Latest news with #GrahamCarey
The Courier
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Courier
Graham Carey joins the big ex-St Johnstone contingent at Livingston
Livingston have confirmed the signing of former St Johnstone playmaker, Graham Carey. The 36-year-old was one of 16 players released by Saints following their relegation from the Premiership. And, if Stevie May stays at West Lothian, Livi will have four members of the Perth club's 2022/23 squad on their books. Ryan McGowan was a defensive stalwart for David Martindale as they bounced back to the top-flight through the play-offs. Earlier in the week, Connor McLennan, a Callum Davidson loan recruit at Saints, moved up a division from Ayr United. Livi fans know all about Carey's game-changing ability, with the Irishman's stunning long-range shot denying them a place in last season's Scottish Cup semi-finals. He won't be the only ex-Saint staying in the Premiership next term. Drey Wright, who was offered a new contract, is set to join Dundee.
STV News
3 days ago
- Sport
- STV News
Livingston confirm signing of former St Johnstone star Graham Carey
Livingston have confirmed the signing of former St Johnstone star Graham Carey. The winger will join the newly promoted Almondvale side following the expiry of his contract at McDiarmid Park this summer. Carey scored six goals for the Saints last season, including the winner in a Scottish Cup quarter-final against his new club. The 36-year-old, who started his professional career at Celtic, has also played for St Mirren and Ross County as well as spells in England with Plymouth Argyle and Bulgaria at CSKA Sofia. Livingston announced the signing on Tuesday. A statement posted on social media said: 'We are delighted to welcome Graham Carey who joins us from St Johnstone on the expiry of his contract. 'The left sided midfielder is the second player to join the Lions for the 2025/26 campaign.' Livingston, who finished second in the Championship, secured their place back in the top-flight following a play-off final victory over Ross County. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Carey joins Livingston after St Johnstone exit
Midfielder Graham Carey has joined recently-promoted Livingston following his departure from St 36-year-old was a regular in the Perth side last term as they suffered Scottish Premiership relegation, scoring four goals in 34 he will continue to play top-flight football next season after becoming David Martindale's second summer signing following the arrival of Connor McLennan.
The Courier
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Courier
Graham Carey set to stay in Premiership but ex-St Johnstone star unlikely to follow Drey Wright to Dundee
St Johnstone fans are set to be spared the prospect of two of their old players moving to Dundee this summer, with Graham Carey heading to another Premiership club. As Courier Sport revealed last week, the Dark Blues have lined up Drey Wright as a close season signing after he informed Saints he had declined their offer of a new contract. Carey was also on the Dens Park side's radar. However, Livingston have emerged as the frontrunners to sign the veteran playmaker. The 36-year-old was one of 16 players released by Saints last month. Livi fans know all about Carey's game-changing ability, with the Irishman's stunning long-range shot denying the West Lothian team a place in the Scottish Cup semi-finals. Perth boss, Simo Valakari, revealed it was an amicable parting of the ways and will get his wish that Saints don't have to face the Irishman next season. 'I saw his brilliant moments,' said Valakari. 'We'll never forget that goal against Livingston and there were others. 'I had a very good discussion with G. 'I told him it was my pleasure to work with him. 'He's still got some games left in his body and let's hope we don't have to play against him.' Carey is currently in America, where he will be taking part in a million dollar seven-a-side tournament. He is part of the Plymouth Arygle legends squad going up against the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and West Ham United in TST Soccer.
The Courier
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
Alternative St Johnstone awards: 2024/25 own goals, gaffes and sitting on your goalie
There haven't been many 2024/25 'bests' as far as St Johnstone are concerned. Graham Carey's long-range strike at Livingston in the Scottish Cup would have been a contender for goal of the season for any team in any year but, that apart, there has been very little to celebrate in a bleak, relegation campaign. So, instead of the usual post-season awards, Courier Sport has compiled an alternative list to draw a line under a wretched, best-forgotten 10 months of football. A bit of gallows humour is called for. Uche Ikpeazu came up with a couple of end-of-season contenders, but Andre Raymond had this award bagged in August. Saints had been the better team in the first half and Raymond should have given them a deserved lead. With the Tannadice pitch immaculate, the Trinidad and Tobago international couldn't claim a bobble put him off when Benji Kimpioka's shot came back off the post and into his path. Not quite an open goal but as near as dammit. Aaron Essel had served notice that he was a young man who might find Scottish officials less tolerant of his challenges than he was accustomed to in Ghana when he got a red card for a stamp at Alloa in the League Cup. That was a big naughty, albeit with no possibility of seriously hurting his opponent. The naughtiness went off the scale when Essel threw himself into a challenge at McDiarmid Park during an SPFL Trust Trophy game against Brechin not long after. That he didn't pick up a second red in a fortnight remains the biggest mystery of the season. It was a challenge that would have fitted comfortably into one of those Danny Baker 1970s and 80s nostalgia videos. Given the victim wasn't injured, searching for it on social media every now and again is one of life's guilty pleasures. A category bursting at the seams. You can probably say this about all relegated sides but, dearie me, this St Johnstone team had a propensity to shoot itself in the foot that took some beating. From Kyle Cameron in the build-up to Aberdeen's winning goal in the first game of the league season until the very end, Saints players gift-wrapped points for their opponents again, again and again. No 'assists' were quite as impressive as the Jack Sanders cushioned header for Mohamed Diomande to score Rangers' third in January. It was like peak Gilzean to Greaves. Another crowded field here. Before a ball was even kicked, the list of clubs down south supposedly 'tracking' Adama Sidibeh had reached farcical proportions. It would be quicker to name the English Championship sides who WEREN'T name-checked than those who were – none of whom were actually considering an offer, of course. In the end, only Swansea City made a (verbal) bid, but you did wonder for a while whether Sidibeh would be seen in a Saints shirt again. Only after the Gambia international was sent off against Dundee United, did all the speculation die. Given his struggles to find the net thereafter, there wasn't a single 'link' story written in January. Two English clubs fighting it out for Sanders was an unexpected mid-season development and the end-game for him at McDiarmid was a bit murky. Citing illness when Valakari desperately needed him to play in a league game against Motherwell raised suspicions in the Perth fanbase, but a spell in hospital a few weeks later backed him up. No 'will he, won't he' episode was as impactive on Saints' season and as impactive on a player's reputation as the Kimpioka one, though. From the moment he told his manager he wasn't interested in a contract extension, it all went downhill. Kimpioka, his top scorer, effectively became unpickable in Valakari's eyes. It remains to be seen whether the Swede will find a better club than the two (one in Belgium and one in the Netherlands) who were willing to pay him handsomely. The word was Kimpioka had his heart set on the English Championship. Good luck with that. Nicky Clark became a peripheral figure over the last few months of the season, but he was one of the main men at the start of it. And his second half free-kick double to put Saints 3-1 in front against Ross County in Dingwall was the most impressive I can think of from a St Johnstone player. That Clark's defensive colleagues couldn't prevent their opponents from equalising says it all about the shambles that was the Perth defence at that time. They had badly let down a team-mate who should have been basking in the glory of a career high-point. Clark spoke to the media after that game and the understandable fury was still written all over his face, even though he managed to be impressively diplomatic. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall in the away dressing room. Valakari has always been controlled in his post-match media duties, even though it hasn't been hard to read between the lines on occasion. He has also admirably stuck to his pledge that he would respect officials' decisions. Levein tried his best on that front but couldn't help himself after Saints' League Cup defeat to Rangers and then when Sanders was red-carded at the end of a Premiership loss to Motherwell. 'Have I spoken to the ref? What's the point? Seriously, what's the point. After the Rangers debacle you know what's going to happen. It'll be swept under the carpet.' Those last few words earned Levein an SFA charge and a fine. Valakari likes a Sunday morning run to clear his head after a game. The head-clearing jog along the River Tay in December, after a 2-1 lead against St Mirren became a 3-2 defeat, almost turned into a marathon such was the significance and torment of that match conclusion. But Bozo Mikulic has to get this award. None of your predetermined goal celebrations for the big Croatian. After he smashed home a late winner against Motherwell, Mikulic basically ran until somebody could catch him. Given all the blows Saints had to absorb over the season, the only surprise is that VAR, the ultimate joy-killer, didn't disallow it. You've got to be able to laugh at yourself, haven't you? Especially in Scottish football. Yes, losing to Alloa on the back on an utterly abject performance was the last thing Saints fans wanted to see as the new football season got underway. And it proved to be a sign of things to come. But Luke Rankin's second goal of the night and his team's third had a comedic beauty to it. Poor Josh Rae. He'd bailed out David Keltjens by making a brilliant save after the Israeli had been caught on heels at the start of an Alloa counter-attack. His thanks? Keltjens then tried (and failed) to play leapfrog with his goalkeeper, as Rae did his best to sprint back to his goal. It was a clip worthy of the Benny Hill soundtrack Alloa put to it (then deleted, more's the pity). Saints had played over 130 minutes of football against Celtic without conceding a goal. Until Barry Douglas decided the time was right to bin his manager's strategy at goal-kicks and chip a ball towards his smallest team-mate, setting in motion a chain of events that saw the Hoops take the lead in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Inexplicable then. Inexplicable now. Sanders, Clark, Jason Holt and Sven Sprangler were all in the Perth OG club. However, they were very much junior members in comparison to the man who put them in the shadows at Tynecastle on the night Saints were relegated. There are balls across the six-yard box that a defender has no option other than to throw his leg out to meet. This wasn't one such occasion, let's just leave it at that. We could all have gone home after Tony Watt was serenaded by the away end at Fir Park in April. That he would roll back the years and do his best Harry Kane impression was written in stone. Valakari mentioning David Martindale's 'tricks' before Saints played Livingston in the Scottish Cup was amusing. Not as amusing as Sky Sports catching the McDiarmid Park ball boys getting a message delivered to them to (presumably) take their time with their ball retrieval work, though. If only more players had been as good at helping Saints see a game out.
