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The man from San Diego wants to buy St Mirren for £123029Billion. He say yes


'''Saint Mirren Football Club''' (commonly known by the shorter '''St. Mirren''' or by the nicknames; ''The Buddies'' and ''The Saints'') are a [[Scotland|Scottish]] professional [[football (soccer)|football]] [[football team|club]] based in [[Paisley]], [[Renfrewshire]]. St. Mirren play in the [[Scottish Premier League]], having been promoted from the [[Scottish Football League First Division|First Division]] in [[2005–06 in Scottish football|2005–06]].
'''Saint Mirren Football Club''' (commonly known by the shorter '''St. Mirren''' or by the nicknames; ''The Buddies'' and ''The Saints'') are a [[Scotland|Scottish]] professional [[football (soccer)|football]] [[football team|club]] based in [[Paisley]], [[Renfrewshire]]. St. Mirren play in the [[Scottish Premier League]], having been promoted from the [[Scottish Football League First Division|First Division]] in [[2005–06 in Scottish football|2005–06]].

Revision as of 15:59, 16 September 2009

St. Mirren
St. Mirren FC's Crest
Full nameSt. Mirren Football Club
Nickname(s)The Buddies
The Saints
Founded1877
GroundSt. Mirren Park
Greenhill Road
Paisley
Renfrewshire
PA3 2EA
Capacity8,029
ChairmanScotland Stewart Gilmour
ManagerScotland Gus MacPherson
LeagueScottish Premier League
2008–09Scottish Premier League, 11th
Current season

The man from San Diego wants to buy St Mirren for £123029Billion. He say yes

Saint Mirren Football Club (commonly known by the shorter St. Mirren or by the nicknames; The Buddies and The Saints) are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire. St. Mirren play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.

St. Mirren have won the Scottish Cup three times in 1926, 1959 and 1987 and have played four times in European competition (UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1987–88 and the UEFA Cup 1980–81, 1983–84 and 1985–86).

History

Saint Mirren were formed as a gentlemen's club which included amongst other sports, cricket and rugby in the late 19th century. The increasing popularity of football ensured that by 1877 the members had decided to switch codes and 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".

St. Mirren 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 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.

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. The black and white strip wore by St. Mirren was chosen because of the black and white cart that flows through the town of paisley, where the team originate

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.

Stadium

St. Mirren played at four different venues before moving to their ground of St. Mirren Park, or Love Street, in 1894. The record attendance was 47,438 versus Celtic in 1949. Love Streetsaw extensive redevelopment in recent years to comply with both the recommendations of the Taylor Report and SPL regulations and the ground eventually became a 10,866 seat venue. The ground had four stands of which the most recent, the East or Reid Kerr Family Stand, was built in 2000 in order for Love Street to meet the criteria for entry to the Scottish Premier League. The oldest stand was the main stand which had a basic wooden construction. The north bank was popular with the hardcore St. Mirren fans whilst the largest stand, the steeply raked West Stand, housed a sporting facility underneath. It was rarely used to its full capacity.

On 24 May 2005, Renfrewshire Council granted planning permission for the club to develop their old ground. this involved the sale of the grounds to a supermarket chain, and the construction of a new stadium in Greenhill Road, Ferguslie Park, Paisley (through a separate planning permission). The sale of their old ground allowed the club to finance the new stadium as well as clear the debts of the club. In April 2007 it was announced that a deal had been struck with supermarket giants Tesco as a result of this deal, on 15 January 2009, St. Mirren moved to a new 8,000 seat stadium, also called St. Mirren Park, or New St. Mirren Park.

The new ground is affectionately known as Greenhill Road (the street on which it sits), is in close proximity to St James' Station and is only 300yds along Murray Street from the old ground at Love Street. It has four stands and is similar to the other Barr identikit stadiums occupied by Airdrie Utd, Clyde, and Hamilton Academical. The opening game finished as a 1–1 draw with Kilmarnock, with Killie's Kevin Kyle scoring the first goal, and Dennis Wyness equalising. St. Mirren's first big success at the new stadium came on 7 March 2009 in a 1–0 victory over Celtic in the quarter final of the Homecoming Scottish Cup. A strong St. Mirren side fought bravely eventually breaking the deadlock through a Billy Mehmet penalty. Although being relocated many of the locals still call the new venue Love Street.


Training Ground

The club have recently started work on the training ground in the Ralston area of Paisley. The clubs day to day training venue will be secured with this centre. This facility run in conjunction with Renfrewshire Council is due to be completed for the start of the 2009-10 SPL season.

Colours and sponsors

The traditional home colours of St. Mirren are black and white strips, however for the first season the colours were Scarlet and Blue. It is unknown as to how exactly the colours black and white were chosen, however popular theories include, that north of Paisley the Black Cart and White Cart Rivers meet, and that monks of Paisley Abbey wore Black and White robes. It is also suggested that the colours come from the black and white of the freemasons. The strips have varied very little, however the thickness of the stripes has often varied, with pinstripes being popular, and indeed some years have seen horizontal stripes.

Away tops are traditionally red or all black, however in some cases strips have varied from orange to light blue, as seen on last season's 2007–08 strip. Since 2007, the Danish firm, Hummel International, have replaced Xara as kit-manufacturers.

St. Mirren has had a number of main sponsors, mainly in the transportation industry, with several local bus companies and car dealerships like Arriva and Phoenix Honda sponsoring in the club. St. Mirren have been sponsored since 2005 by Braehead Shopping Centre, a local shopping centre four miles away in Renfrew.

Honours

  • Scottish First Division: 1967–681 1976–77, 1999–2000, 2005–06
  • Scottish Cup: 1926, 1959, 1987
  • Scottish Challenge Cup: 2005
  • Renfrewshire Cup: 1882–83, 1883–84, 1887–88, 1890–91, 1893–94, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1903–04, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1966–67, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
  • Victory Cup: 1919
  • Anglo-Scottish Cup Winners: 1979–80
  • Summer Cup: 1943
  • Epson Invitational Tournament: 1986–87

1As the 'old' Scottish Second Division

Club records

  • Highest home attendance: 47,438: .v. Celtic on 20 August 1949[1]
  • Highest average home attendance: 17,333, 1949–50 (15 games)[1]
  • Biggest victory: 15-0: .v. Glasgow University on 30 January 1960
  • Most capped player: Iain Munro and Billy Thomson: 7 Scotland.
  • Most capped international player: Mo Camara 79 appearances for the Guinean national team.[2]
  • Youngest Player: Scott Gemmill 16 years & 60 days - vs. Raith Rovers (Starks Park) 8 August 2003.
  • Most League appearances: Tony Fitzpatrick, 351 (1973-1979, 1981-1989)
  • Most European appearances: Campbell Money, 8 (1985-1988)
  • Most League goals: David McCrae, 221 (1923-1924)
  • Most League goals in a season: Dunky Walker, 45 (1921-22)
  • Record transfer fee paid: £400,000 to Bayer Uerdingen for Thomas Stickroth (March 1990)
  • Record transfer fee received: £850,000 from Rangers for Ian Ferguson (February 1988)
  • Most League wins in a season: 27, Division Two (1967-1968)
  • Most League defeats in a season: 31, Division One (1920–21)
  • Most League draws in a season: 15, Premier League (1987–88)
  • Most consecutive league victories: 16, Division Two (18/11/1967 - 30/3/1968)
  • Longest unbeaten league run: 34, 18/11/1967 (Division Two) - 16/11/1968 (Division One)
  • Most Goals Scored in a season: 114, Division Two (1935-36)
  • Most Goals Conceded in a season: 92, Division One (1920–21)

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Scotland SCO Paul Gallacher
2 DF Scotland SCO Jack Ross
3 DF Guinea GUI Mohammed Camara
4 MF Scotland SCO Stephen McGinn
5 DF Scotland SCO Lee Mair
6 DF Scotland SCO John Potter (captain)
7 MF Scotland SCO Hugh Murray
8 MF England ENG Andy Dorman
9 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Billy Mehmet
10 MF Scotland SCO Steven Thomson
11 FW England ENG Michael Higdon
12 MF Scotland SCO Stephen O'Donnell
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF Scotland SCO Garry Brady
15 MF Scotland SCO Steven Robb
16 MF Scotland SCO Tom Brighton
17 FW Scotland SCO Dennis Wyness
18 FW Scotland SCO Craig Dargo
19 DF Scotland SCO David Barron
20 GK England ENG Mark Howard
21 DF Scotland SCO Chris Innes
22 FW Scotland SCO Paul Quinn
95 MF Scotland SCO Sean Burns
30 GK Scotland SCO Chris Smith
40 GK Scotland SCO Paul Mathers
For recent transfers, see List of Scottish football transfers 2009–10.

Reserves and Youths

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
24 DF Scotland SCO Ally Love
25 MF Scotland SCO Kyle Faulds
26 MF Scotland SCO Mark McLennan
27 MF Scotland SCO Kenneth McLean
28 MF Scotland SCO Rhys Devlin
29 FW Scotland SCO Jon McShane
31 FW Scotland SCO Graeme Ramage
32 DF Scotland SCO Iain Gray
No. Pos. Nation Player
33 MF Scotland SCO Darren Cowan
34 DF Scotland SCO Ryan Francis
35 DF Scotland SCO Dominic Kennedy
36 MF Scotland SCO Jamie McKernan
23 MF Scotland SCO Stephen Walls
38 FW Scotland SCO Conor Ramsay
39 GK England ENG Jake Cunningham

Non-playing staff

Boardroom

Name Role
Scotland Stewart Gilmour Chairman
Scotland George Campbell Vice -Chairman
Scotland Allan Marshall Director/Secretary
Scotland Gordon Scott Director
Scotland Bryan McAusland Director
Scotland Ken McGeoch Director

Management

Name Role
Scotland Gus MacPherson Manager
Scotland Andy Millen Assistant Manager
Scotland Stuart Balmer First team Coach
Scotland Paul Mathers Goalkeeping Coach
Scotland David Longwell Head Of Youth Development
Scotland Frazer Robertson Youth Team Coach
Scotland Dr. Gerry Canning Club Doctor
Scotland John McCreadie Head Physiotherapist
Scotland Andy Sommerville Sports Scientist
Scotland Robert Campbell Asst Community Coach
Scotland Alan Gray Kit Man
Scotland Tommy Docherty Groundsman
Scotland Grant Cassidy Video Analyst
Scotland Norrie Jamieson Press Officer

Admin & Marketing

Name Role
Scotland Brian Caldwell General Manager
Scotland Campbell Kennedy Commercial Manager
Scotland Stephanie Lawrie Youth Development Administrator
Scotland Marion Barr Accountant
Scotland Kath Steel Office Administrator

Managers

References

  1. ^ a b Ross, David (2005). The Roar of the Crowd: Following Scottish football down the years. Argyll publishing. pp. 94, 214. ISBN 9-8781902-831831. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
  2. ^ Camara has not been capped while with St. Mirren

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