The truth about St Johnstone and Inverness

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St Johnstone have been a managerial proving ground in recent seasons.  Owen Coyle did a great deal of good work without achieving promotion to the SPL, but his two years there managed to sufficiently impress Burnley that they tempted him south.  The people of Burnley were probably as surprised as the rest of us when Own led them to the FA Premier League but five months into the season he jumped ship to Bolton Wanderers.

Coyle kept Bolton up in 2010 and again in 2011 but they slipped from the league last summer.  Poor form in the Championship soon turned sentiment against the manger and he was relieved of his duties in October.

Derek McInnes followed Coyle at St Johnstone and brought them into the SPL in his first full season but 15 months ago, after being touted for several jobs in England, he left for Bristol City, who, bottom of the Championship, sacked him today.

Steve Lomas is St Johnstone’s current manager and the latest to impress clubs south of the border offering larger pay-packets.  He would be foolish to accept a job from a struggling club who have sacked their manager mid-season.  As we have said several times before, managers receive a great deal of credit or blame but the success of a football club is infinitely more dependent on the entire structure of the club.

St Johnstone’s structure is just fine.  The same is true of Inverness, where Terry Butcher decided to stay this week, as well as Ross County and Motherwell.  The city clubs, Aberdeen, Hibs, Hearts, Dundee United and Dundee all churn through seasons as compulsive underachievers.  If they were able to do something about this fact our league would be the envy of most.

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  1. 5088 FC have proposed a new structure for Scottish league football as an alternative to the favoured Scottish Premier league and Scottish football league plan.

     

     

    The Sports direct club are opposed to the 12-12-18 plan that has been broadly agreed by the governing bodies and are to table their own alternative.

     

     

    The plan has been described as a 14-14-14 set-up on the club’s official website but no in-depth detail has been released.(surprise/surprise)

     

     

    http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/209669-rangers-propose-new-14-14-14-scottish-league-restructure-plan/

  2. Top of the morning to you all from a bright and sunny Fife made all the brighter by our manager’s comments re the Sevconian’s interest in our affairs.

     

     

    He didn’t miss them and hit the wall did he?

  3. Juve news ———

     

     

    It’s crisis time .

     

     

    Front page of today’s La Gazzetta Dello Sport screams ——–

     

     

    “Juve ——-What is happening to you ? ”

     

     

    and then devotes 6 pages to ” the crisis ” at Juve .

     

     

    Analysis —– dreadful up front and porous at the back. Injuries , loss of form and downright lazy players like Vucinic . Buffon is aging and is making costly errors. . Teams have worked out that Juve are vulnerable to counter attacking football .Pirlo is aging and can’t do it all on his own .

     

     

    Solution —– badly need a centre forward / badly need a a penalty box player .Badly need Pepe/ Marchisio /Asamoah and Chiellini to recover from their injuries quickly

     

     

    The talk re Drogba continues but so does talk that Drogba knows that Juve are desperate . Much talk of him holding Juve to ransom .

     

     

    Long may it continue.

     

     

    A lot of violence before and after yesterday’s game —- 70 Juve Ultras attacked a bar near Parma’s stadium [ armed with baseball bats/knives etc ] Reports of other Juve Ultras throwing ” improvised explosive devices ” at Parma fans . People injured , some seriously . 1 ” innocent ” Juve fan taken to hospital after being brutally beaten by a group of Parma Ultras .

     

     

    The games v Juve are weeks away but today a Juve blog is screaming —-

     

     

    ” We need a finisher —-we need a centre forward ”

     

     

    Sunny / clear blue sky –much work to do–way down south.

     

     

  4. I see that The Herald are running a “30 most influential figures in Scottish football” over the next three days.

     

     

    Today under 30 -21 we see John Park at 25 and Ian Livingstone at 24. I’m sure there will be a few more Celts over the next two days.

  5. City fans were complaining about £62 for a ticket and fair enough.

     

     

    I heard 2 women saying they paid £24 return on train as well. Now all in that’s £86.

     

     

    Now as a former season ticket holder for 16 years at CP it was costing me more every 2nd week to go to home game!!

     

     

    There are 1000s of Irish fans still doing this. Dedication.

     

     

    Sffs

  6. FAVOURITE UNCLE on

    back on.thanks.i can’t start my day until i know what the weather is like in E.K. and KEV announces hes AFF OOT.

  7. Morning, Chaps, from a sunny but cold downtown Glasgow.

     

     

    A quick question: can someone please remind me when the Lord Nimmo Smith Enquiry into player registrations gets underway … ?

     

     

    FF

  8. .

     

     

    4/1 for Andy Murray to Win more than One Grand Slam this Year..

     

     

    100/1 to Win All 4..

     

     

    Not too Long ago Dokovic was those Kind of Odds..

     

     

    Might shove this 10 Bob Note on Him..;-)))))

     

     

    Summa

  9. Gordon_J backing Neil Lennon

     

    10:58 on

     

    14 January, 2013

     

    I see that The Herald are running a “30 most influential figures in Scottish football” over the next three days.

     

     

    Today under 30 -21 we see John Park at 25 and Ian Livingstone at 24. I’m sure there will be a few more Celts over the next two days.

     

     

    —————————————–

     

     

    Park should be in the top 5.

     

     

    I am guessing however it will be

     

     

    5. Ian Black

     

    4. Kenny McDowall

     

    3. Ian Durrant

     

    2. Super Ally

     

    1. Mel from Benidorm

  10. Watched the Juve game – the goal they conceded was similar to the Tony Watt goal .v. Barca.

     

     

    They were sliced open – long ball out of defence bypassed the midfield – Parma sub latched on to it – strode past central defenders and tucked it past the GK.

     

     

    Juve spent the last 20 mins throwing crosses into the box (with none of their forwards getting on the end of them) – Parma coped well and never looked in danger of conceding.

  11. Don’t lump us in with your Div 3 team

     

    By ROBERT GRIEVE

     

    Published: 11 hrs ago

     

     

    NEIL LENNON has told Charles Green: STOP dragging Celtic into your problems.

     

    Lennon hit out after Rangers chief Green had namechecked Celts in his blast about quitting Scotland.

     

     

    The Hoops boss said: “They are in the Third Division, we are in the SPL, and it’s not really our problem. We probably have to take it as a back-handed compliment because they’re looking up at us.”

     

     

    Green let rip last week when he insisted it was time for Rangers to quit Scottish football.

     

    He mentioned how Hoops chief Peter Lawwell had talked about the same thing at the Celtic AGM.

     

     

    The Yorkshireman also predicted the Parkhead club’s season ticket sales would plummet in the SPL next season without any Old Firm fixtures.

     

     

    Lennon says he’s fed up hearing Celtic being lumped in with their Old Firm rivals.

     

    He said: “He’s entitled to his opinion, but they keep bringing us into their problems. At the end of the day, they have their issues and we have ours.

     

     

    “We seem to keep getting brought into it, whether they are having a little nip at us or not.

     

     

    “From here on in, I am not going to answer any more questions on Rangers because they are not on our radar.

     

     

    “We are six months down the line from Rangers playing in the Third Division, and six months down the line I am still answering questions about them.

     

     

    “We have a really important half of the season to look forward to.

     

     

    “I can’t dwell on what’s gone on in the past and I can’t dwell on what is going on in the Third Division.”

     

     

    Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/feeds/smartphone/scotland/4742404/Dont-lump-us-in-with-your-Div-3-team.html#ixzz2Hwmy7lmg

  12. LEAVE IT OUT … Neil Lennon is fed up of hearing Charles Green drag Celtic into his battles

     

    Don’t lump us in with your Div 3 team

     

    By ROBERT GRIEVE Published: 7 hrs ago

     

     

    NEIL LENNON has told Charles Green: STOP dragging Celtic into your problems.

     

    Lennon hit out after Rangers chief Green had namechecked Celts in his blast about quitting Scotland.

     

     

    The Hoops boss said: “They are in the Third Division, we are in the SPL, and it’s not really our problem. We probably have to take it as a back-handed compliment because they’re looking up at us.”

     

     

    Green let rip last week when he insisted it was time for Rangers to quit Scottish football.

     

     

    He mentioned how Hoops chief Peter Lawwell had talked about the same thing at the Celtic AGM.

     

     

    The Yorkshireman also predicted the Parkhead club’s season ticket sales would plummet in the SPL next season without any Old Firm fixtures.

     

     

    Lennon says he’s fed up hearing Celtic being lumped in with their Old Firm rivals.

     

     

    He said: “He’s entitled to his opinion, but they keep bringing us into their problems. At the end of the day, they have their issues and we have ours.

     

     

    “We seem to keep getting brought into it, whether they are having a little nip at us or not.

     

     

    “From here on in, I am not going to answer any more questions on Rangers because they are not on our radar.

     

     

    “We are six months down the line from Rangers playing in the Third Division, and six months down the line I am still answering questions about them.

     

     

    “We have a really important half of the season to look forward to.

     

     

    “I can’t dwell on what’s gone on in the past and I can’t dwell on what is going on in the Third Division.”

  13. Ten Men Won The League

     

    10:51 on

     

    14 January, 2013

     

    DU give Blackpool permission to speak to Peter Houston

     

     

    —————-

     

     

    why, is the organist in the tower retiring ?

  14. Gordon_J backing Neil Lennon

     

     

    10:58 on 14 January, 2013

     

     

    ‘I see that The Herald are running a “30 most influential figures in Scottish football” over the next three days.’

     

     

     

    1. Ramsay Smith

     

    2. Jabba

     

    3. Campbell Ogilvie

  15. So Charlie Green has a plan – 3 leagues of 14. And … er … that’s it.

     

     

    How would it work? How many times do teams play each other? Is there a split? Play offs?

     

     

    And, more to the point, why does he think this would be better for The Rangers? Well he wouldn’t be proposing it otherwise, would he?

  16. South Of Tunis

     

     

    10:50 on 14 January, 2013

     

     

    I’m not a fan of Italian footy its boring,negative and riddled with corruption,however been watching Juve lately for obvious reasons and I’ve not been impressed.They rely heavily on Pirlo,I reckon if you close them down they give you the ball thats what happened with Parma yesterday.Not saying we are better at keeping the ball than them in fact quite the opposite but it did seem that if you pressure Pirlo no one else can keep the ball.I was impressed by the guy who played the holding roll though he was excellent,great at breaking up play.

     

     

    Now however that wee sh**e Giovinco,cheating wee rat bag.On four occasions yesterday he went down with zero contact and on three of these occasions the ref gave him the foul.Luckily for Parma the one he did not give was in the box,we will need a strong ref particularly for the away leg.

     

     

    If we can get organised and keep Pirlo quiet we are in with a shout.

     

     

    Cheers.

  17. FAVOURITE UNCLE on

    SAINT STIVS.my wife says i’m sad for reading C.Q.N.all day but it’s for moments like that!!!!!!!!

  18. Gordon_J backing Neil Lennon

     

     

    11:19 on 14 January, 2013

     

     

    ‘So Charlie Green has a plan – 3 leagues of 14. And … er … that’s it.’

     

     

     

    The purpose of announcing the plan is that the announcement itself gives the media a reason to report on it thus maintaining the profile of Mr Green and his money making scheme.

     

     

    It also gives the media something to fill up newspapers and broadcasts, so it suits their purpose too.

  19. Hamiltontim, Daily Mail has similar:

     

     

    Lennon tells Rangers chief Green to stop dragging Celtic into his problems

     

    By John Mcgarry

     

     

    PUBLISHED: 00:38, 14 January 2013 | UPDATED: 00:38, 14 January 2013

     

     

    Neil Lennon last night told Charles Green to stop dragging Celtic into Rangers’ problems.

     

     

    The Ibrox chief executive has repeatedly pointed an accusing finger at much of the rest of Scottish football since the club was forced to start again in the Third Division.

     

     

    But he specifically questioned the future loyalty of Celtic’s season-ticket holders before citing Peter Lawwell’s comments on regional leagues to strengthen his argument that Rangers would be better off quitting Scottish football.

     

     

    Bored: Celtic boss Neil Lennon (pictured) does not want to answer any more questions about rivals Rangers.

     

     

    Lennon has now grown tired of Green’s references to his club — and believes he would be better off concentrating on matters closer to home.

     

     

    ‘He’s entitled to his opinion, but they keep bringing us into their problems,’ he said.

     

    ‘We probably have to take that as a back-handed compliment. At the end of the day, they have their issues and we have ours.

     

     

    ‘I understand where he is coming from. I am not too sure whether he was adamant in saying we need to go now, or whatever it is.

     

     

    ‘Whether that’s good for the game, I don’t know. Whether that’s good for them, I don’t know.

     

     

    ‘But, from my point of view, they are in the Third Division, we are in the SPL — and it’s not really our problem.

     

     

    ‘We seem to keep getting brought into it, whether they are having a little nip at us or not. Again, I’ll take it as a back-handed compliment because they’re looking up at us.’

     

     

    Lennon added that, unless the Glasgow giants are drawn together in the Scottish Cup this season, he will not be dragged into any further discussion about the Ibrox club.

     

     

    ‘We are six months down the line from Rangers playing in the Third Division, and six months down the line I am still answering questions on them,’ he added.

     

     

    ‘And I don’t want to answer any more questions on them, to tell you the truth, because I have enough on my plate.

     

     

    ‘We have a really important half of the season to look forward to, so I can’t dwell on what’s gone on in the past and I can’t dwell on what is going on in the Third Division.

     

     

    ‘From here on in, I am not going to answer any more questions on Rangers because they are not on our radar, unless we play them in a cup competition — then I will be quite happy to answer questions on the football aspect of things.’

     

     

    The arrival of Rami Gershon looks unlikely to be the last bit of business Celtic conduct, with Australian Tom Rogic currently on trial — although Queens Park Rangers have joined the race for the player.

     

     

    The Central Coast Mariners midfielder is also interesting Fulham and Reading.

     

     

    A deal for American Juan Agudelo is moving closer and a move for Nigerian Juwon Oshaniwa is being pondered.

     

     

    Meanwhile, Celtic were last night linked with Marco Rojas, a New Zealand international who plays with Australian side Melbourne Victory.

     

     

    A move in this window would seem unlikely though, as the 21-year-old’s father said that he would not be moving yet.

     

     

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2261927/Neil-Lennon-tells-Rangers-stop-dragging-Celtic-problems.html#ixzz2HwqsXZol

  20. The Charles Green plan is simple

     

     

    14 x3

     

    They get up two leagues in a year (fast tracked after telling us they didn’t want it)

     

    FPLG telling us take away the transfer ban with any kind of reconstruction

     

     

    Obvious in its motivations.

     

     

    Lies:

     

     

    -We will never play in the SPL and don’t want to

     

    -We’re happy to be here making new friends bla bla bla

     

     

    Reality:

     

     

    we only favour any reconstruction that gets us to the SPL faster than the current set up or 12-12-18 because our fans will not come and watch us play part timers for 3 years and we cannot bump up prices.

     

     

    Time for another fan revolt and lets hope that all the SPL and SFL chairmen get together and tell this non-voting new club where to go.

  21. Wanna bet the MSM won’t come out with the how can you change the rules half way through a season to the Challs plan?

     

     

    This will be 14 x3 with Division3 champs into the middle league – we all know without any details because winning league 4 only makes then team 11 of a new 14.

     

     

    We won’t hear BFDJ or his less intelligent cohort Dee – ELL say start it the season after next.

     

     

    It’ll be bring it in right away.

  22. Maybe they could hedge their bets with the renaming of Ibrox :

     

     

    Ally’s Sports Direct Arena – ASDA for short.

  23. A quick question: can someone please remind me when the (latest) Lord Nimmo Smith Enquiry into player registrations gets underway … ?

     

     

    FF

  24. In yesterday’s Sunday Express, Michael Baillie writes:

     

     

    ‘Ally McCoist wants Rangers’ transfer ban lifted if league reconstruction plans are rushed through for next season.

     

    The Gers were hit with a signing embargo by the SFA as part of the punishment for going into administration’

     

     

     

    Really Michael, really?

  25. Ten Men Won The League @10 56 .

     

     

    I’ve seen that quote but there are many more where he says the opposite .

     

     

    I laughed at one where he opined that Juve needed a fit Bendtner to keep ” a lacking in self motivation Vucinic ” on his toes . .

     

     

    Much hype re Drogba this morning . Much hype re trying to get Llorente now [ rather in the summer ] Some outlets have them signing Lewandowski / others have Lisandro Lopez arriving .

     

     

    Heard Conte on the radio —–he said that Marotta knows what needs to be done . He also said that Juve might terminate Gabbiadini’s loan with Bologna [ good player ] He also expressed his disappointment that Juve had failed to get Genoa’s Immobile ..

     

     

    Juve play a beginning to find form Udinese next week .

     

     

    Paid 90 euros for a Juve / Celtic ticket . 38 euros less than the price of a Catania /Torino return

     

     

    .

  26. chasbhoy

     

    11:37 on

     

    14 January, 2013

     

    Maybe they could hedge their bets with the renaming of Ibrox :

     

     

    Ally’s Sports Direct Arena – ASDA for short.

     

    ———————————————————————————

     

    Or one of these, even

     

     

     

    The Extinct Sevco Comedy Organisation

     

    Lapsed Idiotic Dead Loyalists

     

    Ancient Lapsed Dead Institution

  27. Sevco’s issue with 12, 12, 18 is that to get to the SPL a team needs to come in the top 4 of the middle 8. This will be harder than automatic promotion as division 2 champions even with full strength mibbery.

  28. Folly, folly

     

     

    The independent commission, chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith, will sit on 29 January and is expected to last a week.

  29. Green Lantern (((((0))))) on

    I’m surprised Chuckles hasn’t been over in Belfast yet ” flayin’ the flog”, since he appears prepared to do and say anything however stupid in order to keep him and thems in the public eye.

     

    BTW. A must watch on ITV2 Wed 9.00 is Benidorm where Mel is apparently going to buy a local tourist spot.

     

    Maybe it’s his way of getting sevco into La Liga.