PREDICTED LEAGUE FINISH: Sixth
LAST SEASON: 4th, 57pts
NOTABLE INS: Liam Craig (Hibernian), Graham Cummins (Exeter City), Liam Gordon (Heart of Midlothian), Brad McKay (Heart of Midlothian), Joe Shaughnessy (Aberdeen), John Sutton (Motherwell)
NOTABLE OUTS: Lee Croft (Oldham Athletic), Gary Miller (Partick Thistle), Liam Gordon (Elgin City, loan), George Hunter (Elgin City, loan), Brian Graham (Dundee United, end of loan), Danny Swanson (Coventry City, end of loan), Steve Banks (retired), James McFadden
LAST SEASON'S BEST XI (departed players crossed out): Mannus, Mackay, Anderson, Wright, Easton, Wotherspoon, Davidson, Millar,
St. Johnstone's latest European run was depressingly short, but a fourth consecutive qualification for the Europa League was an astounding achievement and one that seemed to largely fly under the radar of the Scottish football community.
There are a few reasons for that. One, of course, is that they are not Rangers or Celtic and therefore the media often forget they exist. Another is that they are such a well-run club that there are never any scandals or fan revolts to report on (at least since Steve Lomas left...am I allowed to say that?). And on the pitch they don't have anyone who especially stands out now that Stevie May is long gone.
They are also, to be honest, not very exciting to watch. 34 scored, 34 conceded; only Celtic and Aberdeen conceded fewer goals last season in the league, but only St. Mirren scored fewer. The number of goals in all their league matches was the fewest in Scotland last season.
The risk with writing about St. Johnstone is that they end up unintentionally damned with faint praise. But they have for several years been an incredibly well drilled and well organized team who always seem to be greater than the sum of their parts. A lot of credit must go to manager Tommy Wright for this. The loss of May deprived the Perth Saints of a shedload of goals, so they reverted to what they do best, which is to defend and frustrate. There's nothing wrong with that, unless of course it's your team that's being frustrated.
And they do it very well, not least because the back line have played together for a long time now. Alan Mannus in goal, Dave Mackay at right-back, Steven Anderson and Frazer Wright in the centre, Brian Easton on the left, Tam Scobbie as cover for the centre and the left side; each of these players has more than 70 first team appearances for the club.
The risk is that age finally catches up with some of them. Wright and Mackay are now 35. The former's lack of pace now means that his manager is loathe to use him against opponents blessed with speed in attack. And whilst the fans still sing of how they dream of 'a team of Dave Mackays', he surely can't get up and down that wing like he used to.
Midfielders Simon Lappin and Chris Millar, and strikers Steven Maclean and John Sutton, are also very much the wrong side of 30. In footballing terms, it's not quite time for sheltered housing and incontinence pads, but maybe a pipe and a pair of slippers is justified?
The boss seems to have recognized this as he has brought in some younger legs at the back. Joe Shaughnessy and Brad McKay will be ultimately expected to succeed Mackay and Wright, and St. Johnstone's hopes of remaining in the top six for the medium term may depend on them being able to do so. After a bright start at Aberdeen, injuries have derailed Shaughnessy's development and he's played very little first team football in the last eighteen months. McKay is still young for a centre-back, but he was never quite able to crack the Hearts lineup on a regular basis. Add in doubts over whether Scobbie can be anything more than a decent backup and there is reason to worry that the foundations might be finally eroding.
The midfield unit finished last season really strongly, with Millar producing the greatest football of his career and Murray Davidson finally returning to something like his best. It was just typical of the latter's luck that he injured his knee against Alashkert and will be out till the autumn. With no signs of Danny Swanson extending his loan spell, they could be really short of creativity. Maybe Liam Craig will play like he did in his previous spell in Perth, but it's quite possible that his two years at Easter Road have irreparably damaged him. His claims that Hibs played him out of position sounded awfully like he doth protest too much.
And what about the goals? Whilst they were disappointed that Brian Graham chose not to join them permanently, the arrival of John Sutton should offset that nicely. The target man's game has never been about speed, so his advancing years are unlikely to hinder him much. What he does need, though, is service. Michael O'Halloran was a revelation last year and should continue to improve; his speed and power should complement Sutton nicely.
One wonders, however, if Steven Maclean's time has passed. The clever veteran missed the first half of last season with a knee injury which now prevents him playing on artificial pitches, and he failed to score in his last 20 appearances. The wild cards are Chris Kane, the nippy youngster who is highly thought of at McDiarmid Park, and Irishman Graham Cummins who has joined from Exeter.
So there are plenty of reasons why I could justify predicting St. Johnstone to drop down the table in 2015/16. And yet one can't help feeling that they will be as solid and stuffy as ever, and yet another top six finish will be accompanied by ignorant mutterings of "how on earth did they manage that?"
THE SQUAD (players born after 1 January 1994 in italics)
Goalkeepers: Zander Clark, Alan Mannus
Defenders: Steven Anderson, Brian Easton, Dave Mackay, Brad McKay, Tam Scobbie, Joe Shaughnessy, Frazer Wright
Midfielders: Scott Brown, Liam Caddis, Liam Craig, Murray Davidson, Simon Lappin, Chris Millar, Craig Thomson, David Wotherspoon
Forwards: Graham Cummins, Dylan Easton, Chris Kane, Steven MacLean, Michael O'Halloran, John Sutton
THE BEST XI?
Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.
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