Conspiracy Time

Last updated : 28 February 2004 By Stuart Gillespie

After referee Tom Brown's inept performance in the cup game against Inverness Caley Thistle, several Saints fans accused him of being a cheat. Tongue in cheek or not, many were aggrieved at his incompetence and felt he had it in for us. Total rubbish of course, or was it?

Look at these extract from an article today: "TOM BROWN and a recent return to school days have helped to transform thoroughly Tom Hendrie’s style of football management.

"Hendrie, the Alloa Athletic manager, took a year out from football and returned to work as a mathematics teacher after leaving the manager’s post at St Mirren in 2002. That allowed his friend Brown, the referee, to lead Hendrie on an odyssey around Scotland’s football grounds that gave a new direction to Hendrie’s approach.

“Tom asked me if I would go along and watch him refereeing,” explains Hendrie, now in his second stint as Alloa manager. “He wanted me to comment on what I thought because I’m very forthright in my views on officials.

“I used to watch Tom referee and sometimes it was Premierleague, sometimes third division, sometimes second division, so I saw a whole spectrum of games. Being away from the chalkface gave me the chance to sit back and reflect and I modified my managerial style because of it."

So there you have it, it's extremely obvious. With Brown being friends with former Saints boss Tom Hendrie, it is clear that Brown decided to get revenge on Saints for axing his mate by getting us knocked out of the cup. I mean, what other conclusion could be drawn from these quotes :-)

Story source: The Times