crazylegsjoe_mfc

I was dead set against it. If we signed a player who had played the equivalent of less than 23 games in the past 5 years who hadn't previously played for us, the reaction wouldn't be as jovial as what it appears to be. However, it was probably when Hearts and Hibs were getting linked (as much as it wasn't likely to happen), I began to get jealous and was thinking - as much as I don't want particularly wan't him to sign for us, I definitely don't want to see him play for anyone else. Also, in that < 23 games equivalent (over 19 starts and 36s) he has scored 9 times, so I guess if you get him on the park, there's a reasonable chance of a goal still. For me, if we are happy that he plays back up to KVV and comes on for the odd twenty minutes when we may need a goal, then it might just about work out. However, if Van Veen goes a spell without a goal and there's a clamour for his inclusion and people expect to see the work rate of the version with working knees, that's when people will probably be disappointed. I absolutely love the guy and as much as it's a signing I wouldn't perhaps have wanted, I'll definitely be singing Spandau Ballet after a few beers tomorrow.

I think rather than anywhere across the front three, Shields can actually play nowhere across the front three. He's certainly not a winger and I don't think he's a number 9 in that system either. I think he can only play off a main striker in a front two, but it's certainly not worth changing our style to try and work that out. He's obviously unlikely to leave if he's started every game, but I'm less convinced about him having an impact with us each week.

Didn't you say he was signing on Friday, too?

Speaking as someone of a fan whose best performing player is a goalkeeper, I don't think that it is the most important. If you set up relying on your goalkeeper to be brilliant, the pressure will be relentless and even the best 'keeper would succumb to errors. The best example of my own club I would use is Motherwell in 2013/14 and 2014/15. Motherwell somehow managed to finish second the first season with a combination of Lee Hollis / Gunnar Nielsen and Dan Twardzik in goals. The following season we finished 11th, yet with only three more goals conceded. What was the difference between those two seasons? In 2013/14, John Sutton was scoring freely with either Henri Anier or McFadden chipping in to help. In midfield, Vigurs got 13 assists and Ainsworth got 10 (as well as scoring 11 of his own). In 2014/15, Sutton's goals dried up, with Anier and McFadden away, he wasn't really helped out by any partner Ainsworth and Vigurs became uninterested when the going going got tough. Of course, Ainsworth's performances in the playoffs meant all was forgiven. For me the most important players are those who enable you to play the game in the oppositions half.

Lucas was outstanding that game he played against Ross county when wee won 4-1. You could tell there was a player in there but he was finished in his early 20s. Still can’t work out what he was trying to do when he got sent off against Accies. Not dignifying Vigurs’ existence with any comment.

I took that out of context as Morris being linked with Rochdale. Now disappointed.

Scott Allan has signed for Arbroath so that should quieten Tam down.

Generally agree with @Desp's take on Tam Cowan. The best way I've heard him described is that there's a difference between "Football" and "The Fitba" and that Tam Cowan is in to the latter. Someone who is only in to "The Fitba" (i.e the experience of football) is far more likely to suggest signings like Allan, Griffiths and Moult, names very well known to the club and Scottish Football, rather than a bit more depth of thought on who might actually improve the team. Him being more in to "The Fitba" than "Football" is fully backed up by the fact he posted a video of his all time Motherwell XI on his instagram yesterday, which had three left backs in it.

Yeah it was. It was shortly before he signed with Leeds. He was only 16 at the time, maybe it was a really weak attempt to try and get him to stay. Obviously having to use all 3 subs right away killed any chance of him getting on.

I don't know if it's as much confidence as it is style. I'm beginning to think he looked decent under Alexander because his objective was to win the ball and get rid of it, which played directly to his strengths. I think he is badly exposed and as a result, struggles when he's part of a team which has a lot of possession of the ball, which we've seen so far this season. I also think, as I said a few pages back on this thread, when at right back last season, he was out of harms road from making critical errors.

Ojala must be completely finished if he can’t get in the team in front of those two.

I would take Wallace on two accounts: 1. I think he'd be absolutely fine for this standard and a marked upgrade on Carroll and McGinley 2. At his age and background, I reckon he would be happy with a deal until the end of the season. Most younger players that we would look to fill that gap will be after at least an 18-month deal and I'm not sure that I would want to commit our future at left back to someone who is available with less than 3 weeks of the window left.

Last season, the two outfield players with most minutes were SOD and Mugabi, both of whom played most of their games at right-back. Add to that, our seemingly best youth product is a right-back. I actually think Paul McGinn is a good player and have no qualms about his ability to do us a turn, but what I do have issue with is Alexander signing a right-back when it was arguably our strongest area, when there are so many holes in the squad. I’m also fairly certain that whoever the new manager is will have to get the best out of largely what we’ve got at least until January. I can think of probably five areas I’d like to improve, but I reckon we’ll be lucky to get one or two through the door and at that, I think with three weeks of the window left, anybody we sign will be a punt - might be better than what we’ve got, might not be. I don’t think the quality of our squad just now and the quality of the squad on September 1st will be drastically different.

Aye, we definitely got away with that one. It was lunacy from Alexander not to hook him at half time.

Wouldn't Lamie miss two games? Pretty sure a straight red for serious foul play is a two match ban.

I'm generally all for small margins etc, but I honestly think the difference in location between two dugouts has absolutely no bearing on how well we do whatsoever. Alexander changing it was just one of those new manager changing something so people would notice that he'd made a change.

We've not been great at appointing captains since Las retired have we? First it was McHugh, who voluntarily chucked it. Then it was Hartley, who couldn't get a game for half his tenure. Then it was Gallagher, who had a gun to his head. Then it was O'Donnell, who fell out with the manager.

I’d say this squad is worse, comfortably. For starters, I don’t see anyone scoring the goals that Skippy and Richie Foran (before he went to Southend in January) scored for us that season.

I honestly think that the ability of the squad who were bottom in December 2020 made the job more attractive than the ability of the squad at the moment does. It’s easier to look like a hero coming in half way though a season when a team is bottom and keeping it up than it is taking a team who were 5th to a nice, safe, boring 7th or 8th or whatever a good season this year would look like. I’m pretty sure the job would look more attractive to an incoming manager then with Campbell, Watt and Cole (albeit the goals hadn’t started yet) than it does with the current lot.

That was a weird season, lots of highlights and lowlights. I think the improvement the following season in signing Craigan and Marshall probably tells you a lot of it was down to the fact we didn’t have a keeper and the 4th slot in defence was taken up by either a diddy or a youngster - Ramsay, Cowan, Kinniburgh, Vaughan or Sengewald.

I would be against Thomson anyway, but a further black mark for me is that he won league two at a canter and then resigned to pursue a better job. It seems to be like he was a bit afraid of tarnishing whatever reputation he had by going up a league and possibly facing challenges. I'd have more respect for him (but still not want him to get the Motherwell job) if he was still Kelty manager.

There’s not much that Kelly said that isn’t true really - fan toxicity did play a part in Alexander’s departure. It’s a weird one where that kind of atmosphere clearly doesn’t help the team, or anyone, but at the same time, you can’t imagine or expect fans to react in a different way. Those who travelled and those who’ve watched us since January 100% have the right to be raging. The full conference (to my knowledge) isn’t available anywhere. It could be that the media have jumped on a 30 second soundbite from a 5-10 minute video that will get them clicks. There may be more context. What I do think is that it’s unnecessary to come out and say. When a manager goes there are so many generic, neutral phrases that can be trotted out to get you through the first press conference without anyone being chucked under the bus. Anyone with half a brain could understand that when fitba fans are raging, they don’t need to be antagonised further.

Where goals are going to come from is a big concern for me. Van Veen has only scored twice in the league since Watt left (one penalty). I think only Lamie, Roberts and Efford have scored more than once from open play in that time.

Can’t add much to what’s been said already, he has to go now. Remember the chat last summer was that he was willing to let Watt go then? You wonder how quickly things would’ve gone downhill had we not had him scoring goals. I do wonder if another manager will be able to get a better tune out of these players or whether we have just been lumbered with a shite squad for the foreseeable.

I guess Alexander’s tactic for a lot of last season was let the opposition pump balls into our box and hope we could defend them, so him not leaving someone up isn’t that surprising. I’d always have at least one player up, maybe two. One of the peculiar things with defending corners I remember is us sending Scott McDonald back to defend and keeping 6’2” Lee Erwin up.