News Archive - Started May 15th 1999

This page - 2 September 1999 to Present

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[15 May 1999 - 1 September 1999]

7 December - First Division Update
Airdrie put a bit of daylight between themselves and Greenock M*rton with a 1-0 win at the Shyberry Excelcior Stadium.  The goal after 75 minutes had a strong Saints connection.  Jim Dick was brought down in the box by Ally Maxwell and Stuart Taylor converted from the spot.

4 December - Saints 2  Falkirk 1
Revenge and 8 wins on the trot!! Yep it was sweet but thats all that could be said because  the overall performance was fairly poor by Saints high standards - again!  Still, a depleted Saints side managed to overcome the odds and a second half equaliser to take all three points in this torrid match.

After a first half which Saints dominated they seemed intent to shoot themselves in the foot in the second half by continually gifting Falkirk possession. Saints went ahead courtesy of a strike after 5 minutes by either Yardley or Baltacha (TV evidence to decide that one).  Saints were denied a penalty in the closing stages of the first half when Lavety was clear through on goal and appeared to be tripped.  1-0 at halftime.   A scrappy second half saw Falkirk equalise midway through the half after a poor defensive clearance and a fine strike by Nicholls.  Saints rallied and restored the lead a few minutes later through a Lavety mis-hit shot and from there the Saints fans endured another backs to the wall affair for the last 15 minutes.

Roving Ross' report now online.

Elsewhere in the division Dunfermline keep up the pressure after a 3-0 win away to Ayr, Raith Rovers jump into third place with a 4-2 win over Inverness and Livingston put last weeks defeat behind them with an emphatic 5-1 win away to Clydebank.

2 December - Saints v Falkirk: Preview
By Roving Ross
Revenge is sure to be the only thought on Saints’ fans minds going into Saturday’s clash with Falkirk at Love Street. Well, of course, that and winning eight games in a row, going nine without defeat and possibly extending their lead at the top of the table to eleven points! Ahh, nice big numbers.

It seems that figures play an integral part in football nowadays, not just in money terms but on the field as well. For example, when Tom Hendrie and his troops made the trip to Brokeville back in September Alex Totten played with just ONE striker up front in a ploy to disrupt the visitors settled back THREE resulting in a 3-1 victory in Falkirk’s favour.

Looking back though, maybe the tactics (and all those numbers) weren’t the important factor, the fact is St.Mirren’s first half performance that day just wasn’t up to the usual standard. Since then those standards have improved and Saints have opened up a twelve point lead over Falkirk, who lie in third place. Falkirk meanwhile are only now learning to cope with life minus the injured Kevin McAllister who will miss the entire season through injury.

Although they’ve struggled to find an adequate replacement - not an easy task when you consider he’s been carrying them for the past couple of years - players such as Scott Crabbe, Colin McDonald and Davie Nicholls have helped them stay within touching distance of second placed Dunfermline.

All three are sure to be key players in tomorrow’s game, not least for their experience alongside teenagers Ian Morris and Steven Rennie who look certain to start. Injuries at the back also mean that former Saints loan star Chris Innes, on a one month deal from Kilmarnock, will make his return to Paisley.

A lot has changed at St.Mirren Park since Innes walked straight into the first team when he became Tom Hendrie’s first signing as manager way back in January. So much so that the latest new boy, Gary Bowman, has yet to make a start in the famous stripes.

That’s a fact which is unlikely to change tomorrow as Hendrie looks to keep the same team which saw off Livingston so successfully last week. That will also mean Junior Mendes, who has recovered from an ankle knock, having to make do with a seat alongside Bowman on the bench.

Likely line-up: Roy, Nicolson, Ross, Turner, McLaughlin, Walker, Baltacha, Brown, Lavety, McGarry, Yardley  Subs from: Mendes, Bowman, Rudden & Robinson

30 November - Division 1 Update
Ayr failed to leapfrog M*rton by drawing 1-1 with Inverness Caley Thistle at a wind and rainswept fixture at the Caledonian Stadium.   Ayr took the lead in 53 minutes but Caley drew level with a late goal. 

29 November - Karin's Korner Update
Karin has been hard at work updating her pages and there is a new 'Beauty or Beast' competition.

Sizzling Saints AFC v Kilmarnock
Sizzling Saints AFC are in action again this weekend.  This time Kilmarnock travel to Paisley on Sunday to take on the 'other' Paisley Brazilians in an internet league fixture. Kick off 2pm at Ferguslie.

Meanwhile some other news on the internet football front in that M*rton Internet team apparently trounced KaisAYRslautern 11-1 at the weekend including a goal from our own Dongasaint.  By all accounts the goal was a strange affair when the Ayr keeper was deceived by the ball rolling down Donga's leg and off his shin into the far corner of the net!  Donga seems to be the type of guy that would fall into the River Cart and come out with a salmon!

27 November - Livingston1 Saints 2
A real hard fought contest and the type of game that Saints in the past could easily have lost.  This side however is made of stronger stuff and ran out 2-1 winners but not after the huge travelling support had numerous frights with Ludo Roy pulling off some outstanding saves. Goals from McGarry and McLaughlin sealed the win with the Livvy effort courtesy of a Tommy Turner own goal.

Roving Ross was spotted at the game and his report is now online

Elsewhere in the divison Clydebank managed a repeat of last weeks scoreline going down 2-1 at East End park.  Falkirk leap-frog Raith Rovers to go into third place with a 2-1 win at Brockville, Caley Thistle showed that they are here to stay with a 2-0 win over struggling Airdrie while a not unexpected scoreline at Cappielow saw Morton and Ayr both draw a blank.

25 November - Livingston v Saints : Preview
By Roving Ross
It’s been a difficult time this week, not only for Roving Ross but for everyone at Sizzling Saints. As usual though we’re here with our Friday match preview supplying you with all the latest team news.

The other good news for Saints fans is that Livvy boss Ray Stewart isn’t without his problems either. The only club in existence with a worse stadium name than Airdrie made a flying start to the campaign but in recent weeks they have found themselves falling further and further behind to the extent that they now lie 13 points adrift of their visitors tomorrow. They also now sit in fifth place and a win is surely a must to keep their dwindling title challenge on track.

That, they must do though without several key players. The man who saved Livvy when they travelled to Paisley - Ian McCaldon - is missing tomorrow and so former Stenhousemuir goalkeeper, Neil Alexander, keeps his place between the sticks. Long term absentees Marino Keith and Jim Sherry are also missing while recent addition Ray McKinnon was this week told he would require surgery to relieve a Haemotoma - serious blood clotting which had developed in his leg.

Saints meanwhile are suffering from no new injury problems although Junior Mendes is struggling to recover from the ankle injury he sustained at the Shyberry Excelsior two weeks ago. Together with this knock Junior also suffered an Asthma attack earlier in the week and his chances of playing on Saturday are rated as slim.

Hugh Murray again sits out the match due to suspension while it seems likely that Tom Brown will make way for Gary Bowman after his below-par performance against Clydebank.

A below par performance against Clydebank is a feat no doubt that all Buddies would like to see repeated this week  - this time from Dunfermline. If that were to happen a win at the West Lothian Courier Stadium (told you it was a mouthful) would see Saints lead go into double figures. Happy days indeed.

Likely Line-up: Roy, Nicolson, Bowman, Turner, McLaughlin, Walker, Baltacha, Ross, Lavety, McGarry, Yardley  Subs From: Brown, Rudden, Robinson

New Sizzling Saints Feature!

We have abandoned the good old guestbook in favour of the all new discussion forum format which hopefully should prove a bit more useful and constructive towards the club.

The forum is moderated to prevent abuse and users IP address is logged.  The option is there to make users register via a valid e-mail address however we would prefer this not to be the case.

We hope you enjoy this method of communicating your ideas, thoughts etc. A  link to the forum has been added to the main menu.

23 November - Sizzling Saints Special Feature
The good times appear to be returning to Love Street so Sizzling Saints are pleased to present a special feature entitled '20 Years Ago' featuring arguably Saints most successful side. 

22 November - Saints Share Issue
Details of the new share issue have been announced and applications are now being taken.  The minimum investment will be 30 shares at £7 per share (£210 total).  For more details contact the club by telephone on: 0141 840 1337 or 0141 889 2558 or by Fax: 0141 848 6444.

21 November - Saints 2 Clydebank 1
The importance of a balanced and consistent team selection was demonstrated by Saints performance against struggling Clydebank.  Shuggie Murray's suspension and injury to Junior Mendes forced Tom Hendrie to shuffle the pack.  Meanwhile Clydebank well were up for this game and it was never going to be easy.  A great crowd of around 4,500 however saw Saints pull off a 2-1win with goals from McGarry (pen) and Yardley.

Read Roving Ross' report.

Elsewhere in the Division: Falkirk 1 Dunfermline 3, Livingston 2 M*rton 1, Raith Rovers 1 Airdrie 1.

18 November - Preview: Saints v Clydebank
With one man back from an undeserved suspension Saints now find themselves with another one out due to a poor refereeing decision. Last weeks match official wasn’t the only guilty party - Paul Jack’s theatrics certainly played their part - but either way Hugh Murray will sit out the first of his four match ban tomorrow, as Clydebank travel to Paisley.

Barry McLaughlin will return from his suspension to replace Murray allowing Sergei Baltacha to move forward into the midfield. Set to join him there is Ian Ross who can now move inside from the left due to the arrival of Gary Bowman, who will make his full debut.

Although his loyalties lie at Love Street nowadays it can’t make easy viewing for Bowman to see his old club languishing at the bottom of the league. To say Ian McCall’s men are having a tough time would be an understatement. Their off field problems have now been joined by difficulties on the field which see them without a league win this season.

The lack of continuity in team selection certainly hasn’t helped and for that reason predicting their line up is an almost impossible task.

On paper it looks like they’re facing mission impossible themselves, as they try to stop Saints’ charge at the top of the table. Once both teams step out on to the pitch though things could be very different and Tom Hendrie will be hoping, and confident, that his side can avoid any slip ups tomorrow.

Likely Line-up: Roy, Nicolson, Bowman, Turner, McLaughlin, Walker, Baltacha, Ross, Lavety, Mendes, Yardley  Subs from: Brown, McGarry, Rudden & Robinson

17 November - If Only.... No 42.
Keeping up where Div left off, the traditional look at the great burdz who have confessed to supporting the Paisley Brazilians.  If Only No 42 - compiled by Jimbo 

16 November - Bowman Settles In
Gary Bowman has expressed his appreciation of the reaction from the Saints support to his appearance on Friday night and is looking forward to playing his part in Saints push for a place in the SPL.

Bowman is happy to play anywhere on the left side of the field and was pleased at how he and Ian Ross played together in his brief appearance at the Shyberry.

He said that things have worked out well in that Tom Hendrie had kept up his interest after the initial move fell through when Norrie McWhirter picked up an injury.

Tom Hendrie now has the task of getting Bowman integrated into the squad and getting him up to the same level of fitness as the rest of the team.  Hendrie considers however that Bowman will soon make this up and that he will play an important part in the team.

Hendrie Case Put Back
Tom Hendrie appeared before the 'beaks' at Park Gardens yesterday in relation to his 'sending off' at the game against Dunfermline at Love Street.  The case however was put back until 25 January 2000 to the displeasure of Hendrie.  The good news is that Hendrie can continue in the technical area until the hearing

14 November - Airdrie 0 Saints 2
The Friday night fixture saw the Saints goal machine roll on.  Just as well really because this was probably the poorest Saints have played all season. 

The firepower of Yardley and Lavety was too much for a hard working Airdrie side who huffed and puffed but without seriously threatening Saints goal.

The game was won with two second half goals inside as many mintues from Yardley and Lavety and saw Saints move temporarily 11 points clear of the chasing pack.

The result was perhaps overshadowed by the sending off of Hugh Murray who appeared to fall victim to one of the worst refereeing displays of the millenium. Also, Saints new signing Gary Bowman made an appearance as substitute before being subbed himself.

Roving Ross was at the game and you can read his report here.

Elsewhere in the division:  Friday: M*rton 5 ICT 1 Sunday: Dunfermline 3 Livingston 0, Falkirk 3 Clydebank 0, Raith Rovers 1 Ayr Utd 0.

11 November - Saints in for Bowman
It is reported that Saints hope to complete the signing of Gary Bowman from Ayr United.  Bowmans contract runs out on Sunday however Saints hope to get him released in time for him to start the match v Airdrie at the Shyberry Excelcior stadium (7-45pm kick off).

Preview: Airdrie v Saints
By Roving Ross
A little bit of pettiness coupled with the SFA’s inability to acknowledge any sort of advance in technology means Saints go into the game at Airdrie without influential centre-half Barry McLaughlin.

Despite Video evidence clearly acquitting “Trigger” of any misdemeanour in his clash with the Hooped Vermin’s (Yawn !!)  Stephen Whalen last week, Scottish Football’s ruling body say both the red card he received and the subsequent one match ban still stand. Referee, George Clyde, could, of course, change his decision upon watching the clips from Scottish Television’s “Football First” programme but, hey, wouldn’t that just be too sensible?

In McLaughlin’s place will be the versatile Sergei Baltacha, who moves back into defence allowing Tom Brown to regain a starting place in the midfield.   Joining him there could well be Ryan Robinson, who will make his first start on the right if Iain Nicolson fails to recover from an ankle knock he picked up at Crappielow last week. All of which could mean young Kieron Gallagher being drafted in to sit alongside Steven McGarry and Paul Rudden on the bench. Gasp!

Airdrie don’t exactly have a shortage of selection problems either, although defender Eddie Forrest will return from suspension. Both Gareth Evans and David McGuire miss out due to a virus while, surprise, surprise, James -as he’s called nowadays(must be a posh Airdrie thing, eh?) - Dick is suspended.

Now there’s a dilemma for Saints’ fans - with Evans and (another) Dick missing, who gets the abuse? -------------------------->>

Likely Line up: Roy, Nicolson, Ross, Turner, McLaughlin, Walker, Murray, Brown, Lavety, Mendes, Yardley  Subs from: McGarry, Rudden, Robinson and Gallagher

6 November - M*rton 1 Saints 4
Picture Special - Click Here
Not quite the five to match the defeat last season but it should have been - and more!  A funny atmosphere at this game.  It just didn't feel like the Derby matches of old.  It felt like the league leaders against a struggling side at the foot of the table - and then some!  Only the Wullie Leggat pre match hand out of some 500 surgical masks made this game seem like the Derby.  Added to that was the fact that the Saints support was crammed in to the Dublin End of the ground which made the whole atmosphere seem surreal.

Tom Hendrie appeared to be keen to get some banter going with the fans and it worked a treat.  A pre match shootie in with TH against an empty goal saw the empty goal win about 11-2!  Great entertainment all the same for the Saints travelling support who arrived early to secure a place on the crumbling terrace.

On the field it was no contest really and the game was won after half an hour although both sides by that time had been reduced to 10 men.   Saints goals came from Baltacha, Lavety, Yardley and Walker whilst Curran got the M*rton consolation.  With the results of the other matches going Saints way it means that Saints are now 8 points clear at the top of the division.

Roving Ross was at the game and his report is now online.

Elsewhere in the division: Ayr 0 Clydebank 0, Dunfermline 1 Raith Rovers 1, Falkirk 2 Airdrie 0, Inverness CT 2 Livingston 0.

5 November - Hendrie Responds to 'Pars' Rumours
Tom Hendrie has responded to the tabloid reports which had linked him with the Dunfermline post made vacant by Dick Campbells 'resignation'.   Hendrie's resonse to the rumours:

"I am NOT applying for the Dunfermline job."
"I am not touting myself for the job."
"I have not been approached by Dunfermline."
"I have a continuing job to do here."
"I am very happy at St Mirren."
"I made it very clear to the reporter who telephoned me that I was committed to Saints and was not interested in moving."

Hendries words appear to have been carefully chosen.   It would appear therefore that the only thing Saints fans have to fear is a direct approach from Dunfermline in the near future in an attempt to 'poach' TH from the club.   However if other newspaper reports are to be believed then Dunfermline will not be approaching anyone for the position.

4 November - Preview: M*rton v Saints
By 'Roving' Ross
Saints should have been making the short trip to Scumsville on Saturday boosted by the news that manager Tom Hendrie has signed a one year extension to his contract, tying him to the club for the next three seasons.

As on many an occasion though, the biggest stirrer in the wonderful world of tabloid newspapers - The Sun - has thrown a spanner into the works by basically claiming that Hendrie is after the Dunfermline job - sadly left vacant on Tuesday following Dick Campbell’s resignation.

Morton, meanwhile have no such worries - surely the fact that they’re second bottom, 15 points behind their better looking cleaner, Paisley neighbours is problem enough? Indeed, if they were to lose on Saturday Billy Stark could consider himself a lucky man even if he were to still be in a job come next week.

As with all derbies though, the Renfrewshire version is never easy to predict (ok, so it is but, hey, that would ruin the story) and there’s no doubt the hooped vermin will be as up for this game as ever.

With Morton on an ever increasing downward spiral and Saints playing as well as ever, it would certainly make a great story - in Greenock anyway - if the rat catchers were to spring a shock and upset their clearly superior rivals.

<------(Click to view full size)


With both sides at full strength, it looks set to be as closely fought a game as there has been between these sides since......well since the last one, in September. Back then, goals from Mark Yardley, Barry Lavety and Barry McLaughlin clinched a 3-2 win for Saints at Love Street.

As much as the black and white army would love to see their team put another three past Ally Maxwell, I’m sure they’d settle for a 1-0 victory courtesy of a last minute own goal - just as long as it’s by Paul Fenwick!

Likely Line up: Roy, Nicolson, Ross, Turner, McLaughlin, Walker, Murray, Baltacha, Lavety, Mendes, Yardley  Subs from: Brown, Rudden, Drew, McGarry and Robinson

Fears Over Crowd Safety at Cappielow
Big Ped - Security Advisor to St Mirren and Saints Online Guestbook regular - has expressed grave concerns over the arrangements for the St Mirren support. 

Due to the ongoing refurbishment of the cowshed (which was due to be completed for this game) the Saints support will now be crammed in to the Dublin End which holds 3,640.  Given Saints great run of results and the win against Dunfermline last week a huge away support is expected at Cappielow and gives real cause for concern.  Big Ped has made these concerns known however Morton and the Police have dismissed them.

Big Peds advice is to get there early and follow the Police and stewards advice. Turnstiles open at 2-00pm.  Police have advised that Saints fans will be prevented from entering or (if identified) ejected from the Main Stand.

Sizzling Saints Game Cancelled
The proposed game between Sizzling Saints and Morton Internet team has been cancelled.   The reason is due to the fact that the earliest possible kick off time would have been 12-15pm.  This would have meant the Sizzling Saints arriving at Cappielow well after 2-00pm and possibly run the risk of being caught in a huge rush to the terrace due to the  reasons mentioned above.

Sizzling Saints would like to offer our apologies to the Morton lads in the hope that they understand our situation.

1 November - ISA Meeting of 30 October 1999
Another well attended meeting of the St Mirren Independent Supporters Association took place in the Wee Barrel on Saturday and Balfy's notes on the meeting are now online.

Contact Balfy by e-mail by clicking here.

31 October - Saints 3  Dunfermline 1
Just how good is it to be a Buddie?? A rain soaked Love Street saw a determined and confident Saints pull 6 points clear at the top of the First Division with a convincing win over title favourites Dunfermline.   'Dick' was conspicuous by his absence in the away dugout although, this close to Halloween it should have been expected.  The east coast ref obviously thought that this was unfair and sent Tom Hendrie to the stand.

Read the Roving Ross match report  

Sizzling Saints 8  Parcelona 3  
Sizzling Saints chalked up another victory in the morning Internet game against an under-strength Parscelona side.  Sizzling Saints played for 85 minutes with 10 men when John P took leave of his senses and handled on the goal line. 

The game was perhaps overshadowed by off the field antics from the Parscelona manager, who (like 'Dick') was conspicuous by their absence.

All the same the Pars lads made it to a packed Wee Barrel and a pre match swally before heading to the big game.

SQ No 20 hits the streets
SQ no 20 went on sale on Saturday and it looked like brisk business was being done when we passed by Griff & Millport in Love Street.  In fact, its the first time we have seen a queue develop to buy SQ!

Sizzling Saints particularly liked the back cover (pictured right).

Well done lads.

Supersweep Update
 A good few changes in the first division this week and no surprise that it's all change at the top of the leaderboard where Kenny Morrison takes the lead.   Er, don't look at the foot of the table :-)

29 October - Preview: Saints v Dunfermline
By Roving Ross
Barry Lavety will make his first appearance in the stripes since completing his permanent transfer from Hibs when Saints entertain Dunfermline on Saturday.

The Fifers are undefeated in the league so far this term but with six from only eleven games they still trail the league leaders by three points. A defeat tomorrow would heap yet more pressure on under fire boss Dick Campbell and leave his team six points adrift, which even at this early stage would be a significant gap.

In a bid to help their promotion push the man with the mouth(and very little hair) has brought in Steve Crawford from Hibernian on a month’s loan. The poorer relation of the Lavety/ Crawford double act will almost certainly come straight into a side which is missing Owen Coyle and Stewart Petrie through Suspension.

Saints have so many injury problems that Assistant Manager John Coughlin was named as a substitute in the reserves’ midweek game with Queens Park. Thankfully for Tom Hendrie though, no senior players have been affected by the problems and with the exception of Ronnie McQuilter, Chris Kerr and Norrie McWhirter, all of whom are long term absentees, he can choose from a full strength squad.

Over 2000 travelled from Paisley to see these two clash at East End Park early in the season and with it being a top of the table clash a bumper crowd of 7000+ is expected. With the weather forecast predicting rain, the message from Love Street is to turn up early to make sure of a seat under cover.

Likely line up: Roy, Nicolson, Ross, Turner, McLaughlin, Walker, Murray, Baltacha, Lavety, Mendes, Yardley  Subs from: Brown, McGarry, Rudden Drew and Robinson

28 October - Sizzling Saints Match Report
The match report for the game against KaisAYRslautern is now online.

27 October - BASHER SIGNS!!
Since the weekend the deal has been on then off more times that the knickers on a lass who frequents Blythswood square however today Stuart Gilmour finally secured the deal that makes Basher a Buddie once again.  

Much speculation surrounds the deal with the only confirmed news being that Basher had signed for 'an undisclosed sum' which makes him a Buddie until the end of the season.  if we find out more we will let you know.   What we do know from a source close to the club is that Stuart Gilmour was pleased with deal although he remained tight lipped.

Tom Hendrie was quoted as saying: " this is a great move for both the club and the player.Turning out for St.Mirren and getting regular games must be better for him than sitting in the stand at Hibs..The fact he has taken a cut in salary to come back and play for us says a lot for him.  I can understand that he wants to play in the SPL and that is why he has only signed to the end of the season."

Karin is also delighted that Basher has signed and has updated her page accordingly.

Shop a Moaner Update
We have a couple of moaners well and truly shopped. Take a look and if you are on first name terms with these people then maybe you can tell them that they are famous!!

Spot the Fan
A new article which may become a more permanent feature if we get some more photos.  This article sees a young St Mirren supporter win tickets to Ibrox!!!

25 October - SQ Issue 20 on Sale on Saturday
From the people who brought you 'Scumopoly' comes the next chapter!!  SQ issue 20 which includes:

"Niceopoly"
"Let the rhythm take you there"
The alternative A-Z to St.Mirren part 2
AGM & Annual Acounts report
...and so much more!!

Look out for Griff and Millport on Saturday and grab a copy - Price £1-50.

Saints to Raise New Share Issue
Yesterdays AGM heard that the clubs financial situation is improving with the clubs turnover rising by 9% to £1,734,649 and a profit (after tax) of £379,531.  Immediately after the AGM an Extraordinary General Meeting was held to discuss the the financing of the new Love Street Stand.

It is expected that the upgrade of the Love Street end will cost £475,000 with half of the money coming from grants.  The remainder of the cash will be stumped up by the club and £250,000 of this will come from a further shares flotation.  The shares will first be offered to existing shareholders before going on general sale.

The work on the new stand is expected to begin in January and completed by the March 31st deadline set by the SPL.

Sizzling Saints "Guni" wins BAFTA award!
Sizzling saints own left sided midfielder Bobby F has won a BAFTA award for an educational CD Rom which was made for the BBC. The man we call Guni, was chosen ahead of rivals like Disney. He said " We were completely taken by suprise when we found out we had won. We really hadn't been expecting it, considering the competition we were up against."

This is the first major title his company had worked on, and for a small company they have achieved so much by winning this coveted title.

All we can say here at Sizzling Saints, is well done Guni!

24 October - Ayr Utd 0 Saints 3
An fine performance by Saints saw a well earned victory at Somerset Park.  Ayr played some nice stuff in the middle of the park but without seriously threatening Saints goal and the Saints strike partnership of Lavety and Yardley saw the game comfortably won.  As usual Roving Ross was at the game and his report is online.

The other results from Division One: Airdrie 1 Clydebank 0, Inverness CT 1 Dunfermline 1,  M*rton 2 Falkirk 3, Raith Rovers 3 Livingston 1

Sizzling Saints in 'Cheat' Allegations
Sizzling Saints have been the subject of much rumour and speculation amongst the Internet Football community!! It is rumoured that SS are in fact a dodgy pub team who's only wish is to go out and beat inferior Internet opponents!!

We can exclusively reveal that the rumours are TRUE!!  In fact Sizzling Saints are that dodgy First Division team called Dunfermline.  We managed to track down their manager 'Donkey' Dick Campbell today and this was his response:

'Well, we knew we were going no-where in the league so we felt we had to win some games.  I thought that we might get a few wins below our belt before the crunch game at Love Street on the 30th so I decided that we would swap places with the Sizzling Saints Internet team.  You see they play in black and white too usually so we thought we might just sneak it!!  We let the Sizzling Saints play the league games and, in fact, they are doing rather well.

I'm not ashamed to admit that Dunfermline need the practice and these Internet teams are just about the right calibre for us'

Yesterday 'Sizzling Saints' beat Ayr United Internet team 7-1.

Meanwhile Harpo was delighted that 'Dunfermline' managed a 1-1 draw away to ICT!!

Supersweep Update
Check how you stand in the supersweep which has now been updated.

21 October - Preview: Saints v Ayr Utd
By 'Roving' Ross
Having received an off-field boost to their promotion - in the form of planning permission for a new 2000 seater stand at the Love st end - Saints travel to Ayr on Saturday looking to continue with the on-field form which sees them sitting proudly at the top of division one.

If you believed the “experts” at the beginning of this season, Saints were going to be in for a long hard season battling with relegation. Ayr on the other hand were one of the pre-season “favourites” (even I tipped them to go up)

Although only ten games have passed, it’s looking like the “dodgywestcoastseasidetownteam” are some way off a team capable of challenging for a place in the spl. Gordon Dalziel’s men are finding life difficult and are coming off the back of two heavy defeats at the hands of Celtic and Livingston. I really shouldn’t have expected any more of a team whose big name summer signing was Alex Bone!

With a full strength squad to choose from - minus long term casualties Ronnie McQuilter and Chris Kerr - Tom Hendrie’s black and white superstars will be heading to Somerset park expecting to win at a ground where life has been far from easy in the past. One man who does enjoy these trips down the A77 though is Tom Brown and he looks set to win a recall to the side in place of Sergei Baltacha who, contrary to rumours in the press, has ended the week as a St.Mirren player.

The other fixtures in the First Division: Airdrie v Clydebank, Inverness CT v Dunfermline, M*rton v Falkirk, Raith Rovers v Livingston

Saints likely line-up: Roy, Nicolson, Ross, Turner, McLaughlin, Walker, Murray, Brown, Lavety, Mendes, Yardley  Subs from: Rudden, Baltacha, McGarry, Drew and Robinson

20 October - Exclusive!!! - The 'Basil' Club
After Saturdays victory over Raith Rovers a secret meeting took place in the Wee Barrel.  Funny walks all round and discussions on waldorf salads - the war was never mentioned!!  Well maybe once but they think they got away with it!!  Our intrepid reporter managed to catch a rare snap of the Basil Club.  Click here to view!! 

19 October - Name and shame the moaners
After Saturdays game it seems that some folk are never happy unless they are moaning.  Ben Fica has written about the negativity from some of the 'support' and how it affects the team.  Time to do something we think.

This is your chance to shop a moaner.  If you sit in close proxmity to someone at Love Street who's negative attitude recently has been getting on your 'nipple ends' then this is your chance to claim a wee bit of revenge and at the same time (hopefully) make them hear about the error of their ways.

What to do is e-mail Sizzling Saints with a very brief description of the person (no names!), their usual location (e.g row S of main stand),  what's their favourite shout, who is it usually aimed at etc   and we will post it.  Just maybe they will get to hear that they are 'famous' and resort to more positive ways of getting behind the team - just maybe!!!

Sizzling Saints v Ayr Utd
Sizzling Saints AFC take on KaisAYRslaughten this weekend in Ayr before the big game.  A reminder to the squad to e-mail to let us know if they are available and get the transport arrangements.

18 October - Independent St Mirren Association
A well attended meeting at the Wee Barrel on Saturday saw some meaningful discussion on the formation of the Independent St Mirren Association.   Balfy's notes of the meeting have been published here.

If you wish any further information then e-mail Balfy by clicking here. In the meantime we wish the lads well with the venture.

Exclusive Panda Interview!!
Karins Panda interview is now online.  Find out if the Panda is really a racoon in disguise.

17 October - Supersweep Update
Check how you're doing in the supersweep which has now been updated. Keith the Cambridge Saint, Tom Williamson and Millport Saint lead the way at the top.

Fixture Change
To avoid a clash with the Scotland v England Euro 2000 clash at Hampden on 13 November it is reported that Saints will take on Airdrie at the Shyberry Excelcior Stadium on Friday 12 November, 7-30pm kick off.

16 October - Saints 3 Raith Rovers 2
Saints moved back to the top of the table after a last gasp winner by Tommy Turner in a tough fought match against Raith Rovers at Love Street.   The scenes of celebration at the final whistle were in stark contrast to the looks of despair on most supporters faces just a few minutes earlier.  As usual Roving Ross was at the game and you can read his match report by clicking here.  

Elsewhere in the first division:

Dunfermline 0 Airdrie 0: Honours even at East End Park but Dunfermline were reduced to 9 men when Owen Coyle and Andy Smith were red carded.  Ex Saint and all round bad boy Jim Dick was also sent off and he now faces a lengthy suspension.

Livingston 4 Ayr Utd 1: Livingston keep up their challenge with an emphatic win over Ayr.

Clydebank 1 M*rton 3: An away day at home for the unwashed who, despite having Andy Millen sent off came from behind to deny Clydebank their first win of the season.

Falkirk 0 Inverness CT 2:  The shock of the Day at Brokeville as the Highlanders recorded their first away win of the season.

15 October - Preview: Saints v Raith Rovers
By 'Roving' Ross

It will take a long time before August's 6-0 trouncing of Raith Rovers is lost from the memories of Saints fans. It was without doubt the best, and possibly the easiest, St.Mirren win in many a year.

Since then though Raith have been improving week after week, closing to within three points of Saints and sitting in fourth place in the table. Saints won't have it as easy as they did two months ago and with Barry Lavety struggling to recover fro a flu bug the game is certain to be a close affair

Raith meanwhile, have two injury doubts although manager John McVeigh is doing his best to be awkward by refusing to name the unfortunate couple until they are definitely ruled out.

Otherwise, both teams are at full strength with Tom Brown likely to be recalled to the midfield for Saints despite Sergei Baltacha's impressive performances for Scotland's Under 21 side last week. Steven McGarry also looks set to be dropped, in favour of Mark Yardley, if Lavety recovers in time for kick off.

Saints average home attendance has risen significantly in the first quarter of this season - 4189 against 2673 for the same period last season and another large attendance should help spur the lads to victory.

Elsewhere in the division temporary league leaders Dunfermline take on Airdrie at East End Park, M*rton visit Clydebank at Cappielow(!), Inverness Caley Thistle travel to Brockville to take on Falkirk and Livingston Entertain Ayr United, fresh from their midweek cup drubbing at the hands of C*lt*c.

Saints likely line up: Roy, Nicolson, Ross, Turner, McLaughlin, Walker, Murray, Brown, Lavety, Mendes, Yardley Subs from Baltacha, McGarry, Drew, Rudden

12 October - Sergei rumours continue
It is reported that no less than five clubs have expressed an interest in signing Sergei Baltacha!  Ipswich, Sunderland, Middlesborough, Southhampton and Norwich are rumoured to be in hot pursuit of the versatile player.

The previous signing talk with Ispwich has been denied by both Stuart Gilmour and George Burley and Saints are said to want a deal consisting of a £500,000 down payment plus further monies for appearances, international honours etc.

11 October - Supersweep Update
Supersweep has been updated after the Dunfermline-Clydebank game at the weekend.  Check out the foot of the table.   Its a fix!!

Exclusive @stmirren.net e-mail
Fancy an e-mail address ending @stmirren.net?  Cost is £9-99 for one year.  E-mail Div by clicking here and get it sorted out.

Erin Cup report
Report now published.  Read all about Sizzling Saints exploits. 

10 October - New Site Launched!!!!
Sizzling Saints are pleased to announce the arrival of another great site.  We would do a full blurb but really, the name is self explanatory - Soapdodgers h2o.  We have added a link from Surfing Saints Central.
In the meantime you can see what the fuss is about by clicking here. 

10 October - News Round Up

M*rton fanzine plots revenge
It seems that most folk on the unwashed guestbook have taken Scumopoly in the spirit it was intended.  In fact revenge is being plotted and their fanzine 'The Cappielow Bugle' promises to break the bank to restore their pride.  

No doubt they will have the greatest Greenock minds on the case so Sizzling Saints recommends keeping a  dictionary handy to check all the spelling - It definitely rules out a 'paint by numbers' theme!!

Sergei set for Ipswich move
It is reported that Ipswich are poised to sign Sergei Baltacha for a fee of £500, 000.  The move comes just after his impressive display in the Scotland U21 international during the week.  Although regrettable that Sergei may have to move on the cash will go a long way to helping the club move forward.

Saints knocked off top spot
Dunfermline obviously found the goalposts today in this recheduled match as they ran out 4-1 winners against struggling Clydebank.   Dunfermline now leapfrog Saints who are now in second place by just one point.

Sizzling Saints bow out in semi's
Sizzling Saints internet team gained much respect at this tourney by reaching the semi- final but went out to Hibs   thanks to a disputed penalty in the first minute.  A great performance from SS against the more experienced sides and we also had the pleasure of trouncing the blue bigots internet team 4-1. 

The SS results were

Group
SS 4 v 1 Rangers
SS 1 v 1 Celtic
SS 3 v 0 QPR

Semi
SS 0 v 1 Hibs

The tourney was won by Celtic who defeated Hibs 4-0 in the final.  More details will appear soon in the Sizzling AFC section.

9 October - Morton Chairman in pensions scandal
Morton chairman Hugh Scott is at the centre of yet more controversy.  This time he was subject to some investigative journalism by the Evening Tims who alleged that there had been some misappropriation of funds from his company's pension scheme.  As usual there came the denials and Scott has apparently now put things to right.

Sizzling Saints cannot yet confirm or deny the rumour that Hugh Scott is now planning a boat trip to the Canaries!!!

8 October - News Round Up
Due to the site handover we have lost a bit of ground on the news front in the last few days so here's a quick summary:

Shuggie close to a suspension
It is reported that Tom Hendrie has had a word in Hugh Murrays ear about his 'over exhuberant' tackling after he was booked during his second half debut fot theScotland  U21's.  Shuggie was booked (rather unluckily) on Saturday against Livingston and is now just one yellow card from a suspension.

Sergei caps a fine performance
Alex Smith was obviously keen to make big Sergei Baltacha (pictured right) a 'Scot' because he was capped for Scotland in the U21 match at Love Street against Bosnia-Herzegovinia on Tuesday. He became the first ever player without a Scottish ancestor to play for Scotland.

Sergei was used in an unfamiliar right wing back role and despite some inconsistent performances in the stripes he had,  by all accounts a very good game.

Sizzling Saints wishes the big man all the best for his international career.

Saints not yet out of the red
Despite reporting an operating profit of £380,000 during the last year it appears that Saints money worries continue.   Allegedly Renfrew District Coucil are pursuing a six figure sum from the club.   This news comes at a time when it is reported that there will be a further share flotation to finance the upgrading of the stadium to meet SPL criteria.

Scumopoly controversy backfires - SQ Sold Out!!
Griff and Millport were seen grinning like Cheshire cats on Saturday just before kick off.  Due to the recent 'publicity' SQ No 19 completely sold out on Saturday and is set to become a collectors item!  The good news however is that the lads have some extra copies of SQ No19 and they are available to order.  E-mail Jim by clicking here to order your copy. 

October 7th - The New Look
Well, here's the new look for a while - well, until we get sacked!!.. :-) Still a good bit of work to be done yet getting the existing pages into the new format and more links will appear on the side bar menu.   We will get around to posting some football related stuff as soon as possible.  Good job there is no game on Saturday!!
 
October 3rd - A Quick Message
I think we all owe a debt to Div for the information and entertainment this site has provided since it was founded.   All I can say is that I will try to pick up where Div left off - no easy task!!  In fact, an impossible task in my opinion such is the high standard Div has maintained on this site.  Thanks for everything Div and enjoy your spare time.

This webmaster malarky is enough to keep one person occupied full time so I'm pleased to announce that (like Saints Online) we will have a webmistress to help out.  Karin (TAFKA 'Gerry Creaneys Jock Strap') has offered to help out and glad to have her aboard.  You may know that Karin is on first name terms with some of the players so we can look forward to some inside info, gossip and general pillow talk  :o)

Contrary to popular belief Roving Ross has not been sacked!!!  In fact, delighted that the wee man seems as enthusiastic as ever.  I for one have always enjoyed reading his reports - even if he does pinch them from Tom Williamson and Kenny Morrison. (Just kidding Ross!!! - honest!!)

There will be a few changes in the near future, right now I'm getting to grips with the files etc so the current format will be maintained for a wee while yet.  In the meantime if anyone wishes to contact me click here.

Tony the 'Black & White' Tiger

October 3rd - Sizzling Saints appoints a new webmaster! 
As regular visitors will have been aware - we've been on the lookout for a new webmaster to take over and look after the site. We received loads of offers - all of which were very much appreciated. We also received many offers of support and encouragement for this website.

Thanks to everyone who mailed in about this.

I would ask that all those who offered their services get in touch with the new webmaster as soon as he takes charge, which should be sometime this week. Everyone has something to offer - and the running and upkeep of the site is not a trivial matter - everyone needs to contribute to keep it fresh and interesting.

Anyway - enough already - I won't reveal the identity of the new man at the helm - but will give you a big hint by leaving you his picture !

Tony has long been a regular to the St.Mirren internet scene, and has demonstrated that not only will he be able to look after the site - but he will be able to dramaticallyimprove it#s layout, design and content. 

I will continue to contribute to the black and white internet presence, and will continue to hold and finance the domain name and web space on which the site exists.

Can I just say a big "thanks" to everyone who has helped or visited the site in the past year - particularly my roving correspondent Ross Lafferty who has written the match reports for the past six months. 

Needless to say it was a condition on taking over the site that Ross was kept on !!

Final Score: Saints 1 Livingston 1   
Saints blew the chance to go four points clear at the top of the division after a Jekyll and Hyde performance saw them drop two home points against promotion rivals Livingston. 

Saints looked out of sorts in the first half as Livvy ran riot in front of a noisy visiting support. Only the brilliance of Ludovic Roy kept the scoreline respectable as Saints struggled without target man Mark Yardley, who started on the bench.

A horrendous performance by Scott Walker was topped by a terrible mistake which eventually led to a keystone cops style opener for the visitors who should have been three goals to the good at half time.

Scotland u-21 call up Sergei Baltacha was very unlucky with a superb free kick which hit the post on half time, but this was all Saints had to offer in a poor first half.

Hendrie obviously tore strips off the team at half time and they emerged a completely transformed side, completely dominating proceedings in the second half.

Livingston goalkeeper Ian McCaldon time and again defied the efforts of the home team - with terrific saves from Lavety and Murray. The breakthrough came through a typical Basher goal - when he chipped the on-form keeper after intercepting a wayward shot.

Livvy were then reduced to ten men as yet again an opposing player saw fit to try to end Junior Mendes' career.

Saints huffed and puffed and believed the final breakthrough had arrived with the award of an 85th minute penalty.

Despite scoring from the spot last week Shuggy was ignored in the takers stakes and penalty misser extrordinaire Tom Brown was given the job of winning the game for the darling buds. Needless to say an easy save for Ian McCaldon - coupled with a dreadful rebound miss saw the east coasters take a valuable point from what is fast becoming fortress Love Street - even when we play distinctly below par.

Roving Ross was there  - and his usual excellent match report is available at the above link.

October 2nd First Division Round Up
Rivals Dunfermline had a day off as nobody in Greenock could find four jackets for goalposts for the match with Clydebank at the arse of the bank. Airdrie continue to struggle at home as improving Inverness held them to a 1-1 draw. Morton are, happily, entering meltdown as they completed another dismal defeat - this time comprehensively stuffed 3-0 by fast improving Ayr at Somerset.

Shock of the day was in Kirkcaldy, where home side Raith moved into fourth place with an excellent 2-0 home win over Falkirk.

October 2nd Supersweep update !    
Following todays results we have updated our supersweep league prediction competition thingy-bobbery. Check out the standings - and watch in wonder at the wabit mans Raith pre-season prediction

October 2nd  Scumopoly farce
It seems that the Greenock Telegraph weren't alone in having a slow news week, as the Scottish Media Group jumped on the bandwagon criticising the boys at Saints Quarterly for their "Scumopoly" feature in SQ 19.

Today's Scottish Sun & Daily Record both featured articles on the "story" - giving the boys all the free publicity they could ever have hoped for !

Check out the Scottish Sun article here (click for the full image)  :



October 2nd  Livvy Match Preview
Saints will be looking to bounce back from the Brockville defeat last week with a home win over fellow promotion contenders Livingston. The buddies welcome back Barry Lavety to the fold as they aim to bury the general thought that the early season bubble has burst.

The darling buds could hardly have asked for more difficult opponents as high flying Livvy come to Paisley with a wealth of Premier League experience that will represent a very tough test for the lads in black & white.

Here's hoping the lads get the same backing from the home fans that they got last time out against the soapdodgers.


October 2nd Site up for grabs - YOU could run this site !
Sizzling Saints is looking for a new webmaster !

We've ran the site for a year now - and have built up a steady stream of visitors as the pages have established themselves as one of the premier sources for buddie based information on the web.

It's now time for someone else to take up the reigns and take the site onwards and upwards to greater things.

The site and the registered domain name will be passed on free of charge to the right individual. We'll also pass on the tools you need for the job (it really isn't that difficult !)

Maybe sizzling saints could become "SQ Online" ?!!

If you feel you have what it takes then email us here !


October 2nd  Cap calls for saints young guns
Saints impressive start to the season has gained international recognition from Scotland u-21 boss Alex Smith - who has called up both Hugh Murray and Sergei Baltacha to his squad for next weeks fixtures.

Baltacha makes history as the first player with no direct Scottish blood roots to earn a cap at international level, qualifying courtesy of being resident in the country for more than twelve years.

Murray had cause for double celebration as he scooped the first division player of the month award for September. 

Good work Shuggy fella ! 

September 30th SQ stirs up our Greenock friends

Those bad bad boys at Saints Quarterly have caused a wee bit of a stramash down
Greenock way - with a centre spread feature in the latest edition of the best selling
fanzine.

The local rag down at the arse of the bank obviously had little news to report on, as the front page
ran headlines about the "scumopoly" feature in what has, and always will be, a fanzine aimed at
St.Mirren fans. Far from being offended by the over the top criticism aimed at the fanzine, Griff should
be flattered that the publication sells so well down in Greenock !

The front page article in the Greenock Telegraph read as follows :

SICK FANZINE CAUSES FURY

St Mirren 'Scumopoly' game slates Greenock

A football fanazine produced by St Mirren suporters has been branded 'sick' and 'very offensive' - for 
poking fun at Greenock's drugs and crime problems.

Inverclyde Council leader Robert Jackson made his comments after learning of a cut-out Monopoly-style game- entitled 'Scumopoly' - which appears in the current edition of SQ (Saints Quarterly), and is descibed as 'a game of everyday life in the slums of Greenock'.

The game, which was devised by the Paisley fanzine's editor Gordon Griffiths, substitutes desirable properties, such as Mayfair and Park Lane, with the likes of 'Doss House' and 'Club Slapper Disco' and 'The Soap Dodger Arms'.

The cut-out cards which replace Chance and Community Chest from the original game draw attention to the areas's drugs and crime problems.

Among them are 'Sell Stolen Wheel Trims' - £40 and 'Find a stash of crack and Eldorado, down them in one ... overdose ... game over.'

Councillor Jackson said: 'I find this very offensive and I'm very annoyed by it.

'Theres a lot of good rivalry between Greenock and Paisley, but these are just sick.

'We have made a big effort to tackle the drugs problems and this is absolutely outrageous.

'Both Paisley and Greenock have problems with drugs, and it's not something you should make cheap shots about.'

Economic development convenor - and keen Morton fan - Councillor Alex McGhee added: 'I'm disappointed that he has gone down the road of drugs and crime, rather than keeping it humourous.'

But Mr Griffiths stressed that the game was not intended to offend Greenockians and said if half a dozen words were changed, it could just as easily apply to any other town.

He added: 'we regularly have digs at Morton and the Old Firm in SQ. There's a history of winding each other up on both the St Mirren and Morton websites.'

But he admitted: 'to some extent it has been irresponsible and I will have to reconsider the material that goes in, in future.'

For those of you who haven't seen the feature - check out the front page below for an idea of what all the fuss is about - click for the full image :




September 30th Final Score : Falkirk 3 Saints 1  
Saints bubble didn't so much burst as explode as jinx side Falkirk ran out comprehensive winners at
Brockville on Saturday. Saints never recovered from losing a goal after just 45 seconds, and things
went from bad to worse in a terrible first half where out of sorts Saints were always second best.

John Henry scored a brilliant second and fluked a third as the buds were ran ragged by a fired up
home side. The second half saw Saints rally - but it was too little too late as Hugh Murray slotted
home a 75th minute penalty consolation.

A real test for Saints comes next week at home to title challengers Livingston. If the boys are to
be taken seriously as promotion contenders then they must bounce back from this setback.

Roving Ross was unfortunate enough to be at dumpsville and his usual top quality match report is available
at the link above.

September 30th First Division Round-Up
Elsewhere in the division Dunfermline closed the gap at the top to just a point with a 2-1 win over improving Ayr at East End Park. Morton were humbled 2-0 at home by basement boys Airdrie who only seem to win games at Crappeilow. Raith ahd an excellent 2-0 win away at Inverness Caley - whilst next weeks visitors Livingston made hard work of disposing of Clydebank at Almondvale.

The league table highlights the importance of next weeks game at home to Livvy as Hendries heroes attempt to end the first quarter as league leaders. 

September 30th Supersweep 2000 latest leaderboard 
The Cambridge Saints lead at the top has been cut - and he's back into double figures. No more surprises really - Gerry Creaney remains firmly rooted to the bottom rung - along with the Sunday Telegraph - quality newspaper my arse. We've changed the page to show everyone's selections again - but this does make it quite slow to load - you have been warned !

September 26th Roving Ross on the mend - report published ! 
Our star roving reporter overdid the celebrations at the weekend and ended up with food
poisoning (we think it was all those stolen Greenock pies !). Anyway - he's made a recovery
and you can now find his usual top quality match report on the game at the above link.

September 26th If Only number forty-one - "Caprice" 
It's the feature that made us famous - sort of. Number 41 in our series of darling buds is published
today - the remarkable "Caprice" - who used to work in the town centre chippy of the same name.

Check out our exclusive picture of the blonde bombshell sporting the new Sizzling Saints bra type
bikini thingymabob thing.............

September 26th Falkirk match preview
The buds travel to face jinx side Falkirk at the tip they call Brockville on Saturday. The bairns have been a constant thorn in the side of the buds in past seasons - and Saints will be anxious to bury their
hoodoo once and for all with a convincing win.

Basher is of course suspended - which will mean a return to the first team of Stephen McGarry. Tom
Brown is also expected to make a return to the team following illness - with Sergei Baltacha likely to
return to the bench.

Saints will again be backed by a large travelling black and white army who will be hoping the lead can
be extended even further at the top - although the fans have the unusual luxury of knowing that, whatever happens, the buds will remain top of the pile come Sunday morning !

COME ON YE SAINTS !

September 26th Hurry for Murray ?
Saints superb start to the season has the tabloids scrambling for their "exclusives" of young buds
heading for other clubs. The first of these appeared in this mornings express with Hugh Murray
being linked with a move to Kilmarnock.

Murray is enjoying his finest spell in the team with some superb midfield performances matched
with the guts and spirit that has been lacking in the past.

We'll need to wait and see how accurate the report is - but it is doubtful that Killie would be able
to afford the talented youngster - who Saints will be in no great rush to sell. The buds may prefer
to hold on in the hope that a big spending English Premeirship club will make them an offer they
cannot refuse.

Saints head to Brokeville on Saturday to face Falkirk. Barry Lavety, contrary to reports, has received
only a one match ban and will sit out - but this gives Stephen McGarry an ideal chance to reclaim his
first team jersey, so Saints should be more or less at full strength against a Barins side who have
struggled in the league to date, but who always give Saints a tough match.

September 26th Hooli-Hooli-Hooligan ?!  
Pools and surveys have been cropping up all over the place recently - we decided to join in -  but our
survey is designed to see just how radio rental the black and white army are. Have you ever been in
a pitch invasion, a fight at the game, chundered, been arrested ?!! Check out our ten short questions
at the link shown above !

September 26th Souvenir Derby Day Wallpaper ! 
Fair play to the soapdodgers on Saturday - they fair rubbed in the 5-1 win by waving the result on
sheets of A4. Now you can get your own back by downloading our brilliant derby day, top of the league souvenir wallpaper. Head to Panda's download area above for the details ! 

September 23rd Final Score - Saints 3 Soapdodgers 2 !!  
Super Saints held on to take all three points in a rip roaring Renfrewshire derby that had everything.

Goals from Mark Yardley, Barry Lavety and Barry McLaughlin sealed the win, which came despite a
quite appalling performance from the match officials - who awarded Morton two penalties and red
carded Barry Lavety for what appeared an innocuous tangle with Andy Millen and Paul Fenwick.
 
A bumper crowd of 6,700 saw Saints move 4 points clear at the top of the division as nearest rivals
Livingston and Dunfermline drew with Inverness and Raith respectively.

Ayr United beat basement boys Clydebank whilst next weeks opponents Falkirk could only manage a goalless draw with the dire diamonds.

The picture on the left shows Junior and Basher celebrating the second goal - with man of the match Mark Yardley joining in.

The soapdodgers left the ground still clinging to their 5-1win last season - but Saints fans leaving the ground had their sights firmly on the present and the buddiesmagnificent march to the SPL !

Cheer up Billy Stark !

Roving Ross was there - and at last his report his available at the above link.

More pictures of the match - click on the thumbnail for the full image :

                    

September 23rd Supersweep competition league table updated 
The Cambridge Saint extends his own lead at the top of the table - check out our updated competition
leaderboard !

September 23rd Sizzling Saints 5 Dodgy Greenock Pub Team 5 
Harpo's troops earned a creditable draw yesterday as Sizzling Saints AFC made their home debut at
Ferguslie astroturf. Marko van Haddock has kindly written a report on the game which you can
read on our Sizzling Saints AFC page
 
September 23rd Spotlight on Hendrie  
Sizzling Saints today publishes an exclusive article on the reign of Tom Hendrie. He's been at the club
for almost ten months now - and in that time he has taken the club from survival specialists to promotion prospects - read our own article on how Hendrie has found the winning forumala.......


September 17th Club praises "magnificent support"
Saints have today been applauding the "magnificent support" which travelled through to East End park
on Saturday to back the buddies. The black and white army, totalling around 2000 fans, sang from start to finish and gave the team a standing ovation as they left the field.

The players responded by coming over to acknowledge the fans who had made the 130 mile round trip to see their favourites. 

Saints will be hoping for a healthy turnout on Saturday as they entertain derby rivals Morton. With the buds unbeaten, entertaining their deadliest rivals and no SPL games to compete for support the club is entitled to expect the people of Paisley to come back and see the black and white revolution at first hand.

With Morton usually bringing a large support to Paisley the ground should have an excellent atmosphere as the buds aim to continue the amazing record of having scored in every home match since manager Tom Hendrie took over in December '98. Needless to say the boys have another score to settle with our unwashed friends from the arse of the bank on Saturday !

Should be yet another exciting chapter in what has been, to date, a fantastic start to the season.  

September 17th Promotion & Play-Off Watch - Week Six
Every six weeks we will be looking at the promotion / relegation play off picture to try to predict what would happen come next May if the teams remain in these places, after all of the various factors such as SPL criteria are taken into effect.  This six part series will look at the current picture as it stands - only clubs who are eligible at the time of writing can be promoted.

So after six weeks the top three in the division are as follows :

Saints
Dunfermline
Livingston

And at the foot of the SPL lie the dismal dons from Aberdeen.

By our reckoning current SPL rules would rule out both Saints and Livingston as promotion or play-off hopefuls as
neither currently have the required 10,000 seats - although both are close, and confident of achieving this by March.

This would mean that Aberdeen's position in the SPL would be safe gaurded, with Dunfermline going up along with the next highest placed team who meets the criteria - currently this is sixth placed Raith Rovers !!

What a bonkers system it all is !!

Hopefully as the teams get their grounds sorted out the picture will be a little clearer - we'll be back in week 12 ! 


September 15th Hendrie - the boy done good   
Have you checked out our exclusive Tom Hendrie match analysis feature ?

We've charted every result since the gaffer took over - have a look - it makes interesting reading !

Super Tom !

September 15th Final Score : Dunfermline 1 Saints 1  
Saints completely outclassed first division "favourites" Dunfermline at East End Park yesterday in
what was possibly their best performance of an already impressive season to date.

Saints pounded the home side from the first whistle to the last, and only bad luck and poor finishing
prevented the buddies from taking all three points back to Paisley.

Junior Mendes had, for me, his best ever game for Saints - despite being booted by almost every
home player - four of whom were booked for scything down the in-form Saint.

Tom Brown put Saints ahead on 33 minutes after excellent work by Mendes, with Dunfermline full
back Richard Huxford firing in an equaliser just before half time in what was to prove the home sides
last effort on goal.

Dunfermline fans gathered in the impressive Norrie McCathie stand wouldn't have seen much of the
second half as Saints set up camp in the opposition half with Mendes going close on three occasions
and Shuggy Murray having a goalbound effort blocked on the line by Hamish French.

With a corner count somewhere in the region of 14-1 in favour of Saints - this was the clearest indication yet to the Scottish Media and the rest of the First Division that the buddies are top on merit - and we will be there until the end of the season if we continue to produce performances like this one !

Roving Ross was there - along with the other 2000 or so Saints fans - and you can read his exclusive
match report .

September 15th First Division Round-Up
Elsewhere in the division Livingston and an impressive 2-0 away win over Falkirk at Dumpsville,
Inverness recorded their first win of the season by edging out crisis torn Clydebank by a goal to nil,
Ayr United beat dire Airdrie by two goals to nil, with both goals coming from new loan signing Nigel
Jemson who used to play for the glorious Sheffield Wednesday.

The soapdodgers had a fine 2-0 win over Raith at Crappeilow - but only managed to attract a meagre
crowd of 970 - with attendances like these it would seem unlikely that Hugh Scott will be able to finance his proposed two new stadiums - watch out for a statement to that effect in the near future.    

September 15th Supersweep competition league table updated 
The new leaderboard shows a tie for first place - with Millport Saint Jim Cumming and Keith the Cambridge saint tied on an impressive 8 points. Check out your place at the link above !

September 15th Fixed Odds Monkey Madness Week 4 ! 
Another week - but sadly another glorious failure for Heid & Chims. Another fiver down the pan - but
signs that the whizzkids are finding their feet - keep the faith and ye shall be rewarded !

September 15th Sizzling Saints Athletic vs Parscelona !  
Sizzling Saints FC took their bow on the world football stage yesterday with an away match against
Parscelona. The boys have apparently been out on the piss ever since as nobody has yet to tell us
the details of the match - which was probably watched by more fans than the Morton vs Raith match
was !

The lads put up an excellent show - none more so than Mark Logue who notched a hat-trick on his debut !

Unfortunately the fifers ran out 4-3 winners - but I'm sure the performance of the saints team soon banished the dejection from the Sizzling Saints eleven men in flight. Good work Sizzling Saints Fellas !

Despite the hat-trick Roving Ross has nominated himself as the sizzling man of the match - it all seems a bit dubious to me...........and Gerry Creaney's jockstrap has come in for a fair amount of criticism over her handling of the line after she was unexpectantly seconded into officiating at the match !

Next week sees the lads take on the soapdodgers.

September 9th Excusive interview with Hendrie & Gilmour 
It seems interviews with our chairman and the gaffer are the fashion these days as the board gain respect amongst the fans by opening the doors to the corridors of power and answering the questions the fans want to hear.

Saints Quarterly carried out two interviews - one of which is published in the forthcoming issue of SQ, out this Saturday, and the other which they have kindly allowed us to publish exclusively !

The interview was penned by Chris Chau.

September 9th Fans urged to create carnival in Fife  
With Saints expected to carry the biggest away support for years to Saturdays match at Dunfermline we are using these pages to urge the fans to create a carnival type atmosphere which will hopefully help carry the boys to victory. Wear your shirt to the game, take your scarf, throw confetti and ticker tape and sing until you can sing no more. Back the team and enjoy what should be an excellent day out !!

If we lose a goal sing even louder and let the team know we are right behind them !

If you need your passion stirred - read our article "Fan or Supporter" at the link above.  

September 8th SQ issue 19 out this Saturday     
The latest issue of Saints best selling fanzine, Saints Quarterly, hits the streets this Saturday at East End Park.
Look out for an exclusive interview with Hendrie and Gilmour and for the usual features, rumours and articles from the boys. Please support the fanzine and buy a copy or two on Saturday !

Griff and Millport will be doing the usual pre-match and half time sales pitch. There will doubtless be one or two saints fans at the game - so if you don't know what the boys look like check out our picture on the SQ pages above and clock the ugly mugs to look out for !

September 8th Basher home for at least another 4 weeks !

Saints have secured the services of on-loan, on-form hitman Barry Lavety for another month, after chairman Stewart Gilmour agreed a deal with Hibs on Wednesday 

With the previous one months deal set to expire after Saturdays top of the table crunch with Dunfermline, and Saints still unable to finance a permanent bid for the striker, the loan move has hopefully given the buddies four further weeks on which to benefit from the undoubted talents of Basher - who has hit four goals in four league games for the club since re-joining in mid-August.

Lavety - pictured left - was featured on a six page teletext spotlight on Wednesday evening, where he opened his heart on his dream to return to Saints and lead them back to the top flight.

Today's PDE report that there is no truth in the rumour surrounding a possible switch to Dens Park, with Hibs declaring the only tentative enquiry has been from Wigan Athletic.

Saints supremo Stewart Gilmour is currently trying to secure the finance to bring basher home, upgrade the Love Street end terracing to a 2,200 seater stand, and bring in a left sided player as cover for Chris Kerr ! 

September 7th  Saints look to extend bashers loan period
As the club continues it's hunt for a benefactor willing to fund the permanent homecoming of our prodigal striker Barry Lavety, Saints have sought an interim solution by attempting to extend Bashers' loan period to the maximum three months permitted under league rules.

Despite some initial confusion it appears that the loan deal struck with Hibs in the middle of August was for a one-month stay, and with Hibs keen to offload the bustling on-form striker Saints may be caught short as they continue to try to fund the permanent move.

Lavety's form has seen him notch four league goals in four appearances and his arrival is widely accepted as being the catalyst to the clubs excellent start to the season.

With a new stand to fund, as well as an urgent need to recruit a left back to cover for long term injury victim Chris Kerr it may be that Basher is a luxury that the club simply cannot afford. The players wages at Easter Road are thought to be £1000 per week with an additional appearance bonus of £700 per match. Currently the Edinburgh outfit are making up the remainder of the weekly wage after Saints have paid their share within the strict wage structure in force at Love Street.

As Lavety continues to plunder goals his perceived value in the open market continues to rise, and despite the players desire to return to his favourite club, overwhelming support from the fans and the manager and chairman both openly backing any move to bring him home - it may be that Basher could play his last game for the buddies on Saturday.

September 6th Final Score : Saints 5 Airdrie 0  
Saints routed Airdrie to confirm ourselves as serious promotion contenders. For the fourth time in
five league games this season the buddies saw their opponents reduced to ten men but even
though this happened after only twenty minutes play, the darling buds were already 2-0 ahead.

Goals from Junior Mendes, Hugh Murray (2), Basher and Ian Ross gained sweet revenge against
the diamonds who won 5-1 at Love Street only 9 months ago. In front of 3,500 fans saints produced
a superb display of controlled attacking football which now takes them into a top of the table clash
with Dunfermline at East End park next Saturday.

Man of the match Hugh Murray was relieved of his Scotland u-21 call up as Saints declared they
needed him more - on the evidence of his stunning display yesterday Scotland were certainly
the losers. Shuggie scored one of the goals of this or any other season with a ferocious 25 yard
drive which cannoned off the bar on it's way in.

Elsewhere in the division Dunfermline kept up the pressure on Saints with a hard fought 1-0 win
away at Livingston, Falkirk made hard weather of disposing of Clydebank 3-2 at Brockville, Inverness
held Morton to a 1-1 draw and Raith produced the surprise of the day with a 5-1 rout of sorry Ayr.

Roving Ross was at the match and his usual match report is now available

September 6th Saints looking to bring basher home 
Saints are looking for local business to stump up the cash which will bring Barry Lavety home. Today's
newspapers report that the buddies are desperate to bring the prodigal son back to Love Street after
his impressive return of four goals in as many games has helped propel saints to the first division summit.

With wages of £1000 per week at Easter Road plus £700 appearance money Basher is out of saints reach
for the time being. Saints supremo Stewart Gilmour has issued a plea for help to local businesses in a bid
to find the capital needed t fund a permanent move for the talented striker.

It is thought that the club has already put funds aside to purchase the hitman from Hibs, but the concern
over the ongoing cost of his employment has prevented Saints from making the move permanent.

Basher's current exploits will have alerted many other clubs - but Lavety's wish to remain at Love Street makes
Saints front runners in the race for his signature.

September 6th £400,000 stand planned for Love Street
Chairman Stewart Gilmour has released plans for the final Love Street development which will see the cliub
meet the 10,000 seat SPL criteria in time for the March deadline.

Plans for a full replica of the Caledonian Stand have had to be shelved because of the £4m cost - but the Saints
supremo has replaced these with plans for a North Bank Style seated enclosure which will house 2000 seats.

Gilmour, speaking in the "Saint" newspaper, has advised fans that the club WILL be ready to meet the criteria
in time for the deadline, "We plan to re-surface the terrace, filling in every second step level to create a first
class spectating environment where the fans will enjoy decent legroom between seat rows, similar in fact
to the North Bank. Then the entire area will be covered, seated and new refreshment kiosks and toilets will
be built".

Gilmour hopes to fund the project with the help of local authority grants and funds from the lottery commission.

September 6th Supersweep competition league table updated 
Fellow webmaster Tom Williamson leads the way in the supersweep competition, two points clear
of his closest rival. Check out the latest scores at the link above !

September 6th Hendrie scoops monthly award
Saints impressive start to the new season was recognised today as manager Tom Hendrie scooped the Bells First Division manager of the month award. Despite two cup setbacks at the hands of Inverness Caley, Hendrie has skillfully guided the buddies to the top of the pile, amassing an impressive haul of ten points with thirteen goals notched. Let's hope this is the first in a long line of such awards.

September 4th Ayr want to share
Ayr United have held prelimary talks with Saints about the possibility of ground sharing at Love Street
next season as their plans for a new out of twon stadium continue to falter in a sea of red tape. Ayr
owner Bill Barr owns the company which are currently Saitns largest creditor, Barr construction, and
this factor alone could be enough to make the move become reality.

In any case a ground share agreement would not mean SPL entry even in the event of the honest men
making it into the top three, as the change in the criteria allowing groundsharing int he top flight would
need to be passed by a majority of 6-4 within the current member clubs.

As Barr construction have built most of the stadiums in Scotland this may not present Barr with any
significant hurdle. 

September 2nd  Norrie on the way out ?
Today's Paisley Express confirms the view amongst many of the black and white army that long time
servant Norrie McWhirter's days at the club are numbered. A swap deal which would have brought
midfielder Gary Bowman to the club from Ayr United in exchange for McWhirter fell through, because
Norrie is currently carrying an ankle knock.

Many will be sad to see Norrie go, but it is fair to say that his best days are now behind him and with
the managers hands tied financially swap deals may be the only way of bringing in new blood to the
ranks which must be bolstered in order for a serious promotion bid to be maintained.

Whatever happens Norrie is sure to be welcomed back to the club, and if he doesn't go there will
doubtless be a few happy fans in the North Bank who would love to see him back at the heart of
a winning side.

September 2nd  Airdrie Preview
With the SPL card cancelled for the Scotland game this weekend the domestic spotlight falls on the first
division with Saints hoping for a good turnout as they entertain faltering Airdrie at Love Street. With Hugh
Murray away with the Scottish under 21 side and Colin Drew, Iain Nicolson and Norrie McWhirter joining
long term crocks Ronnie McQuiter and Chris Kerr on the injury list, manager Tom Hendrie will be forced
to shuffle his winning pack.

Youngster Ryan Robinson could feature at some point with Saints pinning their hopes on another three
points to keep up their impressive opening spell. With close rivals Dunfermline and Livingston clashing this
represents a vital match for Saints as they enter September unbeaten.

The Diamonds have faltered since Gary McKay took charge midway through last season and Saints have
recorded back to back 3-0 wins over the club which effectively ended Tony Fitzpatricks second spell as
buddies manager with a 5-1 win at Love Street last December.

Hopefully September will be the month for avenging 5-1 defeats..............................

September 2nd  Supersweep competition league table updated 
The supersweep competition leaderboard has now been updated to reflect the new league positions.
None of our players have managed to break into single figures - with four players currently tied at the
top with twelve points - check it out to see how you are faring !!

September 2nd  Funky new stats pages !  
We've teamed up with soccerbase to provide all of our visitors with the ultimate in stats on the darling
buddies. Check out the link above - and get facts and information on each of our players, results,
appearances, goals. What makes this so different is the ability to look at past seasons - right back
to when the club was founded !  Check it out at the link above - you won't be disappointed !

A permanent link has now been added in our totally revamped retro saints & stats section.

September 2nd  Head to Head ! 
Head to Head offers surfing buddies the chance to review the buddies performances against any british team since the club was founded. The search will show a summary of the games played, and a breakdown of individual results by season against each club selected. You may even click on a chosen game and see the teams and scorers of the day - right back to 1877 !!

Check it out at the link above - again a link has been added to our retro saints & stats section !

September 2nd  Jackanory - tell a story !  
Don't forget our groovy new Jackanory section where on-line buds can recount great stories of buddies matches in seasons gone by. Happy, Sad, Funny, Miserable - we want to hear it !

If you haven't already checked it out you can read Jersey Saints Bolton tale at the link above.

September 2nd  Monkey Madness is back !!  
Heid is now in Jamaica - and Wabit is heading off to Mexico next week - but never fear gambling buddies as the great Chims has obliged with his selections for the weekend. Without the meanderings of the heid we're sure to fire ourselves to a nice little earner. A five quid stake is all that's required this week - check it out ! 


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