fat_tony

I think we bought and then sold Sol didn't we?

I have zero memory of Franck Bernhard.

This is partially why I'm not too fussed about missing out on the top six. It allows us to keep the "we've beaten Rangers every time we've played in 2024" narrative going until at least the summer.

I still think we've safety in numbers. All the teams below us would have to go on a winning streak while we totally collapse. While I'm 100% sure we're capable of falling apart, I don't think all the others below us are good enough to pick up enough points to put us in 11th.

The defence absolutely needs strengthened in the summer but I don't think it's a case of needing a total clear out. Casey, McGinn and SOD are generally fine at our level but all capable of moments of madness. I'd imagine we may use the latter two more sparingly in future given their age but both are experienced pros who have something to offer. I'm yet to be convinced by Blaney but it's possible given a run of games he could develop further. I'm okay with Bevis as a squad player. He can do a job when brought in as cover or for the more attritional games but I equally wouldn't be devastated if he moved on. Regardless, we really need a leader in the defence. Casey and Butcher paired really well last season but with Butcher looking finished I think we need someone else who can provide a calm presence in the back line to complement Casey's slightly chaotic energy. Left and right backs remain an issue (we've absolutely won a watch with Gent this year but he's destined for bigger things), and I'm assuming Kelly will be away. Good opportunity, given the reported wages, to try and change things around and bring in some quality to supplement the defence. I'd love us to have a genuine alternative to the back 5, let us have a workable plan B.

It was literally a case of the ball falling to him about a foot away from the line and he managed to put it past the post. If I'm being really kind I might say he didn't have much time to react but it really would've been easier to score.

I'm willing to judge Halliday after he has a pre-season under his belt. He looks off the pace but he hasn't really played football this season. Like others have said, having some experience around the squad isn't a bad thing to give us cover and options to change things around when needed. I quite like Davor but he's absolutely one of those "just go win the ball back and then give it to somebody else" type players. He and Miller can be quite tidy together (hard to judge today as they, along with many others were trying far too hard to force passes that weren't on). Kelly and Gent were great today.

That's where I got to with it a few years ago too. SO became far too "social media da" and was just draining any joy I once got out of it. It's a far cry from the (generally) well-reasoned discussion to be found in this thread.

A tried and tested model. Has anyone going directly from Motherwell -> Aberdeen ever worked?

I'll admit I haven't kept close tabs on Mandron, the "purple patch" comment was very much based on seeing his name on the score sheet regularly early in the season and then just not for a while. The original post was asking about players who have been a total bust at Motherwell and then gone on to be great at another team. Mandron was okay with us, not Oli Shaw levels of shite but neither did he set the heather on fire. St Mirren are getting a similar return (10 goals in 35) out of him as well did (3 goals in 11), so it's nowhere near the Bair redemption arc (1 goal in 38 for Saint Johnstone to 11 in 33 for Well).

I considered mentioning Mandron but other than that wee purple patch earlier in the season I don't think he's really done much. Certainly not a redemption arc on the trajectory of Theo Bair's. All things being equal, would we be better off with Mandron over Obika? Yes. Am I bothered we didn't keep him? No.

I'm really struggling to think of any. In recent years at least, there are a few players who have gone on to become passable Premiership level, or lower, players (Liam Donnelly, Dom Thomas, Steven Lawless), but none that feel like a missed opportunity. It's been far more common we've got the best out of players who then go elsewhere and tank (James Scott, Jake Hastie, Paul Slane, John Sutton).

Behave.

I thought there was nothing in either of the handball incidents. The Bair one has zero bearing on what happens afterwards and surely cannot be a clear and obvious refereeing error to give the goal. Kettlewell got his defense badly wrong today IMO. Starting with McGinn LWB was baffling when Gent was able to play, and I thought Miller struggled with as lack of support in the middle. I'm not convinced by Blaney as a footballer, I thought it was harsh on Bevis that he was the one hooked, but we were definitely better second half with some natural width and Halliday in the middle. Miller showed his inexperience early in the second half when he failed to prevent an Aberdeen break, he should've pulled the guy back. Might have been a booking, but given Collum had minutes earlier not booked Shiñnie for pulling back Vale he might have got away with it. An annoying one to lose as Aberdeen never did too much but it just seemed like one of those days where nothing stuck in the final third. We didn't expect to beat Rangers, Aberdeen are still behind us, so not the end of the world either way. I think we can kiss dreams of gently seeing out the season in the top six goodbye, but we're still not in a terrible position. Work to do, but we need to be more on top of things than we were today.

One of my all time favourites.