capt_oats
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Posts posted by capt_oats
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40 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:
Suspect ill be getting quoted a lot in the next hour or so with laughing emojis, thanks @capt_oats
A pile on definitely wasn't the intention.
As others have said there were plenty of less than flattering takes flying around. At least you and the other Saints fans chipping in were commenting from the position of having watched him (albeit seemingly playing for utterly dismal managers).
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33 minutes ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:
I'm putting myself forward for a seat on Ketts' I Told You So parade.
Just had a swatch back at The Thread to find all the Theo Bair discourse.
From what I can see this was my first post on the matter:
On 28/07/2023 at 08:09, capt_oats said:Entirely unbothered by the Bair thing. I mean clearly I’d rather we didn’t based on his entirely shite time in Perth but equally if we do and with the caveat that we are looking at bringing the Danish sensation in from Arsenal- the big lad will be our 4th/5th choice striker.
It’s not like we’ll have chucked 6 figures or whatever it was Saints paid for him.
He’ll be Mandron v2.0.
Tbh, much like @Swello I’m more interested in the other guy.
and the reactions to the announcement start here:
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21 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:
I think yer man is just very pro-St Johnstone, to the point it's assumed we do everything right and if things don't work out then it's someone else's fault, so the easiest reply to Bair turning his career around is claiming its luck etc., rather than admitted we failed him via coaching/tactics etc.
Oh aye, I 100% get that - in a way that's why it's quite funny from an outsider's POV.
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59 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:
I don't think it's fair to use Nicolsons opinion are an example of the entire support, the Callum Davidson saga should show you why.
Most Saints fans wanted Bair to succeed, saw he was awful for us, and were shocked he got another top flight side, which led to the reaction when he signed for you last Summer. The reaction now is of a feeling of a missed opportunity with us, with fingers being pointed at Davidson/MacLean for what seems a clear inability to get him performing.
I think I've seen one or two say Bair is still shite and that this season is a one off, most wish him well and use it as a dig at Davidson.
Yeah, in fairness, the Nicholson stuff is just an enjoyable running bit now because it's quite weird...inexplicable even. His apparent fixation with Bair is just...odd though.
Tie in Tommy Wright not exactly being a fan of ours along with him announcing the Gallagher signing in a fit of pique and the growing number of players we've picked up having largely done f**k all in Perth who turned out to be some of our better players eg: Watt, Goss, Bair etc the whole thing is just quite funny.
It's definitely not something that anyone should be taking seriously or getting bent out of shape over.
I agree with @YassinMoutaouakil that the hubris from some Motherwell fans on Twitter about Bair is strange. Then again large swathes of Motherwell fans on Twitter as fucking idiots. So I guess there's that.
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- Popular Post
4 minutes ago, thisGRAEME said:Brace yourself for an Eric Nicholson-ing.
This has honestly made my day.
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This was 23 months, 12 days ago (feels longer, right?)
Along with the manager and two assistants 9 of the starting XI and 6 of the 7 subs are either no longer at the club or are currently out on loan.
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26 minutes ago, stu2910 said:
Exactly, facing a further fine if there is a single postponement is a joke. So we could have the best record for avoiding postponements next year with only 1 when others have 2 or 3 and yet we'd be fined for it? Makes sense.
It's not if there's a single postponement - it's triggered if there's a single waterlogged postponement. The DFC statement is quite clear about that.
If you fix your drainage then you're fine. You can postpone games for other reasons if you like.
Genuine question, as I don't know the answer, how many other top flight clubs had a league postponements this season because of waterlogged pitches?
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1 minute ago, Pens_Dark said:
It doesn't but it definitely suggests that. Makes reference to a further breach of SPFL rules - to me that's left to be fairly interpretive.
Either way the size of the fine is an absolute joke if you take in to account Motherwells fine previously. Amazing what a tantrum from Rangers can do...
Clearly there's been a heavy lean from Rangers (and SKY probably) but I have a feeling that the way Nelms has carried himself and the "bullishness" from the club probably hasn't helped.
If you look at the coverage around our situation in 2009 it was specifically pointed out that we took ownership and accountability:
Quote"A spokesperson for the SPL told BBC Scotland: "The Motherwell pitch was investigated by the SPL last season and a sanction was imposed.
"The club were fully co-operative throughout the process and the club and the SPL look forward to moving on from this following the club's extensive work over the summer on their pitch.""
I'd imagine you'll appeal and it'll be reduced but I'd say that Nelms talking about how the pitch would probably have been fine if the kick off had been 3pm (entirely fucking useless for a 12 noon televised game), having to loan pitch covers from another club at the last minute or your man talking about climate change when every other club in the country has been dealing with pishing rain has probably meant everyone involved is taking a "honestly, f**k that guy" stance.
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1 hour ago, Swello said:
Aberdeen being our bogey team is a new thing. Taking points against every team is a rare thing for us I would guess.
A couple of interesting posts from Narey's Toepoker:
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6 minutes ago, Ludo*1 said:
I can't really see that standing up in court. The £120k is payable if we have a single postponement due to a waterlogged pitch next season - even if we sort our pitch - that's just laughable.
As for the television costs of £36,429.60, that can get in the bin.
It's no surprise to see we're pursuing legal advice.
Fwiw: the £50k (£45k suspended) we were fined in 2009 comes in at £76,835.40 when adjusted for inflation.
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I went for Bair's dink because it's clearly the best goal there.
Also, when did we start getting stuff sponsored by Volvo?
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44 minutes ago, Alanos said:
According to Transfermarket, most of Raith’s squad is OOC.
Anyone there that would do us a turn?
Turner is on loan from Ross County. James Brown is on loan from St Johnstone. Rudden, Byrne and Ashcroft are on loan from Dundee although Byrne is also OOC at Dens the other two are contracted to 2025.
I mentioned the other day that Ketts signed Keith Watson for County.
Vaguely related, I lifted this from Narey's Toepoker (it's already been pointed out that Wells extended his contract recently) pretty slim pickings if we're being honest:
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55 minutes ago, Handsome_Devil said:
I've no doubt Kettlewell will see the same as us regarding CBs but that not the same as him picking/being able to afford the guys to fix it. The Livingston rumour is hardly confidence inspiring.
Assuming the Livingston rumour came from a couple of random Tweets from Livi fans saying the player was "apparently at Fir Park" to sign a PCA then until proven otherwise I'm filing it firmly with the oddball rumours that seem to pop up from Dundee that apparently we've *definitely* signed one of their players on a PCA.
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35 minutes ago, eliphas said:
Think that's it in a nutshell for me.
We need to sign a first choice central defender. No easy task. We absolutely cannot sleep walk into thinking all of the defenders have their plus points and deserve new deals/it's better to keep them around as might not get any better.
Loads of nuances about keeping players on much reduced deals etc but ultimately good bye Bev, goodbye Butch - thanks for the good times - we need your wages.
It'll come as a surprise to absolutely no one that we have, by a distance, the worst clean sheet record in the league - 9 (NINE) %
It's actually quite remarkable that we've gone from entirely functional and solid during his initial spell saving us from the massive hole Hammell dug for us to whatever this is...
If he can't coach us to clean sheets with the players he has then you'd hope that he sees this as...well, something we should probably look at.
1 minute ago, bunglebonce said:Morris was our best centre-back since Andrew Davies, but he was terribly injury prone. Donaldson's form imploding in Morris's absence was one of the reasons why Kettlewell was sacked, IMO.
I think in the context of this discussion we're having at the moment we're trying to get a handle on what type of centre back Kettlewell likes. It's a curious quirk that he's now 55 games into his Motherwell managerial career yet hasn't actually signe a centre half and has just stuck with those that he inherited.
I think we've all got an idea of what we think we need but it'd be interesting to get a handle on whether or not Ketts is seeing the same things as us.
With a 9% clean sheet rate you'd hope he does.
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35 minutes ago, rowsdower said:
Has kettlewell signed a defender that can defend (i.e. not a wing back)? I guess Casey kind of counts.
Kettlewell hasn’t actually signed a centre back since he’s been at the club. Casey was a Hammell signing - he just extended his contract.
Mugabi, McGinn, Blaney, Butcher, Casey, O’Donnell (and Lamie I guess) have all been used at CB and all inherited from previous managers.
I’m quite curious to look at his signing history at County and see what his centre back signings looked like.
Turns out I did a list of Kettlewell's signings in an old post in the thread copied and pasted below:
Quote- Iain Vigurs (ICT)
- Josh Mullin (Livingston)
- Jamie Lindsay (Celtic) - undisclosed
- Declan McManus (Dunfermline)
- Harry Paton (Hearts)
- Callum Morris (Dunfermline)
- Keith Watson (St Johnstone)
- Stelios Demitriou (St Mirren)
- Brian Graham (Cheltenham Town)
- Ross Stewart (St Mirren) - undisclosed
- Don Cowie (Hearts)
- Lewis Spence (Dundee)
- Kenny van der Weg (Roeselane)
- Callum Semple (Sheffield United)
- Daniel Armstrong (Raith Rovers)
Total = 15
- Joe Chalmers (ICT)
- Ross Laidlaw (Hibs)
- Blair Spittal (Partick Thistle)
- Nathan Baxter (Chelsea) - loan
- Simon Power (Norwich) - loan
- Jack Ruddy (Wolves)
- Lee Erwin (Tractor)
- Ewan Henderson (Celtic) - loan
- Richard Foster (St Johnstone)
- Jordan Tillson (Exeter City)
- Coll Donaldson (ICT) - undisclosed
- Oli Shaw (Hibs) - undisclosed
Total = 12
- Stephen Kelly (Rangers) - loan
- Connor Randall (Arda Kardzhali)
- Alex Iacovitti (Oldham)
- Regan Charles-Cook (Gillingham)
- Carl Tremarco (ICT)
- Ross Doohan (Celtic) - loan
- Michael O'Connor (Waterford) - undisclosed
- Jermaine Hylton (Motherwell)
- Charlie Lakin (Birmingham City) - loan
- Jason Naismith (Peterborough United)
Total = 10
Callum Morris, Keith Watson, Kenny van der Weg, Callum Semple, Coll Donaldson, Alex Iacovitti...
On the non-defender side, despite having posted that list a year ago, I didn't realise he'd signed Danny Armstrong and Stephen Kelly for County.
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6 minutes ago, Self-raising Lazarus said:
Has it not been confirmed for ages?
Not officially.
From what I can tell Hearts just briefed their client journalists and put the info out there but they’ve never confirmed it themselves.
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31 minutes ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:
How do folk feel about Blaney? I still think all our CBs are much of a muchness but it probably makes sense to give him and Casey a run together in the last 5 given they'll presumably be here next season. He definitely "looks" like a footballer and having someone that can score screamers is always a plus.
Can only really echo the other replies in saying he's broadly...fine.
I think @MP_MFC's framing of him in comparison with Ricki Lamie is a sensible way to view it. Is there much of a drop off between the two? Not really. Is there probably a favourable disparity in terms of what we were paying the Bathgate Maldini...probably aye.
I don't necessarily think he's been at the same level as Casey was last season in the 3 alongside McGinn and Butcher but equally I don't think he's really been afforded a run to allow him to bed in to a unit and tbh, It'd be interesting to see what would happen if we were able to drop a defender into the centre of the back 3 who'd elevate the likes of Blaney and Casey.
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11 minutes ago, eliphas said:
Maguire I think wasn't helped by the fact he got stuck into all the promo videos and content with Turnbull, Hastie and Campbell when it was, even back then, quite clear he wasn't on the same level as any of them (Hastie...I know, I know hasn't panned out well).
Robinson, I think, was the one who tried to convert him from defender to midfielder, and I reckon that also probably didn't help his development long term as he kind of got lost a bit position wise. Want good enough really for either position.
Always thought he was a useful squad player to fill a gap, but not much more than that, which is probably why he has managed to hang around. Time for a new start somewhere else though.
IIRC he actually joined the club as a midfielder but was converted to a defender by the time he was turning out for the Dev team.
I think the St Johnstone 1-5 game @well fan for life mentions above was the point at which Robinson bailed on him as a viable centre back which is when they decided to repurpose him as the ML1 Busquets.
I mean, who did it better:
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1 hour ago, thisGRAEME said:
I'll never forget him playing in central midfield and Zidane turning some St. Mirren jobber, and convincing myself he'd be brilliant.
I think this is kind of it with Maguire. You can see why we kept him around to see how it played out.
He's a good size, is technically good, two footed (of course) and is fucking brilliant at bleep tests. He has enough tools that you could buy into but as @crazylegsjoe_mfc says he just seems to lack that something that would let him put a stamp on games that others of his cohort (Turnbull, Campbell, Cadden et al) seemed to have.
People got bent out of shape when we were signing jobbers from the lower leagues in England, I can't really criticise for giving an academy player a run as he's probably one of the fairly rare instances of graduate whose ceiling could simply have been our first team.
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6 minutes ago, Handsome_Devil said:
No doubt but you could say that about god knows how many things... we've only four home wins and the two since August have been against the bottom two. We just played three midtable sides at home there, scored twice in what is touching five hours (with injury time) and took two points from nine. We've taken only three points from St Johnstone because we've conceded four terrible set pieces.
That list goes on and on but it also needs to be said we've rescued more points this season after 90 minutes than I can ever remember...the margins going the other way could easily have seen us still in deep trouble.
I mean, aye.
Also, if the results against County and Livi are different then the whole timeline of the season changes - butterfly effect and all that.
It is what it is I guess.
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Anyway, taking a look at our points at the split in previous seasons, curiously we're on exactly the same as last season (37):
After 33 games:
23/24 (Kettlewell): 37 pts
22/23 (Hammell/Kettlewell): 37 pts (finished - 7th)
21/22 (Alexander): 40 pts (finished - 5th)
20/21 (Robinson/Alexander): 35 pts (finished - 8th)
19/20 (Robinson) - 30 games: 46 pts (League curtailed - 3rd)
18/19 (Robinson): 43 pts (finished - 8th)
17/18 (Robinson): 38 pts (finished - 7th)
16/17 (McGhee/Robinson): 32 pts (finished - 9th)
15/16 (Baraclough/McGhee): 44 pts (finished - 5th)
14/15 (McCall/Baraclough): 31 pts (finished - 11th)
13/14 (McCall): 60 pts (finished - 2nd)
12/13 (McCall): 54 pts (finished - 2nd)
11/12 (McCall): 55 pts (finished - 3rd)
10/11 (Brown/McCall): 44 pts (finished - 6th)
09/10 (Gannon/Brown): 48 pts (finished 5th)I mean, it's cliche but it's true...it really is fine margins.
In the end, it's been an entirely average season but it's hard not to look at it and think those losses against Livi and County have bit us on the arse a bit.
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52 minutes ago, Gianfranco said:
Was there not a post last month suggesting Montgomery wasn’t far away from playing again?
There was. Here it is.
On 01/03/2024 at 21:08, Marinello said:Returning briefly to the football but I'm hearing Montgomery's return is nearer than we thought. Good news.
I know we announced him as having returned to Celtic but then had to quickly walk that back and clarify that although he was rehabbing with them his loan hadn't been cancelled but I notice he's not included in the injury updates we give through the week.
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5 minutes ago, Radford said:
Theo Bair to score with 4 minutes left on the final day, despite Motherwell already being on the beach, to equalise at Fir Park and send St Johnstone into the play-offs and inevitable defeat.
I for one look forward to Eric Nicolson's write up of that.
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Motherwell FC - A Thread For All Seasons
in Scottish Premiership General Chatter
Posted
Something that only really crossed my mind the other day when @Busta Nut was talking about this 523 is that without getting into the nuances of it it's broadly the shape that Davidson stuck with (although I'd call what we play more of a 3421).
It's interesting in so much as we seem to be getting a decent offensive output from it and Bair is thriving.
I think this summer will be another test for Kettlewell in so much as we have so many players out of contract although it'll probably me more normal than last summer when he was being asked to cut all the excess from the squad and bring our playing budget back to what our more risk-averse board were comfortable with after the seasons of bloat in the respective Robinson, Alexander and Hammell eras.