However, this season they seem to have excelled themselves. We are closing in on the end of August, with four league games already played, yet the new home kit isn't even on sale yet. The previous issues pale into insignificance compared to that incompetence. Sure, your new shirt might have an upside down badge and you might not be able to get it over your head but at least you've been able to buy it.
| The lesser spotted new St Mirren kit |
St Mirren have won on the opening day of the league season just twice since the turn of the millennium, the most recent of those successes being in 2006. The last time they managed a league win in August was back in 2012. The August of 2011, when the Buddies finished the month with two league wins from their opening fixtures (one of those was in July but that's beside the point) looks like the glory days compared to the last few years.
It's a ridiculously poor run of form. By law of averages you'd have thought at some point victory would have been fluked. Instead, four different managers in four seasons have already found themselves on the back foot and under pressure from demanding fans before the transfer window has even closed.
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| A glorious sight |
Less than six months on from the glorious League Cup triumph, optimism was high for the new season. OK, the previous campaign had ended poorly but that was perhaps understandable given the triumph at Hampden. Now was the time to kick on to the mythical "next level".
Unfortunately, it didn't quite work that way. Poor player recruitment - nearly all of Danny Lennon's summer signings had been binned come January - led to a bad start. Inverness Caley Thistle romped to a 3-0 opening day win and the following week's draw with Kilmarnock owed much to Kris Boyd punching Jim Goodwin right in front of the referee. Another Highland trip ended with another 3-0 shellacking, this time Ross County gleefully rattling in the goals in a game that would also be known for "that time Gary Harkins didn't track his man at a corner".
We still had the League Cup to defend and we were handed a game against Queen of the South at Palmerston. Surely that would kick start the season? It looked as if it might when Steven Thompson opened the scoring in extra-time, however Queens turned it round to progress 2-1. As a Saints fan working in Dumfries, you can imagine how much I enjoyed work the following day...
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| Stephane Bahoken - a rarer sight than a new Saints kit |
Still, the game seemed to be going to plan when Kenny McLean opened the scoring against the run of play. Saints led for half an hour but two late goals in quick succession spelled another defeat. Despite the glorious days at Hampden being less than six months ago I remember uttering "Bye Danny" when the winner went in. Seemingly, he was extremely close to being sacked but was allowed to continue.
It set the tone for the rest of the season. Form eventually picked up - the first win finally arriving in October - and Lennon lasted until the end of the campaign, despite being close to the boot (in the minds of the fans at least) on numerous occasions. Eventually the team somehow finished eighth - remarkable considering the start to the campaign and the club's downward spiral since.
Lennon was effectively sacked come the summer, his contract not being renewed. At the time it seemed fair enough - he'd probably taken the club as far as he could and it was time for fresh blood to take us to the infamous "next level". Little did the fans know...
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| Tommy Craig imitates the reaction of most Saints fans when they found who'd been appointed |
Ask a Saints fan at the end of 2013/14 if it was time for Danny Lennon to go and many would have said yes. Add that his replacement would be Tommy Craig and they'd probably have changed their minds. As Lennon's assistant he was part of the problem. His previous managerial appointment in Belgium was a disaster. Yet here he was in charge.
He set about signing a raft of players - not so much a "Who's who" but a "Who?". Strikers recruited from the lower leagues of England were greeted with the usual response of "Well, it worked for Billy Mckay at Inverness Caley Thistle", failing to acknowledge these were the exceptions rather than the rule. Again, nearly all of Craig's signings were binned come January - by which time he was long gone.
There's not much need to go into great detail. Four league games, four defeats, no goals scored. The opening day loss at Motherwell was encouraging despite the result, chances being missed before Jim Goodwin was sent off. It was a false dawn. Promoted Hamilton cruised to a midweek win and there were shambolic defeats to Dundee United and Dundee. The only bright spot was beating Dunfermline in the League Cup - and even that was hard work, the Buddies having to come from behind to win.
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| Callum Ball - signed after scoring a shedload against English non-league sides |
That was as good as it got for Craig as things quickly slid downhill. Defeat followed defeat and as things worsened and the fans made their feelings clear the manager started acting strangely in interviews, making it abundantly clear he didn't care what the supporters thought.
A loss to St Johnstone in December finished him off with the club just outside the relegation zone. Gary Teale replaced him - temporarily and then permanently - but the rot had set in, star player Kenny McLean was sold and the club was relegated come the season's end. Teale departed and it was time for a new face to try to lead the club back to the top flight.
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| What could possibly go wrong? |
Ian Murray would have been my choice to replace Danny Lennon in 2014. His stock was high and a step up to the top flight would have been perfect. 12 months later his star wasn't quite so bright and he was now faced with trying to take a relegated club back into the Premiership.
Still, it seemed a good move and some of the signings seemed sensible. Scott Agnew had done well for him at Dumbarton, Paul McMullan had impressed at Stenhousemuir while on loan from Celtic and Calum Gallagher had been fine when Cowdenbeath borrowed him from Rangers. However, he did also re-sign Alan Gow. But the season started well enough with Agnew scoring twice as Murray's new charges came from behind to beat Berwick Rangers in the Challenge Cup.
An opening day trip to Ibrox was always going to be tough and Saints soon found themselves 2-0 down before fighting back through Cameron Howieson's goal. After the break McMullan was flattened and Saints had a penalty - only for Steven Thompson to blooter it into the stand. A classic if only moment in the season as Rangers eventually won 3-1.
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| That wasn't supposed to happen... |
A midweek win over Annan in the Challenge Cup (coming from behind again) set things up for the first Renfrewshire derby in the league for 15 years. It was feisty with Luke Conlan being sent off (and never seen again) for Saints in the second half. It ended goalless - not ideal but a point on the board.
During the week there was a thrilling League Cup defeat to Livingston and Andy Webster and Lawrence Shankland were added to the squad before the Lions returned to Paisley on league business. McMullan scored early on and we finally looked to be on our way - only for Jack Baird, shunted to rightback, to concede a blatant penalty soon afterwards that was converted. Another chance gone, another August without a win.
The victory finally came against Queen of the South at Palmerston (as a Saints fan living and working in Dumfries, you can imagine how I felt come Monday morning...) in September and it looked as if Murray finally had it sussed when we raced into a two goal lead against Falkirk the following week. However, a second half collapse culminated in the Bairns grabbing a last minute winner.
Murray never recovered. He managed just one more league win, replaced assistant Mark Spalding with Alex Miller and, having been on the receiving end of a huge level of abuse after another defeat to Dumbarton, he quit. The club was facing a second successive fight against relegation and Alex Rae was the rather unexpected choice to replace him.
It wasn't pretty but it worked. The ship was soon steadied and some decent January business almost saw fifth place salvaged on the final day. The play-offs were long gone but things finally seemed to be moving in the right direction.
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| Current manager Alex Rae |
Unlike the previous two managers, Alex Rae wasn't a summer appointment and so didn't have to waste time getting his feet under the table. He knew which players to bin, which ones to keep and what he needed to sign. There were few arguments with who was released - Sean Kelly the only surprise, while some fans wanted cup winning captain Jim Goodwin retained. The signings seemed decent, especially up front, although the midfield seemed a bit light.
The League Cup handed Saints a favourable group and things were going to plan with wins over Livingston and Ayr, the latter thanks to Jack Baird's last minute goal. An embarrassment against Hamilton made things difficult but if Edinburgh City were beaten by four goals progress would be assured. At half-time things were looking good with Saints 3-0 up. However, the second half was rather That, combined with City tightening things up, meant the fourth goal never looked likely.
The league season opened with a derby against Morton and began with Saints fans unveiling a banner highlighting just how long it had been since our chums from down the river had beaten us. That was tempting fate and for the first half the Ton ran riot, scoring once while passing up several other chances. Perhaps the thought of finally ending their horrendous run got them a bit too excited as they conceded to John Sutton in the last 10 minutes - much to everyone's relief.
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| John Sutton celebrates the fact the banner can be used again |
Hibs at home after that was always going to be difficult but it was far too easy for Neil Lennon's men. It was 2-0 going on 4-0 by half-time and Jason Cummings should have had a hat-trick. The second half was effectively a training match.
The poor start led to the pressure mounting on Rae ahead of August's final game, a trip to Ayr. Like Saints, they'd had a bad start to the season. The system was altered but it made little difference as Ayr took the lead. That looked like being enough until Tom Walsh salvaged a point with a last minute header. Not a defeat but nowhere near good enough.
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| Tom Walsh - one of just three Saints players to score a league goal so far |
Let's just hope we don't go into the final game of the season needing a result. We've only closed our season with a win twice since the turn of the millennium too...
