Saint or Sinner... Backing the Buddies!

[ArchieGemmo]

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St. Mirren F.C. - Story

Background

I have decided to start a story with the hometown team and boyhood hero's St. Mirren F.C.
St. Mirren also know as the buddies or the saints are a Scottish Championship side from Paisley in Scotland (6.9 miles west of Glasgow). Paisley is Scotland's largest town with a population of just under 77,000, however St. Mirren F.C. only boast an average attendance of 3,400 in there newly renamed stadium the Paisley 2021 stadium. The main reason for the poor average attendance is the close proximity to one of the largest rivalries in the Europe.... The Old Firm!

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In recent times St. Mirren have had there ups and downs. They have been promoted twice as winners of the Scottish Championship in 2000 and 2006 and have been relegated twice in 2001 and 2015. They have also won a national trophy in 2013 after beating Hearts 3-2 at Hampden Park (Scottish National Stadium) in the league cup final, 26 years after winning there last major honour.

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Having been relegated in 2015 St. Mirren over the last 2 seasons have seen 4 mangers; a successful takeover bid by Gordon Scott (local businessman) and the fans and turmoil on the pitch. Its now time to steady the ship and push this club onto the next level and give these amazing fans what they deserve!

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Come on ye Saints!!!!​

 

[ArchieGemmo]

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Club Information
Full Name : St Mirren Football Club
Nicknames : The Saints; The Buddies
Founded : 1877 (140 years old)
Stadium : Paisley 2021 Stadium
Capacity : 8,023
Chairman : Gordon Scott
League : Scottish Championship
Previous Position (15/16) : 6th
Rivals : Morton

Kits

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Honours
Scottish Championship - 1968, 1977, 2000, 2006
Scottish Cup - 1926, 1959, 1987
Scottish League Cup - 2013
Scottish Challenge Cup - 2005

Club Records
Highest Home Attendance - 47,438 v Celtic 1949
Biggest Victory - 15-0 v Glasgow Uni, Scottish Cup 1960
Most Capped Player - Iain Munro, Billy Thomson (7 Caps)
Youngest Player - Scott Gemmill (16 years 60 days)
Most Competitive Appearances - Hugh Murray (462)
Most European Appearances - Campbell Money (8)
Most League Goals - David McCrae (221)
Most League Goals in a Season - Dunky Walker (45)
Record Transfer Fee Paid - Thomas Stickroth (£400,000)
Record Transfer Fee Received - Ian Ferguson (£850,000)
Longest Consecutive League Victories - 16 (18/11/67 -30/3/68)
Longest Unbeaten Run - 34 (18/11/67 - 16/11/68)
Most Goals in a Season - 100 (67-68)


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[ArchieGemmo]

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Goals for this Season

Top half finish - after finish 6th out of 10 teams last year this years goal is to improve on last years finish. With one team automatically promoted and 2nd to 4th place going into the playoffs (11th place of the SPL makes up the 4th team in the playoff) i would love to finish in the top 3, however with hibs and dundee utd 2 strong teams being relegated from the SPL in the last 2 seasons i think that 3rd - 5th is a more realistic ambition for the forthcoming season.

Long term goals

Return to the SPL within 2 Seasons - Pretty straight forward and fairly realistic... I'm giving myself 2 seasons to get St. Mirren back into the SPL. With a great mix of young talent and experience at the club already there should be no problem achieving this goal with a few key additions. Although money will be tight i have a lot of confidence that the young talent at St. Mirren can flourish in the coming Seasons.

Establish St.Mirren as an SPL side... Again! Given that St. Mirren finances are tight and there is not a lot of money in the Scottish games we will have to rely on our free agents in the transfer windows. Therefore i think that 2-3 seasons of finishing 5th to 10th in the SPL should be our goal. Top half team SPL team in 5 Seasons should be achievable.

After 5 Seasons in this save i fully expect to be competing for European Places. With Scotland sliding down the coefficient who knows how many European Places but I am giving myself 6 seasons to get St. Mirren back into Europe for the 1st time since 1987.

After Qualifying for Europe there is only one more domestic goal to be achieved.... The Title! 7 Seasons will be my goal to take St. Mirren from a mid table Championship side to the champions of Scotland. Could St. Mirren be the 1st team to wrestle the championship away from the Old Firm since Aberdeen in 1985.... Only time will tell. Come on ye Saints!

Summary

Promtion to SPL - by 2018
Top 6 SPL finish - by 2021
European Qualification - by 2022
SPL Champions - by 2023
Champions League Group Stage - by 2025
Champions League Winner - by 2031



15 years to win the Champions League.... Whats your thoughts....
Too Ambitious? Not Ambitious Enough?
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[Falkirkyabass]

Yuck, St Midden.
Good luck with the save though, man. I'll be reading.

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

 

[ArchieGemmo]

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Pre-Season Update

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Formation

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Players to Watch

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Signing

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Pre-Season - Betfred Cup

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Summary

This was a fantastic start to the season! 8 wins and 1 draw to get us all geared up for the start of the league campaign. The most impressive result coming in the betfred cup against SPL team Inverness! This really proves that we are heading in the right direction. Really looking forward to getting the league campaign underway!​

 

[ArchieGemmo]

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August Update

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A fantastic start to the month. Falkirk away was always going to be a tough start and it proved that going 1-0 down, however we rallied strong to post our 1st win of the season

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This was a rollercoaster game! We were coasting until conceding just before half time. Then Jack Baird decided to give away a penalty! another goal a piece and the game goes to penalties but we manage to do it! Giant Killers!

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Fantastic start to the season. 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat is the start i was looking for! The only disappointment was not winning the 2 games i expected to win against Raith and Ayr.

Player of the Month
Lewis Morgan

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Upcoming Fixtures

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[Klippybo]

Good luck - St. Mirren always seem to produce decent players in real life so hopefully you will get a gem or two

 

[ArchieGemmo]

Good luck - St. Mirren always seem to produce decent players in real life so hopefully you will get a gem or two

Thanks man! They have a great youth system.. probably have 4/5 first team players that came through the ranks at the moment. Looking forward to seeing what the youth intake is like.