The Spoony Chop: A St Johnstone FC Podcast

Dundee United, St Johnstone and Dundee January transfer deals and dilemmas

St Johnstone have hit the ground running in the January transfer window, as have Dundee United.
In this week's Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson discuss the business both clubs have concluded and the possible transformative effect strikers Nadir Ciftci and Tony Watt may have.
Possible high profile departures, Leigh Griffiths and Jason Cummings, dominate the Dundee agenda.
Have Kilmarnock effectively ended the Championship title race with the appointment of Derek McInnes?
And who is Dick Campbell trying to kid?

Might Jeando Fuchs ‘switch off’ at Dundee United as transfer speculation builds?

Jeando Fuchs is one of Dundee United’s key men but is there a danger of the midfielder “switching off” as speculation about his departure from Tannadice builds?
In this week’s Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Alan Temple and Eric Nicolson discuss his situation and the problem Calum Butcher has caused manager Tam Courts.
Dundee righting the wrong of their disastrous last game against Ross County, the merits of St Johnstone signing Jamie Walker and Raith Rovers’ title credentials are among the other topics on the agenda.

Dundee and St Johnstone provide sharp Dens Park contrast

The mood in the Dundee and St Johnstone camps couldn’t be more different after Wednesday night’s triumph for the Dark Blues and depressing defeat for the Perth men.
In this week’s Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson discuss whether the home side should be raising their sights and if the visitors can get to the January transfer window without serious damage being done.
Also on the agenda is Dundee United’s squad depth, or rather, the lack of it, and Tony Asghar’s statement.

Dundee United‘s new captain and some off-field politics at Tannadice

There has been the appointment of a new captain and a bit of off-field politics at Dundee United this week.
On the pitch, the Tangerines are now faced with a trip to play Ross County and manager Tam Courts is expecting a “frosty reception” in Dingwall.
Jim Spence and Eric Nicolson cover all the Tannadice talking points and assess a crossroads week for the other two Tayside Premiership clubs, St Johnstone and Dundee.
Also on the agenda are Arbroath’s promotion credentials and a feel good factor returning to Dunfermline just in time.

St Johnstone v Celtic preview, Dundee United’s new signing and Dunfermline’s new manager

St Johnstone are seeking to make it three cup finals in a row when they face Celtic at Hampden Park.
In this week’s Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson assess the Perth side’s chances, Callum Davidson’s team selection and the opposition weaknesses they can seek to exploit.
For Dundee United, there’s a new signing from Ghana, a game against Aberdeen and the success of former players at Scotland level to discuss.
John Hughes taking over at Dunfermline is also on the agenda.

Dunfermline’s managerial options and Dundee United’s changing power base

The next Dunfermline manager will be going straight into a high-pressure job of keeping the Pars in the Championship.
In this week’s Talking Football podcast Jim Spence, Alan Temple and Eric Nicolson assess the potential candidates and whether the club’s German owners will be pragmatic, take a risk, or find a middle road.
We also discuss the seriousness of their predicament, as well as the promotion credentials of Raith Rovers and Arbroath.
Also on the agenda are Dundee United’s latest off-field appointments, St Johnstone’s ability to grind out results and need for goals, and Dundee’s soon-to-be season-defining spell of fixtures.

Dundee United boss Tam Courts shows he is a fast learner

Tam Courts has added a new string to his managerial bow – showing he can learn from a mistake and sort it out quickly.
In this week’s Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson discuss what the Dundee United boss got wrong against St Johnstone and why he should be commended for the way he responded.
And predictions are made for the game of the weekend at Tynecastle – Hearts v United.
Also on the agenda are St Johnstone’s second half issues, Dundee’s fixture list misfortune, the Dunfermline managerial dilemma and the return of Maurice Ross.

A celebration of football in the black and white era

For this special edition published on all three of DC Thomson Media’s football podcasts, Michael McEwan and author Steve Finan take a nostalgic trip over the turnstiles, up and down the terraces, and deep into the history of those most holy places: the nation’s football stadiums.
Steve’s new books show 700 never-before-seen photos of everything from the giant stadiums of Glasgow, right down to the smaller but no less revered shrines of football around the country – especially on our home patches in Tayside and across the north of Scotland.
Michael leads a conversation that touches on why Ibrox once had a paddling pool, and fears of forky-tailies at Tannadice, by way of Firhill vegetable patches and tips on how to find Scotland’s incredible (but secret) store of football knowledge.
You can get £5 off the Lifted Over The Turnstiles 2 & 3 books using the code PODCAST5 at checkout at https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/ until November 22, 2021.
For more sport podcasts from DC Thomson Media, tap the links below!
⛳️ The Bunkered Podcast: https://podfollow.com/bunkered⚽️ The Courier Talking Football: https://podfollow.com/ctf⚽️ Northern Goal: https://podfollow.com/northerngoal⚽️ Twa Teams, One Street: https://podfollow.com/twateams

Dundee and James McPake in a crisis of ‘horrible familiarity’

Dundee manager James McPake is facing up to the fall-out from the horror show against Ross County.
Fans are calling for him to be sacked, one of his star players was substituted before the first half was over and he has a big central midfield problem.
In this week's Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson reflect on a traumatic night for Dundee supporters at Dens Park and assess whether it is a retrievable situation for the under-fire boss.
There is also build-up to Saturday's clash between Dundee United and St Johnstone, as well as a tribute to Scottish football legend Walter Smith.

Charlie Adam still has star quality oozing out of him at Dundee. So far, Leigh Griffiths doesn’t.

Dundee are in desperate need of star quality against Aberdeen on Saturday, with comeback men Charlie Adam and Leigh Griffiths their two players with the highest profile.
Only one of them has looked capable of providing the spark James McPake requires for such a crucial match between struggling sides - and it hasn't been the on-loan Celtic striker.
In this week's Talking Football podcast, Jim Spence, Sean Hamilton and Eric Nicolson get stuck into the talking points ahead of the weekend Premiership clash at Dens Park.
Also up for discussion are the prospect of Dundee United leapfrogging Hibs and St Johnstone picking up where they left off against Livingston.