Stu Armstrong

[Saint Garrett]

  On 13/10/2021 at 16:15, Minsk said:

I'm sure he was, but I doubt it would have been to the level he would have been training had he stayed here. Could have even arranged a match for him to play 60 minutes in. Even if it was against the U23s. Given the zero minutes for Scotland, I sincerely doubt he will be starting on Saturday.

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He doesn’t regularly start for Scotland anyway. 

[Minsk]

  On 13/10/2021 at 20:13, Saint Garrett said:

He doesn’t regularly start for Scotland anyway. 

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He doesn't always 'regularly' start, granted, but he does usually get on the pitch for them. He started 2 of their 3 matches at the Euros, and was brought on a sub in the other. He started 3 of their previous 7 tournament matches, and was brought on as a sub in 2 (strangely, both against Israel). The two he didn't play in were against Faroe Islands and Serbia (he must have been in those squads as he played in matches a few days either side of both). Maybe Steve Clarke just doesn't like the idea of Stuey playing against Israel and Faroe Islands? Or maybe he isn't match fit yet?

[Chris cooper]

Starting to worry about our stu … he’s plagued with injury this season .. can’t stay fit for long .. subbed 1st at Chelsea and bench for the sweatys.. and another calf injury (reported) to date .. has he an underlying fitness problem we don’t know about ?we all know he can’t string a run of games together midweek and weekend but starting to think it’s something Maybe like covid issues or breathing … blowing out his arse at Chelsea…shame cos we’ve missed his direct runs and intricate passing..!he’s our best option as a 10 .

[LiberalCommunist]

He should not have reported for international duty. He needs to get back to peak fitness, because this stop start playing is helping no-one.

He had covid a year ago, so no point trying to blame it on that. 

[Saint Troy]

  On 22/11/2021 at 12:52, LiberalCommunist said:

He should not have reported for international duty. He needs to get back to peak fitness, because this stop start playing is helping no-one.

He had covid a year ago, so no point trying to blame it on that. 

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(unless that's what's causing the problem)

[beatlesaint]

  On 22/11/2021 at 12:52, LiberalCommunist said:

He should not have reported for international duty. He needs to get back to peak fitness, because this stop start playing is helping no-one.

He had covid a year ago, so no point trying to blame it on that. 

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Cant be Covid, according to M Le Tissier there is no such thing.

[Billy the Kidd]

  On 22/11/2021 at 12:58, Saint Troy said:

(unless that's what's causing the problem)

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It could be long Covid, but I dont believe it is, maybe he just has niggling injuries.

Also, I'm not sure that if he needs to get to peak fitness (as said above), reporting for duty (training etc) and playing in the international games surely will help that, not hinder it.

 

[Whitey Grandad]

  On 22/11/2021 at 13:02, Billy the Kidd said:

It could be long Covid, but I dont believe it is, maybe he just has niggling injuries.

Also, I'm not sure that if he needs to get to peak fitness (as said above), reporting for duty (training etc) and playing in the international games surely will help that, not hinder it.

 

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It takes several games to get back to peak fitness after a lay-off. 

[Mr X]

Injured again apparently 

[Sheaf Saint]

  On 25/11/2021 at 19:43, Mr X said:

Injured again apparently 

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Must be incredibly frustrating for him. We're nearly into December and his season really hasn't got started yet. 

[trousers]

Do we know if this is a flare up of his original calf injury or if it's just bad luck that he's had two unrelated calf injuries in quick succession, the first of which kept him on the sidelines for c.2 months?

Edited 25 November, 2021 by trousers

[Chris cooper]

  On 25/11/2021 at 22:28, trousers said:

Do we know if this is a flare up of his original calf injury or if it's just bad luck that he's had two unrelated calf injuries in quick succession, the first of which kept him on the sidelines for c.2 months?

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Re-emergence  of his calf injury (daily echo).

Edited 25 November, 2021 by Chris cooper

[OttawaSaint]

It might not be what we think. Perhaps he owns highland cows that get frequent injuries that he has to attend to...

[Toadhall Saint]

  On 25/11/2021 at 22:54, Chris cooper said:

Re-emergence  of his calf injury (daily echo).

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Jason Roy missed out in Englands T20 side after tearing his calf muscle- when it was being discussed by the pundits they all agreed it can be the hardest one to get over - it appears to have healed only for it to go/flare up again. 

Edited 26 November, 2021 by Toadhall Saint

[JRM]

Did they say on the radio Saints haven't won a league game without him since 2019? 

[Diabolus Ex Machina]

  On 28/11/2021 at 09:40, JRM said:

Did they say on the radio Saints haven't won a league game without him since 2019? 

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There's been some where he's only come on as a sub but the last time we won a league game he didn't feature in at all was a 2-1 win against Norwich on 4th December 2019. Games against Palace, Wolves and Fulham in his first season here are the only other times he's not played in the league and we've won.

[JRM]

  On 28/11/2021 at 13:01, Diabolus Ex Machina said:

There's been some where he's only come on as a sub but the last time we won a league game he didn't feature in at all was a 2-1 win against Norwich on 4th December 2019. Games against Palace, Wolves and Fulham in his first season here are the only other times he's not played in the league and we've won.

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Yes that was it, we haven't won a league game that Stuart Armstrong hasn't featured in for nearly two years, bit of a mad stat, we need him back. 

[Turkish]

Now over 2 years and 20 league games since we won a match without him

[S-Clarke]

  On 05/12/2021 at 08:42, Turkish said:

Now over 2 years and 20 league games since we won a match without him

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Pretty shit indictment of the players in the squad that replace him to be honest. Our lack of threat from those final third positions isn't good enough. Bar Redmond, who seems to be involved this season, no one else ever contributes from those areas. We're carrying them most of the time.

[Turkish]

  On 05/12/2021 at 10:16, S-Clarke said:

Pretty shit indictment of the players in the squad that replace him to be honest. Our lack of threat from those final third positions isn't good enough. Bar Redmond, who seems to be involved this season, no one else ever contributes from those areas. We're carrying them most of the time.

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Elyanoussi coming on as sub yesterday was pretty uninspiring.

[Chris cooper]

Can anyone share the link that stu Armstrong is an anti vaxxer? .. rumours there’s an article and why Ralph dropped him !

[M271]

This part concerns me from Ralph 'Asked for an update on the progress of the 29-year-old by the Daily Echo, the boss responded: “Mentally I’m not so sure because I haven’t spoken with him for one or two weeks now.'

I would have thought he would have regular chats with injured players getting close to coming back into contention. Does he mean that when he last spoke to him Stu maybe not so good mentally?

[bangkoksaint]

  On 21/12/2021 at 15:59, M271 said:

This part concerns me from Ralph 'Asked for an update on the progress of the 29-year-old by the Daily Echo, the boss responded: “Mentally I’m not so sure because I haven’t spoken with him for one or two weeks now.'

I would have thought he would have regular chats with injured players getting close to coming back into contention. Does he mean that when he last spoke to him Stu maybe not so good mentally?

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If he’s not spoken to him in a week or two and doesn’t know where SA ‘is at’ then that’s a pretty shocking indictment of our manager.  

[Scallysaint]

I have to say I find it odd that Ralph hasn’t spoken to Stuart Armstrong for that period of time. I am more worried about Stuart’s mental health then his calf reading between the lines

 

[East Kent Saint]

He looked and sounded ok on Football Focus as part of the saints Foundation slot with the Benallis , he was linked via the internet 

[Victor]

  On 21/12/2021 at 17:00, bangkoksaint said:

If he’s not spoken to him in a week or two and doesn’t know where SA ‘is at’ then that’s a pretty shocking indictment of our manager.  

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So what was the Echo reporter's response - "OK, fair enough"?

Surely that comment raised more questions than answers.

[The Left Back]

  On 21/12/2021 at 17:00, bangkoksaint said:

If he’s not spoken to him in a week or two and doesn’t know where SA ‘is at’ then that’s a pretty shocking indictment of our manager.  

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I think you'll find it's pretty standard practice for managers to be focused on the squad that can play and leave specialist backroom people to look after those on the treatment table.   If Stuart is getting back into training with the squad now then I would imagine communication will increase.

 

  On 21/12/2021 at 17:52, East Kent Saint said:

He looked and sounded ok on Football Focus as part of the saints Foundation slot with the Benallis , he was linked via the internet 

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I was pleased to see that too.  I often wonder if there isn't something more than the quoted injury so am looking for little signs that things are ok.  The fact that Stu took part, looked happy, and was prepared to wear a ridiculous jumper is a good sign albeit only a small one, IMO.

Edited 21 December, 2021 by The Left Back

[Teddeer]

  On 21/12/2021 at 18:29, The Left Back said:

I think you'll find it's pretty standard practice for managers to be focused on the squad that can play and leave specialist backroom people to look after those on the treatment table.   If Stuart is getting back into training with the squad now then I would imagine communication will increase.

 

I was pleased to see that too.  I often wonder if there isn't something more than the quoted injury so am looking for little signs that things are ok.  The fact that Stu took part, looked happy, and was prepared to wear a ridiculous jumper is a good sign albeit only a small one, IMO.

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I would think when a team hasn't won for over two years without said player then the manager should be very focused on knowing exactly when he is likely to be available to play again.

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

This seems pretty positive, no?

[Turkish]

Must have agreed to have a jab 😇

[egg]

  On 21/12/2021 at 22:02, Turkish said:

Must have agreed to have a jab 😇

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It's got that feel to it. Ostracised and not selected until jabbed, perhaps. 

[Minsk]

  On 21/12/2021 at 21:22, Teddeer said:

I would think when a team hasn't won for over two years without said player then the manager should be very focused on knowing exactly when he is likely to be available to play again.

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Can you please outline how, exactly, Stu was instrumental in any of our victories this season? Or how he positively impacted in each of those matches?

[Dorchester Saint]

  On 21/12/2021 at 17:00, bangkoksaint said:

If he’s not spoken to him in a week or two and doesn’t know where SA ‘is at’ then that’s a pretty shocking indictment of our manager.  

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Without knowing the full facts, your comment is bullshit. 

[Teddeer]

  On 21/12/2021 at 23:50, Minsk said:

Can you please outline how, exactly, Stu was instrumental in any of our victories this season? Or how he positively impacted in each of those matches?

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Well I'm not going to go into specifics on those games but when a team hasn't won a game for over two years when a certain player hasn't played then it's pretty clear to most of us that said player is a fairly vital cog in the machine wouldn't you say?

[stevy777_x]

  On 22/12/2021 at 17:39, Teddeer said:

Well I'm not going to go into specifics on those games but when a team hasn't won a game for over two years when a certain player hasn't played then it's pretty clear to most of us that said player is a fairly vital cog in the machine wouldn't you say?

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He hasn’t influenced the game at all this season.

So you can t really take into account this statistic in the 3 games we won this season.

[Guest]

  On 21/12/2021 at 22:15, egg said:

It's got that feel to it. Ostracised and not selected until jabbed, perhaps. 

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Ridiculous.

[egg]

  On 22/12/2021 at 20:28, FarehamSaintJames said:

Ridiculous.

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Why? 

[Yozzman]

  On 22/12/2021 at 20:31, egg said:

Why? 

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So why was he picked against Leeds, Villa etc when he wasn't vaccinated and being ostracized?

[Roo1976]

  On 21/12/2021 at 22:15, egg said:

It's got that feel to it. Ostracised and not selected until jabbed, perhaps. 

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But allegedly only 16% of prem players so far have had the jab ,to which i find totally unacceptable.

[Guest]

  On 22/12/2021 at 20:53, Yozzman said:

So why was he picked against Leeds, Villa etc when he wasn't vaccinated and being ostracized?

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Just seems a bit putting two and two together, and hoping it makes four.

There’s no backing. Are you even sure he hasn’t been vaccinated?

Just seems more rumour mill this.

[notnowcato]

  On 22/12/2021 at 23:19, Roo1976 said:

But allegedly only 16% of prem players so far have had the jab ,to which i find totally unacceptable.

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Is that vaccinated or boosted? It’s been widely reported that at least 75% have been vaccinated. 

[Sheaf Saint]

  On 22/12/2021 at 20:31, egg said:

Why? 

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Because it's a completely unfounded rumour that doesn't fit the available evidence (the fact that he made a few appearances prior to his injury flaring up again).

Didn't you say you were a lawyer? I would have thought you would know better than to engage in baseless speculation like this.

[hypochondriac]

I was told he was homesick. Bit weird for a footballer but would explain why he was mysteriously available for Scotland. 

[egg]

  On 23/12/2021 at 09:51, Sheaf Saint said:

Because it's a completely unfounded rumour that doesn't fit the available evidence (the fact that he made a few appearances prior to his injury flaring up again).

Didn't you say you were a lawyer? I would have thought you would know better than to engage in baseless speculation like this.

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it was clear that my post was speculative...the word "perhaps" is clear. This is a forum, we all speculate. 

Edited 23 December, 2021 by egg

[tajjuk]

  On 21/12/2021 at 17:00, bangkoksaint said:

If he’s not spoken to him in a week or two and doesn’t know where SA ‘is at’ then that’s a pretty shocking indictment of our manager.  

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Why? If he's injured then his progress is down to the medical team, who I presume would be updating Ralph on that progress. What does the manager regularly need to speak to him about? What regular conversation are you envisaging between an injured player who can't train and the first team manager who is preparing/coaching the team for games that said player can't be involved in? 

Player has long term injury, player is treated by medical team/physios who update the manager on the recovery from injury every week or so, manager also checks up with player to see how he is doing every week or so. I see nothing wrong with that scenario. 

What do you want Ralph by his bedside 24/7 nursing him back to health? 

[cloggy saint]

  On 23/12/2021 at 10:04, hypochondriac said:

I was told he was homesick. Bit weird for a footballer but would explain why he was mysteriously available for Scotland. 

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I was told he was getting teased and bullied by some of the bigger boys and his mum won't let him play until it's sorted.

 

[magnet]

  On 22/12/2021 at 23:19, Roo1976 said:

But allegedly only 16% of prem players so far have had the jab ,to which i find totally unacceptable.

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Maybe they're a little worried about all the footballers collapsing on the pitch with heart issues??

Edited 23 December, 2021 by magnet

[Ex Lion Tamer]

  On 23/12/2021 at 10:04, hypochondriac said:

I was told he was homesick. Bit weird for a footballer but would explain why he was mysteriously available for Scotland. 

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The weird thing is why he signed a new contract if that was the case

[SFC Forever]

Be grateful hat he did because if we sell him we can push for a better price. 

As long as he can start playing on a regular basis

[Minsk]

  On 22/12/2021 at 17:39, Teddeer said:

Well I'm not going to go into specifics on those games but when a team hasn't won a game for over two years when a certain player hasn't played then it's pretty clear to most of us that said player is a fairly vital cog in the machine wouldn't you say?

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Stu is certainly one of our better players, but the fact we haven't won a match he has been involved in for so long is more down to coincidence than his performances. Especially so this season. He has done absolutely nothing of note in any match this season. That is precisely why you are unwilling, sorry make that unable, to go in to any specifics.