Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons

[YassinMoutaouakil]

What a laugh that we're looking for teams to do us favours against Forfar and Kelty Hearts 

[Swello]

10 minutes ago, well fan for life said:

So we're all in agreement? The silence on the transfers is, and I cannot stress this enough, concerning. 

You're concerned - Suomi.

I'll stop now.

[Allroy for Prez]

16 minutes ago, Swello said:

I'm not a panic merchant - but I think that if you get off to a bad start in our league, you are really up against it (and the opposite is true). Not every team that starts badly ends up in the bottom 2 or 3 places come May but I think it's very common. 

This really might not be the intention - but to me, waiting until very deep into the summer transfer window to sign players that you expect to form the spine of your team is extremely risky given how long it seems to take to get players up to speed.

Absolutely.

Anytime we’ve had a decent/excellent season we’ve always got off to a good start. Anytime we’ve had a bad start we end up having a bad or at least disappointing start. At least that’s my perception.

We’re surely not waiting till we’re 4 games in (and on zero points!) to see who is surplus to requirements/still free elsewhere and then we weigh up our options?!

I mean, surely our targets have been identified/approached/in discussions with, as if they’re not, you’ve really got to wonder what the hell is going on.

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by Allroy for Prez

[Desp]

3 minutes ago, Swello said:

You're concerned - Suomi.

I'll stop now.

If the c*nt ends up being 28, I'm staying off social media for at least a month. 

[thisGRAEME]

24 minutes ago, Swello said:

You're concerned - Suomi.

I'll stop now.

Please tell me we're using that laddie's scouting book. I'm all for that. A bunch of scandinavian regens. 

This isn't a criticism btw, he was spot on for the assessment of our players.

[Doctor Manhattan]

46 minutes ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:

What a laugh that we're looking for teams to do us favours against Forfar and Kelty Hearts 

You can put as many smileys on the end of that as you like, but it's no' really very funny, is it? 

[YassinMoutaouakil]

I think the flaw with waiting until after the League Cup games to sign our targets is that these targets can presumably also watch our League Cup games and think "f**k that".

[Guest superward]

I've seen all 3 games now and I was genuinely quite happy with how we played on Saturday. Realise we went 2 nil down but some of the build up play was top class - triangles, overlaps, players dropping back and linking up etc. 

I'm not sure if GA is using each game for a different reason (i.e. tactics and fitness) but the tactics and style were so different in each 3 in a way. Planned to try things out? Or the outcome of how the players played and reacted? 

Tactically:

QP was a nothing game, a flat 4-3-3 with patient build up on the deck seeming to be the plan.  QOS was so much more attacking and the game was hugely focussed on the wings. Airdire seemed to be like QP but chucking in a lot of long balls from defence either straight or diagonal to the forward taking out midfield.

Cornelius is a case in point, individually: 

QP he was not in the game and seemed not have licence to get forward and create. QOS had a great game - snapping into tackles and getting forward, creating triangles with Lawless and VanVeen, and others. Airdire, back to how it was at QP and very quiet.

For me, if we can play like we did against QOS, cutting out the mistakes, then we are generally ok. A few things I hope GA has learned:

- Woolery is better out wide.

- Lawless  is better in that behind the striker role. He also can't do 90 mins, let alone the mins he's got over the 3 games in last week. 

- A number of players looked knackered last night due to the 3 games in a week.  I'm hoping that was to get minutes in their legs.

- Crawford is awful and cannot be a starter.  Donnelly has to play that role. 

- One of the midfielders needs to be instructed to go forward and make runs. Without that, or forwards dropping it kills the LB/RB trying to progress things.

- Watt is probably better through the middle too. But if KVV is going to be the man he maybe does need to persevere with Watt out wide. 

- It's ok to sub SOD and give Johnstone a run out for a bit. That goes for the others on the bench too. If they can't do 15 mins then why even name them.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by superward

[RandomGuy.]

9 hours ago, well fan for life said:

Crawford is, simply, the worst midfielder in the division. He's playing in front of the back four so he should be making sure the ball isn't lost but I have lost count of the number of times he'll concede possession after taking a first touch. I don't need a @RandomGuy. visualisation to tell me that he's absolutely stealing a wage. 

I've got a ranking system so I'll see where he comes out, can't remember from memory. 

I've still no idea why you lot never moved for Regan Hendry, would've resolved plenty of your issues, yet apparently no top flight sides offered him anything.

[RandomGuy.]

1 minute ago, RandomGuy. said:

I've got a ranking system so I'll see where he comes out, can't remember from memory. 

26/100 he scored, roughly.

Players with worse scores were Charlie Trafford (20) and Ronan Hughes (25.75) of Hamilton, and Jordan Tillson (25) of Ross County. Marvin Bartley was like a 0.01 point below him too.

So aye, 2 of them are now a tier below, and one is virtually retired. So it's a shoot out between Tillson and Crawford for the worst, regularly played, CM in the division.

[welldaft]

34 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

26/100 he scored, roughly.

Players with worse scores were Charlie Trafford (20) and Ronan Hughes (25.75) of Hamilton, and Jordan Tillson (25) of Ross County. Marvin Bartley was like a 0.01 point below him too.

So aye, 2 of them are now a tier below, and one is virtually retired. So it's a shoot out between Tillson and Crawford for the worst, regularly played, CM in the division.

You have reached this conclusion based on complex calculations and in depth analysis. 

ME - I figured signing someone who could not get a game for Livingston (no offence intended) would probably not reap dividends . 

[Allroy for Prez]

We’re signing Eddie Nolan again, aren’t we?

[Yorky]

22 minutes ago, Allroy for Prez said:

We’re signing Eddie Nolan again, aren’t we?

A fit Nolan would be an improvement frankly.

[Jim McLean's Ghost]

1 hour ago, superward said:

I've seen all 3 games now and I was genuinely quite happy with how we played on Saturday. Realise we went 2 nil down but some of the build up play was top class - triangles, overlaps, players dropping back and linking up etc. 

I'm not sure if GA is using each game for a different reason (i.e. tactics and fitness) but the tactics and style were so different in each 3 in a way. Planned to try things out? Or the outcome of how the players played and reacted? 

Tactically:

QP was a nothing game, a flat 4-3-3 with patient build up on the deck seeming to be the plan.  QOS was so much more attacking and the game was hugely focussed on the wings. Airdire seemed to be like QP but chucking in a lot of long balls from defence either straight or diagonal to the forward taking out midfield.

Cornelius is a case in point, individually: 

QP he was not in the game and seemed not have licence to get forward and create. QOS had a great game - snapping into tackles and getting forward, creating triangles with Lawless and VanVeen, and others. Airdire, back to how it was at QP and very quiet.

For me, if we can play like we did against QOS, cutting out the mistakes, then we are generally ok. A few things I hope GA has learned:

- Woolery is better out wide.

- Lawless  is better in that behind the striker role. He also can't do 90 mins, let alone the mins he's got over the 3 games in last week. 

- A number of players looked knackered last night due to the 3 games in a week.  I'm hoping that was to get minutes in their legs.

- Crawford is awful and cannot be a starter.  Donnelly has to play that role. 

- One of the midfielders needs to be instructed to go forward and make runs. Without that, or forwards dropping it kills the LB/RB trying to progress things.

- Watt is probably better through the middle too. But if KVV is going to be the man he maybe does need to persevere with Watt out wide. 

- It's ok to sub SOD and give Johnstone a run out for a bit. That goes for the others on the bench too. If they can't do 15 mins then why even name them.

 

 

 

 

 

Simplest fix for me is a 4-4-2

Watt and Van Veen up top. Woolery on the right. We seem to have 3 forwards who can make a difference and they should all be on the park in their most effective positions.

 

[Jim McLean's Ghost]

Also questions should be asked why Alexander made a single sub. Why is he signing guys who he won't put on the park. A lacklustre performance and he can't even hook the folk not performing.

[Kapowzer]

Evident there is a lot of formations and tactics tinkering and fitness levels needing upped. Surprised at some of the team with it being a team coached by a guy who had 800 appearances in his career so obviously knows how to take care of himself seemingly off the pace. I understand the guys arriving from down South thinking second gear may be enough which already seems to be a wake up call.

With St Mirren, Hearts, Dundee and Dundee Utd all on cruise control it is worrying with the league due to start in 10 days. As has been pointed out, you ask any one of 4,500 regulars at FP in January what we needed and you be told a 1 or 2 midfielders and one, ideally two centre halves. As we sit here after making heavy work of what should be a coasting session those positions are still open and needing filled.

What does give me the fear for the season ahead is if I was any of the other 11 managers in the league, I'd pretty much only be worried about my own teams game rather than having to deploy anything to counter what we have at present.

I thought a few weeks ago that Watt would be the foil for Van Veen in a front two. The issue is both Woolery and Lawless have nothing in the tank to get down the wings and cover back for anything more than 60 minutes.

[well fan for life]

[Jim McLean's Ghost]

18 minutes ago, Kapowzer said:

 

I thought a few weeks ago that Watt would be the foil for Van Veen in a front two. The issue is both Woolery and Lawless have nothing in the tank to get down the wings and cover back for anything more than 60 minutes.

The obvious thing would be to start Woolery and then bring on Lawless.

A wide midfielder needing to get subbed because they have to work hard isn't an issue for me. Leaving them on the park at half pace is an issue.  We didn't test Airdrie with any fresh legs.

Also I don't want us to play it out short from the keeper again. Don't care what standard of team we are playing, we don't have the quality to pass the ball 100 yards and score. Get it kicked long onto Woolery. Win the ball and play the game in the opposition half instead of playing slow passes 40 yards from our own goal.

Edited July 22, 2021 by Jim McLean's Ghost

[Blink182]

Genuinely baffled when we resigned Lawless and he's proven already that he's nowhere near good enough.

Crawford getting a new deal was mental but as a squad player to cover injuries I could almost understand it. Seeing him in the starting 11 this season would not fill me with confidence.

Maguire strikes me of Carswell part 2. Him and Crawford in the same squad is 1 too many.

The fact some are looking forward to O'Hara etc coming back into the team shows how bad we are. 

Lambie as a starting CB can't happen. Even more worrying was the guy in the pub behind me saying Lambie has been a decent player so far in these games.

SoD is fine. Not sure I'd have him as Captain but that decision seemed obvious even before the Euros. We definitely are missing an actual captain to drive the teams mentality.

Starting a season with the above players (minus SoD is a team I'd expect to get relegated tbh). Still it's early days so let's see what happens when everyone is back up to speed and hopefully half a new first team squad arrive. 

 

[Kapowzer]

O'Donnell is good for a photo with the mascot and refs plus calling heads or tails but that's it.