Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[MJC]

The bond between the players and the fans, and the club as a whole to be fair, this season has been an absolute joy to behold. 

You had today players engaging with the support buying tickets, you had Chris Cadden in the New Century Bar meeting fans after the Semi Final, plus the entire team joining in with the Bois celebrations after that game these little things that make so much difference as it shows that the players 'get it'. They get just how much the Cup means to the fans and they get how much the Club as a whole means to the fans.

This is up there with Stranraer in 2003 and the whole town being taken over by Well fans after the Scottish Cup QF on the way back up the road and the team bus passing through to a 'guard of honour'. It's moments like these that make fond memories as it shows there is a genuine connection between support and players/club and that is very rare in football.

If we go on to hold silverware next month then this current squad will rightly go down in Motherwell folklore and will be lauded for years to come.

[capt_oats]

A lot of chat around The Twitter that we're signing Grimsby goalkeeper James McKeown.

It may well just be off the back of him following the official account through the week but there's definitely a lot of chatter from Grimsby fans.

 

Edited April 29, 2018 by capt_oats

[YassinMoutaouakil]

Waste of money considering we have #dheeraj 

[Casagolda]

18 hours ago, capt_oats said:

A lot of chat around The Twitter that we're signing Grimsby goalkeeper James McKeown.

It may well just be off the back of him following the official account through the week but there's definitely a lot of chatter from Grimsby fans.

Doesn’t surprise me.

After stopping his move to Celtic in January, I imagine the club have some sort of arrangement in place that if they get a decent offer for Carson in the summer they won’t stand in his way.

We get some decent money for a player we paid 10k for, Carson gets the big money move he was promised when we sold him on the move here- everyone’s a winner. As gutted as I will be to see him go, I wouldn’t begrudge him a big money move considering his age and where he’s came from. He’s been outstanding for us this season, has also been a model professional and never chucked his toys out the pram when he never got his move in January.

A hard act to follow but unlike other managers, Robinson seems to realize the importance of having a solid and reliable goalkeeper. Which is why it wouldn’t surprise me if he was already lining up potential replacements for next season.

[capt_oats]

43 minutes ago, Casagolda said:

Doesn’t surprise me.

After stopping his move to Celtic in January, I imagine the club have some sort of arrangement in place that if they get a decent offer for Carson in the summer they won’t stand in his way.

We get some decent money for a player we paid 10k for, Carson gets the big money move he was promised when we sold him on the move here- everyone’s a winner. As gutted as I will be to see him go, I wouldn’t begrudge him a big money move considering his age and where he’s came from. He’s been outstanding for us this season, has also been a model professional and never chucked his toys out the pram when he never got his move in January.

A hard act to follow but unlike other managers, Robinson seems to realize the importance of having a solid and reliable goalkeeper. Which is why it wouldn’t surprise me if he was already lining up potential replacements for next season.

Pretty much.

I've been listening with interest to Robinson's comments recently and a common theme seems to be him pointing to the poor form in November/December and the implication that some players weren't good enough. Given Carson's on a 3 year deal it feels like this could be a bit of continuity building rather than necessarily being a case of Carson being out the door. I agree that if a decent offer that suits both him and us comes in then we won't be standing in his way, that's our model after all.

Feels to me that this move (if it is actually a thing) would be as much about replacing Griffiths whilst acknowledging that Carson could attract interest through the summer or January.

I was reading this interview with Rohan Ferguson the other day and besides the "Andy Goram's a great guy" shout () it seems clear he'll be at Fir Park next season. I'd been happily going along with the assumption that Ferguson would simply replace Griffiths in the squad but thinking about it the fact we had to sign the bold Gennadios in December showed that we really need 3 keepers at the club who are capable of stepping into the first team IMO.

Another point Robinson's been making is that one of the benefits of securing safety early is that it's allowing us to confirm pre-season plans so I'd imagine that much like last season he'll be wanting to get bodies in early and another pre-season camp booked. I'm curious to see if we've got others lined up now.

Edited April 29, 2018 by capt_oats

[Gianfranco]

As long as Carson leaves a cup winner that’s all that really matters.

[capt_oats]

Big ups Bad News Bowman btw.

Pretty sure that goal yesterday ties him with Tanner on 9 as our top scorer (currently at the club) for the season. I've doubted him a fair bit but it's good to see him nicking some goals.

[Casagolda]

On that theme, how good was Liam Grimshaw again on Saturday? 

Has looked like a different player since coming back from his injury. I’ve went from audibly sighing upon seeing him in the starting line up for the semi a few weeks back, to actually worrying about him potentially being out the final when he went down injured after a heavy challenge on Saturday. 

Some turnaround.

Edited April 30, 2018 by Casagolda

[Swello]

I'm happy to see him do so well in the last few games - he has been poor this season but there is definitely a player there and his attitude is great. I'd actually like to see him in Scott Brown's face for 90 mins on the 19th May - I think he has the legs to press Brown in the area that he normally likes to stroll around in under no pressure. Hibs did that well the other week and I'd like to see us try that as opposed to standing off them.

 

[well fan for life]

I'm happy to see him do so well in the last few games - he has been poor this season but there is definitely a player there and his attitude is great. I'd actually like to see him in Scott Brown's face for 90 mins on the 19th May - I think he has the legs to press Brown in the area that he normally likes to stroll around in under no pressure. Hibs did that well the other week and I'd like to see us try that as opposed to standing off them.
 

I reckon we’ll see him start the final alongside McHugh and Campbell to do exactly that. He’s definitely got the engine to get after him and, with all due respect, I’d rather sacrifice him to do that job than Campbell who is better with the ball.

[Desp]

13 minutes ago, well fan for life said:

 

 

I reckon we’ll see him start the final alongside McHugh and Campbell to do exactly that. He’s definitely got the engine to get after him and, with all due respect, I’d rather sacrifice him to do that job than Campbell who is better with the ball.
 

 

Agree with that.  I noticed in the semi, Grimshaw was the one of the three in an 'advanced' role, doing the job of pressing the opposition.  Can see him doing that in the final.

Let's just hope he can keep the heid and not get sent off for killing Scott Brown.

[Swello]

A graph from a good piece on Ye Olde Fir Park Corner that sums up the embarrassing gulf between Celtic and the rest (and an illustration of why, although welcome for paying the gas bill, the CL "solidarity" payment we get is a mere sop while the gap to every club widens with every passing year).

It also shows as clearly as ever that the miracle of St Brendan is merely a result of budgets and is no real achievement at all really, despite the gushing nonsense spunked all over the press today.

Finally it's as strong a case as you'll ever see for a salary cap as the line on the left will continue to get longer and the rest will stay relatively static over time.

Seeing where we are on that graph make me like this team even more TBH - also reminds me why I never grudge anyone a decent move.

[nsr]

It looks even worse if you take out Rangers, who are clearly spending money they don't have.

[Desp]

Celtic are now in that phase Rangers were in during the mid/late 90s.

Where they are spending big money to dominate domestically and try and make a dent in Europe.  Similar to Rangers, they are failing miserably in Europe (when you compare Rodgers' record in Europe to O'Neill, or even Lennon, it's a farce that he's so hero-worshipped by fans & media).  The only difference is Celtic have the money behind them to afford it.  They took their foot off the gas when Rangers were out of the league, only spending what was needed, and I can't see them making that mistake any time soon.  I can't see things changing in the near future.

A positive out of it?  It will either drive Rangers out of business again in their pursuit of 'a challenge', or this hilarious civil war that's going on at Ibrox will continue. 

[well fan for life]

21 hours ago, Desp said:

Celtic are now in that phase Rangers were in during the mid/late 90s.

Where they are spending big money to dominate domestically and try and make a dent in Europe.  Similar to Rangers, they are failing miserably in Europe (when you compare Rodgers' record in Europe to O'Neill, or even Lennon, it's a farce that he's so hero-worshipped by fans & media).  The only difference is Celtic have the money behind them to afford it.  They took their foot off the gas when Rangers were out of the league, only spending what was needed, and I can't see them making that mistake any time soon.  I can't see things changing in the near future.

A positive out of it?  It will either drive Rangers out of business again in their pursuit of 'a challenge', or this hilarious civil war that's going on at Ibrox will continue. 

I made the point the Rodgers isn't a particularly good manager to one of my Celtic supporting mates and his heid nearly came off his shoulders. My point is that you really need to judge him on his European results to see if they are making progress and they really, really aren't. First of all you have Lincoln Red Imps which was a riddy. But then to get pumped 7-0, 7-1, 5-0 is a total embarrassment regardless of what level you play football at. 

Also saw a tweet claiming that Celtic are so much better at playing young players. Mental how paying several million for youth players is quicker than actually developing your own.

[thisGRAEME]

1 hour ago, well fan for life said:

Also saw a tweet claiming that Celtic are so much better at playing young players. Mental how paying several million for youth players is quicker than actually developing your own.

Quite, this one;

What a take!

[Desp]

Whilst I agree with the point that calling players that are 21-23 "promising youngsters" is a nonsense, what's he getting at with the list of Celtic players?

Tierney is all well and good, but they've not had another home grown player through the ranks since, what, Forrest?  And he's now mid 20s.

Ntcham was £4.5m, Eboue was £3m hilariously, Dembele would have been 10x what they paid for him if it wasn't for a contractual loophole, Eduoard is a loan player from PSG and Ajer was already a first team player in Norway.

What point is he making regarding this? 

[thisGRAEME]

2 minutes ago, Desp said:

What point is he making regarding this? 

"Aren't Celtic brilliant?"

[capt_oats]

3 minutes ago, Desp said:

Whilst I agree with the point that calling players that are 21-23 "promising youngsters" is a nonsense, what's he getting at with the list of Celtic players?

Tierney is all well and good, but they've not had another home grown player through the ranks since, what, Forrest?  And he's now mid 20s.

Ntcham was £4.5m, Eboue was £3m hilariously, Dembele would have been 10x what they paid for him if it wasn't for a contractual loophole, Eduoard is a loan player from PSG and Ajer was already a first team player in Norway.

What point is he making regarding this? 

McGregor as well.

Not disagreeing with the post btw.

Its a very weird take all things told. Fair enough if they'd come through the academy it'd be worth shouting about but citing a player who's on loan from PSG as some sort of validation is reaching.

[Swello]

I think it would be wrong to say that Rodgers isn't a decent manager, because I think he is - but the level of fawning over him is *ridiculous*, simply as he has faced no challenge whatsoever domestically and has a budget that means he fucking should be untouchable. Celtic under Rodgers are the ultimate Flat Track Bullies - skittling teams that have a laughably small budget in comparison but being totally unable to make any kind of step up when required in Europe. 

Still, it will make the excuses funnier when we win the cup (which is 100% happening)