David

Let's be honest here, in this scenario Scotland is basically the drunk fat bird who some guy settles for at the end of a night in Motherwell Point because he knows the younger, fitter lassie he's had his eye on all night isn't interested. I could understand Clarke going to Gunn cap in hand if we were talking about a proper top-level keeper who would make a real difference, but we're really not. As far as Kelly goes, he would actually have had more chance of nabbing a few Scotland caps by this stage if he'd turned down the chance of regular first-team football at Motherwell and stayed at QPR to be their second choice and league cup goalkeeper, as we all know Clarke has a hard-on for anyone who's even close to the first team of a club down south. At one point Nathan Patterson had more international caps than he did first-team appearances for any club in his career!

Aye, but he's on £10K a week under his current contract. That doesn't mean he's going to be earning that in any deal he signs as a now 34 year old player, does it? He'll have offers on the table for sure, but there will be a lot of factors involved, such as his family being located in Central Scotland for the past five years now and so on. It wouldn't be a "cut" in wages as some have said, because he isn't deciding to come to us mid-contract for less money. His current deal is expiring, so it'll be fresh terms based on his age, fitness, and how he's done in the past year since he signed his extension with Rangers.

Where he will undoubtedly spend all of his time sitting on the bench. I think Clarke's level of belief and trust in him was shown as he desperately tried to find someone, anyone with a hint of Scottish ancestry who he could choose ahead of Kelly and Clark. Even someone who's knocked us back in favour of England will do. If I was Kelly I'd honestly think about calling it a day on international football. There has to be a point in time where he starts to think that instead of sitting on his arse in Austria, the Faroe Islands, Turkey or Armenia watching Scotland play he could use that free time away from club football to spend more time with his family.

Well, yes. Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered saying it.

Was he badly advised? I heard that he was advised to look at all the options and he personally decided to not make the move down south and instead stay in Scotland with Celtic, closer to family etc.

As much as it's often seen as a defeatist attitude, I view anything we get from either of these two as a bonus.

Casey is contracted until the end of the season, and Butcher has a deal until the end of next season.

You're assuming that he was good enough back then? When he went to QOTS last season was he looking head and shoulders above the rest of the players there? And the competition in the Championship? I don't recall much demand for him to be our starting full back this season, and I don't recall any shock or dismay when he was loaned out to Cove either. I remember a few voices saying he should be kept as back-up, but that's hardly the kind of chat surrounding a player who's a stick-on to become a regular in Serie A. It was obvious very early on that Ramsey and Hickey were top drawer talent. The closest we've had to that was Turnbull. I have a feeling that Johnston has always been viewed as someone who could potentially go on and become a player, but who was never the type who was turning heads early on. Sure, he's done pretty well since January, but I'm not sure he was that good that the club should have been offering him the type of money he couldn't refuse a year ago or so. It could be that he's suddenly found his stride in the last six months or so. That happens, and he now has every right to hold off on a new deal and see what's out there. Or, it could be that he never intended to sign a new deal with us at all? Maybe he's always planned to ride this initial deal out and then see what's on offer? There's a whole lot of variables involved in these situations, so it's unfair to blame the club without knowing how it has all played out.

What if said player doesn't want to be "tied down" by the club?

The mental thing is, we finished 5th last season on 46 points, while the season before St Johnstone finished 5th on 45 points. The season or two before the Covid early stoppage the required points total for 5th was in the 50's.

I don't know why people assume the club can just "tie a player down" with a deal, as if it's automatic that said player will accept the contract on offer? If Johnston has always shown the potential that some are claiming on here, it could be that he was always going to let his current deal run almost to expiration and explore his options? And if he hasn't always shown that potential then why would the club be rushing to "tie down" someone who may not even make it?

I assume MJC is saying that with his tongue firmly in cheek.

It's a strange one, as he's hit double digits in appearances in every season he's played since 2013, bouncing between League One and League Two, with seven consecutive seasons in League One, which isn't a bad level at all so he's clearly no mug. I just don't think it's worked for him up here, but hopefully a League two club down south sees him as someone who can do a turn for them and offer to take him off our hands.

It's that time again, and as we head towards the end of the season we have the following players loans ending or out of contract unless I'm mistaken (please let me know if any of these have changed): Max Johnston Dan Casey Dean Cornelius Sean Goss Mikael Mandron Wider squad discussions Goalkeeper - Liam Kelly's deal is up in May of 2024, which means we either sell him this summer for maximum profit, or we get a lesser fee in January, or lose him for nothing at the end of next season. If he's not interested in signing a new deal then a decision has to be made. The same goes for Aston Oxborough. He's also out of contract with us in May 2024, so a decision will have to be made there as well. I have a feeling if we can secure a halfway decent fee for Kelly we may see him move on. Although, I wouldn't be too disappointed to see him sign a new deal as he's a pretty solid keeper at our level for the most part. Defence - With O'Donnell, Carroll, McGinn, Johnston and Casey all out of contract, and James Furlong's loan spell ending we could see some big changes at the back next season. From our current squad we'll have Ricki Lamie, Bevis mugabi, Nathan McGinley, and Shane Blaney still on the books. Out of those who's contracts are expiring I'd definitely look to get Max Johnston on a new deal, and I wouldn't be disappointed to see Casey stay. Undecided on McGinn. I think O'Donnell needs a fresh challenge and move will do him some good, while Jake Carroll may be best suited to moving on also. Of those we still have contracted I wouldn't be too disappointed to see any of them move on. Perhaps Blaney deserves some time to show what he can do, but the rest have been part of the reason we are where we are, be it through sub-standard performances or lengthy injury spells. Midfield - Cornelius and Goss are two players who haven't had to look for for their critics this season, and even though Goss especially seems to have hit a wee patch of good form since Kettlewell came in, I'm not convinced as yet. If we lost either of them or both I certainly wouldn't be upset. At the same time, if Goss maintains his uptick in performances under Kettlewell I'd be happy to see him stay. Cornelius is a difficult one. There's always that slight favouritism to someone who's a fan of the club, but he's in his early twenties now and is no longer a kid. He needs to really step up at this point, either with us or another club. We also have Barry Maguire coming back after his loan spell, and he's got another year on his deal. He's another one who has to either step up and and show he can make the cut or move on and try elsewhere. Forwards - If we don't renew any of the expiring contracts we'll be left with Van Veen, Danzaki, Josh Morris, and Connor Shields. Let that sink in for minute. I have to believe that Josh Morris will quietly be allowed to head back down south, which leaves us with very limited options up front and some recruits undoubtedly needed. The players who we'd still have under contract are as follows: Liam Kelly (contract expires May 2024) Aston Oxborough (contract expires May 2024) Ricki Lamie (contract expires May 2024) Bevis Magabi (contract expires May 2024) Nathan McGinley (contract expires May 2024) Shane Blaney (contract expires June 2025) Blair Spittal (contract expires June 2024) Callum Slattery (contract expires May 2024) Barry Maguire (contract expires May 2024) Ross Tierney (contract expires June 2025) Calum Butcher (contract expires June 2024) Kevin Van Veen (contract expires May 2024) Riku Danzaki (contract expires June 2025) Josh Morris (contract expires May 2024) Connor Shields (contract expires May 2024) There's a whole load of youth players who's contracts are up as well, and who have been out on loan. I'm not going to add them to this discussion.

I always felt his best position was simply as back-up for Van Veen. He never looked comfortable playing on the wing, which is where a few managers decided to use him, so they must have seen something in him or were just incredibly short of options. This summer we'll definitely be losing Crankshaw and Obika when their loan periods end, and we could potentially also be losing Efford, Aitchison, and Mandron who are all out of contract. If Kettlewell likes the look of him and he continues scoring in the Championship he could still have a future here if he wanted it.

Never assume anything 👀

The harsh truth is that not every managerial appointment is going to work out. Hammell obviously talked a good game and he must have had some decent ideas to even get close to the job, but it's a different "kettle" of fish entirely to put them into action. He's maybe just not cut out for management. Not every ex-player is. Good luck to him in whatever he ends up doing next.

Seems like a few of our up & coming youngsters are attracting attention as well as Johnston. Lennon Miller and Jevan Beattie.

I don't know why, but this feels different. Hammell got us a few wins, and we looked decent enough, but the team seems completely revitalised now under Kettlewell.

Even in the short time Kettlewell has been in charge of the first team, if we think he's just going to go back to coaching the kids and remain there for the foreseeable we're mental. Other clubs will have noted his performance and how he's handled himself. He'll be at a Premier League or Championship club as manager when next season kicks off.

Not quite the 5-1 scudding you were expecting, eh?

That's true in some cases, but you also find that often agents are very wary of appearing to put their interests first in the slightest, simply because if a player gets a whiff of that they dump the agent in question and move to someone else. Any player with a hint of a decent future will have other agents and agencies hovering around waiting for the slightest hint of a relationship breakdown so they can try to snap them up. Also, players talk to each other. If there's an agent or agency that starts to get a reputation for looking after themselves first and trying to railroad players into deals they maybe aren't keen on it doesn't take long for the word to spread and said agent to start losing business. There is a general view among fans that players are these gullible, naive happy-go-lucky guys who are being taken advantage of by evil agents, but the truth more often than not is that the agent is a stressed out, exasperated individual who is trying to bend over backwards to accommodate a player who thinks he should be getting the kind of treatment and respect afforded to world class players. Nah, the players end up doing exactly what they want to do. I'd wager that more often than not the player will force through his own ideas even if the agent is giving him solid advice to the contrary.

No confrontation from me, I think I was perfectly pleasant. Maybe the way you read it? I could have said the same with your initial reply, but it's just words on a screen. No way of telling tone or whatever. I'm just pointing out that contrary to what most fans think, the agents aren't the bad guys most of the time. Don't get me wrong, they're happy to be portrayed as such, but they're simply looking after the welfare of their client.

Indeed. There is no benefit to the board of going for "the cheap option" as they're simply spending the funds we have available. This isn't Mike Ashley deciding he doesn't want to finance a decent manager and keep the money in his own pocket.