a
long shot. If St Mirren win their game in hand they will be 10 points
ahead, but we’ve got a team here that can turn it around. It’s
not even Christmas yet, so hopefully we can keep battling away and put
together a couple of results. We missed some chances, but overall I
thought we did enough to win. The keeper saved my effort, but on another
day it might have gone in. When I beat my second man I tried to get it on
target but it was a good save by the keeper."
Owen Coyle meanwhile is still smarting
after the penalty claims were denied. He said, "I always go by
players’ reactions regarding penalties and this week we were looking
for it. Referees have a difficult job, but we had five good goalscoring
opportunities to win the game. It was disappointing because we were
looking to get the three points to cut the gap at the top. But I thought
we did enough in the second half to merit the win."
There's mixed reports on Savo's injury
with the Courier saying it's a hamstring pull but other reports suggesting
the striker was suffering from the flu-like virus.
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
November 20th - For anyone
interested in the forums for Saints fans the new replacement for Blue
Heaven is Saintschat - it's
moderated and available now for you to register at.
November 19th -
Savo is expecting a tough game today.
Speaking in the Courier, he said, "They may have been put
together from scratch at the start of the season but they have a good mix
of experienced and younger players, with a fine work ethic. I managed to
put us ahead in that last match against them but we were hanging on in the
end and were relieved to be heading home with the three points. Still, we
need to make up ground on St Mirren as we are now eight points behind
them. We face Stranraer, Brechin, then Queen of the South after this so we
have a chance to put a wee run together. I know there are no walkovers in
this league but these are games we should be looking to win. After we lost
up at Ross County we then went on to defeat Airdrie and thought we could
build from there. However, we then got beaten by Dundee so we really need
to string some wins together and I hope that can start against Clyde."
Saints have confirmed that Jason
Scotland is back in Scotland (unlike a certain Dundee keeper!) and
despite wanting to give him a rest, Owen
Coyle said, "Numbers being as they are we may be forced to
give Jason a game despite him being tired as a result of all the
travelling". Kevin James and
Kevin Cuthbert both face late fitness
tests but John Henry is out.
7pm - The first league game we've failed to score in today but a
0-0 draw didn't really reflect the play
with Saints yet again suffering from a poor refereeing decision, something
that annoyed Owen Coyle who picked up a
booking for letting the referee know that. Elsewhere wins for Accies and
Ross County (cue sympathy nanosecond for the Scum) means that we've
slipped back to 4th. But on the bright side at least we didn't pick up any
more major injuries!
November 18th - World Cup hero
Jason Scotland was told to skip the
post-match celebrations and public reception back in Trinidad to get back
to McDiarmid. Owen Coyle said, "I
phoned Jason just after the final whistle and congratulated him. I told
him we were all delighted and proud of him and he was as high as a kite.
It is a good boost for the club that a St Johnstone player will be in
Germany next summer. But the very fact that we pay his wages means we need
him back here ahead of the Clyde match. Their prime minister has asked
them all to go back to Trinidad to attend a reception and I can understand
their euphoria at having reached the World Cup for the first time. But we
need Jason here and I have told him to come back."
On the injury side, looking ahead to tomorrow's game,
Kevin James and
Kevin Cuthbert might train today but
the manager cautioned, "They have a chance but it is no more than
that."
November
17th - Some good news first for a change. Despite not getting off
the bench in Bahrain, his spiritual presence meant that
Jason Scotland saw Trinidad get a 1-0
win and qualify for the World Cup. Well at least it gives us someone to
support next year.
Meanwhile Owen Coyle is still talking
up our rivals instead of Saints chances. With the Paisley junkies moving 8
points clear of Saints, the manager told the Courier, "I fully
expected St Mirren to win at Brechin and all credit to them for being top
of the league with the lead they have. They are there on merit and
obviously we’d all love to be in their position. There is still a
very long way to go, though, and I know that there is a lot more to come
from us. "
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
November 16th -
Owen Coyle has spoken of the bad news re
Scott Paterson. He told the Courier,
"Scott has had an horrendous time with injuries over the last few
seasons and I’m absolutely gutted for him and for the football club.
He was looking like a really good player for us. The injury was just one
of those freak accidents that can happen in football and was totally
unconnected to any previous injury he had. I’ve got to say that when
it happened I thought it could be a career-threatening injury, so at least
that isn’t the case and he can look at getting back in around two
months hopefully. Scott’s had a lot of kicks in the teeth during his
career and he will definitely bounce back from this. He certainly won’t
be feeling sorry for himself. "
John Henry has already been ruled out of
this weekend's game against Clyde.
November
15th - The latest on the injuries is slightly better reading, with
time the big healer as always. According to the Courier,
Owen Coyle said, "The swelling
on Scott’s knee is so bad that
we thought it best to leave it another day before checking it out. We are
hopeful that there is no ligament damage but can’t say that for sure
just yet. Kevin’s knee has been
moving more freely and John seems to
have a sprain rather than ligament trouble but, again, we will have to
wait before diagnosing their injuries. "
Kevin James(right) looks set to recover
from his knee knock and return to the team for the Clyde game this
weekend.
5.30pm - It's been confirmed that Scott
Paterson will need an operation on his knee and will be out for 3
months. This will take him past the end of his current deal with Saints,
and it's hard to see how he'll be allowed to continue at the club. Some
better news with Kevin Cuthbert
apparently in with a chance of resuming training on Thursday.
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
November 14th -Not much more in
the way of updates from the treatment room with
Owen Coyle set to hopefully find out
more about Saturday's wounded today. The gaffer told the Courier, "I
have not known anything like this. We already had a long list of injured
players and to lose even more is just so frustrating. However, the one
thing that is guaranteed is that we will dig in and come through this. We
will look for the character of the club to shine through and will all be
working doubly hard to get the wins we need. I am sure we can come out of
this even stronger than we were before. There is obviously a lot of
swelling on Scott’s knee so we
will have to wait until the morning to get a proper assessment. I just
hope it is not ligament damage because Scott
has suffered more than most with injuries in the past."
As for Kevin Cuthbert he said, "Kevin
got a bang on the knee and couldn’t put any weight on it so he had to
come off. But I hope it is not any worse than a knock.".
John Henry is set to be out for a couple
of weeks as well after damaging ankle ligaments.
November 12th - With even that
most unbiased of Juteopolitan commentators Dick Donnelly admitting
it wasn't a penalty yesterday, expect the fallout from Dens to continue
for a while with Owen Coyle possibly
heading for trouble after his post-match comments. He said, "I've
been playing the game long enough and have always been under the
impression that it is the ball you are meant to play first which is
exactly what happened here. I can only describe the game as bizarre. We
should have had the game out of their reach in the first five minutes when
we could have been three or four up. say luck evens itself out, that being
the case we’re due a large portion very soon"
Meanwhile Jason Scotland played 66
minutes of the first leg of Trinidad and Tobagos World Cup play-off which
finished 1-1 before being replaced by Latapy.
November 11th - As you'd expect,
the nature of today's game has fed through to the dressing room. In
today's Courier, skipper Kevin James
said, "Dundee are in a false position, in my opinion, because
they are in a bit of a transitional period and will improve as they come
through that. They have changed managers and it takes time to adjust when
you come down from the SPL. They have a lot of good players with good
experience but things maybe haven’t gone for them so far. I know
Kernie from our time together at Falkirk when he was coaching us and he is
a fine manager who will be desperate to get them out of their present
situation. I am looking forward to the match, albeit they will make it
very tough for us, regardless of their position in the table. We may be
sitting second top in the league but we won’t be complacent at all.
We want to put as much distance between us and them, because we still see
them as potential rivals. The newer signings, like me, have all been told
by (first team coach) Jim Weir about the
local rivalry and I guess it is to be expected because Dundee are the
closest club to us geographically. We will need to win the individual
battles first and foremost and then, hopefully, our flair players can
assert themselves. Obviously, we would like to win the game by playing
silky soccer but, I’ll tell you what, we will take the three points
any way we can get them."
The captain should be ok to play today despite his knee injury from last
weekend limiting training. As for the rest of the side,
Owen Coyle said, "This is the
one everybody at the club wants to be involved in. “Dundee have some
good players so it will be a test for us but our focus is on St Johnstone
and we know that if we are firing on all cylinders then we can win this
game. “It is important that we don’t get caught up in the derby
atmosphere but stick to what we are good at, that is passing the ball
about.". Of the injury list, the manager went on, "I’m
definitely going to be without seven or eight on that list. It looks like
I’ll have to strip and be in the 16, despite my broken toe. On the
plus side, Darren Sheridan and
Steven Anderson are both fit and will
come into contention. Also, Savo and
John Henry have now returned to
training. "
5pm - A nightmare of an afternoon saw us go down
2-1 at Dens. As if that wasn't bad
enough (and let's hear it for the sporting behaviour of the players,
officials and knuckle-dragging supporters of the Scum) both
Scott Paterson and more worryingly
Kevin Cuthbert were stretchered off
during a hectic 90 minutes witnessed by one of the biggest Saints supports
in a while. In the end we've dropped to 3rd but there will be a lot of
grudges to settle after this one.
November
10th - There's a good chance Saints might have a lucky mascot at
Dens tomorrow. Ex-Saintee Nick
Dasovic(right) was at McDiarmid training yesterday. He's over as
coach of the Canadian U-18 squad. After his side played a few games in
England, he's hung around to look up some old friends including that bloke
at Sheff Wed and Saints. After helping out at training yesterday, he's
looking forward to tomorrow's game and told the Courier, "I’ve
had four weeks on the road and seen a lot of matches, the last being
Manchester United against Chelsea, but this derby with Dundee will be even
more important! I’ve got great memories of this match, especially the
one in which we beat Dundee and qualified for the UEFA Cup. I can still
remember an unbelievable save Alan Main made from James Grady that
afternoon. I still speak to Alan Kernaghan and Billy Kirkwood from time to
time, and with Dundee having a hard time just now this is a huge game for
them, but there will be no divided loyalties. St Johnstone are my team and
I’m really hoping they win ". As for the current Saints
line-up, the veteran of THAT win said,
"I think they’ve got some really good players and the best
thing about it is the atmosphere in the squad. Owen has got them bouncing
which is great to see. The players feed off his enthusiasm. Every season I
hope it will be the one when Saints get promoted back to the SPL. I think
they have a real chance this time around. Obviously I haven’t seen
the other teams in the league but Saints have got a good mixture of
experience and youth. When I look back on our championship-winning season
we had players peaking in their late 20s and good youngsters like Callum
Davidson, Danny Griffin and Philip Scott. I played in France and Sweden
but when I’m asked by anybody which club is my favourite, I always
say St Johnstone. It’s the club I support and look out for on the
internet every day. My best football memories are from my time here."
And looking ahead to the big game, Owen
Coyle has declared himself fit. Whether it's him or
Stephen Dobbie who partners
Savo up front remains to be seen with
the latter doing some light training yesterday after his flu bug.
John Henry managed a session as well
although neither are 100% fit. Kevin James
has recovered but Rustybitz and
Darren Sheridan are both doubts.
November 8th - The injury
problems are mounting ahead of the derby at the weekend.
Simon Mensing starts the first of a
two-game ban. Added to that John Henry
and Steven Milne are suffering from flu
while Kevin James and
Rustybitz picked up minor knocks at the
weekend.
Owen Coyle also missed training with his
broken toe and said in the Courier, "Hopefully we can have James,
Rutkiewicz and Sheridan fit for Saturday but it’s too early to say.
There’s no point in moaning and we will monitor the situation through
the week and hope for the best ."
November
7th - Ryan Stevenson(right)
has told the Courier today that he's planning to follow teammate
Jason Scotland in the World Cup. He
said, "I, for one, hope he gets to the finals as I plan on going
to Germany on my holidays to watch him. If Trinidad get there, there will
be a few of the lads going out to the finals. I guess it’s the only
way ‘Scotland’ will be there! Jason is a mate as well as a
team-mate and what an achievement it would be for a player from the
Scottish first division to be at the World Cup. The exciting thing is that
they have a great chance to get past Bahrain as they have a lot of good
players. If they reach Germany I think a lot of guys from this country
will be supporting them because there are a few Trinidad and Tobago
players at Scottish clubs. As well as Jason, you have big Marvin Andrews
at Rangers, wee Russell Latapy at Falkirk, Collin Samuel at Dundee United
and Kelvin Jack at Dundee. So we wish Jason and the lads all the best and
I will be searching through the TV channels to see if I can catch the
play-off matches."
He also spoke of his involvement in the winning goal at the weekend. "I
saw Jason running in and played the ball back into his path—we do
that kind of thing all the time in training. The gaffer likes his wee
matches on the training ground and close play like that helps you break
down a well-organised side like Airdrie."
Owen Coyle meanwhile was full of praise
for skipper Kevin James. "He
was outstanding, even though he took a knock earlier in the match. The big
man has a heart like a lion. He was so strong as Airdrie came at us in the
second half. Make no mistake, they will take points off other teams this
season and sometimes you have to win ugly."
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
November 6th -
Owen Coyle was happy with the result
yesterday. In today's Sunday Mail he said, "I told
Jason he wasn't going on the plane
unless he was able to play but he was magnificent and his goal was fit to
win any game. I was looking for a reaction after last week's defeat and as
I expected it was a tight affair and all credit to Airdrie - we knew they
wouldn't lie down". As for the matchwinner,
Jason Scotland, he was just as happy
saying, "It's nice to be going off on international duty with all
three points in the bag. We didn't play as well as we can but the win is
all that matters and thankfully we got it because we badly needed the
points. I was pleased with my goal especially because at the time I had no
support up with me so I just decided to have a go and the shot beat the
keeper. "
November 5th - Expect a late
decision on the team this afternoon. Darren
Sheridan and Jason Scotland are
still getting treatment but Scott
Paterson is in the frame for a possible return. According to the
Courier, Owen Coyle said, "I am
going to give Darren and Jason until the last possible minute in the hope
that they can make it. Scott Paterson has trained so he will be in my
thoughts. Despite all the injuries, we just have to get on with things.
Regardless of who takes the field I will be looking for a reaction after
last week’s defeat up at Dingwall. I was really only disappointed by
the first 45 minutes, to be truthful, as after that we could have gone on
to win the game. I’ll be looking for the characters in my team to
step forward. Airdrie United are a good side. They played well against us
earlier in the season and I’m expecting a cracking game."
7pm - Jason Scotland played
and scored a cracker as Saints beat
Airdrie 1-0 in what was otherwise a pretty poor game with chances at
a premium.
November 4th - The minor knocks
at McD seem to be more contagious than first thought. As well as
Darren Sheridan,
Jason Scotland,
Mark Campbell,
Steven Anderson and
Owen Coyle himself all missed training
yesterday. The manager told the Courier, "Having so many players
injured is obviously a big concern and to be honest I think we will be
doing well if three from the five make it. However, we will just have to
get on with it."
"Our home form has been pretty good—I believe we have scored
eight goals in our last two games at McDiarmid. Obviously continuing that
kind of run is a priority but it will not be easy. Airdrie United are a
very good team. They work hard and we will have to concentrate for the
full 90 minutes if we are to get a result."
Meanwhile Ryan McCann might be called
into action after scoring a hat-trick against Stirling in the 6-0 win in
Wednesday's closed-doors game.
7pm
- One certain start tomorrow though is Kevin
Cuthbert(right). He's set to play his 100th first-team game for
Saints - not bad for someone who's still only 23. He told the PA , "I've
been involved with the club since I was 12 and youth coach Alastair
Stevenson brought in a few local boys. It's taken longer than I'd have
liked to reach the 100 mark and I've had to be patient. But now that it's
here I'm looking forward to the milestone - and hopefully there will be
many more appearances to come." He almost quit Saints last spring
after a meeting with John Connolly.
He said of that time, "It was depressing on and off the field and
probably the hardest time I've had here. It made me realise things don't
always go to plan. I didn't think my future would be with Saints after
that meeting with the previous manager. It was nothing to do with the
club. I just left with the impression I was on the way out. But as things
turned out Owen Coyle came in and I've been given a chance to stake my
claim. There was a lot of talk about various keepers coming in over the
summer and it got to the stage I just wanted to find out where the
competition would come from this season. Mark Paston came in and
fortunately I've had a good run in the team. A lot of guys left the club
over the summer but none seem to have gone on to bigger things. I could
have thrown in the towel but now I'm glad I rode it out."
Owen Coyle meanwhile held a clear the
air meeting after the Dingwall shambles. He said, "It wasn't open
to debate. There's no way that could be brushed under the carpet. I've
been in dressing rooms where other people were always to blame. But this
is an honest group of players and they know they let themselves down after
getting into a good position after a run of results. Supporters paid good
money for the long trip north and they were let down. But this is another
home game and we have scored eight goals in our last two McDiarmid
matches. Now we have to come up with a positive reaction and a win."
The manager is a doubt after breaking 2 toes in training this week after
Kevin James got him.
Jason Scotland was set to train today
and Darren Sheridan looks like
returning to the side. Owen Coyle is
expecting a tough game though. "That first 45 in Dingwall was our
worst and most lethargic display since the second half at New Broomfield.
And we know this is a difficult game coming up. Airdrie are a good side
but the bottom line is all about St Johnstone and making sure we produce
the passing game and tempo that's essential."
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
November 2nd -
Owen Coyle has confirmed that
Jason Scotland will be heading off
after Saturday's game for the World Cup playoffs and will miss the
following weekend's Tayside derby. The Saints manager told the Courier,
"Jason will be available for the Airdrie game, but the Trinidad
and Tobago FA have been in touch and want him to fly out the following
day. It is a big blow for us that he is missing the Tayside derby, but we
will all wish him well."
As for Saturday's game against his old employers he said, "I
know the Airdrie boys really well and have a few close friends there. I am
well aware how difficult this game may be and they are capable of beating
any team in the division on their day. But we have to get back to doing
the good things we did in the games here against Brechin and Hamilton."
No real news injury-wise but Darren
Sheridan sore foot is apparently responding to treatment.
November
1st - Darren Sheridan seems to
be the only doubt from the weekend after going off with a foot injury.
Owen Coyle isn't too concerned and said
in the Courier today, "We think Darren should be OK, and although
a couple of other lads have bumps and bruises there is nothing too
serious."
Rustybitz(right) managed to shake off his
own-goal embarassment yesterday by turning up to training in fancy dress.
The defender-turned pirate for Halloween and spoke to the PA about givng
away what turned out to be the winner. He said, "I'm sure the
gaffer wanted to cut my throat after that one. But I saw it on TV and if I
got the chance again I'd still risk an own goal rather than allow a
striker a tap in. It was bitterly disappointing and a real contrast to
getting my name on the scoresheet for goals at the other end. I got a
shout from Simon Mensing and made an
effort to clear the cross, but it went past Kevin
Cuthbert. It's not nice hearing rival fans chanting your name! I'd
told the lads I'd turn up in something special for Halloween. They didn't
think I'd follow up on it after what happened in Dingwall. They should
know me better than that!" Speaking of the game as a whole, he
said, "I can’t remember a game when every player except The
Cat was so off the pace for 45 minutes. It's the worst we've played. Goran
Stanic is probably the best technical player we've got here and his early
mistake set the tone for the half. Kevin James and I were at sixes and
sevens. It was definitely one to write off. The gaffer was almost lost for
words to describe our performance - but he managed it and really tore into
us! We certainly improved and might even have won the game. Maybe we were
complacent, I don't know. If so that should wake us up. We've had a great
run playing the best football in the division." As for his own
form he owned up to the slaggings between the players on the park. "Last
year that wouldn't have happened. But now we're all so determined to win
games we keep onto each other because we're striving to be the best. We
know that was nowhere near good enough. But it's behind us and we owe
Airdrie one this weekend." Owen was just as scathing in his
post-mortem saying, "The first half display beggar's belief.
There were some terrible errors and we should have been out of it by
half-time. But they showed character and might actually have won. This
team can't afford to think they can press a switch and everything will be
alright. They have to start games properly and at a high tempo. It was
bitterly disappointing because in this division no one can afford to think
they can turn up and take the points without effort and application. At
least these players are honest and know they let themselves down. It's a
dunt, no doubt about it. But we can't feel sorry for ourselves. Now it’s
the reaction we get from them that's important."
Mark Campbell and
Scott Paterson are set to play in a
closed-doors game at Stirling tomorrow. Neil
Janczyk and Kieran McAnespie will
be missing with the former having picked up one of those viruses that seem
to linker round the changing room.
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
Top Of News
October
October
29th - Savo(right) is the man in
the spotlight today. Speaking in the Courier of his start at Saints, the
striker said, "I’m just glad to be playing regularly again
after the way things turned out at Plymouth. I was on the bench for the
first dozen games last season—then just when I’d been told I was
going to start for the first time I got injured in training and was out
for four or five months. By the time I came back they’d signed a few
strikers and it wasn’t until the last two games I got involved again.
That was my season—14 or so appearances but not a single start!
Between being injured and being so far from home I’d become pretty
depressed down there. My wife was quite homesick as well—she was on
the phone about four hours a day—so it made sense to come back to
Scotland and try to get my career going again."
"I’ve played 17 games now and scored 10 goals—I’m
happy with that. The performance of the team over recent games has also
been really good. Long may it continue. The three-year contract I got
coming here gave me stability. But the move was more about playing
regularly, scoring goals and being involved in a team challenging for the
title. And it’s working out at the moment. Draws at Stranraer and
here against Dundee and Ross County were disappointing for us earlier in
the season. But since then we’ve picked up and won three in a row. We’ve
scored a lot of goals— that’s 11 in three games now—and we’ve
got good defenders as well so it’s looking promising."
And despite the injury worries to up to 6 unnamed players, the manager
thinks there is still a chance he'll field the same team against a County
side set to be managed for the only time by Donald Park, with media
reports suggesting he'll follow John Robertson out the Victoria Park door
at the start of next week.
9pm - Thanks to some defending which is going to haunt the Saints'
supporters dreams for a while to come Saints ended up chasing the game
before losing 2-1 to Ross County with
Jason Scotland the man to give us a
glimmer of hope before Rustybitz stuck the
ball into his own net. Results elsewhere didn't go our way either with
both Accies and that Paisley mob picking up three points and dropping us
back to third. Ach but at least the Scum went down 4-0 at Airdrie.
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
October 28th - With Saints fans
still on a high after the win on Tuesday night,
Owen Coyle has been trying to calm
things down ahead of tomorrow's big game at Dingwall. In today's Courier,
he said, "The pleasing thing for me is that we have closed right
up. At one stage we were seven points off the pace and the First Division
is a difficult division to play catch-up in. But all we have done is put
ourselves in a challenging position. For my money there are four or five
teams who are capable of being up there at the end of the season. And the
killer instinct we have developed over the last few weeks must be
maintained if we are to achieve what we want to. We are nowhere near the
finished article and the players have to recognise that, and the fact they
cannot just play when it suits."
It's not going to be easy though with injury problems already although
the manager's doing the Big Secret Thing ahead of the game. "I
don’t want to name names but on Monday only six of the 11 who started
against Queen of the South were able to train. Ironically I was then able,
for the first time this season, to say “same again”
selection-wise for the Hamilton game. But four of the guys concerned are
still being hampered by knocks and we have had to take it easy training
wise today. "
Meanwhile after losing Robbo as their manager earlier in the week the
grapevine suggests that Steve Paterson will be the dour bugger whose set
to take over today in time for the game tomorrow.
7pm- No updates on the Dingwall manager situation but
Owen Coyle has praised the players in
the PA today as well. The manager is planning to try and stick with the
same line-up that has seen us get two wins this week. And the manager said
in today's PA, "We are getting up a wee head of steam but we have
to carry it on. We have set that sort of standard before but this time we
got our reward in terms of goals. But we are not good enough to sit back
and take winning for granted. We have to graft from the very first minute
to the last. We're long enough in the tooth to realise the same focus and
mentality is required for each game. It was good to deliver a result like
that against close rivals but now we have to take it on from there. I'm
hopeful I can announce the same side again tomorrow."
John Henry hasn't trained again after
missing out with bruised ribs and he said, "The knee injury was
my first serious one and I'd been playing first team football since I was
19. There are definitely players worse off than me. At least I have had a
career. But at 33 I still have a hunger for the game. I took a whack on my
ribs at Dumfries and it effects the breathing. But I don't want to be seen
as injury prone. The banter on the bus back up the road about being hit by
a fly is all part of the football humour. It gets you through the bad
times. I missed playing so much over the last two years and I was fed up
hanging around lounges and stands. I'd almost forgotten what it was like
to look forward to a game. County will pose a threat because they were top
until a few weeks ago. They have good players but we want to keep our good
run going."
October
26th - Owen Coyle(right) was a
happy man in this morning's Courier. Speaking of last night's slaughter
the Saints manager said, "We’re only concerned with
ourselves and some of our play tonight was awesome. Hamilton came here a
point ahead of us so the result was pleasing, but what was even more
pleasing was our passing and the individual performances from my players.
I actually think their keeper had a wonder game and our passing and
movement in the spell before half-time was probably our best of the
season. "
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
October 25th -
Kevin James is looking forward to
tonight's game. In the Courier, the Saints skipper said, "These
are the sort of games that you want to be involved in. I’m glad we’ve
got pressure in this type of match at the top of the league rather than
the bottom. We’re starting to get consistency in our performances now
and that’s six games we’ve gone undefeated. There has been a
settled line-up and it is now hard for the boys out of the team to force
their way in, like Neil Janczyk who
can’t even get on the bench at the moment, which is great for the
manager. It would be great for confidence if we went top of the league
this week but my only concern is being top of the league after our last
game of the season. "
Owen Coyle is expecting to put out the
same side if John Henry has recovered
from his twinge. The gaffer said, "To get the three points with
that level of performance was very pleasing. I’ve been looking for
the team to put in performances that would make me say ‘same again,’
and barring injuries that will be the case. I would expect them to come
here and try to get all three points, which doesn’t happen often at
McDiarmid Park. Hopefully that will suit us. We’re playing well,
scoring goals and we want to continue that. If we play to our maximum I’m
sure we can beat them again. "
11pm - In the end we had little to worry about as an unchanged
side from Saturday went on the rampage with a
5-1 win over Accies which moves us up
to 2nd thanks to a late St Midden winner at Stranraer. Saints goals
tonight came courtesy of Jason Scotland,
Ryan Stevenson, a brace from that
man Sheerinho and a candidate for goal
of the season from Goran Stanic. Sheer
joy.
In other news the Scotland game on November 12th means our match at Dens
has had it's kick-off brought forward a couple of hours to 1pm -
Just think Coagies for lunch!!!!
October 24th - With QoS still
whinging about the foul on Goran Stanic
for the penalty at the weekend, Sheerinhio
was a happy man in the papers. Scorer of two of Saints goals at the
weekend, he said in today's Retard, "The manager's been nipping
my head for weeks now,telling me it's time I got on the scoresheet. I was
fortunate with the penalty as none of our normal takers were playing, and
their defender should have done better with my second. I've been getting
into scoring positions and the manager said it was only a matter of time
before I scored.I could have had a hat-trick but I'm not greedy. I enjoyed
the game though and there was the moment when the ref dropped his cards.He
mentioned the Gascoigne thing when it happened and I thought about doing
it but thought I might get booked."
Meanwhile, Owen Coyle said, "We
were worthy winners. The game should have been out of reach in the first
half but I'm delighted with the performance and the result."
October
22nd - John Henry could be set
for a starting jersey at Dumfries today, after an impressive return from
injury as a sub last weekend, with Dobs
set to drop out as part of a reshuffle. He told the Courier, "The
injury has died down completely now and I’ve trained for the last two
weeks and come through a full reserve game so hopefully that’s the
end of it. I took a kick in a game at Ochilview and didn’t realise
how bad it was until it swelled right up. It was a medial ligament tear
which should only have taken a couple of months to clear up but it was
misdiagnosed and it got worse and worse and I ended up having to have a
big operation on it about a year ago. That’s me just coming back
properly now and I’ve managed to come off the bench a few times since
I came here but I’m just bursting to start a game. The season is
starting to pass and I have to make an impact and make sure I help us get
up there challenging.". As for the title race this year, he went
on, "St Mirren are doing really well but if we can hit a run of
form and get key players performing and a bit of continuity, hopefully we
shouldn’t be far away. But Queen of the South away is a tricky tie
and they will be battling and probably try and turn the game into a bit of
a battle but we will have to match that and then let our football shine
through."
Owen Coyle is expecting a tough game
though. He said, "There is no doubt at all Queen of the South
will be boosted by their first win of the season against Airdrie last
weekend. Queens is a very hard trip for any team and it will be no
different for us. It was important we turned our recent good performances
into three points against Brechin and it will be the same this time. If we
concentrate and keep playing the way are capable of, I’m sure we’ll
be left with a pleasing outcome.". Goran
Stanic is still classed as a doubt.
7.45pm - Another good all-round performance today saw us run out
3-1 winners at QoS with goals from
Savo and a brace from man of the moment
Paul Sheerin(right). The win sees us
move up to 3rd spot in the league with an all-important match against
Accies this Tuesday giving us a golden chance to continue the climb.
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
October
21st - The big team news for tomorrow is that
Goran Stanic(right) is still a doubt
having failed to train all week due to a calf strain. Given the other
injury problems on that side of the park it means that
Willie Dyer might be called on to take
over the left-back role.
Owen Coyle told the Courier, "Hopefully,
Goran will train because that’s his only chance of making Saturday’s
game. We’re also without Mark
Campbell, Kieran McAnespie and
Scott Paterson, as well as the
long-term injured, but we will just have to deal with it accordingly—that’s
why we have squads and there’s no point moaning."
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
October 19th - There's not much
happening at the club just now - but for you fashion victims out there
they have announced that the away strip should be out at the end of this
month / start of November. So we'll be getting plenty of wear out of them
then?
October 17th -Kevin
James was a happy man after the weekend win. He told the Courier,
"Scoring was great for me as it has been a long time coming. The
gaffer has been giving me a fair bit of stick for not getting goals this
season and that has been fair enough as I probably should be making more
of a scoring contribution. I am sure it will not take too long before he
is back on my case but it was certainly good to get off the mark. It was
hard work and we would have to say that Brechin City played very well.
They basically played to hit us on the counter-attack and have got players
that can do that very effectively. We blew them away in the first 10 or 15
minutes but they equalised and when we went in for half-time at 1-1 we got
a right rollicking from the manager. He told us to keep being patient but
said we needed to up the tempo and when we did get the second and third it
was pretty comfortable."
As for the manager, he commented, "Craig Nelson had a string of
good saves prior to our second and I was not panicking as I always thought
the goal was coming. We worked hard and had to be patient but we certainly
deserved the victory."
October 15th -
Savo reckons there won't be a repeat of
the lack of goals/shots ratio that we saw at Stranraer. Speaking in the
Courier he said, "The Stranraer game was one of our better
performances. “It’s a game we should have won by a big margin.
Now we’re learning from our mistakes and taking our chances. “Getting
an early goal would be ideal, but patience could be important.".
As for renewing his striking partnership with
Dobs he said, "We started
brilliantly. I think we scored in every game out of our first five. He
likes the ball into his feet and I like to run in behind defenders, so we
work well together. Hopefully the partnership will blossom again.
Obviously there is Jason Scotland as
well, and the manager has been looking sharp in training. I think there
are still a lot of goals left in him "
Jason Scotland was due back from
international duty yesterday and will start assuming he's not too shagged
out. David Hannah seems set to missout
but Rustybitz should play.
For Brechin they've got plenty of injuries/suspensions but that hasn't
stopped Matt Lucas lookalike Gary "Emperor
Minging" Bollan from threatening to dent the sacred turf today.
7pm - In the end it was a well-deserved
3-1 win for Saints with goals from
Ryan Stevenson,
Kevin James and
Savo in what was at times a bad-tempered
affair. Results elsewhere actually went our way for a change and we've
moved ahead of the Scum.
October
14th - First up and confirmation that
Jason Scotland is still in with a
chance of being the only Saintee in the World Cup Finals as Trinidad and
Tobago progressed this week to a play-off against Bahrain. The bad news is
that it means the Saints striker will miss the trip to Dens on Saturday
November 12th to play in these games.
Looking ahead to tomorrow and Stephen
Dobbie(right) will be partnering Steven
Milne up front in place of the injured Peaso.
Owen Coyle's warned the
Dobster to start improving though
saying, "In simple terms I've warned
Stephen if he doesn't take this
opportunity then I will. I'll be in the weekend squad but
Stephen will start. He and
Steven Milne had a terrific start to the
season and I'm confident they will get goals. I've been knocking on the
manager's door about getting a game myself but unfortunately he's never
been in!". No major new injury worries for us but
David Hannah is doubtful after being
floored by a sickness bug.
John Henry is back in the squad though
and he told the Official Site, "I'm delighted to be back to the
stage where the manager can consider me for a jersey. Owen has been very
supportive in letting me train with Saints pre-season in a bid to prove my
fitness and having achieved that and won a contract it's been very
frustrating being out. I came through pre-season no problems at all and
was feeling great but I took a real heavy knock in the match down at
Hamilton and although it was directly on the area of my previous injury,
I'm certain the knock would have kept me sidelined irrespective of my
previous problems. The Accies player got the ball in the challenge but I
took a real sore one in the process. I tried to play in the following game
against St Mirren but it just couldn't continue."
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
October 12th - The injury list
continues fo be a problem ahead of this weekend's game.
Scott Paterson finally trained
yesterday after bruising ribs against Morton in the reserves early last
week. Kieran McAnespie has a heel knock
and is doubtful while Kevin "Dinky"
Rutkiewicz only managed a light training session yesterday after his
illness. And finally, Mark Campbell
has had an injection into his achilles injury but has already been ruled
out for the Brechin game.
October 11th - Yes I know
there's not been much news lately but with Saints shutdown as we indulge
in some national mourning for the failure to make the World Cup, it looks
like Trinidad and Tobago's efforts will have an impact. They're in with a
chance of making the play-offs and if they do, it means that
Jason Scotland will likely miss our
visit to Dens on November 12th - it's not all bad news though as our
esteemed opponents will also be missing their keeper. All will be
confirmed tomorrow if T&T beat Mexico.
There's not much in the way of other news with Kevin
Rutkiewicz laid up with a sickness bug he apparently got from
David Hannah. No word on whether it
means yet another defensive reshuffle at the weekend.
October 7th - Saints managed to
agree an undisclosed fee with Clyde for Simon
Mensing ahead of yesterday's tribunal. So that's that all sorted
then.
But the bad news is that Peaso's
tidy-up op has revealed more damage than they thought and we're set to be
without the striker until Santa's been and gone. In today's Courier,
Owen Coyle said, "We expected
to be without Peter for two or three weeks but basically when they’ve
gone in they’ve found more damage than expected. He has been told he
can do nothing for six weeks and then it’ll be another four or five
weeks before he is ready to play again. I feel really sorry for Peaso
because since he joined St Johnstone he’s been troubled by one injury
or another. Hopefully, though, this will be the end of his misfortune
because, in my opinion, when fit he’s the best striker in the first
division."
October 4th -
Peaso is in the hospital today for
what's described as a "tidy-up" operation on his knee. He's only
expected to miss one game and Owen Coyle
told the Courier, "We’re hoping Peaso will only be out for
the Brechin match after the international break, instead of more had he
been operated on a week or so ago. He hasn’t been 100% for a wee
while now and maybe if he had been he’d have put away a couple of the
chances he got at Stranraer on Saturday.".
The manager was on target last night as the reserves won their League Cup
tie at Cappielow. He got two while Stephen
Dobbie and Steve McManus hit the
others in a 4-0 win. As for Saturday he said, "In terms of our
passing and movement, that was one of our best performances of the season
so far. Their manager Neil Watt said to me after the game that nobody has
dominated them like that, including Aberdeen. Some of the chances we
missed couldn’t even be described as half chances really. We’re
certainly creating them, but we need to be more clinical and ruthless in
front of goal. Looking at the league table, though, we’re only four
points off the pace, and that is nothing at this stage of the season."
October
1st - Simon Mensing(right) is
out to make amends on the trip West today. The newly unsuspended Saints
defender said in the Courier, "I’ve been dealt with and so I
should have been. I let myself down, the team down and the gaffer down. It
was heat of the moment stuff and the gaffer says he’s been there
himself, as have a lot of players. But I have to learn from what happened
and eradicate that sort of thing from my game."
"The journey to Stranraer alone is difficult enough and you can add
to that the fact the pitch is tight, and obviously they are coming off the
back of a very good result (the 3-2 away win over Brechin) last weekend.
We have to be prepared for all of that and play our own game. We’ve
done not too badly away from home and hopefully we can carry on from the
win at Clyde. That was a good result. I don’t think it was our best
performance by any means, but until Scott
Paterson was sent off we weren’t in too much trouble. After I
followed Scott Paterson in being
red-carded the boys did come under a bit of pressure. But they held
strong. If you are going for promotion you need to be picking up a fair
number of points away from home. We’ve taken six from a possible nine
so far and if we can now go on a nice little run it’ll move us nearer
to the top. "
It looks like Kevin James might return
to defence while Goran Stanic has been
passed fit and there may be a slot for John
Henry on the bench.
And the skipper has called on the fans to be patient after the midweek
debacle. Kevin James said in the Retard,
"Fans have to remember it takes time for a team to gel. We'll get
stronger as the season progresses". - worrying echoes of last
year there!
8pm - In the end we had to settle for a
1-1 draw at Stranraer as a late Moore
header cancelled out Ryan Stevenson's
opener as we dominated the whole game including
Jason Scotland hitting the post late
on. Results elsewhere mean we're now 5th but only 4 points off the pace.
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
Top Of News
September
September
30th - Ahead of tomorrow's match, Owen
Coyle(right) has warned the players to be on their best behaviour.
In the Courier he admitted Simon Mensing
had been disciplined after his red card. "Simon lifted his hands
to push the boy away, and we all know you cannot raise your hands, so he
has been punished under our code of conduct. I am not overly concerned by
the red-cards we’ve been picking up—Scott
Paterson was unfortunate, as was Mark
Campbell at Cowdenbeath—because sometimes things go against
you. In addition to those dismissals we’ve also conceded a number of
goals to deflections and had penalties given against us which Stevie
Wonder could have seen weren’t pens! If it is the case that the
breaks even themselves out over the piece then I’m looking forward to
the rest of the season because we are long overdue a slice of luck.
However, we cannot go creating problems for ourselves and that’s why
I have stressed to the players the need to ensure we keep eleven on the
park at all times. I’ve told them I want them to be competitive but
that they must act within the laws of the game and avoid being
over-zealous. "
As for Tuesday's shambles he wants to put it behind for the weekend. "I
stayed up until five in the morning watching a tape of the Hamilton game,
over and over again, and if nothing else that exercise has made me even
more determined to ensure we are up there challenging at the top of the
league. And I know this group of players can achieve that—providing
they perform at the top of their game."
Darren Sheridan has apparently been
cured so he'll definitely play tomorrow. Mark
Campbell has a calf knock so is rated doubtful.
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
September 29th -
Kevin James looks like he'll be able to
return to the side for the trip to Stranraer at the weekend.
Simon Mensing is also likely to return
but Scott Paterson misses out and
Darren Sheridan is still apparently
suffering from a chest infection.
Owen Coyle is looking forward to the
trip partly since it's his first journey to Stair Park. He told the
Courier, "I have never been there but I have heard they don’t
make it easy for visiting teams. So we can’t afford to play in fits
and starts like we did on Tuesday.“We had high hopes of getting to
the final of the Bell’s Cup and I am so disappointed that we failed
to take that opportunity. A chance to win silverware has passed the
players by and now we need to go down to Stranraer and get league points.
"
September 28th - It's a case of
no excuses from Owen Coyle for last
night's shambles. The Saints manager told the Courier, "I thought
we dominated the first half but in the second half we were not as fluent
as I would like us to be and I expected us to do better after half time.
That wasn’t good enough. “I can vouch for the fact that
opportunities to get to a cup final don’t come around too often. This
was a great chance to get to one and we didn’t take it. "
September
27th - Hero of Broadwood Kevin
Cuthbert(right) denies that the Challenge Cup isn't an important
tournament to Saints. Ahead of tonight's semi, the Saints keeper said in
the Courier today, "Who doesn’t want to play in a final? Who
doesn’t want to win a medal? The further you get in a competition,
the more you want to win it. The fans will want a good day out at a final
and there would be nothing worse than falling at the final hurdle tomorrow
night. We’ll be expecting a tough game from Hamilton but we beat them
at the start of the season and I think we’ve improved as a team since
then. This is a game that we really want to win."
As for his own form he said, "I always knew that the manager
would sign another goalkeeper, even though it took a long time for it to
happen. I just had to forget about who he might bring in and concentrate
on my own game and make sure I reacted in the right manner. I’m in
the team just now and whether or not I stay there is in my hands. There
are a lot of big games coming up that I don’t want to miss out on. I
was disappointed with the goal I conceded against Dundee but there was no
point in dwelling on it. I thought I did well against Clyde on Saturday
and getting a win and a clean sheet was perfect. It was a long last 15
minutes when we were playing with nine men, but we restricted them to just
a few chances and that says a lot for the organisation of our defence. "
Owen Coyle has also praised his keeper
and said, "He’s been terrific. The biggest compliment I can
pay him is I keep picking him every week. He made a mistake for the goal
against Dundee in not turning a shot around the post, but he had a
tremendous save against Clyde. He’s looking very composed and assured
."
As for tonight there will be some changes. The manager has probably to do
without the services of Kevin James and
Darren Sheridan. He said, "Kevin
was in agony at the end of the game and Darren
probably shouldn’t have played against Clyde as he had a chest
infection. So they are both doubts.".
Peaso will be monitored and is set
to see a specialist about his knee after the weekend. But
Owen Coyle said, "Whatever team
takes the field will be good enough to win. We’re in the last four of
the cup and we want to get to the final. I’ve played in two finals,
winning one and losing one, and would love the opportunity to take St
Johnstone to one."
11pm - An absolutely pathetic second-half performance saw us lose
2-1 at home to Accies in the semi-final
with Rustybitz first-half goal one of the
few highlights. The team were booed off the park and thoroughly deserved
the fans reaction. Absolutely shocking.
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
September 26th- Confirmation
today that Simon Mensing misses out
tomorrow night for being an idiot. Scott
Paterson does play but will miss out on the weekend trip to
Stranraer. Elsewhere though both Kevin James
and Darren Sheridan might miss out
with the latter nursing a throat infection. Owen
Coyle said "We have one or two other knocks and will
monitor these players right up until kick-off time. The Bell’s Cup is
one we want to win and tomorrow’s game gives us an opportunity to
reach the final."
September
24th - New father Goran Stanic
(who missed the birth of his child in Spain last weekend cos he was
playing against the Scum) is looking to round off the week with 3 points
from Broadwood. The Macedonian Saintee told the Courier, "The
manager would have let me go to Spain before the Dundee match if I’d
wanted, but because my wife Georgina couldn’t be sure when the birth
was due I went straight after the game. I spent four days over there, but
I trained by myself each day to keep in shape. The week has passed really
quickly. Now I want to finish a good week by winning tomorrow. Then we
have the Bell’s Cup semi-final on Tuesday and another league match
the following weekend before I can get a break with my family."
It's too early for Kieran McAnespie
apparently and while both John Henry and
Scrabble are back in training they're
not expected to take any part. Owen Coyle
simply said, "We know we’re capable of dominating games. Now
we have to kill teams off, starting against Clyde this afternoon."
7.30pm - A disgraceful refereeing performance ruined a decent game
with Saints hanging onto beat Clyde 1-0
despite late red cards for Scott Paterson
and Simon Mensing(right), the latter a
fully deserved one for violent conduct. Savo
was the man to get the goal which got the 3 points and puts us back up to
4th.
Photo copyright PPA (www.ppapix.co.uk).
Used with permission.
September 23rd - After a pretty
quiet week, Owen Coyle is in the papers
today talking about tomorrow's trip to Broadwood. The Saints gaffer
watched Clyde at Ibrox on Tuesday night and said in the Courier, "They
were very impressive, worked their socks off and gave everything they had
and were a bit unfortunate not to win over the 90 minutes. They have got a
cause to fight for because people weren’t exactly full of niceties
about them at the start of the season, and they’ve made people eat
their words. It will be very difficult but we have to focus on our
performance because it’s important we come away with the three
points."
And ahead of tomorrow's game (where we're getting the stand opposite the
main stand instead of being squeezed into one corner),
Paul Sheerin is looking to get a goal
or two (we can all dream). Speaking on the Official Site he uttered, "We
really just need to approach tomorrow in the same manner as we have done
the past three matches as there hasn't been a lot wrong with those games
except the lack of goals. Against Ross County especially we played very
well and just lacked the end product and we had bags of possession against
Dundee although to be fair we didn't look like scoring. This week we've
been working hard on sharpening up our play in the 'final third' and
hopefully we’ll reap the benefits from that." "I'm a lot
happier all round this season. 'Janny'
(Neil Janczyk - more correctly known as Scrabble) was in the team at
the start of the season and I had no complaints. But I'm delighted to be
back in again and I'm happy in the role that I'm playing. I prefer to be
in a position to be supporting the front men but I would like to add goals
to my game. I got 17 from midfield in one season with Inverness Caley and
although there were a few penalties among them I still think I should be
getting on the score sheet more regularly for Saints. I feel I'm capable
of getting ten a season and Saints fans have certainly not seen anything
like that sort of contribution so far so I'll be working hard to remedy
that situation."
Kieran McAnespie may play but lacks
match practice though Scrabble is
ruled out already despite being back in training.
Peaso may return to the starting
line-up though.
September 20th - Latest injury
news is that Kieran McAnespie was back
in training yesterday and may play in today's closed-doors game against
Raith. Rustybitz picked up a knock but
should be back in training midweek but Scrabble,
Kevin James,
John Henry and
Fozzy(remember him)?
As for our mentality, Owen Coyle
believes the rest of the teams are scared of Saints. In today's Courier,
he said, "We’ve dominated all the games against the
so-called title challengers, and if we’d won our last two matches
against Dundee and Ross County, as we should have, we would be right up at
the top of the league. I still feel there is a lot more to come from us
and we also have players to come back into the team. It’s all very
positive. What we have to make sure we start doing is pick up all three
points when we dominate a match, not just one."
September
17th - Jason Scotland is
hyping up the game in the Courier this morning. Speaking in the Courier of
his rivalry with international colleague and Scumdee goalie Kelvin Jack,
the Saints striker said, "Kelvin and I get on great, we socialise
and visit each other a lot. We have been speaking nearly every day since
that journey and we both think it took a lot out of us. He told me he was
still feeling the effects of the trip this week, and I wasn’t doing
that well myself. But we have to put it behind us and it is nice to have
this big match to look forward to now. I know the two clubs are from
different cities but this is still a derby for us because Dundee are seen
as St Johnstone’s main rivals. So I will be looking to score goals
against Kelvin and he understands that, just as I understand that he will
do everything in his power to keep a clean sheet for his team. We will
shake hands and wish each other good luck at the start but after that all
I will be thinking about is helping St Johnstone."
"If we can beat Dundee then it will have been a very good week for
the club. We have a lot of quality players here and we feel we should be
moving up the league table. “If we get a victory then we can then
push on from there and go on to have a successful season. "
Meanwhile we've got another injury worry with Kevin
Moon ruled out with a hip injury. Owen
Coyle said, "Kevin is only 17 and has a big future in the
game. It’s a shame he picked up the injury and will miss out. Dundee
and ourselves are playing for the same three points, but there’s the
added spice of it being a local derby and the bragging rights that go with
it. It should be one of the bigger attendances of the season and the
atmosphere will be great. Dundee are seen as the big club in this
division, but we are looking to be up there challenging too."
There will be late fitness tests for Steven
Anderson, Peaso and
Kevin James but these are the only ones
in with a chance of playing.
7pm - A Kevin Rutkiewicz(right)
equaliser meant we drew 1-1 with Dundee
despite dominating most of the second-half but it wasn't enough as the
cutting edge was again missing. Still the point sneaks us a bit further up
the table. Owen Coyle's comments after
the game summed it up. On the Official Site he said, "We
dominated that game and should have had the three points. Dundee obviously
came to sit in and I can understand why they did that and I suppose it’s
a compliment to St Johnstone that they were happy with a point but it’s
very frustrating that we didn’t create more chances and break them
down. It was a soft goal again and we are going to have to get back on the
training ground and yet again work on trying to eradicate that aspect of
our play but I can’t fault the players for their character and the
will to win they showed me. It was just a pity that too often the delivery
from the wide areas was poor and that we couldn’t make more of the
opportunities that we had. We need to show a strength of character to
overcome teams who come to McDiarmid Park to sit in and try and frustrate
us and that is all part of the learning process. Individually and
collectively today we just didn’t fire on all cylinders."
September
16th - Savo is looking to score
the winner tomorrow the way he did the last time we played the Scum at
McD. The striker said, "It's St Johnstone that pay my wages now
and I'm paid to score goals for Saints. In an ideal world Dundee would
have stayed in the Premier League last season and I wouldn't have to play
them. But I know how big a game this is for our fans.”
"I'm sure I'll get the usual reception from fans seeing a former
playe