Like them or not (and it's fair to say Kenny Shiels doesn't like them) loan players are a big part of modern day football. The likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpol and AC Milan have all used the loan system in the last few years to bring in high profile players such as David Beckham and Michael Essien. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for Saints.
Of course, we can't possibly hope to bring in players of that quality, even if we did once try to borrow Ronaldinho for a few months. For us it's promising youngsters from bigger clubs or, occasionally, more experienced players who have fallen out of favour and are looking for a game. Unlike Shiels, I have no problems with that. The rules are the same for everyone and if a manager can use his contacts to bring in a player good enough to do a job then it's fair game. There's no difference between signing someone on a season long loan and signing someone on a 12 month contract.
This season we have benefited greatly from the loan system thanks to the efforts of Newcastle United's Paul Dummett and Conor Newton, as well as Rio Ave's Esmael Goncalves. They all contributed in the league, but their efforts at Hampden are proof of just how important they were. In the semi-final Newton crossed for Goncalves to score inside the first 10 minutes. In the final Goncalves got the equaliser, Dummett set up the second and Newton bagged the third. All three leaft the club as heroes who will never be forgotten.
But who have been our other loan stars? Here is Mirren Mad's view on the top five - not including this season's trio.
1. Charlie Adam. Signed on loan from Rangers on transfer deadline day in August 2005. We knew he had talent thanks to watching "Blue Heaven", a documentary about the Rangers youth system, and his goal from the halfway line for Ross County at Love Street the previous season. What we didn't realise was how good he was - after he got himself fit. Adam's free-kicks were excellent, his crossing impressive and he was pretty accurate with long range howitzers. He really came to the fore when he bagged a brace against SPL side Motherwell in the Scottish Cup. He would return to Ibrox the only Rangers player to lift a trophy that season after winning both the first division and the League Challenge Cup. His first season back at Rangers was impressive and he forced himself into the Scotland squad, but then he fell out of favour. He joined Blackpool in 2009 and helped them win promotion to the Premiership the following season. When they were relegated he was sold to Liverpool before joining Stoke a year later.
2. Barry Lavety. We dominated proceedings against Ayr in the first game of the 1999/2000 season, but we could only draw as we couldn't take our chances. What we really needed was another striker, so Tom Hendrie decided to borrow Barry Lavety from Hibs. Basher had been sold to the Easter Road side a few years earlier but had fallen out of favour so was more than happy to return to the club he supported. His first start saw him get the first goal in a 6-0 rout at Raith Rovers and things just built from there. He formed a fantastic partnership with Mark Yardley and the pair bulldozed their way through first division defences as Saints scored goals for fun. The loan deal was eventually made permanent but injury saw Basher's form dip slightly before he scored a hat-trick against Clydebank thanks to them having a useless goalie. He played a huge part in the Millennium Champions side before being released in the summer. Spells at Clydebank and Team Bath followed before he returned to Saints in 2003. However, he was nowhere near the level he was at previously and left a year later.
3. Graham Carey. No one knew much about the Irishman when he pitched up on loan from Celtic in January 2010 but that certainly wasn't the case when he returned to Parkhead at the end of the season. Like Adam, he possessed an awesome left foot that was a real threat from set pieces. Scored with a couple of tremendous free-kicks against Rangers and Hearts and was also part of the League Cup Final side. His crossing and vision were fantastic and Saints fans were desperate for him to stay. He returned permanently a year later but couldn't reach those previous heights on a consistent basis and was recently released.
4. Franco Miranda. For some reason there's quite a lot of left footed players on this list! The Argentinian came on trial in the summer of 2007 having played alongside Henrik Larsson at Helsingborgs the previous season. He was then signed on loan from CAI and scored on his debut against Inverness Caley Thistle. A further goal against Celtic in a 5-1 defeat delighted the Saints fans further, not least because he tried to assault Scott Brown a few minutes after his goal! A bit lacking defensively, he was pretty handy on the left flank and was borrowed for the following season too. He continued to perform well but arguably he got better when he was injured towards the end of the season - the performances of the hapless Mo Camara leaving Saints fans desperate for Miranda to return to fitness. Sadly, he'd played his last game for Saints as the club couldn't afford to sign him permanently. At the start of the season just finished he came back on trial but didn't impress Danny Lennon enough to win a deal. Now back in Argentina.
5. Paul McGowan. I thought long and hard about whether or not to include Paul McGowan on this list. Yes, he has been superb for us for the past two seasons, but his initial loan spell from Celtic in 2010/11 was not particularly memorable. Whether that was because of the way we were playing, the quality of players in the team or McGowan's continuing uncertainty about his long term future is up for debate, however he wasn't anywhere near his recent heights. However, I've decided he should be included because the loan spell paved the way for his permanent return, when he suddenly turned into a creative midfield dynamo that we couldn't do without. Plus, he did score a hat-trick against Peterhead in the Scottish Cup!
Notable mentions to Ricky Gillies, who played a few games on loan at the end of the Millennium Champions season, Stephen McPhee, who impressed while on loan from Coventry in 2001, Ian McCaldon - who managed to replace another goalie in a game because Derek Scrimgour was having a shocker! - and Scott Cuthbert, who was solid when signed from Celtic in 2008/09.
And here's five who were nowhere near the list...
1. Chris Birchall. A winger who likes getting forward and firing in long range shots and free-kicks. Oh, and he's recently played in the World Cup. What's not to like? Saints fans were excited when Trinidad and Tobago international Chris Birchall arrived from Coventry in 2007, having represented his country in the previous year's World Cup. However, he wasn't particularly good. He was overweight and unfit (we got him as he was recovering from injury) and there was no sign of the shooting and free-kicks that we'd salivated over on YouTube. Sent back to Coventry at the end of the year, he eventually ended up in the MLS as David Beckham's understudy at LA Galaxy! The food over there is not small so goodness knows what shape he was in by the time he left. He's now back at first club Port Vale. The other players on this list aren't as talented, but they weren't such a disappointment - or as well paid.
2. Paul McHale. Missing a series of sitters on your debut is always hard to recover from, but that's what Paul McHale had to do after arriving from Rangers in January 2003. He should have buried at least one of his chances against Ayr, but somehow contrived to miss the lot. It would be wrong to say that set the tone as at least his first game was memorable - aside from a goal against Inverness Caley Thistle I can't think of him doing anything else while he was on loan with us. Unsurprisingly, he was released by Ibrox and we didn't sign him back. After ending up at Cowdenbeath he did reasonably well in the first division for Clyde and Dundee before dropping down the leagues once more.
3. Paul Lawson. A rather strange signing on transfer deadline day in January 2007. Paul Lawson had spent the first half of the season at St Johnstone, who were in the first division, and had been decent without being spectacular. Not exactly an obvious signing for a team fighting to stay in the SPL, but Gus MacPherson decided to sign him on loan from Celtic for the remainder of the season. He managed four games, was pretty much invisible, and after being hooked following a shocking performance at Falkirk he wasn't seen again. Celtic binned him in the summer and he ended up at Ross County where impressed as they worked their way from the second division to the SPL. He has been handy for them this season and has earned himself a move to Motherwell - just a shame he couldn't show his talent with us!
4. Rory Loy. The previous three entries are there because they weren't very good. The last two make the list because we have no idea if they were any good as they hardly ever played! Rory Loy had spent the first half of the 2009/10 season in the first division with Dunfermline, scoring just three goals. Hardly the ideal man to solve a goalscoring problem for an SPL side, but in he came on loan from Rangers. He made eight appearances, all from the bench and usually late in games. The whole point in signing someone on loan is to improve your side yet, for whatever reason, Loy never got a chance with us. He surely couldn't have been less prolific than some of our other strikers at the time. This was during a period when Gus MacPherson repeatedly named less than seven substitutes as he refused to use youngsters to make up the bench, so it may be Loy was only brought in to help us meet the under-21 rule rather than anything else. After leaving Rangers, Loy ended up at Carlisle but was released by them a few weeks ago.
5. Joe McKee. Seen even less frequently than Loy, which I didn't think was possible. Young forward Joe McKee was borrowed from Burnley in August 2011 for six months and managed just two appearances, both from the bench. Again, a completely pointless loan deal - at least from the club's point of view. The former Livingston kid was supposedly only on loan with us as he was homesick. He spent last season with Bolton and has recently signed for Morton.
Just one more thing. Many people may wonder why Jens Paeslack is missing from this list. The reason is he was quite handy for us while he was on loan - the problem's only started after we signed him permanently!
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