Wind back almost exactly a month to our game against Hearts. Graham Carey put in a fine display against the Jambos and afterwards Lennon said it was "a scandal" he wasn't in the team every week. This was rather odd, considering the man who uttered the remark is also the man tasked with picking the team. Making it even more bizarre is that in the three games since then Carey has been a sub, only getting a reasonable run-out against Dunfermline - and that was only because Steven Thomson was an early injury victim.
I'll fess up now and say I'm a huge Carey fan. He impressed me greatly during his loan spell from Celtic in 2010 with his crossing and set-piece taking and I was one of the many Saints fans delighted when he returned to us permanently in the summer. Since then we've been left sorely disappointed as he's made just three league starts - and was pretty ineffectual in the first of those back against Motherwell in August. Aside from that he's made sub appearances but usually too late to have any real impact on the game.
It's not all Lennon's doing - it was obvious from the Motherwell game he had a few fitness issues. Carey looked a bit podgy first time we had him and he looked like he'd been hitting the burgers more than the weights between then and his return. However, he clearly knuckled down and it looked as if he was going to get a run in the side after starting consecutive matches against St Johnstone and the Hearts. Quite why he hasn't is a mystery.
Carey is a player that excites fans. He's not afraid of taking a shot, is a decent dribbler, can deliver a fine cross and his free-kick taking ability is excellent. The only other player in our squad who offers nearly as many of those attributes is Gary Teale - who seems to be starting every week despite having disappointed many fans since his arrival from Sheffield Wednesday.
It is all very odd. Why is Teale getting so much game time when Carey hardly gets a look in? The former Scotland man is hardly in scintillating form. Is Lennon trying to justify the wages Teale will be on? Or is there some behind the scenes reason? Remember, Lennon is the man who said it was "a scandal" Carey was being left out the team, yet has done exactly that for the past month.
We can only hope he sees sense soon because a St Mirren team with Carey in it is likely to be a far more dangerous and effective outfit than one without him.
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