Geoff Brown coming to the rescue of a club on its knees in the mid-80s is St Johnstone’s ultimate sliding doors moment.
But the Perth club’s owner surviving an Owen Coyle mug of gravy could be ranked a close second.
Coyle was being interviewed for the McDiarmid Park manager’s job at his Dunkeld holiday home back in 2005.
Thankfully, Brown’s stomach proved to be strong enough to withstand his tea-drinking host’s attempt at hospitality when coffee was mistaken for something a good deal less palatable.
And the Saints successes have flowed more smoothly than Bisto ever since.
Coyle has enjoyed a long career in management since starting out in Perth, taking him to the English Premier League, America, India and now back to Scotland with Queen’s Park.
And he will forever be grateful for the start given to him by Brown, who has announced his intention to sell his controlling shares in Saints, and the support that has been there ever since.
“You take for granted that the Browns are part of the fabric of Scottish football,” said Coyle.
“They are synonymous with St Johnstone and everything that is good about the club.
“From part-time to full-time, the new all-seater stadium, European football, cup wins – the list goes on.
“It’s been a remarkable story.
“I first met Geoff in the Muirton Park days when I watched my brother, Tommy play for St Johnstone.
“He was a man you just took to straight away.
“Then I got to know him a bit more when he came out to Dunkeld to interview me for the manager’s job and I poisoned him with the Bisto gravy!
“He still gave me the job!”
Invaluable support
Coyle, who took Saints to a League Cup and Scottish Cup semi-final and agonisingly close to promotion before being head-hunted by Burnley, added: “Geoff was sensational for me as a young manager.
“I had a bit of experience from Falkirk but I can’t say enough about how supportive he was.
“He’d always tell me that you never learn if you don’t make mistakes – just don’t make the same one again.
“He’d go to reserve games with me. The passion he had for St Johnstone was very humbling to see.
“Geoff was never intrusive in terms of saying I should sign somebody but he did have a fantastic eye for a player.
“Without a doubt he helped me become a better manager.”
Fergie’s mantra
The Sir Alex Ferguson adage about choosing a chairman and not a club certainly applies to accepting a job offer from Geoff Brown.
“Everybody who has been a St Johnstone manager under Geoff and then Steve – from me through to Callum (Davidson) – there’s no doubting the impact they had,” said Coyle.
“As a young manager coming into a football club what you need is work with good people.
“Trust me on this, you don’t get any better than the Browns at St Johnstone.
“If a player was over our budget, that was fair enough, but if we could afford to go for someone they tried everything they could to get a deal done.
“That’s a young manager’s dream.
“Because of social media and different things, chairmen can be influenced and end up making rash decisions.
“That wasn’t the case at St Johnstone. They knew what was good for the football club and what was the right thing to do.
“They always stood by their managers through thick and thin which is an unbelievable quality to have.”
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