FM 2012: St Mirren FC team guide - Will you be my Buddie?

[willamangiro]

Welcome to the St Mirren Football Club guide thread for Football Manager 2012

Club Background:

Saint Mirren were formed as a gentlemen's club which included, among other sports, cricket and rugby in the late 19th century. The increasing popularity of football ensured that by 1877 the members had decided to play association football. They are named after Saint Mirin, the founder of a church at the site of Paisley Abbey and Patron Saint of Paisley. There is also a street in Paisley named "St. Mirren Street".

The club originally wore scarlet and blue strips, however after one season changed to the current black and white striped shirts, which have been worn all bar one season in the 1900s where cream tops were used.

St. Mirren football club played their first match on 6 October 1877, defeating Johnstone Britannia 1–0 at Shortroods. Two years later, the club moved to another ground; Thistle Park, Greenhills. St. Mirren's first Scottish Cup match came on 4 September 1880, a 3–0 victory over Johnstone Athletic. The following year, the Buddies reached their first cup final but were beaten 3–1 by Thornliebank in the Renfrewshire Cup. In 1883 however the scores were reversed with the Saints winning the Renfrewshire Cup, 3–1 against Thornliebank. It is in 1883 that move to their third home, that of West March (early maps indicate area as West March and not Westmarch), defeating Queen's Park in the first game. In 1885, St. Mirren played their first match against Morton, resulting in a defeat.

The 1890 season was an historic season for St. Mirren, as they became founder members of the Scottish League along with fellow Paisley club Abercorn. Of the 10 founder clubs, currently only 5 survive today in the current league system. It was during the match against Morton at Cappielow in this year, that St. Mirren played one of the first night games under light from oil lamps.

St. Mirren moved to Love Street in 1894 and reached their first Scottish Cup final in the 1907–08 season but were defeated 5–1 by Celtic. The Buddies went on to lift the trophy in 1926, 1959 and 1987.

In 1922, St. Mirren were invited to play in the Barcelona Cup invitational tournament to celebrate the inauguration of the Les Corts, the then home of FC Barcelona. They won the tournament by beating Notts County in the final.

In the 1979–80 season, St. Mirren achieved their equal-highest ever finish in the top-flight finishing third behind Aberdeen and Celtic. That season Saints also became the first and last Scottish club to win the Anglo-Scottish Cup, defeating Bristol City F.C. in a two-legged final. The following season, St. Mirren competed in European competition for the first time and won their initial game 2–1 vs. IF Elfsborg in Sweden, followed by a 0–0 draw in the second leg. The next round saw them play French team Saint-Étienne. Although St. Mirren's home leg ended up a 0–0 draw, Saint-Étienne pulled off a 2–0 victory in the second leg to put St. Mirren out of the cup.

The club have been relegated from the Scottish Premier League once (2000–01) and the Premier Division of the Scottish Football League once (1991–92) having escaped relegation from the latter in 1991 after league re-construction. In 2001, St. Mirren finished bottom of the Premier League despite losing only one of their final seven matches. The Saints however managed promotion after clinching the First Division title in 2005–06, a season which also saw St. Mirren win the Scottish Challenge Cup, defeating Hamilton Academical 2–1 in the final at Airdrie United's ground, the Shyberry Excelsior Stadium, with goals from Simon Lappin & John Sutton.

St. Mirren came within an ace of signing Ian Harte in February 2009, only to see their hopes cruelly dashed. In 2010, they reached the final of the Scottish League Cup where they were defeated 0–1 by Rangers FC after having a two man advantage. However, three days later, they recorded a famous win over Celtic FC, a match that The Buddies won 4–0, with doubles from Andy Dorman and Steven Thomson.

St Mirren's old Love Street ground

In April 2007 it was announced that a deal had been struck with supermarket giants Tesco to sell the old stadium, and on 15 January 2009 St. Mirren moved to a new 8,000 seat stadium, also called St. Mirren Park.

The new stadium

Squad Analysis:

Goalkeepers

Two very strong candidates for the number 1 spot here, in Craig Samson and Graeme Smith. For me Samson just about edges it, but this certainly isnt a position where you'll need to strengthen. The only concern is that the back up goalkeeper will start to become unsettled because of a lack of first team opportunities. But you have a decent youngster who could become the new backup in Adam McHugh.

Full Backs

There are 3 full backs in the St Mirren squad that are of a very high standard for the SPL. At right back there is David Van Zanten, and at left back we have young Dutch player Jeroen Tesselaar. The versatile David Barron is of an equal standard to these two, and can provide back up for both full back slots. I would recommend bringing one extra player on low wages to provide cover for the worst injury crisis. Also, extend the three fullbacks contracts as soon as possible, to guarantee their wage demands remain low. Van Zanten is already 30, but I would suggest putting the other 2 on more long term deals.

Centre Backs

The pick of the bunch is Marc McAusland, who has excellent all round stats for a centre back. Lee Mair is the obvious choice to parter him at the back. Depite being 30, I would consider signing Mair on for an extra year, as you're not going to find significantly better centre backs wanting to sign for St Mirren at the moment. The Moroccan Ilias Haddad isn't fantastic, but he will provide adequate back up. Perhaps one extra centre back may be required, as there isn't really anyone worthy of promoting from the youth team if injuries occur. David Barron can cover at CB if necessary. Also Darren McGregor is out injured for the entire first season, but he will be a decent centre back for you in your second year.

Central Midfielders

Again a fair bit of quality here, with the aging Hugh Murray, and Jim Goodwin providing solidity for the defensive areas of your midfield. A more forward thinking midfielder can be found in another veteran Steven Thomson, and prospect Kenny McLean should complete the midfield. There is also Joe McKee; an AMC on loan from Burnley. He has some really good stats, and would be perfect as a trequartista, however he isnt really so good if you want him in the centre of midfield. As a result you might want to release him and free up funds, depending on the system you use.

Wingers & Strikers

I've included these two positions together because a few of the players in the squad are versatile and can play in both positions. There is more than enough quality here not to require any strengthening, and it is probably the strongest part of your squad. The star man is Nigel Hasslebank; a young striker or winger (I find his lack of composure suits the wide position better) with bags of pace. He should be tied down to a long term deal ASAP. In the same position is Paul McGowan- he would be starting in any other SPL team, and may well do in yours if you play 4-4-2. However in a 4-5-1 he should play second fiddle to Hasslebank. On the other side you have 2 out and out wingers. Another one of your stars is Graham Carey, and ex-Wigan veteran Gary Teale as back up. Cover for the wide positions can be found in youngster Aaron Mooy. Finally, in the 'target man' mould, you have the powerful presence of Steven Thompson, and his younger understudy Jon McShane.

Tactics & Budgets

Theres not an awful lot of money to go around at St Mirren, and this isnt helped by the small 8000 capacity at their new stadium. However, if you aim for a top half finish the 2-3k wages available can be enough to undertake the minimal strengthening required.

Tactically, a 4-4-2 or preferably a 4-5-1 both look well suited to the team you have. Even a 4-3-3 or playing with a man in the hole look a possibility, although ive never tried out the latter two formations at the club.

Potential Sales & Signings

The great thing about St Mirren is that you dont actually need to sell anyone. You've got a small squad, but every player in it is good enough to play some sort of role. I would only be looking to add to the team with squad players on low wages. The best value signing you could make is Mark Ferry; a central midfielder who is probably good enough for your first team. He is available on a free, and available for the absurdly low price of £200 a week. Id add a back up centre back, possibly Steven Thicot, the ex-Hibs player. At £550 a week on a free, and with his versatility hes a real bargin. Finally, you probably need one more full back, but hes going to be the last choice and will only play in emergencies. I went for Thierry Gathuessi, another ex-Hibee. He's not that great, but free, can play on either side, and only £500 a week. Seems like decent value to me. That leaves enough money to renew all the contracts you wish, and still having a bit left over as well.

If you've got a bigger database, you many want to look at Jim Ervin and Billy Dennehy, who are exceptionally good value signings on minimal wages from the Irish leagues.

Why St Mirren?

Criminally overlooked on this forum in my opinion, hence why I made this thread. Personally, im not a fan of having to make wholesale changes to the team in the first season- I find that you get much better value later on in the game. If you're the same, then St Mirren is the team for you! Theres very little you need to do to the current squad in order to have a Europa League qualifying team at the end of the year. Before my computer died on me I had a St Mirren save where we made 3rd place at the first attempt. If you can reach a semi-final of either cup competition then it will do wonders for your budget.

Ok, money is quite tight, but thats part of the challenge. Theres a good selection of youngsters that can be sold for a decent profit if necessary, and you get to oversee a significant transition period over the first 2 years, as the Buddies aging stars depart. Overall, I cant think of a better or more enjoyable challenge in the SPL at the moment. Go on, you know you want to.....

[willamangiro]

Reserved for any future updates

[Purefun]

Any advice on who to sign or sell?

[willamangiro]

Any advice on who to sign or sell?

Added to the OP now mate

[willamangiro]

A quick update then; im half way through the first season and have only had to make a couple of signings. Im playing a flat 4-4-2, with Thompson and Hasslebaink up front. Hasslebaink has been incredible, with 20 goals in 22 matches (played as advanced forward), and as a result the team are in 3rd place, and through to the semi finals of the league cup. Im facing Hearts in that match, but im pretty sure im about to hit a bad patch of form so im expecting to lose that one!

I brought in Jim Ervin as a back up RB, and Damien Cassalinovo as a reserve striker, but the star signing has been Steven Thicot, who has provided excellent cover in defence and midfield for minimal wages. I'll update again at the end of the season.

[yorkshire22]

Just read this thread and decided to give St Mirren a go. Had a solid pre season and just played my first SPL match of the season, beating Dunfermline 4-0 away so the Buddies are temporarily top of the SPL!

So far i've signed Mark Ferry, Steven Thicot, Kurt Van Dooren on free transfers as well as a 16 y/o youth player from Rangers for 2k.

Any other tips?

[willamangiro]

After making this thread I got a little distracted by another game I had on the go, and kindof forgot about my St Mirren game. I decided to have another go, and started the game using the original database.

I set my team up using a 4-2-3-1 formation, and only signed three players. Steven Thicot was brought in as a back up centreback, I signed a reserve left back that never played a game, and crucially I signed Jonatan Valle on a free to play in the AMC position. He was the only signing that actually saw regular first team football.

I wasn't expecting miracles from the first season, perhaps a Europa League finish, and a decent cup run. However (unbelievably) I won the SPL and the Scottish Cup in the first year! I had made a couple of tweaks to my tactic, and was playing a fluid, freeflowing brand of attacking football. The results were incredible; Valle scored 16 as an attacking midfielder, and McGowan scored a similar mumber as an inside forward on the right hand side. Graham Carey made countless assists from the left wing, but the star of the show was Nigel Hasslebaink up front, who scored 33 goals!

In the second season I've started poorly in the league losing the first 2 matches to Rangers and Aberdeen, however we beat Videoton and Maccabi Tel Aviv to make the group stages of the Champions League. Thats brought the clubs balance up to around the £10 million, which should bode well for the future. Very tough group though (including Man Utd), so I suspect this is where my progress in the competition ends!

So anyway, seeing as this thread has died somewhat, I just thought I'd try and revive it by saying that it is do-able to win the SPL in your first season without needing to make wholesale changes to the team, and by playing attacking fluid football. Thats gotta make St Mirren one of the best SPL teams to manage IMO.