St Mirren thrive in post-Armageddon Scottish football
No silverware has been paraded through Paisley since the Frank McGarvey inspired Scottish Cup win of 1987 just as Scottish football opted into a dark period of spending way beyond it’s means.
It’ll be a long long time before any St Mirren player can match the pay-slips of Steve Archibald or Victor who moved to Love Street from La Liga.
The last 20 years have been tough for St Mirren with the debt build up from that period only really paid off when Love Street was sold in 2008 and a new 6,000 seater stadium built a mile away at Greenhill Road.
Transfer fees are almost a thing of the past but sharp scouting and selling on players like Stephen McGinn has kept the club on an even keel and presented a good footballing platform to players like Steven Thompson, Gary Teale and Jim Goodwin.
While some people, like Stewart Regan and Neil Doncaster’s world collapsed with the liquidation of Rangers, St Mirren have demonstrated what can be achieved by living within your means and refusing to push the club towards financial meltdown.
Every club in the SPL can realistically raise their expectations to reach Hampden once a season or hit the jackpot like Kilmarnock and St Mirren by lifting a trophy.
While the 15,000 Paisley fans at Hampden yesterday are unlikely to create a rush for season tickets the club has demonstrated it’s competitiveness and created a fantastic new memory for a generation of supporters who’d almost come to expect silverware to elude their club.
If more clubs can aspire to emulate St Mirren the Scottish game will have a sustainable model that supporters across the country can buy into and appreciate for it’s honesty.
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