{"id":16742,"title":"Winds of Change","description":"As I write this, I should be on my way to Dundee - A half bottle in one hand and a handwritten \u201cAlex Gogic can I have ur shirt?\u201d sign in the other. With the weather once again putting pay to the tie at Dens, we were handed an extra night to reflect on what has been an extremely eventful week in the Paisley Saints\u2019 season.","content":"

By Andrew Christie<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

As I write this, I should be on my way to Dundee - A half bottle in one hand and a handwritten \u201cAlex Gogic can I have ur shirt?\u201d sign in the other. With the weather once again putting pay to the tie at Dens, we were handed an extra night to reflect on what has been an extremely eventful week in the Paisley Saints\u2019 season.<\/p>

Here are the main talking points of the last seven days.<\/p>

Don Go Breaking My Heart<\/strong><\/p>

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On Saturday morning, after days of rumour and deliberation, Jim Goodwin was officially named as Aberdeen manager.<\/p>

While the timing admittedly stung, Goodwin and his assistant Lee Sharp headed North with his spell in Paisley ultimately going down as a success. The Irishman leaves St Mirren with the side making a real case for a top-six finish (whisper it<\/em> maybe even with a push for a European spot) as well a Scottish Cup Quarter Final to come in just over two weeks' time.<\/p>

Goodwin himself has acknowledged the size of the job he now has on his hands with Aberdeen \u2013 and it will be very interesting to see where the two teams sit come the end of the season.<\/p>

A Little from Collum A<\/strong><\/p>

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Following the manager\u2019s departure, Jamie Langfield\u2019s Black and White Army\u2122 travelled to West Lothian hoping to drown out the noise of the previous few days with a performance against ninth-placed Livingston.<\/p>

Organised and resolute as ever, David Martindale\u2019s side gave Saints a stern test, controlling large periods of play and playing some nice football in the process, and will feel aggrieved not to come away with more than the eventual 1-1 draw.<\/p>

Saints rode their luck slightly in the first half, with the home team creating the lion\u2019s (he\u2019s done it, yass) share of chances, with both sides lacking that bit of quality to convert.<\/p>

Overall, the game struggled to find its flow with referee Willie Collum\u2019s whistle and his somewhat jazz-style approach to the implementation of the rules of football contributing to a bit of a stop-start affair.<\/p>

Livi\u2019s dogged perseverance paid off in the 55th minute when some neat interplay between Joel Nouble and Nicky Devlin down the right-hand side (an area the pair repeatedly looked to exploit) resulted in Bruce Anderson bundling home to claim a 1-0 lead for the home side.<\/p>

With Saints staring down the barrel of a first defeat since Boxing Day, Jamie Langfield added Jay Henderson, Curtis Main and Scott Tanser to preceedings. Credit must go to Langfield, as the changes opened the game up, eventually finding a response on 78 minutes courtesy of a fine 18-yard finish from Greg Kiltie.<\/p>

The day was nearly taken away from us seven minutes from time via referee Collum\u2019s bizarre decision to send off Charles Dunne for a perceived elbow on Livi forward Sebastian Soto, despite minimal (if any) contact. The Saints defender could have arguably seen red earlier in the tie, catching Bruce Anderson with a forearm \u2013 something that perhaps informed Collum\u2019s thinking as Soto theatrically fell to the floor (NOTE: The club have since successfully appealed this, with Dunne\u2019s sending off being downgraded to a booking). In the end, ten-man Saints did well to dig in and close out the tie, and overall, the afternoon has to go down as one the visitors will be happier with than the hosts, given the circumstances.<\/p>

Here\u2019s To You...<\/strong><\/p>

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When it started to become clear that Jim Goodwin\u2019s ambitions lay outside PA3 (as if such a place need even exist), the rumour mill was awash with names ranging from the \u201caye, I suppose they\u2019d do\u201d to the \u201caw naw I genuinely think he\u2019s serious\u201d.<\/p>

After a Jack Ross return was ruled out by both parties, the week started with the two favourites for the job being Scott Brown and Steven Naismith. While both candidates' footballing credentials suggest that a career in management is indeed in the pipeline, many Saints fans were left bemoaning a lack of ambition from the board, calling for experience over a potential gamble.<\/p>

Then, just as we were coming to terms with a coaching team consisting of Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance, something strange happened.<\/p>

Fabrizio Romano - you know\u2026 off of Twitter - broke the news that ex-Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson was in advanced talks to swap Morecambe for Paisley, with Saints paying The Shrimps a bumper six-figure compensation fee to bring Robinson and his assistant Diarmuid O\u2019Carroll to the club.<\/p>

Robinson\u2019s pedigree speaks for itself, having led Motherwell to two domestic cup finals and a top-six finish, and a European jaunt during his three seasons at the club. His time at Fir Park also saw the emergence of youngsters such as Jake Hastie, Allan Campbell and David Turnbull, all of whom have since been part of big-money moves. From a St Mirren perspective, there are few boxes Robinson doesn\u2019t tick.<\/p>

Robinson\u2019s announcement was met with near-unanimous cheer from Saints fans, with the only downside being the palpable sense of disappointment at having nothing to really moan about.<\/p>

You know us though, we\u2019ll figure something out.<\/p>

Pump Up the Jam(bos)<\/strong><\/p>

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The first of two upcoming meetings with Robbie Neilson\u2019s Maroon Menace (the second being the Scottish Cup Quarter Final) comes on Saturday as we welcome the league\u2019s third-placed side to the SMISA Stadium. Despite a recent poor run of form (currently winless in five), the Jambos will be buoyed by the expected return of Craig Gordon, Craig Halkett and Liam Boyce to the starting lineup, and we can expect a very different prospect to the team that slumped to a disappointing 2-1 defeat against bottom-placed St Johnstone last week.<\/p>

The game is one that throws up a number of interesting battles, chief among in the middle of the park. On his day, Hearts\u2019 Beni Baningime is one of the most composed central midfielders in the league, but has toiled since returning from injury, and has found himself struggling next to Cammy Devlin on a couple of recent occasions \u2013 the pair often exposing one another\u2019s shortcomings and appearing quite disjointed. Whether Baningime will line up next to Devlin or Peter Haring, Saints\u2019 midfield partnership of Alan Power and Alex Gogic should look to exploit any weakness in that area and release a front four more than capable of causing Hearts problems.<\/p>

We have struggled against Robbie Neilson\u2019s men this season, with zero points from a possible six in the two meetings so far. However, Stephen Robinson will be desperate to start his St Mirren tenure with a win. With a vocal home crowd behind him in Paisley, there is every chance of him doing just that.<\/p>