Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[ropy]

8 hours ago, Gianfranco said:

Had my first game of fives since September tonight and I was blowing out my arse after about two minutes. It was vintage Ross McCormack second spell stuff. We need to stop talking about food on this thread.

I am building towards Friday lunchtime, it is a valid approach to have bulked up so that it takes people longer to run round me.

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

11 hours ago, Busta Nut said:

I love wee Al.

We are gonna miss him so bad next year. I don't think he had a good year this year but I bet that's cos you don't get that "in the stand look where you want" terrace view. You had to warch what the telly showed you.

He was poorer by his own standards this season, but still take him out of the team and you'd lose a massive amount of work and pressing.

At one point, I thought Mark O'Hara might have been able to play that position, not as well as Campbell, but not drastically bad, based on the highlights of what I saw of him at Dundee. However, seeing him playing further forward in some of the post split matches, I'm still unconvinced.

[well fan for life]

1 minute ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said:

He was poorer by his own standards this season, but still take him out of the team and you'd lose a massive amount of work and pressing.

At one point, I thought Mark O'Hara might have been able to play that position, not as well as Campbell, but not drastically bad, based on the highlights of what I saw of him at Dundee. However, seeing him playing further forward in some of the post split matches, I'm still unconvinced.

I felt a bit sorry for wee Al this season. He was essentially being asked to carry the entire midfield at times what with the shit we had in the squad. I reckon he'll flourish in a side that gives him a bit more freedom. 

O'Hara is alright in a few different positions but doesn't appear to be great in any of them. Maybe a couple of concussions took the wind out his sails. 

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

17 minutes ago, well fan for life said:

O'Hara is alright in a few different positions but doesn't appear to be great in any of them. Maybe a couple of concussions took the wind out his sails. 

He does seem like a proper jack of all trades, master of none. I actually think his best games (straight rid against Killie aside) were at centre-half last season.

[capt_oats]

1 hour ago, crazylegsjoe_mfc said:

He does seem like a proper jack of all trades, master of none. I actually think his best games (straight rid against Killie aside) were at centre-half last season.

Aye.

I think O'Hara is a classic case of seeing what he could be, rather than what he is.

Probably his apex in that respect was the Cup replay against St Mirren where he came on and monstered his way through the midfield. He feels like someone who probably needs a 'without portfolio' role as he doesn't have the discipline of someone like Ally Gorrin or Donnelly, nor the creativity of a Turnbull or Polworth and he's clearly not Allan Campbell to do Allan Campbell things but he does undoubtedly have certain chaos factor qualities.

For all he's chipped in with some important goals this season (Accies at NDP most recently) I'm also on the "Mark O'Hara's been a better centre back than midfielder for us this season" bus.

Edited May 20, 2021 by capt_oats

[thisGRAEME]

10 hours ago, Gianfranco said:

Had my first game of fives since September tonight and I was blowing out my arse after about two minutes. It was vintage Ross McCormack second spell stuff. We need to stop talking about food on this thread.

Returned a fortnight ago for a one off turn in the Monday night game I used to play in. Scored with my first touch, got very carried away for ten minutes, then very nervous realising what I'd done, then was cramping up for the final half hour.

Brutal.

[Desp]

11 hours ago, Gianfranco said:

Had my first game of fives since September tonight and I was blowing out my arse after about two minutes. It was vintage Ross McCormack second spell stuff. We need to stop talking about food on this thread.

What did you get to eat after the game?

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

18 minutes ago, capt_oats said:

For all he's chipped in with some important goals this season (Accies at NDP most recently) I'm also on the "Mark O'Hara's been a better centre back than midfielder for us this season" bus.

I wonder had Campbell and Maguire not had to isolate when they came back from international duty, how long we might have continued playing him there.

[Ron Aldo]

Aye.
I think O'Hara is a classic case of seeing what he could be, rather than what he is.
Probably his apex in that respect was the Cup replay against St Mirren where he came on and monstered his way through the midfield. He feels like someone who probably needs a 'without portfolio' role as he doesn't have the discipline of someone like Ally Gorrin or Donnelly, nor the creativity of a Turnbull or Polworth and he's clearly not Allan Campbell to do Allan Campbell things but he does undoubtedly have certain chaos factor qualities.
For all he's chipped in with some important goals this season (Accies at NDP most recently) I'm also on the "Mark O'Hara's been a better centre back than midfielder for us this season" bus.

Ally Gorrin and discipline aren't 2 things I would normally associate with one another. I miss when he used to chop folk down despite being on a booking.

[Gianfranco]

I’d take Gorrin back anytime.

[Neil86]

26 minutes ago, Ron Aldo said:

2 hours ago, capt_oats said:

Aye.
I think O'Hara is a classic case of seeing what he could be, rather than what he is.
Probably his apex in that respect was the Cup replay against St Mirren where he came on and monstered his way through the midfield. He feels like someone who probably needs a 'without portfolio' role as he doesn't have the discipline of someone like Ally Gorrin or Donnelly, nor the creativity of a Turnbull or Polworth and he's clearly not Allan Campbell to do Allan Campbell things but he does undoubtedly have certain chaos factor qualities.
For all he's chipped in with some important goals this season (Accies at NDP most recently) I'm also on the "Mark O'Hara's been a better centre back than midfielder for us this season" bus.

Ally Gorrin and discipline aren't 2 things I would normally associate with one another. I miss when he used to chop folk down despite being on a booking.

St Mirren away, think we won 3-1, Ross Mccormack made a very brief appearance, booked fairly early on and continued to clean out everything in his path, he loved it. 

[Neil86]

Just now, Gianfranco said:

I’d take Gorrin back anytime.

just looked at his stats there, featured 35 times for oxford this season, 9 yellow cards too.

[Casagolda]

I assume the good Capt meant in terms of positional discipline with Gorrin. 

After Donnelly’s injury, Robinson tried to turn O’Hara into a holding midfielder when he had neither the technical or tactical qualities required for the role. His best attributes are his physical ones and they were wasted in that role.

You’d never see Gorrin get caught ahead of the ball or dragged out of position. With O’Hara, it was almost a weekly occurrence. 

I loved big Ally Gorrin tbh, the perfect blend of hatchet man and baller to play that holding midfield role. 

Edited May 20, 2021 by Casagolda

[capt_oats]

8 minutes ago, Casagolda said:

I assume the good Capt meant in terms of positional discipline with Gorrin. 

After Donnelly’s injury, Robinson tried to turn O’Hara into a holding midfielder when he had neither the technical or tactical qualities required for the role. His best attributes are his physical ones and they were wasted in that role.

You’d never see Gorrin get caught ahead of the ball or dragged out of position. With O’Hara, it was almost a weekly occurrence. 

I loved big Ally Gorrin tbh, the perfect blend of hatchet man and baller to play that holding midfield role. 

Ha! Aye, I just assumed you'd all know what I meant.

I had a wee look on YouTube and found this from his time at Oxford and to your point about O'Hara in the holding role you can see the difference a mile off.

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by capt_oats

[crazylegsjoe_mfc]

I remember thinking when he came in that we had Carl McHugh who could tackle but couldn't pass and Bigi who could pass but couldn't tackle and then you had Rodriguez-Gorrin who was basically the best bits of both.

It's a shame it took us so long to get him up to speed we only got four months out of him.

[dezz]

I loved mad Ally Gorrin. For someone that only played half a season, he’s one of my favourite players of the last few years.

If you’d have said that a Spanish guy and wee guy from Wishaw would break into the midfield at the same time, and you had to guess which one would be a ruthless destroyer and the other a cultured baller I don’t think many would have guessed the Spaniard as a the one who was taking ankles virtually every game.

[BrendanGalloway]

Any word of where Campbell is actually going? Would love him at aberdeen but can’t see him being even interested to talk never mind sign. Heard very little rumours about his destination. 

[capt_oats]

12 minutes ago, BrendanGalloway said:

Any word of where Campbell is actually going? Would love him at aberdeen but can’t see him being even interested to talk never mind sign. Heard very little rumours about his destination. 

Take your pick as far as rumours go:

Stoke - there were rumours about them wanting him last summer and they've resurfaced https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/stoke-city-interested-motherwells-allan-24097317
Millwall - had a cash bid knocked back in January. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/millwall-blackpool-battling-motherwells-allan-24119302
Blackpool - see the link above. I'd imagine it'd depend on whether they get promoted to the Championship via the Play-Off though.
Luton - apparently had their head of recruitment up at the weekend https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/motherwell-allan-campbell-banner-tribute-24119588

I'd imagine there are others.

Edited May 20, 2021 by capt_oats

[YassinMoutaouakil]

I think the rest of that team were mainly guys who happened to hit purple patches at the right time but the Campbell-Gorrin-Turnbull midfield three was as close to perfect as you can get for a provincial Scottish team.

[welldaft]

Tick tock...tick tock....